Patrick Mahomes’ season, and with it the Kansas City Chiefs’ decade-long stranglehold on the NFL play-offs, was brought to a shuddering halt on Sunday night after the club confirmed their quarterback has suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
In a statement issued shortly after defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Chiefs confirmed that an MRI scan had revealed a torn ACL, the first major injury of Mahomes’ nine-year professional career.
“Patrick and the club are currently exploring surgical options,” the team said, a stark assessment that underlined the scale of the blow to both player and franchise.
The injury came during a 16–13 home loss that officially eliminated Kansas City from post-season contention for the first time since 2014, despite three regular-season games still to play.
The defeat dropped the Chiefs to 6–8 and capped a damaging run of five losses in six games, raising serious questions about the future of a dynasty that has defined the modern NFL.
Mahomes, 30, was forced from the field with less than two minutes remaining as he attempted to engineer a late, game-tying drive.
Scrambling towards the sideline, he was brought down awkwardly, immediately clutching his knee.
After lengthy treatment on the turf, he was helped down the tunnel as Arrowhead Stadium fell silent.
Patrick Mahomes was treated by Kansas City Chiefs following his injury
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Moments later, with Mahomes already ruled out, backup quarterback Gardner Minshew threw a decisive interception with 20 seconds remaining, ending Kansas City’s hopes of even forcing overtime via a long field goal.
Mahomes later addressed fans on social media.
“Don't know why this had to happen. And not going to lie it's hurts,” he wrote on X.
“But all we can do now is Trust in God and attack every single day over and over again.
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Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid was concerned for Patrick Mahomes following his horrific injury
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"Thank you Chiefs kingdom for always supporting me and for everyone who has reached out and sent prayers. I will be back stronger than ever.”
The loss was particularly cruel given Kansas City’s earlier dominance.
The Chiefs led 13–3 late in the second quarter before the Chargers rallied with 13 unanswered points to claim victory over their AFC West rivals.
For head coach Andy Reid, the defeat marked the end of a remarkable era.
Since 2015, Kansas City had reached the play-offs in 10 consecutive seasons, appeared in five of the last six Super Bowls and lifted the Lombardi Trophy in 2020, 2023 and 2024.
Only a narrow defeat in February denied them the first Super Bowl three-peat in NFL history.
Patrick Mahomes faces a significant spell on the sidelines
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Mahomes has been the central figure in that success since becoming the starting quarterback in 2018.
He reached at least the AFC Championship game in each of his first seven seasons as a starter, a feat surpassed only by Tom Brady’s New England Patriots between 2011 and 2018.
In that span, the Chiefs compiled the second-longest sustained play-off run in league history, behind Brady’s Patriots from 2009 to 2019.
The ramifications of Mahomes’ injury extend beyond this season.
With his recovery expected to dominate the off-season, attention will also turn to the future of veteran tight end Travis Kelce.
A regular starter since 2014 and one of just six players to win three Super Bowls with the Chiefs, the 36-year-old said last month that he would delay any decision on retirement until the campaign had concluded.
For now, however, the focus is firmly on Mahomes’ long road back.
The NFL’s most influential quarterback has never faced adversity on this scale, and for the first time in a decade, Kansas City must confront a winter without play-off football - and without the player who made sustained success seem inevitable.