Arrowhead Pride
On Christmas evening, the Kansas City Chiefs will host the Denver Broncos in the second-to-last game of the 2025 season.
Here are three questions to consider during the contest:
Coming into the game against the Tennessee Titans, it felt safe to assume that if the Chiefs showed high levels of effort, victory would come against a hapless Titans team that has been one of the worst teams in the NFL all year, even without quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Instead, Kansas City got blown out by 17 points.
While Tennessee deserves credit for taking care of business, the Chiefs’ performance was lifeless. It was clear on any coach or player’s stoic face. There was no joy, energy or excitement in this game. It appeared that no one wanted to be there at all.
If that was the case, it’s hard to blame the team. This team has reached three consecutive Super Bowls and has always played with something on the line. Now, vacation and a fresh start are on the horizon, and next season could feature a turned-over roster.
Still, that was a pretty embarrassing effort by the Chiefs that did not accomplish anything in terms of future evaluation; the young players did not see much action. It was tough to watch.
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if the Chiefs show more effort or if the team looks done. Kansas City is welcoming in Denver, which holds a 12-3 record and still has a chance to claim the no. 1 seed in the AFC. The Broncos also still need to secure the AFC West title, so the Chiefs have a chance to play spoiler in a big way. That’s more incentive to win than last week, especially in front of the home crowd at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Christmas crowd deserves a harder-fought game than the one in Tennessee.
We don’t know if this will be Kelce’s last home game, but we should be prepared for that possibility. Kelce is not under contract next year, and he has been contemplating retirement for a few years. I have the gut feeling he’s finished after the season ends.
If that’s the case, Kelce will surely turn it up one last time. He may not get the storybook ending of retiring after a Super Bowl victory, but there’s a chance for Kelce to beat a rival one last time.
Even if the Chiefs don’t win, it would be a light in the dark for Kelce to have a stronger performance than the one catch for six yards he produced last week. It just wouldn’t be right for Kelce’s career to end with three-straight meaningless games where he is quiet. Even if he just manages to score in this game, it should be a strong moment.
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