1968 Kansas City Chiefs season
# 1968 Kansas City Chiefs season

The 1968 Kansas City Chiefs season was the 9th season for the Kansas City Chiefs as a professional AFL franchise; They finished with a 12–2 record (the best in the Stram era), resulting in a tie for first place in the AFL Western Division with the Oakland Raiders, before the Raiders won the championship in a tiebreaker playoff, defeating the Chiefs 41–6.

The 1968 Chiefs boasted one of the finest defenses ever assembled by the club, allowing an AFL record (and still franchise-low) 170 points, or 12.1 points per game. The nucleus of the defensive unit was clearly in its prime, producing six AFL All-Stars, including all three of the squad's linebackers.

Offensively, quarterback Len Dawson led the AFL in passing for the fourth time. Guard Ed Budde won the AFL Offensive Player of the Week award for the October 20 game against the Raiders. It was the first time the award was given to an interior lineman.

The Chiefs began the season with a 7–1 record and rattled off five straight victories to close the regular season at 12–2, sharing the division crown with the Raiders and setting up their playoff on December 22, in which the Raiders advanced to the AFL Championship Game against the New York Jets. The loss to Oakland was a major event in the Chiefs' rivalry with the Raiders, one of the NFL's most storied feuds.

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | August 3 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 38–14 | 1–0 | Nippert Stadium | 21,682 | Recap |
| 2 | August 10 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 13–10 | 2–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,228 | Recap |
| 3 | August 17 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 13–10 | 3–0 | Municipal Stadium | 47,462 | Recap |
| 4 | August 24 | Oakland Raiders | W 31–21 | 4–0 | Municipal Stadium | 43,769 | Recap |
| 5 | August 31 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 16–36 | 4–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 54,323 | Recap |

## Regular season

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | September 9 | at Houston Oilers | W 26–21 | 1–0 | Houston Astrodome | 45,083 | Recap |
| 2 | September 15 | New York Jets | L 19–20 | 1–1 | Municipal Stadium | 48,871 | Recap |
| 3 | September 22 | Denver Broncos | W 34–2 | 2–1 | Municipal Stadium | 45,821 | Recap |
| 4 | September 28 | at Miami Dolphins | W 48–3 | 3–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 28,501 | Recap |
| 5 | October 5 | at Buffalo Bills | W 18–7 | 4–1 | War Memorial Stadium | 40,748 | Recap |
| 6 | October 13 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 13–3 | 5–1 | Municipal Stadium | 47,096 | Recap |
| 7 | October 20 | Oakland Raiders | W 24–10 | 6–1 | Municipal Stadium | 50,015 | Recap |
| 8 | October 27 | San Diego Chargers | W 27–20 | 7–1 | Municipal Stadium | 50,344 | Recap |
| 9 | November 3 | at Oakland Raiders | L 21–38 | 7–2 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 53,357 | Recap |
| 10 | November 10 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 16–9 | 8–2 | Nippert Stadium | 25,537 | Recap |
| 11 | November 17 | Boston Patriots | W 31–17 | 9–2 | Municipal Stadium | 48,271 | Recap |
| 12 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 13 | November 28 | Houston Oilers | W 24–10 | 10–2 | Municipal Stadium | 48,493 | Recap |
| 14 | December 8 | at San Diego Chargers | W 40–3 | 11–2 | San Diego Stadium | 51,174 | Recap |
| 15 | December 14 | at Denver Broncos | W 30–7 | 12–2 | Bears Stadium | 38,463 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

## 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.

## Postseason

A tie in the Western Division standings necessitated an unscheduled playoff game

### Schedule

| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Division | December 22 | at Oakland Raiders | L 6–41 | 0–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 53,605 | Recap |

**AFL Divisional Playoffs: at Oakland Raiders**

| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Chiefs | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Raiders | 21 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 41 |

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

* Date: December 22
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
* Game weather: 42 °F (6 °C)
* Game attendance: 53,605
* TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote and Al DeRogatis
* Recap

Game information :

First quarter

OAK – Fred Biletnikoff 24-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick). Raiders 7–0.

OAK – Warren Wells 23-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick). Raiders 14–0.

OAK – Fred Biletnikoff 44-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick). Raiders 21–0.

Second quarter

KC – Jan Stenerud 10-yard field goal. Raiders 21–3.

KC – Jan Stenerud 8-yard field goal. Raiders 21–6.

OAK – Fred Biletnikoff 54-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick). Raiders 28–6.

Third quarter

No scoring plays.

Fourth quarter

OAK – Warren Wells 35-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick). Raiders 35–6.

OAK – George Blanda 41-yard field goal. Raiders 38–6.

OAK – George Blanda 40-yard field goal. Raiders 41–6.

Top passers

KC – Len Dawson – 17/36, 253 yards, 4 INT

OAK – Daryle Lamonica – 19/39, 347 yards, 5 TD

Top rushers

KC – Robert Holmes – 13 rushes, 46 yards

OAK – Charlie Smith – 13 rushes, 74 yards

Top receivers

KC – Otis Taylor – 4 receptions, 117 yards

OAK – Fred Biletnikoff – 7 receptions, 180 yards, 3 TD :

