The Kansas City Chiefs, while making five of the last six Super Bowls, undoubtedly have been a good football team.

But they’ve caught some breaks as well.

It happens. Luck plays a bigger part in sports (and our daily lives) than we typically give it credit for.

And, looking back now, it’s easier to see the Chiefs didn’t have as much fortune shine on them as they struggled through this year’s disappointing 6-11 season.

This isn’t meant to make excuses for the Chiefs. They had plenty of opportunities — both before and during the season — to redirect course. That never came together as they went 1-9 in one-score games and failed to make many of the plays they had in past years.

With the clarity of hindsight, though, here are three small moments that had butterfly-effect ripples this season and pushed the team toward a record no one would have expected.

Striking out on a need in Round 4

Ever been in a fantasy football draft where the board doesn’t go your way? Where the owner above you takes the player you wanted all along?

The Chiefs experienced a real-life version of this in Round 4 of last year’s NFL Draft.

The front office had to be happy with how things fell early. Left tackle Josh Simmons dropped to the team in Round 1, while the Chiefs addressed a significant need with defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott in the second round, followed by value picks in defensive end Ashton Gillotte and cornerback Nohl Williams in the third.

That left a fourth-round pick likely earmarked for running back. Heck, general manager Brett Veach even said before the draft that there was a “good chance” he would use one of his picks on that position, noting specifically that the draft class had good talent in Rounds 1-5.

The Chiefs, specifically, would be looking for more of a home-run threat there after struggling with getting explosive runs in the 2024 season.

Then they watched a surge on running backs in Round 4, right before their pick at No. 133.

NFL teams took six running backs in that round. That included Trevor Etienne to the Panthers, Woody Marks to the Texans and Dylan Sampson to the Browns — three players who would’ve been great fits for the type of back the Chiefs needed.

K.C. ended up pivoting with its fourth-round pick to take receiver Jalen Royals — the top-rated playmaker left on its draft board. Veach later traded up in the seventh round to select SMU running back Brashard Smith, though he’s more of a running back/receiver hybrid.

In the end, the offense’s run game issues remained essentially unchanged in 2025. The Chiefs finished with just one 20-plus-yard carry from a running back all season.

“Somewhere, you’d like to have a few bigger plays in that area,” coach Andy Reid said after the season. “Not 3-4 yards. Every once in a while, you need to hit on a few.”

The Chiefs weren’t oblivious to that potential weakness when they looked at their draft board. Things just didn’t fall the way they hoped in Round 4. If just one player had slipped, perhaps the run game would’ve gotten a much-needed boost.

The cost of preseason precaution

The Chiefs had what seemed like a clear plan when they signed free-agent cornerback Kristian Fulton to a two-year, $15 million guaranteed contract in the offseason: Have him be a staple at outside corner. Then move All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie more often to his most effective position in the slot.

Things never exactly played out that way, however, because Fulton’s body didn’t cooperate.

During the summer months, a knee injury was discovered. The team played it cautiously, opting for a “clean-up” procedure that would put his return timeline toward the start of training camp. That event, though, ended up throwing Fulton’s season off track.

He was slowly ramped up during training camp, and by then, he struggled to get full first-team reps while also not being fully integrated into the playbook.

That domino effect led to Fulton only getting limited snaps early before spending weeks as a game-day inactive in the middle of the season.

The defense never settled into a comfortable setting without him. Pro Football Focus’ data shows McDuffie played outside corner on 78 percent of his snaps (compared with the slot), and though Jaylen Watson anchored one outside spot, the pieces never quite fit on the back end to maximize defensive production.

Once the Chiefs fell out of postseason contention, Fulton was reinserted into the starting lineup for the final three weeks … and looked great. In the last two weeks , he had four pass breakups, with PFF’s data indicating that he allowed two catches on 10 targets for a total of 34 yards.

Fulton’s late-season emergence should be encouraging for next season, especially when combined with some strong play late from Williams, the rookie corner.

In a perfect world, though, the Chiefs would’ve gotten that type of production from the beginning, which would’ve allowed their best slot corner to thrive where he’s most comfortable.

An ill-timed injury

A significant reason the Chiefs selected Brashard Smith in the seventh round was to add big-play ability to their return games.

The team had gotten solid production from undrafted free agent Nikko Remigio the year before. Those return positions needed competition, though, and with the NFL changing the kickoff rules this offseason, the Chiefs wanted to add more speed while increasing the potential for big plays.

Before Smith could take over as a full-time returner, though, they needed to see if he was up to it. Though Smith was a kickoff returner for SMU the previous year, he wasn’t used much on punt returns, meaning preseason games were going to be vital for him to solidify his standing there.

That was when a ding altered Smith’s trajectory.

Just before the first preseason game at Arizona, he dislocated one of his fingers in practice. Instead of getting extensive tries at punt returner in that game, he was limited to one fair catch (while wearing protective padding).

Things snowballed from there. The following week, Smith got in for only two fourth-quarter punt returns, and he muffed the second one out of bounds while looking hesitant.

That was all special teams coach Dave Toub needed to see to make up his mind. He elected to go with the safer option of Remigio on returns, keeping him on the roster in what essentially was a special-teams-only role.

Though Remigio never made a big mistake, he also limited the team’s upside in an area where it fell behind its peers in 2025.

Per TruMedia, the Chiefs finished the season 25th in expected points per play on punt returns and 17th on kickoff returns. Toub revealed after the season that his internal metrics had K.C. ranked in the 20s specifically on kickoff returns.

“That’s just not good enough,” Toub said. “We have to do a better job of getting some bigger returns at kick return.”

Remigio (29) ended up having the most kickoff returns on the team, followed by Smith (18) and Tyquan Thornton (18).

Some good news for K.C., though? It saw some of Smith’s potential late at punt return when the postseason was out of reach.

While serving as the team’s primary returner the last two games, Smith reeled off the team’s longest punt return of the season — a 44-yarder against the Denver Broncos on Christmas.

Brashard Smith returns it into Broncos territory!

DENvsKC on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/N2TH9V9TY4

— NFL (@NFL) December 26, 2025

The Chiefs’ special teams were a key contributor to the team’s 12-0 record in one-score games during the 2024 season.

Could Smith’s dynamic ability have helped out more in 2025? The Chiefs never got that full answer, partly because a preseason injury showed up at the exact wrong time.