The 2008 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 49th season, and third with head coach Herman Edwards at the helm. The Chiefs failed to improve on their 4–12 record from 2007 with the youngest team in the NFL as part of their "youth movement". The season turned out to be the worst in the franchise's history, by tallying 13 losses for the first time ever. The Chiefs' final 2–14 record was the worst in franchise history.
Entering the season, the Chiefs were unsure if injury-prone quarterback Brodie Croyle could be their quarterback of the future. The Chiefs reorganized their offense to focus around Croyle, but his season-ending injury in Week 7 led to a new spread offense gameplan focused around Tyler Thigpen.
The Chiefs implemented the spread offense to help Thigpen play to the best of his abilities and also following the absence of RB Larry Johnson due to suspension. The Chiefs made a huge gamble by doing so, as most in the NFL believe that a spread offense cannot work in professional football, and also head coach Herman Edwards was traditionally in favor of more conservative, run-oriented game plans. Prior to the Chiefs implementing the spread offense, Thigpen had been playing erratically with the Chiefs, and he suddenly became poised and effective running the new offense. His passer rating climbed from 44.3 to 76.9 in the five games following his initial start at Atlanta. The Chiefs scored more than 10 points just twice in their first six games, but scored more offensive points than that in every game since, and twice topped 25 points. The Chiefs won their first game with the new offense against the Raiders in Week 13.
Following the Chiefs' 2007 season, head coach Herman Edwards and general manager Carl Peterson were considered to be on the hot seat. Peterson and Edwards were considered to be safe unless absolutely zero progress was made in 2008. Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt had expressed his expectations of a winning Chiefs team earning a playoff berth in 2008.
Beginning with the 2008 season, the team's Lamar Hunt/American Football League tribute patch which was introduced in the 2007 season became a permanent part of the Chiefs' uniform.
The Chiefs' 2008 season began with a 1–10 record, with the franchise losing 20 of 21 games over a two-year period. The team lost seven games by 7 points or less, two games by 24-point margins, suffered a 34–0 shutout to the Carolina Panthers, and allowed a franchise-high 54 points against the Buffalo Bills. Following a 22–21 loss to the Chargers, a game in which Kansas City allowed two touchdowns and lost an 11-point lead in the game's final minutes, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt announced the resignation of General Manager/Vice President/CEO Carl Peterson effective at the end of the season. The Chiefs suffered instability on offense with rotation at the quarterback position and offensive gameplans, and also on defense after trading DE Jared Allen to the Minnesota Vikings. After trading Allen, the NFL's leading quarterback sacker from 2007, the Chiefs got 10 sacks on the season, setting a new NFL record.
Read more about 2008 Kansas City Chiefs Season: Schedule, Standings, Season Statistics
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