Chiefs overmatched by Titans, Oladokun finishes game for injured Minshew
Tennessee routed Kansas City to mark its first losing season since 2012, with its defense faltering against Ward and Pollard.
Update (Dec 22, 2025): Per NFL Network, Gardner Minshew’s ACL is intact. He suffered a non-displaced tibial plateau fracture that will land him on injured reserve and end his season.
Oh, how quickly things have taken a turn for the worse for the Kansas City Chiefs (6-9).
The best thing that happened to the Chiefs in Sunday’s high noon matchup with the Tennessee Titans (3-12) is that they improved their draft slot.
In a game where Kansas City was dominated by a Tennessee team that ranked near the bottom of the league in several offensive and defensive categories, the Titans outgained the Chiefs by 243 yards, converted 13 more first downs, and controlled the ball for over 16 more minutes.
Ultimately, the Titans defeated the Chiefs for their third win of the season, 26-9.
“I appreciate the effort of the guys,” head coach Andy Reid said. “ ... It’s not as smooth as you want it, obviously. We’ve had penalties all over the place. That’s not helping us get off the field or stay on the field.”
The Chiefs handed the keys to veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew in the absence of Patrick Mahomes, who was lost for the season in Week 15.
Or, so they thought.
For the second week in a row, reports indicate that a Kansas City quarterback tore their ACL, opening the door for third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun to make his season debut.
Minshew gutted it out, playing several series after injuring his knee before being seen walking down the tunnel towards the beginning of the second quarter. The seventh-year quarterback finished 3-for-8 with 15 yards before exiting.
“Your heart kind of goes out for him,” linebacker Nick Boltton said. “I know the offense was kind of a little bit deflated at that moment, but it’s always the next man up, and I think Chris (Oladokun) came in and did a great job on a shorter week, not having prepared or anything, and going out to execute the offense for us.”
Oladokun, a former 2022 seventh-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, actually kick-started the offense upon his appearance. Before taking over, he had not attempted a pass in an NFL game.
“I’ve really just attacked these last four years like you never know,” quarterback Chris Oladokun said. “Today just happened to be an opportunity for me, and I wanted to take full advantage of it.”
He entered the game at an ugly point, with the Titans holding a 2-0 lead after running back Kareem Hunt was stuffed for -2 yards in Kansas City’s own end zone.
He then strung together four straight drives of 28, 45, 42, and 41 yards, all of which would have ended in points had kicker Harrison Butker been able to sink a 51-yarder at the end of the team’s second-half opening drive.
Butker was able to poke through three of those field goals on those scoring drives, ultimately giving the Chiefs nine points, which was all of the scoring the Chiefs did on the day.
While Kansas City was unable to find the end zone in 60 minutes of play, some of Oladokun’s biggest plays included a 31-yard catch-and-run to running back Isiah Pacheco and a 28-yard pass to wide receiver Xavier Worthy. Wide receiver Hollywood Brown also tacked on an 18-yard gain.
That was the extent of the Chiefs’ offensive production; however, after being dominated by a Titans defense that sacked Oladokun three times in six fourth-quarter plays. The Chiefs were held to -28 yards in the final 15 minutes.
An offense that was without wide receivers Rashee Rice (concussion) and Tyquan Thornton (concussion), as well as its top four offensive tackles, ended up with Pacheco as its leading rusher and receiver.
With Kansas City playing from behind for much of the second half, the offense leaned more heavily on the passing game, limiting the run support around Oladokun as he made his NFL debut. Reid acknowledged that Oladokun was put in a difficult position, stepping into the game with little in-game or practice preparation.
“I probably could give him better stuff to work with,” Reid said. “In particular, give him some more reps during the week. He didn’t have any reps to lead him in, but for what he was asked to do, I thought he did a nice job.”
Between Pacheco, Hunt, and Worthy, they took all 12 called rushes for a combined 36 yards. Pacheco did average 4.3 yards per carry, taking eight carries for 34 yards. Pacheco also caught six passes with him and Worthy sharing the team high at 41 yards receiving. Brown hauled in all three of his targets for 22 yards.
Tight end Travis Kelce only caught one of his four targets for six yards, but he did reach a milestone that only the greatest wide receiver of all time had accomplished. He tied Jerry Rice for the most consecutive seasons with at least 800 yards receiving for 12-straight seasons.
By the end of the game, Oladokun had an admirable stat line given the situation he was put in. The former South Dakota State Jackrabbit went 11-for-16 for 111 yards with zero touchdowns and zero interceptions.
“That the moment wasn’t too big for me,” Oladokun said. “I felt really calm out there. Felt like I was seeing things pretty good, game didn’t seem too fast for me. And you just never know how you’re going to react in those situations until you’re in it.”
Given all of the injuries and the fact that the Titans do have a reputable defensive line, the offense has some built-in excuses for its performance.
The defense cannot say the same.
Sure, the Chiefs were without All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, but they were relatively healthy outside of him. The Titans scored on four of five drives at one point despite that.
Tennessee came into the matchup averaging just under 15 points per game, ranking 31st in the league. By contrast, Kansas City allowed fewer than 19 points per game, ranking fourth.
It seemed like a prime matchup for the Chiefs, but instead, they were among the few teams all year that showed Tennessee fans why their front office drafted quarterback Cam Ward first overall last April.
Ward came into the game averaging 188 yards passing per game and had totaled 11 touchdowns to seven interceptions through the first 14 games. In this game, he diced up the Chiefs’ veteran-led defense for 228 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions, going 21-for-28.
Rookie wide receiver Elic Ayomanor led Tennessee in receiving with three catches for 58 yards, but Spears, tight end Chig Okonkwo, and fellow rookie wideout Chimere Dike were closely behind him. Okonkwo and Dike hauled in Ward’s two touchdowns.
What aided Ward’s success was a dominant run game. The Titans rushed for 164 yards on the Chiefs, which is the most they had given up all season. Tony Pollard led the charge with 102 yards, but Tyjae Spears also tacked on 52 and a touchdown himself.
If there was one Chiefs defender who came to play, it was linebacker Nick Bolton. He shared a team-high of 10 tackles and registered his first sack of the season. Despite how ‘grim’ the season has gone, Bolton did not want to lose sight of the ‘privilege’ of playing football for a living.
“I play in the NFL, baby,” Bolton said. “I’ve got the opportunity of a lifetime. Any opportunity I can go out there and go make plays and have fun with the guys, I’m going to do it.”
Cornerback Kristian Fulton and linebacker Drue Tranquill were the others with double-digit tackles. The defensive front only hit Ward five times, but safety Chamarri Conner did notch a second sack for the unit. Defensive tackle Chris Jones was held to zero quarterback hits, but did tally a tackle for a loss.
Special teams and penalty woes continued to haunt the Chiefs as well. They missed a field goal, had a punt blocked, and the team was called for 10 penalties once again.
The loss dropped Kansas City to 6-9 with two games remaining, marking their first losing season since 2012 and for the first time in the Andy Reid era. The Chiefs return home on four days’ rest to host the AFC-leading Denver Broncos on Christmas Day before finishing the year in Las Vegas.
“I’m ready for the opportunity,” Oladokun said. “It’s a great opportunity. It’s not only a great opportunity for me, but a great opportunity for our team. The possibility of me making a first start on Christmas Day is pretty special.”
If Sunday was any indication, a blowout on Christmas, and yes, a loss to the Raiders, is on the table. With Christmas approaching, the Chiefs’ most likely reward this season appears to be a higher draft pick in April.