For one season, the Chiefs forgot how to survive the messy games.
That was a sharp break from what made Kansas City such a machine for seven straight seasons. During that stretch, the Chiefs kept finding answers when the operation wasn’t clean, and that was a big part of how they reached seven straight AFC Championship Games, made five Super Bowls, and won three of them.
Good teams can dominate. Championship teams can also stumble, regroup, and still walk off with the win.
In 2025, that trait vanished. The Chiefs finished 6-11, missed the playoffs, and kept losing the kind of games they used to steal.
They went 1-9 in one-score contests. By contrast, they were 5-2 in games decided by more than seven points.
The close ones stopped breaking their way.
Now, in 2026, that old survival instinct looks like it’s back.
Kansas City has not exactly turned every win into a highlight reel, and Sunday’s victory over the Chargers fit that theme. It was sloppy, uneven, and far from polished.
But it was a win, and that’s the point. If the Chiefs had been rolling through the season with spotless performances, that would be one thing.
Instead, they’ve had real issues to navigate: questions at wide receiver, shaky offensive tackle pass protection, a defense that has gone long stretches without pressure on the quarterback, and special teams that have been a hot mess except for Matt Araiza.
Even with those problems, Kansas City has been stacking wins. The season-opening blowout of the Broncos was the one clean result in the bunch.
The other victories have all come with some level of stress attached. The Chiefs edged the Colts and Raiders by three points apiece, and the Colts game went to overtime.
They beat the winless Dolphins and the Chargers by a combined 46-16, but neither game felt fully under control until late. Four of their five wins have been frustrating in their own way.
What’s changed is the finish.
The Chiefs have outscored opponents 46-24 in the fourth quarter and overtime, which says plenty about how they’re closing games. Sometimes it’s the defense making the key stop.
Sometimes it’s the offense finishing the job. Either way, they’re getting it done when it matters most.
That matters even more when you look at what’s ahead. Kansas City’s first five opponents are a combined 9-20, a 31% win percentage.
The remaining games on the schedule come out to 36-35, which is a 50.7 percent win rate. The early part of the season gave the Chiefs room to work through their flaws against weaker competition.
The second half figures to be much more demanding, and any path back toward another Super Bowl will obviously mean more games against winning teams.
For now, though, the Chiefs have at least reclaimed the thing that used to define them: the ability to win ugly. Patrick Mahomes and Kenneth Walker, who has been MVP-worthy, are giving Kansas City enough wiggle room to survive the rough spots, even if the roster around them still needs more stability.
That may not be the finished product, but it is a start. And with the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks coming to town Sunday, the Chiefs will find out quickly whether that rediscovered resiliency can keep carrying them.
In Other News...
Patrick Mahomes Is Dominating In One Crucial Area Again
Patrick Mahomes has quietly reasserted one of the most dangerous parts of his game, and it is showing up in the kind of throws that can break a defense when a play starts to fall apart. After the ACL and LCL tears, the Chiefs quarterback is leading the NFL in completing passes outside the pocket, a reminder of how much stress he can still put on opponents even when the original design of a play is gone. CBS Sports and Fox Sports have both pointed out that he looks like himself again, which is not exactly good news for anyone trying to slow down Kansas City.
The timing only makes the Chiefs harder to deal with as they head into Week 7 still unbeaten. Mahomes ability to create on the move has always been a separator, and it is giving Kansas City the sort of margin for error most teams do not get. With Kenneth Walker III also drawing notice for his production, the broader picture is the one the rest of the league has been dreading: the Chiefs are finding answers in more than one place, and Mahomes is once again doing the most damaging work when the pocket disappears. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Bolton Just Passed A Chiefs Standard Fans Know Well
Nick Bolton has built a reputation as one of the most dependable players on Kansas Citys defense, and now he has another line on his rsum to go with it. During the Chiefs win over the Chargers, the linebacker added to a career that has been defined by steady production and physical tackling, enough for the team to officially note that he has moved into a place few defenders ever reach in franchise history.
The milestone carries some real weight because the standard he passed belonged to Derrick Johnson, one of the most respected linebackers in Chiefs history. Boltons consistency has become part of the backbone of this defense, and every time he stacks up another big-tackle performance, it reinforces just how central he has been to Kansas Citys recent success. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Passing Game Faces A Bigger Test Than One Shorthanded Win
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs kept the offense moving Sunday against the Chargers even without Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton, turning a thin receiver room into a workable one in a 22-6 win. Mahomes finished 23 of 30 for 272 yards, leaning on Travis Kelce and getting meaningful help from Noah Gray, Xavier Worthy and a handful of other pass catchers who were able to stay involved throughout the game.
The bigger question for Kansas City is what this passing game looks like when the competition stiffens and the missing bodies matter more. The Chiefs were able to spread the ball around and still remain productive, with Cyrus Allen, Jalen Royals and Andrew Armstrong all contributing, but Sunday felt more like a proof of survival than a final answer about how the offense will function if the depth chart stays this way. [Read more 🡒]