# 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. 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.
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. Known today as the Heidi Game, 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. 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 |
| 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 ||||||

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | 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 :
| viewtalkedit | 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

| 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 | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | 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. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 32 | 43 |

### Week 12 vs. Bills

| 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 | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | 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. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "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: