For the first time since Patrick Mahomes took the reins in Kansas City, the Chiefs are out of the playoff picture entirely. No AFC Championship Game.
No postseason. Just a quiet January for a team that’s been the gold standard in the NFL for the better part of a decade.
This isn’t just a bump in the road-it could be the end of an era. The Chiefs, as we’ve come to know them, might be undergoing a changing of the guard.
And while the dynasty may not be officially over, it’s definitely on pause. That loss to the Chargers wasn’t just another L-it was a punctuation mark on one of the most dominant runs we’ve seen in modern football.
Let’s put the Chiefs’ run into context, because it’s been nothing short of historic.
Before this season-ending loss, Kansas City had stacked up 10 straight double-digit win seasons. That’s third all-time, behind only the 2003-2019 Patriots and the 1983-1998 49ers-two of the most iconic dynasties in NFL history.
They also reeled off nine straight division titles, second only to the 11 the Patriots collected from 2009-2019. That’s not just consistency-that’s control over an entire division for nearly a decade.
Then there’s the playoff streak. Ten consecutive postseason appearances, again trailing only the Patriots’ 11.
And it wasn’t just getting there-they were winning once they arrived. Seven straight seasons with at least one playoff win, second only to-you guessed it-New England’s eight from 2011-2018.
And let’s not forget the AFC title game appearances. Kansas City had made it to the conference championship seven years in a row, a stretch that only the Brady-Belichick Patriots have bested with eight. That kind of sustained success, especially in a league built on parity, is rare air.
Even their Super Bowl streak-three straight appearances-put them in elite company. Only the early '90s Buffalo Bills have done better with four. And yes, we all remember how those turned out, but just getting there that many times is a feat in itself.
So yeah, the Chiefs’ loss to the Chargers was more than just a bad day at the office. It snapped a string of accomplishments that most franchises can only dream about. But while the streaks are over, the story isn’t.
Mahomes is still in his prime. Andy Reid is still one of the best minds in football.
And this team, while clearly in need of some retooling, isn’t going away quietly. The question now shifts from “Can they keep the streak alive?”
to “How will they respond?”
Dynasties don’t usually end with a bang-they fade, they evolve, they rebuild. The Chiefs have earned the benefit of the doubt.
But make no mistake: the rest of the league smells blood. And for the first time in a long time, Kansas City enters the offseason not as the hunted, but as the hunters.
Now we find out what this group is really made of.