1990 Kansas City Chiefs season The 1990 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with an 11 – 5 record and Wild Card spot in the 1991 playoffs . In Marty Schottenheimer ' s first playoff appearance with the Chiefs , the lost to the Miami Dolphins 16 – 17 in the Wild Card round . Starting with the home opener , the Chiefs began an NFL - record 18 - straight seasons with every home game sold out . The record still stands as of the end of the Chiefs ' 2007 season . The success of the 1989 season carried into 1990 , and the Chiefs put together a super season to return to the playoffs for only the second time since 1971 . The season began on August 4 when Buck Buchanan , a key ingreident of the Chiefs ' 1969 Super Bowl championship season was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . On opening day , The Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings 24 – 21 . On September 17 , Stephone Paige catches 10 passes for 206 yards , but the Chiefs still lose to the Denver Broncos , 24 – 23 on Monday Night Football . On October 14 , Barry Word rushes for a team - record 200 yards against the Detroit Lions at Arrowhead . Kansas City wins 43 – 24 to give the Chiefs a 4 – 2 record . Word would eventually gained 1 , 021 yards rushing for the season while Paige caught 65 passes for 1 , 021 yards . Quarterback Steve DeBerg had his best season ever as a Chief as he Passed for 3 , 444 yards and 23 touchdowns . On November 11 , Derrick Thomas who would sack 20 quarterbacks for the year , sacks Seattle Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg an NFL - record seven sacks . On the game ' s last play , Derrick nearly had his 8th sack , but Krieg eluded him and threw a game - winning touchdown as the Seahawks won 17 – 16 . On December 9 , two big fourth - down calls , two big touchdowns . Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer let his team make two big plays that ultimately led to Kansas City ' s 31 – 20 win over the Denver Broncos and clinched a playoff spot . The first big play was a fourth - and - goal at the Denver 1 - yard line , and Barry Word carried the ball into the end zone to give the Chiefs a 17 – 13 lead . The second fourth - down attempt resulted in a 27 - yard touchdown pass from Steve DeBerg to Robb Thomas and put the game away in the fourth quarter . DeBerg passed for 254 yards and three touchdowns in the game . Kansas City trailed 13 – 10 at the half , but scored 21 second - half points to take control of the game . The win clinches at least a wild - card spot in the playoffs for Kansas City and improved their record to 9 – 4 . The Chiefs won two of their last three games to finish 11 – 5 , the team ' s best record since 1971 . Defense carried the Chiefs to the playoffs thanks to Pro Bowlers Derrick Thomas , Albert Lewis and Kevin Ross . The Chiefs closed out the season with a 21 – 10 win over the Chicago Bears . Now it was on to Miami in the AFC Wild - Card Playoff Game . Postseason . In a scene that would be repeated throughout the 1990s the Chiefs had a great regular season but failed miserably in the post - season . In the Wild - card playoff game the Chiefs blew a 16 – 3 lead as the Dolphins scored 2 touchdowns to take a lead . The Chiefs had one last - chance for a win but Christian Okoye ' s long run was called back due to a questionable holding call . Nick Lowery who would score 139 points all season and a Pro Bowl berth missed a 52 - yard field goal and with it the end of a great Chiefs season .