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1968 Buffalo Bills season
1968 Buffalo Bills season
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Head coach	Joe Collier and Harvey Johnson
Home field	War Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	1–12–1
Division place	5th AFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	← 1967; Bills seasons; 1969 →;

The 1968 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s ninth season.

The Bills' 1–12–1 record in 1968 (a 0.107 winning percentage) is the second-worst in team history: the 1971 Bills went 1–13. They were one of only two teams in AFL history (the other being the 1962 Oakland Raiders) to finish the season with only one victory.

The Bills, coming off a 4–10 season in 1967, fired coach Joe Collier after an 0–2 start in 1968. Defensive backfield coach Harvey Johnson was promoted to interim head coach,^[1] where he went 1–10–1 to finish the year.^[2]

With the release of running back Wray Carlton, wide receiver Elbert Dubenion was the last player from the Bills' original roster in 1960 to still be with the team.^[3]

The majority of Buffalo's games were started by backup quarterback Dan Darragh, after injuries claimed the seasons of long-time starter Jack Kemp and new addition Tom Flores. Even Darragh and new addition Kay Stephenson were injured. Ultimately, running back Ed Rutkowski, who hadn't played the quarterback position since college six years prior, ended up starting at quarterback for the Bills.^[4]

Buffalo's only win of the season was a home victory over the New York Jets, who eventually went on to win Super Bowl III. In that game, the Bills held a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter before giving up two late touchdowns to the Jets. Ultimately, the Bills were able to hold on to the two-point win.^[5] Through the 2022 season, this is the only instance in which a team that had only 1 win have that win come against the eventual Super Bowl champion.

Offseason

August 24: Bills sign fullback Wayne Patrick.^[6]
August 27: Bills acquire quarterback (and future Bills head coach) Kay Stephenson from the San Diego Chargers for a Fifth Round Pick.^[6]
August 28: Bills acquire fullback Bob Cappadona from the Boston Patriots for a ninth round draft pick.^[6]
September 2: The Bills cut running backs Wray Carlton, wide receiver Ed Rutkowski (who would return later in the season as a quarterback), tight end Charley Ferguson and defensive tackle Dudley Meredith.^[3]

AFL Draft

Personnel

Coaches/Staff

1968 Buffalo Bills staff

Front office

Majority Owner/President – Ralph Wilson
Vice President and General Manager – Bob Lustig
Vice President/Minority Owner – Pat McGroder

Coaching staff

Head Coach - Joe Collier (fired earlier in season)
Interim Head Coach - Harvey Johnson

Offensive coaches

Wide Receivers - John Mazur & Bob Celeri
Offensive Backfield Coach - John Mazur
Offensive Line – Jerry Smith & Marvin Bass

Defensive coaches

Defensive Backfield – Richie McCabe
Kickers - Harvey Johnson

Source: https://pro-football-history.com/franchise/7/buffalo-bills-coaches

Final roster

**1968 Buffalo Bills roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 10 Dan Darragh 3 Benny Russell 18 Kay Stephenson Running backs (RB) 22 Max Anderson 36 Bob Cappadona 33 Ben Gregory FB 32 Gary McDermott 46 Charley Mitchell 30 Wayne Patrick 40 Ed Rutkowski Wide receivers (WR) 83 Bobby Crockett 44 Elbert Dubenion 43 Monte Ledbetter 25 Haven Moses 28 Richard Trapp Tight ends (TE) 82 Paul Costa 87 Billy Masters		Offensive linemen (OL) 77 Stew Barber T 50 Al Bemiller C 62 Dick Cunningham T 63 George Flint G 51 John Frantz C 61 Bob Kalsu G 73 Howard Kindig T 74 Ray Rissmiller T 66 Billy Shaw G Defensive linemen (DL) 89 Tom Day DE 78 Jim Dunaway DT 76 Mike McBath DE 72 Ron McDole DE 70 Tom Sestak DT 71 Bob Tatarek DT		Linebackers (LB) 52 Edgar Chandler 59 Paul Guidry 64 Harry Jacobs 57 Marty Schottenheimer 58 Mike Stratton Defensive backs (DB) 23 Charlie Brown CB 42 Butch Byrd CB 45 Hagood Clarke SS 24 Booker Edgerson CB 27 Tom Janik FS 21 Jerry Lawson CB 48 John Pitts SS 26 George Saimes FS Special teams 46 Bruce Alford K 55 Paul Maguire				Reserve 74 Chuck DeVleigher DT (IR) 16 Tom Flores QB (IR) 15 Jack Kemp QB (IR) Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	NFL.com recap
1	August 5	Detroit Lions	W 13–9	1–0	War Memorial Stadium	Recap
2	August 11	Miami Dolphins	T 28–28	1–0–1	War Memorial Stadium	Recap
3	August 17	Cincinnati Bengals	L 6–10	1–1–1	Nippert Stadium	Recap
4	August 23	Houston Oilers	L 7–37	1–2–1	Astrodome	Recap
5	August 30	Cleveland Browns	L 12–22	1–3–1	War Memorial Stadium	Recap

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	NFL.com recap
1	September 8	Boston Patriots	L 7–16	0–1	War Memorial Stadium	Recap
2	September 15	Oakland Raiders	L 6–48	0–2	War Memorial Stadium	Recap
3	September 22	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 23–34	0–3	Nippert Stadium	Recap
4	September 29	New York Jets	W 37–35	1–3	War Memorial Stadium	Recap
5	October 5	Kansas City Chiefs	L 7–18	1–4	War Memorial Stadium	Recap
6	October 12	at Miami Dolphins	T 14–14	1–4–1	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
7	October 20	at Boston Patriots	L 6–23	1–5–1	Fenway Park	Recap
8	October 27	Houston Oilers	L 7–30	1–6–1	War Memorial Stadium	Recap
9	November 3	at New York Jets	L 21–25	1–7–1	Shea Stadium	Recap
10	November 10	Miami Dolphins	L 17–23	1–8–1	War Memorial Stadium	Recap
11	November 17	San Diego Chargers	L 6–21	1–9–1	War Memorial Stadium	Recap
12	November 24	at Denver Broncos	L 32–34	1–10–1	Mile High Stadium	Recap
13	November 28	at Oakland Raiders	L 10-13	1–11–1	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum	Recap
14	December 7	at Houston Oilers	L 6–35	1–12–1	Astrodome	Recap

Standings

AFL Eastern Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
New York Jets	11	3	0	.786	7–1	419	280	W4
Houston Oilers	7	7	0	.500	5–3	303	248	W2
Miami Dolphins	5	8	1	.385	4–3–1	276	355	L1
Boston Patriots	4	10	0	.286	2–6	229	406	L2
Buffalo Bills	1	12	1	.077	1–6–1	199	367	L8

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

Game summaries

Week 12 vs. Raiders

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

Quarter	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
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
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	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

Awards and Records

Bob Kalsu, Team Rookie of the Year^[7]

References

^ Johnson would be promoted to head coach again before the 1971 season
^ Johnson resumed his defensive coaching duties under John Rauch in 1969, but would later be promoted to head coach again for one year in 1971.
^ ^a ^b Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.393, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0
^ [Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p.144, Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN 0-312-11073-1
^ Pro-Football-Reference: New York Jets 35 at Buffalo Bills 37, Sunday, September 29, 1968
^ ^a ^b ^c Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.392, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0
^ Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.513, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0