1968 Oakland Raiders season

1968 Oakland Raiders season
Head coach	John Rauch
Owner	F. Wayne Valley
Home field	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record	12–2–0
Division place	1st AFL Western
Playoff finish	Lost AFL Championship

The 1968 Oakland Raiders season was the team's ninth season in both Oakland and the American Football League. It saw the team try to improve upon its 13–1 record from 1967. They ultimately finished one game short of matching that year's result; their 12–2 finish still ensured that they would lead the league in wins for a second consecutive year. They were led by third-year coach John Rauch.

The season would feature a growing rivalry between the Raiders and the New York Jets (the latter led by superstar quarterback Joe Namath). The two teams would meet twice in 1968. The first meeting, a regular-season contest, saw the Raiders complete a stunning fourth-quarter comeback over the Jets. The contest, known today as the Heidi Game, remains one of the most famous in AFL/NFL history. The two teams would also meet in the 1968 AFL Championship Game; Namath's Jets would emerge victorious in a 27–23 upset. The Jets would ultimately upset the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

The 1968 season is also notable for a few changes to the team including the additions of George Atkinson, Art Shell, and Ken Stabler. All three players would eventually win a championship with the Raiders in 1976. Additionally, Shell was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 15, 1968	at Buffalo Bills	W 48–6	43,057
2	September 21, 1968	at Miami Dolphins	W 47–21	30,021
3	September 29, 1968	at Houston Oilers	W 24–15	46,098
4	October 6, 1968	Boston Patriots	W 41–10	44,253
5	October 13, 1968	San Diego Chargers	L 23–14	53,257
6	October 20, 1968	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 24–10	50,015
7	October 27, 1968	Cincinnati Bengals	W 31–10	37,083
8	November 3, 1968	Kansas City Chiefs	W 38–21	53,357
9	November 10, 1968	at Denver Broncos	W 43–7	50,002
10	November 17, 1968	New York Jets	W 43–32	53,118
11	November 24, 1968	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 34–0	27,116
12	November 28, 1968	Buffalo Bills	W 13–10	39,883
13	December 8, 1968	Denver Broncos	W 33–27	47,754
14	December 15, 1968	at San Diego Chargers	W 34–27	40,698

Postseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Playoff	December 22, 1968	Kansas City Chiefs	W 41–6	53,357
AFL Championship	December 29, 1968	at New York Jets	L 27–23	62,627

Standings

AFL Western Division
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Oakland Raiders	12	2	0	.857	6–2	453	233	W8
Kansas City Chiefs	12	2	0	.857	7–1	371	170	W5
San Diego Chargers	9	5	0	.643	5–3	382	310	L2
Denver Broncos	5	9	0	.357	1–7	255	404	L3
Cincinnati Bengals	3	11	0	.214	1–7	215	329	L3

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Game summaries

Week 10

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jets	6	6	7	13	32
• Raiders	7	7	8	21	43

Date: November 17
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary

1	Jets	Jim Turner 44 yard field goal	Jets 3–0

1	Jets	Jim Turner 18 yard field goal	Jets 6–0

1	Raiders	Warren Wells 9 yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 7–6

2	Raiders	Billy Cannon 48 yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 14–6

2	Jets	Joe Namath 1 yard run (pass failed)	Raiders 14–12

3	Jets	Bill Mathis 4 yard run (Jim Turner kick)	Jets 19–14

3	Raiders	Charlie Smith 3 yard run (pass good)	Raiders 22–19

4	Jets	Don Maynard 50 yard pass from Joe Namath (Jim Turner kick)	Jets 26–22

4	Jets	Jim Turner 12 yard field goal	Jets 29–22

4	Raiders	Fred Biletnikoff 22 yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick)	Tie 29–29

4	Jets	Jim Turner 26 yard field goal	Jets 32–29

4	Raiders	Charlie Smith 43 yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 36–32

4	Raiders	Preston Ridlehuber 2 yard fumble return (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 43–32

"The Heidi Game"

Week 12

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	0	3	0	7	10
• Raiders	0	3	10	0	13

Date: November 28
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game weather: 54°F; wind 5

Scoring summary

2	OAK	George Blanda 39 yard field goal	OAK 3–0

2	BUF	Bruce Alford 26 yard field goal	Tie 3–3

3	OAK	George Blanda 33 yard field goal	OAK 6–3

3	OAK	George Atkinson 33 yard interception return (George Blanda kick)	OAK 13–3

4	BUF	Max Anderson 5 yard run (Bruce Alford kick)	OAK 13–10

^[1]

Thanksgiving Day

Staff

HC: John Rauch

Ast: John Polonchek (RB), Ollie Spencer (OL), Tom Dahms (DL), John Madden (LB), Charlie Sumner (DB), Marv Marinovich (Str)

^[2]

References

Oakland Raiders

Founded in 1960 Played in Los Angeles (1982–1994) Based in Oakland, California Headquartered in Alameda, California

Franchise	History in Los Angeles Seasons Players First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Head coaches

Stadiums	Kezar Stadium Candlestick Park Frank Youell Field Oakland Alameda Coliseum Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Las Vegas Raiders Stadium (proposed)

Key personnel	Owner/CEO: Mark Davis General manager: Reggie McKenzie Head coach: Jack Del Rio

Culture	Oakland Raiderettes Raider Nation The Autumn Wind

Lore	Heidi Game Immaculate Reception The Sea of Hands Ghost to the Post Holy Roller Red Right 88 Tuck Rule Game

Rivalries	Denver Broncos Kansas City Chiefs San Diego Chargers Pittsburgh Steelers

Media	Television: Comcast SportsNet California Comcast SportsNet Bay Area KTVU Radio: KGMZ KITS Other: Compass Media Networks The Raider Cast Personalities: Bill King Greg Papa J. T. the Brick

Playoff appearances (21)	1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1990 1991 1993 2000 2001 2002

Division championships (15)	1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1983 1985 1990 2000 2001 2002

Conference championships (4)	1976 1980 1983 2002

League championships (3^†)	1976 (XI) 1980 (XV) 1983 (XVIII) ^† does not include 1967 AFL championship

Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: West Division

Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)

Seasons (55)	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Championship seasons in bold

Los Angeles / Oakland Raiders seasons

Oakland 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 Los Angeles 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 Oakland 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

1968 AFL season

Eastern Division	Boston	Miami	Cincinnati	Kansas City	Western Division
	Buffalo	NY Jets	Denver	Oakland
	Houston			San Diego

Related: 1968 NFL season

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.