text: For 1973, quarterback Mike Livingston started in a 23–13 Opening Day loss against Los Angeles, but Len Dawson returned to rally the club for three consecutive wins to get the club off to a 3–1 start for a third consecutive year. The aging Len Dawson made his final start of the year in a 23–14 loss at Buffalo on October 29 on Monday Night Football and was replaced for the remainder of the year by Livingston, beginning a string of three straight seasons in which both players split time at the position. Livingston led the club to another three straight wins, putting the team in first place in mid-November with a 6–3–1 record. A 1–2–1 ledger over the season's final month ended the club's post-season aspirations as the team finished the year in a second-place tie with Denver at 7–5–2. Len Dawson became the second Chiefs player in as many years to win the NFL Man of the Year Award. Following Super Bowl VIII, The AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was held at Arrowhead Stadium on January 20 with the AFC claiming a 15–13 win thanks to five field goals from Miami placekicker Garo Yepremian.
  While the club's sparkling new facility at Arrowhead Stadium was drawing rave reviews, the Chiefs roster was beginning to show its age in 1974. The result was the team's first losing season in 11 years as the club was unable to string together consecutive victories during the year, a first in franchise history. Most of the team's starters were advancing in age: Len Dawson was 39, Jim Tyrer was 35, Bobby Bell, Buck Buchanan, and Ed Budde were 34, Dave Hill was 33 and Otis Taylor was 32.