Sunday night contest at Minnesota on December 26, the team learned it had clinched its first AFC West title since 1971 thanks to a Raiders loss earlier in the day. The team finished the season with an 11–5 regular season record, marking the club's fourth consecutive year with a double-digit victory tally. Linebacker Derrick Thomas was named the NFL's Man of the Year following the season. Thomas, who founded "The Third and Long Foundation", received the honor in large part due to his efforts in promoting children's literacy. Kansas City got its first true taste of "Montana Magic" as the Hall of Fame passer engineered a brilliant comeback in a 27–24 OT win in an AFC Wild Card thriller against Pittsburgh on January 8, 1994. Next, the Chiefs traveled to the Astrodome to face the red-hot Oilers, who had won 11 straight games to conclude the regular season. The heavily favored Oilers opened up a 13–7 lead in the fourth quarter, but once again, Montana conjured a comeback, guiding the club to a 28–20 victory. The Chiefs playoff journey ended as the club made its initial AFC Championship Game appearance at Buffalo on January 23. Montana was knocked out of the contest early in the second half as Buffalo claimed its record fourth straight AFC title by a score of 30–13. The win over the Oilers marked the last time the Chiefs won a playoff game until 2015, and the win over the Steelers marked the last time until 2018 that they won a playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium. 1994 While the previous off-season saw the Chiefs stockpile several key free agents, a number of familiar faces departed following the 1993 season, most notably cornerbacks Albert Lewis and Kevin Ross, as well as placekicker Nick Lowery. Quarterback Steve Bono was acquired in a trade with San Francisco on May 2 to serve as Joe Montana's backup, a job he previously held when both were with the 49ers. A grass playing field was installed at Arrowhead Stadium, replacing the previous AstroTurf surface. The club made its second American Bowl appearance in the pre-season, meeting Minnesota in Tokyo, Japan. On September 11, Steve Young and the San Francisco 49ers came to Arrowhead to play against Joe Montana and the Chiefs in a highly anticipated matchup. The Chiefs prevailed over the 49ers and Montana's successor by a 24–17 count before a crowd of