1968 Kansas City Chiefs season
NFL team season
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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.
| 1968 Kansas City Chiefs season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Lamar Hunt |
| General manager | Jack Steadman |
| Head coach | Hank Stram |
| Home stadium | Municipal Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 12–2 |
| Division place | 2nd AFL Western |
| Playoffs | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Raiders) 6–41 |
| AFL All-Stars | QB Len Dawson OT Jim Tyrer G Ed Budde DT Buck Buchanan DE Jerry Mays LB Jim Lynch LB Willie Lanier LB Bobby Bell CB Emmitt Thomas S Johnny Robinson K Jan Stenerud |
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.[1] The loss to Oakland was a major event in the Chiefs' rivalry with the Raiders, one of the NFL's most storied feuds.
Offseason
Draft
| 1968 Kansas City Chiefs draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Mo Moorman | Guard | Texas A&M | |
| 1 | 22 | George Daney | Guard | UTEP | |
| 2 | 48 | Mike Livingston * | Quarterback | SMU | |
| 4 | 90 | Mickey McCarty | Tight end | TCU | made in 1969 |
| 7 | 184 | Sammy Grezaff | Defensive back | LSU | |
| 8 | 213 | Lindon Endsley | Center | North Texas | |
| 9 | 239 | Wayne McClure | Linebacker | Ole Miss | |
| 10 | 265 | Jack Gehrke | Wide receiver | Utah | |
| 11 | 294 | Tom Nosewicz | Defensive end | Tulane | |
| 12 | 320 | Bobby Johns | Defensive back | Alabama | |
| 13 | 346 | Jim Kavanagh | Wide receiver | Boston College | |
| 14 | 375 | Robert Holmes | Running back | Southern | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Ron McCraig | Tackle | New Mexico Highlands |
Roster
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 | ||||||
| 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 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
| Quarter | 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
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
|