C. Can the Chiefs Still Reach the Playoffs After Loss to Texans? Scenarios Explained

🏈 For the first time in his career, Harrison Butker finds himself at the center of a statistic no kicker ever wants to share. With eight missed kicks this season — four field goals and four PATs — the usually automatic Chiefs specialist is now tied for the most misses in the entire NFL. The only two kickers beside him on that list, Joshua Karty and Blake Grupe, have already been released.
Fans are stunned. Analysts are rattled. And inside Kansas City, the question is growing louder by the week: What’s happening to one of the league’s most reliable legs?
Butker has built a reputation on clutch kicks, icy composure, and game-winners carved into Chiefs history. Yet this season, every miss feels heavier, every attempt more scrutinized, every step toward the ball a test of faith.
Now the pressure is mounting — and the entire NFL is watching to see whether Butker rises or breaks.

The Kansas City Chiefs suffered a massive setback in their pursuit of qualifying for the 2025 NFL playoffs with a 20-10 loss against the Houston Texans. It decreased the Chiefs’ chances to just 16% with four regular-season games left on the schedule.

Despite boasting a better record, the Texans entered Arrowhead as the underdogs. There was a sound reason behind it. When these two teams met in January, the Chiefs secured a crucial victory on their path to the Super Bowl.

Moreover, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was 3-0 prior to the Week 14 meeting. However, the scenario has flipped in 2025. The Chiefs have a middle-of-the-pack offense, while the Texans boast a top-three defense. Not to mention, the offense has also improved as the season has progressed.

All these factors led to a crushing defeat for the Chiefs. Chiefs’ Digest writer Matt Derrick summed up KC’s defeat through a fiery tweet.

Dropped passes. Errant throws. Missed blocks. Flags. Questionable play calls. Allowing long third-down conversions. Can’t force turnovers. Peculiar decisions. A doinked field goal.

Wide receiver Rashee Rice dropped four passes; all-pro tight end Travis Kelce dropped two, one of which turned into an interception for Mahomes in addition to his two more in the earlier quarters.

Mahomes finished with 42% completion (-0.54 EPA per dropback), 160 yards, 19.8 passer rating, and 3 picks. According to ESPN’s Benjamin Solak, this was Mahomes’ worst performance of his NFL career.

Can the Chiefs still qualify for the 2025 NFL playoffs?

The Chiefs are still alive, barely. At kickoff, Pro Football Focus gave the Chiefs a 61% chance of qualifying for the playoffs with a win against the Texans. They received a generous boost after the Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the earlier game.

However, the loss depleted the Chiefs’ chances to below 20% (16% to be exact, and 11% as per The Athletic’s playoff simulator). Now here’s the catch: qualification is no longer in their hands. First of all, the Chiefs must win their remaining four games against the 8-4 Los Angeles Chargers, the 2-11 Tennessee Titans, the 11-2 Denver Broncos, and the 2-11 Las Vegas Raiders.

Next, the Chargers must lose a couple of games in their final four games: the 8-4 Philadelphia Eagles, the 6-6-1 Dallas Cowboys, the 8-5 Houston Texans, and the Broncos. There’s more. The Chiefs also need the 8-5 Colts to drop points against the 10-3 Seattle Seahawks, the 9-4 San Francisco 49ers, the 9-4 Jaguars, and the Texans.

Given their current situation, it’s easier said than done for the Chiefs. Playing with a makeshift offensive line, receivers can’t catch passes, and a quarterback who seems tired of carrying the team in nearly every game, the Chiefs must sort it out to make a final push for the playoffs.

Four wins will take the Chiefs to 10-7. It will go down as the worst record in the Mahomes era. The last time they finished a season with ten wins was in Alex Smith’s final year (2014) in KC. They finished 10-6 and scraped into the wildcard round.

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