What’s Going On With the 2025 Kansas City Chiefs? Devin McCourty Weighs In
Twelve games into the 2025 season, the Kansas City Chiefs find themselves in unfamiliar territory: sitting at .500 with a 6-6 record and teetering on the edge of missing the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. For a team that’s played in five of the last six Super Bowls, this kind of mediocrity feels jarring.
So what’s really going on in Kansas City?
According to former Patriots safety and current NFL analyst Devin McCourty, it’s not so much that the Chiefs have regressed - it’s that the rest of the league has finally caught up.
“I think for the Chiefs, the truth of the matter is everyone else around them just got better,” McCourty said during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show. “I think this Chiefs team is actually better than the team last year that made it to the Super Bowl, but the Broncos are better. The Chargers are better… You look at all of these other teams that got better.”
It’s a compelling point, and one that lines up with what we’ve seen on the field. The Chiefs aren’t getting blown out.
They’re still competing in tight games. But unlike in years past - when Patrick Mahomes could lean on experience, savvy coaching, and a little bit of magic to pull out a win - those edges aren’t as sharp anymore.
The AFC West isn’t the same division it used to be.
Denver now has Sean Payton calling the shots. The Chargers brought in Jim Harbaugh to steady the ship.
These aren’t the poorly coached, mistake-prone teams the Chiefs used to feast on. They’re more disciplined, more prepared, and more talented across the board.
And McCourty’s not wrong when he says this year’s Chiefs team might actually be better than last year’s group that made it all the way to the Super Bowl. The offensive line, when healthy, has been more solid.
There’s more speed and versatility on offense. Defensively, Steve Spagnuolo still has his unit playing with intensity and creativity.
The pieces are there.
But the margins are thinner now. The rest of the AFC - not just the West - has closed the gap.
The Bills, Ravens, Dolphins, Bengals… they’ve all retooled, reloaded, and raised their level. Kansas City’s margin for error has shrunk, and the familiar formula of Mahomes magic and Andy Reid wizardry isn’t always enough to overcome it.
This is the natural cycle of the NFL. Dynasties don’t fall overnight, but they do get challenged.
And right now, the Chiefs are in the middle of that challenge. The question is whether they’ll respond to it the way great teams do - with urgency, with adaptation, and with a willingness to evolve.
That part falls on GM Brett Veach and the front office. Standing pat won’t cut it anymore.
The rest of the league isn’t waiting around for Kansas City to figure it out. They’ve already caught up - and in some cases, passed them.
If the Chiefs want to keep their Super Bowl window open, they’re going to have to push harder than ever before. Because in 2025, being good just isn’t good enough.