Chiefs’ Toub Has Blunt, Colorful Assessment of Season

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A ninth-round selection in the 1985 draft, Dave Toub has seen a few things in the NFL since he entered the league as a Philadelphia offensive lineman.

But one thing he hasn’t seen – at least over the last decade while directing the Chiefs’ special teams – is a postseason elimination scenario.

A year ago this week, the 12-1 Chiefs had just defeated the Chargers to clinch a ninth straight AFC West title. This week, they’re 6-7 with barely a playoff pulse.

“Does that mean we’re sh—ty?” Toub responded with a blunt smile. “You guys know, I'm gonna say what I think, unfortunately. But we're not as good. We're not making as many plays as well as we did last year, at critical times on special teams. That's kind of frustrating.”

Watch Dave Toub discuss below...

Three prodigies

Toub said he’s excited about a pair of undrafted rookies, Kevin Knowles and Cooper McDonald, and fifth-round selection Jeffrey Bassa. All three have shined in coverage units, and Toub believes their consistent improvement will pay off before this season ends.

“That's all I keep talking about,” Toub said, “is get better every day and the plays will come. We just got to keep the effort up. And don't get discouraged. Just keep playing hard and good things are going to happen. I mean, they have to believe; they have to keep believing.”

Opponents have missed just one field goal all year

What’s unbelievable is that Chiefs opponents have only missed one field goal in 22 attempts this season. That 21-of-22 performance (95.5 percent) is tied with Detroit’s opponents for highest in the league.

“Our guys, they're playing hard,” Toub said, “and it's just not happening. The blocks, I mean, our field-goal block team, this is the best percentage I've ever seen of an opponent on field goal. A perfect example is that effort that we give on field-goal block. It’s unbelievable.”

wil lut — Nov 16, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz (3) celebrates his game winning filed goal in the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

That’s not all. A week ago Friday, return specialist Nikko Remigio landed in concussion protocol just 48 hours before the game. That forced Toub to give Xavier Worthy his first NFL punt returns. He finished with four fair catches on four return opportunities.

While the Chiefs didn’t tell Worthy to fair catch every punt, he was understandably rusty since his college days at Texas. And to make matters worse, the Kansas City defense forced eight punts on the night. A more experienced return man might have felt more comfortable returning some of those fair catches to help Patrick Mahomes and the offense.

Remigio has practiced in full all week and appears ready to return to his role against the Chargers on Sunday (12 p.m. CT, CBS/KCTV, Channel 5, 96.5 The Fan).

“It's just a weird year,” Toub concluded. “We're just going to keep pounding it and keep the guys encouraged, and get some wins down the stretch here. I mean, that's what we need.”

Kansas City ranks 20th in field-goal percentage (84.62 percent), 25th in punt-return average (7.0 yards) and 11th in kickoff-return average (26.4 yards).

Punter Matt Araiza has had only one touchback on 38 punts all season, a bright spot for the Chiefs. Only the Lions’ Jack Fox (none in 45 punts) and Cowboys’ Bryan Anger (none in 36 punts) have been better this year.

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