History Lesson

No, you will not be tested on this post at a later date.

The Kansas City Chiefs are on the verge of making history. This kind of history, however, is not the kind that the Chiefs want to be a part of. Currently, the Chiefs are tied with six other teams for most consecutive playoff losses. And Kansas City and Detroit are the only ones with current streaks. By the way, the number is six; we have lost six consecutive playoff games dating back to January of 1994.

Let me take you back to how it all began.

It was the 1993 season. The Chiefs, after being eliminated in the wild card game to the San Diego Chargers the year before, and Carl Peterson brought in future Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana to replace the inconsistency of Dave Krieg. Also, future Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen was brought in from Oakland to strengthen the running game. Combined, these two offseason acquisitions had five Super Bowl rings.

Joe Montana was reaching the end of his career and had become injury-prone in his last couple of seasons with the 49ers (one of the reasons they stuck with Steve Young over Montana). He would miss a few games during the season because of injury, and back-up Krieg would fill in.

This mish-mash of veteran talent on offense, coupled with the consistently good defense, led to an 11-5 record and a first place finish in the AFC West.

The Chiefs first playoff game came on January 8th, 1994. It was a wildcard match-up against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The game included a blocked punt, Krieg coming in for an injured Montana, Montana coming back, and a fourth quarter comeback by Montana that would culminate in a 27-24 overtime field goal win.

The second game was on January 16th. It was the divisional round against the Houston Oilers. The Oilers were heavy favorites going in and led 10-0 at halftime. Montana then went on to throw three touchdown passes in the second half (two in the 4th quarter). The Oilers then came back to within one, making the score 21-20 late in the fourth quarter. But a 71 yard touchdown run by Marcus Allen sealed the 28-20 win and the Chiefs were heading to the AFC Championship.

This was the last time the Chiefs have won a playoff game.

In the AFC Championship, the Chiefs would be down 20-6 at halftime to the Buffalo Bills and missed a scoring opportunity when Montana threw an interception at the Bills 5 yardline. Montana would leave the game after injury in the third quarter, and after bringing the game back to 20-13, the Bills scored ten unanswered points in the fourth quarter and went on to win 30-13.

The Chiefs have then, of course, gone on to five more playoff appearances since then: 1994, 1995, 1997, 2003, and 2006 seasons. We have been unsuccessful in all those attempts.

If the Chiefs do not win on Sunday, they will make history. Seven straight playoff losses. The record would be ours. That's not a record that I want.