George Karlaftis admits the team has to have a mentality from here on out that the dynasty has never had to have this early in a season
George Karlaftis and the Chiefs are preparing for every game here on out as if it’s the playoffs.
It’s not often you see the Kansas City Chiefs look the way they do. Even in some of the non-Super Bowl years of this dynasty, the Chiefs haven’t often looked the way they did against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Last year, they looked bad at times, but they were still winning games and firmly in position to make the postseason.
This season is just something completely different. A change in mindset from week to week is imminent.
“Our mentality is that every game is a playoff game,” defensive end George Karlaftis told reporters after the game. “So you know, from now on, we’re onto the [Indianapolis] Colts, so it’s one game at a time. It’s very frustrating, but we just have to get better.”
Now, at 5-5, the Chiefs have to address every single game from here on out as if it’s a playoff game — as if it’s do or die — win or go home. They’ve never had to look at it that way, this early in the year.
Chiefs are mentally built well for ‘playoff’ football this early in the year
This is a time when the Chiefs really need their championship pedigree. Luckily for them, if they’re going to be playing playoff football week to week from here on out, there literally is not a team more prepared for that mentally than Kansas City is.
“You have guys that obviously… This team hasn’t always been the greatest,” linebacker Nick Bolton said after the game. “Since I’ve been here, we have, but years prior, ‘Trav’ (Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce) has been in some tough years and years before [Chiefs Head] Coach [Andy] Reid, so we have some guys that’ve been here [and] understand what it takes to win on a week-to-week basis.
“It’s just a one-week mindset. Everybody kind of gets to a point where it’s like playoff week, and you have to find a way to win one game at a time. So that’s what our mindset and focus are going to be.”
Chiefs’ remaining 2025 schedule
- Week 12: vs. Indianapolis Colts – Sunday, Nov. 23 at Noon CT on CBS
- Week 13: @ Dallas Cowboys (Thanksgiving) – Thursday, Nov. 27 at 3:30 p.m. CT on NBC
- Week 14: vs. Houston Texans (Sunday Night Football) – Sunday, Dec. 7 at 7:20 p.m. CT on ESPN
- Week 15: vs. Los Angeles Chargers – Sunday, Dec. 14 at Noon CT on CBS
- Week 16: @ Tennessee Titans – Sunday, Dec. 21 at Noon CT on CBS
- Week 17: vs. Denver Broncos (Christmas Night) – Thursday, Dec. 25 at 7:15 p.m. CT on Prime Video
- Week 18: vs. Las Vegas Raiders – TBD
The Chiefs don’t have the easiest schedule remaining, though. Of their final seven games, four are against teams with winning records. Next week, Kansas City plays the Indianapolis Colts, one of the best teams in the AFC.
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