Story byChiefs playoff picture: Are they eliminated from the postseason?Jack McKessy, USA TODAYThu, December 25, 2025 at 2:04 PM UTC·3 min readSince Patrick Mahomes took over as the starting quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018, his team never got eliminated from the playoffs before the AFC championship game. Until this year. For the first time since 2014, Kansas City will not only miss the conference title game, it won't even be in the playoffs. The Chiefs were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention in Week 15 with their loss to the Los Angeles Chargers – and several other results around the league not swinging their way. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Chiefs also lost Mahomes for the season in that Week 15 loss.