If you were watching the Chiefs-Broncos clash on Christmas Day and did a double take, you weren’t alone. For a split second, it looked like Patrick Mahomes had somehow suited up after all. But no - that bit of holiday magic came courtesy of third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun, making his first career start under the bright lights at Arrowhead.
With both Mahomes and Gardner Minshew out due to injury, the Chiefs turned to Oladokun - and the young QB gave fans a moment they won’t soon forget.
Late in a tightly contested game, with the score tied and tension thick in the air, Kansas City faced a 2nd-and-7 from their own 30-yard line. The Broncos’ pass rush came hard and fast, collapsing the pocket almost instantly.
Oladokun, under siege, bailed out to his right, trying to salvage the play. That’s when things got messy - and magical.
As he scrambled, the ball slipped from Oladokun’s hand and hit the turf. Disaster?
Not quite. In one fluid, instinctive motion, he scooped the ball back up on the run, never taking his eyes off the action downfield.
Then, with defenders still breathing down his neck, he fired a dart to a wide-open JuJu Smith-Schuster.
#Chiefs QB Chris Oladokun just pulled off one of those “how the heck did he do that?” plays you usually see from Patrick Mahomes.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 26, 2025
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First down, Arrowhead erupts.
It was a play straight out of the Mahomes playbook - chaos turned into brilliance, a broken play reborn as a game-changer. And while Oladokun doesn’t wear No. 15, for that brief moment, he sure looked the part.
Earlier in the game, Oladokun had already made his mark by tossing his first career touchdown pass - a well-placed throw to rookie Brashard Smith. But it was the fumble recovery and subsequent strike to JuJu that stole the show. It won’t jump off the stat sheet, but it told you everything about the kid’s poise, awareness, and ability to make something out of nothing.
Against a Denver defense that’s been no pushover this season, Oladokun showed grit. He didn’t just manage the game - he made plays when it mattered.
And for a Chiefs team that’s been battered by injuries, especially at the quarterback position, that kind of resilience is more than just encouraging. It’s necessary.
No one’s confusing Oladokun with a two-time MVP - not yet, anyway. But on a cold December night in Kansas City, with the season hanging in the balance and the depth chart stretched thin, he stepped up and delivered a moment that felt like vintage Chiefs football.
And that’s saying something.