1969 Buffalo Bills season
10th season in franchise history
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The 1969 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s tenth season, and was the final season of the American Football League before the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. The Bills played an AFL-record seven games against opponents that went on to reach the postseason;[1] Buffalo lost all seven of these games.
| 1969 Buffalo Bills season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ralph Wilson |
| Head coach | John Rauch |
| Home stadium | War Memorial Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–10 |
| Division place | 4th AFL Eastern |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
This was the rookie season for running back O. J. Simpson, the Heisman Trophy winner from Southern California and first overall selection in the draft,[2][3] who went on to a Hall of Fame career. It was the final season for quarterback Jack Kemp, who decided to run for New York's 39th congressional district in 1970 that he ultimately won; elected at the age of 35, Kemp would serve in Congress until 1989.
Although Buffalo only won four games, their penultimate win—a Week Ten victory against the Miami Dolphins—would be their last victory against the Dolphins until the 1980 season. After the win, the Bills suffered against Miami an NFL-record twenty consecutive games lost by one team to another.
The last remaining active member of the 1969 Buffalo Bills was wide receiver Haven Moses, who retired after the 1981 NFL season.
Offseason
- August 9, 1969: O. J. Simpson signs a four-year contract worth $215,000.[2][3][4]
- August 20, 1969: The Bills acquired wide receiver Marlin Briscoe.[5]
- August 25, 1969: Guard George Flint and defensive tackle Tom Sestak both announced their retirements.[6]
- August 25, 1969: Running back/returner Ed Rutkowski was released by the Bills.[6]
Draft
| 1969 Buffalo Bills draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | O. J. Simpson * † | RB | USC | |
| 2 | 27 | Bill Enyart | RB | Oregon St | |
| 3 | 53 | Julian Nunamaker | DE | Tennessee-Martin | |
| 4 | 79 | Mike Richey | OT | North Carolina | |
| 5 | 105 | Ben Mayes | DE | Drake | |
| 7 | 157 | John Helton | DE | Arizona St | |
| 8 | 183 | Waddey Harvey | DT | Virginia Tech | |
| 8 | 192 | James Harris * | QB | Grambling State | |
| 10 | 235 | James Baines | WR | Montana | |
| 11 | 261 | Bobby Hall | RB | NC State | |
| 12 | 287 | Lloyd Pate | RB | Cincinnati | |
| 12 | 312 | Leon Lovelace | OT | Texas Tech | |
| 14 | 339 | Bubba Thornton | WR | TCU | |
| 15 | 365 | Karl Wilson | RB | Olivet | |
| 16 | 391 | Robert Kirk | OG | Indiana | |
| 17 | 417 | Wayne Lineberry | LB | East Carolina | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Proskine | Linebacker | Northwestern |
Personnel
Coaches/Staff
| 1969 Buffalo Bills staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Coaching staff
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
| ||||||
Final roster
Preseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 2 | at Houston Oilers | L 7–24 | 0–1 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 2 | August 8 | Washington Redskins | W 21–17 | 1–1 | War Memorial Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | August 15 | at Detroit Lions | L 12–24 | 1–2 | Tiger Stadium | Recap |
| 4 | August 22 | Baltimore Colts | L 7–20 | 1–3 | War Memorial Stadium | Recap |
| 5 | August 30 | Chicago Bears | L 16–23 | 1–4 | Cleveland Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | September 6 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 20–50 | 1–5 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Recap |
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 14 | New York Jets | L 19–33 | 0–1 | War Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 2 | September 21 | Houston Oilers | L 3–17 | 0–2 | War Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 3 | September 28 | Denver Broncos | W 41–28 | 1–2 | War Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 4 | October 5 | at Houston Oilers | L 14–28 | 1–3 | Astrodome | Recap | |
| 5 | October 11 | Boston Patriots | W 23–16 | 2–3 | War Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 6 | October 19 | at Oakland Raiders | L 21–50 | 2–4 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | Recap | |
| 7 | October 26 | at Miami Dolphins | L 6–24 | 2–5 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap | |
| 8 | November 2 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 7–29 | 2–6 | War Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 9 | November 9 | at New York Jets | L 6–16 | 2–7 | Shea Stadium | Recap | |
| 10 | November 16 | Miami Dolphins | W 28–3 | 3–7 | War Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 11 | November 23 | at Boston Patriots | L 21–35 | 3–8 | Alumni Stadium | Recap | |
| 12 | November 30 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 16–13 | 4–8 | War Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 13 | December 7 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 19–22 | 4–9 | Municipal Stadium | Recap | |
| 14 | December 14 | at San Diego Chargers | L 6–45 | 4–10 | San Diego Stadium | Recap | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Week 1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Jets | 6 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 33 |
| Bills | 3 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 19 |
- Date: September 14
- Location: War Memorial Stadium
- Game attendance: 46,165
- Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C); wind 11 mph
Week 2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Oilers | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| Bills | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
- Date: September 21
- Location: War Memorial Stadium
- Game attendance: 40,146
- Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C); wind 6 mph
Week 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| • Bills | 3 | 17 | 21 | 0 | 41 |
- Date: September 28
- Location: War Memorial Stadium
- Game attendance: 40,302
- Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C); wind 9 mph
Week 4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| • Oilers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
- Date: October 5
- Location: Houston Astrodome
- Game attendance: 46,485
- Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Week 5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patriots | 6 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 16 |
| • Bills | 7 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 23 |
- Date: October 11
- Location: War Memorial Stadium
- Game attendance: 46,201
- Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C); wind 14 mph
Week 6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| • Raiders | 14 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 50 |
- Date: October 19
- Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
- Game attendance: 54,418
- Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C); wind 8 mph
Week 7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| • Dolphins | 0 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
- Date: October 26
- Location: Orange Bowl
- Game attendance: 39,837
- Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C); wind 14 mph
Week 8
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Chiefs | 0 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 29 |
| Bills | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
- Date: November 2
- Location: War Memorial Stadium
- Game attendance: 45,844
- Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C); wind 13 mph
Week 9
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| • Jets | 0 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 16 |
- Date: November 9
- Location: Shea Stadium
- Game attendance: 62,680
- Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C); wind 19 mph
Week 10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphins | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Bills | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
- Date: November 16
- Location: War Memorial Stadium
- Game attendance: 32,686
- Game weather: 28 °F (−2 °C); wind 16 mph
| Q1 | BUF | Simpson 8 yard pass from Kemp (Alford kick) | BUF 7–0 | |
| Q1 | MIA | Kremser 21 yard field goal | BUF 7–3 | |
| Q2 | BUF | Briscoe 12 yard pass from Kemp (Alford kick) | BUF 14–3 | |
| Q3 | BUF | Enyart 1 yard run (Alford kick) | BUF 21–3 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Simpson 55 yard pass from Kemp (Alford kick) | BUF 28–3 | |
- O. J. Simpson 72 Rush Yds, 81 Rec Yds
Week 11
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| • Patriots | 14 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
- Date: November 23
- Location: Alumni Stadium
- Game attendance: 25,584
- Game weather: 42 °F (6 °C); wind 14 mph
Week 12
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengals | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| • Bills | 3 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 16 |
- Date: November 30
- Location: War Memorial Stadium
- Game attendance: 35,122
- Game weather: 28 °F (−2 °C); wind 17 mph
Week 13
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 3 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 19 |
| • Chiefs | 7 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 22 |
- Date: December 7
- Location: Kansas City Municipal Stadium
- Game attendance: 47,112
- Game weather: 34 °F (1 °C); wind 14 mph
Week 14
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| • Chargers | 10 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 45 |
- Date: December 14
- Location: San Diego Stadium
- Game attendance: 47,582
- Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C); wind 6 mph
Standings
| AFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| New York Jets | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 8–0 | 353 | 269 | W2 | |
| Houston Oilers | 6 | 6 | 2 | .500 | 5–3 | 278 | 279 | W1 | |
| Boston Patriots | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 3–5 | 266 | 316 | L2 | |
| Buffalo Bills | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 2–6 | 230 | 359 | L2 | |
| Miami Dolphins | 3 | 10 | 1 | .231 | 2–6 | 233 | 332 | L1 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings of the AFL. This was the final year of the AFL The Baltimore Colts would join the AFL eastern teams and become the AFC East in 1970.