Chiefs, Travis Kelce Won’t Make Playoffs or Super Bowl After Losing Must-Win Game

The Kansas City Chiefs are officially out of playoff contention.

Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and co. will not be competing in the 2025-26 NFL postseason after their loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Dec. 14.

The Chiefs started out well with a touchdown early in the first quarter, and their chances looked promising going into halftime with the score at 13-3 going into halftime, thanks to two field goals to the Chargers’ one.

But the Justin Herbert-led team came out hard in the second half, snagging a touchdown and two field goals to put them up 16-13 going into the final quarter. The Chiefs’ best shot to grab the lead away came early in the fourth quarter when they seemed poised to score a touchdown, only for Mahomes to throw an interception at the Chargers’ 17 yard line.

The Chiefs’ final shot at a win came in the last two minutes of the game, but as Mahomes attempted a throw at the Chargers’ 46-yard-line, he appeared to hurt his knee as he was pulled to the ground. The 30-year-old quarterback clutched at his left leg, and players were seen praying as Mahomes was carted off the field. His backup quarterback, Gardner Minshew, then threw an interception to end the game and seal the Chiefs’ fate with a 16-13 loss that definitively put them out of the playoffs.

Kelce’s family, along with fiancée Taylor Swift, came out in full force for what could be the tight end’s last meaningful game of his 13-year NFL career, if he decides to retire after this season. Swift was spotted in his suite alongside her mother Andrea Swift, his mother Donna Kelce and his sister-in-law Kylie Kelce.

Swift and Kylie chatted as they held the Not Gonna Lie podcast host’s four children with husband Jason Kelce: daughters Elliotte Ray, 4, Wyatt Elizabeth, 6, Bennett Llewellyn, 2, and Finnley “Finn” Anne, 8 months.

The Chiefs went into what could be Kelce’s final season in the NFL with big hopes to return to the Super Bowl after losing to the Eagles in New Orleans at the big game a season prior.

Kelce still has time to make his decision about whether or not to return next season, but the tight end’s contract with the team will expire and both he and the Chiefs will have a tough decision to make in the offseason.

In November, Kelce said he wants to give the Chiefs “a good opportunity” to improve their roster in the upcoming offseason by telling them early if he plans to play another season.

“Like, whether they want me back or not, it’s one of those things where I’d like to make that decision before they’ve got to get draft picks and free agency opens up,” Kelce told reporters.

He also referenced his brother Jason’s emotional decision to retire in 2024. “You know, seeing my brother go through it and seeing…just how the league works, the season kind of restarts in April, and I want to give the Chiefs a good opportunity to know whether I come back or not,” he said.

Mahomes, meanwhile, recently told reporters the possibility of Kelce’s retirement has been on his mind this season. “Every season I’ve had with him these last few years, I try to cherish because you never know [if this will be Kelce’s last season],” Mahomes said after their loss on Dec. 7.

“He got himself in great shape this year and he’s played great football,” he added of Kelce.

Mahomes and Kelce have played alongside one another since 2017, when the quarterback was drafted by the Chiefs and joined the team’s longtime tight end on offense. Together, the duo has spearheaded one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the NFL, winning three Super Bowls and appearing in five of the last six — a stretch that lives among the most dominant runs in American sports history.