2015 Kansas City Chiefs season

Offseason Reserve/future free agent contracts Cuts Trades Free agents Draft Notes • The Chiefs traded their fifth-round selection (No. 154 overall) to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for guard Ben Grubbs. • The Chiefs traded their 3rd round pick (80th overall) and their 6th round pick (193rd overall) to the Minnesota Vikings for their 3rd round pick (76th overall) Preseason transactions Cuts Regular season transactions Suspensions served Cuts Signings Players involved in multiple transactions This list is for players who were involved in more than one transaction during the season • Indicates player was signed off the practice squad of the team listed ==Staff==

Schedule Game summaries Week 1: at Arizona Cardinals Week 2: vs. Seattle Seahawks Week 3: vs. Tennessee Titans Week 4: at St. Louis Rams ==Regular season==

Schedule Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1: at Houston Texans With the win, the Chiefs started their 2015 campaign at 1–0. Week 2: vs. Denver Broncos The Broncos would score two touchdowns in the final minute to steal the win from the Chiefs. The second touchdown was a critical fumble by running back Jamaal Charles. With the heartbreaking and stunning loss, the Chiefs fell to 1–1, and picked up their seventh straight loss to Denver. This marked their last loss to the Broncos until 2023 and their last home loss to Denver until 2025. Week 3: at Green Bay Packers In a rematch of the 2011 game, the Chiefs fell to 1–2. This was also their first loss at Lambeau Field, as well their first loss in Wisconsin. Week 4: at Cincinnati Bengals Cairo Santos would kick 7 field goals in this game, setting a new franchise record for most field goals in one game by a Kansas City kicker. The 7 kicks also tied an NFL record. However, the 7 field goals by Santos were not enough to beat the Bengals, as the Chiefs fell to 1–3. Week 5: vs. Chicago Bears The Chiefs would build a 17–3 lead at one point, but Chicago would pull off a miraculous comeback to win 18–17. The Chiefs tried a 66-yard field goal, but Santos kick went wide right and missed everything near the goalposts. During this game, the Bears fans at times outnumbered the Chiefs fans, as Chicago fans are best known for good travel. With the loss, Kansas City fell to 1–4. They would also lose Jamaal Charles for the season, as he tore his ACL in this game. Week 6: at Minnesota Vikings With their fifth straight loss, the Chiefs fell to 1–5. Week 7: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Ben Roethlisberger would not play in this game for the Steelers, so backup quarterback Landry Jones led the way for the Steelers. In his first career start, the Chiefs defense would force 3 turnovers, 2 of them interceptions, and the Chiefs would hold on to win 23–13. With the win, the Chiefs improved to 2–5. Week 8: vs. Detroit Lions NFL International Series In their first ever game in London, the Chiefs routed the crestfallen 1–6 Detroit Lions. With the win, Kansas City improved to 3–5 and they finished 1-3 against the NFC North. Week 10: at Denver Broncos Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning would set the all-time record for most passing yards in NFL history in this game, but the Chiefs defense would have themselves a day, picking off Bronco quarterbacks five times, four on Manning, one on Brock Osweiler, and the Chiefs routed the Broncos, 29–13. With the win, the Chiefs went to 4–5, and snapped their seven-game losing streak against the Broncos. This marked the first of 15 straight wins against the Broncos. Week 11: at San Diego Chargers With the huge win, Kansas City went to 5–5, and climbed back into playoff contention. Week 12: vs. Buffalo Bills With the win, Kansas City went to 6–5. Week 13: at Oakland Raiders With the win, the Chiefs went to 7–5. Week 14: vs. San Diego Chargers With the low-scoring win, the Chiefs went to 8–5 and swept the Chargers for the second straight season. Week 15: at Baltimore Ravens Rookie Marcus Peters would put the dagger into the Ravens, as he returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown. With the win, the Chiefs went to 9–5 and they finished 5-3 on the road. Week 16: vs. Cleveland Browns The Browns, led by Johnny Manziel, attempted a comeback to put a stop to Kansas City's playoff hopes, but Cleveland did not have any timeouts remaining, and they ultimately ran out of time when Manziel couldn't advance the ball down the field fast enough. With the win, the Chiefs went to 10–5 (3-1 against the AFC North) and clinched a playoff spot. However, Denver's win over Cincinnati meant the Chiefs failed to clinch the AFC West for the 5th straight season. This was the last time the Chiefs didn't clinch the AFC West until 2025. Week 17: vs. Oakland Raiders With their 10th straight win, the Chiefs ended their season at 11–5 (5-1 against the AFC West & 6-2 at home). They were the first team to end a season with 10 or more consecutive wins since the 2012 Broncos won 11 in a row to end their season. Standings Division Conference ==Postseason==

Schedule Game summaries AFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (4) Houston Texans The Texans, who won the AFC South division with a 9–7 record, were completely crushed by the Chiefs. The Chiefs were the first team since the 2006 Bears to score a kick return touchdown on the opening play of the playoffs, when Knile Davis returned the opening kick 106 yards for a touchdown. After that, the game started to slow down, with both teams going three-and-out before a string of turnovers, Eric Berry's interception of Brian Hoyer, Brian Cushing's interception of Alex Smith two plays later, and a Hoyer fumble recovered by Dontari Poe on the ensuing drive. The Chiefs made a field goal on the drive, and although the team was able to get to the 2-yard line, a negative run by J. J. Watt and another interception by Hoyer ended the Texans' closest chance at scoring in the entire game. Although the Texans' defense forced a three-and-out, Hoyer threw his third interception to Marcus Peters on the second play of their drive. The win was Kansas City’s first playoff win since 1993, ironically in The Astrodome. This was also the Chiefs last shutout win until 2025. AFC Divisional Playoffs: at (2) New England Patriots The Chiefs, who had won 11 straight, travelled to Gillete Stadium to face the Patriots, who had advanced to the AFC Championship for the last five years. The Patriots scored first blood with a Rob Gronkowski touchdown catch, followed by a Cairo Santos field goal for Kansas City. The pattern was duplicated in the second quarter, with Tom Brady rushing for a score before Santos kicked another field goal. In the third quarter, after Gronkowski scored his second TD, Alex Smith threw his first to Albert Wilson. The Patriots responded with two fourth-quarter field goals to make the score 27–13 with 10:20 left. Although the Chiefs engineered a touchdown drive late in the game, the drive took up over 5 minutes, and the Chiefs had to force a three-and-out (with three timeouts) to have a chance. On second down, when Brady threw the ball instead of running it to waste time, the ball was batted and miraculously caught by Julian Edelman for a first down, ending the game. ==References==