Chris Oladokun’s disastrous Week 18 performance made it clear the Kansas City Chiefs must look elsewhere heading into 2026.

Kansas City Chiefs v Las Vegas Raiders – NFL 2025 | Candice Ward/GettyImages

A question floated ahead of Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders: could Chris Oladokun become the Kansas City Chiefs’ primary backup quarterback moving forward? Well, we have our answer: absolutely not.

Oladokun was bad against the Raiders, and his performance should put to bed any discussion of him being a viable QB2 option for Kansas City next season.

There is no kind way to put this, but what we saw from Oladokun in the first half was the single worst performance by any quarterback in the entire NFL this season. The 28-year-old went 11-of-17 passing for 56 yards, an average of just 3.6 yards per attempt. He had zero touchdowns and turned the ball over twice. He had as many fumbles lost as he did pass plays of seven yards or more—two.

Those numbers earned Oladokun a quarterback rating of just 1.6, which is the lowest QBR of any player in the NFL this season. His -4.6 EPA (expected points added) was the second-lowest among quarterbacks this year.

It was a rough watch, and clearly Kansas City’s coaching staff agreed. After halftime, Oladokun was benched in favor of Shane Buechele. It could be the last time we see Oladokun take a meaningful snap in a Chiefs uniform.

Sunday’s game showed that Oladokun is not up to the task of being Kansas City’s go-to backup quarterback, especially if Patrick Mahomes isn’t available to start Week 1 next season. It’s a harsh thing to say about a player making just his second NFL start, but it is the reality of the situation.

I just don’t think the Chiefs can win with Oladokun under center, and I don’t think Kansas City’s coaching staff believes they can either. Kansas City’s plan over the past two weeks felt like it was built around limiting the number of times Oladokun had the game in his hands, and that is never a good sign.

Chris Oladokun’s disastrous Week 18 performance made it clear the Kansas City Chiefs must look elsewhere heading into 2026.

Of course, that was understandable in Week 17 against the Denver Broncos, the AFC’s top seed and one of the best defenses in the NFL. But it isn’t good enough when facing a Las Vegas team with the league’s worst record.

Oladokun also didn’t do enough to show that lack of trust was a mistake. There were missed throws, bad decisions in the lead-up to taking sacks, and the two turnovers. He had just two passing first downs for the game.

It wasn’t good enough in a Week 18 game with nothing to play for against the league’s bottom team, and it won’t be good enough against a fully fledged NFL opponent in a meaningful regular-season game either. The Chiefs can’t take that risk.

Of course, it’s worth acknowledging that Oladokun was thrown into the deep end, and there have been flashes of brilliance in his short career as well. Things haven’t been easy.

After four years on the practice squad, he hadn’t even attempted a pass in a regular-season game before coming in against the Tennessee Titans in Week 16, but he held his own in that game, going 11-of-16 for 111 yards.

Less than a week later, he kept the Chiefs in the game against Denver. He made some incredible, Mahomes-esque plays and actually had a shot at leading a game-winning drive late, even though it came up short.

We’ve seen Oladokun’s agility in the pocket, his ability to extend plays, and his knack for making crazy, improbable throws. But we haven’t seen enough of him being a functional quarterback who can move the chains consistently and lead the team on scoring drives.

Sunday was Oladokun’s best chance to do that. After two unorthodox prep weeks for the Titans and Broncos games, he had a full week of regular practice to get ready for the Raiders and showcase what he could do.

Yes, Oladokun was playing with a makeshift offensive line, a depleted wide receiver room, and a seventh-round rookie running back in the backfield. But he was coming up against a flat-out bad Las Vegas team that also had a number of key players out due to injury.

In the end, what we saw from Oladokun wasn’t good enough.

Oladokun will always be able to tell people he was a starting quarterback in the National Football League. He’ll get to show people the ball he threw for a touchdown at Arrowhead Stadium, and he can say he played for Andy Reid and alongside Travis Kelce. That’s truly something special.

But Sunday’s game made it clear that Oladokun should not be Kansas City’s backup quarterback moving forward.