1988 Kansas City Chiefs season

Last updated

1988 Kansas City Chiefs season
Owner Lamar Hunt
General manager Jim Schaaf (fired Dec. 8)
Carl Peterson (after Dec. 19)
Head coach Frank Gansz
Home field Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record4–11–1
Division place5th AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
1
  • S Deron Cherry (1st team)

The 1988 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 19th season in the National Football League and the 29th overall.

Contents

Bill Kenney opened the team's initial two games at quarterback, but was replaced by Steve DeBerg for the second half against Seattle. [1] DeBerg guided the team to a 20–13 win against Denver in his initial start as a member of the Chiefs. However, six losses, and a tie followed as Kenney and DeBerg jostled for the starting job.

As the season drew to a close, it became apparent the winds of change were blowing across the organization. President Jack Steadman resigned on December 8, while general manager Jim Schaaf was relieved of his duties the same day. [1] Steadman was later named chairman of the board. On the field, the Chiefs finished the year at 4–11–1 as questions swirled regarding head coach Frank Gansz's future and who would fill the club's leadership void. One day after the season's conclusion, former Philadelphia Eagles and United States Football League executive Carl Peterson was named the club's president/general manager and chief operating officer on December 19.

Offseason

The spring was marked by several notable trades as the club jockeyed to improve on its 4–11 finish in 1987. Todd Blackledge was traded to Pittsburgh on March 29 and 12-year veteran quarterback Steve DeBerg was acquired from Tampa Bay on March 31. The Chiefs moved up one spot in the first round of the draft to select defensive end Neil Smith with the second overall pick.

NFL draft

1988 Kansas City Chiefs draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
12 Neil Smith  *  Defensive end Nebraska
359 Kevin Porter   Defensive back Auburn
496Johnny Ray Ambrose  Wide receiver Mississippi
6139 James Saxon   Running back San Jose State
7170 Troy Stedman   Linebacker Washburn
8197 Alfredo Roberts   Tight end Miami (FL)
9224Azizuddin Abdur-Ra'oof Wide receiver Maryland
10251 Kenny Gamble  Running back Colgate
11282 Danny McManus   Quarterback Florida State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Personnel

Staff

1988 Kansas City Chiefs staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Roster

1988 Kansas City Chiefs roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad none


47 active, 15 inactive


Rookies in italics

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1August 6 Cincinnati Bengals W 34–211–0 Arrowhead Stadium 31,947 Recap
2August 13at Atlanta Falcons W 27–132–0 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 23,369 Recap
3August 19at Green Bay Packers T 21–21 (OT)2–0–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 32,361 Recap
4August 25 Phoenix Cardinals L 21–412–1–1Arrowhead Stadium36,883 Recap

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 4 Cleveland Browns L 3–60–1 Arrowhead Stadium 55,654 Recap
2September 11at Seattle Seahawks L 10–310–2 Kingdome 61,512 Recap
3September 18 Denver Broncos W 20–131–2Arrowhead Stadium63,268 Recap
4September 25 San Diego Chargers L 23–241–3Arrowhead Stadium45,498 Recap
5October 2at New York Jets T 17–17 (OT)1–3–1 Giants Stadium 66,110 Recap
6October 9at Houston Oilers L 6–71–4–1 Houston Astrodome 39,134 Recap
7October 16 Los Angeles Raiders L 17–271–5–1Arrowhead Stadium77,078 Recap
8October 23 Detroit Lions L 6–71–6–1Arrowhead Stadium66,926 Recap
9October 30at Los Angeles Raiders L 10–171–7–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 36,103 Recap
10November 6at Denver Broncos L 11–171–8–1 Mile High Stadium 74,227 Recap
11November 13 Cincinnati Bengals W 31–282–8–1Arrowhead Stadium34,614 Recap
12November 20 Seattle Seahawks W 27–243–8–1Arrowhead Stadium33,152 Recap
13November 27at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–163–9–1 Three Rivers Stadium 42,057 Recap
14December 4 New York Jets W 38–344–9–1Arrowhead Stadium30,059 Recap
15December 11at New York Giants L 12–284–10–1Giants Stadium69,807 Recap
16December 18at San Diego Chargers L 13–244–11–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 26,339 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 1: Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period1234Total
Browns03036
Chiefs03003

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 2: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 2: Kansas City Chiefs at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Period1234Total
Chiefs300710
Seahawks3280031

at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington

Game information

Week 3: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 3: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period1234Total
Broncos370313
Chiefs377320

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 4: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 4: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period1234Total
Chargers14001024
Chiefs0149023

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 5: at New York Jets

Week 5: Kansas City Chiefs at New York Jets – Game summary
Period1234OTTotal
Chiefs00314017
Jets3707017

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game information

Week 6: at Houston Oilers

Week 6: Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Oilers – Game summary
Period1234Total
Chiefs33006
Oilers00707

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

  • Date: October 9
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 39,134
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Reggie Rucker
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 7: vs. Los Angeles Raiders

Week 7: Los Angeles Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period1234Total
Raiders7701327
Chiefs0701017

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: October 16
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 67 °F (19 °C)
  • Game attendance: 77,078
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond and Joe Namath
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 8: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 8: Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period1234Total
Lions07007
Chiefs03306

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 9: at Los Angeles Raiders

Week 9: Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Raiders – Game summary
Period1234Total
Chiefs070310
Raiders770317

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

Game information

Week 10: at Denver Broncos

Week 10: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period1234Total
Chiefs233311
Broncos0140317

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: November 6
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST/2:00 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: Partly Cloudy, 63 °F (17 °C)
  • Game attendance: 74,227
  • Referee: Gordon McCarter
  • TV announcers (NBC): Gary Gerould and Reggie Rucker
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 11: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week 11: Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period1234Total
Bengals7714028
Chiefs63101231

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 13
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 59 °F (15 °C)
  • Game attendance: 34,614
  • Referee: Jerry Seeman
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy
  • Recap
Game information

Week 12: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 12: Seattle Seahawks at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period1234Total
Seahawks0771024
Chiefs7731027

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 20
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 34 °F (1 °C)
  • Game attendance: 33,152
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (NBC): Gary Gerould and Jimmy Cefalo
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 13: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 13: Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
Period1234Total
Chiefs070310
Steelers673016

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Date: November 27
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Partly Cloudy, 51 °F (11 °C)
  • Game attendance: 42,057
  • Referee: Dick Jorgensen
  • TV announcers (NBC): Gary Gerould and Reggie Rucker
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 14: vs. New York Jets

Week 14: New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period1234Total
Jets10107734
Chiefs14701738

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 15: at New York Giants

Week 15: Kansas City Chiefs at New York Giants – Game summary
Period1234Total
Chiefs039012
Giants7071428

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: December 11
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Mostly Cloudy, 20 °F (−7 °C)
  • Game attendance: 69,807
  • Referee: Jim Tunney
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 16: at San Diego Chargers

Week 16: Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Period1234Total
Chiefs1300013
Chargers1077024

at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: December 18
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST/1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Partly Cloudy, 62 °F (17 °C)
  • Game attendance: 26,339
  • Referee: Johnny Grier
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Dave Rowe
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Standings

AFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Seattle Seahawks (3)970.5636–28–4339329W2
Denver Broncos 880.5003–55–7327352W1
Los Angeles Raiders 790.4386–26–6325369L2
San Diego Chargers 6100.3753–54–8231332W2
Kansas City Chiefs 4111.2812–64–9–1254320L2

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References

  1. 1 2 "Kansas City Chiefs History 1980's". Archived from the original on August 6, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  2. "1988 Kansas City Chiefs draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 12, 2014.