text: The once-optimistic picture for the Chiefs went from bad to worse the following week when back-up quarterback Jacky Lee went down with a broken ankle in a 24–19 loss at Cincinnati on September 28. That injury left the team's most crucial position in the hands of second-year quarterback Mike Livingston, who took just five snaps as a rookie in 1968. However, Livingston engineered a five-game winning streak, while getting plenty of help from the club's defense. The team's home opener was played in a day-long deluge referred to as a "frog-strangler" by Chiefs radio broadcaster Bill Grigsby. The Chiefs and Houston Oilers combined for 14 fumbles in a 24–0 Kansas City victory on October 12. Len Dawson returned to the starting lineup in a 27–3 win against San Diego on November 9 and guided the club to three wins in the season's next four games.
  The Chiefs defeated the Denver Broncos 31–17 on Thanksgiving Day. Trailing 24–17 late in the game, Denver attempted an onside kick that was recovered by linebacker Bobby Bell, who promptly returned that kick for a 53-yard touchdown. Mike Livingston started the following week against Buffalo on December 7 for an again-injured Dawson, who returned for the regular season finale at Oakland on December 13. A 10–6 loss against the Raiders gave the Chiefs an 11–3 record, good for second in the AFC Western Conference behind Oakland (12–1–1).
  In an AFL Divisional Playoff Game at New York, Kansas City rode its dominating defense which produced a crucial goal-line stand en route to a 13–6 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Jets to set up a rematch with the Raiders in the final AFL Championship Game. Looking for retribution of the previous losses in the regular season and in the 1968 playoffs, the Chiefs became the league's only three-time champions, defeating the Raiders by a 17–7 count at Oakland on January 4, 1970.