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2003 Kansas City Chiefs season
Owner Lamar Hunt
Head Coach Dick Vermeil
General Manager Carl Peterson
Home Field Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record 13–3
Place 1st AFC West
Playoff Finish Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. Colts) 31–38
Pro Bowlers QB Trent Green
RB Priest Holmes
FB Tony Richardson
TE Tony Gonzalez
OT Willie Roaf
OG Will Shields
S Jerome Woods
PR/KR Dante Hall
ST Gary Stills
Timeline
Previous Season Next Season
2002 2004

The 2003 Kansas City Chiefs season resulted in a 13–3 record, beginning with a nine-game winning streak—the franchise’s best start in their 40-year history. The Chiefs won the AFC West and clinched the second seed in the playoffs. Kansas City lost in an offensive shootout at home in the AFC Divisional Playoffs to the Indianapolis Colts 38–31, a game notorious 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 broke Marshall Faulk’s single-season rushing touchdown record by scoring his 27th rushing touchdown against the Chicago Bears. Quarterback Trent Green threw for 4,000 yards and kick returner Dante Hall returned four kicks for touchdowns. However, as successful as the Chiefs’ offense was, the Chiefs’ weak defense failed to stop the Colts in the playoffs.

Offseason[]

Vermeil’s third year[]

At Dick Vermeil’s previous coaching tenure with the St. Louis Rams, Vermeil won Super Bowl XXXIV, so expectations in Kansas City were high of Vermeil’s new offense.

Free agency[]

Position Player Tag Date signed 2002 team Contract
(with KC)
CB Dexter McCleon UFA March 6 St. Louis Rams ?
RFA: Restricted free agent, UFA: Unrestricted free agent, ERFA: Exclusive rights free agent

2003 NFL Draft[]

The Chiefs originally had the 16th pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. Coach Dick 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 for the 27th pick, as well as the Steelers third and sixth round picks.[1] With the 16th pick, the Steelers selected Troy Polamalu from USC. With the 27th overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs selected running back Larry Johnson from Penn State.[2]

Round Selection Overall Player College
1 27 27 Larry Johnson Penn St
2 15 47 Kawika Mitchell South Florida
3 28 92 Julian Battle Tennessee
4 16 113 Brett Williams Florida State
5 18 153 Jordan Black Notre Dame
6 16 189 Jimmy Wilkerson Oklahoma
7 16 230 Montique Sharpe Wake Forest
7 38 252 Willie Pile Virginia Tech

Personnel[]

Staff / Coaches[]

2003 Kansas City Chiefs final staff
Front Office
  • Founder – Lamar Hunt
  • President/general manager/chief executive officer – Carl Peterson
  • Chairman of the board – Jack Steadman
  • Vice chairman of the board – Clark Hunt
  • Executive vice president/assistant general manager – Dennis Thum
  • Vice president of football operations/player personnel – Lynn Stiles
  • Director of football administration – Mike White
  • Director of pro personnel – Bill Kuharich

Head Coaches

  • Head coach – Dick Vermeil
  • Assistant head coach/offensive coordinator – Al Saunders

Offensive Coaches

  • Quarterbacks – Terry Shea
  • Running backs – James Saxon
  • Wide receivers – Charlie Joiner
  • Tight ends – Keith Rowen
  • Offensive line – Mike Solari
  • Assistant offensive line – Irv Eatman
  • Offensive assistant/quality control – Jason Verduzco
  • Offensive quality control – Bob Saunders
  Defensive Coaches
  • Defensive coordinator – Greg Robinson
  • Defensive line – Carl Hairston
  • Defensive line – Bob Karmelowicz
  • Linebackers – Joe Vitt
  • Defensive backs – Peter Giunta
  • Defensive assistant/quality control – Darvin Wallis

Special Teams Coaches

  • Special teams – Frank Gansz Jr
  • Assistant special teams – Thomas McGaughey


Final roster[]

2003 Kansas City Chiefs final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

  • 23 Derrick Blaylock
  • 43 Omar Easy FB
  • 31 Priest Holmes
  • 27 Larry Johnson
  • 49 Tony Richardson FB

Wide receivers

  • 85 Marc Boerigter
  • 82 Dante Hall
  • 87 Eddie Kennison
  • 80 Johnnie Morton
  • 84 LaShaun Ward

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

  • 93 John Browning DT
  • 92 Eric Downing DT
  • 71 Eddie Freeman DE
  • 98 Eric Hicks DE
  • 99 Vonnie Holliday DE
  • 61 Montique Sharpe DT
  • 90 Ryan Sims DT
  • 91 R-Kal Truluck DE
  • 66 Jimmy Wilkerson DE
Linebackers
  • 59 Shawn Barber OLB
  • 56 Monty Beisel MLB
  • 52 Quinton Caver OLB
  • 51 Scott Fujita OLB
  • 53 Fred Jones OLB
  • 57 Mike Maslowski MLB
  • 50 Kawika Mitchell MLB
  • 55 Gary Stills OLB

Defensive backs

  • 24 William Bartee CB
  • 26 Julian Battle CB
  • 38 Clint Finley SS
  • 42 Shaunard Harts FS
  • 22 Dexter McCleon CB
  • 44 Eric Warfield CB
  • 25 Greg Wesley SS
  • 21 Jerome Woods FS

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • 41 Darrius Johnson S (IR)
  • 30 Lyle West S (IR)


Practice squad

  • 46 Joe Hall FB
  • 18 Chris Horn WR
  • 35 Willie Pile S
  • 72 Darnell Alford T


Rookies in italics
53 Active, 2 Inactive, 5 Practice squad

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 categories and Kansas City became favorites to win Super Bowl XXXVIII.[3]

The Chiefs clinched their first AFC West title since 1997 with a 45–17 win vs. Detroit (December 14) as QB Trent Green became the first player in team history to register a “perfect” 158.3 passer rating in a game.[4]

Kansas City concluded its 13–3 regular season with a 31–3 victory vs. Chicago (December 28), marking a perfect 8–0 record at home and the club’s 13th consecutive regular season victory at Arrowhead Stadium. In that win, Priest Holmes 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.[4]

The Chiefs five-game improvement in the win column 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 1981–82 as the club produced a franchise-best 484 points. The team also led the NFL with a +19 turnover differential.[4]

Nine Chiefs players received Pro Bowl recognition, the third-highest total in team history, while the club’s six offensive Pro Bowlers marked the most in club annals.[4]

Schedule[]

Week Opponent Result Game site Attendance
1 San Diego Chargers W 27–14 Arrowhead Stadium
78,048
2 Pittsburgh Steelers W 41–20 Arrowhead Stadium
78,416
3 at Houston Texans W 42–14 Reliant Stadium
70,487
4 at Baltimore Ravens W 17–10 Ravens Stadium
69,459
5 Denver Broncos W 24–23 Arrowhead Stadium
78,903
6 at Green Bay Packers W 40–34 (OT) Lambeau Field
70,407
7 at Oakland Raiders W 17–10 Network Associates Coliseum
62,391
8 Buffalo Bills W 38–5 Arrowhead Stadium
78,689
Week 9 — Bye
10 Cleveland Browns W 41–20 Arrowhead Stadium
78,560
11 at Cincinnati Bengals L 24–19 Paul Brown Stadium
64,923
12 Oakland Raiders W 27–24 Arrowhead Stadium
78,889
13 at San Diego Chargers W 28–24 Qualcomm Stadium
57,671
14 at Denver Broncos L 45–27 Invesco Field at Mile High
76,403
15 Detroit Lions W 45–17 Arrowhead Stadium
77,922
16 at Minnesota Vikings L 45–20 Metrodome
64,291
17 Chicago Bears W 31–3 Arrowhead Stadium
78,413
2004 Playoffs
Divisional
Playoff
Indianapolis Colts L 38–31 Arrowhead Stadium
79,159

Game summaries[]

Week 1: vs. San Diego Chargers[]

San Diego Chargers 14, Kansas City Chiefs 27
1 2 3 4 Total
Chargers (0–1) 0 0 7 7 14
Chiefs (1–0) 14 10 3 0 27

at Arrowhead Stadium

  • Date: September 7, 2003
  • Game time: 1:00pm CDT
  • Game weather: 77F
  • Game attendance: 78,048
  • Referee: Ed Hochuli
  • TV: CBS

Week 2: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers[]

Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Kansas City Chiefs 40
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers (1–1) 17 3 0 0 20
Chiefs (2–0) 7 20 7 7 41

at Arrowhead Stadium

  • Date: September 14, 2003
  • Game time: 1:00pm CDT
  • Game weather: 67F
  • Game attendance: 78,416
  • Referee: Larry Nemmers
  • TV: CBS

Week 3: at Houston Texans[]

Kansas City Chiefs 42, Houston Texans 14
1 2 3 4 Total
Chiefs (3–0) 7 7 14 14 42
Texans (1–2) 0 7 0 7 14

at Reliant Stadium

  • Date: September 21, 2003
  • Game time: 1:02pm CDT
  • Game weather: N/A (played indoors)
  • Game attendance: 70,487
  • Referee: Ron Blum
  • TV: CBS

Week 4: at Baltimore Ravens[]

Kansas City Chiefs 17, Baltimore Ravens 10
1 2 3 4 Total
Chiefs (4–0) 0 3 7 7 17
Ravens (2–2) 0 0 3 7 10

at M&T Bank Stadium

  • Date: September 28, 2003
  • Game time: 3:05pm CDT
  • Game weather: 70F
  • Game attendance: 69,459
  • Referee: Terry McAulay
  • TV: CBS

Week 5: vs. Denver Broncos[]

Denver Broncos 23, Kansas City Chiefs 24
1 2 3 4 Total
Broncos (4–1) 7 6 7 3 23
Chiefs (5–0) 7 3 7 7 24

at Arrowhead Stadium

  • Date: October 5, 2003
  • Game time: 1:00pm CDT
  • Game weather: 69F
  • Game attendance: 78,903
  • Referee: Bill Leavy
  • TV: CBS

Week 6: at Green Bay Packers[]

Kansas City Chiefs 40, Green Bay Packers 34
1 2 3 4 OT Total
Chiefs (6–0) 7 7 0 20 6 40
Packers (3–3) 14 7 10 3 {{{H5}}} 34

at Lambeau Field

  • Date: October 12, 2003
  • Game time: 1:02pm CDT
  • Game weather: 60F
  • Game attendance: 70,407
  • Referee: Ron Winter
  • TV: CBS

Playoffs[]

AFC Divisional Playoffs[]

Indianapolis Colts 38, Kansas City Chiefs 31
1 2 3 4 Total
Colts 14 7 10 7 38
Chiefs 3 7 14 7 31

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Template:Convert/°F, clear
  • Game attendance: 79,159
  • Referee: Gerald Austin
  • TV announcers (CBS): Dick Enberg (play-by-play), Dan Dierdorf (color commentator), and Bonnie Bernstein (sideline reporter)

This offensive shootout became the first puntless game in NFL playoff history. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns (to Reggie Wayne, Brandon Stokley and Tom Lopienski), while Edgerrin James ran for a career postseason high 125 yards and two scores. On the Kansas City side, Dante Hall caught a touchdown and returned a kickoff for another; and Priest Holmes, who set the regular-season rushing touchdown record in 2003, rushed for 176 yards, caught 5 passes for 32 yards, and scored twice. Kansas City quarterback Trent Green 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 colts offense. Kansas City's defensive coordinator Greg Robinson was asked to resign the following week.

  • Scoring
    • IND – Stokley 29 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick)
    • KC – FG Andersen 22
    • IND – James 11 run (Vanderjagt kick)
    • KC – Hall 9 pass from Green (Andersen kick)
    • IND – Lopienski 2 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick)
    • IND – FG Vanderjagt 45
    • KC – Holmes 1 run (Andersen kick)
    • IND – Wayne 19 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick)
    • KC – Hall 92 kickoff return (Andersen kick)
    • IND – James 1 run (Vanderjagt kick)
    • KC – Holmes 1 run (Andersen kick)

Standings[]

Template:2003 AFC West standings

References[]

  1. So there they were with the 16th pick... Retrieved October 4, 2010
  2. Kansas City Chiefs 2003 season – Database Football Retrieved 18 December 2006.
  3. Zimmerman, Paul. The Race to XXXVIII Sports Illustrated, 17 November 2003.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Chiefs history: 2003 KCChiefs.com, retrieved 18 December 2006.

External links[]

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