Chiefs Punctuate Embarrassing Season With Fitting Loss in Vegas

Raiders locked up No. 1 pick before kickoff, Chiefs get No. 9 selection

Before kickoff when the Giants beat Dallas, the Raiders secured the No. 1-overall selection in the 2026 draft. Kansas City (6-11) ended a disastrous campaign with a 1-9 record in one-score games. The only silver lining is the Chiefs will get the No. 9 selection in the 2026 draft.

Kansas City also will play a third-place schedule, hoping to rebound next season.

Aidan O’Connell replaced starter Kenny Pickett in the second quarter and led the Raiders to an ugly win. The quarterback finished 10 of 22 for 102 yards but didn’t turn over the ball and led Las Vegas to four field-goal drives.

His clutch 21-yard strike in the final minute to tight end Michael Mayer pushed the Raiders into Carlson’s deep range.

Chiefs were in position to win

Seconds earlier, Kansas City had retaken the lead, led by fourth-string quarterback Shane Buechele. Buechele, who joined the Chiefs two weeks ago after both Patrick Mahomes and Gardner Minshew sustained season-ending knee injuries, nearly led the Chiefs to victory.

On Kansas City’s final drive, Buechele hit Hollywood Brown deep down the left sideline, a 51-yard strike that set up Butker’s fourth field goal and gave the Chiefs a 12-11 lead with 1:01 remaining.

In what could be his final NFL game, tight end Travis Kelce finished with three catches for 12 yards, but it was just enough for several more lines of history on his Hall of Fame resume.

• In his 192nd game, Kelce reached 13,000 career receiving yards to become the fastest tight end in NFL history – and just third tight end all-time – to hit that mark. Tony Gonzalez did it in 232 games and Jason Witten did it in 259 games.

• Kelce reached 75 catches in a 10th straight year to tie Tim Brown’s NFL record.

• Kelce (1,081) also surpassed Terrell Owens (1,078) for No. 8 on the league’s all-time receiving list (all players).

The Chiefs finished their worst season in 13 years, since they were 2-14 in 2012 before hiring Reid. They reeled off 12 consecutive winning seasons under Reid before their 2025 nosedive.

Chris Oladokun had a full week to prepare for his second NFL start but looked lethargic. He didn’t play after halftime, bowing out to Buechele, and finished 11 of 17 for 58 yards.

His biggest blemish was losing two fumbles over a nine-minute stretch in the second quarter. Kansas City had lost just one fumble over its first 16 games.

Kansas City finished a forgettable season on a six-game losing streak, longest of Reid’s Chiefs tenure.

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