The Chiefs missed the playoffs for the eighth straight year due to the four other teams ahead of them in their division all finishing with winning records.
Kansas City owned a pair of picks in the first round of the 1979 draft, selecting defensive end Mike Bell and quarterback Steve Fuller.
[1] With Fuller at the helm, the Chiefs owned a 4–2 record after six games, but a five-game midseason losing streak ended the attempt.
[1] The Chiefs closed the season by dropping a 3–0 decision at Tampa Bay on December 16 in one of the most water-logged contests in franchise annals.
As both clubs struggled to move the ball under monsoon-like conditions (Kansas City was held to 80 total yards), a field goal late in the fourth quarter by the Buccaneers' Neil O'Donoghue averted the NFL's first scoreless tie since 1943, allowing Tampa Bay to win the NFC Central division championship after a three-game losing streak.