History

TEAM HISTORY

In 1959, a 26-year-old Texan, frustrated by his unsuccessful attempts to gain a pro football franchise in the National Football League, embarked on an alternate course that was to drastically change the face of pro football forever. The young man was Lamar Hunt, who founded the American Football League that season and served as the league's first president when its eight new teams began play in 1960.

Hunt's own team, the Dallas Texans, was located in his hometown where he would face direct competition from the NFL's newest expansion team, the Dallas Cowboys. In spite of this opposition from the established NFL, the Texans quickly made their mark as one of the new league's strongest teams. In their third season in 1962, they won the AFL championship with a 20-17 win over the Houston Oilers in a 77-minute, 54-second, two-overtime game, the longest pro football game ever played up to that time.

Although the Texans fared well in Dallas, Hunt decided that, for the good of the league, it would be best to move his franchise to Kansas City in 1963. They continued to enjoy the success the team had experienced in Dallas. The Chiefs won a second AFL title in 1966 and was the first team to represent the AFL in Super Bowl competition.

Kansas City won another title in 1969 and became the only team in AFL history to win three championships. Although the Minnesota Vikings were heavily favored in Super Bowl IV, Kansas City upset the NFL champions 23-7 to complete the AFL vs. NFL portion of the Super Bowl series tied at two wins each. It was the last game ever played by an AFL team.

The Texans-Chiefs' 10-season AFL record of 92-50-5 was the best of any AFL team. Head coach Hank Stram became the only man to serve as a head coach throughout the AFL's history.

Thanks to Hunt's wise player-procurement policies, his teams were loaded with potential superstars, including five -- quarterback Len Dawson, defensive end Buck Buchanan, linebackers Bobby Bell and Willie Lanier and kicker Jan Stenerud -- who have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hunt himself was the first Chief elected for his role in forming a new league that caused pro football to grow from 12 teams to 26 teams in the 1960s.

When they first moved to Kansas City, the Chiefs played in 49,002-seat Municipal Stadium. But in 1972, they moved into their current home, 78,097-seat Arrowhead Stadium, considered to be one of the world's finest.

The Chiefs won the AFC Western Division title in 1971, but their Christmas Day double-overtime playoff loss to Miami that year marked their last playoff appearance until the 1986 Chiefs captured a wild-card playoff berth. The Chiefs were perennial playoff contenders under coach Marty Schottenheimer from 1989-1998. The Chiefs are now in the capable hands of head coach Andy Reid, who earned a playoff spot in his first season with the team.

Patrick Mahomes made his NFL debut and first career start in the December 31, 2017, game against the Denver Broncos. The Chiefs won the game 27–24, with Mahomes going 22 for 35 with 284 yards and one interception. The Chiefs began the 2018 season with first-year starter Mahomes as their quarterback and finished the regular season with a record of 12–4, clinching the AFC West for the third year in a row and the AFC's top seed. This included victories over division rivals Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos (twice), along with important conference victories over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, and Jacksonville Jaguars. Their first loss of the season came at the hands of the New England Patriots with a last-second field goal. Their second loss of the season came against the Los Angeles Rams with a final score of 51–54, in which the Kansas City Chiefs made history by becoming the first NFL team to lose a game after scoring more than 50 points. Mahomes finished the season with 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns, both team records. He became the 11th quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards and the 3rd to throw for 50 touchdowns. He joined Peyton Manning as only the 2nd player in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns. For his performance during the season, he was named AP NFL MVP, the first Chief to ever win the award.

In the AFC Divisional round on January 12, 2019, the Chiefs defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31–13 to move on to the AFC Championship Game. This marked the Chiefs' first playoff win in Arrowhead Stadium in 25 years. This also enabled the Chiefs to host the AFC Championship Game for the first time ever. The next week, Kansas City's bid for its first Super Bowl berth in 49 years ended with a 37–31 overtime loss to the New England Patriots.

The Chiefs finished the 2019 regular season with a 12–4 record, winning the AFC West division title for the fourth straight year, and clinched the AFC's second seed behind the Baltimore Ravens. The Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans 51–31 in the AFC Divisional Game after falling behind 24–0 at the start of the second quarter with Mahomes throwing for five touchdowns. The Chiefs hosted their second AFC Championship game in consecutive years facing the sixth-seed Tennessee Titans. The Chiefs then defeated the Titans 35–24 and advanced to Super Bowl LIV. This marked their first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years, since Super Bowl IV.

On February 2, 2020, in Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the Chiefs played against the NFC's top seed, the San Francisco 49ers. Following halftime when both teams were tied at ten points, Mahomes threw 2 interceptions in back to back drives in the 3rd and 4th quarters, resulting in the 49ers having a 20–10 lead with under 12 minutes remaining in the game. The Chiefs scored touchdowns on their next two possessions, with Mahomes throwing touchdowns to Travis Kelce and Damien Williams. With a 24–20 lead with under two minutes remaining, Williams had a 38-yard touchdown run to effectively seal the game for the Chiefs. This marked the first time in NFL postseason history that a team faced ten point deficits in three straight games and won all three by double-digit margins. Mahomes won the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, ending the Chiefs' Super Bowl drought dating back to the AFL-NFL Merger.

In their 2021 season, the Chiefs beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 36–10, earning the team's sixth straight AFC West title on December 26, 2021. The Chiefs began their playoff slate with a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round, and advanced to play the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round. Their 42–36 victory over Buffalo came in a game sports commentators and analysts dubbed as one of the greatest modern day NFL playoff games. Despite being the first team to host the AFC Championship game for four consecutive seasons, the team finished the season losing 24–27 in overtime to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Chiefs began their 2022 season by trading Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, and instead opting to stock up on picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. They finished the season with a 14–3 regular season record, with losses coming from the Colts, Bills, and Bengals. All three losses were by margins of less than four points. The Chiefs won their seventh consecutive AFC West division championship, and secured the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs. The team hosted their fifth consecutive AFC Championship Game, and second consecutive against the Cincinnati Bengals, winning 23–20 on a game-winning field goal from Harrison Butker. In Super Bowl LVII, the Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38–35 again on a field goal from Butker. With the victory, Mahomes became the first player since Kurt Warner in 1999 to win both the NFL MVP Award and Super Bowl MVP Award in the same season. Head coach Andy Reid won his second Super Bowl championship over the Eagles, the team he had previously led to a Super Bowl appearance.

The Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens in the 2024 AFC Championship game, earning a spot in the Super Bowl where they would defeat the San Francisco 49ers.