Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs missed out on the playoffs in 2025, and as a result, might have played a role in the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills firing their head coaches.
With Mahomes and the Chiefs being at the summit of the NFL mountain for years, when it came time to finally cash in on the AFC's apex predator not being in the playoffs, neither the Bills nor the Ravens could take advantage.
Baltimore didn't even make it, and the Bills were dumped out yet again in the divisional round.
And for The Athletic's Michael Silver, there is a Mahomes reason why both AFC franchises decided to move on from their head coaches.
"Both owners got tired of waiting," Silver wrote. "And, significantly, they got tired of living in the shadow of Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes, who has been to five Super Bowls and won three since becoming the Kansas City Chiefs’ starter in 2018, wasn’t around to torment his AFC rivals this January.
"Yet even as he rehabs and plots his comeback, Mahomes looms large over the AFC. Because of his absence, there was a perception that Jackson and Allen could finally have a clear path to playing for a Lombardi Trophy.
"It turned out to be a dead end."
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Mahomes still causing havoc for AFC
With Mahomes out of the playoff picture, there was a feeling of "finally, this is our chance" for the Bills and the Ravens if they got into the tournament.
It was supposed to be the year that Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson got their revenge and made the Super Bowl for the first time in their careers.
Both failed.
And the feeling now is that we aren't sure when/if Allen or Lamar will ever get over that playoff hump, because you can likely count on one hand how many more times Mahomes will miss the postseason in the next decade, and that is right in Allen and Lamar's Super Bowl sweet spot.
This was the year to cash in. They didn't.
And as a result, both the Bills and Ravens moved on from their head coaches.
Even when he isn't playing, Mahomes still finds a way to torment his rivals.
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