1968 Kansas City Chiefs season

1968 Kansas City Chiefs season
Head coach	Hank Stram
Home field	Municipal Stadium
Results
Record	12–2
Division place	2nd AFL Western
Playoff finish	Lost Western Division playoff game (at Raiders) 6–41
AFL All-Stars	QB Len Dawson 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 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, 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.

Roster

1968 Kansas City Chiefs roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 16 Len Dawson 11 Jacky Lee 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) {{{defensive_back}}} Special teams  3 Jan Stenerud K 44 Jerrel Wilson P

Rookies in italics

Regular season

Main article: 1968 American Football League season

Season schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 9	at Houston Oilers	W 26–21	1–0	45,083
2	September 15	New York Jets	L 19–20	1–1	48,871
3	September 22	Denver Broncos	W 34–2	2–1	45,821
4	September 28	at Miami Dolphins	W 48–3	3–1	28,501
5	October 5	at Buffalo Bills	W 18–7	4–1	40,748
6	October 13	Cincinnati Bengals	W 13–3	5–1	47,096
7	October 20	Oakland Raiders	W 24–10	6–1	50,015
8	October 27	San Diego Chargers	W 27–20	7–1	50,344
9	November 3	at Oakland Raiders	L 21–38	7–2	53,357
10	November 10	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 16–9	8–2	25,537
11	November 17	Boston Patriots	W 31–17	9–2	48,271
12	November 24	Bye
13	November 28	Houston Oilers	W 24–10	10–2	48,493
14	December 8	at San Diego Chargers	W 40–3	11–2	51,174
15	December 14	at Denver Broncos	W 30–7	12–2	38,463

• Monday night (September 9), Saturday night (September 28, October 5),
  Thursday (November 28: Thanksgiving), Saturday (December 14)

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

Western Division playoff

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

Oakland Raiders 41, Kansas City Chiefs 6

December 22, 1968, at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

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