2021 Kansas City Chiefs season
The 2021 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 52nd season in the National Football League, their 62nd overall and their ninth under head coach Andy Reid. The Chiefs finished the regular season 12–5, winning the AFC West division title for the sixth consecutive season. The Chiefs would make their fourth straight conference championship, but lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in overtime 24–27. Season summary. On March 4, 2021, the Chiefs announced that they had officially renamed Arrowhead Stadium, GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs lost two of their longest tenured players in the offseason . Tackle Eric Fisher was released and fullback Anthony Sherman retired. Both players joined the Chiefs in 2013. In the offseason, the Chiefs announced they would once again retire their live horse mascot Warpaint to continue with their commitment to stop using Native American imagery. The Chiefs opened the season on September 12 with a 33–29 victory over the Cleveland Browns. The win was the Chiefs' 15th consecutive win in September. The Chiefs would lose their next two games to give them a 1–2 record after three games, which was their first losing record in 89 games, dating back to week  10 of the 2015 season. The Chiefs' 20–38 week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills, was the Chiefs' first double-digit loss in the regular season since 2017 and the Chiefs' first double-digit loss at home since 2014. In Week 7, the Chiefs lost 3–27 to the Tennessee Titans, which is the fewest points scored in a game since Patrick Mahomes became the quarterback. The Chiefs maintained a non-winning record until a week 9 victory over the Green Bay Packers. That 7-week stretch without a winning record was the Chiefs' longest stretch without a winning record since  2012 when they held a losing record the entire season. After starting the season 3–4, the Chiefs won their ninth game in week 14 over the Las Vegas Raiders clinching their ninth consecutive winning season, one short of the franchise record of 10. The 48–9 victory over the Raiders was the largest in franchise history over the Raiders and the largest victory against any opponent since the 2006 season. In week 16, following a 36–10 victory over the Steelers and a loss by the Chargers, the Chiefs clinched their sixth consecutive AFC West division championship and their franchise record seventh  straight playoff berth. The Chiefs finished the regular season 12–5, their fourth consecutive 12-win season, all four since Patrick Mahomes became the starting quarterback. Kansas City defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 42–21 in the Wild Card round of the 2021–22 NFL playoffs. They would then host Buffalo in the Divisional round, winning that game 42–36 in overtime. This game was hailed as one of the greatest modern NFL playoff games, with both teams combining for 25 points in the final two minutes of regulation. The following week, despite being favored to win the Super Bowl, the Chiefs would lose the  AFC Championship in an upset to the Bengals in overtime 24–27, a game in which they led 21–3 at one point of the second quarter. Section::::"NFL Top 100". NFL Network began announcing their annual top 100 list on August 15, 2021. Five Chiefs players were named to the list. Defensive end Frank Clark is the only player still on the roster that was ranked the previous season that went unranked for the 2021 season. Tight end Travis Kelce was ranked 5th, which is the highest ranking ever for a tight end in the history of the Top 100. Quarterback Patrick  Mahomes was ranked 1st on the list, which was the first time a Chiefs player was ranked the number one. Offseason. Transactions listed below occurred between the day after Super Bowl LV, February 8, and August 14, the day of the Chiefs first preseason game. Source unless otherwise noted Players lost. Below are players who were on the roster at the end of the 2020 season, but were either released or did not re-sign after their contract expired. If a player resigns during the offseason, their name will be removed from the list. Retirements. Players that were on the  Chiefs roster at the end of the season who announced their retirement before the preseason are listed below, even if their contract with the Chiefs had officially expired prior to their announcement. Trades. Listed below are trades were a player was included in the trade. Draft. Trades Signed and released in the offseason. Below are players who were signed and released in the offseason before playing for the team. Preseason transactions. Transactions listed below, occurred between August 15, the day after the Chiefs first preseason game, and September 12, the day of the Chiefs first regular season game. Source for  all transactions Cut to 85. The first preseason roster cutdown occurred on August 17. In addition the transactions below, the Chiefs placed running back Elijah McGuire on injured reserve. Cut to 80. The second preseason cutdown occurred on August 24. The Chiefs released or waived five players and did not use reserve lists to make the 80 player limit. Final cutdown. The third and final preseason cutdown occurred on August 31. In addition to the transactions below, the Chiefs traded a player, placed Kyle Long on the physically unable to perform list, and placed Malik Herring on the reserve/non -football injury list. Trades. Listed below are trades were a player was included in the trade. Regular season transactions. Below are transactions that occurred after the Chiefs first game through their final game. Transactions below are only transactions related to the Chiefs active roster. Practice squad transactions will not be included. Source for transactions through December 31 Source for transactions after January 1 Standard elevations. Standard practice squad elevations allow a player to elevated from the practice squad to the active roster for a single game and revert back to the practice squad following the game. Below are standard elevations  used by the Chiefs during the season. Non-standard elevations. Below are players elevated from the practice squad using a non-standard elevation, meaning, if the Chiefs want them to go back to the practice squad, they must clear waivers then sign them back to the practice squad. Trades. Listed below are trades where a player was included in the trade. Injured reserve activations. Players listed below were activated off injured reserve COVID-19 protocols. The following players missed games because of the NFL's COVID-19 protocols. Typically, a player misses because of a positive test. Vaccinated players can return simply  after a subsequent negative test, unvaccinated players are out for five days. Regular season. Schedule. Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Statistics. Individual. "Statistics correct as of the end of the 2021 NFL season"