The Kansas City Chiefs finally got over the hump in 2019. They were able to win an elusive Super Bowl championship behind the league’s best quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. They finished 12-4 to notch their fifth-straight season with 10 or more wins, their seventh-straight winning season and their fifth playoff appearance in a row.
This is a franchise that appears to have nothing but good times ahead. Andy Reid is one of the league’s best coaches and Mahomes has weapons all over the field. The Chiefs are about as complete as a team can be. But this was not always the case.
The Chiefs have had plenty of heartbreak, whether in the draft or on the field. This is still the team that selected Todd Blackledge seventh-overall in 1983, for example. The good news is that Chiefs fans can sit back and laugh at the bad times of the past since they are rooting for one of the best teams in the present.
5. 1993 Ends in Blowout
The dog days were finally over. The Chiefs finished 11-5 in 1993 and won the division for the first time since 1971. Kansas City made a run to the AFC Championship for the first time since 1969.
The 1970s and 80s are viewed as the dark years of Chiefs football. This began to end in the 1990s as they made the playoffs seven times in the decade. Their longest run came in 1993, but it ended at the hands of the Buffalo Bills.
The Chiefs marched into Buffalo off of two playoff wins by a combined 11 points. The offense could not get anything going against the Bills, leading to a 30-13 loss. At least fans could look forward to many more chances in the playoffs in the years ahead.
4. Playoff Loss Without Opposing Touchdowns
There are not many certainties in football. One thing that has usually been concrete is that the winning team will have to score at least one touchdown. That was not the case when the Pittsburgh Steelers traveled to Kansas City in the 2016 divisional round.
The Chiefs were coming off a 12-4 regular season that ended in an AFC West title. They earned a first-round bye before the Steelers came to town. The Chiefs scored 16 points while holding Pittsburgh to field goals, a scenario that would normally end with a Kansas City victory. That was not the case, as Steelers kicker Chris Boswell set a playoff record with six made field goals. Kansas City fell 18-16.
The Chiefs scored two touchdowns compared to none for the Steelers but could not win the game. This is still one of the most mind-boggling outcomes in recent memory.
3. Andrew Luck Leads Historic Comeback
A change of culture was in full effect. The Chiefs were one of the worst teams in the league in 2012 when they finished 2-14. This led to Romeo Crennel being fired as head coach. His replacement? Andy Reid. He led the Chiefs to 11 wins in his first season and the team ended up back in the playoffs.
The Wild Card round started better than they could have imagined. An Alex Smith touchdown pass to Knile Davis gave the Chiefs a commanding 38-10 lead early in the third quarter. Well, it seemed commanding at the time. From that moment on, Kansas City was outscored 35-6.
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck threw three touchdowns to lead the comeback and made one of the biggest plays in Indianapolis' history. Out of the shotgun, Luck handed the ball off and it was fumbled after a big hit. Luck picked up the ball bouncing right towards him and dove forward for a touchdown. A 64-yard touchdown pass to T.Y. Hilton completed the comeback.
The Colts shocked the Chiefs, 45-44, making it the second-largest comeback in NFL postseason history.
2. 2018 AFC Championship Game
Mahomes was unstoppable in his first season as a starter. He threw for over 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns. Mahomes was named MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. The Chiefs won 12 games and their third-straight division title.
The spotlight was not too big for the young quarterback, as he led Kansas City to a 31-13 win over the Colts in the Divisional round. The New England Patriots were their opponent in the AFC title game, but for once, New England had to go on the road.
For three quarters, the Patriots held the dynamic Chiefs offense in check. New England held a 17-7 lead with 15 minutes left. The Chiefs woke up in the fourth quarter, outscoring New England 24-14 and sending the game into overtime. This also included a phantom roughing the passer call and Dee Ford being flagged for being offsides.
In overtime, the Chiefs did not even get a chance to put their offense on the field. Tom Brady led a 13-play, 75 yard drive ending in a Rex Burkhead touchdown run. This remains one of the most heartbreaking losses in Chiefs history.
1. Lin Elliot
Lin Elliot will be remembered in Kansas City for one terrible game. It came in the 1995 playoffs against the Colts. Marty Schottenheimer built a juggernaut that season. Kansas City won 13 games and entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
The Chiefs scored late in the first quarter on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Steve Bono to Lake Dawson. This would be their only points of the game. The defense did enough to slow down the Colts as they were held to just 10 points. The game should have been in the bag, but Elliot could not put one between the uprights.
Elliot missed three field goals from under 42 yards. The last one was the final dagger. Rich Gannon came in to replace Bono and led the team on a drive to the Colts 25-yard line. With 42 seconds left, Elliot lined up to try to send the game to overtime. It was his third miss of the game.
The Colts exhaled and took home a 10-7 victory. This is the worst moment in Chiefs’ history. Their 13 wins set a new mark for most wins in franchise history. The 1995 team was good enough, from top to bottom, to win a championship, but there is nothing to show for it but a horrible memory.
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