Arrowhead Pride
Well… the waking nightmare that has been the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2025 season is finally, officially over.
It’s not hyperbole to say that Sunday’s 14–12 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders was one of the worst professional football games I’ve had the misfortune of witnessing. For much of the contest, both teams seemed to be trying to one-up each other’s offensive ineptitude. Neither team managed to get much going through the air — and that’s putting it nicely, considering the teams combined for just 170 passing yards.
In the end, the difference was a fourth-quarter safety that gave the Raiders two extra points and set up a 60-yard field goal from Las Vegas kicker Daniel Carlson to win the game.
Here are five things we learned from a Chiefs season finale we’d rather forget.
For someone who has given everything to this franchise and its fans, it felt unjust that this could have been the superstar tight end’s final game with Kansas City.
He is the greatest tight end to ever play football.
He is arguably on the Mount Rushmore of all-time Chiefs — and a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
His name will one day adorn the Ring of Honor.
He deserved a hero’s sendoff — a walk to the sideline accompanied by a cheering crowd and a standing ovation.
He deserved a game plan designed to give him a victory lap and one final bow.
Instead, he was paired with one quarterback who couldn’t get through his reads quickly enough — and another who was either being sacked or having his passes tipped at the line of scrimmage.
It was brutal. It was heartbreaking.
He should have had 16 targets. Instead, he had six.
He should have had 120 receiving yards. He had 12.
He should have gotten his swan song.
Instead, Travis Kelce faded into the silence of the sideline.
And in that silence, one of the greatest careers in NFL history may have come to an end.
The Chiefs will be in the market for a new backup quarterback — and possibly a new third-stringer — this offseason. If this game taught us anything, it’s that Oladokun and Buchele are not NFL-caliber options. And if we’re being honest, Gardner Minshew didn’t exactly look electric before injuring his knee in Week 16 against the Tennessee Titans.
With the status of franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes — who tore his ACL against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15 — still uncertain, the Chiefs must proceed as if he will not be available to start the 2026 season.
That reality raises the bar. This can’t just be a “break glass in case of emergency” option. Kansas City needs someone capable of winning games and keeping the team competitive until Mahomes returns — however long that takes.
