The Kansas City Chiefs are the gift that keeps on giving. This holiday season, let’s look back at the most memorable Chiefs games of Christmas past.
The Kansas City Chiefs are on a roll, winning 13 of their first 14 games in their run-it-back campaign of 2020. Though this year has had its downfalls, to this point, the Chiefs have been a bright spot—at least for the die-hard fans in Chiefs Kingdom.
The Chiefs host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, a game they should win handily despite the Falcons’ late season improvement. However, since we’re in the holiday spirit, instead of focusing on the upcoming matchup, it might be fun to look back through the Chiefs franchise history at some of the best games of the Christmas season.
12/23/1962 – Texans 20, Oilers 17
Before the Kansas City Chiefs graced the gridiron of Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, and eventually Arrowhead Stadium beginning in 1972, they occupied the Cotton Bowl in Dallas Texas for two seasons. At the time they were the more successful Dallas football team, outpacing Tom Landry’s Dallas Cowboys by 16 wins in the three seasons the two teams shared the venue.
The team’s first major signs of success came early. The 1962 Dallas Texans, led by franchise legend and hall of famer Len Dawson, possessing the league’s best offense and best defense finished the season with an impressive 11-3 record. It was the best record in the three-year franchise history and optimism was high as they looked to face off against the two-time defending champion Houston Oilers for the AFL title.
The Houston Oilers were the most dominant team to date in the AFL, winning 10 or more games every season and two AFL titles, and were 6.5 point favorites against the Texans. The teams had split the two matchups that season, but the Texans had outscored them 37-21. Sentiment favored the Oilers, but fortune favored the Texans.
The nearly 40,000 fans in attendance would witness a classic, to that time the longest game in professional sports history. The Texans and Oilers would trade blows throughout, but regulation would end in a 17-17 tie.
The first overtime would end the same, with neither team scoring. The big play would came right before the end of the period, as defensive end Bill Hull intercepted NFL and AFL ironman George Blanda’s pass to carry the Texans offense into Oiler territory. 29 yards later rookie kicker Tommy Brooker kicked a 25-yard field goal to hand the Texans an early Christmas present and their first professional championship.
The Texans would leave for Kansas City, Missouri that offseason. Their first AFL Championship would set up one of the most successful decades in franchise history, only to be rivaled by the modern day Kansas City Chiefs.
1/1/1967 – Chiefs 31, Bills 7
As the Dallas Texans moved from Dallas, Texas and became the Kansas City Chiefs they entered into a rough three-year stint in franchise history. From 1963 to 1966, they only won 19 games and missed the playoffs every season. The 1966 season would change all that.
Multiple Chiefs players would have stellar years. Len Dawson was nominated to the equivalent of First Team All Pro, throwing for 26 touchdowns and 2,527 total yards and leading the offense to finish first in both points and yards produced.
Even more impressive, teammates Bobby Hunt and Johnny Robinson would tie for the league lead in interceptions with 10. The defense as a whole tallied 33 that year and finished second in both points and yards against.
The team would enter the AFL Playoffs on a tear, winning seven of their last eight games. The Chiefs had split the regular seasons two contests with the two-time defending champion Buffalo Bills, but outscored them 56-49. They entered their second AFL Championship as three-point favorites, due mostly to the sentiment around their dynamic and cutting edge offense.
The Bills were known to have a stellar defense, but they were no match for the Chiefs that day. The Chiefs absolutely pummeled their opponent en route to a 31-7 victory, the second largest margin of victory in the AFL Championship game’s history.
The victory rewarded the Chiefs a spot in the inaugural NFL-AFL Championship game, a game that would later be renamed the Super Bowl based on the suggestion of Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt. While the result wasn’t what Chiefs brass and their fans wanted, with the Green Bay Packers handing the Chiefs a very sound defeat, their participation in the first Super Bowl is an iconic part of the franchise’s history and set the team up for their first Super Bowl only three seasons later.
12/20/1969 – Chiefs 13, Jets 6
The 1969 Kansas City Chiefs were coming off a great regular season in 1968, but a disappointing loss in the 1968 playoffs to their rivals in the Oakland Raiders. 1969 brought with it unfinished business, and a desire for revenge.
In order to achieve that revenge, the Chiefs had to travel to Shea Stadium to take on the defending champion New York Jets and their host of future hall of famers. The Chiefs had one of the best offenses and defenses in the league, and had manhandled the Jets only a few weeks earlier in the regular season.
This contest would look far different than the first. Early in the fourth quarter the Chiefs had only mustered six points to the Jets three. The defense found themselves in dire straits on their own one yard line, committing a devastating pass interference penalty a play earlier to give the Jets prime field position for the go-ahead score.
Whether it was Yuletide magic that favored the Chiefs, or simply Lady Luck, the defense was able to stop Broadway Joe and the Jets on three consecutive downs to force a field goal. The offense would deliver in kind on the following drive, scoring a back-breaking touchdown in only two plays.
To this day, this remains one of the most important games and important series in franchise history. After defeating the Jets, the Chiefs went on to exact revenge on the Raiders for the AFL Championship and dominate the highly-favored Minnesota Vikings for the team’s first of two Super Bowls.
12/25/1971 – Chiefs Dolphins – playoff game
The 1971 Kansas City Chiefs were coming off a rather disappointing 1970 season. After winning their first Super Bowl in 1969, they began the 1970 season losing three of their first six games. The Chiefs offense fell off a cliff, finishing 15th in points scored and 22nd in yards produced. They finished the season a disappointing 7-5-2, and were on the outside looking in for the 1970 NFL Playoffs.
This seemingly lit a fire for the team, as they began 1971 winning five of their first six games en route to a 10-3-1 finish. The offense improved dramatically, finishing top-10 in both points and yards, and the defense maintained it’s hall of fame productivity finishing fifth and seventh respectively.
There reward was a date with Don Shula’s Miami Dolphins led by All Pro and future Hall of Famer Bob Griese on Christmas Day, in what was one of the most famous football games in the modern era.
The Chiefs started hot, scoring the games first 10 points and leading 10-0 at the end of the first quarter. The Dolphins responded in kind with 10 points in the second and the teams traded touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters, the Dolphins scoring a last minute touchdown to send the game into overtime.
The Chiefs had an opportunity to close out the game in the first overtime, but franchise legend Jan Stenerud’s 48-yard field goal attempt was blocked. The Dolphins would miss their own attempt in the first overtime, but would seal the deal with a 37-yarder in the second overtime.
At the time, the 82 minute and 40 second game was the longest in NFL history. It was highlighted by spectacular performances, but none greater than Ed Podolak’s do-it-all performance. Podolak ran, received, and returned for 345 all-purpose yards in what remains one of the most impressive individual performances in franchise history.
12/28/2014 – Chiefs 19, Chargers 7
The 2014 season, as it stands, is the least successful season for the Chiefs under Andy Reid. Even so, there were still things to celebrate that season. Justin Houston, a third round pick out of the University of Georgia in 2011, had his best season as a professional player and one of the best for an outside linebacker in the history of the NFL.
Through 15 games, Houston had destroyed NFL offensive lineman across the league for 18 sacks. Heading into the final game he trailed Chiefs Hall of Famer and all-time great Derrick Thomas for the franchise record by only two sacks. He trailed Hall of Famer Michael Strahan for the NFL record by only four-and-a-half sacks.
In order to stay in the playoff race, the Chiefs had to beat the San Diego Chargers. Houston would make sure he did his part, with his best game of the season. He seemingly willed himself to the franchise record with four sacks on the day, coming just short of the NFL record, and the Chiefs would walk away with the victory.
The 2014 season was the only one in which the Chiefs, under current head coach Andy Reid, haven’t made the playoffs in the past eight seasons. They lost one too many games, barely missing a chance at the final Wild Card spot in the NFL Playoffs. Even so, Houston’s performance that season and in this game in particular make the Chargers win one to remember.
12/25/2016 – Chiefs 33, Broncos 10
The 2016 season was the beginning of something special for the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Not only would the Chiefs make the playoffs that season, for the second time in three years, this would be the beginning of a playoff streak never before seen in Kansas City.
The 2016 season was also the beginning of something not-so-special for the Denver Broncos. A team that had benefited from Peyton Manning, a great defense, and a consistently healthy roster would decline into abject oblivion.
This decline seemingly began on December 25th, 2016. At 8-6 the Broncos were on the cusp of missing the playoffs for the first time in several years, after taking home the Lombardi Trophy only a year prior. With two games left, the game against the Chiefs was a must-win to keep their hopes alive.
To the chagrin of Denver fans, that small flicker of hope would be doused by a violent flood nearly as soon as the game began. The Chiefs raced out to a commanding 21-7 lead, led by a dazzling 70-yard rush by rookie Tyreek Hill and an 80-yard completion from Alex Smith to Travis Kelce.
The Chiefs stomped the Broncos 35-10, and completely erased any possibility of their rivals making playoffs. They swept the Broncos for the first time in 16 seasons, in what appears to have broken the franchise’s back for a time.
Since that 2016 season, the Chiefs have made the playoffs and won the division every year. The Broncos have yet to make it back to the playoffs.
12/30/2018 – Chiefs 35, Raiders 3
The 2018 Kansas City Chiefs were a wonderful aberration for a region that hadn’t seen its football team dominate the rest of the NFL so handily in decades. This team, helmed by first-year starter Patrick Mahomes, showcased one of the statistically great offenses in NFL history en route to a third straight division title.
The final game of the season, the second time the Chiefs had faced their hated rivals from Oakland, marked a number of significant milestones for the franchise. It was the first time the Chiefs had ever won the AFC West three straight seasons, as they pummeled their black and silver opponent 35 to 3.
It also marked an impressive achievement from the NFL’s newest phenom. Patrick Mahomes, the first round draft pick from a year before, delivered on the dreams of thousands of fans around the region. For the first time, the Chiefs had “the guy” on their team as he became only the second player in the 99-year history of the league to surpass 5,000 passing yards and 50 touchdowns in the same season.
The win against the Raiders also culminated an accomplishment the team had not achieved in several seasons, the top seed in the NFL Playoffs and home field advantage throughout. The Chiefs would end up hosting Arrowhead Stadium’s first ever conference championship game, with the Sea of Red screaming their hearts out to help their team beat the visiting evil empire from the Northeast.
Though this season would end in defeat, the direction of the franchise was clear. Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid and the Chiefs would be a formidable force for years to come.