1974 Kansas City Chiefs season

The 1974 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 5th season in the National Football League, the 12th as the Kansas City Chiefs, and the 15th overall, it ended with a 5–9 record and the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the 3rd straight year and third-place finish in the AFC West, Hank Stram was fired after the season and was replaced by Paul Wiggin in 1975.

1974 Kansas City Chiefs season
Head coachHank Stram
Home fieldArrowhead Stadium
Results
Record5–9
Division place3rd AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersC Jack Rudnay
LB Willie Lanier
CB Emmitt Thomas

While the club's sparkling new facility at Arrowhead Stadium was drawing rave reviews, the Chiefs roster was beginning to show its age.[1] The result was the team's first losing season in 11 years as the club was unable to string together consecutive victories during the year, a first in franchise history.[1] 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.[1]

One of the year's few bright spots 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.[1] Including owner Lamar Hunt and seven future Minnesota Vikings Hall of Famers, an amazing total of 16 Hall of Fame inductees were involved in that 1974 season finale game. That 35–15 loss against Minnesota provided an anticlimactic conclusion to Hank Stram's illustrious 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
Main article: 1974 NFL Draft
Round Pick Player Position School/Club Team

Roster
1974 Kansas City Chiefs roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists

{{{reserve_lists}}}


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

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 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 34–24 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 November 18 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 December 14 Minnesota Vikings L 15–35 5–9 Arrowhead Stadium 35,480 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings
AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Oakland Raiders 12 2 0 .857 5–1 9–2 355 228 W3
Denver Broncos 7 6 1 .536 3–3 5–4–1 302 294 L1
Kansas City Chiefs 5 9 0 .357 2–4 4–7 233 293 L2
San Diego Chargers 5 9 0 .357 2–4 4–7 212 285 W2

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