Andy Reid offered a blunt assessment of the Kansas City Chiefs‘ locker room after their NFL Playoff hopes faded and Patrick Mahomes suffered a devastating injury, revealing a team emotionally drained as a decade of dominance abruptly gave way to uncertainty.

Kansas City‘s 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers dropped the Chiefs to 6-8 and officially ended their postseason chances, snapping ten straight playoff appearances and marking the franchise’s first December collapse since 2014.

“I’m not happy about it. Neither is anybody here,” Reid said. “We strive for excellence. We try to do that every year. Things happen, though, in this league. There’s a lot of parity, and sometimes you end up on the short end of it…”

The defeat capped a brutal stretch that saw Kansas City lose five of six games, a stunning fall for a team that reached five Super Bowls in six seasons and lifted three Lombardi Trophies.

Inside the locker room, Reid said the emotional toll was obvious, as the team will watch the 2026 Super Bowl on their television sets after harboring dreams of avenging their defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

“The guys are down,” Reid continued. “They busted their butt to win the game, and I wouldn’t expect anything less. So, you know, it’s not a great feeling.”

Before Sunday, the Chiefs were already out of the AFC West race but NFL Wild Card hopes remained – even if they were marginal. However, more injuries and missed opportunities finally led to a situation where not even Mahomes could rescue Kansas City.

Did a weak offensive line cause Mahomes’ ACL injury?

What caused Patrick Mahomes‘ ACL injury is now a central question, and the debate seems to be focusing on the offensive line. Even before he went down, this version of the Chiefs looked fundamentally broken when it came to stopping rival defenses.

Advanced metrics painted a kinder picture than the standings, but Kansas City produced just one above-average offensive showing in its last six games, in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The unit showed no real signs of improvement from their 2024 struggles.

While there is no single obvious flaw like the wide receiver drop issues of 2023, the offense steadily declined after a brief midseason surge, leaving Mahomes to compensate as structure and consistency eroded around him.

The Chiefs have found themselves in 19 one-score games since the start of last season, a situation that means their quarterback cannot rest during garbage time and is constantly working to try to score a win.

Often that involves scrambling, putting more energy and force through his legs due to his elite skill in this aspect. But historically that tactic was deployed selectively, most often in the postseason, when games mattered most and the physical toll could be managed.

Before 2025, Mahomes averaged 2.5 scrambles per game in the regular season, rising to 3.3 in the NFL Playoffs, where timely runs helped fuel major wins over teams like the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles.

This season, that number jumped to 3.8 scrambles per game, including the 12-yard run that accounted for Kansas City‘s only touchdown Sunday, many of them coming under pressure in crowded spaces.

Those scrambles increasingly ended with contact, as Mahomes fought for necessary yards behind a struggling line, absorbing hits because the offense needed every possible inch to stay alive.

Including sacks and knockdowns, Mahomes was hit 153 times through 14 games, a career high and second only to Justin Herbert, far exceeding his average of 117.6 hits over prior seasons.

Over the past two years, Mahomes has taken roughly 27 percent more hits than earlier in his career, and while causation is impossible to prove, that workload made injury feel increasingly inevitable.

The offensive line situation only worsened as Kansas City lost its top four tackles, forcing inexperienced replacements into critical roles and leaving Mahomes exposed in what General Manager Brett Veach tried desperately to avoid.