1965 Oakland Raiders season
The 1965 Oakland Raiders season was the team's sixth in both Oakland and the American Football League. The campaign saw the team attempt to improve upon the prior year's disappointing 5–7–2 record, and finished at 8–5–1.[1] While the effort was a definite improvement, it was not enough to win the division and secure a postseason berth. This was the third and last season for Al Davis as head coach, as he became the AFL commissioner in April 1966; he was succeeded by offensive backs coach John Rauch in 1966.[2]
1965 Oakland Raiders season | |
---|---|
Head coach | Al Davis |
General manager | Al Davis |
Owner | F. Wayne Valley |
Home field | Frank Youell Field |
Results | |
Record | 8–5–1 |
Division place | 2nd AFL Western |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
This was the first of sixteen consecutive winning seasons for the Raiders. It is also notable for the debut of Hall of Fame wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff, the first of several legendary Raiders drafted in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was an integral part of the team's 1967 and 1976 Super Bowl runs.
It was also the Raiders' last year at Frank Youell Field;[3] they moved to the new Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in 1966.
Offseason
Round | Overall | Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 0 | Fred Biletnikoff | WR | Florida State |
Season
Regular season
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 12 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 37–10 | 1–0 | |
2 | September 19 | San Diego Chargers | L 6–17 | 1–1 | |
3 | September 26 | Houston Oilers | W 21–17 | 2–1 | |
4 | October 3 | at Buffalo Bills | L 12–17 | 2–2 | |
5 | October 8 | at Boston Patriots | W 24–10 | 3–2 | |
6 | October 16 | at New York Jets | T 24–24 | 3–2–1 | |
7 | October 24 | Boston Patriots | W 30–21 | 4–2–1 | |
8 | October 31 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 7–14 | 4–3–1 | |
9 | November 7 | at Houston Oilers | W 33–21 | 5–3–1 | |
10 | November 14 | Buffalo Bills | L 14–17 | 5–4–1 | |
11 | November 21 | at Denver Broncos | W 28–20 | 6–4–1 | |
12 | November 28 | Bye | |||
13 | December 5 | Denver Broncos | W 24–13 | 7–4–1 | |
14 | December 12 | New York Jets | W 24–14 | 8–4–1 | |
15 | December 19 | at San Diego Chargers | L 14–24 | 8–5–1 |
- Friday night (October 8), Saturday night (October 16)
Game summaries
Week 1
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Standings
AFL Western Division | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
San Diego Chargers | 9 | 2 | 3 | .818 | 4–1–1 | 340 | 227 | W3 | |
Oakland Raiders | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 3–3 | 298 | 239 | L1 | |
Kansas City Chiefs | 7 | 5 | 2 | .583 | 4–1–1 | 322 | 285 | W1 | |
Denver Broncos | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 0–6 | 303 | 392 | L4 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
References
- "Football standings". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). December 20, 1965. p. 3C.
- "Appoint Davis as AFL czar". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 1, part 2.
- "Clinch second". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 13, 1965. p. 3B.
- "1965 AFL Draft at databaseFootball.com". Archived from the original on February 6, 2007.
- Pro-Football-Reference.com