The 1972 Kansas City Chiefs season was the

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

's third season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, tenth as the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

, and thirteenth overall. The Chiefs moved into the new

Arrowhead Stadium Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The stadium has been officially named GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stad ...

and ended with an 8–6 record, runner-up in the

AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...

, but missed the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. The last original member of the franchise ( 1960 Dallas Texans) departed on July 12 when safety Johnny Robinson announced his retirement at training camp. Starting quarterback

Len Dawson Leonard Ray Dawson (June 20, 1935 – August 24, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Aft ...

ended speculation about his retirement and signed a two-year contract. Franchise owner

Lamar Hunt Lamar Hunt (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of American football, soccer, and tennis in the United States. He was the principal founder of the American Football League (AFL) and ...

became the first AFL figure to be inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

on July 29; Dawson was inducted in and Robinson in . After two different construction strikes and a myriad of other delays, Arrowhead Stadium was officially dedicated on August 12, when the Chiefs registered a 24–14 preseason victory over the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. On a very warm Saturday night with an attendance of 78,190, running back

Ed Podolak Edward Joseph Podolak (born September 1, 1947) is a former professional American football player, a running back for nine seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League and National Football League. Early years Ed Podolak w ...

scored the first touchdown in the facility. Regular season ticket prices for this first season at Arrowhead were eight

dollars Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Un ...

for box seats and $7 for reserved seating. In the opener on September 17, the Chiefs lost 20–10 to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

(the first win of their perfect season) in the first regular season game at the new Arrowhead Stadium, in front of a crowd of 79,829. A standing-room-only crowd of 82,094 was in attendance for a 27–14 victory over division rival

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

on November 5, the largest “in-house” attendance total for an NFL contest in Arrowhead's history. After a 5–3 start, a three-game losing streak effectively eliminated the club from playoff contention. An 8–6 record was only good enough for a second-place finish in the AFC West, 2½ games behind Oakland. Linebacker

Willie Lanier Willie Edward Lanier (born August 21, 1945) is an American former professional football player who was a middle linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1967 through 1977. He won postseason honors for eight consecutive years, making the Amer ...

became the first Chiefs player to receive the prestigious NFL Man of the Year Award in the offseason. In week six, the Chiefs dropped a shocking 21–20 decision at home to the lowly

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

, who entered the game 0–5 and won only once more (also a one-point victory, over the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

, who finished 1–13). It was the only time the Chiefs and Eagles met until

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

,Urena, Ivan; ''Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present'', p. 18 and Kansas City did not visit Philadelphia until

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

.Urena; ''Pro Football Schedules'', p. 17

Offseason

NFL draft

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Standings

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Miami Dolphins

Week 2: at New Orleans Saints

Week 3: at Denver Broncos

Week 4: at Cleveland Browns

Week 5: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week 6: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week 7: at San Diego Chargers

Week 8: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 9: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 10: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 11: at Oakland Raiders

Week 12: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 13: vs. Baltimore Colts

Week 14: at Atlanta Falcons

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1972 Kansas City Chiefs Season

Kansas City Chiefs seasons

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...