Week 15 delivered a gut punch to the NFL. Two of the league’s most electrifying stars-Patrick Mahomes and Micah Parsons-suffered ACL tears, ending their seasons and sending shockwaves through their respective franchises. For the Chiefs and Cowboys, it’s now about adjusting, regrouping, and finishing the year without two of the most impactful players in football.
For Kansas City, the road ahead is purely about pride. At 6-8 and officially eliminated from playoff contention, the defending champs are staring down three games that won’t lead to the postseason but could still carry weight-just not for them directly.
The Green Bay Packers, sitting at 9-4-1, are playoff-bound, but the Chiefs? They’re playing spoiler now.
And the ripple effects of that role could be felt all the way in New York.
Why the Mahomes injury matters to the Jets
The New York Jets are in a different kind of race-the race for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. At 3-11, they currently hold the No. 5 spot, but with three games left, there’s still plenty of room to climb the draft board. And here’s where things get interesting: two of the teams ahead of the Jets in the draft order-the 2-12 Tennessee Titans and Las Vegas Raiders-are set to face the Mahomes-less Chiefs in the coming weeks.
That changes the math.
Without Mahomes, Kansas City suddenly becomes a much more beatable team. Gardner Minshew is expected to step in at quarterback, and while he's a capable veteran, he’s not the two-time MVP.
The Chiefs have struggled with consistency all season, even with Mahomes under center. Now, without their franchise cornerstone, the door is wide open for opponents to capitalize.
The draft implications are real
Here’s how the top of the draft order currently stacks up:
- 2-12 teams: Titans, Raiders, Giants
- 3-11 teams: Jets, Browns
If the Titans and Raiders can pull off wins against Kansas City, and the Jets lose out, New York could leapfrog a couple of teams and potentially land in the top three-or even at No. 1, depending on how the rest of the league shakes out. That’s a massive swing for a franchise still searching for long-term stability at quarterback.
Landing the top pick without having to mortgage future assets would be a dream scenario for the Jets. It would give them a shot at one of the elite QB prospects in the 2026 class without the kind of blockbuster trade-up we’ve seen in past years. And thanks to an unfortunate injury in Kansas City, that path just became a little more realistic.
The Chiefs are still dangerous-but vulnerable
Let’s not pretend the Chiefs are going to roll over. Andy Reid’s squad still has talent on both sides of the ball, and Gardner Minshew is a gamer who’s pulled off upsets before.
But the absence of Mahomes changes the calculus. Opponents no longer have to game-plan for his off-script magic, his deep-ball precision, or his ability to extend plays in ways that defy logic.
That makes Kansas City’s final three games-against the Titans, Raiders, and one other opponent-must-watch matchups for Jets fans, not because of what the Chiefs might do, but because of what they might allow.
A cruel twist with major consequences
Injuries are the brutal side of football, and losing a superstar like Mahomes is a blow to the league as a whole. But in the unforgiving business of the NFL, every injury opens a door somewhere else. For the Jets, that door might lead to a franchise-altering opportunity in April.
So while Kansas City plays out the string and adjusts to life without their quarterback, the ripple effects could shape the future in New York. The Jets are watching closely-and they’re not alone.