The Houston Texans (8-5) finally prevailed against the three-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs (6-7) with a 20-10 victory on “Sunday Night Football” that could be the proverbial nail in the Chiefs’ 2025 coffin. Houston is now on a five-game winning streak while Kansas City has lost four of its last five games. 

The Texans took a 10-0 lead into the locker room after multiple downfield catches of 40-plus yards from wide receiver Nico Collins set up both a 35-yard field goal and a 9-yard touchdown catch by running back Woody Marks. 

Houston’s offense faltered out of the gate in the second half, punting on their first five drives. That allowed the Chiefs to get back in the game by eventually stringing together a couple scoring drives that ended with a 2-yard rushing touchdown by running back Kareem Hunt and a 36-yard field goal from kicker Harrison Butker to tie the game at 10 with 1:50 left in the third quarter. 

Fast forward to the fourth quarter, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid opted to gamble twice on fourth down, and he and Patrick Mahomes came up short twice in a row. Kansas City faced a fourth-and-1 from its own 31, and Mahomes threw a wobbling pass under pressure slightly behind wide receiver Rashee Rice, and the football fell incomplete. This was the deepest in a team’s own territory a team had gone for it on fourth down in the fourth quarter of a tie game in 13 years, excluding fake punts per CBS Sports Research. Six plays later, Houston running back Dare Ogunbowale rumbled into the end zone for the go-ahead, 5-yard rushing touchdown. That made Reid even more willing to go for it on the ensuing fourth-and-4 from Kansas City’s 41, and the result of the play was the same: a Mahomes throw under duress to Rice that fell incomplete. 

Once again, the Chiefs defense forced another Texans punt. Once again, Kansas City’s offense just couldn’t come through. Mahomes connected with tight end Travis Kelce down the seam for a big gain, or so it seemed. Kelce bobbled the football back into the air, and off the bobble, Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair intercepted the football. Houston took over at the Chiefs’ 26 with 3:40 left to play up 17-10, and they were able to salt the game away from there with a 28-yard field goal with 30 seconds remaining. 

Stroud (203 yards passing and a touchdown on 15 of 31 passing) thoroughly outdueled Mahomes (160 yards passing and three interceptions on 14 of 33 passing) to put the Chiefs’ playoff hopes on life support. Sunday night marked the first game of Mahomes’ career with no touchdowns and three interceptions. It’s fitting because Week 14 is the night the first iteration of the Mahomes-led Chiefs dynasty truly bit the dust. 

TakeawaysChiefs’ playoff hopes are cooked

Kansas City is now the AFC’s No. 10 seed with a 6-7 record through 14 weeks, an identical record as the underperforming Baltimore Ravens and the Miami Dolphins. Yes, the Chiefs aren’t mathematically eliminated, but they now have to win out to get to 10-7. Even if they do that, they don’t have the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Texans, the AFC’s current No. 7 seed. 

This is the latest the Chiefs have been under. 500 since 2012, the season before they hired Reid to be their head coach. Never say never, but Kansas City are tracking toward watching the playoffs from the couch in January for the first time since Mahomes became the team’s starting quarterback. 

Texans continue march toward history

Houston has now won eight of their last 10 games following an 0-3 start, positioning them to be the first franchise to reach the playoffs twice after 0-3 starts. The Texans first accomplished the feat in 2018. Their defense is a crucial reason why Houston has forced their way back into the AFC playoff picture: Houston’s 2025 defense is the first since Washington in 1985 to allow under 225 yards passing in their first 13 games, according to CBS Sports Research. That’s also notable considering the Texans have faced the following Pro Bowl quarterbacks thus far: Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Josh Allen. 

The Texans remain the NFL’s No. 1 scoring (16.0 points per game allowed) and No. total (266.3 total yards per game allowed) defenses through 14 weeks, and it appears they can ride that unit and timely splash plays from Stroud to Nico Collins (four catches for 121 yards receiving vs. the Chiefs on Sunday) back to the playoffs. 

Patrick Mahomes needs a wholesale offensive ecosystem overhaul 

Mahomes threw 10 consecutive incompletions, the longest streak of his career on Sunday. He had his first three-interception, no touchdown game of his career on Sunday, which resulted in the worst passer rating (19.8) of his career. The Chiefs went for it on fourth down in their own territory twice, and wide receiver Rashee Rice couldn’t haul in the football twice. Tight end Travis Kelce, the future Hall of Famer who has been Mahomes go-to guy his whole career, bobbled a pass in the seam into the game-sealing turnover via an interception to Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. 

The Chiefs need to blow their entire offensive ecosystem up around Mahomes and Reid. Kelce, who is 36 years old, needs to retire. Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy needs to be shown the door. General manager Brett Veach needs to make serious moves to bolster Mahomes’ offensive line. Kansas City has a long, painful offseason ahead of their total collapse in 2025.