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.
Buck Buchanan announced his retirement in February, while Len Dawson announced his own departure on May 1. Off the field, Jack Steadman was promoted to team president and Jim Schaaf was named general manager in August. 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. The team registered a 3–1 record during a successful midseason stretch, but like most preceding seasons, could not maintain that momentum.
After lingering in Len Dawson's shadow for eight seasons, Mike Livingston was firmly entrenched as the team's starting quarterback, 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. 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 1976 expansion draft
+ Kansas City Chiefs selected during the expansion draft Round Overall Name Position Expansion team00Rocky RasleyGuardSeattle Seahawks00Jim KearneySafetyTampa Bay Buccaneers00Lawrence WilliamsWide ReceiverTampa Bay Buccaneers
NFL draft
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 Houston Oilers W 9–3 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium 30,006 Recap 2 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 Washington Redskins W 23–20 2–2 Arrowhead Stadium 30,014 Recap 5 Detroit Lions L 21–23 2–3 Arrowhead Stadium 27,410 Recap 6 at St. Louis Cardinals L 14–31 2–4 Busch Memorial Stadium 42,997 Recap
Regular season Schedule 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 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 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.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week 2: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 3: vs. New Orleans Saints
Week 4: at Buffalo Bills
Week 5: at Washington Redskins
Week 6: at Miami Dolphins
Week 7: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 8: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 9: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 10: at Oakland Raiders
Week 11: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Week 12: at San Diego Chargers
Week 13: at Denver Broncos
Week 14: vs. Cleveland Browns
Standings
References