The Kansas City Chiefs entered their Week 17 matchup against the Denver Broncos with nothing tangible at stake; there was no path to the postseason and no realistic way to climb the standings.

Yet on a cool Christmas night on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City played like a team that still believed the game mattered.

Head coach Andy Reid has never allowed circumstances to dictate his standards — and Thursday night was no exception. The game may have ended as a 20–13 loss, a Kansas City roster heavy on backups and young players stayed competitive until the final...

The latest

Broncos-Chiefs takeaways: Denver escapes K.C. to stay on track for AFC’s top seed | The Athletic

End of an era?

Kelce hasn’t announced whether he’ll retire at the end of this season. If he does, though, Thursday will be remembered as his final home game at Arrowhead Stadium.

There were times — including during pregame introductions — when Kelce seemed to take an extra second or two to soak up the atmosphere, just in case this was his home curtain call.

Kelce was mostly quiet until the final drive Thursday;...

On Christmas night, the Kansas City Chiefs collected a 20-13 loss to the Denver Broncos, turning in a competitive performance that came up short in the closing moments. Here are three instant takeaways from the loss.

1. Steve Spagnuolo had the defense ready to go

To keep the game within reach, Kansas City leaned heavily on its defense — despite missing starting cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. The pass coverage limited explosive plays, while the run defense held firm enough to force Denver into 18 third downs.

Denver’s backfield finished with 86 rushing yards on 23 carries, with...

In their Christmas night matchup against the Denver Broncos, the Kansas City Chiefs were facing what amounted to a preseason game. With a long list of players out for the season with injuries — and no opportunity for the team to reach the playoffs — it was primarily a chance for young Chiefs to show their stuff. The team had lost all three of its 2025 preseason games, so Thursday’s 20—13 defeat to one of the AFC’s top teams wasn’t a surprise, but Kansas City did avoid the beatdown that almost everyone had expected.

First quarter

The...

For the Kansas City Chiefs, the Christmas night matchup against the Denver Broncos looked like a preseason game. With 20 Kansas City players on the Reserve/Injured list — and no opportunity for the team to reach the playoffs — it was mostly an opportunity for young Chiefs to show what they could do. But just as it did in all three of the team’s 2025 preseason contests, Kansas City suffered a loss. While its 20—13 defeat to one of the AFC’s top teams dropped the team’s record to 6-10, the team did avoid the beatdown that almost everyone had expected....

In the final game of NFL’s Week 17 tripleheader, the (6-9) Kansas City Chiefs are hosting the (12-3) Denver Broncos on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. For the Chiefs — already eliminated from the playoffs — this will be much like a preseason game. In the last two weeks, the team has activated nine practice squad players — and now has 20 players on its Reserve/Injured list. So many young Chiefs — including third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun — will have a chance to show what they can do against a Denver team that needs to win the last two games...

The Kansas City Chiefs have released their list of inactive players for Thursday’s game against the Denver Broncos.

After being limited with an illness and declared questionable due to illness on Wednesday’s final injury report, defensive end George Karlaftis and linebacker Nick Bolton will play on Christmas night. Defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi was also ruled questionable with an illness but will not go. Swing tackle Jaylon Moore was also listed as questionable with a knee injury. Moore appeared on track to return after getting in a full practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, but he will not dress.

The Chiefs will...

Merry Christmas, Chiefs Kingdom!

Before the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 16 road matchup with the Tennessee Titans, only three of our panelists correctly picked the Titans to win. Still, as a group, we called for Kansas City to lose 17–16. That carried 32 points of error* compared to the game’s 26–9 final score — so even though the group picked correctly, it was our second-worst prediction of the season. Arrowhead Pride’s readers, however, had a better idea of what would happen. Sixty-seven percent thought Tennessee would win — although just 9% correctly predicted the Titans’ blowout victory.

*In Week 17,...

On Thursday, the Kansas City Chiefs face the Denver Broncos. We welcome Ian St. Clair of Mile High Report— our sister SB Nation site covering the Broncos— for Five Questions with the Enemy*.*

1. Has the Chiefs’ down season shifted the emotional balance of the AFC West rivalry?

Broncos Country is too focused on Denver closing out the season to get the AFC West title and the No. 1 seed. There is no doubt that a sense of satisfaction comes from the Chiefs’ downfall this season. But if the Broncos don’t end the season the way they should,...

The Game

Merry Christmas, Chiefs Kingdom!

On Thursday, the (6-9) Kansas City Chiefs will host the (12-3) Denver Broncos on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for the nightcap of an NFL triple-header to start Week 17. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Arrowhead Time on Amazon Prime Video; it will be locally available on KSHB-41.

Coming off four consecutive losses that eliminated them from the playoffs, the Chiefs will have a first-time starting quarterback playing on the short week: quarterback Chris Oladokun. He led the team to all nine points scored in the loss to the Tennessee Titans in...

Salary cap space

All information shown is current as of 8:35 p.m. Wednesday, December 24

Current space: $3.0 million.

This includes the estimated salary cap impacts of all known signings and releases. More information about our cap space calculation is available below the tables.

**Please note: All NFL teams must remain below the salary cap between the beginning of the new league year in mid-March and the end of each season. If our estimate of the team’s cap space is a negative number, it’s because contracts for some reported roster moves have not been officially submitted to the league...

Ahead of their Week 17 game against the Denver Broncos on Thursday night, the Kansas City Chiefs made a flurry of roster moves on Wednesday.

The team placed cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson and wide receivers Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton on the Reserve/Injured list. With only two games remaining, their seasons are over.

Cornerback Melvin Smith signed from the practice squad as well as defensive ends Ethan Downs and Tyreke Smith (note: the team’s official press release mistakenly listed Smith as a tight end).

Melvin Smith joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in April out of...