🔥 HOT NEWS: Chiefs drama is unavoidable this holiday—Brett Veach, Kelce’s next move, and running backs that will have everyone talking.QQ
The Kansas City Chiefs are bound to be a hot topic of discussion at the Thanksgiving dinner table this holiday season. They’re facing the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving in Week 13, in front of a national audience. They’re also in a situation where they’ll want to run the table in the final six games of the 2025 NFL season.
It’s an unspoken rule to avoid specific unpleasant topics at Thanksgiving dinner, but even the Chiefs can spark heated debate among family members. Here’s a quick overview of the Chiefs topics to talk about or avoid entirely when they come up over turkey & stuffing on Thursday.
Avoid: Will the Chiefs make the playoffs this season?
Talking about this one is the easiest way to ruin the Thanksgiving game against the Cowboys. Everyone knows the Chiefs’ record is 6-5 and that they’ve been struggling this year. They’re the No. 10 seed in the AFC playoff race. There’s not much point in talking about whether they’ll make the playoffs at the moment. Just enjoy the ride and see if the Chiefs can pull off something improbable down the stretch.
Talk about: Patrick Mahomes’ trophy case and record book
Fans waited 50 years for a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes. He might not be playing his best or most consistent football in 2025, but he continues to break records left and right. It’s fine to be proud and gloat about that. If you want to really impress with an obscure record, you can talk about how in Super Bowl LVIII, Mahomes set the NFL record for the most fumbles recovered by a quarterback in Super Bowl history (4). It’s not that impressive, but also incredibly impressive all at the same time.
Talk about: Travis Kelce’s contract, eventual retirement, and Taylor Swift
There’s no reason to avoid this one. Swifties have become a staple of and a welcome part of the Chiefs fandom. Kelce will inevitably ride off into the sunset with his superstar fiancée at some point, but his performance is nowhere near indicative of his need to retire. He’s currently having the best season in NFL history by a tight end over the age of 35. If he wants to continue playing, the Chiefs will bring him back. There already seems to be an amicable plan in place regarding his football-playing future.
Avoid: Andy Reid’s eventual retirement
Big Red is under contract for multiple seasons. He’ll retire when he feels it’s time—the only one who wants to continue talking about this and making it a thing is NBC Sports’ Mike Florio.
Talk about: Brett Veach’s NFL draft hits and misses
Every general manager in the NFL has hits and misses, for better or worse. My favorite hindsight draft pick reference is the Chiefs’ decision to pass on George Kittle for Jehu Chesson in 2017. It doesn’t matter in the long run because Kansas City got Patrick Mahomes that year. Some bad misses caught up to Brett Veach in 2025, but how he responds to fixing those will be key. He responded to the ones that caught up to him in 2024 with Josh Simmons and Jaylon Moore, so I think he’s probably earned some more grace.
Avoid: Should the Chiefs fire [Insert name here]
It’s totally fine to be frustrated with how the season has gone for the 6-5 Chiefs. At the same time, it’s important to remember that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Yes, this is a results-oriented business, but Andy Reid, Brett Veach, and others have earned the grace to go out on their own accord after clawing this franchise back from irrelevance.
Talk about: Do the Chiefs need some fresh blood on the offensive coaching staff
The Chiefs are in a pretty unique situation: There hasn’t been any substantial staff turnover since Super Bowl LIV. That’s fairly unheard of for a team that has been as successful as K.C. and speaks to how much people believe Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are the drivers behind offensive success. Really, the most significant change is Eric Bieniemy leaving Kansas City, with Matt Nagy returning and some shuffling of position coaches as well. There’s no doubt that certain things have become stale on offense, and a new voice could certainly help with that. I think back to when the team had Brad Childress as the team’s Spread Game Analyst. It couldn’t hurt to add more niche roles to the coaching staff to help balance certain aspects of the game within the team’s scheme. At the same time, you run the risk of having too many cooks in the kitchen.
Avoid: Has Chris Jones fallen off?
This question is entirely unfair to the heart and soul of the Chiefs’ defense. I know he’s played with questionable effort at times this season, but he’s very much a one-man show this year. The guy is playing a ton of snaps, getting mauled by double teams, and getting very little help from the edge rushers or interior defensive linemen around him. Still, he manages to take over games at times, as he did after the Kareem Hunt fumble on Sunday.
Talk about: Do running backs matter?
Circa 2020, when the Chiefs drafted Clyde Edwards-Helaire at pick No. 32, the answer in Chiefs Kingdom would be a resounding no. After 11 weeks of the 2025 NFL season, I think some folks in Kansas City might’ve changed their tune. It feels like a lot of the problems on offense for this Chiefs team would be solved by having a young, dynamic running back. It also wouldn’t hurt if the playcallers had a better feel for run-pass balance and RPO splits.
Avoid: Harrison Butker’s inconsistencies
Suppose someone tries to bring up Harrison Butker and his lack of precision in 2025 at the Thanksgiving dinner table. In that case, there’s a very obvious pivot directed at family members who lived through the mid-90s: “Do you guys remember Lin Elliot?”
Talk about: How much roster control does Dave Toub have?
Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub insists he has no control over roster decisions and goes to work with what’s available to him. That probably tracks, given that he even grades his own special teams unit 22nd in the league right now.
