KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Andy Reid on Monday afternoon erased any questions whether a 67-year-old head coach could lead the Chiefs on an improbable playoff run in 2025.

In fact, he put DeMeco Ryans and the Houston Texans on notice. Rest assured, no other individual at Chiefs headquarters has more confidence in his beat up team than the coach himself.

“Yeah, well, I believe that,” Reid said Monday afternoon. “I’m telling you, we’re going to go after you every game. And that’s how we roll. We’re going to try to tickle your tonsils on every play, every game. That’s the attitude that we’re coming in with, and then you let the chips fall where they may.

“But at the same time, you got to make sure you take care of the small things here that we’ve got so we can get rolling. We’ve got to make sure that we get rid of some of these mistakes. But there’s not a game that I go into it that I don’t think we’re going to get after you.”

Getting after opponents has been challenging, though. So, the Chiefs might be better served to avoid looking too much into the recent past. After all, they’ve lost six games by one score or less.

Reid’s history is impeccable late in season

As far as history – which at times this season has felt like centuries ago – Reid’s teams have traditionally finished in impressive fashion.

In December and January games, Patrick Mahomes is 29-7 (.806).

And since Reid took the reins of the Chiefs in 2013, Kansas City has averaged 26.5 points per game in December and January. Only Green Bay (26.6) has a better mark during that 12-season span (2013-24).

The head coach in December and January owns a 46-16 (.742) mark since becoming Chiefs head coach in 2013 – including 10 consecutive winning records Dec. 1 and later. The last time the Chiefs had less than a winning record in those months was 2014, when they went 2-2, also the last time they missed the playoffs.

“We’re still in the mix right here,” Reid said Monday, “which is a great thing. And the guys, once they get back here, they’ll be ready to go and head through these practices coming up and get ourselves ready to play against a good Texans team.”

The last time Reid was less than .500 Dec. 1 and later was his first year with the Chiefs, 2013, when he was 2-3.

And keep in mind that some of those losses came in games when the Chiefs rested their starters, having already clinched playoff seeding, such as 2024. Kansas City has won every AFC West title since 2016, a streak is grave danger this year.

Using home games to get to playoffs, even if they don’t host in the playoffs

But even if Kansas City doesn’t host any playoff games, the Chiefs will lean on the games they host to get them into the tournament.

“We’re fortunate to play here at home at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium with our fans,” Reid said. “And we know if we tighten up a couple of things here, we’re right there to put a push on here these last few games.”