By the Kansas City Chiefs' standards, 2025 has been a terrible season so far. After 11 weeks, the team is an average 5-5, third in the AFC West, and outside of the current playoff picture. For as rough as the year has been, all of Kansas City’s goals are still attainable. However, a loss on Sunday to the Indianapolis Colts would send the franchise to a low it hasn’t seen in a while.
The Chiefs are somehow the favorites against the 8-2 Colts, but a loss to Indy would send them to 5-6. If that happens, it would be the first time Kansas City has a losing record after Week 12 since the 2012 season. The Chiefs haven’t even been a .500 team post Week 12 since Patrick Mahomes took over. So not only would a loss on Sunday make the Chiefs' path to the playoffs tougher, it would send the franchise to a low it hasn’t been to in a while.
Chiefs losing to Colts would send Kansas City to a low it hasn’t seen in over a decade
The last time Kansas City was under .500 after 12 weeks of a season was in 2012. Romeo Crennel was the head coach, and the team was 1-10 after Week 12. The Chiefs went on to finish the year with a 2-14 record, and Andy Reid was hired during the offseason. That was Kansas City’s last losing season, and again, the last time they had a losing record after Week 12.
Since Reid took over after that season, the Chiefs have made the playoffs in 11 of 12 seasons. The only time the Reid-led Chiefs didn’t reach double digit wins or the playoffs was in 2014, the head coach’s second year. Still, Kansas City finished the year with a 9-7 record, and were 7-4 after Week 12.
A loss on Sunday to Indianapolis wouldn’t knock the Chiefs out the playoff race, or guarantee them a losing season. However, it would be a clear sign that Kansas City is struggling to figure things out in a way that it hasn’t had to in a long time. This late in the season, the Chiefs have either found their groove, or they have already banked enough wins that it’s easy to overlook things. Neither is the case this year, and that's why Sunday is a must-win for Kansas City.