The Kansas City Chiefs’ season hit another low on Sunday when they lost 22-19 to their divisional rivals, the Denver Broncos. This loss has pushed Patrick Mahomes and company to 5-5, dealing a heavy blow to their playoff hopes.
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But what makes this collapse even more alarming is how familiar this roster looks. This is essentially the same group that went 15-2 last year, made their third straight Super Bowl appearance, and dominated the AFC with consistent late-game wins. Now, they seem stuck in mediocrity, suddenly unable to win in the tightest of contests.
Fans and analysts have naturally spent the last few days trying to decode the Chiefs’ decline. And the biggest point of confusion has been simple: How did the Chiefs get worse when almost nothing changed?
In fact, when you look at their current injury situation, their struggles become even more puzzling. The Chiefs are relatively healthy compared to the rest of the league and especially vs. their Week 12 opponent, the Colts.
Indianapolis (8-2) is missing starters at DE (Tyquan Lewis, Samson Ebukam), WR (Anthony Gould), safety (Daniel Scott), a rotational LB (Jaylon Carlies), and their backup quarterback. They also have over ten players on injured reserve.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, enter Week 12 with far fewer concerns, mostly depth players on IR and only a couple of pending evaluations for Isiah Pacheco and Kingsley Suamataia.
So if injuries aren’t the excuse… what is? Well, according to NFL analyst Peter Schrager, the answer is staring everyone in the face:
“There were 12 and 0 in one-score games last year. They’re 0 and 5 in one-score games this year,” he said. For Schrager, the Chiefs’ downfall is simply about failing at the “little things” that once made them unbeatable.
For last week’s loss against Denver, the ESPN analyst pointed directly to the special teams meltdown, a unit that, per Schrager, rarely falters under coordinator Dave Toub.
“Their special teams was a disaster,” he said, highlighting Marvin Mims’ 70-yard punt return and the blocked extra point that derailed Kansas City late. “This doesn’t happen to a Dave Toub special teams unit,” Schrager added, stressing how uncharacteristic it was.
Then came the penalties, ten of them for 69 yards, something the analyst insisted simply does not happen with an Andy Reid team, especially off a bye week. “That is not Chiefs football under Andy Reid,” he said.
After piling up the evidence, Schrager then went and stated the obvious: The roster is the same, but they are not winning the details anymore.
“[The Chiefs] were always better than you at the little things, special teams and penalties. Yesterday, their specials teams was a disaster.”@PSchrags speaks on why the Chiefs have been 0-5 in one score games this season. pic.twitter.com/reqKzrGhLR
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) November 17, 2025
And this is perhaps not the only uncomfortable truth lurking in the background for Patrick Mahomes and company. The Chiefs’ roster may technically resemble last year’s version, but the pieces they added to replace key departures haven’t lived up to expectations.
For instance, they traded away Joe Thuney, their most reliable and versatile lineman, and replaced him with a rotation of Mike Caliendo and Kingsley Suamataia at left guard.
They also tried to patch the left tackle spot with free-agent Jaylon Moore and first-round rookie Josh Simmons after Suamataia struggled there early. And as we can see clearly, these changes haven’t clicked.
Even their wide receiver solutions, consisting of Marquise Brown, Xavier Worthy, and Rashee Rice, haven’t created the explosive offense fans expected.
So while Schrager is right about the little things, the Chiefs’ regression also seemingly traces back to a stagnant offseason and underwhelming replacements at critical positions.
All in all, the Chiefs staying the same while the rest of the league didn’t is perhaps why they are in this mess today. And unless they find answers soon, their playoff window this season may also be slipping away.
