American Football League playoffs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From 1960 to 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions (although ties in the standings during the 1963 and 1968 seasons necessitated a divisional playoff game). In 1969, a four team tournament was instituted, with the second place teams in each division also participating.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame and the National Football League include AFL playoffs in their statistics for the NFL playoffs.
Contents |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers | 6 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 16 |
| Oilers | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
Houston Oilers 24, Los Angeles Chargers 16
Scoring
- LA - Field goal Agajanian 38 LA 3-0
- LA - Field goal Agajanian 22 LA 6-0
- HOU - Smith 17 pass from Blanda (Blanda kick) HOU 7-6
- HOU - Field goal Blanda 18 HOU 10-6
- LA - Field goal Agajanian 27 HOU 10-9
- HOU - Groman 7 pass from Blanda (Blanda kick) HOU 17-9
- LA - Lowe 2 run (Agajanian kick) HOU 17-16
- HOU - Cannon 88 pass from Blanda (Blanda kick) HOU 24-16
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Chargers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Houston Oilers 10, San Diego Chargers 3
Scoring
- HOU - Field goal Blanda 46
- HOU - Cannon 35 pass from Blanda (Blanda kick)
- SD - Field goal Blair 12
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texans | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| Oilers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
Dallas Texans 20, Houston Oilers 17 (2OT)
Scoring
- DAL - Field goal Brooker 16
- DAL - Haynes 28 pass from Dawson (Brooker kick)
- DAL - Haynes 2 run (Brooker kick)
- HOU - Dewveall 15 pass from Blanda (Blanda kick)
- HOU - Field goal Blanda 31
- HOU - Tolar 1 run (Blanda kick)
- DAL - Field goal Brooker 25
- A tie in the Eastern Division standings necessitated an Eastern Division playoff game
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patriots | 10 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 26 |
| Bills | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
Boston Patriots 26, Buffalo Bills 8
Scoring
- BOS - Field goal Cappelletti 28
- BOS - Garron 59 pass from Parilli (Cappelletti kick)
- BOS - Field goal Cappelletti 12
- BOS - Field goal Cappelletti 33
- BUF - Dubenion 93 pass from Lamonica (Tracey pass from Lamonica)
- BOS - Garron 17 pass from Parilli (Cappelletti kick)
- BOS - Field goal Cappelletti 36
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patriots | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Chargers | 21 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 51 |
San Diego Chargers 51, Boston Patriots 10
Scoring
- SD - Rote 2 run (Blair kick)
- SD - Lincoln 67 run (Blair kick)
- BOS - Garron 7 run (Cappelletti kick)
- SD - Lowe 58 run (Blair kick)
- SD - Field goal Blair 11
- BOS - Field goal Cappelletti 15
- SD - Norton 14 pass from Rote (Blair kick)
- SD - Alworth 48 pass from Rote (Blair kick)
- SD - Lincoln 25 pass from Hadl (Pass failed)
- SD - Hadl 1 run (Blair kick)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Bills | 3 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
Buffalo Bills 20, San Diego Chargers 7
Scoring
- SD - Kocourek 26 pass from Rote (Lincoln kick)
- BUF - Field goal Gogolak 12
- BUF - Carlton 4 run (Gogolak kick)
- BUF - Field goal Gogolak 17
- BUF - Kemp 1 run (Gogolak kick)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 0 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 23 |
| Chargers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Buffalo Bills 23, San Diego Chargers 0
This was the last AFL Championship Game before the Super Bowl era began the following season.
Scoring
- BUF - Warlick 18 pass from Kemp (Gogolak kick)
- BUF - Byrd 74 punt return (Gogolak kick)
- BUF - Field goal Gogolak 11
- BUF - Field goal Gogolak 39
- BUF - Field goal Gogolak 32
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | 7 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 31 |
| Bills | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Kansas City Chiefs 31, Buffalo Bills 7
The Bills went into the 1966 AFL Championship having already won the game the previous two years. Though the game was to be played in Buffalo, the visiting Kansas City Chiefs were three-point favorites, mainly because of their explosive and innovative offense led by Head Coach Hank Stram. The Bills were a more conventional team with a solid defensive line and a running mindset on offense.
A Bills fumble on the opening kickoff gave the Chiefs a short field to work with, and Quarterback Len Dawson immediately took advantage of it, hitting Fred Arbanas for the game's first score. Jack Kemp's first pass for the Bills was a 69 yard score to Elbert Dubenion. Late in the second quarter and trailing 14-7, Kemp led the Bills to the Kansas City 10. Bobby Crockett was open in the endzone, but Kemp's pass was intercepted by Johnny Robinson, who returned the ball 72-yards, setting up a Mike Mercer field goal to close out the first half.
Buffalo found no offensive rhythm in the second half, and the Chiefs closed the game out in the fourth quarter with Dawson found Chris Burford for a 45 yard gain, setting up a one foot touchdown run by rookie Mike Garrett. Garrett scored his second touchdown less than two minutes later following another Bills fumble.
Scoring
- KC - Arbanas 29 pass from Dawson (Mercer kick)
- BUF - Dubenion 69 pass from Kemp (Lusteg kick)
- KC - Taylor 29 pass from Dawson (Mercer kick)
- KC - Field goal Mercer 32
- KC - Garrett 1 run (Mercer kick)
- KC - Garrett 18 run (Mercer kick)
This was the first AFL Championship Game to determine which team would represent the league in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs lost 35-10 to the NFL champion Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl I.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Raiders | 3 | 14 | 10 | 13 | 40 |
Oakland Raiders 40, Houston Oilers 7
The Oakland Raiders were ten and a half point favorites over the Houston Oilers in the 1967 AFL Championship Game. Quarterback Daryle Lamonica, claimed on waivers from the Buffalo Bills in the offseason, led the Raiders to a 13-1 record, throwing 30 touchdown passes in the process. The Oilers went from last place in the Eastern Conference in 1966 to first in '67, beating out the New York Jets by a game. Most of the Oilers' offense centered on big fullback Hoyle Granger, and a midseason quarterback trade for the shifty Pete Beathard (sending their own starter, Jacky Lee, to the Kansas City Chiefs) proved to be the spark that turned Houston's season around.
The previous meeting between the two teams had been a close game won 19-7 by the Raiders, with Lamonica struggling offensively. This was not the case in the rematch. Oakland took a 10-0 lead in the second quarter on a 69 yard run down the left sidelines by Hewritt Dixon, and on a fake field goal attempt Lamonica passed to Dave Kocourek for the 17-0 halftime margin. Former Oilers quarterback George Blanda, who had led Houston to the AFL's first two championships, kicked four field goals for the Raiders. Houston did not score until the fourth quarter, when they already trailed 30-0.
Scoring
- OAK - Field goal Blanda 37
- OAK - Dixon 69 run (Blanda kick)
- OAK - Kocourek 17 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
- OAK - Lamonica 1 run (Blanda kick)
- OAK - Field goal Blanda 40
- OAK - Field goal Blanda 42
- HOU - Frazier 5 pass from Beathard (Wittenborn kick)
- OAK - Field goal Blanda 36
- OAK - Miller 12 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
Oakland lost Super Bowl II to the NFL champion Green Bay Packers.
- A tie in the Western Division standings necessitated a Western Division playoff game
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Raiders | 21 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 41 |
Oakland Raiders 41, Kansas City Chiefs 6
Scoring
- OAK - Biletnikoff 24 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
- OAK - Wells 23 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
- OAK - Biletnikoff 44 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
- KC - Field goal Stenerud 10
- KC - Field goal Stenerud 8
- OAK - Biletnikoff 54 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
- OAK - Wells 35 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
- OAK - Field goal Blanda 41
- OAK - Field goal Blanda 40
The Jets went on to win Super Bowl III to become the first AFL Super Bowl champion.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raiders | 0 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 23 |
| Jets | 10 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
New York Jets 27, Oakland Raiders 23
Scoring
- NY - Maynard 14 pass from Namath (Turner kick)
- NY - Field goal Turner 33
- OAK - Biletnikoff 29 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
- NY - Field goal Turner 36
- OAK - Field goal Blanda 26
- OAK - Field goal Blanda 9
- NY - Lammons 20 pass from Namath (Turner kick)
- OAK - Field goal Blanda 20
- OAK - Banaszak 4 run (Blanda kick)
- NY - Maynard 6 pass from Namath (Turner kick)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
| Jets | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
Kansas City Chiefs 13, New York Jets 6
Scoring
- NY - Field goal Turner 27
- KC - Field goal Stenerud 23
- KC - Field goal Stenerud 25
- NY - Field goal Turner 7
- KC - Richardson 19 pass from Dawson (Stenerud kick)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Raiders | 28 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 56 |
Oakland Raiders 56, Houston Oilers 7
Scoring
- OAK - Biletnikoff 13 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
- OAK - Atkinson 57 interception return (Blanda kick)
- OAK - Sherman 24 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
- OAK - Biletnikoff 31 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
- OAK - Smith 60 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
- OAK - Sherman 23 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
- OAK - Cannon 3 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
- HOU - Reed 8 pass from Beathard (Gerela kick)
- OAK - Hubbard 4 run (Blanda kick)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| Raiders | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Kansas City Chiefs 17, Oakland Raiders 7
Scoring
- OAK - Smith 3 run (Blanda kick)
- KC - Hayes 1 run (Stenerud kick)
- KC - Holmes 5 run (Stenerud kick)
- KC - Field goal Stenerud 22
This was the final AFL Championship Game, as well as the final game played between two AFL teams before the merger with the National Football League. The Chiefs won Super Bowl IV as the last AFL champion.
| Num | Team | W | L | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | L A/San Diego Chargers | 1 | 4 | .200 |
| 4 | Houston Oilers | 2 | 2 | .500 |
| 3 | Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs | 3 | 0 | 1.00 |
| 3 | Buffalo Bills | 2 | 1 | .667 |
| 3 | Oakland Raiders | 1 | 2 | .333 |
| 1 | New York Jets | 1 | 0 | 1.00 |
| 1 | Boston Patriots | 0 | 1 | .000 |
- NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
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| Eastern Division | Boston Patriots • Buffalo Bills • Houston Oilers • New York Titans/Jets • Miami Dolphins |
| Western Division | Denver Broncos • Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs • Oakland Raiders • Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers • Cincinnati Bengals |
| General | Seasons • Playoffs • All-League Teams • All-Star games • AFL Draft • All-Time Team • NFL |