The Chiefs are back in a familiar place: judged like a contender, but built like a team still trying to put itself back together.
That tension sits right there at practice, where a painted sign behind the field reads “CHAMPIONS” in bold red letters and lists four Super Bowl titles underneath. Three of those came in this era, which is why Kansas City is measured on a championship scale now.
But the last year of the story matters, too. The Chiefs went 6-11 in 2025, and they were 6-8 when quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a season-ending injury.
That’s the part easy to forget when a 5-2 start gets framed as underwhelming because it includes losses to the Seahawks and the Broncos. The standard is different now because Mahomes is different. Still, the 2025 season was what it was: a team that was nowhere near championship level, and not especially close to playoff level either.
The bigger point is that what happened over the last two weeks is not some shocking detour. It’s a reminder of how hard it is to stabilize a roster in a league built to keep everyone off balance. And history says teams that win six games or fewer usually do not flip the switch overnight.
Only three franchises in NFL history have won six or fewer games and then followed that with a Super Bowl the next season. The 1980 49ers went 6-10 before winning the title in 1981.
The 1998 Rams were 4-12 before winning the Super Bowl in 1999. The 2000 Patriots were 5-11 before winning in 2001.
Those teams all had one major thing in common: a quarterback change, and not just any quarterback change. The 49ers moved from Steve DeBerg to Joe Montana.
The Rams went from Tony Banks to Kurt Warner. The Patriots turned to Tom Brady after an injury to Drew Bledsoe.
Kansas City didn’t do that. The Chiefs kept the same quarterback, the same head coach, the same future Hall of Fame tight end and the same future Hall of Fame defensive tackle. Instead of a reset at the top, they’ve tried to remake the supporting cast around Mahomes and make his job easier.
Even with that approach, they’re still chasing a statistical oddity. No NFL team has ever won six games or fewer, brought back the same starting quarterback the next season and then won the Super Bowl.
That doesn’t make the recent losses any less damaging. The defeat in Seattle was never competitive.
The one in Denver was even harder to swallow, with the Chiefs blowing an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter against an inferior quarterback. That result matters in the AFC West race, and it matters because it came one yard short of a win.
But the larger reality is that this team is in the build-again stage, not the preserve-what’s-already-there stage. That’s different from where the Chiefs were a year ago.
“Last year gave me a perspective of you have to be (focused on) the process every week,” Mahomes told me. “You can’t jump to the playoffs.”
The roster turnover helps explain why the early season has looked uneven. The Chiefs had roughly $250 million walk out the door on defense, and the new-look group is leaning heavily on young players.
They are one of seven teams with three rookies who have played at least 190 defensive snaps this season: cornerback Mansoor Delane, edge rusher R Mason Thomas and defensive tackle Peter Woods. They are also the only team in that group to have a rookie with at least 400 offensive snaps, left tackle Khalil Benson.
All four of those rookies are at premium positions, which only adds to the challenge.
So the questions around Kansas City should go beyond the record, at least for now. Are they getting better?
Can they clean up the penalties and the discipline issues? Can they stop talking about players getting benched?
Can a young wide receiver room start playing with more freedom instead of needing so much pre-snap instruction from Mahomes? Can a defensive line built around youth start generating a better pass rush?
Defensive end George Karlaftis said the Denver loss left a mark.
“Quite honestly,” he said, “it makes you sick. ... But in the long run, I think we’re going to benefit from all the lessons we’ve learned in that game.”
He pointed to the way the Chiefs finished - or didn’t finish - that game.
“When you have losses, critical losses, in the beginning of the year, you realize the importance,” he said. “But with this one specifically, it’s about finishing.
It emphasizes the importance of finishing. When you’re up in the fourth quarter and you lose, it’s on the defense.
I know I felt it. I know the defense felt it.
That mindset of finishing on every single play and never letting up, I think that will benefit is greatly - because we have a lot of young players.”
That’s where Kansas City is right now: not a finished product, but a team with a lot to sort through. The record says one thing.
The roster says another. And the old championship backdrop behind the practice field doesn’t change the fact that the Chiefs still need time to catch up.
In Other News...
Chiefs Revisit Familiar Receiver As Depth Battle Suddenly Opens
The Chiefs used a busy workout day to take a fresh look at depth across the roster, bringing in nine players for tryouts and ultimately adding wide receiver Jacob de Jesus to the practice squad. De Jesus is a familiar name around the building, having previously signed with Kansas City after going undrafted in 2026, and he arrives with a notable college rsum after leading the nation in receptions in 2025.
The tryout group also included several other wide receivers, defensive backs and a defensive tackle, but no other immediate moves were announced. For a team always trying to stay ahead of injuries and churn at the bottom of the roster, the timing matters, especially with the receiver room and a few other spots suddenly offering a clearer path to opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Caitlin Clark Just Gave Chiefs Fans Another Reason To Love Her
Caitlin Clark has already become a familiar face around Chiefs Kingdom, and she gave fans another small but telling reason to appreciate her during a recent discussion about an Indianapolis Colts game she attended. The WNBA star, who has been seen at multiple Chiefs games with Taylor Swift, talked about being handed a Colts jersey for the appearance, even as she made clear her NFL loyalty still leans toward Kansas City.
The detail Chiefs fans will like most is the one she left hanging in plain sight: Clark was surrounded by teammates who went along with the moment, but she did not follow suit. It was a subtle choice, not some grand declaration, but it fit the way she has handled her football allegiances so far, with enough Chiefs support to matter and just enough restraint to keep the conversation going. [Read more 🡒]
Rashee Rices Off-Field Trouble Just Raised A New Chiefs Question
Rashee Rices off-field situation has become another unwelcome subplot for the Chiefs, with the wide receiver now dealing with the financial fallout from the March 2024 crash that already led to felony pleas and a 30-day jail term. The latest filing shows how far the case has reached beyond the courtroom, with civil claims and related obligations piling up as Kansas City tries to keep one of its young pass catchers from becoming defined by everything happening away from the field.
The bankruptcy filing adds a new layer to a story the Chiefs would rather leave in the past, especially with Rice still carrying the burden of a 2025 civil settlement and reported wage garnishment. Even the list of assets in the case underscores how tangled things have become, and it leaves Kansas City facing yet another reminder that Rices future with the team is being shaped by more than football. [Read more 🡒]