1991 Kansas City Chiefs season

{{Infobox NFL team season

| team = Kansas City Chiefs

| year = 1991

| record = 10–6

| division_place = 2nd AFC West

| coach = Marty Schottenheimer

| general manager = Carl Peterson

| owner = Lamar Hunt

| stadium = Arrowhead Stadium

| playoffs = Won Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Raiders) 10–6
Lost Divisional Playoffs
(at Bills) 14–37

| pro bowlers = {{Collapsible list

| title = 3

| 1 = FB Christian Okoye

| 2 = DE Neil Smith

| 3 = LB Derrick Thomas

}}

| AP All-pros = {{Collapsible list

| title = 1

| 1 = LB Derrick Thomas (1st team)

}}

| shortnavlink = Chiefs seasons

}}

The {{nfly|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. Compared to the Chiefs' 1990 campaign, Steve DeBerg’s consistency had dropped. The running game made up for lost time as Christian Okoye ran for 1,031 yards for the season, 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 four 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. On October 13, The Chiefs blasted the Miami Dolphins 42–7 as Christian Okoye ran for 153 yards.

On December 22, the Chiefs won 27–21 against the Raiders. The victory gave the Chiefs a home playoff game against the team; 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 Chiefs 10–6 victory over the Raiders in the playoffs was the franchise's first postseason victory since the merger.

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. During the game, the Chiefs didn't have to punt and held the ball for almost 40 minutes.

Offseason

=Draft=

{{NFL team draft start

| year = 1991

| teamname = Kansas City Chiefs

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 1

| pick = 21

| player = Harvey Williams

| position = Running back

| college = LSU

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 2

| pick = 50

| player = Joe Valerio

| position = Center

| college = Pennsylvania

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 3

| pick = 77

| player = Tim Barnett

| position = Wide receiver

| college = Jackson State

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 5

| pick = 133

| player = Charles Mincy

| position = Defensive back

| college = Washington

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 6

| pick = 162

| player = Darrell Malone

| position = Defensive back

| college = Jacksonville State

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 7

| pick = 189

| player = Bernard Ellison

| position = Defensive back

| college = Nevada

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 8

| pick = 218

| player = Tom Dohring

| position = Offensive tackle

| college = Michigan

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 9

| pick = 244

| player = Robbie Keen

| position = Placekicker

| college = California

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 10

| pick = 273

| player = Eric Ramsey

| position = Defensive back

| college = Auburn

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 11

| pick = 300

| player = Bobby Olive

| position = Wide receiver

| college = Ohio State

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 12

| pick = 329

| player = Ron Shipley

| position = Guard

| college = New Mexico

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft end

| probowl = no

| hof = no

}}

{{cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/kan/1991_draft.htm |title=1991 Kansas City Chiefs draftees |work=Pro-Football-Reference.com |access-date=December 3, 2014 }}

Personnel

= Staff =

{{NFL final staff

| year = 1991

| team = Kansas City Chiefs

| 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_coach =

Head Coach – Marty Schottenheimer

| offensive =

Offensive Coordinator – Joe Pendry
Running Backs – Bruce Arians
Wide Receivers – Al Saunders
Offensive Line – Howard Mudd
Offense/Tight Ends – Jim Erkenbeck

| defensive =

Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers - Bill Cowher
Defensive Line – Tom Pratt
Defensive Backs – Tony Dungy
Special Assistant/Quality Control – Darvin Wallis

| special_teams =

Special Teams – Kurt Schottenheimer

| strength =

Strength and Conditioning – Dave Redding
Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Russ Ball

}}

{{cite book |title=Kansas City Chiefs 1991 Media Guide |pages=4–21 }}

= Roster =

{{NFL season roster

| year = 1991

| team = Kansas City Chiefs

| quarterbacks =

| running_backs =

| wide_receivers =

| tight_ends =

| offensive_linemen =

| defensive_linemen =

| linebackers =

| defensive_back =

{{NFLplayer|46|Charles Washington|d=defensive back, born 1966|FS}}

| special_teams =

| reserve_lists =

| practice_squad =

47 active, 9 inactive, 4 practice squad

}}

{{cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/kan/1991_roster.htm |title=1991 Kansas City Chiefs starters and roster |work=Pro-Football-Reference.com |access-date=December 3, 2014 }}

Preseason

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Kansas City Chiefs|year=1991|border=2}}"| Week

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Kansas City Chiefs|year=1991|border=2}}"| Date

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Kansas City Chiefs|year=1991|border=2}}"| Opponent

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Kansas City Chiefs|year=1991|border=2}}"| Result

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Kansas City Chiefs|year=1991|border=2}}"| Record

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Kansas City Chiefs|year=1991|border=2}}"| Venue

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Kansas City Chiefs|year=1991|border=2}}"| Attendance

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Kansas City Chiefs|year=1991|border=2}}"| Recap

style="background:#fcc"

! 1

| {{dow tooltip|August 3, 1991}}

| Dallas Cowboys

| L 14–24

| 0–1

| Arrowhead Stadium

| 56,038

| [https://www.profootballarchives.com/1991nflkc.html Recap]

style="background:#cfc"

! 2

| {{dow tooltip|August 10, 1991}}

| vs. New York Jets

| W 19–10

| 1–1

| Busch Memorial Stadium {{small|(St. Louis, MO)}}

| 52,935

| [https://www.profootballarchives.com/1991nflkc.html Recap]

style="background:#cfc"

! 3

| {{dow tooltip|August 17, 1991}}

| Detroit Lions

| W 38–14

| 2–1

| Arrowhead Stadium

| 57,320

| [https://www.profootballarchives.com/1991nflkc.html Recap]

style="background:#fcc"

! 4

| {{dow tooltip|August 23, 1991}}

| at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

| L 7–20

| 2–2

| Tampa Stadium

| 33,996

| [https://www.profootballarchives.com/1991nflkc.html Recap]

Regular season

=Schedule=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|Kansas City Chiefs\|year=1991\|border=2}}"\| Week !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|Kansas City Chiefs\|year=1991\|border=2}}"\| Date !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|Kansas City Chiefs\|year=1991\|border=2}}"\| Opponent !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|Kansas City Chiefs\|year=1991\|border=2}}"\| Result !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|Kansas City Chiefs\|year=1991\|border=2}}"\| Record !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|Kansas City Chiefs\|year=1991\|border=2}}"\| Venue !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|Kansas City Chiefs\|year=1991\|border=2}}"\| Attendance !style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|Kansas City Chiefs\|year=1991\|border=2}}"\| Recap
style="background:#cfc" ! 1 \| September 1 \| Atlanta Falcons \| W 14–3 \| 1–0 \| Arrowhead Stadium \| 74,246 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199109010kan.htm Recap]
style="background:#fcc" ! 2 \| September 8 \| New Orleans Saints \| L 10–17 \| 1–1 \| Arrowhead Stadium \| 74,816 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199109080kan.htm Recap]
style="background:#fcc" ! 3 \| {{dow tooltip\|September 16, 1991}} \| at Houston Oilers \| L 7–17 \| 1–2 \| Houston Astrodome \| 61,058 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199109160oti.htm Recap]
style="background:#cfc" ! 4 \| September 22 \| Seattle Seahawks \| W 20–13 \| 2–2 \| Arrowhead Stadium \| 71,789 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199109220kan.htm Recap]
style="background:#cfc" ! 5 \| September 29 \| at San Diego Chargers \| W 14–13 \| 3–2 \| Jack Murphy Stadium \| 44,907 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199109290sdg.htm Recap]
style="background:#cfc" ! 6 \| {{dow tooltip\|October 7, 1991}} \| Buffalo Bills \| W 33–6 \| 4–2 \| Arrowhead Stadium \| 76,120 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199110070kan.htm Recap]
style="background:#cfc" ! 7 \| October 13 \| Miami Dolphins \| W 42–7 \| 5–2 \| Arrowhead Stadium \| 76,021 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199110130kan.htm Recap]
style="background:#fcc" ! 8 \| October 20 \| at Denver Broncos \| L 16–19 \| 5–3 \| Mile High Stadium \| 75,866 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199110200den.htm Recap]
style="background:#cfc" ! 9 \| {{dow tooltip\|October 28, 1991}} \| Los Angeles Raiders \| W 24–21 \| 6–3 \| Arrowhead Stadium \| 77,111 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199110280kan.htm Recap]
10 \| colspan="7" \|Bye
style="background:#cfc" ! 11 \| November 10 \| at Los Angeles Rams \| W 27–20 \| 7–3 \| Anaheim Stadium \| 52,511 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199111100ram.htm Recap]
style="background:#fcc" ! 12 \| November 17 \| Denver Broncos \| L 20–24 \| 7–4 \| Arrowhead Stadium \| 74,661 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199111170kan.htm Recap]
style="background:#fcc" ! 13 \| November 24 \| at Cleveland Browns \| L 15–20 \| 7–5 \| Cleveland Stadium \| 63,991 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199111240cle.htm Recap]
style="background:#cfc" ! 14 \| December 1 \| at Seattle Seahawks \| W 19–6 \| 8–5 \| Kingdome \| 57,248 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199112010sea.htm Recap]
style="background:#cfc" ! 15 \| December 8 \| San Diego Chargers \| W 20–17 {{small\|(OT)}} \| 9–5 \| Arrowhead Stadium \| 73,330 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199112080kan.htm Recap]
style="background:#fcc" ! 16 \| {{dow tooltip\|December 14, 1991}} \| at San Francisco 49ers \| L 14–28 \| 9–6 \| Candlestick Park \| 62,672 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199112140sfo.htm Recap]
style="background:#cfc" ! 17 \| December 22 \| at Los Angeles Raiders \| W 27–21 \| 10–6 \| Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum \| 65,144 \| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199112220rai.htm Recap]
style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|Kansas City Chiefs\|year=1991\|border=2}}" \|colspan="8"\| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.