The Kansas City Chiefs’ ten straight playoff trips ended after a 16-13 loss to the Chargers. Worse, their biggest superstar, Patrick Mahomes, is out. Suddenly, everything feels off. This season was supposed to be business as usual for Chiefdom. Instead, head coach Andy Reid had to face a hard truth that no one saw coming.

“I’m not happy about it. Neither is anybody here. We strive for excellence. We try to do that every year. Things happen, though, in this league. There’s a lot of parity, and sometimes you end up on the short end of it…” Reid said on addressing falling short in December.

Meanwhile, the numbers make it sting more. The Chiefs dropped to 6-8 after the home loss. That made it three straight defeats. Even more, it was five losses in the last six games. This franchise last missed the playoffs in 2014. Since then, they have lived on the big stage. Five Super Bowl trips in six years, three Lombardis. Now, that run feels distant.

As a result, the locker room feels heavy. Head coach Reid made that clear, too.

“The guys are down. They busted their butt to win the game, and I wouldn’t expect anything less. So, you know, it’s not a great feeling,” he added.

Before Sunday, the Chiefs were already out of the AFC West race. Still, hope lived in the wild card chase. However, the loss pushed them too far back. Time simply ran out. On top of that, injuries piled up. Reid pointed to that reality as part of the mess.

“Some positions were backup guys to backup guys, and they battled their tail off, so that’s appreciated,” Reid said. “With that, we’ve got to do better, you know, get opportunities in the red zone. For field position, you have got to take advantage of that.”

Now, all eyes turn to one thing. The next update on Mahomes.

Andy Reid provides an update on Patrick Mahomes’ recovery

While Chiefdom waits for clarity, Andy Reid stepped in to set the tone. On Monday, the Chiefs head coach spoke via Zoom and laid out what comes next for Patrick Mahomes. Reid sounded confident in how Mahomes will handle the road ahead.

“He’ll attack it (rehab) just like he does everything else,” Reid said.

“There have been some pretty good quarterbacks that have had the same injuries. They’ve done pretty well after they came back. So, he’ll get after it. He’s got good people here to rehab him. And again, he’ll be right on top of all that.”

Earlier, the moment itself was hard to watch. Mahomes went down late in the Week 15 loss to the Chargers. It happened on the Chiefs’ final drive. Soon after, trainers helped him off the field. The pain was clear. Not long after that, the MRI confirmed what Chiefdom feared. A torn ACL.

Still, Reid shared a more human side of the situation.

“He’s (Patrick Mahomes) in a good place,” Reid said. “He feels like he let people down. But then he comes back, and he’s ready for the challenge ahead, which is what’s real right now. He’s just got to get through surgery, wherever it might be, and then move on from there.”

Next, the process continues. Mahomes will travel to Dallas for a second opinion with Cowboys team physician Dr. Dan Cooper. Reid explained why that step is normal.

“These guys normally do that,” said Reid. “So, on that, most guys get a second opinion. I’d probably put it up, as much as 90 percent of the guys do. That’s just part of it. That’s what he’s doing.”

For now, the Chiefs turn to Gardner Minshew. And in the City of Fountains, patience becomes the new game plan.