2012 Kansas City Chiefs season

2012 Kansas City Chiefs season
Owner	The Hunt family
Head coach	Romeo Crennel
General manager	Scott Pioli
Home field	Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record	2–14
Division place	4th AFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	RB Jamaal Charles LB Tamba Hali LB Justin Houston LB Derrick Johnson S Eric Berry P Dustin Colquitt
Team MVP	Jamaal Charles
Team ROY	Dontari Poe
Uniform
← 2011 Chiefs seasons 2013 →

The 2012 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 43rd season in the National Football League, the 53rd overall and the first and only full season under head coach Romeo Crennel, who served as the interim head coach for the final three games of the 2011 season following Todd Haley's termination. The Chiefs failed to rebound from their 7–9 record in 2011, and were eliminated from playoff contention in Week 12. Although they shared the same 2–14 record as the Jacksonville Jaguars for the worst record of the season, the Chiefs were statistically the worst team overall, and thereby "earned" the right to the first pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. Perhaps the only bright moment for the Chiefs this season was rallying from a big 24–6 deficit against the New Orleans Saints during their season. The Chiefs went 0–12 against AFC opponents in 2012 and their only wins of the season were against NFC teams, against Carolina and New Orleans. In 2017, ESPN.com named the 2012 season the Chiefs’ worst of such in franchise history.^[1]

Low points[]

The 2012 team tied the 1977 (2–12) and 2008 (2–14) teams for the franchise worst seasons in terms of fewest wins.

They tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the NFL's worst record. The Chiefs had the #1 pick in the 2013 National Football League Draft based on strength of schedule.^[2] It is the 2nd time in franchise history the Chiefs have had the #1 pick.^[3]

Kansas City suffered from quarterback controversy all season and tied with the Arizona Cardinals for most interceptions (20) with Matt Cassel throwing 12 and his late season replacement Brady Quinn throwing 8.^[4] The Chiefs had the worst record in the NFL in offensive passing.^[5]

The Chiefs also lost 17 fumbles giving them 37 giveaways – tied for worst in the NFL with the New York Jets and Philadelphia^[6] and tying with Philadelphia for the NFL's worst giveaway/takeaway differential with −24.^[7]

Season low points included:

• Starting the season tying the 1929 record of Buffalo Bisons for most games without ever leading in regulation time (8 games). The Chiefs had rallied in week 3 against the Saints to tie the game in regulation and then won in overtime 27–24 but had never led until the overtime final. The Chiefs broke the streak in Week 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers when they led 10–0 in the second quarter before losing the game 16–13 in overtime. The Chiefs had had a bye in Week 7.^[8]
• In Week 4, the Chiefs had six turnovers in a loss to San Diego.^[9]
• An Offensive Lineman claimed Kansas City hometown fans cheered the injury of quarterback Matt Cassel in a Week 5 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, however fans claim it was because Brady Quinn was seen coming onto the field and were cheering for him.^[10][11]
• Fans formed the "Save Our Chiefs" organization. They wore black to games to protest and hired an airplane to fly over Arrowhead Stadium on game days towing a banner that read, "Restore Hope: Fire Pioli."^[12]
• When asked why running back Jamaal Charles carried the ball only 5 times in a week 8 loss to the Oakland Raiders, Romeo Crennel responded "Now, that I'm not exactly sure, either."^[13]
• On December 1, 2012, Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend at their home before driving to the Chiefs' practice facility and committing suicide in front of general manager Scott Pioli and Head Coach Romeo Crennel.
• In Week 15, the Chiefs didn't have a first down until the third quarter in a loss against Oakland.^[14]
• In Week 16, the team rushed for a franchise record of 352 yards against the Colts and still lost the game.^[15]
• In Week 17, the Chiefs matched the 1981 Baltimore Colts season record of losing 9 games by 14 points or more in one season as the Chiefs lost to Denver.^[3]

Highlights[]

Highlights of the season included:

• The Chiefs won the home game 27–21 against the Carolina Panthers the day after the Belcher suicide at the stadium complex in Week 13. The victory snapped the Chiefs 8-game losing streak.
• Jamaal Charles rushing was the main bright spot of the team.^[16] Charles tied an NFL record for players with single play rushes of 80 yards or more (3) held by Chris Johnson and Barry Sanders. Charles ran for touchdowns of 91 yards in Week 3 against the Saints, 80 yards on the first play of the game in Week 14 against Cleveland and 84 yards on the first play of the second half in Week 16 against Indianapolis. He also tied Larry Johnson for franchise record of two 200+ yard games in one season with his games versus the Saints and Colts.^[17] Charles in the Colts game officially broke Jim Brown's NFL record for yards per carry when he averaged 5.82 yards on 770 attempts through the Colts game (compared with Brown's 5.22 yards on 2,359 attempts). To qualify for the career record a player had to have 750 attempts.^[18] Charles ended the season as the NFL's 4th leading rusher (behind Adrian Peterson of Minnesota, Alfred Morris of the Washington Redskins and Marshawn Lynch of Seattle. Minnesota, Washington and Seattle went to the NFL playoffs. Charles ranked 28th in the season in rushing touchdowns (5). The Chiefs as a team ranked 5th in rushing.^[19][20]
• The Chiefs had six players on the 2013 Pro Bowl team (Eric Berry, strong safety; Jamaal Charles, running back; Justin Houston, outside linebacker (not on the initial list but invited subsequently following an injury to another player in the bowl); Dustin Colquitt, punter; Tamba Hali, outside linebacker; Derrick Johnson, inside/middle linebacker). Berry and Hali were designated starters. Only 4 NFL teams had more pro bowl picks. (San Francisco (9), Houston (8), New England (7) and the Minnesota Vikings (7) ). Those teams made the playoffs.^[21]

Roster changes[]

Free agency[]

^[22][23]

Kansas City Chiefs Free Agency

Position	Player	Status*	2011 Team	2012 Team
CB	Mikail Baker	UFA	St. Louis Rams	Kansas City Chiefs
RB	Jackie Battle	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	San Diego Chargers
TE	Anthony Becht	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	None
LB	Jovan Belcher	RFA	Kansas City Chiefs	Kansas City Chiefs
TE	Kevin Boss	UFA	Oakland Raiders	Kansas City Chiefs
WR	Dwayne Bowe	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	Kansas City Chiefs
CB	Brandon Carr	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	Dallas Cowboys
CB	Travis Daniels	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	Kansas City Chiefs
DE	Wallace Gilberry	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NT	Amon Gordon	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	Kansas City Chiefs
NT	Kelly Gregg	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	None
LB	Cory Greenwood	ERFA	Kansas City Chiefs	Kansas City Chiefs
RB	Peyton Hillis	UFA	Cleveland Browns	Kansas City Chiefs
RB	Thomas Jones	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	None
S	Reshard Langford	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	Detroit Lions
FB	LeRon McClain	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	San Diego Chargers
S	Jon McGraw	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	None
OT	Ryan O'Callaghan	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	None
TE	Jake O'Connell	RFA	Kansas City Chiefs	Kansas City Chiefs
QB	Kyle Orton	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	Dallas Cowboys
QB	Tyler Palko	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	None
S	Sabby Piscitelli	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	None
DE	Ropati Pitoitua	UFA	New York Jets	Kansas City Chiefs
TE	Leonard Pope	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	Pittsburgh Steelers
QB	Brady Quinn	UFA	Denver Broncos	Kansas City Chiefs
CB	Jacques Reeves	UFA	Free Agent	Kansas City Chiefs
OT	Barry Richardson	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	St. Louis Rams
CB	Stanford Routt	UFA	Oakland Raiders	Kansas City Chiefs
WR	Jerheme Urban	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	None
C	Casey Wiegmann	UFA	Kansas City Chiefs	None
OT	Eric Winston	UFA	Houston Texans	Kansas City Chiefs
*RFA: Restricted free agent, UFA: Unrestricted free agent, ERFA: Exclusive rights free agent, Franchise: Franchise tag

Draft[]

2012 Kansas City Chiefs draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	11	Dontari Poe *	DT	Memphis
2	44	Jeff Allen	OT	Illinois
3	74	Donald Stephenson	OT	Oklahoma
4	107	Devon Wylie	WR	Fresno St
5	146	DeQuan Menzie	CB	Alabama
6	182	Cyrus Gray	RB	Texas A&M
7	218	Jerome Long	DT	San Diego St
7	238	Junior Hemingway	WR	Michigan	Pick from NE[a]
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

NOTES

^{^[a]} Acquired via trade with the New England Patriots for S Jarrad Page.

Staff[]

2012 Kansas City Chiefs staff

	Front office Chairman/CEO – Clark Hunt President – Mark Donovan general manager – Scott Pioli Assistant general manager – Joel Collier Director of Pro Personnel – Ray Farmer Director of Football Administration – Trip MacCracken Head coaches Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator – Romeo Crennel Assistant Head Coach – Maurice Carthon Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Brian Daboll Quarterbacks – Jim Zorn Wide Receivers – Nick Sirianni Tight Ends – Bernie Parmalee Offensive Line – Jack Bicknell, Jr. Offensive Quality Control – Jim Bob Cooter			Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Anthony Pleasant Linebackers – Gary Gibbs Defensive Backs – Emmitt Thomas Defensive Assistant/Assistant Linebackers – Adam Zimmer Defensive Quality Control – Otis Smith Pass Rush – Special teams coaches Special Teams – Tom McMahon Special Teams Quality Control – Derius Swinton II Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Mike Clark Assistant Strength and Conditioning –

Final roster[]

2012 Kansas City Chiefs final roster

	Quarterbacks  7 Matt Cassel  9 Brady Quinn 12 Ricky Stanzi Running backs 25 Jamaal Charles 49 Patrick DiMarco FB 20 Shaun Draughn 45 Nate Eachus FB 32 Cyrus Gray 40 Peyton Hillis RB/FB Wide receivers 89 Jon Baldwin 15 Steve Breaston 88 Junior Hemingway 22 Dexter McCluster 84 Jamar Newsome 19 Devon Wylie Tight ends 87 Steve Maneri 81 Tony Moeaki		Offensive linemen 76 Branden Albert T 71 Jeff Allen G/T 73 Jon Asamoah G 66 Russ Hochstein C/G 65 Ryan Lilja G 64 Bryan Mattison C 67 Rich Ranglin G 79 Donald Stephenson T 74 Eric Winston T Defensive linemen 94 Tyson Jackson DE 75 Ropati Pitoitua DE 92 Dontari Poe NT 95 Jerrell Powe NT 90 Shaun Smith DE 98 Anthony Toribio NT		Linebackers 93 Cory Greenwood ILB 91 Tamba Hali OLB 50 Justin Houston OLB 56 Derrick Johnson ILB 99 Edgar Jones OLB 52 Brandon Siler ILB 96 Andy Studebaker OLB 57 Leon Williams ILB Defensive backs 21 Javier Arenas CB 11 Josh Bellamy CB/WR 29 Eric Berry SS 30 Jalil Brown CB 34 Travis Daniels CB 27 Abram Elam SS 24 Brandon Flowers CB 31 Tysyn Hartman FS 23 Kendrick Lewis FS 38 Neiko Thorpe FS Special teams  2 Dustin Colquitt P 43 Thomas Gafford LS  6 Ryan Succop K		Reserve lists 97 Allen Bailey DE (IR) 80 Kevin Boss TE (IR) 82 Dwayne Bowe WR (IR) 10 Terrance Copper WR (IR) 72 Glenn Dorsey DE (IR) 61 Rodney Hudson C/G (IR) 41 Kyle McCarthy SS (IR) 49 DeQuan Menzie CB (IR) 85 Jake O'Connell TE (IR) 83 Martin Rucker TE (IR)  4 Alex Tanney QB (IR) Practice squad 48 TE 26 Jose Gumbs SS 70 David Mims OT 77 Luke Patterson OT/DE (Injured) 55 Quan Sturdivant ILB 14 P 68 G/T Rookies in italics 53 active, 11 inactive, 7 practice squad

Schedule[]

Preseason[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	August 10	Arizona Cardinals	W 27–17	1–0	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
2	August 18	at St. Louis Rams	L 17–31	1–1	Edward Jones Dome	Recap
3	August 24	Seattle Seahawks	L 14–44	1–2	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
4	August 30	at Green Bay Packers	L 3–24	1–3	Lambeau Field	Recap

Regular season[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 9	Atlanta Falcons	L 24–40	0–1	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
2	September 16	at Buffalo Bills	L 17–35	0–2	Ralph Wilson Stadium	Recap
3	September 23	at New Orleans Saints	W 27–24 (OT)	1–2	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Recap
4	September 30	San Diego Chargers	L 20–37	1–3	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
5	October 7	Baltimore Ravens	L 6–9	1–4	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
6	October 14	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 10–38	1–5	Raymond James Stadium	Recap
7	Bye
8	October 28	Oakland Raiders	L 16–26	1–6	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
9	November 1	at San Diego Chargers	L 13–31	1–7	Qualcomm Stadium	Recap
10	November 12	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 13–16 (OT)	1–8	Heinz Field	Recap
11	November 18	Cincinnati Bengals	L 6–28	1–9	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
12	November 25	Denver Broncos	L 9–17	1–10	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
13	December 2	Carolina Panthers	W 27–21	2–10	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
14	December 9	at Cleveland Browns	L 7–30	2–11	Cleveland Browns Stadium	Recap
15	December 16	at Oakland Raiders	L 0–15	2–12	O.co Coliseum	Recap
16	December 23	Indianapolis Colts	L 13–20	2–13	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
17	December 30	at Denver Broncos	L 3–38	2–14	Sports Authority Field at Mile High	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries[]

Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons[]

Against the Atlanta Falcons, the Kansas City Chiefs were behind early in the first quarter when Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Julio Jones to lead 7–0. The Chiefs answered with a 39-yard field goal from Ryan Succop to make it 7–3. The Falcons scored on their next drive with a 34-yard field goal from Matt Bryant to extend their lead 10–3. In the second quarter, Matt Cassel threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kevin Boss to tie the game at 10–10. Matt Ryan and the Falcons took the lead again with a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Julio Jones to go up 17–10. Matt Cassel scored on a 5-yard rushing touchdown on the Chiefs next possession to make the score tied again at 17–17. The Falcons just managed to extend their lead before halftime with a 21-yard field goal by Matt Bryant to lead 20–17 coming into the half.

In the third quarter, Matt Ryan scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to make it 27–17. Shortly afterward, Matt Ryan tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez to further extend their lead 34–17. In the fourth quarter, the Atlanta falcons scored twice on field goals of 30 and 41 yards by Matt Bryant to lead 40–17. Late in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs scored on a 4-yard run by running back Shaun Draughn.^{[citation needed]} The final score of this game is 24–40 as the Kansas City Chiefs fall to 0–1

Week 2: at Buffalo Bills[]

In the first quarter, the Buffalo Bills scored first with a 17-yard rushing touchdown by running back C. J. Spiller to lead 7–0. In the second quarter, the Bills scored again with a 5-yard rushing touchdown by C. J. Spiller to lead 14–0. The Bills continued to extend their lead when quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Scott Chandler to lead 21–0 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Chiefs finally scored with a 33-yard field goal by Ryan Succop to make it 3–21. The Bills answered with a 49-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to wide receiver Stevie Johnson to make the score 28–3. The Bills continued to dominate with an 88-yard punt return touchdown by Leodis McKelvin to lead 35–3. In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs finally got going with Matt Cassel throwing a 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Dwayne Bowe to make the score 10–35. The Chiefs managed to score again with Matt Cassel throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Dwayne Bowe.^{[citation needed]} The Chiefs fantastic effort in the fourth quarter was not enough, the final score is 17–35 as the Chiefs fall to 0–2.

Week 3: at New Orleans Saints[]

With the win, the Chiefs improved to 1–2.

Week 4: vs. San Diego Chargers[]

The chiefs committed 6 turnovers. With the loss, the Chiefs fell to 1–3.

Week 5: vs. Baltimore Ravens[]

In a game with all field goals, the heavily favored 3-1 Baltimore Ravens won a surprisingly hard-fought match, and a heartbreaker for Kansas City. With the loss, the Chiefs fell to 1–4.

Week 6: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers[]

With the loss, the Chiefs went into their bye week at 1–5.

Week 8: vs. Oakland Raiders[]

With the loss, the Chiefs fell to 1–6. The loss made Kansas City the first team since the 1929 Buffalo Bisons team to play seven games without leading in regulation.^[24]

Week 9: at San Diego Chargers[]

With the loss, the Chiefs fell to 1–7 and were swept by the Chargers for the first time since 2009.^{[citation needed]} Kansas City now holds the NFL record of not leading at any point during regulation at eight games.^{[citation needed]}

Week 10: at Pittsburgh Steelers[]

The Chiefs led for the first time all season in this game with a first-quarter touchdown which gave them the lead 7–0.^[25] After relinquishing the lead, the Chiefs tied the game at 13–13 at the end of regulation to force overtime. However, despite the fact that they got the ball in overtime, QB Matt Cassel was picked off by Lamarr Woodley and the ball was returned to the Chiefs' 5-Yard line setting up the game-winning field goal for the Steelers as the Chiefs lost the game 16–13 and their record dropped to 1–8.^{[citation needed]}

Week 11: vs. Cincinnati Bengals[]

This would be the second time all season that the Chiefs would lead a game as they kicked for the first 3 points off of a 34-yard field goal from Ryan Succop.^{[citation needed]} However, the Bengals' defense shut the Chiefs down as the Chiefs dropped to 1–9 and 0–5 in home games. The Chiefs who had 31 giveaways on the season would eventually end up with only 6 giveaways for the remainder of the season.

Week 12: vs. Denver Broncos[]

With the loss, the Chiefs dropped to 1–10. Coupled with wins from the Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts, the Chiefs were officially eliminated from postseason contention.

Week 13: vs. Carolina Panthers[]

Before the game, tragedy struck the Chiefs as linebacker Jovan Belcher committed suicide after the shooting of his girlfriend the day before. Snapping a home losing skid of their own, the Chiefs won at Arrowhead for the first time since they robbed the Green Bay Packers of a perfect regular season during Week 15 of the 2011 season by snapping the latter's 19-game winning streak.^{[citation needed]}

The Chiefs improved to 2–10 with the surprising win, ending the possibility of the 2012 Chiefs becoming the first team since the 2007 Miami Dolphins to only win 1 game in overtime and lose the rest of them.

Week 14: at Cleveland Browns[]

With the loss, the Chiefs fell to 2–11.

Week 15: at Oakland Raiders[]

The Chiefs fell to 2–12 after being shutout only for the second time against the Raiders in team history. Because the Raiders (4–10) swept the Chiefs, Kansas City clinched fourth-place in the AFC West for the second straight year.

Week 16: vs. Indianapolis Colts[]

Week 17: at Denver Broncos[]

With the loss, the Chiefs finished the season 2-14, tied for worst with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but received the 1st pick in the 2013 NFL Draft due to losing a tiebreaker based on a better conference record.

Standings[]

Division[]

AFC West
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(1) Denver Broncos	13	3	0	.813	6–0	10–2	481	289	W11
San Diego Chargers	7	9	0	.438	4–2	7–5	350	350	W2
Oakland Raiders	4	12	0	.250	2–4	4–8	290	443	L2
Kansas City Chiefs	2	14	0	.125	0–6	0–12	211	425	L4

Conference[]

AFC[26] view talk
#	Team	Division	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	SOS	SOV	STK
Division winners
1	Denver Broncos	West	13	3	0	.813	6–0	10–2	.457	.385	W11
2[a]	New England Patriots	East	12	4	0	.750	6–0	11–1	.496	.466	W2
3[a]	Houston Texans	South	12	4	0	.750	5–1	10–2	.496	.432	L2
4[b]	Baltimore Ravens	North	10	6	0	.625	4–2	8–4	.496	.438	L1
Wild cards
5	Indianapolis Colts	South	11	5	0	.688	4–2	8–4	.441	.403	W2
6[b]	Cincinnati Bengals	North	10	6	0	.625	3–3	7–5	.438	.381	W3
Did not qualify for the postseason
7	Pittsburgh Steelers	North	8	8	0	.500	3–3	5–7	.465	.438	W1
8[c]	San Diego Chargers	West	7	9	0	.438	4–2	7–5	.457	.286	W2
9[c]	Miami Dolphins	East	7	9	0	.438	2–4	5–7	.500	.415	L1
10[d]	Tennessee Titans	South	6	10	0	.375	1–5	5–7	.512	.344	W1
11[d][e]	New York Jets	East	6	10	0	.375	2–4	4–8	.512	.401	L3
12[d][e]	Buffalo Bills	East	6	10	0	.375	2–4	5–7	.480	.281	W1
13	Cleveland Browns	North	5	11	0	.313	2–4	5–7	.508	.388	L3
14	Oakland Raiders	West	4	12	0	.250	2–4	4–8	.469	.219	L2
15[f]	Jacksonville Jaguars	South	2	14	0	.125	2–4	2–10	.539	.531	L5
16[f]	Kansas City Chiefs	West	2	14	0	.125	0–6	0–12	.516	.438	L4
Tiebreakers[g]
^ Jump up to: a b New England clinched the AFC's No. 2 seed over Houston based on a head-to-head victory. ^ Jump up to: a b Baltimore clinched the AFC North title over Cincinnati based on a better divisional record (4–2 to 3–3). ^ Jump up to: a b San Diego finished with a better conference record than Miami (7–5 to 5–7). ^ Jump up to: a b c Tennessee finished ahead of New York Jets and Buffalo based on head-to-head victory. ^ Jump up to: a b New York Jets finished ahead of Buffalo in the AFC East based on record versus common opponents (5–7 to 3–9). ^ Jump up to: a b Jacksonville finished with a better conference record than Kansas City (2–10 to 0–12). ^ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

References[]

External links[]

• Official website