List of Kansas City Chiefs seasons
The Kansas City Chiefs have completed 55 seasons in professional American football and 45 with the National Football League (NFL). This article documents the season-by-season records of the Chiefs franchise from 1960 to the conclusion of their most recent season in 2015, including postseason records, and league awards for individual players or head coaches.
The team began play as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) in 1960 as the Dallas Texans. Following the 1962 AFL season, the team relocated to Kansas City, Missouri and was renamed the Kansas City Chiefs. The team has played in 810 total games in a total of 51 seasons, and a winning percentage of .514. The team’s three 13-win seasons in 1995, 1997, and 2003 remain their winningest seasons to date and their 2—14 record in 2008 and 2012 is the Chiefs’ worst.
The Texans/Chiefs were the winningest team in the history of the AFL, compiling an 87—48 record from 1960 to 1969. The team won three league championships and served as the AFL’s representative in the Super Bowl in 1966 and 1969. Since the franchise’s alignment to the NFL, the team has won six division championships and six wild card playoff berths, seven of which were between 1989 and 1997 when the team never lost as many games as it won. Despite the franchise’s early success, the Chiefs did not win a post-season game between the 1993–94 and 2015–16 playoffs, whilst their victory on January 11, 1970 remains the franchise’s only Super Bowl title to date.
The Chiefs have suffered two main periods of failure. Between 1972 and 1985 the Kansas City Chiefs never appeared in the postseason and achieved only one winning season (in 1981) from 1974 until 1985. Between 2007 and 2012, the Chiefs also struggled, with two two-win and two four-win seasons. However, the recent Chiefs have done much better, with a 41-22 record (including postseason) within the last 3+ seasons. As well, after a Week 13 win over the Falcons, the Chiefs clinched four consecutive winning seasons.
Seasons
- Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play. Regular and postseason records are combined only at the bottom of the list.
| AFL Champions (1960–1969) | Super Bowl Champions (1970–present) | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Wild Card Berth |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason Results | Awards | Head coaches | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | ||||||||
| Dallas Texans | |||||||||||
| 1960 | 1960 | AFL | Western | 2nd | 8 | 6 | 0 | Abner Haynes (UPI/AP AFL MVP) | Hank Stram | ||
| 1961 | 1961 | AFL | Western | 2nd | 6 | 8 | 0 | Hank Stram | |||
| 1962 | 1962 | AFL | Western | 1st | 11 | 3 | 0 | Won AFL Championship (1) (Oilers) 20–17 (2 OT) | Len Dawson (TSN AFL MVP) | Hank Stram | |
| Kansas City Chiefs | |||||||||||
| 1963 | 1963 | AFL | Western | 3rd | 5 | 7 | 2 | Hank Stram | |||
| 1964 | 1964 | AFL | Western | 2nd | 7 | 7 | 0 | Hank Stram | |||
| 1965 | 1965 | AFL | Western | 3rd | 7 | 5 | 2 | Hank Stram | |||
| 1966 | 1966 | AFL | Western | 1st | 11 | 2 | 1 | Won AFL Championship (Bills) 31–7 Lost Super Bowl I (Packers) 35–10 |
Hank Stram | ||
| 1967 | 1967 | AFL | Western | 2nd | 9 | 5 | 0 | Hank Stram | |||
| 1968 | 1968 | AFL | Western | 2nd[1] | 12 | 2 | 0 | Lost Western Division playoff (Raiders) 41–6 | Hank Stram (UPI/PFW AFL COY) | Hank Stram | |
| 1969 | 1969 | AFL | Western | 2nd | 11 | 3 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Jets) 13–6 Won AFL Championship (Raiders) 17–7 Won Super Bowl IV (2) (Vikings) 23–7 |
Len Dawson (Super Bowl IV MVP) | Hank Stram | |
| 1970 | 1970 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 7 | 5 | 2 | Hank Stram | ||
| 1971 | 1971 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 10 | 3 | 1 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Dolphins) 27–24 (2 OT) | Otis Taylor (AFC POY) Willie Lanier (Pro Bowl Co–MVP)[2] Jan Stenerud (Pro Bowl Co–MVP)[2] |
Hank Stram |
| 1972 | 1972 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 8 | 6 | 0 | Willie Lanier (NFL MOY) | Hank Stram | |
| 1973 | 1973 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 7 | 5 | 2 | Len Dawson (NFL MOY) | Hank Stram | |
| 1974 | 1974 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 5 | 9 | 0 | Hank Stram | ||
| 1975 | 1975 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 5 | 9 | 0 | Paul Wiggin | ||
| 1976 | 1976 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 5 | 9 | 0 | Paul Wiggin | ||
| 1977 | 1977 | NFL | AFC | West | 5th | 2 | 12 | 0 | Paul Wiggin (1–6) Tom Bettis (1–6) | ||
| 1978 | 1978 | NFL | AFC | West | 5th | 4 | 12 | 0 | Marv Levy | ||
| 1979 | 1979 | NFL | AFC | West | 5th | 7 | 9 | 0 | Marv Levy | ||
| 1980 | 1980 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 8 | 8 | 0 | Marv Levy | ||
| 1981 | 1981 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Marv Levy | ||
| 1982 | 1982 | NFL | AFC | West | 11th[3] | 3 | 6 | 0 | Marv Levy | ||
| 1983 | 1983 | NFL | AFC | West | 5th | 6 | 10 | 0 | John Mackovic | ||
| 1984 | 1984 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 8 | 8 | 0 | Bill Maas (DROY) | John Mackovic | |
| 1985 | 1985 | NFL | AFC | West | 5th | 6 | 10 | 0 | John Mackovic | ||
| 1986 | 1986 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Jets) 35–15 | John Mackovic | |
| 1987[4] | 1987 | NFL | AFC | West | 5th | 4 | 11 | 0 | Frank Gansz | ||
| 1988 | 1988 | NFL | AFC | West | 5th | 4 | 11 | 1 | Frank Gansz | ||
| 1989 | 1989 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 8 | 7 | 1 | Derrick Thomas (DROY) Christian Okoye (OPOY) |
Marty Schottenheimer | |
| 1990 | 1990 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 11 | 5 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Dolphins) 17–16 | Barry Word (CPOY) | Marty Schottenheimer |
| 1991 | 1991 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Raiders) 10–6 Lost Divisional Playoffs (Bills) 37–14 |
Marty Schottenheimer | |
| 1992 | 1992 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Chargers) 17–0 | Dale Carter (DROY) | Marty Schottenheimer |
| 1993 | 1993 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 11 | 5 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Steelers) 27–24 Won Divisional Playoffs (Oilers) 28–20 Lost Conference Championship (Bills) 30–13 |
Marcus Allen (CPOY) Derrick Thomas (MOY) |
Marty Schottenheimer |
| 1994 | 1994 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Dolphins) 27–17 | Marty Schottenheimer | |
| 1995 | 1995 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 13 | 3 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Colts) 10–7 | Marty Schottenheimer (UPI COY) | Marty Schottenheimer |
| 1996 | 1996 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Marty Schottenheimer | ||
| 1997 | 1997 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 13 | 3 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Broncos) 14–10 | Marty Schottenheimer | |
| 1998 | 1998 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 7 | 9 | 0 | Marty Schottenheimer | ||
| 1999 | 1999 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Gunther Cunningham | ||
| 2000 | 2000 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | Gunther Cunningham | ||
| 2001 | 2001 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 6 | 10 | 0 | Dick Vermeil | ||
| 2002 | 2002 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 8 | 8 | 0 | Priest Holmes (OPOY) | Dick Vermeil | |
| 2003 | 2003 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 13 | 3 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Colts) 38–31 | Will Shields (MOY) Dick Vermeil (MFC COY) |
Dick Vermeil |
| 2004 | 2004 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | Dick Vermeil | ||
| 2005 | 2005 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | Dick Vermeil | ||
| 2006 | 2006 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Colts) 23–8 | Herman Edwards | |
| 2007 | 2007 | NFL | AFC | West | 3rd | 4 | 12 | 0 | Dwayne Bowe (ROTW x2) | Herman Edwards | |
| 2008 | 2008 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 2 | 14 | 0 | Herman Edwards | ||
| 2009 | 2009 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | Brian Waters (MOY) | Todd Haley | |
| 2010 | 2010 | NFL | AFC | West | 1st | 10 | 6 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Ravens) 30–7 | Todd Haley | |
| 2011 | 2011 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 7 | 9 | 0 | Todd Haley (5–8) Romeo Crennel (2–1) | ||
| 2012 | 2012 | NFL | AFC | West | 4th | 2 | 14 | 0 | Romeo Crennel | ||
| 2013 | 2013 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 11 | 5 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Colts) 45–44 | Andy Reid | |
| 2014 | 2014 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Andy Reid | ||
| 2015 | 2015 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 11 | 5 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Texans) 30–0 Lost Divisional Playoffs (Patriots) 27–20 |
Marcus Peters (DROY) Eric Berry (CPOY) |
Andy Reid |
| 2016 | 2016 | NFL | AFC | West | 2nd | 9 | 3 | 0 | Andy Reid | ||
| Total | 469 | 424 | 12 | (1960–2016, includes only regular season) | |||||||
| 9 | 16 | 0 | (1960–2016, includes only playoffs) | ||||||||
| 477 | 440 | 12 | (1960–2016, includes both regular season and playoffs; 3 AFL Championships, 1 Super Bowl Championship) | ||||||||
Footnotes
- ↑ The Chiefs and Oakland Raiders both finished the 1968 American Football League season with a 12–2 record, but the Raiders were declared AFL Western Division champions. Both teams qualified for a one game playoff.
- 1 2 Lanier and Stenerud were named Defensive MVP and Offensive MVP of the 1972 Pro Bowl
- ↑ Due to the 1982 NFL Players Association strike, teams were ranked by conference instead of divisional standings.
- ↑ Due to the 1987 NFL Players Association strike, the season was shortened to 15 games.
References
- "Kansas City Chiefs History". CBS Sportsline. Retrieved June 7, 2008.
- "NFL Football History". CBS Sportsline. Retrieved June 7, 2008.
- "Kansas City Chiefs Franchise History". Kansas City Chiefs History Website. Retrieved June 7, 2008.
- "NFL.com – History – Yearly Standings". NFL official website. Retrieved June 7, 2008.
- "Pro Football Hall of Fame – Kansas City Chiefs". Pro Football Hall of Fame Website. Retrieved June 7, 2008.
- "Kansas City Chiefs History". Football @ JT-SW.com. John M. Troan. Retrieved April 2012. Check date values in:
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