1968 Buffalo Bills season

9th season in franchise history

1968 Buffalo Bills season

Owner| Ralph Wilson
Head coach| Joe Collier and Harvey Johnson
Home field| War Memorial Stadium
Results
Record| 1–12–1
Division place| 5th AFL Eastern
Playoff finish| Did not qualify

* <- 1967
* Bills seasons
* 1969 ->

The 1968 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s ninth season.

The Bills' 1–12–1 record in 1968 (a 0.107 winning percentage) is the second-worst in team history: the 1971 Bills went 1–13. They were one of only two teams in AFL history (the other being the 1962 Oakland Raiders) to finish the season with only one victory.

The Bills, coming off a 4–10 season in 1967, fired coach Joe Collier after an 0–2 start in 1968. Defensive backfield coach Harvey Johnson was promoted to interim head coach,[1] where he went 1–10–1 to finish the year.[2]

With the release of running back Wray Carlton, wide receiver Elbert Dubenion was the last player from the Bills' original roster in 1960 to still be with the team.[3]

The majority of Buffalo's games were started by backup quarterback Dan Darragh, after injuries claimed the seasons of long-time starter Jack Kemp and new addition Tom Flores. Even Darragh and new addition Kay Stephenson were injured. Ultimately, running back Ed Rutkowski, who hadn't played the quarterback position since college six years prior, ended up starting at quarterback for the Bills.[4]

Buffalo's only win of the season was a home victory over the New York Jets, who eventually went on to win Super Bowl III. In that game, the Bills held a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter before giving up two late touchdowns to the Jets. Ultimately, the Bills were able to hold on to the two-point win.[5] Through the 2022 season, this is the only instance in which a team that had only 1 win have that win come against the eventual Super Bowl champion.

## Offseason

[edit]

* August 24: Bills sign fullback Wayne Patrick.[6]
* August 27: Bills acquire quarterback (and future Bills head coach) Kay Stephenson from the San Diego Chargers for a Fifth Round Pick.[6]
* August 28: Bills acquire fullback Bob Cappadona from the Boston Patriots for a ninth round draft pick.[6]
* September 2: The Bills cut running backs Wray Carlton, wide receiver Ed Rutkowski (who would return later in the season as a quarterback), tight end Charley Ferguson and defensive tackle Dudley Meredith.[3]

### AFL Draft

[edit]

## Personnel

[edit]

### Coaches/Staff

[edit]

1968 Buffalo Bills staff

| Front office

* Majority Owner/President – Ralph Wilson
* Vice President and General Manager – Bob Lustig
* Vice President/Minority Owner – Pat McGroder

Coaching staff

* Head Coach - Joe Collier (fired earlier in season)
* Interim Head Coach - Harvey Johnson

Offensive coaches

* Wide Receivers - John Mazur & Bob Celeri
* Offensive Backfield Coach - John Mazur
* Offensive Line – Jerry Smith & Marvin Bass

Defensive coaches

* Defensive Backfield – Richie McCabe
* Kickers - Harvey Johnson

* Source: https://pro-football-history.com/franchise/7/buffalo-bills-coaches

### Final roster

[edit]

1968 Buffalo Bills roster Quarterbacks (QB)

* 10 Dan Darragh

* 3 Benny Russell

* 18 Kay Stephenson

Running backs (RB)

* 22 Max Anderson

* 36 Bob Cappadona

* 33 Ben Gregory FB

* 32 Gary McDermott

* 46 Charley Mitchell

* 30 Wayne Patrick

* 40 Ed Rutkowski

Wide receivers (WR)

* 83 Bobby Crockett

* 44 Elbert Dubenion

* 43 Monte Ledbetter

* 25 Haven Moses

* 28 Richard Trapp

Tight ends (TE)

* 82 Paul Costa

* 87 Billy Masters

|  | Offensive linemen (OL)

* 77 Stew Barber T

* 50 Al Bemiller C

* 62 Dick Cunningham T

* 63 George Flint G

* 51 John Frantz C

* 61 Bob Kalsu G

* 73 Howard Kindig T

* 74 Ray Rissmiller T

* 66 Billy Shaw G

Defensive linemen (DL)

* 89 Tom Day DE

* 78 Jim Dunaway DT

* 76 Mike McBath DE

* 72 Ron McDole DE

* 70 Tom Sestak DT

* 71 Bob Tatarek DT

|  | Linebackers (LB)

* 52 Edgar Chandler

* 59 Paul Guidry

* 64 Harry Jacobs

* 57 Marty Schottenheimer

* 58 Mike Stratton

Defensive backs (DB)

* 23 Charlie Brown CB

* 42 Butch Byrd CB

* 45 Hagood Clarke SS

* 24 Booker Edgerson CB

* 27 Tom Janik FS

* 21 Jerry Lawson CB

* 48 John Pitts SS

* 26 George Saimes FS

Special teams

* 46 Bruce Alford K

* 55 Paul Maguire

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Reserve

* 74 Chuck DeVleigher DT (IR)

* 16 Tom Flores QB (IR)

* 15 Jack Kemp QB (IR)

Rookies in italics

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## Preseason

[edit]

Week  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Record  | Game site  | NFL.com
recap

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1  | August 5  | Detroit Lions | W 13–9  | 1–0  | War Memorial Stadium | Recap
2  | August 11  | Miami Dolphins | T 28–28  | 1–0–1  | War Memorial Stadium | Recap
3  | August 17  | Cincinnati Bengals | L 6–10  | 1–1–1  | Nippert Stadium | Recap
4  | August 23  | Houston Oilers | L 7–37  | 1–2–1  | Astrodome | Recap
5  | August 30  | Cleveland Browns | L 12–22  | 1–3–1  | War Memorial Stadium | Recap

## Regular season

[edit]

### Schedule

[edit]

Week  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Record  | Game site  | NFL.com
recap

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1  | September 8  | Boston Patriots | L 7–16  | 0–1  | War Memorial Stadium | Recap
2  | September 15  | Oakland Raiders | L 6–48  | 0–2  | War Memorial Stadium | Recap
3  | September 22  | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 23–34  | 0–3  | Nippert Stadium | Recap
4  | September 29  | New York Jets | W 37–35  | 1–3  | War Memorial Stadium | Recap
5  | October 5  | Kansas City Chiefs | L 7–18  | 1–4  | War Memorial Stadium | Recap
6  | October 12  | at Miami Dolphins | T 14–14  | 1–4–1  | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap
7  | October 20  | at Boston Patriots | L 6–23  | 1–5–1  | Fenway Park | Recap
8  | October 27  | Houston Oilers | L 7–30  | 1–6–1  | War Memorial Stadium | Recap
9  | November 3  | at New York Jets | L 21–25  | 1–7–1  | Shea Stadium | Recap
10  | November 10  | Miami Dolphins | L 17–23  | 1–8–1  | War Memorial Stadium | Recap
11  | November 17  | San Diego Chargers | L 6–21  | 1–9–1  | War Memorial Stadium | Recap
12  | November 24  | at Denver Broncos | L 32–34  | 1–10–1  | Mile High Stadium | Recap
13  | November 28  | at Oakland Raiders  | L 10-13  | 1–11–1  | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | Recap
14  | December 7  | at Houston Oilers | L 6–35  | 1–12–1  | Astrodome | Recap

### Standings

[edit]

AFL Eastern Division

* view
* talk
* edit

| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK
New York Jets | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 7–1 | 419 | 280 | W4
Houston Oilers | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 5–3 | 303 | 248 | W2
Miami Dolphins | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 4–3–1 | 276 | 355 | L1
Boston Patriots | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 2–6 | 229 | 406 | L2
Buffalo Bills | 1 | 12 | 1 | .077 | 1–6–1 | 199 | 367 | L8

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.

### Game summaries

[edit]

#### Week 12 vs. Raiders

[edit]

Buffalo Bills (1–10–1) at Oakland Raiders (9–2)

Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3| 4| Total

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Bills | 0 | 3 | 0| 7| 10
Raiders | 0 | 3 | 10| 0| 13

at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum • Oakland, California

* Date: November 28
* Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C) • Wind 5
* Game attendance: 39,883
* Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

Bills

* Ed Rutkowski
10/25, 160 Yds, 2 INT
* Max Anderson
11 Rush, 60 Yds, TD
2 Rec, 31 Yds

Raiders

* Daryle Lamonica
12/32, 145 Yds, INT
* Charlie Smith
12 Rush, 54 Yds
* Warren Wells
3 Rec, 61 Yds

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Thanksgiving Day

Scoring summary

| Quarter  | Time  | Drive | Team  | Scoring information  | Score

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Plays | Yards  | TOP | BUF  | OAK
2  |  |  |  |  | Raiders  | 39-yard field goal by Blanda | 0  | 3
2  |  |  |  |  | Bills  | 26-yard field goal by Alford | 3  | 3
3  |  |  |  |  | Raiders  | 33-yard field goal by Blanda  | 3  | 6
3  |  |  |  |  | Raiders  | Interception returned 33 yards for touchdown by Atkinson, Blanda kick good  | 3  | 13
4  |  |  |  |  | Bills  | Anderson 5-yard touchdown run, Alford kick good  | 10  | 13
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 10  | 13

### Awards and Records

[edit]

* Bob Kalsu, Team Rookie of the Year[7]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Johnson would be promoted to head coach again before the 1971 season
2. ^ Johnson resumed his defensive coaching duties under John Rauch in 1969, but would later be promoted to head coach again for one year in 1971.
3. ^ a b Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.393, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0
4. ^ [Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p.144, Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN 0-312-11073-1
5. ^ Pro-Football-Reference: New York Jets 35 at Buffalo Bills 37, Sunday, September 29, 1968
6. ^ a b c Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.392, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0
7. ^ Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.513, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0

* Buffalo Bills on Pro Football Reference
* Buffalo Bills on jt-sw.com

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Buffalo Bills

* Founded in 1960
* Based and headquartered in Orchard Park, New York

Franchise|

* Franchise
* History
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* First-round draft picks
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Stadiums|

* War Memorial Stadium
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Culture|

* Ralph Wilson
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Lore|

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Rivalries|

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Division championships (14)|

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Conference championships (4)|

* 1990
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League championships (2)|

* 1964
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Wall of Fame|

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Owners|

* Ralph Wilson
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Current league affiliations|

* League: National Football League (1970–present)
* Conference: American Football Conference
* Division: East Division

Former league affiliation|

* League: American Football League (1960–1969)

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Buffalo Bills seasons

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Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory
Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

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NFL seasons

Early era
(1920–1969)|

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AAFC seasons (1946–1949)|

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AFL seasons (1960–1969)|

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1968 AFL season

| Eastern Division| Boston | Miami| Cincinnati| Kansas City | Western Division

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Buffalo | New York| Denver| Oakland
Houston | | | San Diego

* 1968 AFL Draft
* AFL playoffs
* AFL Championship
* All-Star Game
* Super Bowl III

* Related: 1968 NFL season

*[FB]: Fullback
*[T]: Ties
*[C]: Center
*[G]: Offensive guard
*[DE]: Defensive end
*[DT]: Defensive tackle
*[CB]: Cornerback
*[SS]: Strong safety
*[FS]: Free safety
*[K]: Kicker
*[QB]: Quarterback
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[DIV]: Win–Loss record within their division
*[PF]: Points For (Total points scored)
*[PA]: Points Against (Total points allowed)
*[STK]: Currenfaggitt Winning or Losing Streak
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*[e]: Edit this template