1994: Montana Leads Chiefs to Win Over Steelers in Overtime

From 1990 to ’92, the Kansas City Chiefs had made it to the postseason, only to win one playoff game over the course of the three years. For the 1993 season, Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer’s team had obtained QB Joe Montana (pictured at right) in a trade from the 49ers – the 37-year-old all-time great was injury-prone and past his prime, but still a masterful performer. Another veteran addition, RB Marcus Allen, also paid dividends. Both Montana and Allen had Pro Bowl seasons. So did DE Neil Smith, who led the NFL with 15 sacks, and LB Derrick Thomas. The team went 11-5 in 1993 to win the AFC West.

The Chiefs hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card playoff game on January 8, 1994 at Arrowhead Stadium. Pittsburgh had been in the postseason in the first two years under Head Coach Bill Cowher, but had struggled at times in ’93, going 9-7 to finish second in the AFC Central and claim a wild card spot. RB Barry Foster, who had run for 1690 yards in ’92, went down with an injury that cost him half the season and hindered the offense. With QB Neil O’Donnell, they ran a ball-control offense and leaned on an outstanding defense that included LB Greg Lloyd and CB Rod Woodson.

There were 74,515 in attendance on a cold day with temperatures in the teens. The Steelers struck first, following a Kansas City punt on the game’s opening possession. Pittsburgh drove 66 yards in nine plays, highlighted by an O’Donnell pass to RB Merrill Hoge that covered 32 yards. O’Donnell connected with TE Adrian Cooper for a 10-yard touchdown and early 7-0 lead.

Later in the period, after the teams traded punts, the Chiefs put together a seven-play, 75-yard drive in which Montana was briefly knocked out of the game with a rib injury. Veteran backup QB Dave Krieg threw just one pass, but it was complete to WR J.J. Birden for a 23-yard touchdown. The score was 7-7 after one quarter.

Pittsburgh responded with a long, 15-play drive that led to a 30-yard field goal by Gary Anderson. Following a Kansas City punt, the Steelers advanced to the Chiefs’ 35 at the two-minute warning, but O’Donnell threw an incompletion on a fourth-and-seven play. Montana completed three passes and Kansas City made it to the Pittsburgh 42, but on fourth-and-one DE Gerald Williams sacked the veteran quarterback for a seven-yard loss and the Steelers got the ball back at their 49 with just under a minute remaining in the half. They made the most of it, as O’Donnell completed a 26-yard TD pass to WR Ernie Mills. Pittsburgh took a 17-7 lead into halftime.

The teams continued to trade punts in the third quarter until Kansas City went on a 49-yard drive that culminated in a 23-yard Nick Lowery field goal. Now behind by seven entering the fourth quarter, the Chiefs put together another scoring drive. Montana hit on passes of 22 yards to WR Willie Davis and 19 yards to Birden and Allen ran two yards for a touchdown. With Lowery’s extra point, the score was tied at 17-17.


The Steelers came right back, however, as O’Donnell got Pittsburgh into Kansas City territory with a 26-yard pass to WR Dwight Stone, and seven plays later he tossed a 22-yard scoring pass to TE Eric Green. The Chiefs went three-and-out in their subsequent possession, but Pittsburgh couldn’t move the ball. In a pivotal play, Kansas City TE Keith Cash blocked Mark Royals’ punt, which WR Fred Jones returned 31 yards to the Steelers’ nine yard line. Montana threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to WR Tim Barnett on a fourth-down play and the score was again tied at 24-24 with 1:43 left on the clock.

The Chiefs got another opportunity to win the game in regulation when the Steelers went three-and-out, using up just 29 seconds on three pass plays (one a completion). Following a 50-yard punt by Royals, Montana drove the offense from the Kansas City 28 to the Pittsburgh 25, but Lowery’s 43-yard field goal attempt was wide to the right and the game went into overtime.

The Chiefs had the first possession in the sudden death period but had to punt, and the Steelers were able to advance to midfield before having to do likewise. Three passes got Kansas City to midfield, and then Montana completed an 18-yard throw to Cash to the Pittsburgh 32. Six plays later, at just over 11 minutes into overtime, Lowery kicked a 32-yard field goal to give the Chiefs the 27-24 win.

Kansas City outgained the Steelers (401 yards to 369) and had the edge in first downs (28 to 21). Neither team suffered a turnover and each was penalized five times. Pittsburgh had a four-to-three advantage in sacks.


Joe Montana completed 28 of 43 passes for 276 yards with a touchdown; Dave Krieg’s one pass produced the 23-yard TD. Keith Cash caught 7 passes for 56 yards while J.J. Birden gained 72 yards on 6 receptions that included a touchdown. Marcus Allen (pictured at right) led the Kansas City running attack with 67 yards on 21 carries, scoring once, and also caught four passes for 29 yards.

For the Steelers, Neil O’Donnell went to the air 42 times with 23 completions for 286 yards and three TDs. WR Jeff Graham caught 7 passes for 96 yards to lead the club. RB Leroy Thompson gained 60 yards on 25 attempts.

“Part of the fun of the game is having to deal with pressure,” said Montana afterward, as one who, in the twilight of his career, had once again delivered a clutch performance in the postseason.

Montana and the Chiefs continued their heroics the next week, defeating Houston in the Divisional playoff, but came up short in the AFC Championship game at Buffalo.

1961: Abner Haynes Scores 5 TDs as Texans Defeat Raiders

The Dallas Texans were in the midst of a disappointing season in the American Football League’s second year as they hosted the Oakland Raiders at the Cotton Bowl on November 26, 1961. The club had gone 8-6 in the inaugural ’60 season and had plenty of talent and an able head coach in Hank Stram. The Texans had hoped to challenge the Chargers for supremacy in the Western Division, but after a promising 3-1 start, they had lost six straight games coming into the contest against Oakland.

QB Cotton Davidson lacked accuracy and consistency, and the loss of FB Jack Spikes in the sixth game had hurt the inside running game. It was one of several injuries that had exposed issues with the club’s depth. Still, the team had HB Abner Haynes, an exciting multi-purpose talent who could run, catch, and return kicks equally well. Haynes had been suffering from a shoulder injury at the beginning of the season, but was now healthy – as Oakland would find out.

The Raiders were a 2-8 basket case. After losing their first two games by a combined score of 99-0, Eddie Erdelatz was fired as head coach and replaced by assistant Marty Feldman. It didn’t help much, but Oakland had given the Texans a tough contest in their earlier meeting (Feldman’s first game). The offense, led by capable QB Tom Flores, lacked enough punch and the defense had too many holes. It didn’t help that the situation with the front office was chaotic and the club played its home games across the bay from Oakland in San Francisco. The first meeting had been a back-and-forth struggle, but not this one.

There were 14,500 fans present at the Cotton Bowl as the Texans scored on their first possession. Davidson threw a pass to HB Johnny Robinson for a 30-yard touchdown and quick 7-0 lead. They never looked back.

Later in the first quarter, Haynes caught a pass from Davidson and went 66 yards for his first touchdown. In the second quarter, following a 65-yard run by FB Bo Dickinson, Haynes ran for a five-yard TD and Dallas was up by 21-0.

Meanwhile, Oakland’s offense reached the Dallas seven in the first quarter and came up empty, and a drive to the 11 in the second quarter also ended up without a score. George Fleming finally kicked a 45-yard field goal just before halftime, making it 21-3, but missed on three other attempts.

In the third quarter, Haynes accounted for all but seven of 61 yards in a drive that ended with the fleet halfback scoring from the one. He scored twice more in the same period, first on a 33-yard run over right tackle (followed by a successful two-point conversion) and then a 26-yard carry to the left side.

With the game well in hand at 43-3, Haynes sat out most of the fourth quarter, but did have a 25-yard run to finish off his day. Most of his successful runs came on pitchouts, giving him room to fake out defenders on the flanks.

Flores was relieved in the third quarter. Backup QB Nick Papac finally got the Raiders into the end zone in the fourth quarter with a quarterback sneak and they successfully converted for two points, providing the final score of 43-11.

The Texans piled up 495 yards, to 254 for the Raiders, with 284 on the ground and 228 through the air (147 by Davidson and 81 by backup Randy Duncan). Bo Dickinson, thanks to the long run in the second quarter, gained 79 yards on six carries and split end Chris Burford had a good performance with four catches for 68 yards. But the star of the game was Abner Haynes, who rushed for 158 yards on 14 carries with four touchdowns and caught two passes for 84 yards and a TD, thus accounting for 242 yards from scrimmage.

The touchdown and rushing yardage totals set new records for the young AFL. Haynes broke his old mark of 157, set against the New York Titans in ’60. He had also shared the old record for touchdowns in a game with three.

The 6’0”, 185-pound Haynes had been an unknown coming out of North Texas State in 1960, passing up offers from the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers and CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers to sign with the new team in his native state of Texas. He made a huge impact in the AFL’s first season, leading the league in rushing with 875 yards on 156 carries (5.6 avg.) and punt returning with a 15.4 average on 14 returns. He also caught 55 passes for 576 yards and scored a total of 12 touchdowns while piling up 2100 all-purpose yards. For his efforts, he was named AFL Player of the Year by the Associated Press and UPI.

Haynes, considered the new league’s first home-grown star, had a distinctive running style, with deceiving speed and shiftiness – and a habit of carrying the football in his hand like a loaf of bread (he led the league with 11 fumbles).

The Texans ended the season on a high note, winning their last two games, for a 6-8 record that placed them second in the Western Division – well behind the Chargers. Oakland had the league’s worst record at 2-12.

Abner Haynes, despite missing three games, still finished third among the AFL’s rushers with 841 yards; his nine TDs on the ground tied for first (with San Diego’s Paul Lowe). He caught 34 passes for 558 yards and three more scores and ranked fourth with a 10.3 punt returning average. Haynes returned a kickoff for a TD, one of 13 on the year. His 1399 yards from scrimmage ranked third in the AFL and 1865 all-purpose yards ranked second.

1973: Simpson Reaches 1000 Yards as Bills Beat Chiefs

The Buffalo Bills were making their first appearance on Monday Night Football on October 29, 1973, and a frenzied crowd of 76,071 fans was present at the new Rich Stadium. The Bills, a resurgent club in the second year of Lou Saban’s second stint as head coach, were off to a 4-2 start. They had not posted a winning record since 1966, the year after Saban quit the club following back-to-back AFL Championships, and now they were in the hunt for a playoff spot.

A big part of the resurgence was RB O.J. Simpson, who had underachieved for three seasons before Saban made him the centerpiece of the offense. The result had been a league-leading 1251 rushing yards in ’72 for a 4-9-1 team that was constantly reshuffling the offensive line. Thus far in ’73, the line had solidified and Simpson was chasing Jim Brown’s single-season rushing record of 1863 yards set ten years before. After six games, he had 868 yards on 138 carries (6.3 avg.) and had been held under a hundred for the first time by Miami the previous week.

The Chiefs, under Head Coach Hank Stram, had won the last AFL title in ’69 (not to mention the Super Bowl against the NFL champion Vikings) and been in the playoffs in 1971. They were coming off of an 8-6 record in ’72 that contained too many losses to bottom-dwelling teams and were 3-2-1 start coming into the Week 7 Monday night contest with the Bills.

Things began badly for the Chiefs on their first possession. They received the opening kickoff but, following an incomplete pass, KC fumbled the ball away on the second play from scrimmage. Bills LB Jim Cheyunski (pictured below left) recovered at the Kansas City 15. Simpson set the tone for Buffalo, running four straight times and scoring from a yard out for a quick 7-0 lead.


On the third play of Kansas City’s next possession, Cheyunski made another big play on defense as he intercepted a pass by QB Len Dawson and returned it 31 yards to the KC four yard line. Simpson took it in from there, giving him two touchdowns less than four minutes into the game.

Things got worse for the Chiefs when Dawson suffered a sprained ankle and was forced to leave the game. Pete Beathard, who had started his pro career in Kansas City and was back after spending time with the Oilers, Cardinals, and Rams, took over at quarterback.

The Chiefs got a break in the second quarter when Buffalo’s rookie QB Joe Ferguson fumbled on his own 43 and KC recovered. They scored four plays later on a run by FB Wendell Hayes from a yard out, set up by a screen pass to Hayes from Beathard that gained 27 yards. The score stood at 14-7 at halftime.

The Bills extended their lead in the third quarter, all with field goals by John Leypoldt of 31, 17, and 8 yards. Kansas City was able to take advantage of another Buffalo mistake late in the period when punter Spike Jones dropped a snap in his own territory and the Chiefs recovered at the Bills’ two yard line. Beathard sneaked in for a TD on the first play of the fourth quarter. But against the inspired Bills defense, and with the offense maintaining ball control by handing off to Simpson and FB Larry Watkins, Kansas City was unable to seriously threaten. Buffalo won, 23-14.

The score did not reflect the level of Buffalo’s domination of the game. The Bills outgained the Chiefs with 309 yards to 105 and had 21 first downs to KC’s eight. While both teams had modest net passing totals (67 yards for Kansas City, 63 for Buffalo) the rushing disparity told the story. The Bills ground out 246 yards on 65 rushes to just 38 yards on 17 carries by the Chiefs.

O.J. Simpson led the way with 157 yards on a then-NFL record 39 attempts that included the two scores, while Larry Watkins had 81 yards on 19 carries. As was typical during the season, Joe Ferguson went to the air just 11 times and had six completions for 63 yards with one intercepted. Wide receivers Bob Chandler and J.D. Hill accounted for all of the receptions, each catching three while Chandler outgained Hill with 35 yards to 28.

Kansas City’s two quarterbacks completed just eight passes, but on 29 attempts, with Pete Beathard accounting for six completions in 23 throws for 73 yards and no interceptions. HB Ed Podolak caught three passes for 27 yards in addition to leading the Chiefs with 29 rushing yards on seven carries. Thanks to the long reception on the screen pass in the second quarter, Wendell Hayes gained the most receiving yards with 33 on two catches; tellingly, he was able to run for only five yards on seven carries, including the one short TD. Only one pass was completed to a wide receiver - Otis Taylor for 13 yards – and TE Morris Stroud also had one catch for 13 yards as well.

Kansas City’s Coach Stram said afterward “Any time you're playing a squad that is in an emotional frenzy like Buffalo was – and motivated by their fans – and you give two touchdowns away right at the bat, you're in trouble.”

Players on the offensive line stepped up their game to put Simpson over the thousand-yard mark by the halfway point of the season, and they were successful; his total following the contest was 1025 yards.


“We got 1,000 in the first seven games and we'll go for another 1,000 in the next seven,” Simpson said afterward. It proved to be the case – the former Heisman Trophy winner out of USC not only ended up breaking Brown’s rushing record, but became the first NFL runner to cross the 2000-yard threshold in a season. Simpson totaled 2003 yards on 332 carries (also an NFL record at the time) for a 6.0 average gain and 12 touchdowns. The Bills as a team ran up a then-record 3088 yards on the ground, still the second highest total to date.


Two members of Buffalo’s solidified offensive line were selected to the Pro Bowl – left guard Reggie McKenzie (who also received All-NFL honors; pictured above right) and left tackle Dave Foley. Rookie Joe DeLamielleure (pictured at left), one of the team’s two first-round draft picks, started immediately at right guard and was outstanding (he would remain so, ending up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame). Center Bruce Jarvis was injured during the season and capably replaced by Mike Montler. Right tackle Donnie Green and rookie tight end Paul Seymour (the other first round draft choice and more an extra tackle than a receiver) rounded out the very good unit. The group would come to be known as The Electric Company – because they turned on “the Juice” (Simpson).

The Bills improved to 9-5 in ’73, finishing second in the AFC East but just missing the postseason. Kansas City ended up tied with Denver for second in the AFC West at 7-5-2.

1970: Joe Kapp Debuts with Patriots in Loss to Chiefs

QB Joe Kapp had led the Minnesota Vikings to the NFL Championship with a Pro Bowl season in 1969. The Vikings had then lost to the AFL-champion Kansas City Chiefs in the last pre-merger Super Bowl. In the offseason, the 32-year-old Kapp, who had played out his option, failed to come to terms with the Vikings for another contract. The dispute lingered into the 1970 season and on October 2 the veteran quarterback signed with the Boston Patriots for a reported $500,000.

The Patriots were coming off three straight losing seasons and had gone 4-10 in 1969 under first-year Head Coach Clive Rush. The team certainly had to be hoping that Kapp would bring his habit of winning to Boston. He had led the University of California to the 1959 Rose Bowl as an option quarterback. Foregoing the NFL (he was an 18th-round draft choice of the Washington Redskins) for the Canadian Football League, he was the quarterback for the British Columbia Lions when they appeared in back-to-back Grey Cup games in 1963 and ’64, winning the second one. Finally, he joined another CFL refugee, Head Coach Bud Grant, in Minnesota in 1967.

Kapp didn’t throw picturesque passes or display great technique as a quarterback, but what he lacked in skill he made up for with fiery, charismatic leadership. Sticking to his roots as a college option quarterback, he was a good (and very willing) runner and also threw well on the run.

The Patriots had won their opening game against Miami before losing the next two contests. With Kapp hurriedly learning the offense in preparation for his first action of the season, the team traveled to, coincidentally, Kansas City, where they took on the Chiefs at Municipal Stadium on October 11.

The defending-champion Chiefs were also 1-2 and playing without star QB Len Dawson, who had a knee injury, although as Head Coach Hank Stram said afterward, he could have played if necessary. Third-year backup Mike Livingston was behind center. Mike Taliaferro, the holdover quarterback from ’69, again started for the Patriots.

Boston scored first, late in the opening quarter, after DB Art McMahon recovered a fumbled fair catch by Kansas City HB Ed Podolak. The result was a 25-yard Gino Cappelletti field goal.

The first KC touchdown came in the second quarter following a 70-yard drive that was sustained by a roughing the kicker penalty on the Patriots and ended with FB Robert “The Tank” Holmes running in from a yard out. Later in the period Jan Stenerud booted a 42-yard field goal and the Chiefs held a 10-3 lead at halftime.

Kapp replaced Taliaferro in the second half. He might not have been very familiar with the plays, but he looked ready. As Chiefs DE Jerry Mays said, “When Joe came up for that first play, he looked like Reddy Kilowatt. His eyes were flashing and you could see the excitement on his face. He worried us. He has that ability to lift a team.”

The initial impression that Kapp exuded didn’t yield results. The third quarter was scoreless, and early in the fourth quarter, Kansas City drove 55 yards in seven plays after SS Jim Kearney intercepted a pass by Kapp at the Patriots’ 33 yard line. A clip on the return moved the ball back to the 45. But the resulting drive, highlighted by a 33-yard run by Podolak (making up for the earlier muffed punt), resulted in Holmes again scoring a short touchdown, this time on a two-yard run.

Another Kapp pass was intercepted by LB Bobby Bell at the Boston 25. Stenerud kicked a 24-yard field goal for a 23-3 KC lead. Kapp finally connected with WR Bake Turner for a 12-yard touchdown in the last two minutes and the final score was 23-10 as the Chiefs won handily.

After the game, Kapp said “It’s terrible to lose. I don’t like to lose, what else can I say?” Asked how familiar he was with Boston’s offense, he replied “it was pretty obvious out there – very little.”

Kapp completed two of 11 passes for 16 yards and was intercepted twice and sacked twice, although one of the completions was for a touchdown. Overall, the Chiefs intercepted six passes as Taliaferro’s numbers were also poor (three completions in 12 attempts for 30 yards with four interceptions). Wide receivers Turner and Ron Sellers combined for five receptions for 46 yards and a TD. HB Carl Garrett was a bright spot, rushing for 53 yards on 10 carries.

Boston managed just 105 yards of total offense, compared to 346 for Kansas City. 272 of those yards for the Chiefs came on the ground, as Mike Livingston went to the air just 14 times, completing 8 for 85 yards with one intercepted. Robert Holmes was the leading receiver with two catches for 28 yards while also contributing 35 yards on 13 carries, including the two touchdowns. Ed Podolak led KC with 81 yards on 10 carries and RB Warren McVea added another 71 yards on 8 attempts.

Of the six passes intercepted, Jim Kearney and CB Jim Marsalis each had two. In addition, Jerrel Wilson had an outstanding day punting, averaging 56.7 yards on his five kicks, with a long punt of 63 yards.

Kapp might have been frustrated by his performance, but Coach Rush had only praise for his new quarterback. “For his first game with us, he did well,” Rush said. “We're trying to feed him slowly as possible on our system.” Added Hank Stram, “Kapp will help Boston. He did extremely well having been in camp only a week. He'll give that team a great lift because he's an inspirational leader.”

Alas, the high hopes for Kapp in Boston didn’t work out. The Patriots ended up at the bottom of the AFC East with a 2-12 record and the eccentric Clive Rush was replaced halfway through the season by John Mazur. Kansas City went 7-5-2 for second place in the AFC West.

The Patriots had the lowest-ranked offense in the newly-expanded NFL and Joe Kapp was the lowest-ranked passer (Taliaferro was just ahead of him) as he completed only 44.7 percent of his throws (98 of 219) for 1104 yards (5.0 yards per attempt) with just three touchdowns against 17 interceptions. Kapp’s emotional leadership couldn’t begin to compensate for a weak supporting caste.

The 1970 season proved to be Kapp’s last – the Patriots wanted him back, but with a cut in pay, and he retired (he also filed an anti-trust suit against the NFL that failed).

With the first choice in the 1971 draft, the Patriots, with a rich quarterback class to choose from, took Heisman Trophy-winner Jim Plunkett from Stanford. They also moved to a new stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts for ’71 and were renamed the New England Patriots.

1989: Okoye Runs for 156 Yards as Chiefs Rally Past Seahawks

The Kansas City Chiefs were coming off of consecutive four-win seasons and, having revamped the front office and in their first year under new Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer, had started at 1-3 in 1989. Their Week 5 matchup on October 8 was against the Seattle Seahawks, under veteran Head Coach Chuck Knox. The Seahawks had made it to the postseason the past two years and, having lost their first two games in ’89, had won two straight on the road as they returned to the Kingdome.

Steve DeBerg battled Bill Kenney for the starting quarterback job in ’88 – Kenney was gone but DeBerg remained. Schottenheimer brought in 15-year veteran Ron Jaworski to compete with DeBerg, and it was Jaworski behind center at Seattle. Also present in the backfield was third-year fullback Christian Okoye (pictured above), a 6’1”, 253-pound Nigerian power runner who had battled injuries in his first two seasons but was finally beginning to realize his potential – he had gained over a hundred yards in each of the previous two games.

Seattle wasted no time getting on the board as CB James Jefferson returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. After the Chiefs and Seahawks traded punts, Kansas City scored on a 39-yard field goal by Nick Lowery. Okoye carried the ball on 10 of KC’s first 12 plays from scrimmage.

Late in the first quarter, the Chiefs began to diversify the attack as Jaworski completed a pass for 21 yards to TE Chris Dressel and RB Herman Heard ran for 17 yards. But a 17-yard Jaworski completion to WR Emile Harry ended up being fumbled into the end zone and recovered for a touchback by Seattle.

The Chiefs didn’t mount another threat in the second quarter, and the Seahawks added three field goals by Norm Johnson of 37, 26, and 37 yards to take a 16-3 lead into halftime. Neither team had particularly distinguished itself offensively, although Okoye had gained 51 yards on 12 carries.

Okoye continued to be the key player for Kansas City as he opened the team’s first possession of the second half with three runs for 21 yards. Jaworski hit on three passes on the KC drive and after 11 plays Okoye ended it with a 13-yard touchdown run. With the successful PAT, the Chiefs were now behind by only 16-10.

With time running down in the third quarter, Okoye again spurred another long Kansas City possession that resulted in a 25-yard Lowery field goal early in the final period. Krieg was promptly intercepted by safety Deron Cherry and five plays later Jaworski hit TE Alfredo Roberts for a two-yard touchdown and four-point Chiefs lead.

Seattle had two more possessions but couldn’t put points on the board. On the final drive from their own 17, Krieg completed five straight passes to the KC 35, also running for 12 yards at one point. But after getting down to the 23, two passes into the end zone were for naught, with Cherry intercepting the last one. The Chiefs came away with a 20-16 win.

Kansas City rolled up 303 yards to 288 for the Seahawks, with 199 of that coming on the ground. Christian Okoye gained 156 yards on 30 carries with the one TD and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. Ron Jaworski went to the air 18 times and had 12 completions for 104 yards and a touchdown with none intercepted. Emile Harry was the top receiver for the Chiefs with three catches for 41 yards, but also the one costly fumble.

For Seattle, Dave Krieg had completed 20 of 36 passes for 252 yards with no touchdowns and the two passes intercepted by Deron Cherry (the safety’s only two pickoffs of the season). Tellingly, Krieg was also the team’s leading rusher with 29 yards on three carries. RB John L. Williams was more productive through the air (5 catches for 32 yards) than on the ground (9 runs for 22 yards). WR Paul Skansi contributed another 5 receptions for 79 yards while WR Brian Blades gained the most receiving yards (86) on his four catches.


The Chiefs continued to make progress under the new head coach (and front office regime), winning four of their last five games to end up with an 8-7-1 record and second place in the AFC West. Seattle dropped off to 7-9 to end up fourth in the division.

It was a good beginning for Marty Schottenheimer (pictured at left), who succeeded in coaching the Chiefs back to respectability. They produced four straight 10-win seasons from 1990 to ’94 and made it to the postseason in seven of his 10 years at the helm. Unfortunately, as was the case for Schottenheimer in his other three head coaching stops, they didn’t make it to the Super Bowl.

Christian Okoye, who had never played American football prior to coming to college at Azusa Pacific on a track scholarship, led the NFL in rushing with 1480 yards on 370 carries and 12 touchdowns. The 156 yards against Seattle marked his third of an eventual eight 100-yard rushing performances for the year. He was a consensus first team All-Pro, as well as Pro Bowl, selection.

As a footnote, in his last season, 38-year-old Ron Jaworski (pictured below) started three games for the Chiefs and threw for 385 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions. While Steve Pelluer also joined the quarterback mix during the season, Steve DeBerg ultimately prevailed as the starter.

1975: Rick Upchurch Gains 284 All-Purpose Yards as Broncos Defeat Chiefs

Rick Upchurch had been chosen by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 1975 draft out of the University of Minnesota primarily due to his reputation as a kick returner. Small at 5’10” and 170 pounds, it was hoped that his speed could add needed depth at wide receiver as well. In his first regular season game on September 21, 1975 Upchurch contributed mightily.

The Broncos hosted the Kansas City Chiefs at Mile High Stadium in their season-opening contest. Under Head Coach John Ralston, they had put together the first two winning records in the franchise’s history in 1973 and ’74 and were looking to improve further. Veteran QB Charley Johnson had revived his career in Denver and the running game, led by RB Otis Armstrong, the NFL’s leading rusher in ’74, was strong. They also had an All-Pro in TE Riley Odoms. But there were questions regarding the offensive line and defense as the club entered the new season.

There was plenty of excitement and big plays by both the Broncos and Chiefs. Kansas City had started off the scoring in the first quarter with a 69-yard touchdown pass play from QB Mike Livingston to TE Walter White. WFL refugee Jack Dolbin, another new wide receiver on the Broncos, scored touchdowns on a 39-yard pass from Johnson in the second quarter and a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter. Chiefs placekicker Jan Stenerud booted four field goals, three of them from over 40 yards. Moreover, Denver overcame a 33-24 fourth quarter deficit to defeat Kansas City, 37-33.

However, the biggest star of the game was Upchurch, who touched the ball seven times and accumulated 284 total yards. In the second quarter, he ran for a 13-yard touchdown on a reverse, and in the third quarter scored again when he gathered in a pass from Johnson and went 90 yards for a TD. The rookie caught two more passes, covering 33 and 30 yards apiece. He returned a punt 30 yards as well. Overall, Upchurch gained 153 yards on the three pass receptions, 13 yards on one running play, 88 yards on three kickoff returns, and 30 yards on the punt return. It was a total yardage record for a player in his first NFL game.

Not surprisingly, Upchurch was Denver’s leading receiver in the contest. Charley Johnson passed for 329 yards with three TDs and two interceptions while completing 12 of 20 passes. Otis Armstrong was the leading rusher with 82 yards on 18 carries. While the Broncos compiled 425 total yards to Kansas City’s 312, they also led in turnovers (4 to 2) and penalties (9 to 5).

The Chiefs had the most first downs (18 to 15), rushing yards (146 to 127), and sacks (5 to 4). Mike Livingston went to the air 27 times with 13 completions for 221 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Thanks to the long TD catch, Walter White led KC in receiving yards with 79 on two receptions. HB Ed Podolak caught three passes, for 29 yards. FB Jeff Kinney was the team’s leading rusher with 59 yards on 18 attempts.

Ultimately, it was a disappointing season for the Broncos, who fell back under .500 at 6-8 to rank second in the AFC West. The Chiefs were in third at 5-9.

Charley Johnson suffered through a difficult final season, splitting time with Steve Ramsey while completing just 45.8 percent of his passes while tossing five touchdown passes against 12 interceptions. Otis Armstrong played in only four games due to injury and ran for a mere 155 yards. 33-year-old Floyd Little, also in his last season, gained 445 yards rushing and caught 29 passes.

Rick Upchurch, however, was a significant bright spot and had the greatest impact over the course of the season as a kick returner. He ranked third in the AFC with a 27.1-yard average on his 40 kickoff returns (which led the conference) and his 11.6 average on 27 punt returns ranked fourth. Backing up at wide receiver, Upchurch caught 18 passes for 436 yards (24.2 yards-per-catch) with two TDs. He also ran the ball 16 times for 97 yards for a 6.1-yard average with the one TD. Altogether, the rookie’s 1929 all-purpose yards ranked third in the NFL.

While Upchurch would eventually get an opportunity to start at wide receiver, his nine-season career would be most notably defined by his kick returning ability. He was particularly adept at returning punts, averaging 12.1 yards on 248 returns with eight touchdowns. On three occasions, he was the league leader in punt return average – the first was in his second season, 1976, when he averaged 13.7 yards and scored four TDs – an NFL record matched only by Detroit’s Jack Christiansen in 1951 and Devin Hester of the Bears in 2007.

Used less often to return kickoffs (he primarily did so in his first three seasons and never after the fifth), Upchurch averaged 24.8 yards on 95 returns with no scores. He was a competent pass receiver whose best year came in 1979 when he snagged 64 passes for 937 yards and seven touchdowns. But it was as a punt returner that Upchurch received consensus first-team All-Pro honors on three occasions and selection to four Pro Bowls.

1967: Packers Defeat Chiefs in 1st Super Bowl

The merger between the NFL and AFL that was announced in June of 1966 was set to take place in stages. Final merger into an enlarged National Football League was to take place in 1970; a common draft and interleague preseason games would occur in 1967. But the first major occurrence was to be a game between the league champions following the ’66 season.

What would officially come to be known as Super Bowl I was already being popularly referred to as the “Super Bowl” when the first was held on January 15, 1967. At the time, however, the proper name was the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. It was played on a sunny day at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles before a non-sellout crowd of 61,946 and was televised by two networks. It was also widely assumed that the NFL champion Green Bay Packers would likely defeat the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, but of course no one could truly know, adding to the element of curiosity.

Green Bay had led the Western Conference with a 12-2 record under Head Coach Vince Lombardi, and defeated Dallas in a close contest for the older league’s title. It was the second straight championship for the Packers and fourth of the Lombardi era that had commenced in 1959. QB Bart Starr led the NFL in passing and threw just three interceptions on the season. FB Jim Taylor and HB Paul Hornung were showing signs of age and wear (Hornung sat out the postseason), but were ably supplemented by HB Elijah Pitts and high-priced rookies HB Donny Anderson and FB Jim Grabowski. But the veteran core on both offense and defense provided a solid, stable team that was used to winning.

It was fitting that the Chiefs represented the AFL, since their owner, Lamar Hunt, was also the league’s founder. Coached by Hank Stram since the franchise’s conception, they handily won the Western Division with an 11-2-1 tally and defeated Buffalo, the team that had won the previous two AFL titles, in the Championship game. Solid on both sides of the ball, they also had their league’s top passer in QB Len Dawson. Flanker Otis Taylor and split end Chris Burford were dependable receivers, and rookie HB Mike Garrett provided speed to the outside to supplement FB Curtis McClinton and HB Bert Coan. Most notable on the defense were DT Buck Buchanan, LB Bobby Bell, and FS Johnny Robinson.

The first casualty of the day was Green Bay split end Boyd Dowler, who reinjured a sore shoulder while blocking on the second play of the game and didn’t return. However, veteran replacement Max McGee (pictured at top), who had caught only four passes during the ’66 season, scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl history about nine minutes into the first quarter when he reached back to snag an underthrown pass from Starr while running a post pattern and ended up with a 37-yard TD.

The Chiefs, effectively utilizing their “floating pocket” and play-action passes that kept the Packers defense guessing, drove 66 yards in six plays during the second quarter to even the score. Dawson threw key passes to Garrett and Taylor, and the touchdown came on a seven-yard pass to McClinton.

Green Bay came right back with an 11-play drive that included passes by Starr for 10 yards to McGee in a third-and-six situation, 15 yards to flanker Carroll Dale on third-and-ten, and 11 yards to TE Marv Fleming on third-and-five. Jim Taylor ran the final 14 yards around the left end for the touchdown and a 14-7 lead.

Kansas City wasn’t done yet, moving 50 yards in five plays that ended with a 31-yard field goal by Mike Mercer with 54 seconds remaining in the half. The score stood at a surprisingly close 14-10 at halftime. Moreover, the Chiefs had outgained the Packers (181 yards to 164) and also led in first downs (11 to 9).

The Packers made the decision to blitz heavily in the second half, and it paid off with the play that turned the tide decisively in their direction early in the third quarter. The Chiefs had moved briskly to their own 49 yard line after taking the second half kickoff. Dawson’s pass intended for TE Fred Arbanas was tipped by the heavy pass rush and intercepted by safety Willie Wood, who returned it to the Kansas City five (pictured below). Elijah Pitts scored on the next play, and the Chiefs didn’t mount a threat for the rest of the game, punting after each of their last six possessions.


Green Bay scored twice more, on a 13-yard pass from Starr to McGee and a one-yard run by Pitts that made the final score 35-10. Most satisfying to many of the Packers was when brash CB Fred “The Hammer” Williamson, who had been a non-factor in the game, was knocked out of action on a power sweep by Donny Anderson.

When it was all over, the Packers outgained Kansas City, 358 yards to 239. Bart Starr (pictured below), the game’s MVP, completed 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards with two TDs and an interception. Jim Taylor was the game’s top ground gainer with 56 yards on 17 carries and a score, while Elijah Pitts ran for 45 yards on 11 attempts and two touchdowns. Max McGee had an outstanding day in place of Dowler, catching 7 passes for 138 yards and two TDs.


For the Chiefs, Len Dawson (pictured at bottom) tossed 27 passes and completed 16 of them for 211 yards with a touchdown and the big interception. The team had just 72 yards on 19 rushes, with Dawson the top ground gainer with 24 yards on three carries; Mike Garrett and Curtis McClinton had 17 and 16 yards, respectively, each on six runs. Chris Burford led the receivers with 4 catches for 67 yards, while Otis Taylor was right behind at 4 for 57.

Afterward, Vince Lombardi said, “In my opinion, the Chiefs don’t rate with the top names in the NFL. They are a good football team with fine speed, but I’d have to say NFL football is better.”

Willie Wood perhaps best summed up the feelings of the Packers players when he said, “We didn’t play any bush leaguers, and we were happy to accomplish what we did. You could probably hear the giant sigh of relief in the dressing room when the game was over.”

Hank Stram saw his team’s weaknesses exposed by Green Bay and began making upgrades in the offseason. The Chiefs didn’t return to the Super Bowl until the 1969 season, but when they did, the result was very different. Green Bay was back again in ’67, in what would be Lombardi’s last year coaching the team.