That Day...And What's Coming Next

Copyright © 2025

by Ralph F. Couey

It's been a week and a day since Super Bowl LIX, and I think I'm finally in a good place to reflect on the disaster that day for the Kansas City Chiefs.

First off, All Hail the Eagles!  They played a great game and hit on all cylinders in all three areas, offense, defense, and special teams.  They did everything a champion is supposed to do, and they certainly deserve all the props that go their way.

Now.

I think many of us wearing red that day knew that the jig was up by halftime.  They were down by a bunch, and while the defense put up a courageous fight, the offense and special teams...didn't.  I have been a Chiefs fan as long as there has been a Kansas City Chiefs.  Across that span of 62 years, I've seen some spectacular games.  I've also seen a bunch of clunkers, which included most of the decade of the 1980s.  In the 6 seasons, Patrick Mahomes has been the starter, this team and this city have witnessed an unprecedented run of success.  They've been in 5 of 6 Super Bowls, winning three.  Their appearance in the AFC Championship game, most years hosting, became so frequent that people began to refer to the game as the "Arrowhead Invitational."  As fans, after years of epically bad football, we became used to winning.  Dangerous habit.

My feelings after the game were...confused.  Of course, I felt bad about them losing, especially the humiliating way it happened.  But, and it took a few days to get there, what I really felt was the strange sense of...losing.  After all that success, the air came out of the tire.

There were three important things that came to mind.  First, Andy Reid called a terrible offensive game plan.  After a perfunctory attempt at running, he went to a plan that would have worked well if Tyreek Hill was still running around downfield.  The offensive line, a band-aid project at left tackle in particular, melted before the ferocious Philly line, the biggest one in the NFL.  Now, Mahomes on the run is usually a very dangerous thing.  But this leads to number 2: Patrick Mahomes had the worst game anybody can ever remember.  He was tentative, indecisive, and showed very little judgment in how he read the field.  He missed open receivers and was blind to some choice opportunities with open guys down the field.  His best weapon, the scramble, was crushed.

The third thing is very sobering.  Except for the defense, the Chiefs were completely flat.  At one point this year, they played three games in eleven days.  I was expecting them to be flat by that third game.  Their performance in the Super Bowl reflected a team unprepared to play the game.  That charge is laid squarely in the laps and the consciences of the coaching staff.  You can have the most fabulous collection of talented players in history.  But if there aren't the coaches to teach and guide them, maintain discipline, and run the game plans, then the team is useless.  The Chiefs have had, in the recent past, some of the most effective coaches in the NFL.  I don't know what they did in the two weeks before the game, but it wasn't useful or even good. 

So.

Now I've got that off my chest, there are some hopeful things to consider.

We all worry about Travis Kelce.  We all heard his remarks on the New Heights podcast, and my heart ached for him.  Clearly a proud professional and a lock for first-round HOF.  But he looked and sounded crushed.  You could see in his eyes the daunting climb of next season already weighing on him.  Missouri is a horrible place to be outside in July and August.  The heat soars into triple digits, and the accompanying humidity has to be felt to be believed.  I stayed out of it most of the time.  When duty called (lawn mowing), I donned shorts and a t-shirt and did my task.  Afterward, I fled indoors for the AC and a cold drink.  For NFL players, those horrendous days involve strapping on pads and running full tilt around in that sauna for hours at a time.  It wasn't fun cutting the grass, and it can't be fun doing it in pads at a full sprint.  That's what Travis sees.  He also sees a regular season that is 17 games.  The Chiefs have always been in the postseason, so they are actually playing 20 games per year.  Do the math.  Over the past 6 seasons, that's an additional one and a half seasons.  That's a lot of bruises, strains, contusions, maybe cracked ribs, any one of which would put us on the couch for a couple days.  The players keep playing.  The human body, even a professional athlete can only take so much abuse.

The decision is supposed to be made by mid-March.  I know that he's considering his options, and he has many, perhaps becoming a new Avenger, among other things.  But one thing we feel, as fans, is we can't see Travis closing the door on his career after a clunker.  

If Travis decides to hang 'em up, we will miss him.  Terribly.  Patrick Mahomes will miss him even more.  But he has earned this and should take this route before suffering some serious, even debilitating, injury.  Go live your life, my man.  You deserve it.

So, now the question begs, what happens now?  The Chiefs have a good nucleus of young talent, particularly at wide receiver.  They do have some decisions to make, some of them painful, such as a now 30-year-old Chris Jones.  There will be a few opportunities in the draft.  The offensive line needs a long-term fix.  But one thing can be expected to be present in 2025.

Even through all the angst after the game, there was also resolve.  This is a proud team; those who return will be steely-eyed in their determination.  This was a stain to be cleaned.  A dishonor to be righted.  And a humiliation to be expunged.  For those reasons...heaven help the rest of the AFC.

I fully expect the Chiefs to be back and winning. They will make the playoffs and be in a position to return to the Super Bowl.  Many are ready to bury this team.  That grave, however, will be for some other team.