1976 Kansas City Chiefs season

The 1976 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's seventh season in the National Football League, the fourteenth as the Kansas City Chiefs, and the seventeenth overall. It ended with a third consecutive 5–9 record and the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

1976 Kansas City Chiefs season
OwnerLamar Hunt
Head coachPaul Wiggin
General managerJim Schaaf
Home fieldArrowhead Stadium
Results
Record5–9
Division place4th 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 3 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 preceding 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 College
1 15 Rod Walters Guard Iowa
2 41 Cliff Frazier Defensive tackle UCLA
3 63 Keith Simons Defensive tackle Minnesota
3 74 Gary Barbaro Safety Nicholls State
3 79 Henry Marshall Wide receiver Missouri
5 137 Willie Lee Defensive tackle Bethune-Cookman
5 144 Jimbo Elrod Linebacker Oklahoma
6 166 Steve Taylor Defensive back Kansas
6 167 Bob Gregolunas Linebacker Northern Illinois
6 172 Calvin Harper Offensive tackle Illinois State
7 196 Rod Wellington Running back Iowa
8 222 Orrin Olsen Center BYU
9 249 Tim Collier Cornerback East Texas State
10 277 Whitney Paul Defensive end Colorado
11 304 Bob Squires Tight end Hastings
12 331 Harold Porter Wide receiver Southwestern Louisiana
13 361 Joe Bruner Quarterback Northeast Louisiana
14 388 Rick Thurman Offensive tackle Texas
15 415 Dave Rozumek Linebacker New Hampshire
16 445 Dennis Anderson Punter Arizona
17 472 Pat McNeil Running back Baylor
= Pro Bowler

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

Schedule

Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 August 2 Houston Oilers W 9–3 (OT) 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium 30,006 Recap
2 August 7 Minnesota Vikings L 10–13 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium 32,851 Recap
3 August 15 at San Francisco 49ers L 13–21 1–2 Candlestick Park 36,101 Recap
4 August 21 Washington Redskins W 23–20 2–2 Arrowhead Stadium 30,014 Recap
5 August 28 Detroit Lions L 21–23 2–3 Arrowhead Stadium 27,410 Recap
6 September 3 at St. Louis Cardinals L 14–31 2–4 Busch Memorial Stadium 42,997 Recap

Regular Season
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 12 San Diego Chargers L 16–30 0–1 Arrowhead Stadium 53,133 Recap
2 September 20 Oakland Raiders L 21–24 0–2 Arrowhead Stadium 60,884 Recap
3 September 26 New Orleans Saints L 17–27 0–3 Arrowhead Stadium 53,918 Recap
4 October 3 at Buffalo Bills L 17–50 0–4 Rich Stadium 51,909 Recap
5 October 10 at Washington Redskins W 33–30 1–4 RFK Stadium 53,060 Recap
6 October 17 at Miami Dolphins W 20–17(OT) 2–4 Miami Orange Bowl 43,325 Recap
7 October 24 Denver Broncos L 26–35 2–5 Arrowhead Stadium 57,961 Recap
8 October 31 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 28–19 3–5 Tampa Stadium 41,779 Recap
9 November 7 Pittsburgh Steelers L 0–45 3–6 Arrowhead Stadium 71,516 Recap
10 November 14 at Oakland Raiders L 10–21 3–7 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 48,259 Recap
11 November 21 Cincinnati Bengals L 24–27 3–8 Arrowhead Stadium 46,259 Recap
12 November 28 at San Diego Chargers W 23–20 4–8 San Diego Stadium 29,272 Recap
13 December 5 at Denver Broncos L 16–17 4–9 Mile High Stadium 58,170 Recap
14 December 12 Cleveland Browns W 39–14 5–9 Arrowhead Stadium 34,340 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

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

References
  1. "Kansas City Chiefs History 1970's". Archived from the original on August 23, 2007. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
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