“In this league, you’re either reloading or you’re roadkill.” The words of a seasoned NFL coach echo like a warning siren in Kansas City, where Patrick Mahomes—football’s Houdini—faces his greatest challenge to date: surviving an offseason that’s left his kingdom wobbling.
The Chiefs, once the NFL’s glittering crown jewel, now stumble into 2025 with more questions directed to them than a rookie at combine interviews. Even as the Chiefs sit on a 15–2 run in a 16-game season—3,928 passing yds, 26 TDs, 11 INTs, 67.5% completions, a 93.5 passer rating, and Mahomes even sneaking in 307 rsh yds with 2 TDs—there’s a storm brewing beyond those sleek stat lines.
The Mahomes offseason blitz that never came
Jason McIntyre, Fox Sports’ resident provocateur, didn’t mince words on The Herd. “Alright, I’m gonna pivot to the Kansas City Chiefs—a team I have a tumultuous relationship with. Let’s just say that. Here’s how it always works: I say something hot about the Chiefs—something I genuinely believe—and their fanbase comes out in full force. They yell at me, they laugh at me when the Chiefs win. But here’s the funny thing… I haven’t heard from a single one of them since the Eagles flattened Kansas City in the Super Bowl. Silence. Complete radio silence.”
His beef? A front office that’s treated roster upgrades like a toddler avoids broccoli. “Now we’ve had a few NFL guys on this week—Adam Turnoff, Chris ‘The Bear’ Felica—talking about gambling. And last night the wheels started turning as I dug into this Chiefs offseason. Let me start here: the offseason is when you improve your roster, right? You plug holes, fix issues. That’s the whole point. Well, have you guys seen what the Kansas City Chiefs have done this offseason? They haven’t done a damn thing.”
Let’s rewind. Last season, Mahomes danced for his life behind an O-line held together by duct tape and Thuney’s grit.
“Their offensive line—an absolute train wreck in the Super Bowl—still a train wreck. And then they go and trade Joe Thuney. Remember him? A guard they moved outside out of desperation. He actually turned into their best left tackle late in the season—and now he’s in Chicago. Gone.”
So, who’s protecting QB1 now? “Jaylon Moore. A fifth-rounder out of Western Michigan. Backup in San Francisco. He’s been sitting behind Trent Williams—which is understandable, Trent’s one of the best in the league—but Moore had five starts last season. That’s it. And now he’s your new left tackle protecting Mahomes?”
It’s a Squid Game audition all over again.
McIntyre didn’t hold back: “This is how desperate the Chiefs were last year—they tried four different guys at left tackle. It was musical chairs until Thuney stabilized things a bit. And now that guy’s gone. That’s their biggest issue, and they’ve done nothing to fix it.”
Then there’s Travis Kelce. The man who turned tight end into performance art is now closer to AARP discounts than his prime.
“And listen, I love Travis Kelce. My family’s a big Taylor Swift household. We went to the concert. I like Kelce—Hall of Famer. But he’s coming off the worst season of his career. He turns 36 in October. Only three touchdown catches last year—a career low. His production? It’s dropping like a stock on a bad Monday.”
Credits: Imago
And in the playoffs? “Do you remember his last three postseason games? He was a ghost. Completely invisible. Great in the opener against Houston—then nothing. He’s Mahomes’ safety valve, and he was a non-factor.”
As for Rashee Rice? “Now I know what you’re thinking—‘We’re getting Rashee Rice back.’ Alright… maybe. Let’s see if he even plays. We’ll wait to see how long the suspension is, if he stays out of trouble over the next five months.”
When Luck Isn’t a Strategy
Here’s where stats slap harder than a Ray Lewis tackle: “Last year the Chiefs went 11-0 in one-score games. That’s insane. You don’t see that. And get this: they had the worst point differential of any 15-win team in NFL history. Think about that for a second.” He reminds us that such razor-thin wins come with the worst point differential ever for any 15-win team in NFL history.
Translation? They weren’t dominating; they were merely surviving. “Chargers and Broncos—teams that finished behind them—had better point differentials. What does that tell you? They’re not dominating anyone anymore. They don’t have the horses.”
And while Mahomes and Reid may be the best QB-coach pairing since Brady and Belichick, McIntyre warns, “Even that only gets you so far. If you’ve ever gambled, you know one-score games flip from year to year. The Broncos went 1-6 in one-score games last year. Flip that to 4-3 next season? That’s three extra wins. Suddenly, they’re in the mix.”
His hot take? “I actually think the Chargers are gonna win that division this year.” Now imagine KC falls to 4-7 in one-score games… That’s a massive drop. Suddenly, you’re looking at a team that’s winning eight or nine games.”
Amid fierce competition—from Tennessee’s Cam Ward magic to the resurgence of the Patriots under Mike Vrabel, and the Raiders with a fresh voice in Pete Carrol, the Chiefs’ schedule is a brutalist’s dream. “At home? Ravens. Lions. Texans. Colts. Eagles. Commanders. That’s a brutal home slate—even at Arrowhead… On the road, sure, they’ve got some cupcakes—Cowboys, Jags, Giants. They should clean those up. But that Buffalo game looms large. You know that’s going to be a war.”
Oh, and playoff fatigue? It’s real. “Over the last three years, the Chiefs have played ten playoff games. That’s more than half another season. We see this in the NBA all the time—teams make deep runs for 2–3 straight years, then the following year, the bodies break down. The legs go. It’s hard to maintain that level.”
Football, at its core, is pigskin poetry. Mahomes’ no-look passes, Kelce’s end-zone shimmies—they’re verses in a ballad Kansas City’s sung for years. But even epics fade. The Chiefs’ 2025 tale? It’s a sonnet missing rhymes, a jazz riff offbeat.
So McIntyre isn’t hedging: “I’m saying it now—it’s mid-April, we haven’t even hit the draft yet, and I’m making the call: The Kansas City Chiefs will not make the playoffs next season… I’m not saying they’re falling off a cliff to six or seven wins. But nine wins? Absolutely. That’s where I see them.”
Mahomes, the GOAT-in-waiting, thrives when doubted. Remember 2020? They said he’d crumble without Tyreek. He went on to bag the MVP. Now, with “Swifty” vibes gone and critics circling, maybe he’ll spin magic again. But as McIntyre warned us early on, “You don’t bet against Mahomes… but you don’t bet against math either.”
In KC, the air smells of burnt ends and anxiety. The kingdom’s uneasy. But if anyone can turn desperation into confetti, it’s the guy wearing 15. As Ted Lasso once quipped, ‘Believe.’ Even when the odds feel heavier than a lineman’s lunch order.
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