1979 Kansas City Chiefs season

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1979 Kansas City Chiefs season
OwnerLamar Hunt
Head coachMarv Levy
General managerJim Schaaf
Home fieldArrowhead Stadium
Results
Record7–9
Division place5th AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersP Bob Grupp

The 1979 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League, the 17th as the Kansas City Chiefs, and the 20th overall. They improved on their 4-12 record from 1978 to a 7–9 record, but a last-place finish in the AFC West. The Chiefs missed the playoffs for the eighth straight year due to the four other teams ahead of them in their division all finishing with winning records.

Kansas City owned a pair of picks in the first round of the 1979 Draft, selecting defensive end Mike Bell and quarterback Steve Fuller. By the season's third game, Fuller had supplanted Mike Livingston as the club's starter.[1]

With Fuller at the helm, the Chiefs owned a 4–2 record after six games, but a five-game midseason losing streak ended the attempt. Despite finishing fifth in the AFC West for a second straight season, Kansas City's 7–9 record was a notable accomplishment considering the fact that the division's other four clubs all posted winning records for a second consecutive season.[1]

The Chiefs closed the season by dropping a 3–0 decision at Tampa Bay on December 16 in one of the most water-logged contests in franchise annals. As both clubs struggled to move the ball under monsoon-like conditions (Kansas City was held to 80 total yards), a field goal late in the fourth quarter by the Buccaneers' Neil O'Donoghue averted the NFL's first scoreless tie since 1943, allowing Tampa Bay to win the NFC Central division championship after a three-game losing streak.[1]

The Chiefs set a dubious NFL record for the season, with the fewest passing yards (1,660, 103.8 per game) in a 16-game season.[2]

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Main article: 1979 NFL Draft
Round Pick Player Position School/Club Team

Roster[]

1979 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 2 Baltimore Colts W 14–0 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium 50,442 Recap
2 September 9 Cleveland Browns L 24–27 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium 42,181 Recap
3 September 16 at Houston Oilers L 6–20 1–2 Houston Astrodome 45,684 Recap
4 September 23 Oakland Raiders W 35–7 2–2 Arrowhead Stadium 67,821 Recap
5 September 30 at Seattle Seahawks W 24–6 3–2 Kingdome 61,169 Recap
6 October 7 at Cincinnati Bengals W 10–7 4–2 Riverfront Stadium 40,041 Recap
7 October 14 Denver Broncos L 10–24 4–3 Arrowhead Stadium 74,292 Recap
8 October 21 New York Giants L 17–21 4–4 Arrowhead Stadium 44,362 Recap
9 October 28 at Denver Broncos L 3–20 4–5 Mile High Stadium 74,908 Recap
10 November 4 San Diego Chargers L 14–20 4–6 Arrowhead Stadium 59,353 Recap
11 November 11 Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–30 4–7 Arrowhead Stadium 70,132 Recap
12 November 18 at Oakland Raiders W 24–21 5–7 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,596 Recap
13 November 25 at San Diego Chargers L 7–28 5–8 San Diego Stadium 50,078 Recap
14 December 2 Seattle Seahawks W 37–21 6–8 Arrowhead Stadium 42,160 Recap
15 December 9 at Baltimore Colts W 10–7 7–8 Memorial Stadium 25,684 Recap
16 December 16 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 0–3 7–9 Tampa Stadium 63,624 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings[]

AFC West
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 W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
San Diego Chargers(1) 12 4 0 .750 6–2 9–3 411 246 W2
Denver Broncos(5) 10 6 0 .625 4–4 7–5 289 262 L2
Seattle Seahawks 9 7 0 .563 3–5 6–6 378 372 W2
Oakland Raiders 9 7 0 .563 3–5 5–7 365 337 L1
Kansas City Chiefs 7 9 0 .438 4–4 7–7 238 262 L1

Awards and records[]

  • Bob Grupp, NFL Leader, Punting, 43.6 average yards per punt[3]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Kansas City Chiefs History 1970's". kcchiefs.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  2. ^ "Team Game Finder Query Results - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 454
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