List of Kansas City Chiefs seasons

For complete team history, see History of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Arrowhead Stadium has served as the Chiefs’ home stadium since 1973.

The Kansas City Chiefs have completed 55 seasons in professional American football and 45 with the National Football League (NFL). The list documents the season-by-season records of the Kansas City Chiefs franchise from 1960 to the conclusion of their most recent season in 2014, including postseason records, and league awards for individual players or head coaches.

The team began play as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) in 1960 as the Dallas Texans. Following the 1962 AFL season, the team relocated to Kansas City, Missouri and was renamed the Kansas City Chiefs. The team has played in 810 total games in a total of 51 seasons, and a winning percentage of .514. The team’s three 13-win seasons in 1995, 1997, and 2003 remain their winningest seasons to date and their 2–14 record in 2008 and 2012 is the Chiefs’ worst.

The Texans/Chiefs were the winningest team in the history of the AFL, compiling an 87–48 record from 1960 to 1969. The team won three league championships and served as the AFL’s representative in the Super Bowl in 1966 and 1969. Since the franchise’s alignment to the NFL, the team has won six division championships and six wild card playoff berths, seven of which were between 1989 and 1997 when the team never lost as many games as it won. Despite the franchise’s early success, the Chiefs have not won a post-season game since the 1993–94 playoffs and their victory on January 11, 1970 remains the franchise’s only Super Bowl title to date.

The Chiefs have had two main periods of failure. Between 1972 and 1985 the Kansas City Chiefs never appeared in the postseason and had only one winning season (in 1981) from 1974 until 1985. Since 2007, the Chiefs have also struggled, with two two-win and two four-win seasons.


AFL Champions (1960–1969) Super Bowl Champions (1970–present) Conference Champions Division Champions Wild Card Berth
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason Results Awards
Finish Wins Losses Ties
Dallas Texans
1960 1960 AFL Western 2nd 8 6 0 Abner Haynes (UPI/AP AFL MVP)
1961 1961 AFL Western 2nd 6 8 0
1962 1962 AFL Western 1st 11 3 0 Won AFL Championship (1) (Oilers) 20–17 (2 OT) Len Dawson (TSN AFL MVP)
Kansas City Chiefs
1963 1963 AFL Western 3rd 5 7 2
1964 1964 AFL Western 2nd 7 7 0
1965 1965 AFL Western 3rd 7 5 2
1966 1966 AFL Western 1st 11 2 1 Won AFL Championship (Bills) 31–7
Lost Super Bowl I (Packers) 35–10
1967 1967 AFL Western 2nd 9 5 0
1968 1968 AFL Western 2nd[1] 12 2 0 Lost Western Division playoff (Raiders) 41–6 Hank Stram (UPI/PFW AFL COY)
1969 1969 AFL Western 2nd 11 3 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Jets) 13–6
Won AFL Championship (Raiders) 17–7
Won Super Bowl IV (2) (Vikings) 23–7
Len Dawson (Super Bowl IV MVP)
1970 1970 NFL AFC West 2nd 7 5 2
1971 1971 NFL AFC West 1st 10 3 1 Lost Divisional Playoffs (Dolphins) 27–24 (2 OT) Otis Taylor (AFC POY)
Willie Lanier (Pro Bowl Co–MVP)[2]
Jan Stenerud (Pro Bowl Co–MVP)[2]
1972 1972 NFL AFC West 2nd 8 6 0 Willie Lanier (NFL MOY)
1973 1973 NFL AFC West 3rd 7 5 2 Len Dawson (NFL MOY)
1974 1974 NFL AFC West 3rd 5 9 0
1975 1975 NFL AFC West 3rd 5 9 0
1976 1976 NFL AFC West 4th 5 9 0
1977 1977 NFL AFC West 5th 2 12 0
1978 1978 NFL AFC West 5th 4 12 0
1979 1979 NFL AFC West 5th 7 9 0
1980 1980 NFL AFC West 3rd 8 8 0
1981 1981 NFL AFC West 3rd 9 7 0
1982 1982 NFL AFC West 11th[3] 3 6 0
1983 1983 NFL AFC West 5th 6 10 0
1984 1984 NFL AFC West 4th 8 8 0 Bill Maas (DROY)
1985 1985 NFL AFC West 5th 6 10 0
1986 1986 NFL AFC West 2nd 10 6 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Jets) 35–15
1987[4] 1987 NFL AFC West 5th 4 11 0
1988 1988 NFL AFC West 5th 4 11 1
1989 1989 NFL AFC West 2nd 8 7 1 Derrick Thomas (DROY)
Christian Okoye (OPOY)
1990 1990 NFL AFC West 2nd 11 5 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Dolphins) 17–16 Barry Word (CPOY)
1991 1991 NFL AFC West 2nd 10 6 0 Won Wild Card Playoffs (Raiders) 10–6
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Bills) 37–14
1992 1992 NFL AFC West 2nd 10 6 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Chargers) 17–0 Dale Carter (DROY)
1993 1993 NFL AFC West 1st 11 5 0 Won Wild Card Playoffs (Steelers) 27–24
Won Divisional Playoffs (Oilers) 28–20
Lost Conference Championship (Bills) 30–13
Marcus Allen (CPOY)
Derrick Thomas (MOY)
1994 1994 NFL AFC West 2nd 9 7 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Dolphins) 27–17
1995 1995 NFL AFC West 1st 13 3 0 Lost Divisional Playoffs (Colts) 10–7 Marty Schottenheimer (UPI COY)
1996 1996 NFL AFC West 2nd 9 7 0
1997 1997 NFL AFC West 1st 13 3 0 Lost Divisional Playoffs (Broncos) 14–10
1998 1998 NFL AFC West 4th 7 9 0
1999 1999 NFL AFC West 2nd 9 7 0
2000 2000 NFL AFC West 3rd 7 9 0
2001 2001 NFL AFC West 4th 6 10 0
2002 2002 NFL AFC West 4th 8 8 0 Priest Holmes (OPOY)
2003 2003 NFL AFC West 1st 13 3 0 Lost Divisional Playoffs (Colts) 38–31 Will Shields (MOY)
Dick Vermeil (MFC COY)
2004 2004 NFL AFC West 3rd 7 9 0
2005 2005 NFL AFC West 2nd 10 6 0
2006 2006 NFL AFC West 2nd 9 7 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Colts) 23–8
2007 2007 NFL AFC West 3rd 4 12 0 Dwayne Bowe (ROTW x2)
2008 2008 NFL AFC West 4th 2 14 0
2009 2009 NFL AFC West 4th 4 12 0 Brian Waters (MOY)
2010 2010 NFL AFC West 1st 10 6 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Ravens) 30–7
2011 2011 NFL AFC West 4th 7 9 0
2012 2012 NFL AFC West 4th 2 14 0
2013 2013 NFL AFC West 2nd 11 5 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Colts) 45–44
2014 2014 NFL AFC West 2nd 9 7 0
Total 424 400 12 (1960–2014, includes only regular season)
8 15 0 (1960–2014, includes only playoffs)
432 415 12 (1960–2014, includes both regular season and playoffs; 3 AFL Championships, 1 Super Bowl Championship)

Footnotes

  1. The Chiefs and Oakland Raiders both finished the 1968 American Football League season with a 12–2 record, but the Raiders were declared AFL Western Division champions. Both teams qualified for a one game playoff.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Lanier and Stenerud were named Defensive MVP and Offensive MVP of the 1972 Pro Bowl
  3. Due to the 1982 NFL Players Association strike, teams were ranked by conference instead of divisional standings.
  4. Due to the 1987 NFL Players Association strike, the season was shortened to 15 games.

References