Chiefs Injures Suddenly Multiplying

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Hard to believe but the Chiefs were one of the league’s healthiest teams really until Thanksgiving. Then, the floodgates opened.

Sunday’s 16-13 loss to the Chargers was the latest in a murderer’s row of three game that conspired to eliminate Kansas City from the NFL postseason for the first time since 2014. And if that wasn’t enough, Patrick Mahomes just after the final two-minute warning sustained the Chiefs’ worst injury of the season.

Injury Update on QB Patrick Mahomes:

An MRI has confirmed that Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes sustained a torn ACL in his left knee in today’s game. Patrick and the club are currently exploring surgical options.
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) December 15, 2025

“Yeah, it was physical,” Andy Reid said afterward. “The guys, I appreciate. They battled. It wasn't much for a lack of effort or battling. It was just that we had some mistakes that cost us.”

Offense

The injury woes started on the opening series (for the second straight game), when Jaylon Moore went down with a knee injury on the Chiefs’ second snap. That forced Chu Godrick, making his NFL debut, into the game at right tackle.

Moore returned but aggravated the injury late in the second quarter and Godrick played the final 31 minutes. Mahomes finished the game with non-drafted rookie Esa Pole at left tackle, in his first NFL start, and Godrick, an International Player Pathway product who never played football before coming to the U.S. from Nigeria.

The Chiefs’ wide receivers weren’t immune. With Hollywood Brown inactive (personal), when Xavier Worthy left to be evaluated for a concussion early in the second quarter, the Chiefs were down two of their top three WRs. While Worthy returned later in the quarter, both Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton were injured in the second half.

tyquan thornto — Dec 14, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Cam Hart (20) breaks up a pass intended for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton (80) during the second quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Chargers safety Tony Jefferson delivered hits that injured both Rice and Thornton. Rice left in the third quarter, a third-down incompletion, before returning on the next drive.

Thornton went into concussion protocol on a helmet-to-helmet hit that disqualified Jefferson.

“The league, they took care of it,” Reid said of Jefferson’s hit on Thornton. “So, it was what happened. It's one of those kind of hits. There were a couple of those. They got him on that one.”

Defense

On the team’s initial defensive series, Kansas City lost the quarterback of its defense, Nick Bolton, who left after a hard hit. Jack Cochrane finished the drive as the team’s “green dot” signal-caller.

Bolton returned on the next series but was injured again early in the third quarter. Refusing to quit, the veteran linebacker returned and finished the game.

mcduffi — Dec 7, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins (12) catches a pass against Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) during the first quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Unbelievably, on that Chargers drive out of the halftime locker-room, the Chiefs lost defensive players on four successive plays. Non-drafted rookie Kevin Knowles, pressed into duty with Trent McDuffie inactive (knee), started that succession, followed by Bolton’s injury.

On the next play, Justin Herbert’s 27-yard strike to Oronde Gadsden, Chris Jones went to the blue medical tent with a hamstring injury. Finally, on first-and-goal from the Chiefs’ 4-yard line, cornerback Jaylen Watson left with an injury.

Like Bolton, Jones and Watson returned to action.

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