Travis Kelce Reflects on Crushing Chiefs Loss, Mahomes Injury, and a Season That Slipped Away
The Kansas City Chiefs' season came to a stunning halt on Sunday - and not just because of the scoreboard. In a game that was supposed to be a last stand for their playoff hopes, the Chiefs not only lost to the Los Angeles Chargers but also saw the heart of their franchise, Patrick Mahomes, go down with a season-ending knee injury.
“For the season to be going like it did up to that point, and we’re on our last quest to try and keep our playoff hopes alive there in the fourth quarter - on a freakish play to see 15 go down like that... Man, it was almost like it wasn’t real,” Travis Kelce said on the New Heights podcast Wednesday.
Kelce didn’t hold back. You could hear the weight in his voice - the disbelief, the frustration, the heartbreak.
“Shit just sucks, man,” he said. “For a guy that puts in that much and puts his body on the line week in, week out...
He makes the best of this football world by how hard he works. And it just sucks, man.”
Mahomes, 30, reportedly underwent surgery Monday to repair a torn ACL and LCL. Rehab begins immediately, but there’s no clear timeline yet for his return - or whether he’ll be ready to go by the start of the 2026 season.
This marks a painful first in Mahomes’ career: he won’t be suiting up for the postseason. Since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2017, he’s been a playoff mainstay. For Kelce, it’s just the second time he’ll miss out on postseason football - the last time was back in 2014.
The Chiefs started the season at 5-3 and looked like they were finding their rhythm, but things unraveled fast. They’ve dropped five of their last six and now sit at 6-8, officially out of the playoff picture.
Statistically, the offense hasn’t been a disaster - far from it. They still rank in the top 10 in EPA per play and success rate, which usually points to a unit that’s moving the ball and staying efficient.
But the problem? Situational football.
The kind of moments that define games. Mahomes, typically one of the league’s best on third down, has seen a sharp drop-off.
His passer rating on third down this season is just 65.2 - 28th among 32 qualifying quarterbacks. For context, from 2018 through 2024, that number averaged out to a staggering 110.6.
That’s the Mahomes we’re used to. This year?
It’s been a different story.
It hasn’t just been the passing game either. The run game has lacked explosiveness all season.
According to ESPN’s Sam Hoppen, the Chiefs rank 28th in explosive run rate, and no running back on the roster has broken off a run longer than 35 yards. That kind of limitation puts even more pressure on Mahomes and the passing attack to carry the load.
Defensively, Kansas City hasn’t held up its end either. They’re middle of the pack in success rate (17th) and have struggled mightily on third down, ranking 26th in EPA/play allowed in those key moments, per Ben Baldwin’s database.
“This year, numbers-wise, we’re up there with some of the top offenses, depending on what category you’re looking at,” Kelce said. “But just critical moments, man.”
That’s been the theme of the Chiefs’ season: close games, missed chances. Every loss has come by a single score. They’ve been in it to the end, time and time again - but when it mattered most, the plays just didn’t come.
“Things, when you need them the most, just weren’t falling for us,” Kelce added. “And you’ve got to go back to the drawing board. We got three games left.”
The Chiefs will look to regroup this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, but the bigger picture is already clear. For the first time in the Mahomes era, Kansas City is out of the playoff mix before January. And with their MVP quarterback sidelined and so many questions looming, the road back to the top just got a whole lot steeper.