Chiefs fall to last place Raiders, secure top 10 pick as Kelce's future comes into focus

Las Vegas' win puts Kansas City out of its misery and ushers in an uncertain offseason.

It was a fitting end to a highly disappointing 6-11 season that now sets the Kansas City Chiefs up to draft ninth overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The now 3-14 Las Vegas Raiders, who already had the number one overall pick wrapped up with the New York Giants loss in the noon slate, parlayed a last-second field goal into a win after kicker Daniel Carlson drilled a career-long 60-yarder through the uprights.

The matchup consisted of nine different scoring drives, but the final score was 14-12 after a combination of eight field goals and a safety. Despite the 6-11 record, it was a sea of red, with an appearance of a home game, or a neutral-site game at worst.

“My hat goes off to the fans for all the support they gave us throughout the season,” head coach Andy Reid said. “Easily could have not shown up by some of the performances, but they did a great job, and we appreciate that.”

The two teams appeared ready to begin the offseason after combining for four different quarterbacks taking snaps, 22 total first downs, four turnovers, going 0-for-4 in the red zone, and 7-for-33 on third downs.

That did not keep the game from ending in exciting fashion, however.

Chiefs quarterback Shane Buechele, who took over for Chris Oladokun after halftime, was sacked by former top-10 pick Tyree Wilson in the end zone for a safety to extend the Raiders’ lead to 11-6 with over four and a half minutes to go in the game.

The game appeared wrapped up in that moment, until newly promoted defensive end Ethan Downs had something to say about that. Downs punched the ball out of Dylan Laube’s hands, who was returning the free kick.

Linebacker Jack Cochrane recovered the fumble to make way for the Chiefs, taking over at their opponents’ 21. On a drive where a touchdown would have given them a lead, Buechele and the offense went backwards eight yards. It was still in range for kicker Harrison Butker, though, who drilled a 47-yarder to make an 11-9 ball game.

A quick three-and-out by the defense allowed the Chiefs to take over the ball again at their own 26. Hollywood Brown made his presence felt on the drive’s opening snap, beating double coverage for a 51-yard gain down the left seam.

The offense went backward again from there, but Butker made a 41-yard field goal to give Kansas City a 12-11 lead. With 1:01 left in the game, it appeared they were notching their seventh win of the season, given how well the defense had shut down Kenny Pickett and Aidan O’Connell all game.

O’Connell’s 22-yard pass to tight end Michael Mayer and another five-yard gain to wide receiver Tyler Lockett ended up being all Carlson needed for the Raiders’ game-winner. Carlson’s previous career-high was a kick from 57 yards.

The game had relatively meaningless implications, outside of the loss earning the team a top 10 pick for the first time since 2013, and it may have been tight end Travis Kelce’s last, who, coincidentally, was drafted in the third round of that same year.

Kelce was open much of the afternoon, but between Oladokun and Buechele’s inexperience and them getting sacked a total of eight times, he was only able to haul in three of his six targets for 12 yards. Kelce ends his 13th season with 76 catches, 851 yards, and five touchdowns.

That game log may not jump off the page, but it put him in a myriad of different places in history. He surpassed 13,000 career yards and is only the third tight end to do so. He is the fastest ever to accomplish the feat, doing it in 192 games, breaking Tony Gonzalez’s previous record of 232 games.

He also moved into eighth all-time in receptions, surpassing Terrell Owens. One of, if not the greatest, tight ends of all time now sits at 1,080 regular-season catches and will now take the necessary time to decide if he wants to give it a go, one more time.

“Guys still showed up, gave it their all, and that’s all you can ask for, man, and I got so much love for this team, this organization, and the people here,” Kelce said to reporters. “So, I’ll spend some time with them, go through exit meetings tomorrow, and get close to the family and figure things out.

… Who knows? Either it hits me quick, or I got to take some time. I think last year was a little bit easier. I think I knew right away I wanted to kind of give this one a shot. So, I don’t know. We’ll see.”

If this is the end, it admittedly is not the way he wanted to go out, but Kelce raved of the way he and the veterans fought until the end, despite being eliminated from playoff contention with three weeks to go. By all accounts, his decision has not yet been made, but his longtime teammate, defensive tackle Chris Jones, is pleading his case.

“He’ll be back next year,” said reporters in a way that was both serious and in jest. “ … I can’t promise you anything about another man, but I don’t know. This year was a tricky year for us. I have faith in my dog coming back.”

Aside from Kelce, there was another offensive bright spot. Rookie seventh-round pick Brashard Smith was finally given the keys to lead the Chiefs’ backfield. And he did well with them. The speedster averaged 4.7 yards per carry, taking 12 carries for 56 yards, doing so in a variety of formations and running schemes.

“I thought he did a nice job for us,” Reid said. “I like the way he caught the ball for the most part and ran the ball. It was good to get him in the backfield running from different spots, offsetting, and from under center, dodging runs. So, it was positive things.”

The Chiefs went to their third quarterback since quarterback Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL in Week 15, and all of their end-game results have been the same. After struggling, going 11-for-17 for 58 yards, and turning it over twice, which led to six first-half points for the Raiders, head coach Andy Reid replaced Oladokun to open the second half.

“We told both guys to be ready to go,” Reid said. “(There was an) opportunity to play for both of them. I thought they both did some good things; there’s some things that they can take from it and work on. There’s nothing like a life experience in a game. And they both got something they can utilize down the road.”

Buechele did complete his first four passes and immediately led the team on a 12-play, 50-yard drive to tie the game at six. It was an impressive debut for a quarterback who was claimed off the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad just two weeks ago, but the success was short-lived.

Over the next four drives, the offense combined for -12 yards, despite scoring three points. Buechele, who was on the Chiefs’ practice squad in 2021 and 2022, ended the game going 7-for-14 for 88 yards and zero turnovers.

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s unit had plenty of positive developments. For starters, third-year safety Chamarri Conner intercepted Pickett on the Raiders’ second offensive play of the game.

He was not the only defensive back who made an impact in the secondary. Cornerbacks Nohl Williams and Kristian Fulton did an admirable job stepping in for the injured starters, Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, for the second straight week.

Williams made a spine-chilling sack on a cornerback blitz, tallied six tackles, and recorded a pass defense. Fulton, for the second week in a row, led the team in passes deflected with three.

Jones ended the year with seven sacks on the season after recording his first multi-sack game of the season. Defensive ends Charles Omenihu and Ashton Gillote each recorded a quarterback hit.

After having a rough go of it at times this season, the special teams unit also had a solid day, with Butker going 4-for-4 and punter Matt Araiza placing three of his six punts inside the 20.

The Chiefs finish their season at 1-9 in one-score games, 1-7 on the road, 1-5 in the division, and are the first team since 2021 to have a bottom-10 record with a positive scoring differential. Kansas City is the first team since 2011 to accomplish that with a win percentage below .400.

They will have a much longer, much-needed period of rest than the offseasons they have experienced since 2014. Jones, the longest-tenured defensive player, knows this team can get back to championship contention and will not take this offseason lightly.

“This season didn’t go as planned,” Jones said. “A lot of valuable lessons learned throughout the year, and it’s a lot of things we can take from this year and look forward to next year.

… Especially the way this year ended, I’ll be even more motivated to get this season started. Just the way this season ended, been here 10 years, first time being in this position, so definitely a lot of motivation coming on my end, especially finishing the way we did.”

Objective number one is get Mahomes healthy, and anything is possible in 2026.

Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt, Reid, and General Manager Brett Veach have the time, talent, and resources to ensure that an unforgettable season like 2025, with 15 at the helm, never happens again.

“Nobody wants a season like this,” Reid said. “I mean, that’s not what we strive for, work hard for. But there are obstacles that come into play, and you’ve got to work through those. And there’s a learning curve here that you can set with some of the experiences we had for all of us, and then never do it again, right?”