RM MAHOMES IN FREEFALL? Dynasty Chiefs Spiral Into Panic as Relentless Broncos Snatch Control of the AFC West
For nearly a decade, the Kansas City Chiefs ruled the AFC West with an iron grip—Mahomes’ brilliance at the center of an almost mythic run. But after a stunning and unsettling loss to the surging Denver Broncos, the once-stable narrative has been shattered. Kansas City fans are no longer wondering whether their team will secure playoff seeding. Instead, they’re grappling with a much darker question: Is it time to sound the alarm?
After reviewing the Week 11 tape and examining the troubling trends, the answer appears unavoidable: yes. At 5–5, the Chiefs sit outside the playoff picture, trailing two division rivals—including a Denver team that has turned every offseason prediction on its head. This isn’t just a midseason lull. It’s a structural crisis, one compounded by history itself. Only two teams—the 2001 Patriots and the 2011 Giants—have hoisted a Super Bowl trophy after sitting at .500 this late. Kansas City is floating in dangerously shallow waters, and the unease is real.
Denver’s Ugly, Beautiful Blueprint
To understand just how precarious Kansas City’s situation is, you must appreciate the remarkable transformation happening in Denver—a storyline few saw coming.
Once written off as a rebuilding mess, the Broncos have quietly assembled a ruthlessly effective style of football. CBS’s Pete Prisco summed it up bluntly: “All they do is keep on winning.” Their formula? Ferocious defense, a commitment to pounding the ball, and play designs that exploit every inch of an opponent’s weakness.
Vance Joseph’s defense is the anchor of this rise. It travels, it torments, and it produces turnovers at pivotal moments. In playoff football, that kind of defense becomes a superpower.
Offensively, rookie Bo Nix has embraced the exact mentality Denver needs. He may wobble early in games, but the fourth quarter is where he flips the switch. Most importantly: he protects the football. In the latest showdown with Kansas City, Nix didn’t give away a single possession—a key reason the Broncos were able to dictate the game’s pace. If he continues playing clean, the Broncos have a legitimate shot at taking the division.
Kansas City’s Collapse Starts with the Ground Game
While Denver thrives with a well-defined identity, the Chiefs are crumbling under the weight of a fatal flaw: their rushing attack has gone missing.
As analyst Ran Carthon highlighted, Kansas City has posted 40, 50, and 45 rushing yards in recent weeks. Since Isaiah Pacheco went down with a broken leg, the ground game has completely evaporated. Relying on a late-career Kareem Hunt isn’t moving the needle, and the repercussions ripple through the entire offense.
Without any credible threat of a run game, play-action becomes useless. Defenses can sit on Mahomes’ passing lanes, forcing him to shoulder more than any QB should—and they know the Chiefs receivers outside of Kelce won’t consistently punish them.
Kelce, still producing at an elite level, was again the leading target with nine catches for 91 yards and a touchdown. But the fact that a veteran near the end of his career must carry the load says everything about the lack of reliable help. Xavier Worthy and Taekwon Thornton bring speed, but Worthy in particular disappears for weeks at a time. Mahomes enters every snap knowing he can trust almost nothing outside of his tight end.
Even Mahomes Is Cracking Under the Strain
The mounting pressure has led to something rare: visible cracks in Patrick Mahomes’ game.
Yes, the offense around him is sputtering. But he contributed to the downfall in Denver, missing three wide-open throws early—throws he typically nails in his sleep. “You’re Patrick Mahomes,” Prisco said. “You hit those on the road. One of those goes for six.”
Even worse was a costly interception in a moment that could have shifted momentum. When a team hands the ball to its running back only 13 times the entire game, the quarterback has no margin for error. Kansas City’s formula right now creates conditions where even small mistakes become fatal.
Though analysts still believe the Chiefs have earned some benefit of the doubt—because Mahomes is Mahomes—the standings paint a grimmer reality. Confidence alone won’t save them.
The Defining Test Arrives Next Week
Kansas City’s entire season now hangs on a single game.
Prisco put it plainly: “We’ll know more about them next week. They play the Colts at home after a bye. They have to win that game. If they don’t, they’re done.”
This is the crossroads of the Chiefs dynasty. Either Mahomes drags his team out of the fire again, or the panic becomes permanent. Meanwhile, Denver’s blue-collar dominance has flipped the AFC West upside down—and they look poised to claim the crown.
For the first time in the Mahomes era, the Chiefs aren’t playing for playoff seeding.
They’re fighting for survival.
