1974 Oakland Raiders season

The 1974 Oakland Raiders season was the team's 15th season in Oakland and fifth in the National Football League. The team would post a superb 12–2 record; the campaign's two losses would be by a total of four points. The Raiders' record (the team's best since 1969) would ensure their fourth AFC West title in five years.

1974 Oakland Raiders season
Head coach	John Madden
General manager	Al Davis
Owner	Al Davis
Home field	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record	12–2
Division place	1st AFC West
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Round (Dolphins) 28–26 Lost AFC Championship Game (Steelers) 13–24

For the second straight campaign, the Raiders exacted revenge upon the team that had eliminated them in the prior year's playoffs. This time, Oakland toppled the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins, by a score of 28–26, in the playoffs' Divisional round. Quarterback Kenny Stabler threw a last-minute winning touchdown pass to running back Clarence Davis in what has come to be known as the "Sea of Hands" game.

For the second straight season, however, the Raiders lost in the AFC Championship Game. They were upset, 24–13, by the eventual champion Pittsburgh Steelers. While the Raiders led 10–3 at the end of the third quarter, a defensive meltdown would allow the Steelers to score 21 points in the final frame.

The 2006 edition of Pro Football Prospectus[1] listed the 1974 Raiders as one of their "Heartbreak Seasons", in which teams "dominated the entire regular season only to falter in the playoffs, unable to close the deal." Pro Football Prospectus states, The John Madden Raiders were a consistently good regular season team, but the playoffs were a different story. The 1972 season came to an end with the painful Immaculate Reception game. The 1973 Raiders ended Miami's 18-game winning streak during the regular season but lost to the Dolphins in the AFC Championship game. In 1974, the Raiders seemed to finally have all the pieces."

Despite the disappointment at the end of the 1974 season, Pro Football Prospectus continues, "[t]he Raiders persevered, keeping the team's core together the next several seasons. In 1975, they again fell to the Steelers in the AFC title game, but caught a break in the 1976 AFC Championship, when they cruised to a 24–7 victory over Pittsburgh, who were without running backs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier. Finally, in the Super Bowl, they did not waste their opportunity, crushing the Vikings 32–14 behind Ken Stabler and Clarence Davis."

"The Autumn Wind", a poem written by former NFL Films President and co-founder Steve Sabol, became the unofficial team anthem of the Raiders,[2][3][4][5] and was first used for the team's official team yearbook film in 1974. It was narrated by John Facenda,[6] and dubbed "The Battle Hymn of the Raider Nation".[7]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1974 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team

Roster

1974 Oakland Raiders roster

	Quarterbacks 3 Daryle Lamonica 13 Larry Lawrence 12 Ken Stabler Running backs 40 Pete Banaszak 28 Clarence Davis 44 Marv Hubbard 23 Charlie Smith 30 Mark van Eeghen FB Wide receivers 25 Fred Biletnikoff 81 Morris Bradshaw 21 Cliff Branch 49 Mike Siani Tight ends 87 Dave Casper 88 Bob Moore		Offensive linemen 64 George Buehler G 50 Dave Dalby C 00 Jim Otto C 78 Art Shell T 63 Gene Upshaw G 75 John Vella T Defensive linemen 84 Tony Cline DE 82 Horace Jones DE 71 Kelvin Korver DT 60 Otis Sistrunk DE 77 Bubba Smith DE 80 Art Thoms DT		Linebackers 54 Mike Dennery 55 Dan Conners 86 Gerald Irons 58 Monte Johnson 41 Phil Villapiano Defensive backs 43 George Atkinson FS 24 Willie Brown CB 27 Ron Smith SS 31 Jack Tatum FS 26 Skip Thomas CB 20 Jimmy Warren 43 Nemiah Wilson CB Special teams 16 George Blanda K 8 Ray Guy P 6 George Jakowenko K		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 16, 1974	at Buffalo Bills	L 21–20	80,020
2	September 22, 1974	Kansas City Chiefs	W 27–7	48,108
3	September 29, 1974	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 17–0	48,304
4	October 6, 1974	at Cleveland Browns	W 40–24	65,247
5	October 13, 1974	at San Diego Chargers	W 14–10	40,539
6	October 20, 1974	Cincinnati Bengals	W 30–27	54,020
7	October 27, 1974	at San Francisco 49ers	W 35–24	58,284
8	November 3, 1974	at Denver Broncos	W 28–17	45,946
9	November 10, 1974	Detroit Lions	W 35–13	51,973
10	November 17, 1974	San Diego Chargers	W 17–10	50,178
11	November 24, 1974	Denver Broncos	L 20–17	51,224
12	December 1, 1974	New England Patriots	W 41–26	50,120
13	December 8, 1974	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 7–6	60,577
14	December 14, 1974	Dallas Cowboys	W 27–23	45,840

Game summaries

Week 1

See also: 1974 Buffalo Bills season

Week One: Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	3	7	10	20
Bills	0	7	0	14	21

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

• Date: September 16
• Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 59 F, wind 13 mph
• Box Score

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Raiders Bills 2 Bills J. D. Hill 4-yard touchdown reception from Joe Ferguson, John Leypoldt kick good 0 7 2 Raiders 34-yard field goal by George Blanda 3 7 3 Raiders Clarence Davis 15-yard touchdown run, George Blanda kick good 10 7 4 Raiders 41-yard field goal by George Blanda 13 7 4 Bills Ahmad Rashād 8-yard touchdown reception from Joe Ferguson, John Leypoldt kick good 13 14 4 Raiders Fumble recovery returned 29 yards for touchdown by Art Thoms, George Blanda kick good 20 14 4 Bills Ahmad Rashād 13-yard touchdown reception from Joe Ferguson, John Leypoldt kick good 20 21 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 20 21

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total Chiefs 0 0 7 0 7 • Raiders 7 13 0 7 27 Date: September 22 Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 60°F • Wind 9

Scoring summary 1 OAK Dave Casper 5 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick) Raiders 7–0 2 OAK Mike Siani 9 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick) Raiders 14–0 2 OAK Pete Banaszak 20 yard run (kick failed) Raiders 20–0 3 KC Wilbur Young 50 yard interception return (Jan Stenerud kick) Raiders 20–7 4 OAK Dave Casper 2 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick) Raiders 27–7

[8]

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total • Raiders 7 10 0 0 17 Steelers 0 0 0 0 0 Date: September 29 Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 63°F • Wind 15

Scoring summary 1 OAK Ken Stabler 1 yard run (George Blanda kick) Raiders 7–0 2 OAK Cliff Branch 19 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick) Raiders 14–0 2 OAK George Blanda 35 yard field goal Raiders 17–0

[9]

Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 9 0 7 7 23 • Raiders 3 14 7 3 27 Date: December 14 Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California Game start: 6:00 p.m. Game weather: 53°F • Wind 7 Referee: Bob Frederic TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell and Alex Karras

Scoring summary 1 DAL Drew Pearson recovers fumble in end zone (Efren Herrera kick) Cowboys 7–0 1 OAK George Blanda 31 yard field goal Cowboys 7–3 1 DAL Safety, center snap fumbled out of end zone Cowboys 9–3 2 OAK Fred Biletnikoff 9 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick) Raiders 10–9 2 OAK Charlie Smith 14 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick) Raiders 17–9 3 OAK Cliff Branch 28 yard pass from George Blanda (George Blanda kick) Raiders 24–9 3 DAL Doug Dennison 1 yard run (Efren Herrera kick) Raiders 24–16 4 OAK George Blanda 34 yard field goal Raiders 27–16 4 DAL Doug Dennison 2 yard run (Efren Herrera kick) Raiders 27–23

[10]

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Oakland Raiders	12	2	0	.857	5–1	9–2	355	228	W3
Denver Broncos	7	6	1	.536	3–3	5–4–1	302	294	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	5	9	0	.357	2–4	4–7	233	293	L2
San Diego Chargers	5	9	0	.357	2–4	4–7	212	285	W2

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Divisional	December 21, 1974	Miami Dolphins	W 28–26	52,817
Conference Championship	December 29, 1974	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 24–13	53,515

Game summaries

Divisional: vs. Miami Dolphins

1 2 3 4 Total Dolphins 7 3 6 10 26 • Raiders 0 7 7 14 28 Date: December 21 Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California Game start: 1:00 p.m. PST Game weather: 49°F, wind 8 mph Referee: Ben Dreith TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis and Don Meredith Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary 1 Dolphins Nat Moore 89 yard kickoff return (Garo Yepremian kick) Dolphins 7–0 2 Raiders Charlie Smith 31 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick) Tie 7–7 2 Dolphins Garo Yepremian 33 yard field goal Dolphins 10–7 3 Raiders Fred Biletnikoff 13 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick) Raiders 14–10 3 Dolphins Paul Warfield 16 yard pass from Bob Griese (kick failed) Dolphins 16–14 4 Dolphins Garo Yepremian 46 yard field goal Dolphins 19–14 4 Raiders Cliff Branch 72 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick) Raiders 21–19 4 Dolphins Benny Malone 23 yard run (Garo Yepremian kick) Dolphins 26–21 4 Raiders Clarence Davis 8 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick) Raiders 28–26

References

1. Pro Football Prospectus 2006 (ISBN 0761142177), p.73-75
2. Warnock to sell luxury suites at stadium, ESPN, May 7, 2004, retrieved January 27, 2008
3. "The Recap", The Washington Post, October 30, 2006, retrieved January 27, 2008
4. Steele, David (October 23, 2000), Coliseum Turns Into Wind Tunnel for a Day, San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved January 27, 2008
5. Carr, Bob (November 1, 2005), What do the Tennessee Titans and the San Diego Chargers have in Common?, San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved January 27, 2008
6. Peterseim, Peter (December 29, 2001), Cool Hand Luke, Wilt the Stilt, and the nine-headed monster, ESPN, retrieved January 27, 2008
7. Lynch, Kevin (November 1, 2002), Foreboding song blows through practice, San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved January 27, 2008
8. Pro-Football-Reference.com
9. Pro-Football-Reference.com
10. Pro-Football-Reference.com

Sources

• Raiders on Pro Football Reference
• Raiders on Database Football