The 1978 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League, the 16th as the Kansas City Chiefs, and the 19th overall. It began with the hiring of new head coach Marv Levy, formerly of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes. With the NFL expanding its schedule to 16 games, the Chiefs finished with a 4–12 record and 5th in the AFC West.
Coach Levy's systematic restocking of a relatively barren defensive roster began with a 1978 draft class that included a pair of future Chiefs franchise hall of famers in defensive end Art Still and linebacker Gary Spani. Running back Ed Podolak, who was the club's all-time leading rusher at the time, retired in the offseason on June 15.
Perhaps Levy's most unconventional tactic in rebuilding the Chiefs was installing the Wing-T offense. "It was a situation where we took over a team that had the worst defensive record in the history of the National Football League," Levy explained. "We wanted to keep that defense off the field, so we ran the ball 60 times a game." The 1978 Chiefs team ran and ran often, posting franchise records with 663 rushing attempts and 2,986 ground yards. Levy's squad ran the ball a staggering 69 times in a 24–23 Opening Day win at Cincinnati on September 3, the most rushing attempts in an NFL contest since 1948. Five different players had 100-yard rushing games during the year, including running back Tony Reed, who finished the season with 1,053 yards to become the team's first 1,000-yard back since 1967. Despite the squad's Opening Day success, the club lost 10 of its next 11 games, including a pair of overtime decisions. However, the team showed signs of improvement with the defense recording a 23–0 shutout against San Diego on November 26 as the club concluded its first 16-game schedule with a 4–12 mark.
Offseason
NFL draft
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 at Green Bay Packers W 17–14 1–0 Lambeau Field 54,453 Recap 2 Minnesota Vikings W 17–13 2–0 Arrowhead Stadium 41,092 Recap 3 August 20 at New England Patriots L 7–24 2–1 Schaefer Stadium 39,043 Recap 4 St. Louis Cardinals L 7–12 2–2 Arrowhead Stadium 40,884 Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 3 at Cincinnati Bengals W 24–23 1–0 Riverfront Stadium 41,810 Recap 2 September 10 Houston Oilers L 17–20 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium 40,213 Recap 3 September 17 at New York Giants L 10–26 1–2 Giants Stadium 70,546 Recap 4 September 24 Denver Broncos L 17–23 1–3 Arrowhead Stadium 60,593 Recap 5 October 1 at Buffalo Bills L 13–28 1–4 Rich Stadium 47,310 Recap 6 October 8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 13–30 1–5 Arrowhead Stadium 38,201 Recap 7 October 15 at Oakland Raiders L 6–28 1–6 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 50,759 Recap 8 October 22 Cleveland Browns W 17–3 2–6 Arrowhead Stadium 41,157 Recap 9 October 29 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 24–27 2–7 Three Rivers Stadium 48,185 Recap 10 November 5 Oakland Raiders L 10–20 2–8 Arrowhead Stadium 75,418 Recap 11 November 12 at San Diego Chargers L 23–29 2–9 San Diego Stadium 41,395 Recap 12 November 19 Seattle Seahawks L 10–13 2–10 Arrowhead Stadium 35,252 Recap 13 November 26 San Diego Chargers W 23–0 3–10 Arrowhead Stadium 26,248 Recap 14 December 3 Buffalo Bills W 14–10 4–10 Arrowhead Stadium 25,781 Recap 15 December 10 at Denver Broncos L 3–24 4–11 Mile High Stadium 74,149 Recap 16 December 17 at Seattle Seahawks L 19–23 4–12 Kingdome 58,490 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 2: vs Houston Oilers
Week 3: at New York Giants
Week 4: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 5: at Buffalo Bills
Week 6: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 7: at Oakland Raiders
Week 8: vs. Cleveland Browns
Week 9: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 10: vs Oakland Raiders
Week 11: at San Diego Chargers
Week 12: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Week 13: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week 14: vs. Buffalo Bills
Week 15: at Denver Broncos
Week 16: at Seattle Seahawks
Standings
References