Chiefs Give Sad Swan Song in Fantasy Football Finale

The Kansas City Chiefs lost their last gasp of air back in Week 15's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. That defeat officially eliminated them from playoff contention. Even if they had stayed alive in the race, they also lost star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, which would have effectively ended their season regardless.

Since then, the Chiefs have been on cruise control, only it's been rapidly driving them off the cliff and towards rock bottom. KC would go on to drop its next two games, too, including one to the lowly Tennessee Titans. Expectations for Kansas City have been in the toilet, and anyone who had to rely on any of their players in the fantasy championship will likely pay for it in blood.

Chiefs fall flat in the championship

Kansas City Chiefs, NFL, Denver Broncos, Isiah Pacheco — Dec 25, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Chris Oladokun (19) hands the ball off to Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (10) during the first quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

1. Isiah Pacheco

Isiah Pacheco had his best game of the season in the Kansas City Chiefs' Week 16 loss to the Tennessee Titans. With Patrick Mahomes out with a torn ACL and backup quarterback Gardner Minshew II suffering the same injury one week later, KC had to turn to third-stringer Chris Oladokun.

As a result, the Chiefs relied more on the ground game, and Pacheco feasted on checkdowns, tallying a season-high 13.5 full-PPR points with six catches for 41 yards. Unfortunately, that didn't pan out for him or his fantasy managers in the championship, as he didn't record a single reception. Instead, he rushed nine times for just 32 yards for a whopping 3.2 points.

Kansas City Chiefs, NFL, Denver Broncos, Travis Kelce — Dec 25, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) runs the ball during the fourth quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

2. Travis Kelce

Travis Kelce turned out to be the only playable option from the Chiefs in the fantasy championship. Last week, he caught just one ball for six yards, becoming the only tight end in NFL history to record 12 seasons with at least 800 receiving yards. He didn't fare much better against the Denver Broncos in the fantasy title round.

He went for 36 yards on five catches, giving him 8.6 points on Christmas Day. That's not a stellar showing by any means, but with Brock Bowers out and Trey McBride coming off a stinker of his own last week, it might be one of the better tight end plays of the week.

Kansas City Chiefs, NFL, Denver Broncos, Chris Jones — Dec 25, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones (95) gestures to the crowd during the third quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

3. Chiefs D/ST

The Chiefs' defense kept them within striking distance throughout this one. Unfortunately, a costly neutral zone infraction on 4th-and-2 gave the Broncos a new set of downs inside the red zone, which eventually led to the game-winning touchdown. Steve Spagnuolo and Kansas City's D put up a much better fight in real life than they did in fantasy. Anyone counting on a decent performance against a sketchy Denver offense for the fantasy championship was severely let down, as the Chiefs D/ST finished with just three points.

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