For the first time since 2014, the NFL playoffs will not feature Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs. This has brought widespread panic among Chiefs Kingdom, served as the lead subject on almost every sports television and radio show for days, and caused fans and analysts alike to take a magnifying glass to the entirety of the 2025 season to see where it all fell apart.
No matter what people want to use as an excuse—scheme, play-calling, personnel—there are a few key moments in a few big games that would eventually lead to the losses that ultimately kept the Chiefs from hosting the AFC Championship Game or even traveling for a playoff game for the first time since Patrick Mahomes became the starter.