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1974 Kansas City Chiefs season

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1974 Kansas City Chiefs season
OwnerLamar Hunt
General managerJack Steadman
Head coachHank Stram
Home fieldArrowhead Stadium
Results
Record5–9
Division place3rd AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersC Jack Rudnay
LB Willie Lanier
CB Emmitt Thomas

The 1974 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's fifth season in the National Football League, the twelfth season in Kansas City Chiefs, and the fifteenth overall, it ended with a 5–9 record and the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the third straight season consecutive and third-place finish in the AFC West, Hank Stram was fired after the season and was replaced by Paul Wiggin in 1975.

While the club's new facility at Arrowhead Stadium was drawing rave reviews, the Chiefs roster was beginning to show its age.[1] The result was the team's first losing season in eleven years as the club was unable to string together consecutive victories during the year, a first in franchise history.[1] Many of the club's key players were entering the twilight of their careers: Len Dawson was 39, Jim Tyrer was 35, Bobby Bell, Buck Buchanan, and Ed Budde were 34, Dave Hill was 33 and Otis Taylor was 32.[1]

One of the year's few bright spots in the 5–9 season was cornerback Emmitt Thomas, who led the league with a franchise-record 12 interceptions. The final game of the 1974 campaign marked the final time all seven of Kansas City's Pro Football Hall of Fame players from the club's AFL champion era took the field together with coach Hank Stram.[1] Including owner Lamar Hunt and seven future Minnesota Vikings Hall of Famers, an amazing total of 16 Hall of Fame inductees were involved in that 1974 season finale game. That 35–15 loss against Minnesota provided an anticlimactic conclusion to Hank Stram's illustrious coaching career in Kansas City. Three days later, Stram, the only head coach in franchise history was relieved of his duties on December 27 after compiling a 124–76–10 regular season record with the club.

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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1974 Kansas City Chiefs Draft
Round Selection Player Position College
1 16 Woody Green Running back Arizona State
2 41 Charlie Getty Tackle Penn State
3 66 David Jaynes Quarterback Kansas
4 94 Matt Herkenhoff Tackle Penn State
6 131 Jim Washington Running back Clemson
7 172 Leroy Hegge Defensive end South Dakota–Springfield
9 222 Jim Jennings Running back Rutgers
10 134 Tom Condon Guard Boston College
11 275 Bob Thornbladh Running back Michigan
12 300 Carl Brown Wide receiver West Texas A&M
13 328 Norm Romagnoli Linebacker Kentucky State
14 353 Frank Pomarico Guard Notre Dame
15 378 Lem Burnham Linebacker U. S. International
16 405 Barry Beers Guard William & Mary
17 431 David Langner Defensive back Auburn

Roster

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1974 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

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Preseason

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 August 5 Detroit Lions W 20–12 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium 35,521 Recap
2 August 12 Buffalo Bills L 21–35 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium 39,248 Recap
3 August 17 at Los Angeles Rams L 16–58 1–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 48,848 Recap
4 August 24 San Francisco 49ers W 26–7 2–2 Arrowhead Stadium 46,548 Recap
5 August 31 at Dallas Cowboys L 16–25 2–3 Texas Stadium 43,492 Recap
6 September 6 St. Louis Cardinals W 31–16 3–3 Arrowhead Stadium 46,067 Recap

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 15 New York Jets W 24–16 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium 74,854 Recap
2 September 22 at Oakland Raiders L 7–27 1–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 48,108 Recap
3 September 29 at Houston Oilers W 17–7 2–1 Houston Astrodome 28,538 Recap
4 October 6 Denver Broncos L 14–17 2–2 Arrowhead Stadium 67,298 Recap
5 October 13 Pittsburgh Steelers L 24–34 2–3 Arrowhead Stadium 65,517 Recap
6 October 20 at Miami Dolphins L 3–9 2–4 Miami Orange Bowl 67,779 Recap
7 October 27 at San Diego Chargers W 24–14 3–4 San Diego Stadium 34,371 Recap
8 November 3 New York Giants L 27–33 3–5 Arrowhead Stadium 61,437 Recap
9 November 10 San Diego Chargers L 7–14 3–6 Arrowhead Stadium 48,551 Recap
10 November 18 at Denver Broncos W 42–34 4–6 Mile High Stadium 50,236 Recap
11 November 24 at Cincinnati Bengals L 6–33 4–7 Riverfront Stadium 49,777 Recap
12 December 1 at St. Louis Cardinals W 17–13 5–7 Busch Memorial Stadium 41,863 Recap
13 December 8 Oakland Raiders L 6–7 5–8 Arrowhead Stadium 60,577 Recap
14 December 14 Minnesota Vikings L 15–35 5–9 Arrowhead Stadium 35,480 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1: vs. New York Jets

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Week 1: New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Jets 6 10 0016
Chiefs 0 14 3724

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 2: at Oakland Raiders

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Week 2: Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 0 707
Raiders 7 13 0727

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

Game information

Week 3: at Houston Oilers

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Week 3: Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Oilers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 0 31417
Oilers 0 0 707

at Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Game information

Week 4: vs. Denver Broncos

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Week 4: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Broncos 3 0 7717
Chiefs 7 7 0014

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 5: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

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Week 5: Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Steelers 7 17 10034
Chiefs 3 7 7724

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: October 13
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Cloudy, light rain, 61 °F (16 °C)
  • Game attendance: 65,517
  • Referee: Bernie Ulman
  • TV announcers (KDKA): Dick Stockton and Bill Currie
  • Box Score
Game information

Week 6: at Miami Dolphins

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Week 6: Kansas City Chiefs at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 3 003
Dolphins 0 2 079

at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

  • Date: October 20
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Clear, 80 °F (27 °C)
  • Game attendance: 67,779
  • Referee: Fred Swearingen
  • TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels and Mike Haffner
  • Box Score
Game information

Week 7: at San Diego Chargers

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Week 7: Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 7 71024
Chargers 7 0 0714

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: October 27
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 60 °F (16 °C)
  • Game attendance: 34,371
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV announcers (NBC): Ross Porter and Willie Davis
  • Box score
Game information

Week 8: vs. New York Giants

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Week 8: New York Giants at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Giants 7 13 31033
Chiefs 7 7 01327

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 9: vs. San Diego Chargers

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Week 9: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 7 0714
Chiefs 0 0 077

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 10
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Rain, 49 °F (9 °C)
  • Game attendance: 48,551
  • Referee: Tommy Bell
  • TV announcers (NBC): Ross Porter and Willie Davis
  • Box Score
Game information

Week 10: at Denver Broncos

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Week 10: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 7 10 19642
Broncos 7 14 01334

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

Game information

Week 11: at Cincinnati Bengals

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Week 11: Kansas City Chiefs at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 6 006
Bengals 7 20 0633

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Date: November 24
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 53 °F (12 °C)
  • Game attendance: 49,777
  • Referee: Bernie Ulman
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jim Simpson and John Brodie
  • Box Score
Game information

Week 12: at St. Louis Cardinals

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Week 12: Kansas City Chiefs at St. Louis Cardinals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 0 71017
Cardinals 6 0 0713

at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

Game information

Week 13: vs. Oakland Raiders

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Week 13: Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 0 077
Chiefs 3 3 006

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: December 8
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Clear, cold, 27 °F (−3 °C)
  • Game attendance: 60,577
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jim Simpson and John Brodie
  • Box Score
Game information

Week 14: vs Minnesota Vikings

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Week 14: Minnesota Vikings at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 14 71435
Chiefs 3 9 0315

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Standings

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AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Oakland Raiders 12 2 0 .857 5–1 9–2 355 228 W3
Denver Broncos 7 6 1 .536 3–3 5–4–1 302 294 L1
Kansas City Chiefs 5 9 0 .357 2–4 4–7 233 293 L2
San Diego Chargers 5 9 0 .357 2–4 4–7 212 285 W2

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Kansas City Chiefs History 1970's". Archived from the original on August 23, 2007. Retrieved July 30, 2007.