KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have more losses through eight games than they had the entirety of last regular season.
They just might be a better team, though.
So much of the incredible 15-2 regular-season record a year ago was smoke and mirrors, the byproduct of fluke plays, timely execution and a penchant for winning one-score games. But there have been no flukes during their 5-3 start to this season: all five wins, including Monday night's 28-7 rout of Washington, have been by at least two scores.
“I know our record isn't as good,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said, “but it's a lot more fun when everybody is going out there and making things happen. We lost some tough games early that we won previous years, but it's not like anyone hung their head.”
Not after a close loss to the Chargers in their season-opener, played thousands of miles away in Brazil, and without their top two wide receivers with Xavier Worthy getting hurt in the first quarter and Rashee Rice serving his six-game suspension.
Nor after a loss to the Eagles in a Super Bowl rematch, or against Jacksonville, when the Chiefs basically gave the game away.
Instead, the Chiefs (5-3) got healthy and whole, with Rice rejoining the team a couple of weeks ago. They began to rally around a core led by Mahomes and Travis Kelce, and they have now won five of their last six games, including the last three — against the powerful Lions, lowly Raiders and banged-up Commanders — by an absurd 89-24 combined margin.
It's the kind of stuff the Chiefs were doing during Mahomes' first couple of years in the league.
“They complement each other. That's a positive,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said of his collective team. “At this level, you need everybody. And they stay positive; that's a part I appreciate. Even when it's up and down, they stay positive and create energy, and with that, they're able to come around and make plays on both sides of the ball.”
Indeed, it isn't just the Kansas City offense that is playing at a high level. The defense has allowed 14 points over the last 10 quarters, a streak that included a blanking of the Raiders — the first shutout by the Chiefs in 14 years.
“Usually years prior, we came back with success from the offseason,” Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton said, “and it wasn't that way this year. It's just day-in and day-out, we're finding ways to get better, and it's just a joy to be around.”
It's been a joy for the Chiefs. A nightmare for everybody they've had to face lately.
There are some high-profile games on the horizon, too. Up next is a trip to Buffalo for a rematch of the AFC championship game, then games against Denver and Indianapolis, two of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season.
The way the Chiefs have been playing, it's a challenge they welcome.
One of the reasons that Mahomes has thrown for at least 250 yards and three scores in three of his past four games has been better production by Kansas City on the ground. The Chiefs ran for 148 yards against Washington on Monday night, and that opened up the passing game for them; Mahomes wound up throwing for 299 yards and three TDs.
Special teams problems have run the gamut this year, from Harrison Butker's early-season struggles in the kicking game to poor coverage and penalties. The latter two popped up again in the Chiefs' win over the Commanders.
Defensive end Mike Danna, who missed time with quad and back injuries earlier this season, had a game to remember against Washington. He finished with three tackles, a sack and the first interception that he could recall at any level.
Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones had just one tackle, no sacks and never pressured Commanders fill-in quarterback Marcus Mariota on Monday night. The three-time All-Pro still has only two sacks on the season.
Bolton and running back Isiah Pacheco each banged up one of their knees during the game.
83 — The number of touchdowns by Kelce, tying the Chiefs record held by Priest Holmes. Kelce caught his 80th TD pass on Monday night to go with a pair of rushing touchdowns and a fumble recovery for a score earlier in his career.
The Chiefs and Bills meet again on Sunday in Buffalo.
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Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid speaks during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes smiles following an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt, right, is congratulated by teammate Travis Kelce (87) after catching a touchdown pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Pope Leo XIV celebrated the Sagrada Familia Basilica as a masterpiece of “stones, colors and light,” as he marked the centenary of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudí, with a Mass on Wednesday to inaugurate its final soaring sandcastle spire.
Leo called Gaudí’s unfinished temple, one of the world’s most visited monuments, a “sign of unity and harmony for all of Spain,” an ongoing building project like the lifelong journey all Christians make to find God.
“We are all the living stones of this edifice,” Leo said from the altar of the basilica, with Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia sitting to his side and a hundreds-strong choir filling the basilica with song.
The service marked the highlight of Leo’s weeklong visit to Spain, the first by a pope in 15 years to the once staunchly Catholic European country that, like many others, has experienced secularizing trends.
The trip, though, has underscored how the country of 50 million people, which experienced a religious crisis after its 20th century dictatorship ended, still has plenty of faithful Catholics who have turned out in droves to welcome the American pope.
An estimated 120,000 people lined the streets around Sagrada Familia for the event, with streets closed to traffic and a heavy police presence, given the attendance of the royal couple and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The crowds remained after Mass to watch as Leo inaugurated the basilica's final Tower of Jesus Christ that has made it the world's tallest church.
Speaking in Catalan and Spanish, Leo blessed the tower and its illuminated ceramic cross from outside the basilica, surrounded by bishops craning their mitre-capped heads to look up. An angelic boy's choir sang as a spectacular light show lit up the basilica's stained glass windows from the inside and fireworks shot off its facade.
Earlier Wednesday, Leo celebrated a more ancient sacred monument, traveling to Montserrat, a mountain complex outside the city that is dear to many Catalans. The complex, which includes an 11th-century Benedictine abbey and a 16th-century basilica, is revered for its Black Madonna statue and is home to a boy's choir that has existed since the 13th century and is Europe's oldest.
Thousands of faithful arrived early at the monastery, with groups of nuns and schoolchildren singing and waving signs and photographs of the pope outside the basilica. Bells rang out over the spire-like rock formations that top Montserrat and the valley below as Leo arrived in a golf cart.
In recent years, the Montserrat abbey has faced numerous accusations from survivors of clergy sexual abuse and was included in the Spanish ombudsman’s 800-page report on the crisis in 2023. The report found 15 victims and three alleged perpetrators linked to the abbey.
“It’s very painful because there are members of the church who committed errors,” said the Rev. Cesario Escarda, a Toledo priest, as he waited for Leo at the abbey. “What the pope wants to do is shine a light on the truth and ask forgiveness and bring in the victims and listen to them and accompany them.”
The highlight of Leo’s visit, though, was his Mass at Sagrada Familia to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of its famed Catalan designer, Gaudí, who died at age 73, three days after he was hit by a tram.
A century after construction began during the pontificate of Leo’s namesake, Pope Leo XIII, the basilica has become one of the world’s most visited but unfinished monuments, annually drawing upward of 5 million visitors a year.
Commemorating Gaudí's death, Leo said he wanted to give thanks to all the supporters, artists and workers who “cooperated in the construction of an architectural masterpiece, which is also an eloquent catechesis made of stones, colors and light.”
Gaudí, who is on the path to possible sainthood, spent four decades designing and building the temple as the summary of the Christian faith carved in stone. The most important stories of Jesus’ life, the Nativity and Passion, are etched into the basilica’s east and west facades. A third facade facing south, the Glory, will serve as the basilica’s main entrance when finished.
The temple is an architectural and geometrical masterpiece inside and out, an art nouveau celebration in form and symbol of Christianity and God’s creation through stone and light.
“Much more than a monument, the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia remains a work in progress today, reminding us that the Christian life is always a journey, because it is a project that God is carrying out,” Leo said in his homily.
A total of 18 sandcastle spires rise up from the top and pierce Barcelona’s skyline: 12 to symbolize Christ’s 12 apostles, four for each of the four Evangelists who recorded Christ’s life in the Gospels, one topped with a star over the apse honoring the Virgin Mary and, tallest among them, the Tower of Jesus Christ.
When the final Christ tower was finished last year at a height of 172½ meters (564 feet), it made Sagrada Familia the world’s tallest church.
“The entire structure of the Sagrada Familia is striking,” said Laura Rincón, who was on hand outside along with two friends for the Mass, after she finished work in a nearby shop. She said that she was sure the pope would be impressed by the church she marvels at every time she passes by.
“If you look at it just for its architecture, it is amazing,” she said. “Inside, its columns make you feel like you are inside a forest.”
The cross-shaped interior, with the altar at the apse, is an homage to light and nature. Treelike columns soar to the sky, colored by constantly changing light filtered through stained glass windows like the sun poking through leaves in a forest.
“Nature is my teacher,” Gaudí once said. “Everything comes from the great book of nature, always open that we must read.”
The colors of the window glass have meaning: The blues and greens of the eastern portal windows, where the facade depicts Christ’s birth, look more joyful and are most brilliant when the sun rises and light passes through. The coarser shades of red and orange, illuminated by the setting sun on the western portals, color the side of the basilica that depicts Christ’s Passion. Behind the altar and above the cross are yellows and gold that glimmer in the noonday sun.
Historian Mònica Santín, who leads tours of the basilica, said that in designing Sagrada Familia, Gaudí was guided by two books: the Gospels and nature.
“The way he lets in the natural light is also an invitation to the Christian mystery,” she said, citing the three facades depicting Christ’s birth, death and glory.
“And when you enter inside, it is all light,” Santín said. “What is that the symbol of? We can’t see God, but we perceive his light all around us. I think that is how you can read this message, and it is fascinating.”
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Faithful attend the the inauguration ceremony of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Fireworks engulf Antoni Gaudí's Basilica of the Sagrada Família, seen from Torre Glòries, after Pope Leo XIV blessed the newly completed central Tower of Jesus Christ in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. The tower's completion made the Sagrada Família, at 172.5 meters (566 feet), the tallest church in the world. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Priests attend the inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Basilica of the Sagrada FamÌlia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Priests attend the inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Basilica of the Sagrada FamÌlia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
People attend the inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ by Pope Leo XIV at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Priests attend the inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Basilica of the Sagrada FamÌlia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Pope Leo XIV attends the inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Basilica of the Sagrada FamÃlia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Priests attend the inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Basilica of the Sagrada FamÌlia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Pope Leo XIV, bottom, walks in procession to celebrate a mass in the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
A view of the ceiling at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia before Pope Leo XIV's arrival to celebrate Mass in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Pope Leo XIV leaves at the end of a meeting with faithful and members of the diocesan charity and welfare organizations in the Church of Sant Agusti in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV blesses a child as he meets with faithful and members of the diocesan charity and welfare organizations in the Church of Sant Agusti in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV leads a rosary prayer at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, in Montserrat, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful from the balcony after leading a rosary at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, in Montserrat, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)
People wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV to lead a rosary at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, in Montserrat, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
People wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV to lead a rosary at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, in Montserrat, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Antoni Gaudí's Basilica of the Sagrada Família stands at dusk as seen from the Mirador Torre Glòries in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Pope Leo XIV looks at the cheering crowd upon arriving to attend a midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Visitors take photos inside the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, May 26, 2026, ahead of Pope Leo XIV's visit to the city in June. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A view of the Basilica of Montserrat at the Monastery of Montserrat near Barcelona, Spain, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A view of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, ahead of Pope Leo XIV's visit to the city in June. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Pope Leo XIV arrives to attend a prayer vigil at Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Pope Leo XIV blesses a child before a prayer vigil at Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
