1976 Kansas City Chiefs season

The 1976 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 7th season in the National Football League, the 14th as the Kansas City Chiefs, and the 17th overall it ended with a third consecutive 5–9 record and the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the 5th straight year.

1976 Kansas City Chiefs season
Head coachPaul Wiggin
Home fieldArrowhead Stadium
Results
Record5–9
Division place3rd AFC West
Playoff finishdid not qualify
Pro BowlersC Jack Rudnay

Buck Buchanan announced his retirement in February, while Len Dawson announced his own departure on May 1.[1] Off the field, Jack Steadman was promoted to team president and Jim Schaaf was named general manager in August.[1] On the field, Kansas City's fortunes didn't improve in the second year of the Wiggin regime. The club dropped three straight home games, including an embarrassing 27–17 loss in week three to the New Orleans Saints, the first win with the Saints for former Kansas City coach Hank Stram (who refused to shake hands with Wiggin following the game and rode off on the shoulders of his players as he did after the Chiefs' victory in Super Bowl IV) before suffering a 50–17 setback at Buffalo on October 3, opening the season at 0–4 for the first time in team history.[1] The team registered a 3–1 record during a successful midseason stretch, but like most of the previous seasons, could not maintain that momentum.[1]

After lingering in Len Dawson's shadow for eight seasons, Mike Livingston was firmly entrenched as the team's starting quarterback,[1] becoming the first QB to start every regular season game since Dawson in 1968. Although Livingston played well and rallied the squad for wins in two of the season's final three games, the Chiefs still ended the year with their third consecutive 5–9 record.[1] Running back MacArthur Lane was the club's top offensive threat, becoming the only player at the time in franchise history to lead the league in receptions (66).

Offseason

NFL Draft
Main article: 1976 NFL Draft
Round Pick Player Position School/Club Team

Roster
1976 Kansas City Chiefs roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 12, 1976 San Diego Chargers L 30–16
53,133
2 September 20, 1976 Oakland Raiders L 24–21
60,884
3 September 26, 1976 New Orleans Saints L 27–17
53,918
4 October 3, 1976 at Buffalo Bills L 50–17
51,909
5 October 10, 1976 at Washington Redskins W 33–30
53,060
6 October 17, 1976 at Miami Dolphins W 20–17
43,325
7 October 24, 1976 Denver Broncos L 35–26
57,961
8 October 31, 1976 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 28–19
41,779
9 November 7, 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers L 45–0
71,516
10 November 14, 1976 at Oakland Raiders L 21–10
48,259
11 November 21, 1976 Cincinnati Bengals L 27–24
46,259
12 November 28, 1976 at San Diego Chargers W 23–20
29,272
13 December 5, 1976 at Denver Broncos L 17–16
58,170
14 December 12, 1976 Cleveland Browns W 39–14
34,340

Standings
AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Oakland Raiders(1) 13 1 0 .929 7–0 10–1 350 237 W10
Denver Broncos 9 5 0 .643 5–2 7–5 315 206 W2
San Diego Chargers 6 8 0 .429 2–5 4–8 248 285 L1
Kansas City Chiefs 5 9 0 .357 2–5 4–8 290 376 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0 14 0 .000 0–4 0–13 125 412 L14
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References
  1. "Kansas City Chiefs History 1970's". Archived from the original on August 23, 2007. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
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