# 1965 Kansas City Chiefs season

The 1965 Kansas City Chiefs season was the sixth season for the Kansas City Chiefs as a professional AFL franchise and the third in Kansas City; they finished with a 7–5–2 record (their first winning season in Kansas City), third in the Western division.
For the 1965 season, the Chiefs were caught in the middle of the AFL and NFL's bidding wars for college talent. Kansas City made running back Gale Sayers from the University of Kansas their first-round draft pick (sixth overall), but Sayers signed with the Chicago Bears, who had selected him fourth overall in the NFL's draft.
The Chiefs lost running back Mack Lee Hill late in the year when he suffered torn ligaments in his right knee in the next-to-last regular-season game at Buffalo on December 12. Following what was expected to be a routine surgery two days later at Menorah Hospital in Kansas City, Hill died from what was termed "a sudden and massive embolism." Hunt called Hill's death "the worst shock possible." Five days after Hill's unexpected death, the mourning Chiefs defeated the Denver Broncos to finish with a 7–5–2 record.

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | August 7 | at Denver Broncos | W 30–24 | 1–0 | Bears Stadium | 17,707 | Recap |
| 2 | August 15 | San Diego Chargers | L 10–31 | 1–1 | Municipal Stadium | 13,132 | Recap |
| 3 | August 22 | at Oakland Raiders | L 6–23 | 1–2 | Frank Youell Field | 13,592 | Recap |
| 4 | August 28 | vs. Buffalo Bills | W 18–16 | 2–2 | Veterans Field (Wichita, KS) | 15,157 | Recap |
| 5 | September 4 | Boston Patriots | W 34–7 | 3–2 | Municipal Stadium | 15,157 | Recap |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 12 | at Oakland Raiders | L 10–37 | 0–1 | Frank Youell Field | 18,659 | Recap |
| 2 | September 18 | at New York Jets | W 14–10 | 1–1 | Shea Stadium | 53,658 | Recap |
| 3 | September 26 | at San Diego Chargers | T 10–10 | 1–1–1 | Balboa Stadium | 28,126 | Recap |
| 4 | October 3 | Boston Patriots | W 27–17 | 2–1–1 | Municipal Stadium | 26,773 | Recap |
| 5 | October 10 | at Denver Broncos | W 31–23 | 3–1–1 | Bears Stadium | 31,001 | Recap |
| 6 | October 17 | Buffalo Bills | L 7–23 | 3–2–1 | Municipal Stadium | 26,941 | Recap |
| 7 | October 24 | at Houston Oilers | L 36–38 | 3–3–1 | Rice Stadium | 34,670 | Recap |
| 8 | October 31 | Oakland Raiders | W 14–7 | 4–3–1 | Municipal Stadium | 18,354 | Recap |
| 9 | November 7 | New York Jets | L 10–13 | 4–4–1 | Municipal Stadium | 25,523 | Recap |
| 10 | November 14 | San Diego Chargers | W 31–7 | 5–4–1 | Municipal Stadium | 21,968 | Recap |
| 11 | November 21 | at Boston Patriots | T 10–10 | 5–4–2 | Fenway Park | 13,056 | Recap |
| 12 | November 28 | Houston Oilers | W 52–21 | 6–4–2 | Municipal Stadium | 16,459 | Recap |
| 13 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 14 | December 12 | at Buffalo Bills | L 25–34 | 6–5–2 | War Memorial Stadium | 40,298 | Recap |
| 15 | December 19 | Denver Broncos | W 45–35 | 7–5–2 | Municipal Stadium | 14,421 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||
Source: Pro Football Reference

## Standings

AFL Western Division :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK |
| San Diego Chargers | 9 | 2 | 3 | .818 | 4–1–1 | 340 | 227 | W3 |
| Oakland Raiders | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 3–3 | 298 | 239 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 7 | 5 | 2 | .583 | 4–1–1 | 322 | 285 | W1 |
| Denver Broncos | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 0–6 | 303 | 392 | L4 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.