2016 Kansas City Chiefs season

Last updated

2016 Kansas City Chiefs season
Owner The Hunt family
(Clark Hunt Chairman and CEO)
General manager John Dorsey
Head coach Andy Reid
Offensive coordinator Brad Childress
Matt Nagy
Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton
Home stadium Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record12–4
Division place1st AFC West
PlayoffsLost Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Steelers) 16–18
All-Pros
5
Pro Bowlers
Team MVP Eric Berry
Team ROY Tyreek Hill
Uniform
Kc chiefs uniforms.png

The 2016 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 47th in the National Football League (NFL), their 57th overall and their fourth under head coach Andy Reid and the fourth and final season under general manager John Dorsey who was fired June 22, 2017. [1] The Chiefs clinched their first AFC West division title since 2010, beginning a streak of nine consecutive that still stands as of 2024. The Chiefs also clinched a first-round bye for the first time since 2003, but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional round 18–16.

Contents

Violation of anti-tampering policy

On March 9, 2016, the NFL announced that the Chiefs had violated the league's anti-tampering policy while pursuing wide receiver Jeremy Maclin during the 2015 off-season. The NFL defines tampering as prospective teams contacting soon-to-be free agents before NFL policies allow, which is two days prior to the beginning of the new league year. As punishment, the Chiefs forfeited their 2016 third-round selection, a 2017 sixth-round selection, and were fined $250,000. In addition, head coach Andy Reid was fined $75,000, and general manager John Dorsey was fined $25,000. [2] The Chiefs immediately appealed the decision believing the punishment was excessively harsh and inconsistent with punishments that have given to other teams in similar situations. On April 19, the NFL denied the Chiefs appeal, however, they did reduce the team's fine to $200,000 and Reid's fine to $60,000. [3]

NFL Top 100

The Chiefs had an NFL best 9 players in the annual Top 100 Players countdown.

RankPlayerPositionChange
26 Justin Houston LBIncrease2.svg 1
55 Eric Berry SNR
65 Marcus Peters CBNR
75 Jamaal Charles RBDecrease2.svg 63
80 Derrick Johnson LBNR
81 Alex Smith QBNR
84 Tamba Hali LBDecrease2.svg 14
91 Travis Kelce TENR
93 Jeremy Maclin WRNR

Roster changes

Offseason

Reserve/future free agent contracts
PlayerPosition
Tyrell Adams LB
Da'Ron Brown WR
Deveron Carr CB
Kenny CookWR
Dominique DavisDE
Reid FragelT
Laurence Gibson T
Cameron Gordon OLB
Jordan Kovacs SS
Keith LewisCB
Michael LiedkteG
Trey Millard FB
Jimmy Staten DE
Alameda Ta'amu NT
Ross TravisTE
Fred Williams WR
Retirements
PositionPlayerSeasons with
the Chiefs
Years proDate announced
FS Husain Abdullah 37March 28 [4]
DE Mike DeVito 39April 11 [5]
Free agents
PositionPlayerStatus*2015 Team(s)2016 Team
T Jeff Allen UFAKansas City ChiefsHouston Texans
WR Jason Avant UFAKansas City ChiefsNone
FS Eric Berry UFAKansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
SS Tyvon Branch UFAKansas City ChiefsArizona Cardinals
SS Stevie Brown UFANew York GiantsKansas City Chiefs
CB Marcus Cooper UFAKansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
QB Chase Daniel UFAKansas City ChiefsPhiladelphia Eagles
S Akeem Davis UFANew Orleans Saints
Seattle Seahawks
Indianapolis Colts
Kansas City Chiefs
G Jordan Devey UFASan Francisco 49ersKansas City Chiefs
CB Jamell Fleming UFAKansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
LB Tamba Hali UFAKansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
DE Jaye Howard UFAKansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
LB Derrick Johnson UFAKansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
WR Seantavius Jones UFANew Orleans SaintsKansas City Chiefs
LBTautvydas KierasUFANoneKansas City Chiefs
DE David King ERFASeattle Seahawks
Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
OLB Andy Mulumba UFAGreen Bay PackersKansas City Chiefs
DE Jonathan Massaquoi UFAAtlanta FalconsKansas City Chiefs
LB Dezman Moses RFAKansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
CDrew NowakUFASeattle SeahawksKansas City Chiefs
DE Efe Obada UFADallas CowboysKansas City Chiefs
T Mitchell Schwartz UFACleveland BrownsKansas City Chiefs
FS Daniel Sorensen ERFAKansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
CB Sean Smith UFAKansas City ChiefsOakland Raiders
T Donald Stephenson UFAKansas City ChiefsDenver Broncos
WR Rod Streater UFAOakland RaidersKansas City Chiefs
RB Charcandrick West ERFAKansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
WR Mike Williams UFANoneKansas City Chiefs
DE Nick Williams ERFAKansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
SS Jimmy Wilson UFASan Diego ChargersKansas City Chiefs
LB Frank Zombo UFAKansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
*RFA: Restricted free agent, UFA: Unrestricted free agent, ERFA: Exclusive rights free agent, Franchise: Franchise tag

Draft

2016 Kansas City Chiefs Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollege
237 Chris Jones Defensive tackle Mississippi State
374 KeiVarae Russell Cornerback Notre Dame
4105 Parker Ehinger Guard Cincinnati
4106 Eric Murray Cornerback Minnesota
4126 Demarcus Robinson Wide receiver Florida
5162 Kevin Hogan Quarterback Stanford
5165 Tyreek Hill Wide receiver West Alabama
6178 D. J. White Cornerback Georgia Tech
6203 Dadi Nicolas Linebacker Virginia Tech

Notes

Undrafted free agents

PositionPlayerCollege
WR Mitch Mathews BYU
OLJake Bernstein Vanderbilt
CBen Clarke Hawaii
CBVernon Harris Dartmouth
CBShak Randolph SMU
LBTerrance Smith Florida State
SSPeni Vea UNLV
FSBryce Cheek Akron
Players signed from rookie mini camp tryouts
PositionPlayerCollege
CBShannon Edwards Fresno State
GGarrick Mayweather Fordham
TZach Sterup Nebraska
Cuts
PositionPlayer
WRKenny Cook
G Paul Fanaika
G Ben Grubbs
Players cut in the offseason before playing for the Chiefs
PositionPlayer
GJake Bernstein
CBen Clarke
LBCameron Gordon
S Jimmy Wilson
WR Fred Williams
LBTautvydas Kieras
GMichael Liedtke
T Laurence Gibson
S Jordan Kovacs
SKeith Lewis
LBEfe Obada
SSPeni Vea

Camp transactions

Cuts
PositionPlayer
Alameda Ta'amu DT
Tre JonesCB
Shannon EdwardsCB
Vernon HarrisCB
Signings
PositionPlayer
Bryce CheekS
Nick Foles QB
Jeron JohnsonS
Malcolm JacksonCB

Preseason transactions

Cuts
PositionPlayer
SAkeem Davis
Signings
PositionPlayer
S Brock Vereen
Trades
PositionPlayer/pick
received
TeamCompensation
CBCB Kenneth Acker San Francisco 49ers7th round pick
2018 NFL draft
N/AUndisclosed draft pick
2018 NFL draft
Arizona CardinalsCB Marcus Cooper
N/AUndisclosed
draft pick
San Francisco 49ersWR Rod Streater
Roster cut downs

Regular season transactions

Trades
PositionPlayer/Pick
Received
TeamCompensation
N/ANone*Green Bay PackersRB Knile Davis

*Trade included a conditional draft pick that required Davis to stay on the roster for a specific amount of time; since he did not meet this requirement, the Chiefs received no compensation.

Cuts
PositionPlayer
CB KeiVarae Russell
DE Nick Williams
Signings
PositionPlayerPrevious team
T Bryan Witzmann Dallas Cowboys
DE Kendall Reyes Washington Redskins
LB Terrance Smith Kansas City Chiefs*
G Mike Person Atlanta Falcons
DL Jarvis Jenkins New York Jets
RB Knile Davis Green Bay Packers†
CB Terrance Mitchell Kansas City Chiefs*

*Indicates player was signed off practice squad of team listed
†Knile Davis was traded to the Packers, then was released 2 weeks later, and signed back to the Chiefs

Players involved in multiple transactions

This list is for players who were involved in more than one transaction during the season

PositionPlayerFinal status
LB Dezman Moses Free agent
T Jordan Devey Chiefs active roster
LB Ramik Wilson Chiefs active roster
DT Rakeem Nuñez-Roches Chiefs active roster
LB Sam Barrington Saints active roster
LB Sio Moore Cardinals active roster
CB Terrance Mitchell Chiefs active roster
DT David King Chiefs active roster
RB Bishop Sankey Vikings practice squad

Staff

2016 Kansas City Chiefs staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Final roster

2016 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

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 9 reserve, 10 practice squad

Preseason

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1August 13 Seattle Seahawks L 16–170–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
2August 20at Los Angeles Rams L 20–210–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
3August 27at Chicago Bears W 23–71–2 Soldier Field Recap
4September 1 Green Bay Packers W 17–72–2Arrowhead Stadium Recap

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 1: Seattle Seahawks at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Seahawks0331117
Chiefs763016

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 2: at Los Angeles Rams

Week 2: Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Rams – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs7130020
Rams770721

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

  • Date: August 20
  • Game time: 8:00 p.m. CDT/6:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 71 °F (22 °C)
  • Game attendance: 80,782
  • Referee: Tony Corrente
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 3: at Chicago Bears

Week 3: Kansas City Chiefs at Chicago Bears – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs0137323
Bears00077

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

  • Date: August 27
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 76 °F (24 °C)
  • Game attendance: 61,681
  • Referee: Gene Steratore
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 4: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 4: Green Bay Packers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Packers70007
Chiefs0170017

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: September 1
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 77 °F (25 °C)
  • Game attendance: 70,155
  • Referee: Jerome Boger
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1 September 11 San Diego Chargers W 33–27 (OT)1–0 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
2 September 18at Houston Texans L 12–191–1 NRG Stadium Recap
3 September 25 New York Jets W 24–32–1Arrowhead Stadium Recap
4 October 2at Pittsburgh Steelers L 14–432–2 Heinz Field Recap
5 Bye
6 October 16at Oakland Raiders W 26–103–2 Oakland Alameda Coliseum Recap
7 October 23 New Orleans Saints W 27–214–2Arrowhead Stadium Recap
8 October 30at Indianapolis Colts W 30–145–2 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap
9 November 6 Jacksonville Jaguars W 19–146–2Arrowhead Stadium Recap
10 November 13at Carolina Panthers W 20–177–2 Bank of America Stadium Recap
11 November 20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 17–197–3Arrowhead Stadium Recap
12 November 27at Denver Broncos W 30–27 (OT)8–3 Sports Authority Field at Mile High Recap
13 December 4at Atlanta Falcons W 29–289–3 Georgia Dome Recap
14 December 8 Oakland Raiders W 21–1310–3Arrowhead Stadium Recap
15 December 18 Tennessee Titans L 17–1910–4Arrowhead Stadium Recap
16 December 25 Denver Broncos W 33–1011–4Arrowhead Stadium Recap
17 January 1at San Diego Chargers W 37–2712–4 Qualcomm Stadium Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 1: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234OTTotal
Chargers71433027
Chiefs30717633

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 2: at Houston Texans

Week 2: Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs030912
Texans760619

at NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas

Game information

Week 3: vs. New York Jets

Week 3: New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Jets03003
Chiefs7100724

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

The Chiefs picked off the Jets six times.

Week 4: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 4: Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs0001414
Steelers2277743

at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game information

Week 6: at Oakland Raiders

Week 6: Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs7610326
Raiders730010

at Oakland Alameda Coliseum, Oakland, California

  • Date: October 16
  • Game time: 3:05 p.m. CDT/1:05 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: Rain, 61 °F (16 °C)
  • Game attendance: 54,211
  • Referee: Pete Morelli
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 7: vs. New Orleans Saints

Week 7: New Orleans Saints at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Saints707721
Chiefs1473327

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 8: at Indianapolis Colts

Week 8: Kansas City Chiefs at Indianapolis Colts – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs3147630
Colts077014

at Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana

  • Date: October 30
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: None (retractable roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 65,417
  • Referee: Craig Wrolstad
  • TV announcers (CBS): Spero Dedes and Solomon Wilcots
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 9: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 9: Jacksonville Jaguars at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Jaguars070714
Chiefs736319

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 6
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Clear, 62 °F (17 °C)
  • Game attendance: 73,294
  • Referee: Gene Steratore
  • TV announcers (CBS): Spero Dedes and Solomon Wilcots
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 10: at Carolina Panthers

Week 10: Kansas City Chiefs at Carolina Panthers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs0301720
Panthers3140017

at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

Game information

Week 11: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 11: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Buccaneers093719
Chiefs370717

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 12: at Denver Broncos

Week 12: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Quarter1234OTTotal
Chiefs0978630
Broncos03714327

at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: November 27
  • Game time: 7:30 p.m. CST/6:30 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: Mostly sunny, 44 °F (7 °C)
  • Game attendance: 76,819
  • Referee: Pete Morelli
  • TV announcers (NBC): Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 13: at Atlanta Falcons

Week 13: Kansas City Chiefs at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs6147229
Falcons10601228

at Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia

  • Date: December 4
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 69,879
  • Referee: Walt Coleman
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Trent Green and Jamie Erdahl
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 14: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 14: Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Raiders373013
Chiefs0210021

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 15: vs. Tennessee Titans

Week 15: Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Titans0701219
Chiefs1430017

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: December 18
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 1 °F (−17 °C)
  • Game attendance: 68,084
  • Referee: John Hussey
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Trent Green and Jamie Erdahl
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 16: vs. Denver Broncos

Christmas Day games

Week 16: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Broncos730010
Chiefs21001233

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: December 25
  • Game time: 7:30 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Cloudy, rain, 53 °F (12 °C)
  • Game attendance: 76,671
  • Referee: Tony Corrente
  • TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 17: at San Diego Chargers

Week 17: Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs31714337
Chargers3771027

at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: January 1, 2017
  • Game time: 3:25 p.m. CST/1:25 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 59 °F (15 °C)
  • Game attendance: 54,915
  • Referee: Walt Anderson
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Trent Green and Jamie Erdahl
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Standings

Division

AFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(2) Kansas City Chiefs 1240.7506–09–3389311W2
(5) Oakland Raiders 1240.7503–39–3416385L1
Denver Broncos 970.5632–46–6333297W1
San Diego Chargers 5110.3131–54–8410423L5

Conference

#TeamDivisionWLTPCTDIVCONFSOSSOVSTK
Division leaders
1 New England Patriots East1420.8755–111–1.439.424W7
2 [a] Kansas City Chiefs West1240.7506–09–3.508.479W2
3 Pittsburgh Steelers North1150.6885–19–3.494.423W7
4 [b] Houston Texans South970.5635–17–5.502.427L1
Wild Cards
5 [a] Oakland Raiders West1240.7503–39–3.504.443L1
6 Miami Dolphins East1060.6254–27–5.455.341L1
Did not qualify for the postseason
7 [b] [c] Tennessee Titans South970.5632–46–6.465.458W1
8 [c] Denver Broncos West970.5632–46–6.549.455W1
9 [d] Baltimore Ravens North880.5004–27–5.498.363L2
10 [d] Indianapolis Colts South880.5003–35–7.492.406W1
11 Buffalo Bills East790.4381–54–8.482.339L2
12 Cincinnati Bengals North691.4063–35–7.521.333W1
13 [e] New York Jets East5110.3132–44–8.518.313W1
14 [e] San Diego Chargers West5110.3131–54–8.543.513L5
15 Jacksonville Jaguars South3130.1882–42–10.527.417L1
16 Cleveland Browns North1150.0630–61–11.549.313L1
Tiebreakers [f]
  1. 1 2 Kansas City clinched the AFC West division over Oakland based on head-to-head sweep.
  2. 1 2 Houston clinched the AFC South division title over Tennessee based on record vs. division opponents.
  3. 1 2 Tennessee finished ahead of Denver based on head-to-head victory.
  4. 1 2 Baltimore finished ahead of Indianapolis based on record vs. conference opponents.
  5. 1 2 The New York Jets finished ahead of San Diego based record vs. common opponents — the Jets' cumulative record against Cleveland, Indianapolis,
    Kansas City and Miami was 1–4, while San Diego's cumulative record against the same four teams was 0–5.
  6. When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

Postseason

Schedule

RoundDateOpponent (seed)ResultRecordVenueRecap
Wild Card First-round bye
Divisional January 15 Pittsburgh Steelers (3)L 16–180–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap

Game summaries

AFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (3) Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC Divisional Playoffs: (3) Pittsburgh Steelers at (2) Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Steelers663318
Chiefs703616

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Chiefs lost and in 2017 finished 10-6 but lost to the Titans 22-21.

References

  1. "Chiefs, Dorsey Agree to Part Ways". Chiefs.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Chiefs lose two draft picks for tampering with Maclin". NFL.com.
  3. "NFL denies Kansas City Chiefs' anti-tampering appeal". NFL.com.
  4. "'Personal health' primary reason for Husain Abdullah to retire". ESPN.com. March 28, 2016.
  5. Orr, Conor (April 11, 2016). "Ex-Jets, Chiefs DE Mike DeVito announces retirement". NFL.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.