1991 Kansas City Chiefs season

Kansas City Chiefs
1991 Kansas City Chiefs season
Head coach	Marty Schottenheimer
Home field	Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	2nd AFC West
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (Raiders) 10–6; Lost Divisional Playoffs (Bills) 14–37
Pro Bowlers	FB Christian Okoye; DE Neil Smith; LB Derrick Thomas

The 1991 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 22nd season in the National Football League and 32nd overall. They failed to improve on their 11–5 record from 1990 and finished with a 10–6 record. The Chiefs passing game wasn't as good as their 1990 campaign as Steve DeBerg’s consistency dropped. The running game made up for lost time as Christian Okoye ran for 1,031 yards for the season, and Barry Word was productive, and rookie Harvey Williams was outstanding in limited playing time. The Chiefs defeated their division rival, the Los Angeles Raiders in the Wild Card round, resulting in the franchise's first playoff victory since Super Bowl IV in 1970. The next week, the Chiefs lost to the Buffalo Bills in the divisional playoffs.

The season began on July 27 when Jan Stenerud, the hero of Super Bowl IV was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But the Chiefs rebounded to win 4 straight games, including an October 7 game in which the Chiefs trounced the Buffalo Bills 33–6. It was the Chiefs' first home Monday Night Football game since 1983 and on October 13, The Chiefs blasted the Miami Dolphins 42–7 as Christian Okoye ran for 153 yards.

The Chiefs continued to play playoff football and on December 22 Christmas came early for the Chiefs and their fans. By playing brilliantly and holding off the Raiders, in the end, they left Los Angeles with a 27–21 win. The victory gave the Chiefs a home playoff game against the Raiders. A loss would have meant playing in Los Angeles again the following week. It was the first playoff game in Kansas City in 20 years.

The offense was superb as quarterback Steve DeBerg completed 14 of 20 passes for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns. Barry Word rushed for 152 yards, and J. J. Birden caught 8 passes for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns. Even more impressive was that the Chiefs didn't have to punt in the game and held the ball for almost 40 minutes.

Offseason

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1991 Kansas City Chiefs draft
1	21	Harvey Williams	Running back	LSU
2	50	Joe Valerio	Center	Pennsylvania
3	77	Tim Barnett	Wide receiver	Jackson State
5	133	Charles Mincy	Defensive back	Washington
6	162	Darrell Malone	Defensive back	Jacksonville State
7	189	Bernard Ellison	Defensive back	Nevada
8	218	Tom Dohring	Offensive tackle	Michigan
9	244	Robbie Keen	Placekicker	California
10	273	Eric Ramsey	Defensive back	Auburn
11	300	Bobby Olive	Wide receiver	Ohio State
12	329	Ron Shipley	Guard	New Mexico
Made roster

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Personnel

Staff

**1991 Kansas City Chiefs staff**

	Front office Founder – Lamar Hunt Chairman of the Board – Jack Steadman President/General Manager/Chief Executive Officer – Carl Peterson Assistant General Manager – Dennis Thum Director of Player Personnel – Whitey Dovell Director of Pro Personnel – Mark Hatley Head coaches Head Coach – Marty Schottenheimer Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Joe Pendry Running Backs – Bruce Arians Wide Receivers – Al Saunders Offensive Line – Howard Mudd Offense/Tight Ends – Jim Erkenbeck			Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Tom Pratt Defensive Backs – Tony Dungy Special Assistant/Quality Control – Darvin Wallis Special teams coaches Special Teams – Kurt Schottenheimer Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Dave Redding Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Russ Ball

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Roster

**1991 Kansas City Chiefs roster**

	Quarterbacks 17 Steve DeBerg 11 Steve Pelluer 13 Mark Vlasic Running backs 38 Kimble Anders 43 Bill Jones 48 Todd McNair 35 Christian Okoye 21 James Saxon 25 Troy Stradford PR 22 Harvey Williams KR 23 Barry Word Wide receivers 82 Tim Barnett 88 J. J. Birden 84 Willie Davis 86 Emile Harry 80 Fred Jones 81 Robb Thomas Tight ends 85 Jonathan Hayes 89 Pete Holohan 87 Troy Sadowski		Offensive linemen 76 John Alt T 77 Rich Baldinger T 74 Derrick Graham G/T 61 Tim Grunhard C 72 Dave Lutz G 79 Dave Szott G 73 Joe Valerio C 65 Frank Winters C/G Defensive linemen 99 Mike Bell DE 98 Leonard Griffin DE 63 Bill Maas DE 97 Dan Saleaumua NT 95 Tom Sims NT 90 Neil Smith DE 67 Pat Swoopes NT		Linebackers 56 Dino Hackett ILB 57 Chris Martin OLB 51 Lonnie Marts OLB 55 Ervin Randle ILB 52 Tracy Rogers ILB 54 Tracy Simien ILB 58 Derrick Thomas OLB Defensive backs 40 Billy Bell CB 34 Lloyd Burruss SS 20 Deron Cherry FS 39 Eric Everett CB 29 Albert Lewis CB 41 Anthony Parker CB 24 J. C. Pearson CB 45 Stan Petry CB 27 Kevin Porter SS 31 Kevin Ross CB 46 Charles Washington FS Special teams 4 Bryan Barker P 8 Nick Lowery K		Reserve lists 71 Tom Dohring T (IR) -- Stump Mitchell RB (IR) 83 Stephone Paige WR (IR) Practice squad -- Bobby Olive WR Rookies in italics

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Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 1, 1991	Atlanta Falcons	W 14–3	74,246
2	September 8, 1991	New Orleans Saints	L 17–10	74,816
3	September 16, 1991	at Houston Oilers	L 17–7	61,058
4	September 22, 1991	Seattle Seahawks	W 20–13	71,789
5	September 29, 1991	at San Diego Chargers	W 14–13	44,907
6	October 7, 1991	Buffalo Bills	W 33–6	76,120
7	October 13, 1991	Miami Dolphins	W 42–7	76,021
8	October 20, 1991	at Denver Broncos	L 19–16	75,866
9	October 28, 1991	Los Angeles Raiders	W 24–21	77,111
10	Bye
11	November 10, 1991	at Los Angeles Rams	W 27–20	52,511
12	November 17, 1991	Denver Broncos	L 24–20	74,661
13	November 24, 1991	at Cleveland Browns	L 20–15	63,991
14	December 1, 1991	at Seattle Seahawks	W 19–6	57,248
15	December 8, 1991	San Diego Chargers	W 20–17	73,330
16	December 14, 1991	at San Francisco 49ers	L 28–14	62,672
17	December 22, 1991	at Los Angeles Raiders	W 27–21	65,144

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽²⁾ Denver Broncos	12	4	0	.750	5–3	10–4	304	235	W4
⁽⁴⁾ Kansas City Chiefs	10	6	0	.625	6–2	8–4	316	252	W1
⁽⁵⁾ Los Angeles Raiders	9	7	0	.563	5–3	7–5	298	297	L3
Seattle Seahawks	7	9	0	.438	2–6	6–6	276	261	W1
San Diego Chargers	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–9	274	342	L1

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Wildcard	December 28, 1991	Los Angeles Raiders	W 10–6	75,827
Division	January 5, 1992	at Buffalo Bills	L 37–14	80,182

References

^ "1991 Kansas City Chiefs draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
^ Kansas City Chiefs 1991 Media Guide. pp. 4–21.
^ "1991 Kansas City Chiefs starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2014.

[1] "1991 Kansas City Chiefs draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2014.

[2] Kansas City Chiefs 1991 Media Guide. pp. 4–21.

[3] "1991 Kansas City Chiefs starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2014.

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