Dec 08, 2025
3 min read
The tone in the Chiefs locker room has changed since the team's latest narrow loss, with the team's playoff chances dwindling.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce propped his elbows on his knees and looked down at his fingertips as grass stains ran from his knees to his hips on his white pants.
Minutes after the Chiefs' 20-10 home loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium, Kelce moved to the corner of his locker near the team's shower door, still in full uniform.He tapped the ring finger of his right hand, holding it still for a short time, before changing his position again.
His head will go down. Press the crown of his head with two fingers. Drop the water on his head with both hands.
Kelce - The 36-year-old son of Rich, one of the greatest NFL prospects in NFL history, just happened.
It hit a key drive Sunday, leading in the fourth quarter, when he delayed the pass into the hands of Houston linebacker Aleeber Aleair.
And so does the entire 2025 season, in which a Chiefs team after three consecutive Super Bowl appearances suddenly finds itself with the heartbreaking, shocking question, "How did that happen?"6-7 records.
Those who were around Kelest on Sunday night may have known he wanted to raise.The complaint complained that Thatton came to hit him on the shoulder before I left.Userger Trent McDife - The team leader who will be opening SyporExex says that the floor is tetable and gives an amount of encouragement before entering the door.
All this painted a very different picture of the Chiefs dressing room this season.There was already disappointment.frustrationBut it all quickly turned into a belief that it wasn't too late for the team to revive things.
However, Kelce's emotions here showed a change after Sunday's loss.
That's at least an acceptance — if nothing else, this team doesn't control its four-game-in-four destiny.
Here's the Math: The Athletics Playoff simulator gives a 16 percent chance to make the postseason, though that jumps to 53 percent if it wins the Final Four.
But still... K. needs a perfect stretch run and the other two teams fall down the stretch as the football gods smile.
It's certainly not an unfamiliar situation for the Chiefs, who have won three straight Super Bowls and seven straight AFC Championship Games, ending their nine-year run as AFC West champions on Sunday.
"You get late in the season," Patrick Mahomes said of the leaders QB, "and you don't get those opportunities."
Kelley declined two interview requests after this.Rasehe rice, which is cut from the fourth-bottom rice in the fourth quarter
Mahomes said he wouldn't hesitate to trust each of his players in the future, even after Sunday's on-field losses.
"I'm going to go to these guys in big moments," Mahomes said."These guys have played in Super Bowls. They've played in AFC Championship Games. So obviously it didn't go our way today. I have a lot to do with that myself."
Whether he meant it or not, Mahomes has ushered in a confusing time for Chiefs.
How, exactly, has a team built on Super Bowl rings suddenly forgotten how to play in close games?Or struggling to play in the biggest moments after going 12-0 in one-score games just a season ago?
The strange pattern continued Sunday, where the Chiefs failed to capitalize on multiple chances to win a game tied at 10 going into the fourth quarter.
"And Mohammed said," "And this year we are not satisfied."
Four losses for the Texs defenders!
We we-nbc
Stream @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/22Lk93WzxL — NFL (@NFL) December 8, 2025
Mahmoud must have suffered more, battling a left knee injury that added to several turnovers.Afterward, Mahomes crawled with the same knees in the locker, trying to provide short-term relief.
There are other obstacles as well.The boss went down three men in the work they did, then they lost the reserve, leaving Morris on a serious injury with a knee injury.Morris did not return and was in the locker room on crutches after the match.
This all leaves Mahomes trying to run much of the offense on his own.
So he ran away.a lot of.He ran seven times for 59 yards, nearly twice as much as the Chiefs' other rusher.
But he was sent again.More information.It turned out to be a counter-attack by Kelse and Rice, who finished the game.
"He's got games 99 percent of the time," Mahomes said of Kelce."And I want to give him more chances with the ball, maybe more in his body."
Boble Kellce really remembers the week 2 game against Philadelphia, when he once again pushed the footprint to the Eagles Defense in the 20th zone of KC.home.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid stood behind Kelce and Rice after their scrimmages on Sunday.
"The ball went through their hands. It happens," Reid said."But those guys are good players."
The mistake - and the continuation of this mistake in the short term - the long mistake - and only one added to the 2025 narrative that is confusing at best.
This is the fall of the season that took place during the Chiefs tile names.They will now be out of the playoff race if they lose at home to the Los Angeles Chargers next week.
Mahomes was convinced of that much later: His guys weren't going to give up.
“No matter what happens the rest of the season, we're going to give everything we have in every moment and give ourselves the best opportunity to go out there and run,” Mahomes said.
That does not protect the players in the trees from facing the likely inevitable this season on Sunday.
For Kelce, it probably meant thinking about whether he would do it for another season.Kelce's contract expires at the end of this season and he has not yet said if he will return to football for a 14th season in 2026.
Maybe that's what was on his mind in a smug Chiefs locker room as he hung his head at 10:56 p.m., still reeling from his team's latest loss.
One thing's for sure: Kelce had no idea the 2025 season would play out this way.Even if his quarterback promises not to let anyone give up on their dreams this season, at least not yet.
“I know one thing,” Mahomes said about Kelce.“He's going to give everything he has for the rest of the season to give us a chance to make the playoffs.”
