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1968 Oakland Raiders season
1968 Oakland Raiders season
Owner	F. Wayne Valley
General manager	Al Davis
Head coach	John Rauch
Home field	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record	12–2
Division place	1st AFL Western
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs; (vs. Chiefs) 41–6; Lost AFL Championship; (at Jets) 23–27
	← 1967; Raiders seasons; 1969 →;

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. Led by third-year head coach John Rauch, they tied with Kansas City for the division title,^[1]^[2] which was settled by an unscheduled tiebreaker playoff, won 41–6 by the Raiders in Oakland.^[3]

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.^[4] Known today as the Heidi Game,^[5] 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.^[6] 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

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1968 Oakland Raiders draft
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 (QB) 19 Cotton Davidson 3 Daryle Lamonica 12 Ken Stabler Running backs (RB) 40 Pete Banaszak 35 Hewritt Dixon FB 30 Roger Hagberg 37 Preston Ridlehuber 23 Charlie Smith 22 Larry Todd Wide receivers (WR) 25 Fred Biletnikoff 10 Eldridge Dickey 82 John Eason 89 Bill Miller 41 John Roderick 81 Warren Wells Tight ends (TE) 33 Billy Cannon 88 Dave Kocourek		Offensive linemen (OL) 70 Jim Harvey G 65 Wayne Hawkins 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 (DL) 53 Dan Birdwell DT 83 Ben Davidson DE 71 Al Dotson DT 77 Ike Lassiter DE 85 Carleton Oats DT 80 Karl Rubke DT		Linebackers (LB) 50 Duane Benson 48 Bill Budness 55 Dan Conners 86 Bill Fairband 52 Jerry Hopkins 61 Dave Ogas 56 Chip Oliver 34 Gus Otto Defensive backs (DB) 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 74 Tom Keating DT (IR) Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	Bye
2	September 15	at Buffalo Bills	W 48–6	1–0	War Memorial Stadium	43,057	Recap
3	September 21	at Miami Dolphins	W 47–21	2–0	Miami Orange Bowl	30,021	Recap
4	September 29	at Houston Oilers	W 24–15	3–0	Houston Astrodome	46,098	Recap
5	October 6	Boston Patriots	W 41–10	4–0	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	44,253	Recap
6	October 13	San Diego Chargers	L 14–23	4–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	53,257	Recap
7	October 20	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–24	4–2	Municipal Stadium	50,015	Recap
8	October 27	Cincinnati Bengals	W 31–10	5–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	37,083	Recap
9	November 3	Kansas City Chiefs	W 38–21	6–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	53,357	Recap
10	November 10	at Denver Broncos	W 43–7	7–2	Mile High Stadium	50,002	Recap
11	November 17	New York Jets	W 43–32	8–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	53,118	Recap
12	November 24	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 34–0	9–2	Nippert Stadium	27,116	Recap
13	November 28	Buffalo Bills	W 13–10	10–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	39,883	Recap
14	December 8	Denver Broncos	W 33–27	11–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	47,754	Recap
15	December 15	at San Diego Chargers	W 34–27	12–2	San Diego Stadium	40,698	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

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

Postseason

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance	Recap
Divisional	December 22	Kansas City Chiefs	W 41–6	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	53,357	Recap
AFL Championship	December 29	at New York Jets	L 23–27	Shea Stadium	62,627	Recap

Standings

AFL Western Division
view talk edit	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 in the AFL.

Game summaries

Week 11 vs. Jets

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

Quarter	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
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	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)

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, Thanksgiving Day
Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C) • Wind 5 mph (8 km/h)
Game attendance: 39,883
TV: NBC
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

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

Staff

Head coach: John Rauch

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

Source:^[7]

References

^ "Bird's big theft propels Oakland". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. December 16, 1968. p. 18.
^ "Chiefs resume practice". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. December 16, 1968. p. 19.
^ "Collier, Ewbank throw bouquets at Colts, Raiders". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. December 23, 1968. p. 14.
^ "Raiders stun Jets with nine-second blitz". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 18, 1968. p. 3B.
^ "Heidi upstages pro football". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 18, 1968. p. 3B.
^ 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.
^ "Raiders coaches – Silver and Black Report". Archived from the original on April 18, 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2010.