| Team: | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Year: | 1980 |
| Record: | 8–8 |
| Division Place: | 3rd AFC West |
| Coach: | Marv Levy |
| General Manager: | Jim Schaaf |
| Owner: | Lamar Hunt |
| Stadium: | Arrowhead Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Shortnavlink: | Chiefs seasons |
The Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 11th season in the National Football League and 21st overall. They improved from 1979 from a 7–9 to an 8–8 record, the most wins for the franchise since an 8–6 season in 1972, but missed the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.
The Chiefs selected guard Brad Budde, the son of Chiefs Hall of Fame guard Ed Budde, as the team's first-round draft choice, making the Buddes the first father-son combination to become first-round draftees of the same team in NFL history.[1] In a then-controversial move on August 26, the Chiefs released placekicker Jan Stenerud, who at the time was club's all-time leading scorer. He was replaced by journeyman Nick Lowery, who had been cut 11 times by eight different teams himself.[1]
After suffering an 0–4 start, the team rebounded to post a four-game winning streak.[1] After Steve Fuller was sidelined with a knee injury late in the season, former Miami 12th-round draft choice Bill Kenney became the team's starting quarterback. He was so anonymous that when he appeared in that contest, the name on the back of his jersey was inadvertently misspelled "Kenny."[1] Kenney went on to lead the club to a 31–14 victory against Denver on December 7 in his initial NFL start. The defense continued to evolve as defensive end Art Still and safety Gary Barbaro became the first Chiefs defensive players to be elected to the Pro Bowl in five seasons.[1]
See main article: article and 1980 NFL Draft. [2]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland Browns | W 42–0 | 1–0 | Arrowhead Stadium | 38,055 | Recap | ||
| 2 | Minnesota Vikings | W 24–10 | 2–0 | Arrowhead Stadium | 39,879 | Recap | ||
| 3 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 20–10 | 3–0 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 41,687 | Recap | ||
| 4 | vs. San Francisco 49ers | L 21–31 | 3–1 | 27,000 | Recap |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 7 | Oakland Raiders | L 14–27 | 0–1 | Arrowhead Stadium | 54,269 | Recap | |
| 2 | September 14 | Seattle Seahawks | L 16–17 | 0–2 | Arrowhead Stadium | 42,403 | Recap | |
| 3 | September 21 | at Cleveland Browns | L 13–20 | 0–3 | Cleveland Stadium | 63,614 | Recap | |
| 4 | September 28 | San Diego Chargers | L 7–24 | 0–4 | Arrowhead Stadium | 45,161 | Recap | |
| 5 | October 5 | at Oakland Raiders | W 31–17 | 1–4 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 40,153 | Recap | |
| 6 | October 12 | Houston Oilers | W 21–20 | 2–4 | Arrowhead Stadium | 75,048 | Recap | |
| 7 | October 19 | at Denver Broncos | W 23–17 | 3–4 | Mile High Stadium | 74,459 | Recap | |
| 8 | October 26 | Detroit Lions | W 20–17 | 4–4 | Arrowhead Stadium | 59,391 | Recap | |
| 9 | November 2 | Baltimore Colts | L 24–31 | 4–5 | Arrowhead Stadium | 52,383 | Recap | |
| 10 | November 9 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 31–30 | 5–5 | Kingdome | 58,976 | Recap | |
| 11 | November 16 | at San Diego Chargers | L 7–20 | 5–6 | San Diego Stadium | 50,248 | Recap | |
| 12 | November 23 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 21–13 | 6–6 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 42,871 | Recap | |
| 13 | November 30 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 6–20 | 6–7 | Arrowhead Stadium | 41,594 | Recap | |
| 14 | December 7 | Denver Broncos | W 31–14 | 7–7 | Arrowhead Stadium | 40,237 | Recap | |
| 15 | December 14 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 16–21 | 7–8 | Three Rivers Stadium | 50,013 | Recap | |
| 16 | December 21 | W 38–28 | 8–8 | Memorial Stadium | 16,941 | Recap | ||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | ||||||||