1979 Kansas City Chiefs season

Last updated

1979 Kansas City Chiefs season
Owner Lamar Hunt
General manager Jim Schaaf
Head coach Marv Levy
Home stadium Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record7–9
Division place5th AFC West
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
All-Pros
1
  • P Bob Grupp (2nd team)

The 1979 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League, the 17th as the Kansas City Chiefs, and the 20th overall. They improved on their 4–12 record from 1978 to a 7–9 record, but a last-place finish in the AFC West. The Chiefs missed the playoffs for the eighth straight year due to the four other teams ahead of them in their division all finishing with winning records.

Contents

Kansas City owned a pair of picks in the first round of the 1979 draft, selecting defensive end Mike Bell and quarterback Steve Fuller. By the season's third game, Fuller had supplanted Mike Livingston as the club's starter. [1]

With Fuller at the helm, the Chiefs owned a 4–2 record after six games, but a five-game midseason losing streak ended the attempt. Despite finishing fifth in the AFC West for a second straight season, Kansas City's 7–9 record was a notable accomplishment considering the fact that the division's other four clubs all posted winning records for a second consecutive season. [1]

The Chiefs closed the season by dropping a 3–0 decision at Tampa Bay on December 16 in one of the most water-logged contests in franchise annals. As both clubs struggled to move the ball under monsoon-like conditions (Kansas City was held to 80 total yards), a field goal late in the fourth quarter by the Buccaneers' Neil O'Donoghue averted the NFL's first scoreless tie since 1943, allowing Tampa Bay to win the NFC Central division championship after a three-game losing streak. [1]

The Chiefs set a dubious NFL record for the season, with the fewest passing yards (1,660, 103.8 per game) in a 16-game season. [2]

Offseason

NFL Draft

1979 Kansas City Chiefs draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
12 Mike Bell   Defensive end Colorado State
123 Steve Fuller   Quarterback Clemson
485 Frank Manumaleuga   Linebacker San Jose State
5112 Earl Gant   Running back Missouri
6140Spider Gaines  Wide receiver Washington
7167 Ken Kremer  Defensive end Ball State
8195 Mike Williams  Running back New Mexico
8218Robert Brewer  Guard Temple
9222James Folston  Tight end Cameron
9229Joe Robinson  Offensive tackle Ohio State
10251Mike DuPree Linebacker Florida
10260 Gearld Jackson   Safety Mississippi State
10268Larry Willis Wide receiver Alcorn State
11277 Stan Rome  Wide receiverClemson
12302Michael Forrest Running back Arkansas
      Made roster  

Roster

1979 Kansas City Chiefs roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1August 4at Green Bay Packers L 10–140–1 Lambeau Field 53,994 Recap
2August 9 Philadelphia Eagles W 24–211–1 Arrowhead Stadium 33,378 Recap
3August 18 St. Louis Cardinals W 20–32–1Arrowhead Stadium43,214 Recap
4August 23at Minnesota Vikings W 25–03–1 Metropolitan Stadium 39,578 Recap

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 2 Baltimore Colts W 14–01–0 Arrowhead Stadium 50,442 Recap
2September 9 Cleveland Browns L 24–271–1Arrowhead Stadium42,181 Recap
3September 16at Houston Oilers L 6–201–2 Houston Astrodome 45,684 Recap
4September 23 Oakland Raiders W 35–72–2Arrowhead Stadium67,821 Recap
5September 30at Seattle Seahawks W 24–63–2 Kingdome 61,169 Recap
6October 7at Cincinnati Bengals W 10–74–2 Riverfront Stadium 40,041 Recap
7October 14 Denver Broncos L 10–244–3Arrowhead Stadium74,292 Recap
8October 21 New York Giants L 17–214–4Arrowhead Stadium44,362 Recap
9October 28at Denver Broncos L 3–204–5 Mile High Stadium 74,908 Recap
10November 4 San Diego Chargers L 14–204–6Arrowhead Stadium59,353 Recap
11November 11 Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–304–7Arrowhead Stadium70,132 Recap
12November 18at Oakland Raiders W 24–215–7 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,596 Recap
13November 25at San Diego Chargers L 7–285–8 San Diego Stadium 50,078 Recap
14December 2 Seattle Seahawks W 37–216–8Arrowhead Stadium42,160 Recap
15December 9at Baltimore Colts W 10–77–8 Memorial Stadium 25,684 Recap
16December 16at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 0–37–9 Tampa Stadium 63,624 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Baltimore Colts

Week 1: Baltimore Colts at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Colts00000
Chiefs070714

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 2: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 2: Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Browns1073727
Chiefs0071724

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: September 9
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Clear, 84 °F (29 °C)
  • Game attendance: 42,181
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (NBC): Stu Nahan and Paul Maguire
  • Box score
Game information

Week 3: at Houston Oilers

Week 3: Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Oilers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs06006
Oilers7100320

at Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Game information

Week 4: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 4: Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Raiders00077
Chiefs14071435

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: September 23
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 77 °F (25 °C)
  • Game attendance: 67,821
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson
  • Box score
Game information

Week 5: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 5: Kansas City Chiefs at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs01001424
Seahawks30306

at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington

  • Date: September 30
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 61,169
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Paul Maguire
  • Box score
Game information

Week 6: at Cincinnati Bengals

Week 6: Kansas City Chiefs at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs0100010
Bengals00707

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Date: October 7
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Sunny and cool, 53 °F (12 °C)
  • Game attendance: 40,041
  • Referee: Cal Lepore
  • TV announcers (KCMO-Kansas City): Jack Harry, Ed Budde, and Nick Monroe
  • Box score
Game information

Week 7: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 7: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Broncos377724
Chiefs0001010

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: October 14
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Overcast, 59 °F (15 °C)
  • Game attendance: 74,292
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson
  • Box score
Game information

Week 8: vs. New York Giants

Week 8: New York Giants at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Giants0014721
Chiefs370717

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 9: at Denver Broncos

Week 9: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs00303
Broncos776020

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: October 28
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 62 °F (17 °C)
  • Game attendance: 74,908
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson
  • Box score
Game information

Week 10: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 10: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chargers1003720
Chiefs0001414

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 4
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 65 °F (18 °C)
  • Game attendance: 59,353
  • Referee: Jim Tunney
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Paul Maguire
  • Box score
Game information

Week 11: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 11: Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Steelers101001030
Chiefs00303

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 11
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 43 °F (6 °C)
  • Game attendance: 70,132
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and John Brodie
  • Box score
Game information

Week 12: at Oakland Raiders

Week 12: Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs7314024
Raiders077721

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

  • Date: November 18
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Clear, 61 °F (16 °C)
  • Game attendance: 53,596
  • Referee: Jerry Seeman
  • TV announcers (NBC): Merle Harmon and George Kunz
  • Box score
Game information

Week 13: at San Diego Chargers

Week 13: Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs70007
Chargers777728

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: November 25
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 68 °F (20 °C)
  • Game attendance: 50,078
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV announcers (NBC): Sam Nover and Bob Trumpy
  • Box score
Game information

Week 14: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 14: Seattle Seahawks at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Seahawks0071421
Chiefs14106737

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: December 2
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 32 °F (0 °C)
  • Game attendance: 42,160
  • Referee: Red Cashion
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Paul Maguire
  • Box score
Game information

Week 15: at Baltimore Colts

Week 15: Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Colts – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs700310
Colts70007

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

  • Date: December 9
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Sunny, clear, cold, 43 °F (6 °C)
  • Game attendance: 25,684
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • TV announcers (NBC): Phil Stone and Mike Lucci
  • Box score
Game information

Week 16: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 16: Kansas City Chiefs at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs00000
Buccaneers00033

at Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida

  • Date: December 16
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Rain, 67 °F (19 °C)
  • Game attendance: 63,624
  • Referee: Jerry Seeman
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Paul Maguire
  • Box score
Game information

Standings

AFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
San Diego Chargers (1)1240.7506–29–3411246W2
Denver Broncos (5)1060.6254–47–5289262L2
Seattle Seahawks 970.5633–56–6378372W2
Oakland Raiders 970.5633–55–7365337L1
Kansas City Chiefs 790.4384–47–7238262L1

Awards and records

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Kansas City Chiefs History 1970's". kcchiefs.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  2. "Team Game Finder Query Results - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 454