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.

1968 Kansas City Chiefs season
Owner	Lamar Hunt
General manager	Jack Steadman
Head coach	Hank Stram
Home field	Municipal Stadium
Results
Record	12–2
Division place	2nd AFL Western
Playoff finish	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. The loss to Oakland was a major event in the Chiefs' rivalry with the Raiders, one of the NFL's most storied feuds.

Roster

1968 Kansas City Chiefs roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 16 Len Dawson 11 Jacky Lee 10 Mike Livingston Running backs (RB) 23 Bert Coan 21 Mike Garrett 38 Wendell Hayes FB 45 Robert Holmes 32 Curtis McClinton FB Wide receivers (WR) 17 Jack Gehrke 25 Frank Pitts 30 Gloster Richardson  1 Noland Smith 89 Otis Taylor Tight ends (TE) 84 Fred Arbanas 80 Reggie Carolan

Offensive linemen (OL) 71 Ed Budde G 60 George Daney G 73 Dave Hill T 55 E. J. Holub C 64 Curt Merz G 61 Mo Moorman G 65 Remi Prudhomme C 77 Jim Tyrer T Defensive linemen (DL) 87 Aaron Brown DE 86 Buck Buchanan DT 61 Curley Culp DT 85 Chuck Hurston DE 99 Ernie Ladd DT 82 Ed Lothamer DT 75 Jerry Mays DE

Linebackers (LB) 52 Bud Abell 78 Bobby Bell 63 Willie Lanier 51 Jim Lynch 58 Dave Martin Defensive backs (DB) 24 Ceasar Belser 46 Jim Kearney SS 48 Sam Longmire 22 Willie Mitchell CB 42 Johnny Robinson FS 20 Goldie Sellers CB 18 Emmitt Thomas CB Special teams  3 Jan Stenerud K 44 Jerrel Wilson P

Reserve 74 Gene Trosch DE (IR) Rookies in italics

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

Main article: 1968 American Football League 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

Further information: 1968 American Football League playoffs

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

AFL Divisional Playoffs: Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders – Game summary

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 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