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Amazon just got a lump of coal for Christmas, courtesy of the Chiefs.
Kansas City, now 6–8, was officially eliminated from the 2025 National Football League playoffs after falling Sunday to the Chargers, 16–13, its fifth loss in the last six games. The Chiefs will be out of the postseason for the first time since 2014, a dynasty-level run that has included three Super Bowl wins, two other conference titles, and seven straight trips to the American Football Conference championship game. The playoff run was the second-longest in modern league history behind the 2009–19 Patriots.
Additionally, star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who arrived in Kansas City two years after the playoff run began, tore an anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee late in the Chargers game. He is done for the rest of this season, and much of the 2026 campaign is also potentially in doubt. The Chiefs said late Sunday that they and Mahomes are exploring surgical options.
“Don’t know why this had to happen,” Mahomes said. “And not going to lie it hurts. But all we can do now is trust in God and attack every single day over and over again. Thank you Chiefs Kingdom for always supporting me and for everyone who has reached out and sent prayers. I will be back stronger than ever.”
What Could’ve Been
The loss diminishes the luster for an upcoming Christmas night game between the Chiefs and division rival Broncos. The game will be the first on the holiday for Amazon, adding to the streaming giant’s recent success on Black Friday, and then a record-setting audience on Thursday Night Football for a game between the Cowboys and Lions. The primetime Christmas game will be the first in a newly expanded footprint for the league on Christmas.
Denver will still be pushing for playoff seeding, but that game is no longer what Amazon and the NFL hoped it would be when it was first unveiled in May. Netflix also returns on Christmas with another doubleheader of their own, beginning the afternoon with a Cowboys–Commanders game, and then one with the Lions and Vikings.
The Chiefs’ fall, however, is both particularly pronounced and potentially impactful, as the team has been involved in four of the NFL’s five most-watched games through Week 13 of the season.
Amazon’s Christmas broadcast with the Chiefs is not eligible for flexible scheduling in league rules, as it’s outside the part of the season in which changes to the streamer’s lineup could be made, and too close to the game itself. A change in a holiday showcase like this would be even further outside NFL norms.
Weeks in the Making
Even before the Chargers game, the situation had quickly grown bleak in Kansas City as a series of losses to teams including the Bills, Broncos, Cowboys, and Texans in recent weeks sullied what had been a strong comeback from an 0-2 start.
Kansas City is the NFL’s most-watched team, and was part of a Thanksgiving Day clash against the Cowboys that averaged 57.2 million viewers and set a league record for the regular season. At that point, though, both teams remained in playoff contention.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, are in the midst of a high-stakes deliberation regarding their facility future. The team is weighing whether to renovate its current home, Arrowhead Stadium, or build a new stadium in either Missouri or neighboring Kansas.
There are also heavy financial and roster decisions coming for the Chiefs. After several years of aggressive spending to retain key players, the team is projected to be more than $34 million over the salary cap for 2026, better than only the Cowboys.
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