Denver
The last time the Kansas City Chiefs sat at 5-5 through 10 games was a decade ago, before Patrick Mahomes had ever taken an NFL snap. Of course, that 5-5 felt a bit different than this 5-5.
In 2015, the Alex Smith led-Chiefs started 1-5 before rattling off 10 straight wins to close the season. Those Chiefs were surging. These Chiefs, at the same record, are likely questioning their legitimacy.
And should they be? Maybe. But maybe not.
During the eight years of the Mahomes-Andy Reid era, Kansas City has made winning look easy. The harsh reality of 2025 is proving it never really is.
In their 22-19 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, one that likely ends the club’s bid for a 10th straight AFC West title, plenty of mistakes were made — from missed throws to drops to untimely penalties to clock mismanagement.
In moments such as these, bad teams splinter and point fingers. But in a quiet Kansas City locker room Sunday evening, the message seemed to be one of solidarity.
“Anytime you suffer a loss, it’s so easy to point out what someone else did bad,” defensive lineman and leader Chris Jones said. “I think, for me, what’s important is it’s about self-evaluation — look at yourself.
“Look in the mirror, what could you have done better? Once you start to do that, and everyone sees what they could have done better, we come together as a group.”
When asked how three Super Bowl titles might help the team stay unified, Mahomes pointed instead to the five seasons in which they didn’t.
“It’s not always been just championships,” he said. “We’ve dealt with adversity, and guys have learned and gotten better from it.
“Obviously, this is something we haven’t dealt with this early in the season, but at the same time, I know the guys in that locker room and how they’re going to respond. All we can do is stick together and push ourselves to be even better, and try to do what we can to win this next week.”
After Mahomes’ interception, Kansas City allowed Denver to score a touchdown in the hosts’ first possession of the third quarter, then allowed three field goals that led the Broncos to victory.
McDuffie didn’t single anyone out for the lapses in the second half, instead saying that the defense as a whole needs better eye discipline. Now, in his fourth year, he has become one of Kansas City’s defensive leaders, and they will need to draw from that leadership now more than ever in his young career.
“I came into this team and everybody was together,” McDuffie said, thinking back to 2022. “The leadership, the coaches — this locker room is special. Everybody has each other’s back; nobody goes against each other. The confidence in everyone in this locker room allows us to flush bad games and move forward — and just starts from the top down.”
“Flushing the game” was the theme of the night, as it was something linebacker Leo Chenal echoed as he spoke a few lockers down.
“I just feel like we have such a good winning culture and such a good mentality of ‘next week,’” he said. “Flush the system. Guys show up — nobody’s sitting there anxious or biting their fingernails, or getting stressed about it. Those teams are the ones that are going to collapse. The only chance we have is to look forward, flush the system, but at the same time, look at what we could have done better.”
When you finish in first place in the NFL, you earn a first-place schedule, and that’s something Kansas City has endured now for a long time. Almost every week, you see the NFL’s best, and because you’re the Chiefs, you get their best shot.
That will be the case again in six days time.
Ahead, Kansas City will face its second straight 8-2 team in the Indianapolis Colts. And sitting at ninth place in the conference, the Chiefs’ playoffs have essentially begun.
Reid closed his post-game news conference at Empower Field at Mile High with a sense of urgency.
“Whether it’s myself making a call or the players playing, you’ve got to do the right things,” he said. “Put the guys in the right position, and they’ve got to make plays when given the opportunity — both sides of the ball and special teams.
“That’s why we’re all in it together.”
The 2015 Chiefs — the last 5-5 — had the same head coach preaching that same message of unity. It worked then. We’ll see if history repeats itself.
Related Stories from Kansas City Star
