1968 Oakland Raiders season

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 head coach John Rauch. They tied with Kansas City for the division title, which was settled by an unscheduled tiebreaker playoff, won 41–6 by the Raiders in Oakland.

1968 Oakland Raiders season
Head coach	John Rauch
Owner	F. Wayne Valley
Home field	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record	12–2
Division place	1st AFL Western
Playoff finish	Lost AFL Championship Game (at Jets) 23–27

The season featured a growing rivalry between the Raiders and the New York Jets, led by fourth-year superstar quarterback Joe Namath. The teams met twice in 1968: the first was on November 17 in Oakland, which saw the Raiders complete a stunning fourth-quarter comeback over the Jets, scoring two touchdowns in nine seconds.[1] Known today as the Heidi Game,[2] it remains one of the most famous in AFL/NFL history. They paired up six weeks later in the AFL Championship Game in New York, where Namath's Jets emerged victorious in a 27–23 upset on December 29.[3] Two weeks later, the Jets 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 won a championship with the Raiders eight years later in Super Bowl XI. Additionally, Shell in 1989, and Stabler in 2016, were both inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1968 Oakland Raiders draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2	52	Ken Stabler * ^†	QB	Alabama
3	80	Art Shell * ^†	T	Maryland Eastern Shore
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

1968 Oakland Raiders roster

	Quarterbacks 19 Cotton Davidson  3 Daryle Lamonica 12 Ken Stabler Running backs 40 Pete Banaszak 35 Hewritt Dixon FB 30 Roger Hagberg 23 Charlie Smith 22 Larry Todd Wide receivers 25 Fred Biletnikoff 10 Eldridge Dickey 82 John Eason 89 Bill Miller 41 John Roderick 81 Warren Wells Tight ends 33 Billy Cannon 88 Dave Kocourek		Offensive linemen 70 Jim Harvey G 62 Bob Kruse G 00 Jim Otto C 79 Harry Schuh T 78 Art Shell T 76 Bob Svihus T 63 Gene Upshaw G Defensive linemen 53 Dan Birdwell DT 83 Ben Davidson DE 71 Al Dotson DT 77 Ike Lassiter DE 80 Karl Rubke DT		Linebackers 50 Duane Benson 48 Bill Budness 55 Dan Conners 86 Bill Fairband 61 Dave Ogas 56 Chip Oliver 34 Gus Otto Defensive backs 43 George Atkinson FS 21 Rodger Bird 24 Willie Brown CB 45 Dave Grayson S 47 Kent McCloughan CB 26 Nemiah Wilson CB Special teams 16 George Blanda K 11 Mike Eischeid P		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

Schedule

Main article: 1968 American Football League season

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

• Saturday night (September 21), Thursday (November 28: Thanksgiving)

Postseason

Main article: 1968 American Football League playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Western 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	275	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 11 vs. Jets

See also: 1968 New York Jets season

New York Jets (7–2) at Oakland Raiders (7–2)

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

at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum • Oakland, California

• Date: November 17
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
• Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C) • Wind —
• Game attendance: 53,318
• Referee: Bob Finley
• TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy and Kyle Rote
• Pro-Football-Reference.com, Pro Football Hall of Fame

Game information
Jets Joe Namath 19/37, 381 Yds, TD Matt Snell 21 Rush, 46 Yds Don Maynard 10 Rec, 228 Yds, TD Raiders Daryle Lamonica 21/34, 311 Yds, 4 TD, 2 INT Hewritt Dixon 4 Rush, 75 Yds Fred Biletnikoff 7 Rec, 120 Yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NYJ OAK 1 7:42 Jets 44-yard field goal by Turner 3 0 1 5:23 Jets 18-yard field goal by Turner 6 0 1 2:32 Raiders Wells 9-yard touchdown reception from Lamonica, Blanda kick good 6 7 2 13:34 Raiders Cannon 48-yard touchdown reception from Lamonica, Blanda kick good 6 14 2 0:05 Jets Namath 1-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed 12 14 3 9:59 Jets Mathis 4-yard touchdown run, Turner kick good 19 14 3 1:46 Raiders Smith 3-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good 19 22 4 14:15 Jets Maynard 50-yard touchdown reception from Namath, Turner kick good 26 22 4 8:49 Jets 12-yard field goal by Turner 29 22 4 3:10 Raiders Biletnikoff 22-yard touchdown reception from Lamonica, Blanda kick good 29 29 4 1:05 Jets 26-yard field goal by Turner 32 29 4 0:42 Raiders Smith 43-yard touchdown reception from Lamonica, Blanda kick good 32 36 4 0:33 Raiders Fumble recovery returned 2 yards for touchdown by Ridlehuber, Blanda kick good 32 43 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 32 43

Week 12 vs. Bills

Buffalo Bills (1–10–1) at Oakland Raiders (9–2)

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

at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum • Oakland, California

• Date: November 28
• Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C) • Wind 5 mph (8 km/h)
• Game attendance: 39,883
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information
Bills Ed Rutkowski 10/25, 160 Yds, 2 INT Max Anderson 11 Rush, 60 Yds, TD 2 Rec, 31 Yds Raiders Daryle Lamonica 12/32, 145 Yds, INT Charlie Smith 12 Rush, 54 Yds Warren Wells 3 Rec, 61 Yds

Thanksgiving Day

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP BUF OAK 2 Raiders 39-yard field goal by Blanda 0 3 2 Bills 26-yard field goal by Alford 3 3 3 Raiders 33-yard field goal by Blanda 3 6 3 Raiders Interception returned 33 yards for touchdown by Atkinson, Blanda kick good 3 13 4 Bills Anderson 5-yard touchdown run, Alford kick good 10 13 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 10 13

Staff

HC: John Rauch

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

[4]

References

1. "Raiders stun Jets with nine-second blitz". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 18, 1968. p. 3B.
2. "Heidi upstages pro football". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 18, 1968. p. 3B.
3. Chass, Murray (December 30, 1968). "Super Bowl stage set as Baltimore, New York win: Weeb captures 3rd grid title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 3B.
4. "Raiders coaches – Silver and Black Report". Archived from the original on April 18, 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2010.