1978 Kansas City Chiefs season
1978 Kansas City Chiefs season | |
---|---|
Head coach | Marv Levy |
Home field | Arrowhead Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 4–12 |
Division place | 5th AFC West |
Playoff finish | did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | None |
The 1978 Kansas City Chiefs season began with the hiring of new head coach Marv Levy, formerly of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes. With the NFL expanding its schedule to 16 games, the Chiefs finished with a 4–12 record and fifth place in the AFC West.
Coach Levy's systematic restocking of a relatively barren defensive roster began with a 1978 draft class that included a pair of future Chiefs franchise hall of famers in defensive end Art Still and linebacker Gary Spani. Running back Ed Podolak, who was the club's all-time leading rusher at the time, retired in the offseason on June 15.[1]
Perhaps Levy's most unconventional tactic in rebuilding the Chiefs was installing the Wing-T offense. "It was a situation where we took over a team that had the worst defensive record in the history of the National Football League," Levy explained.[1] "We wanted to keep that defense off the field, so we ran the ball 60 times a game."[1] The 1978 Chiefs team ran and ran often, posting franchise records with 663 rushing attempts and 2,986 ground yards.[1] Levy's squad ran the ball a staggering 69 times in a 24–23 Opening Day win at Cincinnati on September 3, the most rushing attempts in an NFL contest since 1948.[1] Five different players had 100-yard rushing games during the year, including running back Tony Reed, who finished the season with 1,053 yards to become the team's first 1,000-yard back since 1967.[1] Despite the squad's Opening Day success, the club lost 10 of its next 11 games, including a pair of overtime decisions. However, the team showed signs of improvement with the defense recording a 23–0 shutout against San Diego on November 26 as the club concluded its first 16-game schedule with a 4–12 mark.[1]
Offseason
NFL Draft
Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/Club Team |
---|
Regular season
1978 Kansas City Chiefs Team Starters
Offense
10 Mike Livingston QB 21 Arnold Morgado RB 32 Tony Reed FB 22 Ted McKnight WR 89 Henry Marshall WR 88 Walter White TE
60 Matt Herkenhoff LT 73 Bob Simmons LG 58 Jack Rudnay C 65 Tom Condon RG 77 Charlie Getty RT
Defense
67 Art Still LDE 61 Don Parrish NT 75 Sylvester Hicks RDE
64 Whitney Paul LB 55 Dave Rozumek LB 59 Gary Spani LB 52 Tom Howard LB
24 Gary Green LCB 18 Emmitt Thomas RCB 46 Tim Gray SS 26 Gary Barbaro FS
Kicking Team
3 Jan Stenerud K 7 Zenon Andrusyshyn P 34 Eddie Payton PR/KR
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 3, 1978 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 24–23 | |
2 | September 10, 1978 | Houston Oilers | L 20–17 | |
3 | September 17, 1978 | at New York Giants | L 26–10 | |
4 | September 24, 1978 | Denver Broncos | L 23–17 | |
5 | October 1, 1978 | at Buffalo Bills | L 28–13 | |
6 | October 8, 1978 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 30–13 | |
7 | October 15, 1978 | at Oakland Raiders | L 28–6 | |
8 | October 22, 1978 | Cleveland Browns | W 17–3 | |
9 | October 29, 1978 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 27–24 | |
10 | November 5, 1978 | Oakland Raiders | L 20–10 | |
11 | November 12, 1978 | at San Diego Chargers | L 29–23 | |
12 | November 19, 1978 | Seattle Seahawks | L 13–10 | |
13 | November 26, 1978 | San Diego Chargers | W 23–0 | |
14 | December 3, 1978 | Buffalo Bills | W 14–10 | |
15 | December 10, 1978 | at Denver Broncos | L 24–3 | |
16 | December 17, 1978 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 23–19 |
Standings
AFC West | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
Denver Broncos(3) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 7–1 | 8–4 | 282 | 198 | L1 |
Oakland Raiders | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–5 | 5–7 | 311 | 283 | W1 |
Seattle Seahawks | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–4 | 6–6 | 345 | 358 | W1 |
San Diego Chargers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–3 | 7–5 | 355 | 309 | W3 |
Kansas City Chiefs | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 1–7 | 4–10 | 243 | 327 | L2 |