2024 Kansas City Chiefs

The 2024 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 55th in the National Football League (NFL), their 65th overall and their twelfth under head coach Andy Reid. The Chiefs entered the season as the defending champions for the second straight year and attempted to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowl championships. The Chiefs started 9–0 for the first time since 2013 and became the last undefeated team in the NFL following their Week 7 win over the San Francisco 49ers coupled with the Minnesota Vikings losing to the Detroit Lions earlier that day.

Following a Week 10 win over the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs secured their twelfth consecutive winning season. Their hopes of going undefeated were dashed following a Week 11 road loss to the Buffalo Bills. They clinched their tenth straight playoff berth following a Week 13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Black Friday coupled with the Miami Dolphins losing to the Green Bay Packers the previous day, and with a Week 14 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, the Chiefs clinched their ninth consecutive AFC West title, a record-extending 17th AFC West title, and improved on their 11–6 record from the previous season. Following a Week 16 win over the Houston Texans, the Chiefs went undefeated at home for the first time since 2003. Following a Week 17 road win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day, the Chiefs clinched a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs as the top seed. They were also the first team to win at least 15 games since the 2015 Carolina Panthers, set a new franchise regular season win record, and became one of the first two teams to win 15 games in a 17-game season, along with the Detroit Lions, and the first AFC team to do so. Although they did win 15 games, they never scored more than 30 points in a regular season game all season, becoming the first two-time defending champion to not score more than 30 points since the 1956 Cleveland Browns, as well as 11 of their wins being within one score. Their point differential of +59 is the worst of all teams to finish with three or fewer losses since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger outside of the strike-shortened 1982 season.

In the Divisional Round, the top-seeded Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans 23–14 to advance to their seventh consecutive AFC Championship Game (only trailing the 2011-2018 Patriots for the most ever) as Andy Reid became the fourth head coach to pass 300 wins, including postseason. The Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills 32–29 in the AFC Championship Game to advance to their third straight Super Bowl, becoming the first two-time defending Super Bowl champion to play for a possible third consecutive title. In a rematch of Super Bowl LVII from two years prior, Kansas City faced the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. The Chiefs lost to the Eagles, 40–22, failing to complete the three–peat bid and becoming the seventh consecutive team with 15 wins in the regular season who failed to win the Super Bowl, joining the Lions, who lost earlier in the playoffs to the Washington Commanders. They were also the first 15-win team to lose the Super Bowl since the 2015 Carolina Panthers.

Offseason

All transactions below occurred between the day after the Chiefs' final game of the 2023 season and the first game of the 2024 preseason. The only exception is futures contracts which the Chiefs began being signed after the conclusion of the 2023 regular season.

Futures contracts

Futures contracts are signed beginning with the conclusion of the previous season. They typically consist of players who spent a portion of the previous season on the practice squad of a team.

Players lost

Below are players who were on the roster at the end of the 2023 season, but were either released or did not re-sign after their contract expired.

Signings

Trades

Trades below only are for trades that included a player. Draft pick only trades will go in draft section.

Draft

Draft trades

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

Schedule

Game summaries

Preseason Week 1: at Jacksonville Jaguars

Preseason Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions

Preseason Week 3: vs. Chicago Bears

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Baltimore Ravens

NFL Kickoff Game

Week 2: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week 3: at Atlanta Falcons

Week 4: at Los Angeles Chargers

Week 5: vs. New Orleans Saints

Week 7: at San Francisco 49ers

Week 8: at Las Vegas Raiders

Week 9: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 10: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 11: at Buffalo Bills

With the loss, the Chiefs fell to 9–1, and became the final undefeated team in the 2024 regular season to lose a game.

Week 12: at Carolina Panthers

Week 13: vs. Las Vegas Raiders

Week 14: vs. Los Angeles Chargers

Week 15: at Cleveland Browns

Week 16: vs. Houston Texans

With the win, the Chiefs improved to 14–1 and went undefeated at home for the first time since 2003.

Week 17: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Christmas Day games

In a Christmas Day game exclusive to KCTV in Kansas City and KDKA in Pittsburgh (and a different out-of-market carrier than normal), the Chiefs improved to 15–1 and swept the entire AFC North with the dominating win. In addition, they gained the No. 1 seed, and clinched a first-round bye as well as home-field advantage throughout the entire AFC playoffs.

Week 18: at Denver Broncos

On January 4, prior to the game, the Chiefs were delayed from departing Kansas City International Airport due to an airport closure by NOTAM, as a result of Winter Storm Blair producing freezing drizzle on the airfield.
This delayed their flight to compete against the Broncos on January 5 at Denver.

As the Chiefs had already clinched the number one seed, they rested the vast majority of their starters for the entire game.

This was the Chiefs' first shutout loss since 2012, when they were defeated by the Oakland Raiders 15–0 in Week 15.

Standings

Division

Conference

Postseason

Schedule

Game summaries

AFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (4) Houston Texans

With the win, Andy Reid became the fourth head coach in NFL history to win 300 games. Chiefs go to the AFC Championship Game and win to the Bills 32-29.
This was the third overall playoff meeting between the Chiefs and Texans. The Chiefs won the first two playoff meetings, most recently the 2019 AFC Divisional Game, which the Chiefs won 51–31 in Kansas City en route to winning Super Bowl LIV despite trailing 24–0 during the second quarter. In the regular season, the Chiefs defeated the Texans 27–19 in Kansas City during Week 16.

The Chiefs, playing in their first meaningful game since Christmas Day, 24 days prior, received an immediate boost when kicker returner Nikko Remigio returned the opening kickoff for 63 yards. A Texans unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the play took the ball to Houston's 13-yard line. The Chiefs went three-and-out and kicked a field goal to take the early lead. The Texans responded with a Kaʻimi Fairbairn field goal after a 10-play drive, tying the game. Harrison Butker kicked the Chiefs into the lead on the next possession with a 36-yard field goal. A few possessions later, Fairbairn missed a 55-yard kick wide to the right, giving the Chiefs a short field. The Chiefs scored on this possession: a Kareem Hunt short touchdown run at the goal line, which was highlighted by a Patrick Mahomes pass and run to Travis Kelce for 49 yards, the longest playoff reception in Kelce's career. Fairbairn snuck in a 48–yard field goal on the next possession just before halftime, to pull the Texans within seven points.

The Texans opened the third quarter with the ball and scored on a Joe Mixon 13-yard run to cap a 10-minute drive; however, Fairbairn missed the extra point, leaving Houston one point behind, 13–12. The Chiefs responded with a seven-minute and 44-second drive, with a Mahomes to Kelce touchdown catch as Mahomes was falling to the ground. It was the duo's 18th touchdown connection, extending their playoff record for a quarterback and pass catcher. In the fourth quarter, with 10:05 left in the game, the Texans failed on a fourth down on the Kansas City 40-yard line. On the play, C. J. Stroud was sacked by regular-season team sack leader George Karlaftis for 16 yards, the fourth sack of the game for Kansas City's defense. The teams exchanged three-and-outs before Harrison Butker extended the Chiefs ' lead to 23–12 with a field goal late in the fourth quarter. Stroud led the Texans to the red zone on the next possession, but an eighth sack against him forced him out of the game with an injury. On the next play, Fairbairn missed his third kick of the game, via a block by Leo Chenal. Chiefs punter Matt Araiza took a safety rather than punting the ball back to the Texans to end the game. 5
The game became controversial with viewers due to penalties believed to benefit Patrick Mahomes. After what appeared to be a clean hit from Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. on Patrick Mahomes, officials penalized Anderson for roughing the passer, which gave the Chiefs a first down instead of a fourth and long. 6Anderson later said in his postgame interview that the game was "us vs. the refs"; Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said, "We knew going into this game that it was us versus everybody... And I mean everybody." 7
The Chiefs' 23–14 win gave them 16 playoff wins in the Mahomes–Reid era. In addition, Andy Reid joined the 300-win club with the victory. Kansas City will host the AFC Championship Game next Sunday, in what will be their seventh straight AFC Championship game, one short of the record set by the 2011–2018 Patriots.

The Chiefs became the first team in NFL postseason history to win while forcing no turnovers and being outgained by at least 100 yards. Previously, teams were 0–49. 8

AFC Championship: vs. (2) Buffalo Bills

This game marked the second meeting in the AFC Championship Game between the Chiefs and Bills since the 2020 season. The Chiefs went to Super Bowl LIX but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 40-22.
This was the seventh playoff meeting between the Bills and Chiefs, and the fourth in five seasons. The Chiefs lead the historical playoff series 4–2, including the 2021 AFC Divisional Game, where the Chiefs offense orchestrated a game-tying drive in the final 13 seconds of regulation. The most recent playoff meeting came in the 2023 AFC Divisional Game, which the Chiefs won 27–24 in Buffalo en route to winning Super Bowl LVIII after Bills kicker Tyler Bass missed a potential game-tying field goal wide right in the final two minutes of regulation. The last conference championship meeting was the 2020 AFC Championship game, which the Chiefs won 38–24. In the regular season, the Bills defeated the Chiefs 30–21 in Buffalo during Week 11.

This was the seventh straight AFC Championship Game appearance (and eighth overall) for the Chiefs. The eighth team to win back-to-back Super Bowls, they became the fourth team to reach the Super Bowl in three consecutive seasons, after the 1971–1973 Miami Dolphins, 1991–1993 Buffalo Bills, and 2016–2018 New England Patriots; however, Kansas City is the first team to win two straight Super Bowls and then return for a third consecutive year, as the Dolphins lost their first, the Patriots their second, and the Bills all three. This is the seventh overall AFC Championship Game appearance for the Bills, who have not won a conference championship since their four consecutive AFC Championship Game victories from 1991 to 1994, one of which (1993) was against the Chiefs; that game is also the last time they beat the Chiefs in the playoffs.

The Chiefs started the scoring via a Kareem Hunt 12-yard run on their first possession. On the next possession, Bills' kicker Tyler Bass connected on a 55-yard field goal, the longest postseason kick in the history of Arrowhead Stadium. With 57 seconds left in the first quarter, Patrick Mahomes fumbled on Buffalo's 23-yard line; it was Kansas City's first offensive turnover since Week 11, which coincidentally came against Buffalo. The Bills took the momentum and scored on their next possession in the second quarter via a James Cook 6-yard run, his 20th total touchdown (regular season and playoffs) of the season. The Chiefs responded with an eleven-play drive on a Mahomes touchdown pass to rookie Xavier Worthy, taking the lead, 14–10. The Bills went three-and-out, and a Nikko Remigio 41-yard punt return set up the Chiefs on the Bills' 29-yard line. Then, Xavier Worthy caught a questionable jump ball catch on 3rd-and-5, taking the ball to Buffalo's 3-yard line. With 1:55 left in the half, Mahomes ran it in on a rollout to the right from Buffalo's 1-yard line to go up 21–10. On the Bills' next possession, a Mack Hollins 34-yard pass from Josh Allen cut the lead to one score. The Bills tried to cut the lead to three points by attempting a two-point conversion, but receiver Curtis Samuel was stopped short of the goal line. The game went into halftime with Kansas City holding a 21–16 lead.

Kansas City's first drive out of halftime stalled on a Matt Milano sack of Mahomes on 3rd-and-11 on Buffalo's 37-yard line. Buffalo proceeded to take the ball down the field and scored on a James Cook 1-yard run on 4th-and-goal, taking the lead, 22–21. Bass made his extra point attempt, but Chiefs safety Justin Reid was called for offside, having come over the line of scrimmage before the ball was snapped in an attempt to block the kick. The Bills had the choice of declining the penalty, which would've resulted in a successful extra point, or accepting the penalty, which would allow them to attempt another two-point conversion, but from the one-yard line instead of the two-yard line due to the penalty. The Bills accepted the penalty, and their second two-point conversion attempt of the game, a QB sneak by Allen, was unsuccessful. On the ensuing possession, the Bills' defense held the Chiefs to a punt, allowing Buffalo to possibly go up by two possessions. However, the drive ended with no score after the final two plays, and in particular Josh Allen's fourth-and-inches quarterback sneak, were controversially ruled short of the line to gain, 455] 6turning the ball over to the Chiefs on Kansas City's 41-yard line with 13:01 left to play.

The Chiefs responded to it with a five-play, 59-yard touchdown drive capped off by a 10-yard Mahomes run, his second rushing touchdown of the game and third overall in the postseason; on the two-point conversion, Mahomes found Justin Watson at the back of the endzone to take the lead 29-22. The Bills then marched down the field on a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, culminating in a four-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Samuel on 4th-and-goal, and after Bass made the extra point, the score was tied at 29 with 6:15 left in the game. The Chiefs' next drive stalled on Buffalo's 17-yard line, with the Bills holding them to a Harrison Butker field goal, giving the Chiefs a 32–29 lead with 3:33 left to play. The Bills got the ball back and needed to either kick a field goal to tie the game or score a touchdown to take the lead to avoid a fourth consecutive playoff loss to the Chiefs. However, the Bills were only able to get one first down, a Josh Allen 13-yard scramble on 2nd-and-11 from the Buffalo 29-yard line. After the scramble, first and second down resulted in incompletions before Allen connected with Amari Cooper for five yards on 3rd-and-10, setting up a do-or-die 4th-and-5 for the Bills. On the play, Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo chose to heavily blitz Allen, causing him to heave the ball to Dalton Kincaid. The ball was catchable, but Kincaid misread the pass and dropped it while sliding. Buffalo then used a timeout after each play the Chiefs ran to get the ball back, but Kansas City was able to get a first down and kneel out the clock to secure their berth in Super Bowl LIX.
In the game, star quarterbacks Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes recorded similar statistics: Allen went 22–34 with 237 yards passing and two passing touchdowns, while Mahomes went 18–26 for 245 yards and one touchdown. On the ground, Allen went for 39 yards on 11 carries, while Mahomes had 43 yards on 11 carries with two scrambling touchdowns. In nine composite matchups between the Chiefs and Bills (regular season and playoffs), Mahomes's team now has outscored Allen's 245–240. In addition, with the AFC Championship Game win, Mahomes now has 17 postseason wins, breaking a tie with Joe Montana for the second-most wins by a quarterback in playoff history and trailing only Tom Brady and his 35 wins.
The broadcast on CBS drew an AFC Championship Game record viewing audience of 57.4 million viewers. 7

Super Bowl LIX: vs. (N2) Philadelphia Eagles

A rematch of Super Bowl LVII, Super Bowl LIX was the second Super Bowl meeting between the Chiefs and Eagles since the 2022 season. This was the end of the AFC West division.
After the Chiefs won the coin toss and deferred possession to the second half, the Eagles received the opening kickoff, which was a touchback. 09110] 11The Eagles' initial drive of six plays gained 20 yards to midfield; however, an offensive pass interference call on A... J. Brown negated a 32-yard pass on fourth down, forcing them to punt. 11After a 53-yard punt by Braden Mann, the Chiefs' drive began on their own 12 following a 5-yard return by Nikko Remigio.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed his first pass 11 yards to JuJu Smith-Schuster for a first down. After a 1-yard pass and two incomplete throws, Matt Araiza punted 58 yards from the Chiefs' 24. The punt was returned 13 yards by Cooper DeJean, setting the Eagles up at their 31 to begin their second drive. 11Subsequently, the Eagles put together a 7-play, 69-yard touchdown drive that included a 20-yard pass to Dallas Goedert. 12Although Jahan Dotson caught a pass that was initially signaled d a touchdown, he was ruled short of the goal line; regardless, Jalen Hurts scored with a quarterback sneak using the team's signature Tush Push play for a 1-yard touchdown. 11
After another punt by the Chiefs, the Eagles got to the Chiefs' 30-yard line on an 11-play drive that ended with an interception thrown by Hurts to Bryan Cook at the Chiefs' 2-yard line at the start of the second quarter. 11Despite this, the Chiefs went three-and-out again, and after a Jake Elliott 48-yard field goal, Mahomes threw an interception to DeJean, who returned it 38 yards for a touchdown. 11Both teams then traded punts before Mahomes threw another interception to Zack Baun shortly after the two-minute warning, which set up a 12-yard touchdown pass from Hurts to Brown, extending the Eagles' lead to 24–0 before halftime. 11
Second half

DeAndre Hopkins, pictured in September 2020, caught a touchdown and a two-point conversion pass for the Chiefs in the fourth quarter.
The second half began with an Eagles kickoff, which resulted in a touchback. Despite gaining a first down with a pass to Xavier Worthy, Mahomes was sacked twice in the next two plays, and the Chiefs' drive stalled at their own 37. 12The Eagles responded by driving down the field 69 yards, including a 16-yard and 14-yard run by Hurts, which ended with a 29-yard field goal from Jake Elliott. 12
The Chiefs' next drive took them five plays and 17 yards to their 47-yard line. Facing a fourth down, a pass from Mahomes to DeAndre Hopkins fell incomplete after it was batted away by Avonte Maddox, resulting in a turnover on downs. 12113] On the next play, Hurts threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith, increasing the Eagles' score to 34. 12114] The Chiefs responded with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to Worthy at the end of the third quarter, their first score of the game, but failed a two-point conversion attempt from Mahomes to tight end Travis Kelce. 12
In the fourth quarter, after a 48-yard field goal from Elliott, Mahomes fumbled the ball on a strip sack by Milton Williams, which was recovered by Williams himself at the Chiefs' 18-yard line. 12Although an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called on Williams, Elliott converted a 50-yard field goal attempt, making the score 40–6. 12On the next drive, Mahomes threw a 7-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins for a touchdown; the corresponding 2-point conversion from Mahomes to Justin Watson was successful. 12The Eagles proceeded to bench their starters and allowed their backups to play and take snaps in the final minutes of the game, and after the Eagles turned the ball over on downs, Mahomes responded with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Worthy and another successful 2-point conversion with a pass to Hopkins, cutting the Chiefs' deficit to 18 points for a 40–22 score. 12A subsequent onside kick was recovered by the Eagles, who ran out the clock. 12

Notes

References

Further reading

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External links

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{{2024 NFL season by team

2024 NFL season by team, Kansas City
Kansas City Chiefs seasons
Kansas City Chiefs
AFC West championship seasons
American Football Conference championship seasons