Record 10–6 Head coach Marty Schottenheimer Home field Arrowhead Stadium | Division place 2nd AFC West Start date 1991 | |
Playoff finish Won AFC Wild Card round (L.A. Raiders)
Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs (Bills) Pro Bowlers FB Christian Okoye
DE Neil Smith
LB Derrick Thomas People also search for 1992 Kansas City Chiefs season | ||
The 1991 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with a 10–6 record and Wild Card spot in the 1992 playoffs. The Chiefs defeated their division rival, the Los Angeles Raiders in the Wild Card round, resulting in the franchise's first playoff victory since Super Bowl IV in 1970. The next week, the Chiefs lost to the Buffalo Bills in the divisional playoffs.
The season began on July 27 when Jan Stenerud, the hero of Super Bowl IV was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
After a 1–1 start, on September 16 the Chiefs lost to the Houston Oilers 17–7 before a Monday Night Football television audience.
But the Chiefs rebounded to win 4 straight games, including an October 7 game in which the Chiefs trounced the Buffalo Bills 33–6. It was the Chiefs' first home Monday Night Football game since 1983 and on October 13, The Chiefs blasted the Miami Dolphins 42–7 as Christian Okoye ran for 153 yards.
After a loss to the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs came from behind a week later to beat the Los Angeles Raiders 24–21 on Monday Night Football. The Chiefs' record was then 6–3.
But despite a good start, the Chiefs passing game wasn't as good as their 1990 campaign as Steve DeBerg's consistency dropped. The running game made up for lost time as Christian Okoye ran for 1,031 yards for the season, and Barry Word was productive, and rookie Harvey Williams was outstanding in limited playing time.
The defense was again led by Derrick Thomas, and he was joined by Neil Smith on the Pro Bowl team.
The Chiefs continued to play playoff football and on December 22 Christmas came early for the Chiefs and their fans. By playing brilliantly and holding off the Raiders in the end, they left Los Angeles with a 27–21 win. The victory gave the Chiefs a home playoff game against the Raiders. A loss would have meant playing in Los Angeles again the following week. It was the first playoff game in Kansas City in 20 years.
The offense was superb as quarterback Steve DeBerg completed 14 of 20 passes for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns. Barry Word rushed for 152 yards, and J. J. Birden caught 8 passes for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns. Even more impressive was that the Chiefs didn't have to punt in the game and held the ball for almost 40 minutes.
The Chiefs led 17–7 at the half, and after the Raiders scored with just under 4 minutes left in the game to pull within 27–21, the Chiefs ran out the clock to secure the win.