The Kansas City Chiefs kept their season alive with a big win in Week 12. Kansas City beat Indianapolis 23-20 in an overtime thriller that gave the Chiefs their first win since October 27th. One Chiefs player explained what changed in order to get the team back in the win column.
Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton explained a “mindshift shift” that Kansas City went through during the 2025 season.
“A lot of the guys still in the building, the coaches are still the same, the schemes haven’t changed that much, so yeah, I have the utmost faith in getting the thing right, finding a way to string wins together,” Bolton said, per Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer. “But our mindset has shifted. Coming into the season, we wanted to win a championship. Our mindset now, let’s win the one, win this next game, see if we can stack a few more in a row. Our full attention is on Dallas.”
The Chiefs lost Super Bowl 59, and their chance at a three-peat, last season. It makes a lot of sense that the initial goal would be to get back to the Super Bowl. But nothing is ever that easy in the NFL.
Now the Chiefs are simply focused on getting to the playoffs by winning games one at a time.
“We’re not worried about a championship now,” Bolton added. “Our goal now is the playoffs. After, we’ll figure out what it looks like and how to get back to the big dance.”
Patrick Mahomes explained how much the Chiefs needed Week 12 win over Colts
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes explained in his own words why his team needed a win in Week 12.
“This is exactly what we needed,” Mahomes told reporters. “To win against a really good football team when the game’s not going your way, you could’ve folded in that situation and been kind of for the rest of the season. The guys responded and then found a way to win. Every single unit. Offense, we found a way at the end. Defense stood tall multiple times to give us chances, and then Harrison (Butker) and (Matt) Araiza did a great job at flipping the field and making field goals. We needed a win like this, and now let’s just try to build off of it.”
The Chiefs entered the fourth quarter down 20-9, but authored a 14-point comeback to win in overtime.
But Kansas City does not have much time to celebrate after beating Indianapolis.
Next up for the Chiefs is a Thanksgiving matchup against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
