The Kansas City Chiefs are enduring a tough season where the breaks just haven’t gone their way. After years of dominance, their close game magic had dried up in 2025, with the Chiefs losing all six games by seven points or less.
Heading into a do-or-die matchup against the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football in Week 14, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes needed to be at his best to take down a stout Texans defense. Through two quarters, the three-time Super Bowl MVP has struggled mightily.
What Happened to Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes?
The Chiefs’ playoff chances were already on the fritz, sitting at .500 heading into Week 14. Now they desperately need some halftime adjustments to mount a second-half comeback as they head into the locker room after two quarters down 10-0.
The defense has been firing on all cylinders despite being bailed out by the offense a few times this season. No, Mahomes is not injured. However, the offense has struggled to get much going with Mahomes headlining the group. In the first half, Mahomes completed eight of 12 passes for 58 yards and an interception. He’s also leading the Chiefs in rushing, with 23 yards on three carries.
Jalen Pitre tipped it to himself!
HOUvsKC on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/j5wPYMdoPj— NFL (@NFL) December 8, 2025
It’s worth noting that the NBC broadcast shared in the second half that every time Mahomes has come to the sideline, the training staff has handed him an electric heating pad, which he has used on his left knee. While there has been no official word from the Chiefs, Mahomes was on the injury report this week with a leg injury.
#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is receiving heating-pad treatment on his knee in between drives.
He came into the game with the injury. pic.twitter.com/l4IU98e8Oi
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) December 8, 2025
This is the second time the Chiefs have lost six of their 12 games since Andy Reid was hired in 2013. The Chiefs have had at least eight wins through 12 games in the previous seven seasons with Mahomes as the starting quarterback.
This is a concern for the Chiefs as the offense has been the driving force of their success this season. According to PFSN’s Offense Impact metric, the Chiefs have the fifth-best offense in the league with an impact score of 85.4.
This represents a notable improvement over the last two seasons, which were rated C+ or lower. A lot of that has to do with the play of Mahomes this season, who is the eighth-ranked quarterback in PFSN’s QB Impact metric with an impact score of 81.4.
He still has four more weeks to build on his season totals. Through 12 matchups in 2025, he’s completed 285 of 441 passes for 3,238 yards, 22 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
He still has a bit to go to cross the 4,000-yard mark after missing it for the first time in his career as a starter in 2024. Getting there is totally doable, but more outings like the first half against the Texans in Week 14 will do him no favors.
