1978 Kansas City Chiefs season
OwnerLamar Hunt
General managerJim Schaaf
Head coachMarv Levy
Home fieldArrowhead Stadium
Results
Record4–12
Division place5th AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone
AP All-ProsNone

The 1978 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League, the 16th as the Kansas City Chiefs, and the 19th overall. It began with the hiring of new head coach Marv Levy, formerly of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes. With the NFL expanding its schedule to 16 games, the Chiefs finished with a 4–12 record and 5th in the AFC West.

Coach Levy's systematic restocking of a relatively barren defensive roster began with a 1978 draft class that included a pair of future Chiefs franchise hall of famers in defensive end Art Still and linebacker Gary Spani. Running back Ed Podolak, who was the club's all-time leading rusher at the time, retired in the offseason on June 15.[1]

Perhaps Levy's most unconventional tactic in rebuilding the Chiefs was installing the Wing-T offense. "It was a situation where we took over a team that had the worst defensive record in the history of the National Football League," Levy explained.[1] "We wanted to keep that defense off the field, so we ran the ball 60 times a game."[1] The 1978 Chiefs team ran and ran often, posting franchise records with 663 rushing attempts and 2,986 ground yards.[1] Levy's squad ran the ball a staggering 69 times in a 24–23 Opening Day win at Cincinnati on September 3, the most rushing attempts in an NFL contest since 1948.[1] Five different players had 100-yard rushing games during the year, including running back Tony Reed, who finished the season with 1,053 yards to become the team's first 1,000-yard back since 1967.[1] Despite the squad's Opening Day success, the club lost 10 of its next 11 games, including a pair of overtime decisions. However, the team showed signs of improvement with the defense recording a 23–0 shutout against San Diego on November 26 as the club concluded its first 16-game schedule with a 4–12 mark.[1]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1978 NFL Draft
1978 Kansas City Chiefs Draft
Round Selection Player Position College
1 2 Art Still Defensive end Kentucky
2 29 Sylvester Hicks Defensive end Tennessee State
3 58 Gary Spani Linebacker Kansas State
4 85 Daniel Johnson Linebacker Tennessee State
4 104 Pete Woods Quarterback Missouri
5 112 Jerrold McRae Wide receiver Tennessee State
5 118 Dwight Carey Defensive tackle Texas–Arlington
5 134 Robert Woods Wide receiver Grambling State
7 168 Ricky Odom Defensive back USC
7 184 Bill Kellar Wide receiver Stanford
8 195 John Henry White Running back Louisiana Tech
9 224 Larry Brown Tackle Miami (FL)
10 251 Earl Bryant Defensive end Jackson State
11 280 Ray Milo Defensive back New Mexico State
12 307 Willie Brock Center Colorado

Roster

1978 Kansas City Chiefs roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • 82 Bill Kellar WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • -- Pete Woods QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 August 5 at Green Bay Packers W 17–14 1–0 Lambeau Field 54,453 Recap
2 August 12 Minnesota Vikings W 17–13 2–0 Arrowhead Stadium 41,092 Recap
3 August 20 at New England Patriots L 7–24 2–1 Schaefer Stadium 39,043 Recap
4 August 26 St. Louis Cardinals L 7–12 2–2 Arrowhead Stadium 40,884 Recap

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 3 at Cincinnati Bengals W 24–23 1–0 Riverfront Stadium 41,810 Recap
2 September 10 Houston Oilers L 17–20 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium 40,213 Recap
3 September 17 at New York Giants L 10–26 1–2 Giants Stadium 70,546 Recap
4 September 24 Denver Broncos L 17–23 (OT) 1–3 Arrowhead Stadium 60,593 Recap
5 October 1 at Buffalo Bills L 13–28 1–4 Rich Stadium 47,310 Recap
6 October 8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 13–30 1–5 Arrowhead Stadium 38,201 Recap
7 October 15 at Oakland Raiders L 6–28 1–6 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 50,759 Recap
8 October 22 Cleveland Browns W 17–3 2–6 Arrowhead Stadium 41,157 Recap
9 October 29 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 24–27 2–7 Three Rivers Stadium 48,185 Recap
10 November 5 Oakland Raiders L 10–20 2–8 Arrowhead Stadium 75,418 Recap
11 November 12 at San Diego Chargers L 23–29 (OT) 2–9 San Diego Stadium 41,395 Recap
12 November 19 Seattle Seahawks L 10–13 2–10 Arrowhead Stadium 35,252 Recap
13 November 26 San Diego Chargers W 23–0 3–10 Arrowhead Stadium 26,248 Recap
14 December 3 Buffalo Bills W 14–10 4–10 Arrowhead Stadium 25,781 Recap
15 December 10 at Denver Broncos L 3–24 4–11 Mile High Stadium 74,149 Recap
16 December 17 at Seattle Seahawks L 19–23 4–12 Kingdome 58,490 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Cincinnati Bengals

Week 1: Kansas City Chiefs at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 7 10 7024
Bengals 0 9 01423

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Date: September 3
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 75 °F (24 °C)
  • Game attendance: 41,810
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jim Simpson and Paul Warfield
  • Box score
Game information

Week 2: vs Houston Oilers

Week 2: Houston Oilers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Oilers 3 3 01420
Chiefs 0 10 7017

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 3: at New York Giants

Week 3: Kansas City Chiefs at New York Giants – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 7 0310
Giants 14 6 3326

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game information

Week 4: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 4: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Broncos 7 3 70623
Chiefs 7 3 70017

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 5: at Buffalo Bills

Week 5: Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 6 0 0713
Bills 0 21 7028

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

  • Date: October 1
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 65 °F (18 °C)
  • Game attendance: 47,310
  • Referee: Gordon McCarter
  • TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Ed Podolak
  • Box score
Game information

Week 6: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 6: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 0 10 02030
Chiefs 3 0 01013

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: October 8
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 72 °F (22 °C)
  • Game attendance: 38,201
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Thacker and Roman Gabriel
  • Box score
Game information

Week 7: at Oakland Raiders

Week 7: Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 0 066
Raiders 7 7 01428

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

Game information

Week 8: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 8: Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Browns 3 0 003
Chiefs 3 7 0717

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: October 22
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 75 °F (24 °C)
  • Game attendance: 41,157
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jim Simpson and Paul Warfield
  • Box score
Game information

Week 9: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 9: Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 3 0 14724
Steelers 7 13 7027

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Date: October 29
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 48 °F (9 °C)
  • Game attendance: 48,185
  • Referee: Red Cashion
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Paul Maguire
  • Box Score
Game information

Week 10: vs Oakland Raiders

Week 10: Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 7 01320
Chiefs 0 0 3710

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 5
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Overcast, 69 °F (21 °C)
  • Game attendance: 75,418
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Ed Podolak
  • Box score
Game information

Week 11: at San Diego Chargers

Week 11: Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Chiefs 0 6 710023
Chargers 6 7 73629

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: November 12
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Clear, 64 °F (18 °C)
  • Game attendance: 41,395
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Mike Haffner
  • Box score
Game information

Week 12: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 12: Seattle Seahawks at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 3 7 3013
Chiefs 0 3 0710

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 19
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Overcast, 36 °F (2 °C)
  • Game attendance: 35,252
  • Referee: Chuck Heberling
  • TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Paul Maguire
  • Box score
Game information

Week 13: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 13: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 0 000
Chiefs 0 17 3323

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 26
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Rainy, 38 °F (3 °C)
  • Game attendance: 26,248
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Mike Haffner
  • Box score
Game information

Week 14: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 14: Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Bills 0 7 3010
Chiefs 7 0 7014

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: December 3
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 21 °F (−6 °C)
  • Game attendance: 25,781
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Mike Haffner
  • Box score
Game information

Week 15: at Denver Broncos

Week 15: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 3 0 003
Broncos 7 0 10724

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: December 10
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: Partly sunny, 35 °F (2 °C)
  • Game attendance: 74,149
  • Referee: Don Wedge
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Paul Maguire
  • Box score
Game information

Week 16: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 16: Kansas City Chiefs at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 3 7 7219
Seahawks 7 13 0323

at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington

  • Date: December 17
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 58,490
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Ed Podolak
  • Box score
Game information

Standings

AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Denver Broncos(3) 10 6 0 .625 7–1 8–4 282 198 L1
Oakland Raiders 9 7 0 .563 3–5 5–7 311 283 W1
Seattle Seahawks 9 7 0 .563 4–4 6–6 345 358 W1
San Diego Chargers 9 7 0 .563 5–3 7–5 355 309 W3
Kansas City Chiefs 4 12 0 .250 1–7 4–10 243 327 L2

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Kansas City Chiefs History 1970's". Archived from the original on August 23, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
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