The Kansas City Chiefs were widely expected to field a better team this season than they did in 2024, when they turned in the best record in franchise history — and then became the first team to ever return to the Super Bowl after winning the previous two.
But now the team is 6-6 after losing three of their last four games — all of them by a single score.
1. Win the next five games
These matchups will be against the (7-5) Houston Texans, (8-4) Los Angeles Chargers, (1-11) Tennessee Titans, (10-2) Denver Broncos and (2-10) Las Vegas Raiders.
Here’s the good news: all three contests against postseason contenders will be played on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, where the team is 5-1 in 2025 — and hasn’t lost a game since recording a 20-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.
But there’s bad news, too: two of those teams have already defeated Kansas City in 2025 — and the other now owns a four-game winning streak that includes victories over three AFC playoff contenders.
Can they do it?
“[We’re] one or two plays away,” head coach Andy Reid told reporters on Monday. “That’s what this game is. Look at our season: we’re one or two plays off. We’ve got to take care of that — whether it’s a penalty at a crucial time, [a] possible turnover somewhere or having a chance to create a turnover. We’re right in [a] position where if we can figure out those two [or] three plays, [we can] flip this around.”
If the Chiefs can do that, it will take only a few of a dozen or so games going the right way for Kansas City to make the postseason.
2. Get the offensive line healthy before the playoffs
At the end of Thursday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys, left tackle Josh Simmons, right guard Trey Simmons and right tackle Jawaan Taylor were on the sidelines. We’ve learned from bitter experience what can happen if the Chiefs enter the playoffs without their starters on the offensive line. Making the postseason might mean very little if Kansas City can’t get its big guys back on the field.
“The guys are working to get themselves healthy right now,” said Reid on Monday, “[and] everybody is in the process. Josh is getting a second evaluation on his wrist; we’ll just see what goes from there. Then [the] other guys — Trey and JT — all those guys are improving as we go forward here. We’ll see how they do here the next couple of days.”
In the meantime, the contract that general manager Brett Veach gave reserve tackle Jaylon Moore is looking better and better.
3. Find a way to get some pass rush
On Thanksgiving, the Chiefs’ pass rush couldn’t bring the Cowboys’ quarterback Dak Prescott to the ground even once — and didn’t even record a single quarterback pressure. In the team’s other three November games, the defense collected five sacks and 27 pressures.
Can you guess which of the opposing teams in those games scored the most points?
Kansas City needs to improve its pass rush. But the unit is clearly capable of getting some pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Somehow, though, Dallas managed to shut it down. That cannot continue.
“You can’t allow quarterbacks at this level to stand back there and throw the ball with just comfortable feet,” noted Reid on Monday. “I think we know that. So, you have got to make sure that you have pressure on those guys — [and] when that takes place you have got to make sure your coverage is tight.”
Adding talent to the defensive line will have to wait. But somehow, Joe Cullen’s unit needs to get its mojo back.
4. Get control of penalties
There have been games where Kansas City has collected more penalties or been penalized for more yards. But it’s hard to recall a game like the one in Dallas — where so many of the Chiefs’ opportunities were ruined by penalties.
“[The] obvious [problem] is the penalty situation,“ declared Reid in Monday’s opening statement. ”We have got to make sure we take care of business with the penalties — [that we] keep working on the fundamentals and techniques.
“I’m not telling you I agree with all of them — or half of them — but I will tell you that they took place. So we’re not going to use that as any kind of an excuse. We’re going to work on getting better at what we do — and what we can control — [and] then we will take it from there.“
The coach sees no percentage in complaining to the league beyond the token opportunities each team is given after every game.
“You’re never going to agree with everything,” he explained. “You’re not going to do that, so you try to express yourself — and then you move on. There’s nothing you can do. There’s never been a [penalty] call [where] me griping gets [it] changed. You just hope that between the two parties, you can come together and figure out what it is. [One], from a coaching standpoint, what I can tell my guys? And two, maybe it can help an official.
“That’s what I’ve found over the years. That’s probably the best way — and the only way — to get it done.”
Meanwhile, the team needs to play well enough that the officials’ actions become a footnote to each game — rather than the overriding narrative.
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