The 2019 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 50th in the National Football League (NFL), their 60th overall, their seventh under head coach Andy Reid and third under general manager Brett Veach.
In the offseason, the Chiefs released two of their longest tenured players: Justin Houston and Eric Berry. The Chiefs started the season with a 1–3 record at home, their worst record after four home games since 2012. However, they began the season 4–0 on the road, their best road record after four road games since 2013. With a Week 14 Oakland Raiders loss and a win over the New England Patriots, the Chiefs clinched the AFC West, extending their team record division title streak to four consecutive. They also clinched the franchise's fifth consecutive playoff appearance, one short of the franchise record of six consecutive from 1990–1995. The Chiefs also finished undefeated in the AFC West for the second time under Andy Reid, extending their record within the AFC West since 2015 to 27–3. They clinched their second straight bye to the divisional round of the AFC playoffs due to a Week 17 win against the Los Angeles Chargers combined with a Patriots loss to the Miami Dolphins.
In the divisional round, the Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans 51–31 despite falling behind 24–0 in the second quarter to give the Chiefs playoff wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history. The 51 points they scored was a franchise record for a postseason game. The win, along with the Baltimore Ravens' loss the previous night, allowed the Chiefs to host the AFC Championship for the second time in franchise history. They defeated the Tennessee Titans 35–24 in the AFC Championship advancing to Super Bowl LIV, where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31–20 to win their first championship since Super Bowl IV in 1970.
NFL Top 100
The Chiefs had six players ranked on NFL Network's annual Top 100 players countdown, which was tied for second most in the league. Reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes was ranked 4th, the highest ranking ever by a Chiefs player. Additionally, he was the highest ranked player on the countdown that was not ranked in 2018 and was the second highest player ever that was unranked the previous season.
Rank Player Position Change 4 Patrick Mahomes QB NR 19 Tyreek Hill WR 21 21 Travis Kelce TE 3 36 Chris Jones DT NR 85 Frank Clark DE NR 94 Mitchell Schwartz T NR
Staff Coaching changes
2019 Kansas City Chiefs Staff Changes Coach Position Reason left Replacement Bob Sutton Defensive Coordinator Fired Steve Spagnuolo Britt Reid Defensive line Promoted Brendan Daly Mike Smith Outside linebackers Accepted job withanother team Britt Reid Mark DeLeone Inside Linebackers Accepted job withanother team Matt House(as linebackers coach) Emmitt Thomas Defensive backs Retired Dave Merritt Al Harris Cornerbacks Fired Sam Madison Jay Valai Defensive quality control Accepted job withanother team Alex Whittingham
Staff
Roster changes
Players signed Below are players signed in the offseason through free agency.
Players signed Player Position Justin Senior T Sammie Coates WR Davon Grayson WR Dontae Johnson CB E. J. Manuel QB Harold Jones-Quartey S Carlos Hyde RB Tyrann Mathieu S Damien Wilson LB Alex Okafor DE Bashaud Breeland CB Blake Bell TE Keith Reaser CB Jeremiah Attaochu LB Zack Golditch G Nick Keizer TE Neal Sterling TE
Cuts Below are players who were released during the offseason
Players cut Player Position Justin Houston LB Eric Berry S Dillon Gordon T Step Durham CB Tejan Koroma C Sammie Coates WR T.J. Linta QB Dontae Johnson CB Jarvis Jenkins DE Leon McQuay III FS Justin Senior OT Gary Johnson OLB James Williams RB
Futures contracts Below are players that were signed as a futures players, which are typically players that have not played in a regular season. These players usually spent the previous season on a practice squad.
Futures contracts Player Position Josh Crockett WR Raymond Davison LB Ryan Hunter T Joey Ivie NT Chase Litton QB Robert McCray OLB Leon McQuay III SS Henry Mondeaux DT Pace Murphy T Aaron Ripkowski FB Martrell Spaight LB D'Montre Wade CB Cavon Walker DE David Wells TE
Unrestricted free agents Below are players with expiring contracts that can sign with any team without the Chiefs receiving any sort of compensation. Also included is if the player re-signed with the Chiefs or signed with another team.
UFAs Player Position Re-signed?* Jeff Allen G Yes Allen Bailey DE No Kelvin Benjamin WR No Chris Conley WR No Jordan Devey G No Demetrius Harris TE No Mitch Morse C No Steven Nelson CB No Orlando Scandrick CB No Anthony Sherman FB Yes De'Anthony Thomas WR Yes Spencer Ware RB No Charcandrick West RB No Frank Zombo OLB No Signed with new team Re-signed
Restricted free agents Below are players with expiring contracts that have three or fewer accrued seasons with the Chiefs that can receive a qualifying offer from any NFL team, the Chiefs can choose to either match the offer or receive a draft pick as compensation depending on the tender placed by the Chiefs which can be 1st round, 2nd, or original round (the pick that was used to draft the player). If no offer sheet is given, the player will receive a one-year contract with the Chiefs for a salary based on the tender placed on the player, $2.879 million for a first, $2.023 million for a second, or $1.323 million for an original round tender. If a tender is not placed, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.
RFAs Player Position Tender Qualifying offer Matched?* Jordan Lucas FS Original round (6th) NoneSigned tender N/A Terrance Smith ILB Not placed None N/A
Exclusive-rights free agents Below are players with two or fewer seasons of tenure with expiring contracts. If the Chiefs makes a qualifying offer (a one-year contract usually at league-minimum salary) the player has no negotiating rights with other teams, and must either sign the tender with the Chiefs or sit out the 2019 season. If a qualifying offer is not made, the player is an unrestricted free agent.
ERFAs Player Position Qualifying offer?* Signed?† Harrison Butker K Yes Yes Alex Ellis TE No N/A Justin Hamilton NT Yes Yes Marcus Kemp WR Yes Yes
Trades Below are any trades that included at least one player. Trades that featured only draft picks being traded for both teams, are listed in NFL Draft section.
Trades Player(s)/Pick(s)Received Team Compensation 2nd round pick2020 NFL draft San Francisco 49ers LB Dee Ford DE Emmanuel Ogbah Cleveland Browns S Eric Murray DE Frank Clark3rd round pick2019 Draft Seattle Seahawks 1st & 3rd round pick2019 NFL Draft2nd round pick2020 NFL Draft LB Darron Lee New York Jets 6th round pick2020 NFL Draft
Draft
2019 Kansas City Chiefs Draft Round Selection Player Position College 2 56 Mecole Hardman Wide receiver Georgia 63 Juan Thornhill Safety Virginia 3 84 Khalen Saunders Defensive tackle Western Illinois 6 201 Rashad Fenton Cornerback South Carolina 214* Darwin Thompson Running back Utah State 7 216 Nick Allegretti Guard Illinois * Compensatory selection Draft pick trades The Chiefs received a sixth round pick in the 2018 NFL draft and a second round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft in exchange for cornerback Marcus Peters and a fourth round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The Chiefs traded a fourth round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft in exchange for linebacker Reggie Ragland. The Chiefs traded wide receiver Rod Streater and a seventh round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a seventh round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. The Chiefs traded their first round (29th overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft, their third round (92nd overall) selection in the 2019 Draft, and a 2nd round selection in the 2020 draft to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for defensive end Frank Clark and the Seahawks 3rd round selection (84th overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft. The Chiefs traded a second round selection (61st overall) and their 5th round selection (167th overall) to Los Angeles Rams in exchange for the Rams 2nd round selection (56th overall)
Final roster
Preseason Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Cincinnati Bengals W 38–17 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 2 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–17 1–1 Heinz Field Recap 3 San Francisco 49ers L 17–27 1–2 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 4 at Green Bay Packers L 20–27 1–3 Lambeau Field Recap
Game summaries Week 1: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Week 2: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 3: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week 4: at Green Bay Packers
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 8 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 40–26 1–0 TIAA Bank Field Recap 2 September 15 at Oakland Raiders W 28–10 2–0 RingCentral Coliseum Recap 3 September 22 Baltimore Ravens W 33–28 3–0 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 4 September 29 at Detroit Lions W 34–30 4–0 Ford Field Recap 5 October 6 Indianapolis Colts L 13–19 4–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 6 October 13 Houston Texans L 24–31 4–2 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 7 at Denver Broncos W 30–6 5–2 Empower Field at Mile High Recap 8 October 27 Green Bay Packers L 24–31 5–3 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 9 November 3 Minnesota Vikings W 26–23 6–3 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 10 November 10 at Tennessee Titans L 32–35 6–4 Nissan Stadium Recap 11 November 18 at Los Angeles Chargers W 24–17 7–4 Estadio Azteca Recap 12Bye 13 December 1 Oakland Raiders W 40–9 8–4 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 14 December 8 at New England Patriots W 23–16 9–4 Gillette Stadium Recap 15 December 15 Denver Broncos W 23–3 10–4 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 16 December 22 at Chicago Bears W 26–3 11–4 Soldier Field Recap 17 December 29 Los Angeles Chargers W 31–21 12–4 Arrowhead Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 2: at Oakland Raiders
Week 3: vs. Baltimore Ravens
Week 4: at Detroit Lions
Week 5: vs. Indianapolis Colts
Week 6: vs. Houston Texans
Week 7: at Denver Broncos
Week 8: vs. Green Bay Packers
Week 9: vs. Minnesota Vikings
Week 10: at Tennessee Titans
Week 11: at Los Angeles Chargers NFL Mexico City games
Week 13: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 14: at New England Patriots
Week 15: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 16: at Chicago Bears
Week 17: vs. Los Angeles Chargers
The win over the Chargers, combined with a New England loss to Miami, allowed the Chiefs to secure the No. 2 seed, and a first-round bye in the playoffs. It also gave them home-field advantage for the Divisional round.
Standings Division
Conference
Postseason
Schedule Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap Wild CardFirst-round bye Divisional January 12 Houston Texans (4) W 51–31 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium Recap AFC Championship January 19 Tennessee Titans (6) W 35–24 2–0 Arrowhead Stadium Recap Super Bowl LIV February 2 vs. San Francisco 49ers (N1) W 31–20 3–0 Hard Rock Stadium Recap
Game summaries AFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (4) Houston Texans
After falling behind 24–0, Kansas City came back with an NFL playoff record seven consecutive touchdowns and a field goal over their next eight drives, including a run of 28 points in the final 10 minutes of the second quarter.
On the opening possession, Houston mounted a six-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in Deshaun Watson's 54-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Stills on third-and-1, giving the Texans an early 7–0 lead. The Chiefs then went three-and-out on their first drive, with tight end Travis Kelce dropping a potential first down pass on third down. Dustin Colquitt's ensuing punt was blocked by Barkevious Mingo and recovered by Lonnie Johnson Jr., who returned it 10 yards for a touchdown that put the Texans up 14–0 less than five minutes into the game.
After both teams punted on their next drives, Chiefs returner Tyreek Hill muffed the ball inside his own 10-yard line which was recovered by Keion Crossen for Houston. Two plays later, Watson found tight end Darren Fells in the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown and a 21–0 lead late in the first quarter.