2018 Kansas City Chiefs season

2018 Kansas City Chiefs season
Owner	The Hunt family
General manager	Brett Veach
Head coach	Andy Reid
Home field	Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1st AFC West
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Colts) 31–13 Lost AFC Championship (vs. Patriots) 31–37 (OT)
Pro Bowlers	6 QB Patrick Mahomes FB Anthony Sherman WR Tyreek Hill TE Travis Kelce T Eric Fisher OLB Dee Ford
All-Pros	5 QB Patrick Mahomes (1st team) FLEX Tyreek Hill (1st team) TE Travis Kelce (1st team) RT Mitchell Schwartz (1st team) WR Tyreek Hill (2nd team) DT Chris Jones (2nd team)
Team MVP	Patrick Mahomes
Team ROY	Andrew Wylie
Uniform
← 2017 Chiefs seasons 2019 →

The 2018 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 49th in the National Football League (NFL), their 59th overall, their sixth under head coach Andy Reid, and their second under general manager Brett Veach. The Chiefs finished 12–4 and won their third consecutive AFC West title, made their fourth consecutive playoff appearance, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 37–31 in overtime in the AFC Championship game. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes won the AP NFL MVP award, becoming the first Chiefs player ever to be named MVP.^[1]

In the offseason the Chiefs had several major changes, including trading 2-time Pro Bowler Marcus Peters, as well as Alex Smith. The team also voided the final year of the contract of their longest tenured player Derrick Johnson and they released long time linebacker Tamba Hali.

Under first year starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs would start the season 5–0 for the second consecutive year before losing to the New England Patriots. The Chiefs then won their next four games before losing again to the Los Angeles Rams. A Week 14 win over the Baltimore Ravens clinched the Chiefs' fourth consecutive playoff appearance. After defeating their rival, the Oakland Raiders 35–3 in Week 17, the Chiefs clinched their third consecutive division title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs for the first time since 1997.^[2]

In the playoffs, the Chiefs advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 1993 by defeating the Indianapolis Colts, 31–13 in the divisional round. This win ended the Chiefs' 6-game home playoff losing streak dating back to 1993. It was only the Chiefs' second win in their last 13 playoff games. In the AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, 37–31 in overtime. Two days after the loss, defensive coordinator Bob Sutton was fired following multiple NFL analysts criticizing his lack of adjustments in the AFC Championship Game, as well as other games throughout the season.^[3]

The Chiefs had three players ranked in NFL Network's annual Top 100 players countdown, the fewest the team has had on the list since 2012.

Rank	Player	Position	Change
24	Travis Kelce	TE	2
33	Kareem Hunt*	RB	NR
40	Tyreek Hill	WR/PR	4

*Did not finish the season on the roster

2018 Kansas City Chiefs draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2	46	Breeland Speaks	Defensive end	Ole Miss
3	75	Derrick Nnadi	Defensive tackle	Florida State
3	100	Dorian O'Daniel	Linebacker	Clemson
4	124	Armani Watts	Safety	Texas A&M
6	196	Tremon Smith	Cornerback	Central Arkansas
6	198	Kahlil McKenzie	Defensive tackle	Tennessee
Made roster

Trades

• The Chiefs traded their first round selection (No. 22 overall), along with their 2017 first and third round selections to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for the Bills' 2017 first-round selection.^[4]
• The Chiefs received a third round selection (No. 78 overall) and cornerback Kendall Fuller from the Washington Redskins in exchange for quarterback Alex Smith.^[5]
• The Chiefs traded their fifth round selection (159th overall) to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for offensive tackle Cameron Erving.^[6]
• The Chiefs traded their seventh round selection (240th overall) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for cornerback Kenneth Acker.^[7]
• The Chiefs received a seventh round draft selection (233rd overall) from the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for cornerback Marcus Cooper.^[8]
• The Chiefs traded cornerback Marcus Peters and their sixth round selection (209th overall, a compensatory pick) to the Los Angeles Rams for their fourth round selection (124th overall) and their second round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft.^[9]
• The Chiefs received a seventh round draft selection (243rd overall) from the Tennessee Titans in exchange for defensive tackle David King.^[10]
• The Chiefs received a 2nd round pick (46th overall) and a 3rd round pick (100th overall) from the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for the Chiefs' 2nd round pick (54th overall) and 3rd round pick (78th overall).
• The Chiefs received a 3rd round pick (75th overall) from the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for their 3rd round pick (86th overall) and their 4th round pick (122nd overall)
• The Chiefs received a 6th round pick (198th overall) from the New England Patriots in exchange for two 7th round picks (233rd overall and 243rd overall)

2018 Kansas City Chiefs staff

Front office Chairman/CEO – Clark Hunt President – Mark Donovan General manager – Brett Veach Director of football administration – Brandt Tilis Salary cap & legal executive – Chris Shea Director of player personnel – Mike Borgonzi Director of college scouting – Ryan Poles Assistant director of college scouting – Ryne Nutt College Scouting Coordinator – Greg Castillo Director of pro personnel – Tim Terry Head coaches Head coach – Andy Reid Assistant head coach/special teams coordinator – Dave Toub Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Eric Bieniemy Quarterbacks – Mike Kafka Running backs – Deland McCullough Wide receivers – Greg Lewis Tight ends – Tom Melvin Offensive line – Andy Heck Assistant offensive line – Corey Matthaei Offensive quality control – David Girardi Pass game analyst/assistant quarterbacks – Joe Blaymeir

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Bob Sutton Defensive line – Britt Reid Outside linebackers – Mike Smith Inside linebackers – Mark DeLeone Defensive backs – Emmitt Thomas Secondary/cornerbacks – Al Harris Defensive Assistant – Alex Whittingham Defensive quality control – Terry Bradden Defensive quality control – Jay Valai Special teams coaches Assistant special teams – Rod Wilson Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Barry Rubin Assistant strength and conditioning – Travis Crittenden Assistant strength and conditioning – Devin Woodhouse Sports science/conditioning – Ryan Reynolds

2018 Kansas City Chiefs roster

Quarterbacks (QB)  4 Chad Henne 15 Patrick Mahomes Running backs (RB) 42 Anthony Sherman FB 32 Spencer Ware 30 Charcandrick West 26 Damien Williams 31 Darrel Williams Wide receivers (WR) 81 Kelvin Benjamin 17 Chris Conley 12 Gehrig Dieter 10 Tyreek Hill 19 Marcus Kemp 11 Demarcus Robinson 14 Sammy Watkins Tight ends (TE) 84 Demetrius Harris 87 Travis Kelce 82 Deon Yelder

Offensive linemen (OL) 73 Jeff Allen G/T 75 Cameron Erving G 72 Eric Fisher T 66 Kahlil McKenzie G 61 Mitch Morse C 67 Jimmy Murray T 62 Austin Reiter C 71 Mitchell Schwartz T 77 Andrew Wylie G Defensive linemen (DL) 97 Allen Bailey DE 74 Justin Hamilton NT 95 Chris Jones DE 91 Derrick Nnadi NT 98 Xavier Williams NT

Linebackers (LB) 55 Dee Ford OLB 53 Anthony Hitchens ILB 50 Justin Houston OLB 92 Tanoh Kpassagnon OLB 56 Ben Niemann ILB 44 Dorian O'Daniel ILB 59 Reggie Ragland ILB 57 Breeland Speaks OLB 51 Frank Zombo OLB Defensive backs (DB) 29 Eric Berry SS 23 Kendall Fuller CB 24 Jordan Lucas SS 21 Eric Murray SS 20 Steven Nelson CB 38 Ron Parker FS 22 Orlando Scandrick CB 39 Tremon Smith CB 49 Daniel Sorensen S 35 Charvarius Ward CB Special teams  7 Harrison Butker K  2 Dustin Colquitt P 41 James Winchester LS

Practice squad  6 Josh Crockett WR 46 Raymond Davison ILB 60 Ryan Hunter G 90 Joey Ivie NT  8 Chase Litton QB 65 Robert McCray OLB (IR) 34 Leon McQuay SS 70 Pace Murphy T 40 D'Montre Wade CB 88 David Wells TE Reserve 65 Jordan Devey G (IR) 47 Step Durham CB (IR) 76 Laurent Duvernay-Tardif G (IR) 82 Alex Ellis TE (IR) 64 Dillon Gordon T (IR) 73 Tejan Koroma C (IR) 43 John David Moore FB (IR)  1 Byron Pringle WR (IR) 48 Terrance Smith ILB (IR) 13 De'Anthony Thomas WR (IR) 25 Armani Watts FS (IR) Rookies in italics 53 active, 12 reserve, 9 practice squad

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	August 9	Houston Texans	L 10–17	0–1	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
2	August 17	at Atlanta Falcons	W 28–14	1–1	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	Recap
3	August 25	at Chicago Bears	L 20–27	1–2	Soldier Field	Recap
4	August 30	Green Bay Packers	W 33–21	2–2	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 9	at Los Angeles Chargers	W 38–28	1–0	StubHub Center	Recap
2	September 16	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 42–37	2–0	Heinz Field	Recap
3	September 23	San Francisco 49ers	W 38–27	3–0	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
4	October 1	at Denver Broncos	W 27–23	4–0	Broncos Stadium at Mile High	Recap
5	October 7	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 30–14	5–0	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
6	October 14	at New England Patriots	L 40–43	5–1	Gillette Stadium	Recap
7	October 21	Cincinnati Bengals	W 45–10	6–1	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
8	October 28	Denver Broncos	W 30–23	7–1	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
9	November 4	at Cleveland Browns	W 37–21	8–1	FirstEnergy Stadium	Recap
10	November 11	Arizona Cardinals	W 26–14	9–1	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
11	November 19	at Los Angeles Rams	L 51–54	9–2	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	Recap
12	Bye
13	December 2	at Oakland Raiders	W 40–33	10–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	Recap
14	December 9	Baltimore Ravens	W 27–24 (OT)	11–2	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
15	December 13	Los Angeles Chargers	L 28–29	11–3	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
16	December 23	at Seattle Seahawks	L 31–38	11–4	CenturyLink Field	Recap
17	December 30	Oakland Raiders	W 35–3	12–4	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap

Notes

• Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
• The Week 11 game against the Los Angeles Rams was originally scheduled to be played in Mexico City in Estadio Azteca as a part of the league's International Series, but was moved to Los Angeles due to concerns over the playing surface.

This game was Patrick Mahomes’ home debut at Arrowhead Stadium, which also happened to be against the team Mahomes would eventually defeat in his first Super Bowl victory.

With this win, head coach Andy Reid eclipsed win number 200, becoming the seventh coach in NFL history to do so (with Don Shula, George Halas, Bill Belichick, Tom Landry, Curly Lambeau, & Marty Schottenheimer).^[11]

With this win, head coach Andy Reid won his 201st regular season game, passing Marty Schottenheimer to move to 6th most regular season wins in NFL history.

With this win, head coach Andy Reid won his 206th combined regular season & post season game, passing Marty Schottenheimer to move to 7th most combined wins in NFL history.^[12]

AFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(1) Kansas City Chiefs	12	4	0	.750	5–1	10–2	565	421	W1
(5) Los Angeles Chargers	12	4	0	.750	4–2	9–3	428	329	W1
Denver Broncos	6	10	0	.375	2–4	4–8	329	349	L4
Oakland Raiders	4	12	0	.250	1–5	3–9	290	467	L1

AFC v t e
#	Team	Division	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	SOS	SOV	STK
Division leaders
1[a]	Kansas City Chiefs	West	12	4	0	.750	5–1	10–2	.480	.401	W1
2[b]	New England Patriots	East	11	5	0	.688	5–1	8–4	.482	.494	W2
3[b]	Houston Texans	South	11	5	0	.688	4–2	9–3	.471	.435	W1
4	Baltimore Ravens	North	10	6	0	.625	3–3	8–4	.496	.450	W3
Wild Cards
5[a]	Los Angeles Chargers	West	12	4	0	.750	4–2	9–3	.477	.422	W1
6	Indianapolis Colts	South	10	6	0	.625	4–2	7–5	.465	.456	W4
Did not qualify for the postseason
7	Pittsburgh Steelers	North	9	6	1	.594	4–1–1	6–5–1	.504	.448	W1
8	Tennessee Titans	South	9	7	0	.563	3–3	5–7	.520	.465	L1
9	Cleveland Browns	North	7	8	1	.469	3–2–1	5–6–1	.516	.411	L1
10	Miami Dolphins	East	7	9	0	.438	4–2	6–6	.469	.446	L3
11[c]	Denver Broncos	West	6	10	0	.375	2–4	4–8	.523	.464	L4
12[c]	Cincinnati Bengals	North	6	10	0	.375	1–5	4–8	.535	.448	L2
13[c]	Buffalo Bills	East	6	10	0	.375	2–4	4–8	.523	.411	W1
14	Jacksonville Jaguars	South	5	11	0	.313	1–5	4–8	.549	.463	L1
15[d]	New York Jets	East	4	12	0	.250	1–5	3–9	.506	.438	L3
16[d]	Oakland Raiders	West	4	12	0	.250	1–5	3–9	.547	.406	L1
Tiebreakers[e]
^ a b Kansas City finished ahead of LA Chargers in the AFC West based on division record, claiming the No. 1 seed. ^ a b New England claimed the No. 2 seed over Houston based on head-to-head victory. ^ a b c Denver finished ahead of Cincinnati and Buffalo based on strength of victory. Cincinnati finished ahead of Buffalo based on record vs. common opponents. Cincinnati's cumulative record against Baltimore, Indianapolis, the Los Angeles Chargers and Miami was 3–2, compared to Buffalo's 1–4 cumulative record against the same four teams. ^ a b NY Jets finished ahead of Oakland based on strength of victory. ^ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
Wild Card	First-round bye
Divisional	January 12	Indianapolis Colts (6)	W 31–13	1–0	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
AFC Championship	January 20	New England Patriots (2)	L 31–37 (OT)	1–1	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap

• Official website