With NFL playoffs out of reach, what will keep Chiefs motivated in final weeks?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs must win remaining three games to preserve streak of finishing above .500
- Playoff elimination ends 10-year streak; past franchise records remain intact
- Patrick Mahomes suffered a knee injury; Gardner Minshew would assume starting role
Chris Jones wasn’t certain about the Chiefs’ playoff picture after the team’s 16-13 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
When told the Chiefs were eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 2014 — two years before he was drafted by Kansas City — the 31-year-old Jones spoke to the motivation he’ll feel with three games remaining.
“Sometimes it doesn’t go the way you plan for it to go,” he said. “Just because last year’s team didn’t make it to the Super Bowl, that doesn’t guarantee success.
“We’ve got three more games. It’s important to finish strong and play with pride.”
The Chiefs have games remaining at the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, home to the Denver Broncos on Christmas night, and a Week 18 finale at the Las Vegas Raiders.
“Yeah, it (stinks),” center Creed Humphrey said. “But we have three games left.
“You can take it one of two ways: You can mope around and cry about it, or you can come in ready to work and get ready for these next few weeks. I think we have the guys who are going to come in and be ready for the next three weeks.”
What’s left for the Chiefs, who fell to 6-8 on Sunday? They will have to sweep those games to continue a streak of finishing above .500. That run started in 2013, head coach Andy Reid’s first season in Kansas City.
The loss to the Chargers, plus other results, ended the Chiefs’ run of 10 straight years in the postseason. Only the Tom Brady-New England Patriots from 2009-19 (11 years) have a longer streak in NFL history.
In that decade of consecutive playoff appearances, the Chiefs had the NFL’s best record, entering this year with 22 more victories than the next teams, the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Chiefs have the most playoff appearances and victories.
Reid has coached more playoffs games (45) than anybody in NFL history. His teams, 14 with the Philadelphia Eagles and this is his 13th season in Kansas City, have appeared in the postseason 20 times.
But Reid and the Chiefs won’t be adding to the lists this year.
“We have to take care of business the next few games,” Reid said.
The Chiefs will do that without star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, who suffered a left-knee injury in the final minutes of Sunday’s defeat. He’s done for the remainder of the 2025 season, and reserve Gardner Minshew becomes the Chiefs’ starting QB.
This story was originally published December 14, 2025 at 5:47 PM.