The 1979 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League, the 17th as the Kansas City Chiefs, and the 20th overall. They improved on their 4–12 record from 1978 to a 7–9 record, but a last-place finish in the AFC West. The Chiefs missed the playoffs for the eighth straight year due to the four other teams ahead of them in their division all finishing with winning records.
Kansas City owned a pair of picks in the first round of the 1979 draft, selecting defensive end Mike Bell and quarterback Steve Fuller. By the season's third game, Fuller had supplanted Mike Livingston, the last active player from the Chiefs' Super Bowl IV champiosnhip team, as the club's starter.
With Fuller at the helm, the Chiefs owned a 4–2 record after six games, but a five-game midseason losing streak ended the attempt. Despite finishing fifth in the AFC West for a second straight season, Kansas City's 7–9 record was a notable accomplishment considering the fact that the division's other four clubs all posted winning records for a second consecutive season.
The Chiefs closed the season by dropping a 3–0 decision at Tampa Bay on December 16 in one of the most water-logged contests in franchise annals. As both clubs struggled to move the ball under monsoon-like conditions (Kansas City was held to 80 total yards), a field goal late in the fourth quarter by the Buccaneers' Neil O'Donoghue averted the NFL's first scoreless tie since 1943, allowing Tampa Bay to win the NFC Central division championship after a three-game losing streak.
The Chiefs set a dubious NFL record for the season, with the fewest passing yards (1,660, 103.8 per game) in a 16-game season.
Offseason
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1979 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeKurt JonkerTackleAugustana (South Dakota)
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 at Green Bay Packers L 10–14 0–1 Lambeau Field 53,994 Recap 2 Philadelphia Eagles W 24–21 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium 33,378 Recap 3 St. Louis Cardinals W 20–3 2–1 Arrowhead Stadium 43,214 Recap 4 at Minnesota Vikings W 25–0 3–1 Metropolitan Stadium 39,578 Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 2 Baltimore Colts W 14–0 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium 50,442 Recap 2 September 9 Cleveland Browns L 24–27 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium 42,181 Recap 3 September 16 at Houston Oilers L 6–20 1–2 Houston Astrodome 45,684 Recap 4 September 23 Oakland Raiders W 35–7 2–2 Arrowhead Stadium 67,821 Recap 5 September 30 at Seattle Seahawks W 24–6 3–2 Kingdome 61,169 Recap 6 October 7 at Cincinnati Bengals W 10–7 4–2 Riverfront Stadium 40,041 Recap 7 October 14 Denver Broncos L 10–24 4–3 Arrowhead Stadium 74,292 Recap 8 October 21 New York Giants L 17–21 4–4 Arrowhead Stadium 44,362 Recap 9 October 28 at Denver Broncos L 3–20 4–5 Mile High Stadium 74,908 Recap 10 November 4 San Diego Chargers L 14–20 4–6 Arrowhead Stadium 59,353 Recap 11 November 11 Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–30 4–7 Arrowhead Stadium 70,132 Recap 12 November 18 at Oakland Raiders W 24–21 5–7 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,596 Recap 13 November 25 at San Diego Chargers L 7–28 5–8 San Diego Stadium 50,078 Recap 14 December 2 Seattle Seahawks W 37–21 6–8 Arrowhead Stadium 42,160 Recap 15 December 9 at Baltimore Colts W 10–7 7–8 Memorial Stadium 25,684 Recap 16 December 16 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 0–3 7–9 Tampa Stadium 63,624 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. Baltimore Colts
Week 2: vs. Cleveland Browns
Week 3: at Houston Oilers
Week 4: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 5: at Seattle Seahawks
Week 6: at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 7: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 8: vs. New York Giants
Week 9: at Denver Broncos
Week 10: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week 11: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 12: at Oakland Raiders
Week 13: at San Diego Chargers
Week 14: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Week 15: at Baltimore Colts
Week 16: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Standings
Awards and records Bob Grupp, NFL Leader, Punting, 43.6 average yards per puntNFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, , p. 454
References