1994 Kansas City Chiefs season

1994 Kansas City Chiefs season
Owner	Lamar Hunt
Head coach	Marty Schottenheimer
General manager	Carl Peterson
Home field	Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	2nd AFC West
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Dolphins) 17–27
Pro Bowlers	DE Neil Smith LB Derrick Thomas CB Dale Carter
← 1993 Chiefs seasons 1995 →

The 1994 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 25th season in the National Football League, the 32nd as the Kansas City Chiefs and the 35th overall. They failed to improve their 11–5 record from 1993 and finishing with a 9–7 record and Wild Card spot in the 1994–95 playoffs. The Chiefs lost to the Miami Dolphins 27–17 in the Wild Card round. Alongside celebrating the NFL's 75th anniversary season, Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana retired following the season.

By playing their first four games vs. the NFC West, the Chiefs became the first AFC team to play its first four games against NFC teams since the AFL–NFL merger. The first team to play four inter-conference games to open a season were the 1992 Los Angeles Rams.

Offseason[]

NFL draft[]

1994 Kansas City Chiefs draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	25	Greg Hill	Running back	Texas A&M
2	58	Donnell Bennett	Running back	Miami (FL)
3	92	Lake Dawson	Wide receiver	Notre Dame
3	96	Chris Penn	Wide receiver	Tulsa
4	127	Bracy Walker	Defensive back	North Carolina
5	151	James Burton	Defensive back	Fresno State
5	156	Rob Waldrop	Defensive tackle	Arizona
6	185	Anthony Daigle	Running back	Fresno State
7	199	Steve Matthews	Quarterback	Memphis
7	219	Tracy Greene	Tight end	Grambling State
Made roster

^[1]

Personnel[]

Staff[]

1994 Kansas City Chiefs staff

	Front office Founder – Lamar Hunt Chairman of the Board – Jack Steadman President/General Manager/Chief Executive Officer – Carl Peterson Assistant General Manager – Dennis Thum Vice President of Player Personnel – Lynn Stiles Director of Pro Personnel – Mark Hatley Director of College Scouting – Terry Bradway Head coaches Head Coach – Marty Schottenheimer Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers – Al Saunders Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Paul Hackett Running Backs – Jimmy Raye Tight Ends – Kurt Schottenheimer Offensive Line – Alex Gibbs Offensive Assistant/Quality Control – Mike McCarthy			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Dave Adolph Defensive Line – Tom Pratt Defensive Backs – Herman Edwards Defensive Assistant – John Bunting Defensive Assistant/Quality Control – Special teams coaches Special Teams – Kurt Schottenheimer Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Dave Redding Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Russ Ball

Roster[]

1994 Kansas City Chiefs roster

	Quarterbacks 14 Matt Blundin 13 Steve Bono 19 Joe Montana Running backs 32 Marcus Allen 38 Kimble Anders 30 Donnell Bennett FB 29 Greg Hill 21 Jon Vaughn Wide receivers 88 J. J. Birden 84 Willie Davis 80 Lake Dawson 83 Danan Hughes 85 Eric Martin 81 Chris Penn Tight ends 89 Keith Cash 87 Tracy Greene 47 Tommie Stowers 82 Derrick Walker		Offensive linemen 76 John Alt T 74 Derrick Graham G/T 61 Tim Grunhard C 65 Lindsay Knapp G 68 Will Shields G 66 Ricky Siglar T 79 Dave Szott G 73 Joe Valerio C 72 Danny Villa T Defensive linemen 99 Vaughn Booker DE 71 Greg Kragen DT 77 Pellom McDaniels DE 92 Darren Mickell DE 75 Joe Phillips DT 97 Dan Saleaumua DT 90 Neil Smith DE 98 Rob Waldrop DT		Linebackers 56 Arnold Ale 50 Anthony Davis 59 Jaime Fields 57 George Jamison OLB 51 Greg Manusky MLB 52 Tracy Rogers ILB 54 Tracy Simien ILB 58 Derrick Thomas OLB 95 Jerrol Williams Defensive backs 34 Dale Carter CB 25 Mark Collins CB 49 22 Monty Grow S 42 Charles Mincy FS 24 Doug Terry SS 41 Dave Whitmore FS Special teams 5 Louie Aguiar P 2 Lin Elliott K		Reserve lists 23 Ron Dickerson Jr. RB (IR) 26 Tim Watson S (IR) Practice squad —- WR Rookies in italics

Season summary[]

After an opening day win over the New Orleans Saints, the Chiefs faced the San Francisco 49ers on September 11. Facing his old team, Joe Montana led the Chiefs to a 24–17 win at Arrowhead. But after opening the season at 3–0, the Chiefs dropped 2 in a row to the Rams and Chargers.

On October 17, a 6-yard pass and a tightrope run into the end zone ended the Chiefs' 11-year drought in Mile High Stadium. Joe Montana and the Chiefs faced a 4-point deficit on Monday Night Football. The final drive in the final 82 seconds took nine plays, all of them Montana passes except one run of 10 yards by Marcus Allen; Montana's final pass was a five-yard score to Willie Davis for the 31–28 Kansas City win. For the game, Montana hit 34 of 54 pass attempts for 393 yards and 3 touchdowns and the Chiefs, now 4–2, had now thrust themselves back into the playoff hunt. The game was tied 14–14 at the half. Lin Elliott's field goal with 4:08 left in the game temporarily put the Chiefs ahead 24–21. A Marcus Allen fumble set up the Broncos' final touchdown, but Montana and his inspiring confidence resulted in the comeback.

Montana would have another great season, passing for 3,283 yards. The rushing game improved from 1993 as the Chiefs rushed for 1,732 yards and twelve touchdowns (up from the previous year's 1,655 yards). Allen's game trailed off from 1993 as he gained 709 yards to lead the team (to 764 the previous year), while rookie Greg Hill managed only 574 yards for the season. Fullback Kimble Anders was the leading receiver with 67 receptions. The defense showed flashes of brilliance as it improved to seventh in fewest points allowed from 1993's ninth, and as had become the standard, was led by perennial Pro Bowlers Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith. Defensive back Dale Carter had a superb year and was also chosen for the Pro Bowl.

On December 24, Marcus Allen gained 132 yards rushing as the Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Raiders 19–9 in the last Raider's game ever as host in Los Angeles. The win secured a fifth-straight playoff spot for the Chiefs.

Schedule[]

Regular season[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 4	at New Orleans Saints	W 30–17	1–0	Louisiana Superdome	Recap
2	September 11	San Francisco 49ers	W 24–17	2–0	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
3	September 18	at Atlanta Falcons	W 30–10	3–0	Georgia Dome	Recap
4	September 25	Los Angeles Rams	L 0–16	3–1	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
5	Bye
6	October 9	at San Diego Chargers	L 6–20	3–2	Jack Murphy Stadium	Recap
7	October 17	at Denver Broncos	W 31–28	4–2	Mile High Stadium	Recap
8	October 23	Seattle Seahawks	W 38–23	5–2	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
9	October 30	at Buffalo Bills	L 10–44	5–3	Rich Stadium	Recap
10	November 6	Los Angeles Raiders	W 13–3	6–3	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
11	November 13	San Diego Chargers	L 13–14	6–4	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
12	November 20	Cleveland Browns	W 20–13	7–4	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
13	November 27	at Seattle Seahawks	L 9–10	7–5	Kingdome	Recap
14	December 4	Denver Broncos	L 17–20 (OT)	7–6	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
15	December 12	at Miami Dolphins	L 28–45	7–7	Joe Robbie Stadium	Recap
16	December 18	Houston Oilers	W 31–9	8–7	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
17	December 24	at Los Angeles Raiders	W 19–9	9–7	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Postseason[]

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
Wild Card	December 31	at Miami Dolphins (3)	L 17–27	0–1	Joe Robbie Stadium	Recap

Standings[]

AFC West
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(2) San Diego Chargers	11	5	0	.688	381	306	W2
(6) Kansas City Chiefs	9	7	0	.563	319	298	W2
Los Angeles Raiders	9	7	0	.563	303	327	L1
Denver Broncos	7	9	0	.438	347	396	L3
Seattle Seahawks	6	10	0	.375	287	323	L2

• Kansas City finished ahead of the Los Angeles Raiders based on head-to-head sweep (2-0)

References[]