Chiefs eliminated in loss to Chargers as Mahomes suffers season-ending injury
A blown lead, missed opportunities, and a late-game ACL tear for Mahomes bring a stunning end to Kansas City’s playoff run.
A season to forget was put out of its misery Sunday afternoon in a Week 15 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers (10-4) – in more than one way.
An era of football for the Kansas City Chiefs (6-8) franchise that has seen nothing less than an AFC Championship game fell short of the playoffs. The team that was Super Bowl favorites just barely more than a month ago was officially eliminated with three weeks to go in the season after a 16-13 loss to their division rival.
This is the first time since the 2014 season, Reid’s second year in Kansas City, that the Chiefs will not be in the postseason. With one more loss, they would be slated for Reid’s first losing season in his tenure and the first for the franchise since the 2012 season, the year before his arrival.
“Guys are down,” head coach Andy Reid said. “They busted their butt to win the game, and I wouldn’t expect anything less. It’s not a great feeling. I wouldn’t expect it to be after losing a game.”
If that was not bad enough, the team received even worse news after the game. Six-time Pro Bowl quarterback Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL in the final two minutes of the game.
Shortly before the news broke, Mahomes released a message on X, stating, “Don’t know why this had to happen. And not going to lie it’s hurt. But all we can do now is Trust in God and attack every single day over and over again. Thank you Chiefs kingdom for always supporting me and for everyone who has reached out and sent prayers. I will be back stronger than ever.”
It could not have come at a worse time for Mahomes and the Chiefs. Down three, trailing the team they are trying to beat out for a final AFC playoff slot, the offense was on their opponents’ 46-yard line coming out of the two-minute warning.
On the first-and-10 play, Mahomes rolled out to his right, throwing an incomplete pass, but tackled awkwardly, where his knee wound up buckling. Cameras catching Mahomes walking off the field, with a towel over his head and supported by a trainer on each side, was devastating imagery that encapsulated the 2025 season.
“It’s been hard to watch for Pat (Mahomes),” backup quarterback Gardner Minshew said. “That dude puts so much into it. I don’t think I’ve ever respected anybody I’ve played with more. I’ve never seen anybody I’ve played with give so much of themselves to the team, and to not get the results is hard, but I have more confidence in him than anybody to come back and be better than ever.”
Minshew entered the game and actually moved the team successfully, 22 yards in three plays, down to the Los Angeles 34. After a delay of the game moved them back five yards, Minshew took a shot to tight end Travis Kelce downfield, but it ended up in the hands of Chargers safety Derwin James Jr.
“I felt very comfortable to go in and execute the offense,” Minshew said. “Hate that situation, I hate that I couldn’t deliver and get us a win and keep our hopes alive.”
The errant throw put the game and the Chiefs’ season on ice. While improbable without Mahomes, had the Chiefs won this game and their final three, plus the Chargers losing one of their next two games and their Week 18 affair against the Denver Broncos, Kansas City could still have made it to the postseason.
All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones spoke after the game about missing the playoffs for the first time in his career, which dates back to the 2016 season.
“I think we learned a lot this year, and we understand the fact that in order to be successful, it’s an everyday thing,” Jones said. “It’s not one week you put in and next week. No, it’s a consistent thing, and we have a lot of guys coming back, and they know that it’s rented every year. Just because last year’s team made the Super Bowl, that doesn’t guarantee success.”
After failing to overcome a 10-point deficit last week against the Houston Texans, the Chiefs blew a double-digit lead of their own this week.
The offense moved the ball well to start the game, marching down the field on a more than six-minute, 11-play, 68-yard drive. Taking a second-and-goal snap from the 12-yard line out of shotgun, Mahomes finished the drive after scanning the secondary and then scrambling up the middle for a rushing touchdown. It was his fifth rushing touchdown of the season, which is a career-high.
The Chargers responded quickly, with a field goal drive of their own to make it 7-3 late in the first quarter. Linebacker Drue Tranquill and cornerback Nohl Williams swarmed up to stop running back Omarion Hampton on a third-and-two to force the field goal.
A career-first interception by rookie defensive end Ashton Gillote put the Chiefs in a prime position to make it a touchdown game once again. Unfortunately, the offense could only muster 10 yards from the Chargers’ 19, but kicker Harrison Butker did make the score 10-3.
The defense put together another dominant drive, which included a sack by cornerback Jaylen Watson, forcing one of four Los Angeles punts. A Mahomes-to-wide receiver Xavier Worthy pass for 26 yards put the Chiefs in position to take a 13-3 lead with 38 seconds to go in the half.
And that is when things started going south for Kansas City.
The Chargers were able to double-dip, tying the game before the Chiefs saw the ball again.
A solid kick return to their 40-yard line allowed quarterback Justin Herbert to complete two deep passes, including a 16-yard touchdown to KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the final seconds of the first half to make it a 13-10 ball game heading into the half.
“You get a big return,” Reid said. “That’s not good. That flipped some switches there. Then they get the ball the first series. So, they score on the last series of the half and come back the first series and get points. That’s not good.”
A long, 11-play drive that included chunk plays to Oronde Gadsden II, Keenan Allen, and Ladd McConkey made way for kicker Cameron Dicker to poke through a 23-yarder to make it 13-13. A third-and-goal from the Chiefs’ five was wrecked when defensive end Charles Omenihu and linebacker Leo Chenal split a sack, forcing the field goal.
There was not much action from there, with each team exchanging punts until Los Angeles turned a five-play, 29-yard drive into three points, making what eventually became the final score, 16-13.
Aside from the final drive that Minshew made interesting, Kansas City was in a prime position to either tie or take the lead before that. A 21-yard pass to wide receiver Tyquan Thornton placed Mahomes and the offense at the Chargers’ 19 early in the fourth quarter.
Mahomes tried to fire the ball to running back Kareem Hunt, who was streaking towards the end zone, but linebacker Daiyan Henley made an acrobatic play on the football. He intercepted Mahomes on what turned out to be his final crack at winning the game.
“He’d (Mahomes) probably want that one back,” Reid said. “You don’t want to throw the interception there. He thought Kareem (Hunt) could potentially make a play on a linebacker, but that’s what happened.”
Mahomes finished this divisional matchup 16-of-28, for 189 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception, in addition to his two carries for 15 yards and a touchdown.
While two of his receptions came on the final plays from Minshew, Kelce led the team in receiving with seven catches for 70 yards. Wide receiver Rashee Rice had seven catches as well, but for just 51 yards on 11 targets.
By no means was the offense clicking, outside of a select few drives, but where the Chiefs really failed was their inability to get anything going on the ground. In a slugfest-type of matchup, the rushing game is essential, but Hunt and Isiah Pacheco combined for 17 carries and just 33 yards.
One thing that is for sure is that the Chiefs’ defense did everything it needed to do to put the team in position to win. They sacked Herbert four times, with Gillotte and safety Jaden Hicks also getting in on the action. Omenihu tallied a full sack, in addition to his half sack.
They held Los Angeles’ top-10 rushing attack to 3.2 yards per carry, and Herbert was limited to 210 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. All in all, they made their presence felt, hitting Herbert 12 times and knocking down three of his passes. They limited the Chargers to 295 total yards and five-for-14 on third downs.
Common to many Chiefs’ losses in recent weeks, Kansas City was held to 1-of-3 in the red zone, committed nine penalties, and lost the turnover battle. Those are three failed areas of execution that make it very difficult to win a three-point ballgame.
It is not difficult to pinpoint the reason for the unraveling of the 2025 season. The Chiefs started the game without three opening-day starters on the offensive line and continued to lose more backups this week.
Swing tackle Jaylon Moore left the game on two separate occasions before getting ruled out with a knee injury. Chu Godrick finished the game, who was presumably the Chiefs’ sixth offensive tackle on the depth chart just a few weeks ago.
“Yeah, I’m proud of the young guys and how they stepped up today,” center Creed Humphrey said. “They came in and played pretty well, and I’m proud of them. It stinks with the injuries and everything, but we have the right guys in the room, and I’m proud of how they stepped up and fought the entire game.”
In addition to Mahomes and Moore, wide receivers Tyquan Thornton (concussion) and Xavier Worthy (concussion protocol), Nick Bolton, Chris Jones, cornerbacks Kevin Knowles and Jaylen Watson all exited the game with various degrees of severity.
All but Mahomes, Moore, and Thornton returned, but the constant running in and out of guys for an already banged-up team was not ideal, especially in a must-win scenario.
Kansas City began the game minus cornerback Trent McDuffie (knee), tackles Josh Simmons (wrist) and Jawaan Taylor (tricep), right guard Trey Smith (ankle), and wide receiver Hollywood Brown (personal).
That said, injuries were not the root cause of the demise of the Chiefs’ 2025 season. They now have three games and an entire offseason to evaluate and figure out what prompted them to fall so hard. That, of course, is in addition to a lengthy rehab for its franchise quarterback.
UPCOMING
The Gardner Minshew-led Chiefs will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, to take on the Titans (2-12) for a noon CT kickoff on Dec 21 before taking on the AFC’s number one seed, the Denver Broncos (12-2) four days later on Christmas Day.
“You know, we have three more games which we have to finish strong still, as competitors, as employees of this organization,” Jones said. “I think it’s important to finish strong and play with pride. Most importantly, play for yourself. The name on the back of your jersey, and also the name on the front of your jersey. I think it’s going to be competitive for us, and we’re going to keep on going. Something to build off of and looking forward to next year.”