The 1994 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 25th season in the National Football League, the 32nd as the Kansas City Chiefs and the 35th overall. They failed to improve their 11–5 record from 1993 and finishing with a 9–7 record and Wild Card spot in the 1994–95 playoffs. The Chiefs lost to the Miami Dolphins 27–17 in the wild-card round. Alongside celebrating the NFL's 75th anniversary season, Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana retired following the season.
By playing their first four games vs. the NFC West, the Chiefs became the first AFC team to play its first four games against NFC teams since the AFL–NFL merger. The first team to play four inter-conference games to open a season were the 1992 Los Angeles Rams.
1994 was the first season that the playing surface at Arrowhead Stadium was natural grass. It had previously been TartanTurf from 1972 to 1993.
Offseason Additions SubtractionsQB Steve Bono (49ers) QB Dave Krieg (Lions)TE Derrick Walker (Chargers) RB Todd McNair (Oilers)NT Greg Kragen (Broncos) T Reggie McElroy (Vikings)WR Eric Martin (Saints) RB Harvey Williams (Raiders)CB Mark Collins (Giants) CB Kevin Ross (Falcons)LB Greg Manusky (Vikings) S Martin Bayless (Redskins)P Louie Aguiar (Jets) TE Jonathan Hayes (Steelers)S William White (Lions) CB Albert Lewis (Raiders) P Bryan Barker (Eagles) K Nick Lowery (Jets)
Draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1994 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeKen AlexanderLinebackerFlorida StateDunstan AndersonDefensive endTulsaByron BondsDefensive tackleSMULarry BoydDefensive endArizona StateElvin CaldwellGuardPurdueJerry FreeseLinebackerNortheastern Oklahoma StateRobert GaddyTackleAlcorn StateMonty GrowSafetyFloridaBernardo HarrisLinebackerNorth Carolina
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Season summary After an opening day win over the New Orleans Saints, the Chiefs faced the San Francisco 49ers on September 11. Facing his old team, Joe Montana led the Chiefs to a 24–17 win at Arrowhead. But after opening the season at 3–0, the Chiefs dropped 2 in a row to the Rams and Chargers.
On October 17, a 6-yard pass and a tightrope run into the end zone ended the Chiefs' 11-year drought in Mile High Stadium. Joe Montana and the Chiefs faced a 4-point deficit on Monday Night Football. The final drive in the final 82 seconds took nine plays, all of them Montana passes except one run of 10 yards by Marcus Allen; Montana's final pass was a five-yard score to Willie Davis for the 31–28 Kansas City win. For the game, Montana hit 34 of 54 pass attempts for 393 yards and 3 touchdowns and the Chiefs, now 4–2, had now thrust themselves back into the playoff hunt. The game was tied 14–14 at the half. Lin Elliott's field goal with 4:08 left in the game temporarily put the Chiefs ahead 24–21. A Marcus Allen fumble set up the Broncos' final touchdown, but Montana and his inspiring confidence resulted in the comeback.
Montana would have another great season, passing for 3,283 yards. The rushing game improved from 1993 as the Chiefs rushed for 1,732 yards and twelve touchdowns (up from the previous year's 1,655 yards). Allen's game trailed off from 1993 as he gained 709 yards to lead the team (to 764 the previous year), while rookie Greg Hill managed only 574 yards for the season. Fullback Kimble Anders was the leading receiver with 67 receptions. The defense showed flashes of brilliance as it improved to seventh in fewest points allowed from 1993's ninth, and as had become the standard, was led by perennial Pro Bowlers Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith. Defensive back Dale Carter had a superb year and was also chosen for the Pro Bowl.
On December 24, Marcus Allen gained 132 yards rushing as the Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Raiders 19–9 in the last Raiders game ever as host in Los Angeles. The win secured a fifth-straight playoff spot for the Chiefs.
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 July 31 Houston Oilers W 24–17 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium 70,732 Recap 2 August 7 vs. Minnesota Vikings L 9–17 1–1 Tokyo Dome 49,555 Recap 3 at Washington Redskins W 17–14 2–1 RFK Stadium 40,778 Recap 4 Chicago Bears L 18–21 2–2 Arrowhead Stadium 75,114 Recap 5 at Buffalo Bills L 3–24 2–3 Rich Stadium 46,166 Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 4 at New Orleans Saints W 30–17 1–0 Louisiana Superdome 69,362 Recap 2 September 11 San Francisco 49ers W 24–17 2–0 Arrowhead Stadium 79,907 Recap 3 September 18 at Atlanta Falcons W 30–10 3–0 Georgia Dome 67,357 Recap 4 September 25 Los Angeles Rams L 0–16 3–1 Arrowhead Stadium 78,184 Recap 5Bye 6 October 9 at San Diego Chargers L 6–20 3–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 62,923 Recap 7 at Denver Broncos W 31–28 4–2 Mile High Stadium 75,151 Recap 8 October 23 Seattle Seahawks W 38–23 5–2 Arrowhead Stadium 78,847 Recap 9 October 30 at Buffalo Bills L 10–44 5–3 Rich Stadium 79,501 Recap 10 November 6 Los Angeles Raiders W 13–3 6–3 Arrowhead Stadium 78,709 Recap 11 November 13 San Diego Chargers L 13–14 6–4 Arrowhead Stadium 76,997 Recap 12 November 20 Cleveland Browns W 20–13 7–4 Arrowhead Stadium 69,121 Recap 13 November 27 at Seattle Seahawks L 9–10 7–5 Kingdome 54,120 Recap 14 December 4 Denver Broncos L 17–20 7–6 Arrowhead Stadium 77,631 Recap 15 at Miami Dolphins L 28–45 7–7 Joe Robbie Stadium 71,578 Recap 16 December 18 Houston Oilers W 31–9 8–7 Arrowhead Stadium 74,474 Recap 17 at Los Angeles Raiders W 19–9 9–7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 64,130 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at New Orleans Saints
Week 2: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week 3: at Atlanta Falcons
Week 4: vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week 6: at San Diego Chargers
Week 7: at Denver Broncos
Week 8: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Week 9: at Buffalo Bills
Week 10: vs. Los Angeles Raiders
Week 11: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week 12: vs. Cleveland Browns
Week 13: at Seattle Seahawks
Week 14: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 15: at Miami Dolphins
Week 16: vs. Houston Oilers
Week 17: at Los Angeles Raiders
Standings
Kansas City finished ahead of the Los Angeles Raiders based on head-to-head sweep (2–0)
Postseason
Schedule Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Wild Card at Miami Dolphins (3) L 17–27 0–1 Joe Robbie Stadium 67,487 Recap
Game summaries AFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (3) Miami Dolphins
References