1976 Kansas City Chiefs season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1976 Kansas City Chiefs season
OwnerLamar Hunt
Head coachPaul Wiggin
General managerJim Schaaf
Home fieldArrowhead Stadium
Results
Record5–9
Division place3rd AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersC Jack Rudnay

The 1976 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 7th season in the National Football League, the 14th as the Kansas City Chiefs, and the 17th overall it ended with a third consecutive 5–9 record and the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the 5th straight year.

Buck Buchanan announced his retirement in February, while Len Dawson announced his own departure on May 1.[1] Off the field, Jack Steadman was promoted to team president and Jim Schaaf was named general manager in August.[1] On the field, Kansas City's fortunes didn't improve in the second year of the Wiggin regime. The club dropped three straight home games, including an embarrassing 27–17 loss in Week 3 to the New Orleans Saints, the first win with the Saints for former Kansas City coach Hank Stram (who refused to shake hands with Wiggin following the game and rode off on the shoulders of his players as he did after the Chiefs' victory in Super Bowl IV) before suffering a 50–17 setback at Buffalo on October 3, opening the season at 0–4 for the first time in team history.[1] The team registered a 3–1 record during a successful midseason stretch, but like most of the previous seasons, could not maintain that momentum.[1]

After lingering in Len Dawson's shadow for eight seasons, Mike Livingston was firmly entrenched as the team's starting quarterback,[1] becoming the first QB to start every regular season game since Dawson in 1968. Although Livingston played well and rallied the squad for wins in two of the season's final three games, the Chiefs still ended the year with their third consecutive 5–9 record.[1] Running back MacArthur Lane was the club's top offensive threat, becoming the only player at the time in franchise history to lead the league in receptions (66).

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Main article: 1976 NFL Draft
Round Pick Player Position School/Club Team

Roster[]

1976 Kansas City Chiefs roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 12 San Diego Chargers L 16–30 0–1 Arrowhead Stadium 53,133 Recap
2 September 20 Oakland Raiders L 21–24 0–2 Arrowhead Stadium 60,884 Recap
3 September 26 New Orleans Saints L 17–27 0–3 Arrowhead Stadium 53,918 Recap
4 October 3 at Buffalo Bills L 17–50 0–4 Rich Stadium 51,909 Recap
5 October 10 at Washington Redskins W 33–30 1–4 RFK Stadium 53,060 Recap
6 October 17 at Miami Dolphins W 20–17 (OT) 2–4 Miami Orange Bowl 43,325 Recap
7 October 24 Denver Broncos L 26–35 2–5 Arrowhead Stadium 57,961 Recap
8 October 31 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 28–19 3–5 Tampa Stadium 41,779 Recap
9 November 7 Pittsburgh Steelers L 0–45 3–6 Arrowhead Stadium 71,516 Recap
10 November 14 at Oakland Raiders L 10–21 3–7 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 48,259 Recap
11 November 21 Cincinnati Bengals L 24–27 3–8 Arrowhead Stadium 46,259 Recap
12 November 28 at San Diego Chargers W 23–20 4–8 San Diego Stadium 29,272 Recap
13 December 5 at Denver Broncos L 16–17 4–9 Mile High Stadium 58,170 Recap
14 December 12 Cleveland Browns W 39–14 5–9 Arrowhead Stadium 34,340 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings[]

AFC West
  • view
  • talk
 W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Oakland Raiders(1) 13 1 0 .929 7–0 10–1 350 237 W10
Denver Broncos 9 5 0 .643 5–2 7–5 315 206 W2
San Diego Chargers 6 8 0 .429 2–5 4–8 248 285 L1
Kansas City Chiefs 5 9 0 .357 2–5 4–8 290 376 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0 14 0 .000 0–4 0–13 125 412 L14

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Kansas City Chiefs History 1970's". Archived from the original on August 23, 2007. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
Retrieved from ""