Opinion: The Kansas City Chiefs look old and tired

Travis Kelce (Google Images)

One could make the argument that the biggest news with the Kansas City Chiefs in the offseason was not directly related to their on field product. It all had to do with their star tight end Travis Kelce and his engagement to music star Taylor Swift. Just to let all of you know, I actually have heard of Kelce before Swift.

Over the last two games of meaning that the Chiefs have played (the Super Bowl in February), and their opening game of the 2025 National Football League regular season, there have two striking similarities. The Chiefs may be looking a little old, slow, and tired. Remember, nobody has played more total games in the 2020s than the Chiefs so fatigue has possibly set in.

Kansas City were completely outplayed by the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX in a 40-22 Philadelphia victory. The Chiefs running game was non-existent as the Eagles defensive line limited the Chiefs to 49 rushing yards. Then on Friday, in the NFL’s annual game in Brazil, we once again saw a non-existent Chiefs running attack, that was limited to 98 rushing yards in a 27-21 Los Angeles Chargers victory.

The Chiefs currently have seven players on their roster 30 years or older. You might be surprised that Kelce at 35 years old is not the oldest. The oldest Chiefs player is long snapper James Winchester of Washington, Oklahoma at 36 years old.

Even though Kelce found the end zone on Friday in Sao Paulo, his statistics are on the downswing. He only had 823 receiving yards last season (the fewest in his career), and only had two catches against the Chargers. As the Chiefs running game is no longer effective, there will be even more added pressures on quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Could this be the season the Chiefs struggle? It is very possible as we see progression from the Broncos, Chargers and Raiders in the AFC West, who all won in Week One.