The Kansas City Chiefs have had perhaps the most nightmarish season of any team in the NFL after their Super Bowl loss. Pegged as a major contender, they’re now eliminated, 6-9, and down to their third-string quarterback for the final two games.
The future is pretty bleak, too, since Patrick Mahomes might be out beyond Week 1 next season. And with Gardner Minshew joining him in the hospital, things look even worse. But this all might be a blessing in disguise.
Kansas City Chiefs lose another quarterback
Just last week, with a chance to stave off elimination and come back and beat the Los Angeles Chargers, Patrick Mahomes went down with a knee injury. The worst fear was confirmed later, as he did tear his ACL.
He has since had surgery and is targeting a return as soon as possible next season, but he might miss some time and will undoubtedly be rusty when he does come back. Next year could be rough, too.
Chiefs backup Gardner Minshew, who came in and threw the game-sealing interception against the Chargers, is feared to have suffered a torn ACL as well in this week’s loss vs. the Tennessee Titans. It’s bad news because the Chiefs may need to find a new quarterback and backup for next season, at least for a while. And for this season, they likely won’t win another game with any available QB option.
Minshew attempted to keep playing, but he was obviously in a lot of pain, and now the Chiefs fear the worst. “It sucks, and it’s horrible to see,” center Creed Humphrey said via ESPN. “Obviously, I hope he’s all right. It just sucks to see.”
“For our offense, it’s deflating,” linebacker Nick Bolton said. “On defense, we pour our hearts out to him. He gave his all for us, all the way back to training camp, just getting us ready for the season and being the scout team quarterback. He gets his opportunity to go play for real, so your heart goes out for him.”
They cannot have a winning season now, going 8-9 at best. It’s the first time the Andy Reid Chiefs have had a losing record. He took over in 2013.
“Nobody likes losing in this business, but my hat goes off for the guys who have put together all these years ,” Reid said. “We can learn from it and need to do that going forward. Sometimes a good kick in the tail helps you there, coaches and players.”
Silver lining
This is all really bad, but it might not be as bad as it seems. The Chiefs’ dynasty has been pretty successful, as they’ve been to three Super Bowls and won five of them.
But in that span, they’ve played 13 games more than a team like the Carolina Panthers, who haven’t even been to the playoffs. That adds up. Wear and tear is legitimate in the NFL, and the Chiefs, namely Mahomes, had more of it.
Now, the dynasty may be on pause for at least one year, if not two, counting this one. Let’s assume both Minshew and Mahomes are going to be out for half or more of next season. The Chiefs can land a top 10 pick this season, and they could end up with another high pick next year. This team is very QB-dependent, and without one, they might be terrible.
That could give them two elite first-round prospects instead of always trying to find them at the very end of the first round. That could be the difference in getting this team back to where they’ve been.
This roster needs talent badly, and the best way to get it is by landing high draft picks, which may now be Kansas City’s reality.
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