What Went Wrong: Sic Semper Tyrannis

It happened. It actually, by God, happened.

When an insufferable entity is taken down in sports, fans who have hate-watched said entity go through a number of stages. Denial's usually the first one, and it's not the "That didn't happen" denial, it's usually the "Is it real?" denial. Then comes the acceptance, and finally, the joy. The immense, immense joy. We've seen many instances of this in sports over the years, but this one clearly has to top a lot of them. And I'm speaking as a Yankees fan who enjoyed the news that the Houston Astros were eliminated.

Today, December 14, 2025, was the NFL equivalent of this. The Kansas City Chiefs, the very entity that managed to out-toxic the Brady/Belichick Patriots, are eliminated.

The Chiefs entered this week, the 15th of the 18 week season, facing elimination, but they were not lose and out. A loss, a Bills win, and two of the three playoff-relevant AFC South teams (Jaguars, Texans, Colts) winning, would end KC's season very early. Jags and Houston were easily taking care of their business against the Jets and Cardinals, respectively, but the Chiefs and Bills games were a journey. KC was at home against the Chargers, while the Bills were in Foxboro against a Patriots team looking to clinch the division. Both games were close, and at first, the Chiefs were ahead while the Bills were behind.

Those two were the games to pay attention to, as the Jags and Texans had their games in the bag. When the Bills took the lead, the Chargers/Chiefs game was tied at 13, and with that, the Chiefs were officially on the brink, as another scenario had the Chiefs eliminated with a tie, and the Jags, Texans, and Bills all winning. Then the Chargers took the 16-13 lead, and when the Bills officially won, the Chiefs' season had under two minutes left.

However, one player's season came to an end right that minute:

Patrick Mahomes was down and injured late, and as we would be told later on, it was a torn ACL. There's a lot of that going around lately. So Gardner Minshew was tasked with saving KC's season, and they were moving down the field with time winding down. They were in field goal range, and it looked like they would have the chance to kick the FG and send this thing to OT. The football gods had other plans. Minshew threw his pass, and it was intercepted.

INTERCEPTED.

It was over. Done. Finished. The Kansas City Chiefs were eliminated with three weeks left in the regular season.

Do you know how much the Chiefs are despised? I'm actually happier about the Chiefs being eliminated, than I am about the Vikings being eliminated. I'm a Packers fan. I despise the Vikings. But bad things happening to the Vikings is just, well, Sunday. When bad things happen to this Chiefs team, it's extra special. It's not just division rivals, it's not just Bills and Bengals fans, it's all of the other 31 fanbases all celebrating this moment.

But let's get to the titular question here. What went wrong? Simple. The luck, the fluke bullshit, and the blatant hand holding by refs from last year? It all ran the fuck out. You know how many one-score games they barely won last year?! That was their M.O. last year. They fluked and B.S'ed and refballed their way to yet another Super Bowl appearance last year, but the magic ran out that February. Then came their season opener against the Chargers. The magic was still out. I'll be honest, when KC lost that opener, I sensed a bad season from them. But I sensed it by their standards, meaning that they'd have a late start but somehow find ways to, again, win the division, but not even get to the Super Bowl. This?! This was just unexpected happenstance.

Now let's look at the Mahomes/Kelce/Reid Chiefs' run here. Seven seasons. Won the division in all of them (originally the division title streak began back in 2015). Reached (at least) the AFC Championship every single year with this unit. Went 5-2 in the title game, with both losses being in OT (at home). Won three of their five Super Bowl appearances (LIV, LVII, LVIII). Here's a scary fact that still stays with me. The Chiefs got rid of Tyreek Hill prior to the 2022 season. They not only went on to win Super Bowl LVII, but they repeated and won Super Bowl LVIII, and almost three-peated in Super Bowl LIX! No matter how much I hate this Chiefs team, the fact is they are better, talent-wise, than the Brady/Belichick Patriots, because Mahomes was able to win with less. Brady could never do that.

But while I will continue to admit that last fact, I will also admit my regret in saying, on Vocal, two years ago, that this Chiefs regime is more likable than that Patriots dynasty. Boy, was I off. Their QB is a petulant clown who is married to one. Their tight end is a hothead who screamed at his coach during SB58, and wants to go Hollywood and be the football equivalent of Rock, Cena, and Batista, while living off his pop star future wife. Their kicker, for all intents and purposes, is with the Klan. They get calls up the yin yang during games, and refs aren't even hiding it. This team is hideous! Their elimination is the best thing to happen this season!

But while we enjoy this, and we will continue to do so, remember this: the best revenge is living well. Remember when the Vegas Golden Knights missed the playoffs in 2021-22? We had a laugh at them, didn't we? They reached the Final Four in three of their first four seasons, and were very insufferable, but Year Five saw them out of the playoffs. Yet what did they do in Year Six? Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. They only won the Stanley Cup! Nothing at all.

So yeah, we should and will enjoy this moment very, very much. But we have to prepare for the real possibility that this Chiefs team could come back with a huge vengeance in 2026. We have to prepare for the possibility that the Chiefs' 2026 season could end in Inglewood--which is where Super Bowl LXI will take place. Hopefully, this isn't a one off. We need at least a three-year break from this toxic Chiefs regime.