The Kansas City Chiefs are in a tough spot for next season. After that crazy 17-game win streak last season where they looked totally unstoppable they now have  a 0-5 record in close games. And this is after they were Super Bowl runners-up last year.

According to ESPN, all hope died last week for the playoffs; “The loss to the Chargers eliminated the Chiefs from the postseason, ending that streak at a decade. They had also won the past nine AFC West titles, reached the previous seven conference championship games and played in the past three Super Bowls.”

Without a good running game, the offense has turned one dimensional. The defense, who no longer fear the run, can concentrate only on Patrick Mahomes and the passing game, double teams and coverages to limit his choices. This has choked the Chiefs’ offensive ingenuity and made them less troublesome to the defenders during the last moments of the matches.

 On top of that, catches and turnovers in the most critical moments of the game have been the major factors of the Chiefs losing scoring chances and momentum to the rivals. A dropped pass in the end zone, a fumble on the opponent’s 30-yard line these events have turned possible victories into losses. The defense, still strong in statistics, has been showing they have been letting late game plays through more often than before, especially on third and fourth downs. What they need are those decisive stops that will snatch their victories hence, this weakness has been a recurring factor and has exposed the Chiefs to the pressure of the last minute.

The Chiefs’ problems with the last moments of the game shows how thin the line between winning and losing in the NFL can be. It is only after solving these issues that they can think of returning to the status of Super Bowl contenders next year.