The Chiefs’ final report card is in. One more ‘F’ and it’s on to the 2026 season
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs finish 2025 season 6-11 after six straight losses.
- Offense struggled late: three touchdowns in five games and multiple QB turnovers.
- Defense and special teams showed resilience: key stops, sacks and game-turning plays.
Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson boomed a 60-yard field goal with eight seconds left to give Las Vegas a 14-12 victory over the Chiefs in both teams’ season finale.
For a few late moments in Sunday’s game at Allegiant Stadium, it appeared as if the Chiefs might pull off a season-ending triumph. Instead, coming off their fifth Super Bowl appearance in six years, they conclude the season with a stunning 6-11 record, having lost their final six games.
On the other hand, the Raiders with Sunday’s win ended a 10-game losing streak. They had dropped 11 straight to AFC West opponents.
Here’s our final weekly KC Star of The Game, plus the final report card:
KC STAR OF THE GAME
Linebacker Nick Bolton played with effort and energy throughout the afternoon. He finished with a team high nine tackles, including one for a loss.
The Chiefs’ defense, as has been the case through these final painful weeks of the 2025 season, did enough to win the game.
Next: Here are the Chiefs’ opponents for the 2026 season: Home games vs. Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts. Chiefs will play away games at the: Raiders, Chargers, Broncos, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons.
REPORT CARD
Passing offense: F
Shane Buechele to Hollywood Brown for 51 yards: Finally, the Chiefs showed some offensive punch. That play set up Harrison Butker’s go-ahead field goal with 1:05 remaining.
It had been quite a slog until then. Two fumbles from Chris Oladokun doomed his second career start at QB in place of the injured Patrick Mahomes. Buechele, in his first NFL regular-season game, started the second half and brought more calm to the position.
But no matter who played quarterback over the final six games, the Chiefs’ offense was stunningly poor. In five games since losing to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving, the Chiefs scored three touchdowns. Three. Not more than one in a game, and none in two road games. Some of it can be explained by a rash of key injuries, but that doesn’t complete the picture.
One final note here, and it’s a good one: A 5-yard reception in the third quarter pushed Travis Kelce to 13,000 career receiving yards.
Rushing offense: C
Running back Brashard Smith looked good in his most extensive playing time, gaining 56 yards for 4.7 yards per carry. He should become a bigger piece of the KC offense next season. And Dameon Pierce saw his first action for the Chiefs with four carries.
But the Chiefs’ offense collected a mere 168 yards, their third straight game under 200.
Passing defense: B
The Chiefs made a big play on each of the Raiders’ first three series: Chamarri Conner’s interception and sacks by Chris Jones and Nohl Williams.
Between the two Raiders quarterbacks, Aiden O’Connell had more success than Kenny Pickett, but the Chiefs kept both out of the end zone. Jones added a sack in the second half to finish with two Sunday and a team-best seven for the season.
Rushing defense: B
Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty needed 112 yards for 1,000 this season. But he didn’t get there, finishing with 87 and 3.3 yards per carry.
Jeanty had a couple of double-digit runs but never really broke loose. On one big play in particular, he couldn’t escape Bolton, who wrapped him up for a loss on fourth-and-1. The Chiefs turned that stop into a field-goal drive.
Special teams: A
Great job by Dave Toub’s group.
Ethan Downs, in his first NFL game, forced a fumble on a free-kick coverage. The ball was recovered by Jack Cochrane, leading to one of Harrison Butker’s four field goals.
Bravo to the Chiefs for not falling for a fake punt. Jared Wiley was credited with the tackle, but several Chiefs were in on the stop. Alas, Oladokun lost the first of his two fumbles two snaps later.
Punter Matt Araiza was busy and finished the season with a strong game. And the Raiders apparently didn’t want to give Smith a chance to return one, with their kickoffs going to into the end zone.
This story was originally published January 4, 2026 at 7:04 PM.