The

2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

was 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 ...

' 34th 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 ...

(NFL), their 44th overall and their third under head coach

Dick Vermeil Richard Albert Vermeil (; born October 30, 1936) is a former American football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons, the St. Lou ...

. The season resulted in a 13–3 winning record, beginning with a nine-game winning streak—the franchise's best start in their 40-year history. The Chiefs won 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 ...

and clinched the second seed in 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 ...

to end a five-season playoff drought. Kansas City lost in an offensive shootout at home in the AFC Divisional Playoffs to the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

38–31, a game noted for involving no punts from either team's kicking squad. The season is best remembered for the Chiefs' record-breaking offense. On December 28, running back

Priest Holmes Priest Anthony Holmes (born October 7, 1973)
''www.databasefootball.com.'' Retrieved February 13, 2016 ...

broke

Marshall Faulk Marshall William Faulk (born February 26, 1973) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams. He is widely regarded as one of the grea ...

's single-season touchdown record, along with

Emmitt Smith Emmitt James Smith III (born May 15, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Among other accolades, he is the lea ...

's single-season rushing touchdown record, by scoring his 27th rushing touchdown against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

Quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Trent Green Trent Jason Green (born July 9, 1970) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for fifteen seasons. He played college football for Indiana University. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in ...

threw for 4,000 yards and kick returner

Dante Hall Damieon Dante Hall (born September 20, 1978) is an American former football wide receiver and return specialist who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is nicknamed the "Human Joystick" and the "X-Factor". Hall was a ...

returned four kicks for touchdowns. However, the Chiefs' defense would prove to be too big a weakness, as they failed to stop the Colts in the 2003-04 playoffs. The Chiefs offensive line from the season has frequently been considered one of the best offensive lines in NFL history. Two members of the offensive line,

Will Shields Will Herthie Shields (born September 15, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, earnin ...

and

Willie Roaf William Layton Roaf (born April 18, 1970), nicknamed "Nasty," is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for Louisiana Tech Bul ...

, have been inducted in 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 ...

along with the tight end from the team,

Tony Gonzalez Anthony David Gonzalez (born February 27, 1976) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, he is the NFL's all-time leader ...

NFL Draft

The Chiefs originally had the 16th pick in the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

. Vermeil was intent on selecting a defensive player, but felt that there were no defensive players available with their pick, and traded the pick to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

for the 27th pick, as well as the Steelers third and sixth-round picks. With the 27th overall pick in the

, the Kansas City Chiefs selected running back Larry Johnson from

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

Staff

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

After beginning the 2003 season 9–0, the Chiefs finished the regular season with a record of 13–3. The Chiefs' offense topped the NFL in almost all statistical categories and Kansas City became favorites to win

Super Bowl XXXVIII Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) c ...

. Zimmerman, Paul.br>The Race to XXXVIII
''Sports Illustrated'', November 17, 2003. The Chiefs clinched their first

title since

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

with a 45–17 win against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, as QB

became the first player in team history to register a "perfect" 158.3 passer rating in a game.Chiefs history: 2003
''KCChiefs.com'', retrieved December 18, 2006. Kansas City concluded its 13–3 regular season with a 31–3 victory vs. Chicago (December 28), marking a perfect 8–0 a record at home and the club's 13th consecutive regular-season victory at Arrowhead Stadium. In that win,

Priest Holmes Priest Anthony Holmes (born October 7, 1973)
''www.databasefootball.com.'' Retrieved February 13, 2016 ...

set a trio of TD records. He finished the season with 27 rushing scores, establishing NFL single-season records for both rushing TDs and total TDs. Holmes (61) also bypassed WR Otis Taylor (60) for the most career TDs scored by a player in Chiefs history. The Chief's five-win improvement from the previous season tied as the best mark in franchise history. Kansas City became the first AFC team to lead the NFL in scoring in consecutive seasons since San Diego in 1981–1982 as the club produced a franchise-best 484 points. The team also led the NFL with a +19 turnover differential. Nine Chiefs players received

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

recognition, the third-highest total in team history, while the club's six offensive Pro Bowlers marked the most in club annals.

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1 vs. San Diego Chargers

The Chiefs hosted

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

and raced to a 24-0 lead behind two

Priest Holmes Priest Anthony Holmes (born October 7, 1973)
''www.databasefootball.com.'' Retrieved February 13, 2016 ...

rushing scores and a

touchdown to

Johnnie Morton Johnnie James Morton, Jr. (born October 7, 1971) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college football for the University of Southern California (USC), and was ...

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is the NFL leader in ...

of the Chargers was intercepted twice in the 27-14 Chiefs win.

Week 2 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers scored first on a Chad Scott interception, but after leading 10-0 Pittsburgh was torched by

’s 100-yard kick return score.

Priest Holmes Priest Anthony Holmes (born October 7, 1973)
''www.databasefootball.com.'' Retrieved February 13, 2016 ...

ran in three touchdowns while Steelers quarterback

Tommy Maddox Thomas Alfred Maddox (born September 2, 1971) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also played one season each for the New Je ...

was intercepted three times including one returned for a touchdown by

Jerome Woods Jerome Harlan Woods (born March 17, 1973) is a former American football safety who played his entire ten-year career with the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL).

in a 41-20 Chiefs win. During halftime the chiefs held a ceremony honoring former head coach

Hank Stram Henry Louis Stram (; January 3, 1923 – July 4, 2005) was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (N ...

inducting him into the ring of honor at Arrowhead Stadium.

Week 3 at Houston Texans

The Chiefs made their first trip to Houston since September 1996, now playing in

Reliant Stadium NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to have a retrac ...

next door to the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

. Kansas City's aggregate winning streak against Houston NFL teams reached five as Houston was hammered 42-14 despite two

interceptions. The Chiefs rushed for 168 yards and three touchdowns.

Week 4 at Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens held the Chiefs to 265 yards of offense and out-rushed them 202 yards (

Jamal Lewis Jamal Lewis (born August 26, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns. He played college football at Tennessee and was s ...

accounted for 115 yards and the tying touchdown in the final six minutes) to 129, but

raced in the winning score (17-10 Chiefs) on the kickoff following Lewis’ score and

Kyle Boller Kyle Bryan Boller (born June 17, 1981) is a former American football quarterback. After playing college football for California, he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round (19th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played for the Rav ...

was intercepted at the Chiefs 2-yard line in the final minute. Ex-Raven

Priest Holmes Priest Anthony Holmes (born October 7, 1973)
''www.databasefootball.com.'' Retrieved February 13, 2016 ...

had 25 touches (22 carries and four catches) for a combined 103 yards.

Week 5 vs. Denver Broncos

’s signature touchdown came in the fourth quarter with the 4-0 Chiefs trailing 23-17 against the 4-0 Broncos. In the final nine minutes, he caught a punt, was chased back to his three-yard line, then cut left, and stormed past the Denver punt coverage unit to score.

Jason Elam Jason Elam (born March 8, 1970) is a former American football placekicker. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft and played 15 seasons with the Broncos and two with the Atlanta Falcons. A three-time Pro B ...

missed a Broncos field goal attempt but

Priest Holmes Priest Anthony Holmes (born October 7, 1973)
''www.databasefootball.com.'' Retrieved February 13, 2016 ...

fumbled at the Broncos eight-yard line.

Jake Plummer Jason Steven "Jake" Plummer (born December 19, 1974) is a former professional American football player, a quarterback for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 199 ...

advanced the Broncos to their 28 but went no further. The Chief's 24-23 win came despite being outgained in yardage 468-262 and despite two turnovers to one by Denver.

Week 6 at Green Bay Packers

This edition of the rematch series from the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game became one of the most competitive games of the season. The Packers raced to a 14-0 lead before two

touchdowns tied the game. The Packers scored seventeen straight points in the second and third quarters but early in the fourth

Priest Holmes Priest Anthony Holmes (born October 7, 1973)
''www.databasefootball.com.'' Retrieved February 13, 2016 ...

scored.

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 20 ...

was then intercepted by

Jerome Woods Jerome Harlan Woods (born March 17, 1973) is a former American football safety who played his entire ten-year career with the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL).

at the Chiefs 21 and Woods scored. Exchanges of field goals (

Morten Anderson Morten Andersen (born 19 August 1960), nicknamed the "Great Dane", is a Danish former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 25 seasons, most notably with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. F ...

’s 31-yard kick came with one second left) left the game tied 31-31. The Chiefs in overtime called eight straight Holmes rushes before trying a 48-yard field goal; the kick was blocked by

Cletidus Hunt Cletidus Marquell Hunt (born January 2, 1976) is a former defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) and the Arena Football League (AFL). Early life Hunt was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and played college football for Kentucky State ...

. On the Packers possession

Ahman Green Ahman Rashad Green (; born February 16, 1977) is a former American football running back who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Green played college football at Nebraska and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 3rd ro ...

was immediately stopped by Woods and Woods forced the fumble recovered at the Chiefs 49; Trent Green then unloaded deep to

Eddie Kennison Eddie Joseph Kennison, III (born January 20, 1973) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Louisiana State University and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft. Kennison ...

and Kennison scored, thus ending a 40-34 Chiefs triumph.

Week 7 at Oakland Raiders

Week 8 vs. Buffalo Bills

Despite 124 rushing yards from

Travis Henry Travis Deion Henry (born October 29, 1978) is a former American football running back who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Tennessee. He was drafted by the Bills in t ...

and getting a safety on a Kansas City punt, the Bills were humiliated 38-5.

Drew Bledsoe Drew McQueen Bledsoe (born February 14, 1972) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Washington State, whe ...

was intercepted three times and

Alex Van Pelt Gregory Alexander Van Pelt (born May 1, 1970) is an American football coach and former player who is the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the ...

two more while

had two touchdowns and 273 yards.

Week 10 vs. Cleveland Browns

Trent Green had 368 yards and three touchdowns, Priest Holmes added two scores on the ground, and the Browns were limited to 199 yards of offense in a 41-20 Chiefs win. During halftime the chiefs in a ceremony honored their former running back

Marcus Allen Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal line and short-y ...

inducting him into the ring of honor.

Week 11 at Cincinnati Bengals

An undefeated season (attending Miami's overtime win over

the Ravens ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

members of the 1972 Dolphins kept a close watch on this game) would not transpire as the Bengals surged to their fifth win, fulfilling a pregame prediction by

Chad Johnson Chad Ochocinco Johnson (born Chad Javon Johnson; January 9, 1978), known from 2008 to 2012 as Chad Ochocinco, is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football for Santa Monica College and Oregon State University, and pl ...

(seven catches, 74 yards) of a Bengals win.

Jon Kitna Jon Kelly Kitna (born September 21, 1972) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Central Washington ...

’s 77-yard strike to

Peter Warrick Peter L. Warrick (born June 19, 1977) is an American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He played college football at Florida State University, and was reco ...

effectively ended the 24-19 Bengals upset despite a late Trent Green score.

Week 12 vs. Oakland Raiders

The 3-7 Raiders refused to go quietly as they erased a 21-7 Chiefs lead.

Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three championshi ...

scored for the first time all season but the Chiefs broke a 24-24 tie on

’s field goal with four seconds left.

Week 13 at San Diego Chargers

The Chiefs reached eleven wins leading wire to wire at

Qualcomm Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadiu ...

despite two Trent Green interceptions to go with two Green touchdowns. Priest Holmes exploded to 162 rushing yards and two scores.

Week 14 at Denver Broncos

The Chiefs suffered their second loss of the season 45-27. The game lead tied or changed six times in the first three quarters but after taking a 24-21 lead the Broncos added 21 more points.

Clinton Portis Clinton Earl Portis (born September 1, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes. He was drafted b ...

ran in five touchdowns for Denver.

Week 15 vs. Detroit Lions

The 4-9 Lions were crushed 45-17 as Trent Green threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns while Priest Holmes added three scores of his own. It was

Steve Mariucci Stephen Ray Mariucci (born November 4, 1955), nicknamed "Mooch", is an American sportscaster and former football coach who was the head coach of two National Football League teams, the San Francisco 49ers (1997–2002) and the Detroit Lions (200 ...

’s only career loss to the Chiefs. This is Detroit's most recent visit to Kansas City; the Lions return there in 2023.

Week 16 at Minnesota Vikings

Having clinched the

the Chiefs were vying for a playoff bye. The top conference seed slipped away in this Saturday game as the Vikings forced four Chiefs turnovers, raced to a 31-0 lead, and didn't look back despite a three-touchdown barrage by 10:05 to go in the fourth. Despite the 45-20 loss, the Chiefs gained on a playoff bye on Denver's win over

the Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

the next day.

Week 17 vs. Chicago Bears

With New England's shutout win over the Bills the previous day the Chiefs could only secure a playoff bye as the second conference seed. They did so 31-3 on three rushing scores while the 7-9 Bears used three quarterbacks who combined for two interceptions.

Standings

Postseason

Schedule

Game summaries

This offensive shootout became the second game without a punt in NFL playoff history, and first since the Buffalo Bills played the San Francisco 49ers in 1992. Colts quarterback

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...

threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns, while

Edgerrin James Edgerrin Tyree James (; born August 1, 1978) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at the University of Miami ...

ran for a career postseason high 125 yards and two scores. On the Kansas City side,

caught a touchdown and returned a kickoff for another; and

Priest Holmes Priest Anthony Holmes (born October 7, 1973)
''www.databasefootball.com.'' Retrieved February 13, 2016 ...

, who set the regular-season rushing touchdown record, rushed for 176 yards, caught 5 passes for 32 yards, and scored twice. Kansas City quarterback

threw for 212 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 18 yards in his first career postseason game. The Chiefs defense failed to stop the Colt's offense. Kansas City's defensive coordinator Greg Robinson was asked to resign the following week.

NFL Draft

Staff

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1 vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 2 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 3 at Houston Texans

Week 4 at Baltimore Ravens

Week 5 vs. Denver Broncos

Week 6 at Green Bay Packers

Week 7 at Oakland Raiders

Week 8 vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 10 vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 11 at Cincinnati Bengals

Week 12 vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 13 at San Diego Chargers

Week 14 at Denver Broncos

Week 15 vs. Detroit Lions

Week 16 at Minnesota Vikings

Week 17 vs. Chicago Bears

Standings

Postseason

Schedule

Game summaries

References

See also