Chiefs fall to 0-2 for first time
since 2014 after loss to Eagles in Super Bowl rematch
[September 15, 2025]
By DAVE SKRETTA
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw a pair of deep passes
in the waning minutes of a 20-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in
their Super Bowl rematch Sunday. Both were intended for Tyquan
Thornton, and together they told the story of the Kansas City
Chiefs.
The first was simply an overthrow when Thornton was wide open, which
would've gone for an easy touchdown. It seemed to characterize the
way the Chiefs have been unable to get their once high-powered
offense going. They managed just 294 yards against the Eagles in a
display of offensive ineptitude that closely mimicked the big game
last February.
The second was a completion to Thornton in the end zone. It was the
first big play the Chiefs hit all game, and it came too late,
epitomizing the close-but-not-good-enough way things are going for
the AFC champs these days.
The Eagles recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock
on the Chiefs' first home loss since Dec. 25, 2023.
“Keep playing hard,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said simply. “I'll take
this one. Keep playing hard. Stick together.”
The Chiefs are now 0-2 for the first time since 2014, when Reid was
in his second season in Kansas City. That also was the last time
they failed to make the playoffs; they've reached at least the AFC
title game the last seven seasons.
In the five seasons of an expanded 14-team playoff, only five of the
41 teams to start 0-2 made it into the postseason.
It's also the first time that Mahomes, one of the fiercest
competitors in the NFL and perhaps all of sports, has been 0-2 since
the 2011 season at Whitehouse High School in Texas. That was his
sophomore season, the year before he became starting QB.
“We played two good football teams and made mistakes in big moments,
stuff that we're not used to doing,” Mahomes said. “But I think
we're coming together as a team. I mean, we deal with adversity.
It's about how you deal with it. And obviously this isn't how we
want to start, but how are we going to respond?”
The fact that both of those deep shots in the final minutes of the
game went to Thornton also is telling. The Chiefs knew they would be
without top wide receiver Rashee Rice for the first six games for
violating the NFL's personal-conduct policy, part of the fallout for
his street-racing crash on a Dallas highway in March 2024. But they
didn't know they would be down three of their four primary wide
receivers with Xavier Worthy and Jalen Royals both sidelined by
injuries.
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Philadelphia
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) hug following an NFL football
game Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie
Riedel)

Worthy couldn't even make it through the first
quarter of a season-opening loss to the Chargers in Brazil before
dislocating his shoulder in a collision with teammate Travis Kelce.
Royals has not made it on the field at all due to an knee injury.
The schedule hasn't done the Chiefs any favors, either.
They started off by traveling halfway around the world to play one
of the up-and-coming teams in the AFC on foreign soil, rather than
be rewarded with a home opener for its latest Super Bowl appearance.
Then, they had to fly home for a rematch with a team that routed
them 40-22 at the Superdome in New Orleans to deny them an
unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat.

The path gets a little easier, at least temporarily. The Chiefs
visit the New York Giants next weekend for a matchup of winless
teams. But then comes a stretch in which the Chiefs play at least
four legitimate championship contenders in the Ravens, Lions,
Commanders and Bills, and one that could ultimately determine the
season before it even reaches the midway mark.
“It's not like we're missing by much,” Mahomes said. “I know it
sucks for fans, but I feel like we're close. And so all we can do is
just continue to work and continue to get after it and be ready.”
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