The Kansas City Chiefs are no strangers to adversity. Over the past few seasons, they’ve flirted with danger, stumbled here and there, and still managed to find their way to the Super Bowl.
But this year? This year feels different.
Sitting at 6-6, the defending champs are facing their most turbulent stretch yet-and the margin for error is razor-thin.
To make the postseason, Kansas City likely needs to win four, maybe even all five of their remaining games. That’s a tall order in today’s NFL, where parity reigns and outcomes are often decided by a single possession.
Just ask the Chiefs. A year ago, they were a perfect 11-0 in one-score games-an almost unheard-of stat that spoke to their poise, execution, and championship mettle.
This season? They're 0-5 in those same tight situations.
That’s not just a stat. It’s a gut punch.
Because it tells you exactly where the difference lies between the Chiefs of last year and the version we’re seeing now. They’re still in games.
They’re still right there. But when it’s time to make the play-to close the door-they haven’t been able to do it.
And no one feels that more than Travis Kelce.
On the latest episode of New Heights, the All-Pro tight end didn’t mince words. He’s frustrated.
He’s searching for answers. But he’s also holding onto hope.
“I’m sure everyone is sick of us saying it,” Kelce said, “but we’re a few plays away from being a one seed in my mind.”
He’s not wrong. Every loss the Chiefs have taken this year has been by a single score.
That’s five games, each decided by a handful of snaps. A missed opportunity here, a dropped pass there, a red zone stall that ends in three instead of six.
Kelce even pointed to his own drop against the Eagles as one of those moments that changed a game-and maybe the season.
“It’s hard,” he continued. “It’s plays like my drop against the Eagles, it’s penalties that are keeping us behind the sticks, it’s coming away with three points instead of touchdowns in some games… It’s crazy that you watch the film and you see what’s real, and what’s real is we’re f--ing this close, man, we’re this f--ing close.”
That raw honesty is part of what makes Kelce such a compelling leader. He’s not sugarcoating the situation. He’s acknowledging the mistakes-his own included-while still believing in what this team can be.
But belief only takes you so far.
In the NFL, there are no moral victories. No bonus points for being close.
You either make the play, or you don’t. You win, or you lose.
And when you lose a lot of close games, it’s often a sign that something deeper is off. Maybe it’s execution.
Maybe it’s discipline. Maybe it’s just not having that killer instinct when the game is on the line.
Whatever it is, the Chiefs have five weeks to figure it out. Because the runway is getting short, and the margin for error is gone.
The good news? This is still a team with Patrick Mahomes under center.
Still a team with Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, and Andy Reid. They’ve been here before.
They know what it takes. And if they can flip the script on these one-score heartbreakers, there’s still time to turn this season into something special.
But if they can’t? Then this year might end with more questions than answers-and a lot of what-ifs echoing through the offseason.
For now, the mission is clear: win the close ones. Make the plays that have eluded them. And remind the rest of the league that the Chiefs’ dynasty isn’t over-it’s just waiting for its next chapter.