The Kansas City Chiefs’ postseason hopes are done, and so is Patrick Mahomes’ season.
Mahomes suffered an injury to his left knee in the final two minutes of Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, and the injury will keep Mahomes out for the remainder of the year.
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The Chiefs announced after Sunday’s game that Mahomes had suffered a torn ACL in his left knee, and said they are exploring surgical options. Further specifics on his recovery, or a timeline for his return, are not yet known.
Mahomes, who had been dealing with injury concerns related to the knee all season, apparently hyperextended the knee as he attempted to lead the Chiefs to a late comeback win. He would lay on the turf at Arrowhead Stadium for several minutes as teammates knelt nearby, and then was helped to the locker room.
Backup quarterback Gardner Minshew entered the game having thrown no passes all season, and quickly threw a game-ending interception.
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Afterward, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said the injury “didn’t look good.” With the loss to the Chargers eliminating the Chiefs from the playoffs for the first time since 2014, there was no pressing need to bring Mahomes back this season, regardless of the extent of the injury.
Mahomes addressed the injury in a social media post on Sunday afternoon, and vowed to return.
The Chiefs struggled all season long with injuries, and Mahomes himself was far from his MVP-winning, Super Bowl-level best. His 63.1 completion percentage was the lowest of his career as a starter. His 22 touchdowns are the fewest of his career, albeit with three games still to play. The 2025 season also marked his worst in Passer Rating and second-worst in Quarterback Rating of his career.
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Mahomes is in the sixth year of a 10-year, $450 million contract. He last won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award in 2022, and placed in the top 10 the last two seasons. Under Mahomes’ leadership, the Chiefs had reached the AFC championship in all seven of his years as a starter, playing in five Super Bowls and winning three.
But Sunday’s loss, the team’s third straight, officially knocked them out of the playoffs for the first time since 2014. Minshew will presumably lead the Chiefs the rest of the way this season, but it’s unclear who will start in Mahomes’ place next fall assuming he’s still recovering from his upcoming surgery.
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While Mahomes’ NFL career is far from over, the dominant stretch the Chiefs have been on over the last near-decade has now come to an end.
