I hope the rest of the AFC enjoyed last season because the Kansas City Chiefs appear to be back. On Monday night, in front of a national audience, the Chiefs showed that their 2025 season was an exception and not the rule, en route to a resounding 31-10 victory over the Denver Broncos, the reigning No. 1 seed in the conference. Not only did the Chiefs make a statement to the Broncos, but they reminded the rest of the AFC who the conference runs through.
The Chiefs dominated a talented Denver squad despite a middling outing from Patrick Mahomes in his return from a torn ACL. On the night, Mahomes completed 15 of his 27 pass attempts for 184 yards with two passing touchdowns and one interception, which came when he and Xavier Worthy miscommunicated on a route. In what has been a rare occurrence for the Chiefs over the years, they won in convincing fashion largely in spite of Mahomes and not because of him. Prized free-agent addition Kenneth Walker III was as advertised and then some, carrying the ball 23 times for 173 yards and a touchdown while also adding a score through the air. Walker showed that he was worth every cent of the three-year, $43.05 million contract he signed in March and provides some long-awaited explosiveness in the Chiefs' backfield.
The Chiefs now have a short turnaround, as they will host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football this week. On the surface, this should be a favorable matchup for the Chiefs. The Colts are 0-1 and coming off a blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens in their building. They are currently in the midst of an eight-game losing streak that dates back to last November and are the far inferior team on paper.
However, given the history between these two teams, it's essential that the Chiefs come ready to play on Sunday night. The Colts have been a thorn in Kansas City's side dating all the way back to the 1990s. Even on occasions when the Chiefs appeared to have the superior team, they have slipped on the proverbial banana peel that the Colts have presented. Here is a look at some of the most memorable matchups between these two teams, and here's hoping the Chiefs can take care of business on Sunday.
1995 Divisional Round: Colts defeat the Chiefs 10-7
Known as the "Lin Elliott Game," this matchup marks arguably the most devastating playoff loss in Chiefs franchise history. In 1995, the Chiefs were the best team in the NFL throughout the regular season, finishing with a league-high 13 wins. They earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC and had their first postseason matchup against a Colts team that went a mere 9-7 in the regular season and didn't even win its own division. Much of the Chiefs' success that season was due to "Marty Ball" (named after then-head coach Marty Schottenheimer), which prioritized playing strong defense and a potent rushing attack.
Throughout the regular season, they were able to hide quarterback Steve Bono, who was a limited passer and whom many fans believed was the second-best quarterback on the roster, as future MVP Rich Gannon sat behind him. Bono struggled mightily against the Colts, tossing three brutal interceptions before ultimately getting benched for Gannon in the fourth quarter. However, the biggest culprit in this game was placekicker Lin Elliott, who missed three field goals from 35, 39, and 43 yards, with the latter being an attempt to tie the game at the end of regulation.
2003 Divisional Round: Colts defeat the Chiefs 38-31
The 2003 Chiefs were one of the most entertaining teams of the 21st century. They boasted an electric offense in which they had a 4,000-yard passer in Trent Green, a record-breaking season from Priest Holmes in which he scored 27 rushing touchdowns, and the league's best tight end in Tony Gonzalez. This offense carried the Chiefs to a 13-3 record and a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs. However, the defense was a weakness throughout the season and killed the team's chances in another home divisional-round loss to Indianapolis.
In fairness, the 2003 Colts were a much more talented team than the 1995 squad that sent the Chiefs packing eight years earlier. Peyton Manning was the league's MVP, and they were loaded with offensive weapons such as Edgerrin James, Marvin Harrison, and Reggie Wayne. Still, the Chiefs failed to force a single punt in this game and lost at home despite scoring 31 points on their own merit. Manning passed for 304 yards and three scores, while the Chiefs allowed James to have a monster outing in which he rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns. The 2003 Chiefs are one of the greatest "what if" teams in NFL history, as they had an offense worthy of a Lombardi Trophy but a defense worthy of a top-five pick.
Ultimately, it was disappointing to waste an offense that contained three Hall of Famers (Gonzalez, Willie Roaf, and Will Shields).
2006 Wild Card: Colts defeat the Chiefs 23-8
The 2006 Chiefs were nothing special. They won just nine games in the regular season and were the final seed in the AFC playoffs. Unlike the previous two matchups, they started their playoff run at the old RCA Dome to face the eventual Super Bowl champion Colts. Kansas City was unable to get anything going on offense, failing to record a first down before halftime. For the most part, the Chiefs held their own defensively, intercepting Manning three times and not allowing the Colts to score an offensive touchdown until the third quarter.
Ultimately, this wasn't enough, as Kansas City scored just eight offensive points and netted a measly 121 total yards. This was also Trent Green's final game with the Chiefs, as he was traded to the Miami Dolphins the following June. While the Chiefs were clearly the inferior team to Indianapolis, they had their opportunities to make this game more competitive.
2013 Wild Card: Colts defeat the Chiefs 45-44
Aside from the disappointment in 1995, this is the game that most Chiefs fans would like to forget on this list. Unlike 1995, the 2013 Chiefs did not have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, as they were unlikely to get past the Broncos, who had the best statistical offense in league history that season, or even the Patriots. This was Andy Reid's first season in Kansas City, and they rebounded from a two-win disaster in 2012 to become an 11-win playoff team. In fact, the Chiefs were the final undefeated team standing in 2013 before sputtering down the stretch, during which they lost five of seven contests.
To begin the playoffs, they once again went to the Circle City to face Andrew Luck's Colts, a talented but flawed team. The Chiefs were in absolute control in the first half of this game, taking a whopping 38-10 lead on the road. They also got an exceptional performance from Alex Smith, who passed for 378 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. However, Smith's brilliant performance was overshadowed by the absolute meltdown in the second half, when the Chiefs were outscored 35-13. The most egregious play occurred when Colts running back Donald Brown fumbled in the red zone, only for the ball to be recovered by Luck for a touchdown. This debacle marked the second-largest blown lead in postseason history.
2018 Divisional Round: Chiefs defeat the Colts 31-13
Finally, the Chiefs came out on the right side of a playoff matchup against Indianapolis. In Patrick Mahomes' first season as the starter, the Chiefs earned the AFC's top seed and hosted the sixth-seeded Colts in the divisional round. Immediately, this gave Chiefs fans unfortunate flashbacks to 1995. Luckily, Mahomes is no Steve Bono, and Kansas City won by a comfortable 18 points.
Ironically, this was the Chiefs' only postseason win of the Mahomes era in which he did not throw a touchdown, as Kansas City earned all four of its scores on the ground. This game was never legitimately in doubt, as the Chiefs jumped out to an early 17-0 lead and, unlike in 2013, did not allow the Colts to get back in it, as they never led by less than double digits from there on out. This was also Andrew Luck's final game in the NFL.
2019 Week 5: Colts defeat the Chiefs 19-13
The Chiefs started the following season on fire, as they entered an early-season Sunday night matchup with the Colts at 4-0. The Colts were still stunned by Luck's shocking retirement just a month earlier and entered this game at 2-2. Many thought the Chiefs would cruise to an easy win, as Mahomes had picked up right where he left off from his MVP campaign the year before, throwing 11 touchdowns through just four games.
Instead, they sputtered to an ugly 19-13 loss at home. The offense scoring just 13 points was a disappointing effort and marked the lowest-scoring output of the Mahomes era to that point. However, the defense did nothing to help matters, allowing career backup running back Marlon Mack to have a career night, as he rushed for 132 yards. While this loss was irritating at the time, the Chiefs ended that season by winning Super Bowl LIV over the 49ers.
2022 Week 3: Colts defeat the Chiefs 20-17
This was the ultimate "slip on a banana peel" type of game for the Chiefs and a result that makes zero sense to this day. The 2022 Chiefs were a juggernaut, going 14-3 en route to a thrilling Super Bowl win over the Eagles. The Colts, on the other hand, were a disaster that season, going 4-12-1 and firing head coach Frank Reich halfway through the season. Throughout the entire second half of the year, Indianapolis was coached by Jeff Saturday, who had no head coaching experience at any level beyond high school and was previously an analyst at ESPN. However, in Week 3, the Chiefs played their worst game of the season in a sloppy, mistake-filled loss to a bad Indianapolis team.
Leading 17-13 with under a minute left, the Chiefs allowed a nearly retired Matt Ryan to toss a go-ahead 12-yard touchdown with less than 30 seconds left. Mahomes was picked off with minimal time left, sealing the loss. Luckily, this game appeared to be a wake-up call for the Chiefs, who went 15-2 the rest of the season while boasting the league's highest-scoring offense. Mahomes also enjoyed the best season of his career, throwing for a career-high 5,250 yards and 41 touchdowns en route to his second MVP award. Mahomes became the first quarterback in 23 years to win the MVP and the Super Bowl in the same season.
2025 Week 12: Chiefs defeat the Colts 23-20 in Overtime
In their most recent matchup, the 2025 Chiefs exerted every bit of energy they had left to win this game. The 2025 Chiefs were no fun to watch. From a combination of Super Bowl loss hangover, fatigue, and a lack of talent in certain areas, the Chiefs could never seem to get out of their own way. However, for one quarter (plus overtime) in front of their home fans, the Chiefs showed one last burst of championship DNA to beat the Colts.
Trailing 20-9 entering the fourth, the Chiefs' defense went into absolute lockdown mode, forcing four consecutive three-and-outs. Mahomes and the offense found just enough magic to score 11 unanswered points before Harrison Butker drilled the game-winner in overtime. Mahomes threw for 352 yards, and Rashee Rice had a monster day, as he hauled in eight passes for 141 yards. In a season full of lows, this iteration of the Chiefs pulled out one last improbable victory.
The Chiefs are a significantly better team than the Colts, so there is no excuse not to be 2-0 by the end of the day on Sunday. However, there are numerous past instances in which the Chiefs sleepwalked their way to underwhelming losses to inferior Colts teams. Riding the high of Monday's domination, these Chiefs need to come out of the gate with the same intensity to avoid suffering the same fate.
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