Chiefs staffer says theory of KC benefitting from missing playoffs is misguided
Confetti fell at Lumen Field in Seattle on Sunday following the Seahawks’ 31-27 win over the Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
Earlier in the day, the Patriots took advantage of Broncos coach Sean Payton’s questionable call and won the AFC Championship Game. It was the first time since 2018 that the Chiefs weren’t in the AFC title game.
Since Patrick Mahomes became the Chiefs’ starting quarterback in 2018, they have played in 21 postseason games. After the Chiefs’ 2025 season crashed to earth, and they missed the playoffs, there was talk of how the players and coaches are likely exhausted from playing more than an extra season in those seven years.
A little rest might actually be good for the guys, right?
The answer is a resounding no. Or so says Allen Wright, the Chiefs’ director of equipment. Watching the postseason hasn’t been fun, and he made that point in a social-media post.
“People on the outside say, ‘A break would be nice,’” Wright wrote in an X post.
“That’s easy to say when you’re not wired this way. Seven straight years of grinding an extra month because you were in the AFC Championship or the Super Bowl — that wasn’t burnout. That was purpose. Watching these games today, sitting at home while someone else’s season is still alive, hits different. You don’t miss the hours — you miss what’s at stake.
“You don’t miss the stress — you miss the purpose.
“Is it July yet.”
In another post, he wrote: “Confetti isn’t the reward. The process is.”
This story was originally published January 26, 2026 at 11:55 AM.
