The Chiefs' historic one-score game dominance has vanished. Can Mahomes and Reid find a way back to the playoffs despite this stark 0-5 record?
2025 hasn’t been kind to the Kansas City Chiefs. After years of dominating the league, the Chiefs have suddenly found themselves fighting to even make the playoffs this year. At a 5-5 record heading into Week 12, Kansas City is on the outside looking in for the first time in a decade.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon has picked out one defining stat of the 2025 season for the Chiefs in his newest article: 0-5. That’s the Chiefs’ record in one-score games this season. It’s been strange to watch this season, as Kansas City has been known to be the team in the league that has been dominant in such games. Before these last five losses in one-score games, the Chiefs had won their last 17.
It’s almost as if Kansas City used up all of its luck last season, in which several games went its way when it mattered most. Now, that same magic seems to have been transferred to its division rivals, the Denver Broncos.
As a result, head coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs are currently in third place in the AFC West, behind the Broncos and the Los Angeles Chargers. Instead of cruising into the postseason like in years past, the Chiefs will need to wrestle their way into the Wild Card round.
Another concerning statistic that has defined the Chiefs this season is their record against winning teams: 1-5. Their only win against a team currently above .500 came in Week 6 against the Detroit Lions. It kicked off a dominant three-game stretch that has since been shattered.
It won’t exactly get any easier for the Chiefs in the final weeks of the season. They’ll go up against four teams above .500 in the Indianapolis Colts, the Houston Texans, and the Broncos and Chargers once more.
The Chiefs aren’t exactly in a favorable position this far into the season, but despite it all not going their way, they still find themselves well within reach of the playoffs. If there’s any team that could fight its way back into the top teams in the AFC, it would be the Chiefs. With the season on the line in the coming weeks, it’s hard to imagine Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes settling for anything but winning football.