Packers-Chiefs Series History: Green Bay trails Kansas City 7-2-1 in regular season

This week, we look at Green Bay's history against the Kansas City Chiefs. Currently, the Chiefs lead the regular season series 7-2-1, but the Packers hold a 1-0 lead in postseason play.

The Chiefs were one of two teams originally in the AFL who the Packers played before the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 (the other was the Oakland Raiders). The Packers and Chiefs met in a game which would eventually be called the first "Super Bowl." It was played in front of a half-empty Los Angeles Coliseum, and was the subject of a very big search as the tapes both CBS and NBC had of the game were "lost" and taped over. A few years ago, it was discovered that a man in Pennsylvania had actually recorded the game, and his tape was sent to the Paley Center in New York for restoration. Whether the tape is ever released to the public remains to be seen--it is currently at the center of a dispute between the NFL, the Paley Center, and the original owner of the tape.

The first regular season game between the Packers and Chiefs occurred in 1973, when the teams tied 10-10 in Milwaukee. The Chiefs ultimately won their first game over the Packers in 1977, by the score of 20-10.

In the strike-altered 1987 season, the Packers went into Kansas City and defeated the Chiefs, 23-3, but this was merely an aberration as the series shifted heavily in favor of the Chiefs over the next few years. It did not help the Packers' fortunes that the Chiefs generally were considered to be among the elite teams in the AFC and contended for the AFC West division title year in and year out during this span.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Chiefs won games in Green Bay in 1989 and 1990, and again in Kansas City in 1993 and 1996. The 1993 game featured no fewer than six Packers turnovers, and in 1996, the Chiefs upended the Packers at the start of what was a brutal three-game road trip (which continued to Dallas and then St. Louis). The Packers lost the games against the Chiefs and Cowboys, but rebounded to finish 13-3 and win Super Bowl XXXI.

Following the NFL's realignment in 2002, the Packers and Chiefs met at Lambeau Field in 2003. The Packers led big early, but lapses on both sides of the ball allowed Kansas City to hang around. Even though the Packers led 31-14 entering the fourth quarter, the Chiefs pulled off a big rally and came back to win in overtime, 40-34. Kansas City remained the only team (not including the Packers) that Brett Favre had yet to beat as a result of this game.

That changed in 2007, however. Playing in Arrowhead Stadium a week after beating the Denver Broncos in overtime, the Packers staged a series of rallies in the fourth quarter to finally give Favre a win over the Chiefs by the score of 33-22. The Packers returned to Kansas City in 2011, but this time, the Chiefs' defense prevented the Packers from getting into sync on offense. As a result, the Packers' dream of an undefeated season ended at Kansas City by virtue of the 19-14 defeat.

What are your memories of the Packers playing the Chiefs?

(Personal note: Gotta love personal life getting in the way. This is why I was unable to write the series history posts the last two weeks. The first week, I was still recovering from a major hike (and a few hike-related aches and pains) and last week, I was visiting family in Pittsburgh. And now, I must say something. Unless things change, and I do not expect they will, this likely will be my last season writing these series history posts.)