This rivalry stretches back to 1960 when the Kansas City Chiefs were based in Dallas and known as the Texans and is considered to this day one of the fiercest amongst NFL teams. The hotly contested match-ups have featured games with playoff and Super Bowl implications, memorable last-minute drives, and a fair share of skirmishes. The Raiders won the first match-up between the two teams this season, 31-30, in another instant classic.
The Raiders-Chiefs match-up, which began in 1960 when both teams were members of the American Football League, sparked a rivalry that is ever-present to this day. The Silver and Black dominated the 1967 season going 13-1, including two big wins against Kansas City, as the rivalry reached a boiling point that has never stopped simmering. On Dec. 22, 1968, in a playoff game that would decide who would advance to meet the New York Jets in the AFL Championship Game, the Raiders ran away with a 41-6 victory. The 1969 regular season-finale between the two resulted in a Raider victory, 10-6, giving the Silver and Black a record-tying third straight AFL Western Division title and a berth in the AFL playoffs against Houston. The Raiders dispatched the Oilers setting up a re-match with the Chiefs. On Jan. 4, 1969, the Chiefs defeated the Raiders 17-7 in Oakland in the final AFL Championship game in league history. Kansas City went on to win their only Super Bowl title, defeating the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV.
As the teams entered the 1970s, the enmity between the Raiders and Chiefs was taken to the next level. In the first year after the AFL-NFL merger, the Silver and Black earned a controversial 17-17 tie at Kansas City and then defeated the Chiefs 20-6 in Oakland six weeks later. The Raiders would go on to play in the first-ever AFC Championship game. The teams tied again in 1971, with the Chiefs winning the second meeting. In 1972 and 1973, the two teams split their meetings. During the 1974 season the Silver and Black exerted their will by taking both match-ups against the Chiefs The teams split again in 1975, and the 1976 Raiders swept the Chiefs en route to a 13-1 record and a win in Super Bowl XI.
On October 3, 1977, one of the greatest matchups of the Raiders-Chiefs series occurred under the lights of Monday Night Football. As the Chiefs led heading into halftime the Raiders charged into the third quarter scoring 21 unanswered points to remain undefeated through the remainder of the regular season, vaulting into the postseason. The offensive showcase featured Raiders Mark van Eeghen and Clarence Davis exceeding the 100-yard rushing mark. The Raiders continued their decade-long dominance by once again sweeping the Chiefs during the 1978 season in convincing fashion, 28-6 and 20-10. In 1979, the Chiefs rebounded to sweep the series.
In 1980, the Raiders topped the Chiefs at Kansas City on opening day, and just a month later, starting quarterback Dan Pastorini broken his leg in the re-match, a 31-17 Chiefs win. Jim Plunkett replaced Pastorini and led the Raiders to an 11-5 record and the first Super Bowl win for a Wild Card team in NFL history while earning Super Bowl XV MVP honors.
In 1981, the Chiefs won both meetings, just two weeks apart.
During the only meeting between the two rivals during the strike-shortened 1982 season, the Raiders downed the Chiefs in the final seconds with a 35-yard Plunkett TD pass to Calvin Muhammad giving the Raiders a 21-16 victory. The 1983 Raiders swept the Chiefs en route to a 12-4 record and a win in Super Bowl XVIII. In 1984, the Raiders pulled out a hard-fought 22-20 victory, and handled the Chiefs in Los Angeles 17-7 later that season. The teams split in 1985 and 1986. The Raiders defeated the Chiefs in their first meeting in 1987, with replacement players during a 24-day strike. The Chiefs won the re-match in Kansas City. The Raiders swept the series in 1988, and the two teams split in 1989.
Photos of past matchups between the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders' last meeting with Kansas City was earlier this season in Week 7 on Thursday Night Football where the Raiders won a thriller 31-30.
Continuing into 1990s, the rivalry between the Raiders and Chiefs was still boiling, with Kansas City dominating. In 1991, the Chiefs completed the rare three-game sweep. They won the two regular season match-ups, and then topped the Raiders in the 1991 AFC Wild Card game. From 1990-1992, the Chiefs won five in a row, from 1993-1996, KC won seven in a row, and from 1997-1999 the Chiefs captured five straight.
The 1999 season provided, once again, another close game between the two leaving the Silver and Black on top 41-38 as they closed out the regular season. On January 2, 2000, the Raiders spoiled any hopes the Chiefs had of making it to the post-season by sending the game into overtime and eventually coming away with a Joe Nedney game-winning field goal. During the 2000 season, the Raiders took both victories against the Chiefs leaving the Silver and Black on top of the AFC Western Division once again.
The Raiders swept the Chiefs in 2001, as they claimed their second-straight AFC West title. The Silver and Black enjoyed a special year in 2002, as they blanked their long-time rival in the regular season finale 24-0 – the raiders first shut-out in the series – on their way to becoming the AFC Champions, and appearing in a fifth Super Bowl. From 1999-2002, the Raiders won five straight in the series.
From 2003-2007, the Chiefs captured nine wins in a row over the Silver and Black, with all but one decided by seven points or less.
Thanksgiving weekend of the 2007 season offered another exciting moment in Raiders-Chiefs history, as the Raiders snapped the Chiefs' streak. The Silver and Black traveled to Kansas City and the Chiefs led 10-6 heading into halftime. RB Justin Fargas had a 14-yard rushing touchdown that gave the Raiders a 20-17 lead that held up for the win.
Since 2010, the Silver and Black won six straight games at Arrowhead Stadium, with the Chiefs snapping that streak in 2013. The Chiefs managed the sweep in 2013. The Raiders topped the Chiefs 24-20 in dramatic fashion on NFL Network's Thursday Night Football in November of 2014. The Chiefs racked up five-straight victories from 2014-2016, until the Raiders snapped that streak with a 31-30 win six weeks ago, once again on Thursday Night Football.
The Raiders and Chiefs have played for a division title more than once, derailed each other's playoff hopes more than once, and met in the playoffs more than once. The teams will tee it up once again with the fate of the AFC West in the balance this Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. If history is any indication, this is going to be another instant classic.
