The Chiefs have reached a stopping point.

They won’t be in the playoffs thanks to last weekend’s loss to the LA Chargers, ending Kansas City’s 10-year run of postseason appearances, the second longest in NFL history.

But the biggest news was Patrick Mahomes suffering a season-ending knee injury. He underwent surgery Monday and the recovery has started — but his timetable to return is uncertain.

On SportsBeat KC, the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, Chiefs Insider Pete Sweeney and Star columnist Sam McDowell discuss this new reality for the Chiefs and what it means as the team closes out 2025.

SportsBeat KC is the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, hosted by Blair Kerkhoff. It’s produced by Monty Davis, Irvin Zhang, Suzanne Hogan, and Gabriella Lacey, and edited by Jeff Rosen and Scott Chasen

Another week, another painful loss for the Chiefs.

This time to the Houston Texans at home, resulting in serious damage to their playoff chances.

On SportsBeat KC, the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, Chiefs Insider Pete Sweeney and columnist Sam McDowell explain how the Chiefs fell for the fourth time in five games.

Then, we talked Kansas City’s draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Star reporter Pete Grathoff breaks down the group stage games coming to KC, starting with the opening game for defending champion Argentina.

In a whirlwind of events at Kansas State, the Wildcats had a football coach resign, hired a popular replacement and turned down an invitation to a bowl game. Beat writer Kellis Robinett catches his breath to share his thoughts on the developments.

SportsBeat KC is the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, hosted by Blair Kerkhoff. It’s produced by Monty Davis, Irvin Zhang, Suzanne Hogan, and Gabriella Lacey, and edited by Jeff Rosen and Scott Chasen

Another week, another huge game for the Chiefs and their playoff chances.

This time, the Houston Texans visit Kansas City on “Sunday Night Football,” and the teams are headed in different directions. The Chiefs have dropped three of four; the Texans have won four straight.

On SportsBeat KC, the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, Chiefs Insider Pete Sweeney breaks down the keys for a Chiefs win, KC’s playoff chances and the latest troubling issue: injuries on the offensive line.

Then, we look ahead at the upcoming draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. That’s when teams will assigned positions for the group stage games.

SportsBeat KC is the sports podcast of The Kansas City Star and KCUR, hosted by Blair Kerkhoff. It’s produced by Monty Davis, Irvin Zhang, Suzanne Hogan, and Gabriella Lacey, and edited by Jeff Rosen and Scott Chasen.