The Kansas City Chiefs knew their season was on the brink of missing the playoffs heading into their matchup against the Houston Texans. Yet, despite a valiant comeback and a terrific second-half performance by the defense, Head Coach Andy Reid made the worst call of his career, gift-wrapping the team’s seventh loss of the season in a 20-10 loss.
For 13 seasons in Kansas City, Head Coach Andy Reid has been a consistent presence for the Chiefs. However, with the team on the verge of missing the playoffs, he made a poor decision that shifted field position deep in their own territory, turning a tie game into a seven-point deficit in the waning moments of the fourth quarter.
The result was a short field touchdown by the Houston Texans, and in turn, Mahomes faced a Texans defense that had yielded just three points in the fourth quarter this season. He went for it again in a similar situation in the fourth quarter with the same result after Rashee Rice dropped another pass on the night that could have extended the drive.
Reid succumbed to the pressure of the season, and uncharacteristically, even though Mahomes is a magician, Houston slammed the door shut, and now this team has squandered a chance to save its season.
This game came down to a few crucial plays on both sides of the ball. In key moments, the Chiefs’ offense dropped a touchdown pass by Tyquan Thornton, along with drops by Kareem Hunt and Rice that might have shifted the loss into a win.
Defensively, the Chiefs did their job in the second half, keeping the game in reach for the offense. They entered the second half trailing 10-0, yet Reid put them in a position where success was impossible.
Mahomes threw three interceptions, two on tipped passes, and the other was essentially a punt on third down, and the final summed up their entire season to date.
Kansas City had another chance, but on back-to-back plays, Travis Kelce dropped two passes, with the second resulting in Mahomes’ third interception of the night.
Reid had his defense going strong in the second half, but his costly mistake derailed the three-time champs, and the snowball of a disappointing season will cast a shadow over the entire offseason. He put his team in an excusable position, and this loss will carry into the offseason.
Once Reid went rogue, the pressure to compensate for his mistake forced the Chiefs to press, and they couldn’t make any more plays on offense. Mahomes threw ten straight incompletions—the most of his career— and as mentioned, three of those were interceptions.
Give credit to the Houston Texans. Despite being on their heels in the third quarter, they finally found a way to put pressure on Mahomes. At crucial moments, Will Anderson dominated right tackle, Jaylon Moore.
Rookie Esa Pole made his Chiefs debut at left tackle, replacing Wayna Morris who was injured on the first play of the game. If there was a silver lining, he made a case to start the rest of the season.
Another bright spot was Chris Jones, who came out in the second half and played his heart out, but once again, Reid’s mistake at a crucial moment prevented even Jones from rallying the team. The mistake was so costly after that play that fans started leaving Arrowhead – even though there were still eight minutes left in the game with the score tied 10-10.
Even worse, with the loss, the Chiefs’ streak in the AFC West ends at nine seasons. That means the Denver Broncos will be the division champs in 2025.
I refused to watch the post-game and listen to Reid admit his mistakes and shortcomings. That’s been his story all season in each of the team’s seven losses. He repeats the same thing, and the fan base is tired of hearing it. The players might be next.
He said he would devise a game plan to run the table that would tickle opponents’ throats, but that tickle has turned into great joy from the other 31 teams in the NFL, who no longer fear the Chiefs.
Although this is meant to be a recap of the game, it’s not very relevant since this team has lost four of its last five games. The Texans won their fifth straight and clearly played better than the Chiefs on Sunday night.
The Chiefs host the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday at Arrowhead, but they only have a 19% chance to make the postseason. They would need either the Chargers or the Texans to have a disastrous end to their 2026 season to allow the Chiefs to delay the inevitable. I can’t see them winning four straight games to give them hope.
Still, this team has been remarkable for seven seasons, winning three Super Bowls, but for the fans who have only known winning under Mahomes and haven’t lived through 50 years between Lombardi trophies, like me, this is shocking: this is how their reign ends.
What happens next is unknown, but it’s clear that changes are needed on the coaching staff and the roster if this season is going to be the catalyst for the next run of successful seasons.
