One week after Patrick Mahomes' season-ending ACL tear eliminated the Kansas City Chiefs from the playoffs, the 6-8 team heads to Nissan Stadium to face the similarly eliminated Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Backup QB Gardner Minshew makes his first start of the late season, while Travis Kelce commits to playing all three remaining games.
Building on last week's 16-13 loss to the Chargers—where Mahomes suffered the ACL injury detailed previously—the Chiefs (6-8) enter their final three games without postseason stakes for the first time in over a decade, facing the Titans, Broncos, and Raiders.
Minshew steps up without top receiver Rashee Rice (concussion). The Titans counter with rookie QB Cam Ward, who impressed recently including versus the 49ers, and a surging rush game led by Tony Pollard's 265 yards and 3 TDs over his last two games despite line woes.
Travis Kelce dismissed retirement talk, stressing integrity: "I signed up to be a Chief... I've got three games left... focused on trying to win." Nearing his 11th 1,000-yard season (203 yards shy) and Jason Witten's TE yards mark (99 needed), Kelce eyes personal milestones.
Kickoff is 1 p.m. ET on CBS; Chiefs are 3-point favorites (O/U 37.5). KC's defense, anchored by Chris Jones, ranks top against the run at 99.1 yards allowed per game, testing Tennessee's ground attack. Both squads seek positive closure.