The Kansas City Chiefs have been the most dominant NFL team in the past decade, winning five AFC Championships and three Super Bowls. The Chiefs Kingdom, as we know it today, rose in prominence primarily because of the Coach Reid-Patrick Mahomes duo. They created a winning culture in Kansas that had been missing for decades, helped along by TE Travis Kelce.

The Chiefs’ team played dominant football on both ends of the ball. They were led by heavy-hitters like Tyreek Hill, LeSean McCoy, Chris Jones, and Frank Clark, in addition to Mahomes and Kelce. But the 2024 season started exposing certain weaknesses in the Chiefs’ armor, leading to a blowout loss in Super Bowl LIX vs the Eagles. The worsening play on offense and defense, piling injuries, and aging stars lead us to ask, is the Chiefs Kingdom over?

Super Bowl Blowout Loss

The Chiefs won their 2024 AFC Championship game versus the Buffalo Bills with the score: 32–29. This tightly contested game set them up for Super Bowl LIX versus the Eagles, a rematch of Super Bowl LVII. The Chiefs had beaten the Eagles before, so they went into the 2025 Super Bowl confidently.

However, they ran into one big problem: the well-oiled Philadelphia Eagles machine. The NFC Champion went into Super Bowl LIX with an average of 36.3 points scored and 19.3 points conceded in the postseason. The Eagles had one TD drive in the first quarter, before exploding in the second quarter with a pick-6, a field goal, and a passing TD. Mahomes threw two interceptions, indicating a significant disarray in the Chiefs Kingdom.

The Chiefs vs Eagles matchup ended with a result of 40-22 to the Eagles. But this result doesn’t even tell the full story as 16 of the Chiefs’ 22 points came during fourth-quarter garbage time.

Star Falloff

In all three of the Super Bowl-winning regular seasons under Andy Reid’s leadership, Mahomes had 4,000+ passing yards. In fact, he even managed to score 41 passing touchdowns in the 2022 regular season. Moreover, in each of these three seasons, Kelce notched an average of 1,100+ receiving yards with 20+ receiving TDs.

In the 2024 season, though, Mahomes had under 4,000 passing yards, along with 26 TDs and 11 INTs. On the other hand, big man Kelce had only 823 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. This lowered production by the Chiefs’ biggest stars has raised some concerns. Chiefs fans are especially concerned about the future of the dynasty, given that Mahomes is already 30, and Kelce is 36 years old.

Missing the Playoffs

The last time the Kansas City Chiefs missed the playoffs was in the 2014 season, over a decade prior. Under Coach Reid’s guidance and Mahomes’ unshakeable leadership, this team has been a playoff staple. That came to an end with their current, abysmal 2025 season. At the time of writing, the Chiefs have a 6-8 record, and they are officially out of playoff contention.

They find themselves third in the AFC West, after the Denver Broncos and the L.A. Chargers. While Mahomes has done his best to lead the team, with 3,587 yards and 22 TDs in 14 games, it’s not enough. For example, Mahomes threw for 261 yards and 4 TDs versus the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, but the Chiefs still lost.

Kelce is the receiving yards leader with 797 thus far, trailed by Rice with 571 yards. None of the other TEs and WRs have more than 500 yards, and no one on the team has more than 5 receiving TDs.

The rushing situation isn’t any better as Kareem Hunt has 557 rushing yards, the only one above 500. The second in rushing yards and touchdowns on the team is Mahomes, which speaks to the low backfield output.

Mahomes’ Injury

To make it worse, the Chiefs’ defeat against the Chargers in week 15 came with a crushing blow— Mahomes’ injury. In the fourth quarter, with less than two minutes to go, Mahomes was tackled by the DT Hand. This tackle resulted in Mahomes’ knee twisting painfully, which led to an ACL tear.

ACL tears are among the worst professional sports injuries due to their long and unpredictable recovery. While Mahomes is the consummate professional, bouncing back from an ACL tear at 30 years old is no easy feat. That is why the future of the Chiefs Kingdom is in jeopardy.

Summary

While Coach Andy Reid is a football mastermind, there will be limited opportunities to save the dynasty. The Chiefs need to make some big moves in the offseason, replacing Kelce, improving the backfield, and strengthening the secondary. Mahomes is still relatively young in QB terms, but he certainly won’t stick around for a rebuild.

We can never count the Andy Reid-Patrick Mahomes duo, but as it stands right now, the Chiefs Kingdom dominance is ending. Whether these two figure out a way to save it or the team goes through a Man Utd-type transition remains to be seen.