The

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

season was the team's ninth season in both

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

and the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

. It saw the team try to improve upon its 13–1 record from 1967. They ultimately finished one game short of matching that year's result; their 12–2 finish still ensured that they would lead the league in wins for a second consecutive year. Led by third-year head coach John Rauch, they tied with Kansas City for the division title, which was settled by an unscheduled tiebreaker playoff, won 41–6 by the Raiders in Oakland. The season featured a growing rivalry between the Raiders and the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

, led by fourth-year superstar quarterback

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college fo ...

. The teams met twice in 1968: the first was on November 17 in Oakland, which saw the Raiders complete a stunning fourth-quarter comeback over the Jets, scoring two touchdowns in nine seconds. Known today as the Heidi Game, it remains one of the most famous in AFL/ NFL history. They paired up six weeks later in the AFL Championship Game in New York, where Namath's Jets emerged victorious in a 27–23 upset on December 29. Two weeks later, the Jets upset the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

in Super Bowl III. The 1968 season is also notable for a few changes to the team including the additions of George Atkinson, Art Shell, and

Ken Stabler Kenneth Michael Stabler (December 25, 1945 – July 8, 2015) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. Nicknamed "Snake", he played c ...

. All three won a championship with the Raiders eight years later in

Super Bowl XI Super Bowl XI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Minnesota Vikings to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for i ...

. Additionally, Shell in 1989, and Stabler in 2016, were both inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

Offseason

NFL Draft

Roster

Schedule

* Saturday night (September 21), Thursday (November 28:

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

)

Postseason

Standings

Game summaries

Week 11 vs. Jets

Week 12 vs. Bills

Staff

Head coach: John Rauch Assistants: John Polonchek (RB),

Ollie Spencer Oliver Spencer (April 17, 1931 – April 28, 1991) was an American National Football League (NFL) tackle and assistant coach. He played eight seasons in the NFL, with the Detroit Lions (1953 and 1956), the Green Bay Packers (1957 and 1958), ...

(OL),

Tom Dahms Thomas Gordon Dahms (April 19, 1927 – November 30, 1988) was an American football player and coach. He played in the National Football League (NFL) as an offensive tackle for seven seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, Chicago C ...

(DL),

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pl ...

(LB),

Charlie Sumner Charles Edward Sumner (October 19, 1930 – April 3, 2015) was an American football player who was selected by the Chicago Bears in the 22nd round of the 1954 NFL Draft. A 6'1", 194 lbs. safety from the College of William & Mary, Sumner p ...

(DB),

Marv Marinovich Marvin Jack Marinovich (August 6, 1939 — December 3, 2020) was an American college and professional football player who became a strength and conditioning coach. He played college football as a two-way lineman for the USC Trojans and was ca ...

(Str) :

References

Oakland Raiders seasons

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