1998 Kansas City Chiefs season

Last updated

1998 Kansas City Chiefs season
Owner Lamar Hunt
General manager Carl Peterson
Head coach Marty Schottenheimer
Home stadium Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record7–9
Division place4th AFC West
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
All-Pros None

The 1998 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 39th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 29th overall.

Contents

The season began with the team hoping to not only improve on their 13–3 campaign the previous season but to also avenge their loss in the 1998 playoffs against the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. However, instead, the Chiefs failed to succeed in the highly competitive AFC West.

Kansas City began the season on a bright spot, with a 4–1 record and three wins against division rivals; however they then endured a 6-game losing streak, dropping their record to 4–7, and the team finished with a 7–9 record and 4th place in the AFC West. The biggest low point of the season was during a Week 11 matchup against their division rival Denver Broncos, in which the Chiefs defense were penalized five times on the same drive, including three penalties by linebacker Derrick Thomas, topping off an embarrassing 30–7 loss.

This was the first losing season of head coach Marty Schottenheimer's career. Following the season, Schottenheimer announced his intention to resign after ten seasons with the team, and defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham assumed coaching duties for 1999.

This was the first time Derrick Thomas was not named to the Pro Bowl roster.

Offseason

On April 9, Marcus Allen announced his retirement.

Draft

1998 Kansas City Chiefs draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
127 Victor Riley   Offensive tackle Auburn
388 Rashaan Shehee   Running back Washington
4120 Greg Favors   Linebacker Mississippi State
5128 Robert Williams   Defensive back North Carolina
6181 Derrick Ransom   Defensive tackle Cincinnati
7216 Eric Warfield  Defensive back Nebraska
7224Ernest Blackwell Running back Missouri
      Made roster  

[1]

Personnel

Staff

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

Roster

1998 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)

Practice squad

53 active, 7 inactive, 5 practice squadReserve


Rookies in italics

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1August 1vs. Green Bay Packers L 24–27 (OT)0–1 Flag of Japan.svg Tokyo Dome (Tokyo)42,018 Recap
2August 8vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 17–131–1 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Norman, OK)43,657 Recap
3August 15at Minnesota Vikings L 0–341–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 60,955 Recap
4August 22 Jacksonville Jaguars W 22–212–2 Arrowhead Stadium 71,079 Recap
5August 28 St. Louis Rams L 6–102–3Arrowhead Stadium69,501 Recap

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 September 27, the Chiefs visited the Philadelphia Eagles for the first time in franchise history.

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, however a 6-game losing streak following this game dropped the team to 4–7.

On November 16, against the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs defense was penalized five 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". After that it was all downhill as the Chiefs suffered their first losing season since 1988.

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 6 Oakland Raiders W 28–81–0 Arrowhead Stadium 78,945 Recap
2September 13at Jacksonville Jaguars L 16–211–1 Alltel Stadium 69,821 Recap
3September 20 San Diego Chargers W 23–72–1Arrowhead Stadium73,730 Recap
4September 27at Philadelphia Eagles W 24–213–1 Veterans Stadium 66,675 Recap
5October 4 Seattle Seahawks W 17–64–1Arrowhead Stadium66,418 Recap
6October 11at New England Patriots L 10–404–2 Foxboro Stadium 59,749 Recap
7 Bye
8October 26 Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–204–3Arrowhead Stadium79,431 Recap
9November 1 New York Jets L 17–204–4Arrowhead Stadium65,104 Recap
10November 8at Seattle Seahawks L 12–244–5 Kingdome 66,251 Recap
11November 16 Denver Broncos L 7–304–6Arrowhead Stadium78,100 Recap
12November 22at San Diego Chargers L 37–384–7 Qualcomm Stadium 59,894 Recap
13November 29 Arizona Cardinals W 34–245–7Arrowhead Stadium69,613 Recap
14December 6at Denver Broncos L 31–355–8 Mile High Stadium 74,962 Recap
15December 13 Dallas Cowboys W 20–176–8Arrowhead Stadium77,697 Recap
16December 20at New York Giants L 7–286–9 Giants Stadium 66,040 Recap
17December 26at Oakland Raiders W 31–247–9 Network Associates Coliseum 52,679 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 1: Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Raiders00808
Chiefs1733528

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 2: at Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 2: Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Jaguars – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs063716
Jaguars777021

at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

Game information

Week 3: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 3: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chargers00707
Chiefs6107023

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 4: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week 4: Kansas City Chiefs at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs0701724
Eagles707721

at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Game information

Week 5: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 5: Seattle Seahawks at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Seahawks30306
Chiefs377017

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: October 4
  • Game time: 7:20 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Heavy rain expected, 66 °F (19 °C)
  • Game attendance: 66,418
  • Referee: Phil Luckett
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire and Solomon Wilcots
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 6: at New England Patriots

Week 6: Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs007310
Patriots72010340

at Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

  • Date: October 11
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Light rain, 61 °F (16 °C)
  • Game attendance: 59,749
  • Referee: Larry Nemmers
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 8: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 8: Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Steelers733720
Chiefs337013

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 9: vs. New York Jets

Week 9: New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Jets01001020
Chiefs703717

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 10: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 10: Kansas City Chiefs at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs330612
Seahawks14100024

at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington

  • Date: November 8
  • Game time: 3:15 p.m. CST/1:15 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 66,251
  • Referee: Bill Carollo
  • TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle and Mark May
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 11: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 11: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Broncos1463730
Chiefs07007

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 16
  • Game time: 7:20 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Clear, 54 °F (12 °C)
  • Game attendance: 78,100
  • Referee: Dick Hantak
  • TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Dan Dierdorf, Boomer Esiason and Lesley Visser
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 12: at San Diego Chargers

Week 12: Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs77131037
Chargers71002138

at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: November 22
  • Game time: 3:15 p.m. CST/1:15 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Clear and sunny, 74 °F (23 °C)
  • Game attendance: 59,894
  • Referee: Tony Corrente
  • TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui and Beasley Reece
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 13: vs. Arizona Cardinals

Week 13: Arizona Cardinals at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Cardinals0107724
Chiefs77101034

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 14: at Denver Broncos

Week 14: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs2107331
Broncos71401435

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: December 6
  • Game time: 3:15 p.m. CST/2:15 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 35 °F (2 °C)
  • Game attendance: 74,962
  • Referee: Johnny Grier
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 15: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week 15: Dallas Cowboys at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Cowboys0301417
Chiefs3014320

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 16: at New York Giants

Week 16: Kansas City Chiefs at New York Giants – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs00707
Giants1477028

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: December 20
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 49 °F (9 °C)
  • Game attendance: 66,040
  • Referee: Ron Winter
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan and Sam Wyche
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 17: at Oakland Raiders

Week 17: Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs0717731
Raiders1403724

at Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland, California

  • Date: December 26
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST/1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 51 °F (11 °C)
  • Game attendance: 52,679
  • Referee: Mike Carey
  • TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist, Randy Cross and Michele Tafoya
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Standings

AFC West
WLTPCTPFPASTK
(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. "Raiders vs. Chiefs - Game Recap - December 24, 2011 - ESPN". Archived from the original on July 13, 2012.