1998 Kansas City Chiefs season

1998 Kansas City Chiefs season
Head coach Marty Schottenheimer
Home field Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record 7–9
Division place 4th AFC West
Playoff finish did not qualify
Pro Bowlers G Will Shields
Timeline
Previous season Next season
< 1997 1999 >

The 1998 Kansas City Chiefs season began with high hopes of the team avenging its loss in the 1998 playoffs to the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, but instead the Chiefs failed to succeed in the highly competitive AFC West. The team finished with a 7–9 record and 4th place in the AFC West. Head coach Marty Schottenheimer announced his resignation following the season after ten seasons with the team and defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham assumed coaching duties for 1999.

Offseason

On April 9, Marcus Allen announced his retirement.

NFL draft

Main article: 1998 NFL draft
1998 Kansas City Chiefs draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 27 Victor Riley  Offensive tackle Auburn
3 88 Rashaan Shehee  Running back Washington
4 120 Greg Favors  Linebacker Mississippi State
5 128 Robert Williams  Defensive back North Carolina
6 181 Derrick Ransom  Defensive tackle Cincinnati
7 216 Eric Warfield  Defensive back Nebraska
7 224 Ernest Blackwell  Running back Missouri
      Made roster  

[1]

Personnel

Staff

colspan="7" style="background: #C60C30; color:white; border: 2px solid #FFB612" text-align: center;" | 1998 Kansas City Chiefs staff
Front office
  • Founder – Lamar Hunt
  • Chairman of the Board – Jack Steadman
  • President/General Manager/Chief Executive Officer – Carl Peterson
  • Executive Vice President/Assistant General Manager – Dennis Thum
  • Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach – Russ Ball

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Jeff Hurd
  • Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Roberto Parker

Regular season

The Chiefs began the season well on September 6 with an impressive performance and easily defeated the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead 28–8. Kansas City sacked the Raiders quarterbacks 10 times, with Derrick Thomas collecting 6 by himself.

On September 13, Kansas City fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road, 21–16.

On October 4, Kansas City conquered the Seattle Seahawks and the rain at Arrowhead, 17–6. Rich Gannon hit Andre Rison for an 80-yard touchdown pass after a 54-minute rain delay caused by a violent storm. The two teams combined for nine turnovers, five by Kansas City. The win improved the Chiefs' record to 4–1.

On November 16, against the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs defense was penalized four times on one drive, three of the penalties coming from legendary linebacker Derrick Thomas. The game is known now by Chiefs fans as the "Monday Night Meltdown".

That would be the high point of the season as the Chiefs would lose 8 of the last 11 games and finished with their first losing season since 1988.

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 6, 1998 Oakland Raiders W 28–8
78,945
2 September 13, 1998 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 21–16
69,821
3 September 20, 1998 San Diego Chargers W 23–7
73,730
4 September 27, 1998 at Philadelphia Eagles W 24–21
66,675
5 October 4, 1998 Seattle Seahawks W 17–6
66,418
6 October 11, 1998 at New England Patriots L 40–10
59,749
7 Bye
8 October 26, 1998 Pittsburgh Steelers L 20–13
79,431
9 November 1, 1998 New York Jets L 20–17
65,104
10 November 8, 1998 at Seattle Seahawks L 24–12
66,251
11 November 16, 1998 Denver Broncos L 30–7
78,100
12 November 22, 1998 at San Diego Chargers L 38–37
59,894
13 November 29, 1998 Arizona Cardinals W 34–24
69,613
14 December 6, 1998 at Denver Broncos L 35–31
74,692
15 December 13, 1998 Dallas Cowboys W 20–17
77,697
16 December 20, 1998 at New York Giants L 28–7
66,040
17 December 26, 1998 at Oakland Raiders W 31–24
52,679

Standings

AFC West
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(1) Denver Broncos 1420.875501309W1
Oakland Raiders 880.500288356L1
Seattle Seahawks 880.500372310L1
Kansas City Chiefs 790.438327363W1
San Diego Chargers 5110.313241342L5

Awards and records

The team was penalized 158 times for 1,304 yards. An NFL record that stood until the Oakland Raiders surpassed it in 2011.[2]

References

  1. "1998 Kansas City Chiefs draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  2. http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=311224012