The failure was emblematic of a game representative of the Chiefs’ season: Close but just shy.
Kansas City’s offense, already without two starters on offense, lost starter Wanya Morris on the first snap of the game. The Crew couldn’t sustain a drive against a Houston defense that has been the most sloppy all season. The running game was stifled as it has been all year. Mahomes completed just 14 of 33 passes for 160 yards and was picked off three times. Several passes were just shy of completion, including a potential game-changing bomb to Tyquan Thornton that he just couldn’t squeeze. Travis Kelce dropped a late pass that was intercepted, sealing the Chiefs’ fate.
Mahomes’ 42.4 completion percentage was a career low, as was his 19.8 passer rating. His 0-3 TD-INT percentage was also a career worst. It was the first time a Chiefs quarterback finished a game with no TDs and three interceptions since Tyler Palko in Week 12, 2011. And it was the worst mark by a KC QB since Brady Quinn posted 16.7 in Week 8, 2012, vs. Oakland.
The defense performed well early in the second half, holding the Texans to -2 yards in the third quarter, allowing the offense to tie the game after trailing 10-0 at halftime. However, failed fourth drains put them in a difficult spot and the dam broke.
The loss pushed the Chiefs below .500 through 13 games for the first time since 2012 (finishing 2-14), a year before Reid moved in and turned Kansas City into a cracker.
“Listen, it’s never over. You keep fighting,” Reid said of the Chiefs’ season. “I’ve been doing this a long time (and) seen a lot of things, so you keep going.”
The loss wiped out any chance the Chiefs had of winning a 10th straight division title. Their nine seasons is the second-longest in NFL history, behind the 2009-2019 New England Patriots (11).
At the moment, KC is a scrappy squad with key players looking like they’ve been through one too many fires. Kelce — one catch on five targets for 8 yards — seems every bit like a 36-year-old tight end taking the final steps of a Hall of Fame career. Mahomes looks like a guy who has played in 21 playoff games over the past seven seasons and might need a long break.
According to the Next Generation Playoff Probability Model, the 6-7 Chiefs have a 15% chance of making the postseason. Sunday’s loss means they’ll likely need to win and get some help — especially collapses from the Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis Colts.
“We know the odds are going to get smaller and smaller, but I know the guys on this team are going to give it their all every chance they get,” Mahomes said. “You just get late in the season and you’re not going to get those opportunities back. They’re a good team, but we had opportunities. We just didn’t execute in time to win it.”
Mahomes has been to the AFC Championship game every season as a starter. This year he plans to go fishing early.