Chiefs fans bring sky-high hopes to 2025 season. Who are their players to watch?
A lot of Chiefs fans at Power and Light District’s KC Live! Block had high hopes for the season.
One loss isn’t going to stop that.
The Chiefs lost their opening game of the 2025 NFL season to AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers 27-21 on Friday, Sept. 5, in São Paulo. The party got started around 4 p.m. in the downtown Kansas City entertainment center, where fans shared their excitement and hopes for the new season.
Many predicted the Chiefs starting off their Super Bowl LX campaign with a victory, but they’ll have wait another week to see the team pick up its first win of the year. Here’s what fans said they were looking forward to watching this season.
A pair of Chiefs rookies on the watchlist
While Chiefs rookie wide receiver Jalen Royals didn’t suit up for the game in Brazil due to injury, Springfield native Taylor Garrison said he’s excited to watch him on the field very soon.
Royals gained hype within the Chiefs fandom after having an impressive training camp, which saw him line up with the first-team offense quite a bit in St. Joseph. The 6 foot, 195-pound wideout from Utah State should be able to help with Kansas City’s deep pass attack, Garrison said, now that fellow receiver Xavier Worthy could be out for some time with a shoulder injury.
Wide receiver Rashee Rice is also out for the first six games of the season for his role in a multi-vehicle crash in March 2024.
“They talked about it last year, bringing back the deep ball and turning it into more an air show, and it really didn’t turn out that way due to a couple of injuries,” Garrison said. “In general, I think we’re going to get more air time, especially after we get Rashee Rice back.”
Fans saw a glimmer of the deep ball on two passes: Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes found wide receiver Tyquan Thornton for a 38-yard catch in the second quarter, and he later threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce in the fourth quarter.
Kansas City native Sean Gleason said he’d have his eyes on Thornton this season, noting the good connection he had with Mahomes in the preseason.
A ‘bounce-back’ year for Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes finished with career lows in touchdowns and passing yards in 2024, throwing for 3,928 yards and 26 touchdowns on his way to a third-straight Super Bowl appearance. Fans, like Kansas City native Tyrone Robinson, believe it’s revenge season for the eight-year superstar quarterback.
Gleason also said that if rookie left tackle Josh Simmons can help guard an “angry Mahomes,” it’s back to the Showtime offense fans were accustomed to in 2018-2022.
“He’s going to bounce back this year,” Robinson said. “He’s mad at everybody that’s talking down on him and he’s about to show them who he really is.”
Robinson might’ve been onto something. After a slow first half for the offense, Mahomes pulled out his trademark Mahomes Magic to get the team back on track and come within a possession of taking the lead in the fourth quarter.
The quarterback threw for 258 yards and a touchdown, with his longest pass going for 49 yards to wide receiver Hollywood Brown late in the fourth quarter. He also led the team in rushing with 57 yards and a touchdown.
Season-long record predicitions
The Chiefs once again play a first-place schedule, and the difficulty doesn’t let up. They have a Super Bowl LIX rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles set for 3:25 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. After that, they play the New York Giants on Sunday, Sept. 21 on the road, and then come back to Kansas City for a clash with the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Sept. 28.
Fans who spoke to The Star didn’t have the game against the Chargers marked as one of the Chiefs’ few losses this season. Here’s what they predicted the team’s end of season record to be:
- Tyrone Robinson: 17-0. “Undefeated,” he said.
- Taylor Garrison: 14-3
- Sean Gleason: 14-3. He said the ceiling for the team is 15-2 since in an ideal world, the Chiefs would rest starters late in the season.
- Jilian Powell: 14-3, with a rough patch that she said the team always comes back from.
- Thomas Gaye: 14-3. The Kansas City native wanted to predict an undefeated season, but wanted to be realistic.
- Chris Brown: Dressed as coach Andy Reid, he said the team would finish 13-4.
- Natalie Schultz: 15-2 or 14-3, with one of those losses coming at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, which she says always happens in the regular season
This story was originally published September 6, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
