One of the greatest runs in NFL lore has officially come to its end.
The Kansas City Chiefs have officially been eliminated from postseason contention following their loss Sunday to the Los Angeles Chargers, bringing to a conclusion a streak of 10 straight playoff berths -- the second-longest postseason run in NFL history. Gone with the postseason streak is the Chiefs' run of seven consecutive appearances in the AFC Championship Game -- also the second-longest in league chronicle.
Wins by the Buffalo Bills (at New England), Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. Jets) and Houston Texans (vs. Cardinals) on Sunday in addition to Kansas City's loss ousted the Chiefs from playoff contention.
The Chiefs officially were eliminated when Gardner Minshew, who came on in the game's final drive in relief of an injured Patrick Mahomes, threw an interception to seal the three-point loss with K.C. in position to potentially tie the game on a long field goal. Mahomes suffered an apparent left knee injury following the two-minute warning when he took a hard hit and his knee bent awkwardly.
Not since 2014 -- when Kansas City went 9-7 in Andy Reid's second year as the team's head coach -- have the Chiefs missed the postseason.
A week prior when the Chiefs lost to the Houston Texans, their streak of nine straight AFC West division titles -- the second-longest division-winning streak in NFL history -- was snapped.
It is the close of a truly special chapter in NFL chronicle, one in which the Chiefs and Mahomes became the defining team and player of the league.
For Mahomes, the 2017 NFL Draft's No. 10 overall pick, it will be the first postseason of his career he will not participate in. He's been eliminated from postseason contention after having never been been eliminated prior to overtime of the AFC Championship Game in any season of his career as starting QB (since 2018).
Mahomes isn't the only Chief who will experience his first postseason at home. Three-time All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones, three-time Pro Bowl center Creed Humphrey, linebacker Nick Bolton and defensive end George Karlaftis and on and on have all won multiple Super Bowls and never had a January with an empty locker. That all changes following Sunday's loss to the Chargers.
Just how astounding the Chiefs' run of glory has been can now perhaps be taken in after its terminus.
Among the streaks that officially came to a close on a Week 15 Sunday afternoon:
- The Chiefs were one of just four teams ever to advance to three straight Super Bowls.
- Kansas City's seven consecutive conference championship appearances is the second-longest streak in the Super Bowl era (behind only the 2011-18 Patriots' eight straight).
- Mahomes' seven straight title game appearances is second all time behind only Tom Brady's eight.
- K.C.'s 10 consecutive playoff berths is behind only Brady and the Patriots' 11 in a row from 2009-2019.
- The Chiefs had won a playoff game in seven consecutive seasons -- again, second only to the Patriots' eight straight such postseasons from 2011-2018.
Just what follows for the Chiefs will now be the quandary that hangs over the franchise and the NFL landscape, for that matter, this offseason.
Is future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce, one of the biggest stars in in the league, calling it a career after weighing his future last year and returning for such a disappointing campaign?
Will the 67-year-old Reid, whose 28 playoff wins will remain second behind Bill Belichick (31), just as his six conference championship wins will, be back? Reid has been inundated by retirement questions in each of the team's past two Super Bowl runs. It's likely they'll be asked even more now.
For a decade, the Chiefs were a postseason constant. For the past seven seasons, they were a fixture in the Super Bowl picture. After a Week 15 Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs' run to glory has reached the finish line.
