How the Chiefs lost to the Titans — summing up a 2025 season gone wrong
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs dropped fourth straight, fell to 6-9 as injuries emptied key positions.
- Backup quarterbacks rotated; offense failed to sustain drives throughout game.
- Playoff hopes ended; loss boosts draft position and increases calls for change.
The Kansas City Chiefs dropped their fourth straight game on Sunday, a 26-9 loss to the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium.
Kansas City is now 6-9 with two games remaining in the 2025 NFL season.
Here are some immediate observations about KC’s Week 16 defeat:
Turning point: Friday’s injury report tells the story.
In Week 7, after the Chiefs shut out the Raiders 31-0 to improve to 4-3, I joked that the turning point might as well have been the game’s opening coin-toss.
Those were better days.
Sunday’s loss against the Titans truly stemmed from the Chiefs’ personnel, or lack thereof. Headlined by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes — who is already in the thick of his rehab and recovery from a torn ACL — KC also ruled out starting tackles Jawaan Taylor and Jaylon Moore and receiver Rashee Rice ahead of Sunday’s game.
And on defense, the Chiefs took the field without cornerback Trent McDuffie, linebacker Leo Chenal and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi.
On top of already being without Mahomes, backup quarterback Gardner Minshew appeared to suffer a knee injury early in the game. He didn’t exit the action immediately; three straight punts and a safety was the outcome of Kansas City’s first four possessions.
Even at 2-0, it already felt like another long afternoon was unfolding.
The Chiefs looked to gain some energy from third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun, who commanded the offense better than expected. His Mahomes-like rollout and throw to Isiah Pacheco for 31 yards briefly injected life into the offense, but without that long list of other key players, it wasn’t enough — even against a Titans team that came into the game with two wins.
Down 9-6, the Chiefs may have been able to turn the game if they could’ve stopped the Titans’ initial drive of the second half. But that’s when Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward put together his best drive of the game.
And on this day, a 16-6 lead proved insurmountable.
Rapid reaction: Chiefs came in with a point to win but had another poor showing
With the playoffs now out of the question for Kansas City, there had been some thought these final games might function as auditions of young talent for 2026.
In my eyes, that talent includes running back Brashard Smith, receiver Jalen Royals and linebacker Jeff Bassa.
Instead, Kansas City leaned heavily on its healthy veterans — and still came up short. The same problems that have ailed the team all year persisted.
On offense, the Chiefs couldn’t sustain drives, as everything again seemed like a struggle. On defense, while the pressure on Ward was there, the Chiefs showed an inability to finish and get home.
In the special-teams department, Harrison Butker missed a third-quarter field-goal attempt that could have made it a one-possession game. And once again there were too many penalties.
The Chiefs find themselves at a dismal point, but in the grand scheme of things, losing to the Titans will help Kansas City’s draft position.
But as the weeks roll on, the 2025 season is feeling less like a blip and more like a collapse that may demand real change.
Critical stat: Tennessee’s near-perfection in the red zone
The Titans took four trips to the red zone on Sunday, scoring touchdowns on three of them.
This story was originally published December 21, 2025 at 3:17 PM.
