Chiefs sideline erupts at own teammates after humiliating play before injury curse strikes again

The Kansas City Chiefs took to the field against the Tennessee Titans without Patrick Mahomes under center.

Instead, it was Gardner Minshew II in for his first start of the 2025 NFL season after Mahomes suffered a torn ACL during the Chiefs‘ final drive of their 16-13 defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15.

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In relief against a fired-up Chargers, Minshew finished three-of-five passing for 22 yards, but fired a deep pass intended for tight end Travis Kelce which was intercepted by Derwin James Jr., which officially ended Kansas City’s postseason hopes.

With the Chiefs eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2014 – something defensive end Chris Jones didn’t realize until he was standing up on the podium in the postgame press conference – their outing against the Titans was effectively meaningless.

But with the Chiefs having been serial Super Bowl contenders for the last six years, the mentality of the veterans on the offensive line – albeit a severely depleted one – certainly hasn’t wavered.

After the Chiefs gave up a safety to the Titans after Jeffrey Simmons got to running back Kareen Hunt in the end zone in the first quarter, Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith could be seen going off on their teammates, and shouting “Wake the f*** up!”

Minshew Mania in Kansas City would last just 60 minutes, though, as the 29-year-old suffered a knee injury in the second quarter and was later ruled out.

The seven-year veteran was 3-for-8 passing for 15 yards before being forced to exit the game, with practice squad elevation Chris Oladokun entering the fold with just one career pass in his arsenal.

The 28-year-old started well, and reached the half having completed 6-of-8 passing for 46 yards, although the Chiefs trailed the Titans 6-9 after a Chig Okonkwo touchdown late in the second quarter.

To rebuild or not?

With Mahomes out for the foreseeable, and questions remaining over whether all-time great Kelce will hang up his cleats at the end of the season after 13 years in the league, decisions over the roster construction may need to be made in the offseason.

But former Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith argued that the team doesn’t need to undergo a full rebuild, though he does highlight the running back position as a particular area of weakness in Reid’s current offense.

“This is a minor little face-lift thing. This isn’t a bunch of work that they have to do,” Smith said on ESPN on Sunday. “They don’t need to blow this thing up at all. They’ve invested a ton in this young offensive line.

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“Obviously the key thing here is Patrick, right? He’s 30-years-old. This guy is several years still in his prime and he’s gonna come back. I think they keep this thing together.

“I think there are going to be some changes, though. There are some aging pieces on that roster that I think that they’re gonna have to do.

“And the thing for me that has really been missing, especially from them offensively, I just think back to signature Andy Reid offense, even going back to his days in Philly [with the Philadelphia Eagles] with Brian Westbrook. This receiving threat running back out of the backfield – a guy you can get in matchups.

“When he [Reid] came to Kansas City. Jamaal Charles – this guy was unstoppable. You could get him on linebackers, obviously dynamic play. He could be explosive. They just haven’t had that element there.

“Obviously they have Kareem Hunt – aging. They’ve had [Isiah] Pacheco. I think that’s something that if they get the opportunity to go out and address, I think they will.”

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