The Kansas City Chiefs have spent the better part of the last decade walking into stadiums with an air of inevitability. No matter the circumstance or the injury list, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid always found a way to win. But this season, that aura has evaporated.
Advertisement
The Chiefs have neither been able to close out one-score games nor dominate like they were used to doing. And Sunday night’s 20-10 loss to the Houston Texans may truly be a final nail in the coffin for KC this season.
The defeat has pushed them into territory that once felt unthinkable: A 6-7 record; six losses in their last eight, and playoff odds plunging toward 15%. It has not only been a comprehensive unraveling of everything that once defined the Chiefs’ dynasty, but it has also exposed their star QB.
Mahomes completed just 42.8% of his passes against the Texans, and the Chiefs were shut out in the first half. The Texans outgained them 201-98 before halftime. Veteran tight end Travis Kelce dropped the ball that sealed the loss.
And if the numbers weren’t brutal enough, Emmanuel Acho laid out the harshest verbal summary yet of what the Chiefs have become. “The Chiefs are not a good football team [anymore],” he began bluntly on Speakeasy. From there, he dismantled the roster piece by piece with cold details.
“They do not have explosive playmakers on offense,” said Acho, pointing out the reality that Taequann Thornton, a WR3 on most teams, was their best receiver. Kelce “underperformed.” The run game is nonexistent, and the team is depending on a 30-year-old back, Kareem Hunt, who is “five years past his prime,” he added.
On defense, the picture looked just as bleak, according to Acho. “They don’t have enough pass rushers… they don’t have enough depth at the cornerback position,” he said.
When Trent McDuffie leaves the field, “you ain’t really got nobody back there.” And as he pointed out, these warning signs weren’t breaking news either. “Remember last week, McDuffie got cooked by the Cowboys?” he recalled.
The most damning analysis from Acho came when he delved into the implications of this decline. “They are an aging, older, elderly team that no longer has the explosive players on offense… no longer has the depth on defense… no longer has the playmakers out wide,” he stated.
In other words, this isn’t a slump or a burnout. The Chiefs genuinely need a reset.
For Acho, the only reason the Chiefs were being spoken about like contenders was due to their name and history, not performance. “It’s only because they have the name Chiefs that we still talk about them like this,” he argued.
Strip away the rings, the memories, the Mahomes mystique, and we can see the obvious. It is a roster with no speed, no healthy line, no reliable receivers, and no identity. Just “an incredible quarterback and a bunch of guys,” concluded Acho.
“The Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes and a bunch of guys”
– @EmmanuelAcho says the Chiefs just aren’t a good team
WE ARE KICKING OFF THE SPEAKEASY WITH CHIEFS/TEXANS AND MOVING TO SHEDEUR’S PERFORMANCE ➡️ https://t.co/qpYEQ0dWEY pic.twitter.com/9wjUWmjFZG
— Speakeasy (@speakeasytlkshw) December 8, 2025
As things stand, the Chiefs aren’t mathematically eliminated. But their loss vs. Houston exposed every crack, which for many teams would be as demoralizing as it gets.
It will be interesting to see how the Chiefs play out from here on. Will they go all out till the numbers rule them out, or begin preparing for the next season?
