The 2005 season was the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

' 36th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), their 46th overall, and their fifth and final season under head coach

Dick Vermeil Richard Albert Vermeil ( ; born October 30, 1936) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons, the St. L ...

. The team improved on their 7–9 record from

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

to a decent 10–6 record, but missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season. The Chiefs became the sixth 10–6 team to fail to qualify for the playoffs since the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

introduced the

wild card Wild card most commonly refers to: * Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games * Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...

. The Chiefs drafted

Derrick Johnson Derrick O'Hara Johnson (born November 22, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, twice earning consensus All-Amer ...

and

Dustin Colquitt Dustin Farr Colquitt (born May 6, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers and was selected by the Kansas City Chie ...

in the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

. Both players would eventually become fan favorites. Johnson would play for the Chiefs until 2017 and Colquitt would play for the team until their

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

championship season in 2019. The final season of head coach Dick Vermeil was a

swan song The swan song (; ) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song just before their death while they have been ...

for one of the NFL's most prolific offensive squads in years, and the breakout season of running back Larry Johnson, who finished the season with 1,750 rushing yards in only nine starts. After running back

Priest Holmes Priest Anthony Holmes (born October 7, 1973) ''www.databasefootball.com.'' Retrieved February 13, 2016. is an American former professional football player who was a running back for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He started h ...

was injured in week 8 against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

, Johnson took over the reins of the Chiefs’ offense and it almost resulted in a playoff berth. For the 2005 campaign, the Chiefs brought several new players to boost a defense that has finished among the worst units the past three years. Starting with first draft pick, linebacker

from the University of Texas, free agent linebacker

Kendrell Bell Kendrell Alexander Bell (born July 2, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected by the Pittsburgh St ...

, free agent safety

Sammy Knight Sammy Dye Knight Jr. (born September 10, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was signed by the New Orleans Saints as ...

, and also trading for cornerback

Patrick Surtain Patrick Frank Surtain Sr. ( ; born June 19, 1976) is an American football coach and former professional player who was a cornerback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is the defensive backs coach for Florida State Univers ...

from the Miami Dolphins for a second-round draft pick, the Chiefs had high hopes for the 2005 season.

Season summary

The Chiefs got off to a 2–0 start, winning their Week 1 home-opener against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

and then went on the road to beat their division-rival

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. However, they then lost at

Invesco Field at Mile High Empower Field at Mile High is an American football stadium in Denver, Colorado. Its primary tenant is the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). It opened in 2001 to replace the Broncos' original home, the old Mile High Stadium. T ...

30–10 to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, another division rival. Then in Week 4, the Chiefs hosted the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. Kansas City got off to a fast start and led 24–13 at halftime. However, the Eagles managed to come back and beat the Chiefs, the latter of which would lose the game, 37–31. The Chiefs used their Bye Week in Week 5 to regroup, and managed to win at home against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

, 28–21. The Chiefs had little time to celebrate because they were informed that because

Hurricane Wilma Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin and the second-most intense tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere, both based on barometric pressure, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Wilma's rapid intensifi ...

was going to impact Miami on Sunday; they would have to face the Dolphins two days earlier. Despite the sudden change of the schedule, the Chiefs managed to win against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

30–20. However, despite having over a week to prepare, they couldn't defeat the

on the road and lost 28–20. The Chiefs would rebound at home and win a well-fought rematch with their arch-rivals, the Oakland Raiders, with a final of 27–23. However, the Chiefs' next game would not fare as well, as they ended losing the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, despite outgaining them in yards from scrimmage. Running back

was injured in the Week 8 matchup against the Chargers. Holmes was injured by Chargers rookie

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

Shawne Merriman Shawne DeAndre Merriman (born May 25, 1984), nicknamed "Lights Out", is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins and was se ...

and suffered severe head and neck trauma. Larry Johnson entered the game and claimed the starting position for the remainder of the season, an event which would eventually lead to Johnson's selection in the

2006 Pro Bowl The 2006 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2005 season. The game was played on February 12, 2006, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. It marked the 27th consecutive time that the National Football League's all ...

. The Chiefs would then proceed to start a three-game winning streak going. First, they would beat the 1–8 Houston Texans on Sunday night and then they would win back-to-back home games against the two-time defending champion

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

and then a win over the Denver Broncos. In the following weeks, the Chiefs had a huge disadvantage with back-to-back interconference road losses to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

and the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. Chiefs owner

Lamar Hunt Lamar Hunt Sr. (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of football, soccer, and tennis in the United States. With his brothers, he also attempted to corner the silver market. He was t ...

was honored before the Week 14 game against the

and had the honors of the pre-game coin-flip. Hunt was recognized for his contributions to the

City of Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, and his establishment of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

's Dallas Texans (now the Kansas City Chiefs), one of the Cowboys’ AFL rivals. The Chiefs were able to keep their very slim playoff hopes alive after a 20–7 home victory over the Chargers in week 16. In week 17, the Chiefs needed a

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

loss to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, a Chargers loss or tie to the Broncos, and a victory against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

to reach the playoffs. On December 31, 2005, Dick Vermeil announced at a team meeting of his intention to retire following the season. The news leaked out of the team meeting and national news sources soon began reporting it. The following day, the Chiefs soundly defeated the Bengals, who had already clinched a playoff berth, by a final score of 37–3. With the clock winding down on the game and potentially Vermeil's coaching career, Vermeil was met with enormous applause and chants of "one more year." Vermeil received a Gatorade bath from

Jared Allen Jared Scot Allen (born April 3, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. A five-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro selection, he recorded 136 car ...

and Lional Dalton to commemorate both his last game at Arrowhead Stadium and final regular season game; however, it also turned out to be his final game as the Steelers won over the Lions 35–21, taking AFC Wild Card #2 and thereby ending the Chiefs season. The Steelers eventually won

Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2005 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...

, becoming the first sixth-seeded team to play in and win the

Offseason

Speculation on Dick Vermeil's future

Speculation was heavy over the future of coach

's job in Kansas City for the 2006 season. Vermeil initially signed on with the Chiefs for three years, but was entering his fifth. The 69-year-old Vermeil entered the season as the oldest current head coach in the NFL.

Free agents

The Chiefs attempted to bulk up their weak defense with veteran free agents who have proven themselves in the past. With the acquisitions of

, and

, the Chiefs had high hopes for the 2005 season.

Draft

Staff

Roster

Preseason

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: at Minnesota Vikings

Week 2: vs. Arizona Cardinals

Week 3: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 4: at St. Louis Rams

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. New York Jets

Week 2: at Oakland Raiders

Week 3: at Denver Broncos

Week 4: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week 6: vs. Washington Redskins

Week 7: at Miami Dolphins

Week 8: at San Diego Chargers

Week 9: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 10: at Buffalo Bills

Week 11: at Houston Texans

Week 12: vs. New England Patriots

Week 13: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 14: at Dallas Cowboys

Week 15: at New York Giants

Week 16: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 17: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Standings

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:2005 Kansas City Chiefs Season

Kansas City Chiefs seasons

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...