In the offseason, the Chiefs released two of their longest tenured players: Justin Houston and Eric Berry. The Chiefs started the season with a 1–3 record at home, their worst record after four home games since 2012. However, they began the season 4–0 on the road, their best road record after four road games since 2013. With a Week 14 Oakland Raiders loss and a win over the New England Patriots, the Chiefs clinched the AFCWest, extending their team record division title streak to four consecutive. They also clinched the franchise's fifth consecutive playoff appearance, one short of the franchise record of six consecutive from 1990–1995. The Chiefs also finished undefeated in the AFC West for the second time under Andy Reid, extending their record within the AFC West since 2015 to 27–3. They clinched their second straight bye to the divisional round of the AFC playoffs due to a Week 17 win against the Los Angeles Chargers combined with a Patriots loss to the Miami Dolphins.
In the divisional round, the Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans 51–31 despite falling behind 24–0 in the second quarter to give the Chiefs playoff wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history. The 51 points they scored was a franchise record for a postseason game. The win, along with the Baltimore Ravens' loss the previous night, allowed the Chiefs to host the AFC Championship for the second time in franchise history. They defeated the Tennessee Titans 35–24 in the AFC Championship advancing to Super Bowl LIV, where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31–20 to win their first championship since Super Bowl IV in 1970.[1]
NFL Top 100
The Chiefs had six players ranked on NFL Network's annual Top 100 players countdown, which was tied for second most in the league.[2] Reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes was ranked 4th, the highest ranking ever by a Chiefs player. Additionally, he was the highest ranked player on the countdown that was not ranked in 2018 and was the second highest player ever that was unranked the previous season.
Below are players that were signed as a futures players, which are typically players that have not played in a regular season. These players usually spent the previous season on a practice squad.
Futures contracts
Player
Position
Josh Crockett
WR
Raymond Davison
LB
Ryan Hunter
T
Joey Ivie
NT
Chase Litton
QB
Robert McCray
OLB
Leon McQuay III
SS
Henry Mondeaux
DT
Pace Murphy
T
Aaron Ripkowski
FB
Martrell Spaight
LB
D'Montre Wade
CB
Cavon Walker
DE
David Wells
TE
Unrestricted free agents
Below are players with expiring contracts that can sign with any team without the Chiefs receiving any sort of compensation. Also included is if the player re-signed with the Chiefs or signed with another team.
Below are players with expiring contracts that have three or fewer accrued seasons with the Chiefs that can receive a qualifying offer from any NFL team, the Chiefs can choose to either match the offer or receive a draft pick as compensation depending on the tender placed by the Chiefs which can be 1st round, 2nd, or original round (the pick that was used to draft the player). If no offer sheet is given, the player will receive a one-year contract with the Chiefs for a salary based on the tender placed on the player, $2.879 million for a first, $2.023 million for a second, or $1.323 million for an original round tender. If a tender is not placed, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.
Below are players with two or fewer seasons of tenure with expiring contracts. If the Chiefs makes a qualifying offer (a one-year contract usually at league-minimum salary) the player has no negotiating rights with other teams, and must either sign the tender with the Chiefs or sit out the 2019 season. If a qualifying offer is not made, the player is an unrestricted free agent.
Below are any trades that included at least one player. Trades that featured only draft picks being traded for both teams, are listed in NFL Draft section.
The Chiefs received a sixth round pick in the 2018 NFL draft and a second round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft in exchange for cornerback Marcus Peters and a fourth round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
The Chiefs traded a fourth round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft in exchange for linebacker Reggie Ragland.
The Chiefs traded wide receiver Rod Streater and a seventh round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a seventh round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
The Chiefs traded their first round (29th overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft, their third round (92nd overall) selection in the 2019 Draft, and a 2nd round selection in the 2020 draft to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for defensive end Frank Clark and the Seahawks 3rd round selection (84th overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft.
The Chiefs traded a second round selection (61st overall) and their 5th round selection (167th overall) to Los Angeles Rams in exchange for the Rams 2nd round selection (56th overall)
The win over the Chargers, combined with a New England loss to Miami, allowed the Chiefs to secure the No. 2 seed, and a first-round bye in the playoffs.[12] It also gave them home-field advantage for the Divisional round.
^ abKansas City claimed the No. 2 seed over New England based on head-to-head victory.
^ abcDenver finished ahead of Indianapolis and NY Jets based on conference record. Division tiebreak was initially used to eliminate Oakland (see below).
^ abDenver finished ahead of Oakland based on conference record.
^ abcOakland and Indianapolis finished ahead of NY Jets based on conference record.
^ abOakland finished ahead of Indianapolis based on head-to-head victory.
^ abJacksonville finished ahead of Cleveland based on record against common opponents. Jacksonville's cumulative record against Cincinnati, Denver, NY Jets, and Tennessee was 4–1, compared to Cleveland's 2–3 cumulative record against the same four teams.
^ abLA Chargers finished ahead of Miami based on head-to-head victory.
^When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.
After falling behind 24–0, Kansas City came back with an NFL playoff record seven consecutive touchdowns and a field goal over their next eight drives, including a run of 28 points in the final 10 minutes of the second quarter.
On the opening possession, Houston mounted a six-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in Deshaun Watson's 54-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Stills on third-and-1, giving the Texans an early 7–0 lead. The Chiefs then went three-and-out on their first drive, with tight end Travis Kelce dropping a potential first down pass on third down. Dustin Colquitt's ensuing punt was blocked by Barkevious Mingo and recovered by Lonnie Johnson Jr., who returned it 10 yards for a touchdown that put the Texans up 14–0 less than five minutes into the game.
After both teams punted on their next drives, Chiefs returner Tyreek Hill muffed the ball inside his own 10-yard line which was recovered by Keion Crossen for Houston. Two plays later, Watson found tight end Darren Fells in the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown and a 21–0 lead late in the first quarter.
The next time Houston got the ball, they drove 48 yards in nine plays to a fourth-and-inches on the Chiefs 13-yard line. The Texans lined up to go for it. However, after having to call a timeout with the play clock running down, Texans coach Bill O'Brien changed his mind because he did not like their play call. So, rather than risk a potential turnover on downs, the Texans settled for Kaʻimi Fairbairn's 31-yard field goal to go up by 24 at the 10:54 mark of the second quarter. This would be the extent of their success, as the Chiefs went from being down 0-24 as late as 10:05 remaining in the 2nd quarter, to trailing 14–24 at the 8:05 mark, then 21–24 at 6:31, and finally taking the lead 28–24 at 0:44 remaining in the first half. The scoring would go on to be 51–7 in favor of the Chiefs from that 10:54 point in the 2nd quarter. First, Mecole Hardman returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to Houston's 42-yard line. Patrick Mahomes then threw a 25-yard pass to Kelce to get in the red zone before hitting running back Damien Williams for a 17-yard touchdown. After Houston went three-and-out on their next drive, they attempted a fake punt on fourth-and-4 with a direct snap to Justin Reid who was tackled by Daniel Sorensen two yards short, giving Kansas City the ball at the Texans 33. Johnson was then called for pass interference to put the ball at the five before Mahomes hit Kelce in the end zone to cut the deficit to 10. On the ensuing kickoff, DeAndre Carter fumbled the ball due to a hit by Sorenson, and it went right into the arms of Kansas City's Darwin Thompson, who returned it to the Houston 6-yard line. Mahomes then threw his third touchdown pass in less than four minutes, and his second to Kelce, to make the score 24–21.
Taking possession at their own 10 with 2:47 left in the quarter, the Chiefs went on a 90-yard drive that included another pass interference on Johnson, while Mahomes rushed twice for 35 yards and completed a pair of 20-yard passes to Hill and Kelce. Finally, with 44 seconds left in the half, Mahomes threw another five-yard touchdown to Kelce to give the Chiefs their first lead of the game, 28–24. Mahomes’ four touchdown passes in the second quarter tied an NFL postseason record set by Doug Williams in Super Bowl XXII. Fairbairn missed a 51-yard field goal as time expired in the half as the Chiefs became the first team in NFL history to fall behind by as many as 20 points in the first half but still lead at halftime.
The Chiefs would extend their lead on the opening possession of the third quarter, going 85 yards in 7 plays, the longest a 48-yard catch by Sammy Watkins. Williams ran the ball in from the goal-line, increasing their lead to 34-24 after Harrison Butker missed the extra point. After forcing another Texans punt, the Chiefs took advantage of another pass interference penalty against Houston and a 28-yard completion from Mahomes to Kelce, scoring on their sixth straight possession with another Williams touchdown run to give them a 41–24 lead with 4:39 left in the quarter. Houston finally snapped Kansas City's 41-point run when Watson completed 4 passes for 80 yards and finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, making the score 41–31 with 24 seconds left in the third quarter.
Kansas City would make it seven touchdowns in a row, setting a new postseason record, on a drive that included a 23-yard pass to Kelce and a 28-yard completion to Watkins, putting the ball at the Houston 8. Mahomes then found Blake Bell in the end zone, making the score 48–31. On Houston's next drive, they turned the ball over on downs at the Chiefs 42. A pair runs by Williams for gains of 11 and 26 yard to set up Butker's 24-yard field goal with 8:06 left to put Kansas City up by 20. Houston then turned the ball over on downs on their final two possessions, the last coming when Frank Clark sacked Watson for a 17-yard loss on 4th-and-8 from the Kansas City 8-yard line.
Mahomes finished the game 23/35 for 321 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. He was also the leading rusher with 53 yards on seven carries. Kelce had 10 catches for 134 yards and three touchdowns, tying a Super Bowl-era postseason record. Hardman had six kickoff returns for 142 yards. Williams rushed for 47 yards, caught two passes for 21 yards, and scored three touchdowns. Watson threw for 388 yards and two touchdowns, while DeAndre Hopkins had 118 yards on nine catches. Kansas City's 24-point comeback was the fourth largest in postseason history.[13]
During the game, the Chiefs scored so many touchdowns that Arrowhead Stadium quickly ran out of touchdown fireworks.[14]
AFC Championship: vs. (6) Tennessee Titans
AFC Championship: (6) Tennessee Titans at (2) Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter
1
2
3
4
Total
Titans
10
7
0
7
24
Chiefs
7
14
0
14
35
at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Date: January 19, 2020
Game time: 2:05 p.m. CST
Game weather: Sunny, 17 °F (−8 °C)
Game attendance: 73,656
Referee: Tony Corrente
TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson and Jay Feely
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21
Estadio Azteca (Mexico City)