Record 6–10 Playoff finish did not qualify Head coach John Mackovic Owner Lamar Hunt Home field Arrowhead Stadium | Division place 5th AFC West Pro Bowlers S Deron Cherry Start date 1985 General manager Jim Schaaf | |
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The 1985 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a 6–10 record, and last place finish in the AFC West.
The Chiefs got off to a flying start in 1985 with a 47–27 win at New Orleans, while safety Deron Cherry tied an NFL record by registering four interceptions in a 28–7 win against Seattle on September 29 as the club boasted a 3–1 record four games into the season. The club was then confronted with a seven-game losing streak (amidst, nonetheless, the neighboring Kansas City Royals's World Series run) that wasn’t snapped until quarterback Todd Blackledge was installed as the starter against Indianapolis on November 24. The team rebounded to win three of its final five contests of the year with Blackledge under center, further inflaming a quarterback controversy that continued into the 1986 season.
Among these wins was the first time since 1972 that the Chiefs played the Atlanta Falcons, and merely the second in team history. The reason for this is that before the admission of the Texans in 2002, NFL scheduling formulas for games outside a team's division were much more influenced by table position during the previous season.
One of the few remaining bright spots in a disappointing 6–10 season came in the regular season finale against San Diego when wide receiver Stephone Paige set an NFL record with 309 receiving yards in a 38–34 win, breaking the previous mark of 303 yards set by Cleveland's Jim Benton in 1945. Paige's mark was subsequently surpassed by a 336-yard effort by Flipper Anderson (Los Angeles Rams) in 1989.