1978 Kansas City Chiefs season

1978 Kansas City Chiefs season
Head coach	Marv Levy
Home field	Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record	4–12
Division place	5th AFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None

The 1978 Kansas City Chiefs season 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 fifth place 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

Main article: 1978 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team

Regular season

1978 Kansas City Chiefs Team Starters

Offense

10    Mike Livingston       QB
21    Arnold Morgado        RB
32    Tony Reed             FB
22    Ted McKnight          WR
89    Henry Marshall        WR
88    Walter White          TE

60    Matt Herkenhoff       LT
73    Bob Simmons           LG
58    Jack Rudnay           C
65    Tom Condon            RG
77    Charlie Getty         RT

Defense

67    Art Still          LDE
61    Don Parrish        NT
75    Sylvester Hicks    RDE

64    Whitney Paul       LB
55    Dave Rozumek       LB
59    Gary Spani         LB
52    Tom Howard         LB

24    Gary Green         LCB
18    Emmitt Thomas      RCB
46    Tim Gray           SS
26    Gary Barbaro       FS

Kicking Team

3    Jan Stenerud      K
7    Zenon Andrusyshyn P
34   Eddie Payton      PR/KR

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 3, 1978	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 24–23	41,810
2	September 10, 1978	Houston Oilers	L 20–17	40,213
3	September 17, 1978	at New York Giants	L 26–10	70,546
4	September 24, 1978	Denver Broncos	L 23–17	60,593
5	October 1, 1978	at Buffalo Bills	L 28–13	47,310
6	October 8, 1978	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 30–13	38,201
7	October 15, 1978	at Oakland Raiders	L 28–6	50,759
8	October 22, 1978	Cleveland Browns	W 17–3	41,157
9	October 29, 1978	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 27–24	48,185
10	November 5, 1978	Oakland Raiders	L 20–10	75,418
11	November 12, 1978	at San Diego Chargers	L 29–23	41,395
12	November 19, 1978	Seattle Seahawks	L 13–10	35,252
13	November 26, 1978	San Diego Chargers	W 23–0	26,248
14	December 3, 1978	Buffalo Bills	W 14–10	25,781
15	December 10, 1978	at Denver Broncos	L 24–3	74,149
16	December 17, 1978	at Seattle Seahawks	L 23–19	58,490

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Denver Broncos(3)	10	6	0	.625	7–1	8–4	282	198	L1
Seattle Seahawks	9	7	0	.563	4–4	6–6	345	358	W1
Oakland Raiders	9	7	0	.563	3–5	5–7	311	283	W1
San Diego Chargers	9	7	0	.563	5–3	7–5	355	309	W3
Kansas City Chiefs	4	12	0	.250	1–7	4–10	243	327	L2