| 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 | 2ndAFL Western |
| Playoffs | LostDivisional Playoffs (atRaiders) 6–41 |
| AFL All-Stars | QBLen Dawson OTJim Tyrer GEd Budde DTBuck Buchanan DEJerry Mays LBJim Lynch LBWillie Lanier LBBobby Bell CBEmmitt Thomas SJohnny Robinson KJan Stenerud |
The 1968 Kansas City Chiefs season was the 9th season for theKansas City Chiefs as a professionalAFLfranchise; 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 theOakland Raiders, before the Raiders won the championship in atiebreaker 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, quarterbackLen Dawson led the AFL in passing for the fourth time. GuardEd 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 theNew York Jets.[1] The loss to Oakland was a major event in theChiefs' rivalry with the Raiders, one of the NFL's moststoried feuds.
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB) Defensive backs(DB)
Special teams(ST) | Reserve
|
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 3 | atCincinnati Bengals | W 38–14 | 1–0 | Nippert Stadium | 21,682 | Recap |
| 2 | August 10 | atMinnesota 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 | atLos Angeles Rams | L 16–36 | 4–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 54,323 | Recap |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 9 | atHouston 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 | atMiami Dolphins | W 48–3 | 3–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 28,501 | Recap |
| 5 | October 5 | atBuffalo 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 | atOakland Raiders | L 21–38 | 7–2 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 53,357 | Recap |
| 10 | November 10 | atCincinnati 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 | atSan Diego Chargers | W 40–3 | 11–2 | San Diego Stadium | 51,174 | Recap |
| 15 | December 14 | atDenver Broncos | W 30–7 | 12–2 | Bears Stadium | 38,463 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | |||||||
| 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.
A tie in the Western Division standings necessitated an unscheduled playoff game
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | December 22 | atOakland Raiders | L 6–41 | 0–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 53,605 | Recap |
| 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
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
