The 1974 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's fifth season in the National Football League, the twelfth season in Kansas City Chiefs, and the fifteenth overall, it ended with a 5–9 record and the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the third straight season consecutive and third-place finish in the AFC West, Hank Stram was fired after the season and was replaced by Paul Wiggin in 1975.
While the club's new facility at Arrowhead Stadium was drawing rave reviews, the Chiefs roster was beginning to show its age. The result was the team's first losing season in eleven years as the club was unable to string together consecutive victories during the year, a first in franchise history. Many of the club's key players were entering the twilight of their careers: Len Dawson was 39, Jim Tyrer was 35, Bobby Bell, Buck Buchanan, and Ed Budde were 34, Dave Hill was 33 and Otis Taylor was 32.
One of the year's notable players in the 5–9 season was cornerback Emmitt Thomas, who led the league with a franchise-record 12 interceptions. The final game of the 1974 campaign marked the final time all seven of Kansas City's Pro Football Hall of Fame players from the club's AFL champion era took the field together with coach Hank Stram. Including owner Lamar Hunt and seven future Minnesota Vikings Hall of Famers, a total of 16 Hall of Fame inductees were involved in that 1974 season finale game. That 35–15 loss against Minnesota provided a conclusion to Hank Stram's coaching career in Kansas City. Three days later, Stram, the only head coach in franchise history was relieved of his duties on December 27 after compiling a 124–76–10 regular season record with the club.
Offseason
NFL draft
1974 Kansas City Chiefs draft Round Selection Player Position College 1 16 Woody Green Running back Arizona State 2 41 Charlie Getty Tackle Penn State 3 66 David Jaynes Quarterback Kansas 4 94 Matt Herkenhoff Tackle Penn State 6 131 Jim Washington Running back Clemson 7 172 Leroy Hegge Defensive end South Dakota–Springfield 9 222 Jim Jennings Running back Rutgers 10 134 Tom Condon Guard Boston College 11 275 Bob Thornbladh Running back Michigan 12 300 Carl Brown Wide receiver West Texas A&M 13 328 Norm Romagnoli Linebacker Kentucky State 14 353 Frank Pomarico Guard Notre Dame 15 378 Lem Burnham Linebacker U. S. International 16 405 Barry Beers Guard William & Mary 17 431 David Langner Defensive back Auburn
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 Detroit Lions W 20–12 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium 35,521 Recap 2 Buffalo Bills L 21–35 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium 39,248 Recap 3 at Los Angeles Rams L 16–58 1–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 48,848 Recap 4 San Francisco 49ers W 26–7 2–2 Arrowhead Stadium 46,548 Recap 5 at Dallas Cowboys L 16–25 2–3 Texas Stadium 43,492 Recap 6 St. Louis Cardinals W 31–16 3–3 Arrowhead Stadium 46,067 Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 15 New York Jets W 24–16 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium 74,854 Recap 2 September 22 at Oakland Raiders L 7–27 1–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 48,108 Recap 3 September 29 at Houston Oilers W 17–7 2–1 Houston Astrodome 28,538 Recap 4 October 6 Denver Broncos L 14–17 2–2 Arrowhead Stadium 67,298 Recap 5 October 13 Pittsburgh Steelers L 24–34 2–3 Arrowhead Stadium 65,517 Recap 6 October 20 at Miami Dolphins L 3–9 2–4 Miami Orange Bowl 67,779 Recap 7 October 27 at San Diego Chargers W 24–14 3–4 San Diego Stadium 34,371 Recap 8 November 3 New York Giants L 27–33 3–5 Arrowhead Stadium 61,437 Recap 9 November 10 San Diego Chargers L 7–14 3–6 Arrowhead Stadium 48,551 Recap 10 at Denver Broncos W 42–34 4–6 Mile High Stadium 50,236 Recap 11 November 24 at Cincinnati Bengals L 6–33 4–7 Riverfront Stadium 49,777 Recap 12 December 1 at St. Louis Cardinals W 17–13 5–7 Busch Memorial Stadium 41,863 Recap 13 December 8 Oakland Raiders L 6–7 5–8 Arrowhead Stadium 60,577 Recap 14 Minnesota Vikings L 15–35 5–9 Arrowhead Stadium 35,480 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. New York Jets
Week 2: at Oakland Raiders
Week 3: at Houston Oilers
Week 4: vs. Denver Broncos
Chiefs record their first home loss to the Broncos after winning the previous 14 consecutive home meetings.
Week 5: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 6: at Miami Dolphins
Week 7: at San Diego Chargers
Week 8: vs. New York Giants
Week 9: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week 10: at Denver Broncos
Week 11: at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 12: at St. Louis Cardinals
Week 13: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 14: vs Minnesota Vikings
Standings
References