You might find this hard to believe, but the Kansas City Chiefs did play some enjoyable football games prior to the arrival of starting QB Patrick Mahomes. Since Mahomes has brought on an onslaught of new fans to the Chiefs Kingdom, and NFL Game Pass is free through May, It’s a good time to review some history.
The NFL Game Pass catalog goes back to the 2009 season when Todd Haley took over as head coach in place of Herm Edwards in Kansas City. However, Game Pass doesn’t have the best game from that season available (Week 13 vs. Steelers). Longtime fans may have suffered through the worst games, but we’ll cherry-pick one of the best games from each season, starting in 2010.
Below you’ll find a list of the best games prior to Patrick Mahomes, with some brief and nearly spoiler-free descriptions.
2010 – Chiefs at Rams, Week 15
The Governor’s Cup used to be a staple event when the Rams were located in St. Louis. The series would take place every year during the preseason, but the Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams met a total of six times during the regular season. This was the last regular-season game between these two teams to take place at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.
Todd Haley was confident coming into this game after winning three of his last four games. Like then-Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo, Haley was coming into his second season as a first-time head coach. This game featured a two-headed rushing attack of Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones. The quarterback for the Rams was Sam Bradford. Eric Berry was still a rookie and Mike Vrabel was still playing football.
2011 – Chiefs vs. Packers, Week 15
2011 was a tumultuous season for Kansas City. Romeo Crennel took over as interim head coach for Todd Haley after he was dismissed. Matt Cassel had landed on injured reserve with a hand injury. Tyler Palko was an absolute trainwreck, so the Chiefs turned to veteran QB Kyle Orton in the final three games of the season.
Orton would lead the Chiefs against the Packers in Week 15, a game in which Kansas City was given no chance to win by virtually everyone. The Packers were reigning Super Bowl champions and undefeated heading into the game with thirteen consecutive wins. At that point, the Packers were almost unanimous favorites to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
2012 – Chiefs at Saints, Week 3
The best thing to come from this season was the organizational changes that brought Andy Reid to Kansas City. The Kansas City Chiefs would only win two games in 2012. Planes flew over Arrowhead Stadium with banners pleading for the franchise to make changes. Matt Cassel would start eight games and play pitifully before being benched in favor of Brady Quinn, who was also not good.
The best game of the season occurred in Week 3 when there was still a glimmer of hope left. The Chiefs would go on the road to face the New Orleans Saints. Down by 18 in the third quarter, Kansas City began chopping at the lead and forced the game to go to overtime.
2013 – Chiefs at Raiders, Week 15
This was Andy Reid and Alex Smith’s debut season with the Kansas City Chiefs. It was the start of the turnaround for this franchise and one of the most memorable games in the Chiefs’ history came this season.
In Week 15 against the Oakland Raiders, RB Jamaal Charles made some franchise history. He tied records for most receiving touchdowns and most total touchdowns in a single game in Chiefs history. The iconic image of Raiders fans showering Charles in beer after he shellacked their team for a full four quarters, is just one of the many amazing moments from this game.
2014 – Chiefs vs. Patriots, Week 4
Remember this game? The one where the Kansas City Chiefs beat the New England Patriots so bad that they benched Tom Brady? It was a nationally-televised thrashing on Monday Night Football that had the media questioning if Brady was washed up. Of course, Brady would go on to win the Super Bowl that season, but that is beside the point.
This game featured a roaring Arrowhead Stadium, relentless defensive play and one of Alex Smith’s best performances as a member of the Chiefs. Andy Reid called a heck of a gameplan against one of the best head coaches in the NFL too.
2015 – Chiefs at Texans, Wild Card
This game started off with a bang and things snowballed for the Kansas City Chiefs in a good way. The defense was merciless when facing Texans QB Brian Hoyer. If you don’t like watching the Chiefs score unanswered points, then this game is just not for you.
Spoiler alert: The best thing about this game is that it marked the first playoff victory for the Chiefs since the 1993 postseason. This was the beginning of the culture shift that changed Kansas City from a winning team to a playoff-winning team.
2016 – Chiefs at Falcons, Week 13
Eric Berry went on an all-time tear during the 2016 NFL season and this game was one of the best of his career. The Fairburn, Georgia native got a chance to play in the Georgia Dome for the first time in his professional career. He played in front of his family and friends which clearly energized him.
This was a close game throughout, but the game wouldn’t have been close at all if it weren’t for Berry and his defensive playmaking. His contributions alone accounted for a 9-point swing in the game at a minimum. Spencer Ware also had his first multi-touchdown performance of the season for the Chiefs during this game.
2017 – Chiefs at Patriots, Week 1
The Kansas City Chiefs were the lucky team that got to face the New England Patriots during their banner ceremony after winning Super Bowl LI. Nobody gave the Chiefs much of a chance because Foxboro is the toughest place in the NFL to get a win. As it turns out, the Chiefs came prepared for this one.
The Kansas City offense exploded onto the scene, which would set the stage for the 2017 NFL season. Rookie RB Kareem Hunt was the star of the show as both a receiver and a rusher. His first carry was a disappointment, but he bounced back and had one of the best NFL debuts that a rookie RB has ever had.
