Chiefs had one compelling story in loss to Titans. Why didn’t they try for more?

The most what’s-the-point-of-this Chiefs game in a decade concluded with the fourth- and fifth-string offensive tackles protecting for the third-string quarterback, though protecting might be a bit too strong a description for how it unfolded.

Worse, in the aftermath of a 26-9 loss to the Titans here in Nashville, the Chiefs will need to spend the next 24 hours shopping a market they couldn’t have anticipated visiting at the onset of the season:

The one catering to teams needing in-season help at quarterback.

At this point, they just need bodies. It’s symbolic of just how far south this year all gone.

But in the front corner of the Chiefs’ locker room at Nissan Stadium, almost an interruption to the despair of late Sunday afternoon, third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun opened up his phone and scrolled through his texts.

The first one he saw? It came from Patrick Mahomes.

“He was the first dude that texted me,” Oladokun said after completing 11 of 16 passes for 111 yards, adding, “That’s the type of guy he is.”

On a sour day, the Chiefs did have one fairly compelling story — a fourth-year player at long last receiving the most significant action of his career, and showing some flashes he’d make the most of it.

They passed on a chance for more just like it.

For the first time since head coach Andy Reid arrived in Kansas City, the Chiefs are playing football games while already eliminated from playoff contention. And they’re doing it without their franchise quarterback, home after successful surgery to address the ACL and LCL injuries in his left knee.

What’s the point of this? Well, there is one consolation prize. The final three, now two, games offer the Chiefs a chance to develop some young talent.

They didn’t seem particularly interested in that chance on Sunday in Nashville.

• Fourth-round rookie Jalen Royals, a wide receiver, played two snaps, per Next Gen Stats.

• Fifth-round rookie Jeffrey Bassa, a linebacker, played zero defensive snaps.

• Seventh-round rookie Brashard Smith, a running back who has carried the ball 32 times this season, did not receive a single carry Sunday.

It’s time to play the kids.

I’m not going to argue it would have given the Chiefs a better chance for a better result in Nashville. But it might give them a better chance to win next season. And it certainly gives them a better chance to know what they have heading into 2026.

Shouldn’t that be the objective now?

The Chiefs have apparently decided that Royals and Bassa just aren’t ready to play, other than Bassa having a regular role on special teams. Maybe they don’t yet have grasp of the playbook or their assignments with it.

Or maybe they’re just aren’t better than the players the Chiefs rolled with instead. But I’d offer a few counters to those possibilities:

First thing: It would be problem if they don’t yet have a good enough grasp of their assignments. We’re four months into the year. It would be concerning if they’re still not ready to play in a football game that means nothing. In fact, they either didn’t play, or hardly played, in a football game the Chiefs would actually be better off losing.

Second thing: Wouldn’t on-the-job training be the best way to pick things up? That’s even if we can acknowledge a crash course won’t replace the full study.

Third thing: It’s not as though the veterans who played instead put on an inspiring performance Sunday. How much worse could it be? And who cares if it is worse anyway?

At one point Sunday, the Chiefs were trailing 2-0 (really), and 29-year-old Mike Edwards, recently signed from the practice squad, occupied a spot in the defensive backfield as 23-year-old Jaden Hicks stood on the sideline and watched.

Edwards has had a great career, with hopefully some more football ahead of him, but his odds of being part of the mix next year are probably pretty slim ... and his odds of being a significant part of the mix are even slimmer.

Hicks is in the second year of a rookie contract that spans four years, and it might be beneficial to determine what he’s got, particularly with starting safety Bryan Cook set to hit free agency.

To be clear, Hicks hasn’t played well this year. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said earlier this month that Hicks has made a couple of mistakes that surprise him. If you can’t trust where a guy is going to be, it’s difficult to put him on the field.

In a game you have to win.

Hicks made more mistakes in his limited playing time Sunday. But there’s a chance to alter how a young player feels about his ability to play in the league. There’s a rare chance to live with mistakes, so long as he can learn the lessons on the other end of it. Or, heck, the team can learn a little more about their offseason needs.

Having him on the bench in favor of a 29-year-old impending free agent is a chance to, well, learn what exactly?

It’s one example.

There are more. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Hollywood Brown, free agents in March, played frequently as Royals sat.

Isiah Pacheco carried the ball eight times for 34 yards. He’s been part of this thing for four years now. The Chiefs ought to know what they have there.

Smith, a backfield backup, is a question mark. Advertised as a return specialist who could grow into a larger role on offense, Smith had zero returns Sunday and played the smallest role he’s had on offense in all but one game. He had one touch.

In the end, there wasn’t much to take away from a Week 16 game without Patrick Mahomes in which the Chiefs’ playoff hopes are gone. It’s why I’m writing about four players who hardly played.

But there could have been something to learn.

Instead, much like their objectives in so many games this season, the Chiefs let it slip out of reach.

This story was originally published December 21, 2025 at 6:25 PM with the headline "Chiefs had one compelling story in loss to Titans. Why didn’t they try for more?."

Sam McDowell

The Kansas City Star

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Sam McDowell is a columnist for The Star who has covered Kansas City sports for more than a decade. He has won national awards for columns, features and enterprise work. The Headliner Awards named him the 2024 national sports columnist of the year.