Division Races
The AFL had 8 teams, grouped into two divisions. Each team would play a home-and-away game against the other 7 teams in the league for a total of 14 games, and the best team in the Eastern Division would play against the best in the Western Division in a championship game. If there was a tie in the standings at top of either division, a one-game playoff would be held to determine the division winner.
There was little drama in either of the AFL's division races in 1965. The Bills led the Eastern Division from start to finish, ending five games ahead of the 5–8–1 Jets. In the Western Division, San Diego had three potential wins cancelled out when they were tied by Kansas City (10–10), Boston (13–13) and Buffalo (20–20), but their 9–2–3 finish (.818) was well ahead of Oakland's 8–5–1 record (.615).
| Week | Eastern | | Western | |
|---|
| 1 | Tie (Buf, Hou) | 1–0–0 | Tie (Oak, SD) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | Tie (Buf, Hou) | 2–0–0 | San Diego | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | Buffalo | 3–0–0 | San Diego | 2–0–1 |
| 4 | Buffalo | 4–0–0 | San Diego | 3–0–1 |
| 5 | Buffalo | 4–1–0 | San Diego | 4–0–1 |
| 6 | Buffalo | 5–1–0 | San Diego | 4–0–2 |
| 7 | Buffalo | 6–1–0 | San Diego | 5–0–2 |
| 8 | Buffalo | 6–2–0 | San Diego | 5–1–2 |
| 9 | Buffalo | 7–2–0 | San Diego | 6–1–2 |
| 10 | Buffalo | 8–2–0 | San Diego | 6–2–2 |
| 11 | Buffalo | 8–2–0 | San Diego | 6–2–2 |
| 12 | Buffalo | 8–2–1 | San Diego | 6–2–3 |
| 13 | Buffalo | 9–2–1 | San Diego | 7–2–3 |
| 14 | Buffalo | 10–2–1 | San Diego | 8–2–3 |
| 15 | Buffalo | 10–3–1 | San Diego | 9–2–3 |
The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference (NFC), each contain 16 teams with 4 divisions. Both conferences were created as part of the 1970 merger between the National Football League, and the American Football League (AFL). All ten of the AFL teams, and three NFL teams, became members of the new AFC, with the remaining thirteen NFL teams forming the NFC. A series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since the merger, thus making the current total of 16 teams in each conference. The current AFC champions are the Kansas City Chiefs, who defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the 2023 season's AFC Championship Game for their fourth conference championship.
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. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence. It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference.
For its first nine seasons, 1960 through 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions.
The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Miami Dolphins became the first NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied when they beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII. The Dolphins not only led the NFL in points scored, while their defense led the league in fewest points allowed, the roster also featured two running backs who gained 1,000 rushing yards in the same season.
The 1967 Oakland Raiders season was the team's eighth in Oakland. Under the command of second-year head coach John Rauch, the Raiders went 13–1 (.929), an American Football League (AFL) record, and captured their first Western Division title, four games ahead of runner-up Kansas City, the defending league champion.
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating back to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now known as the Los Angeles Chargers.
The 1968 AFL season was the ninth regular season of the American Football League, and its penultimate season prior to the AFL–NFL merger.
The 1967 AFL season was the eighth regular season of the American Football League.
The 1966 AFL season was the seventh regular season of the American Football League. The league began its merger process with the National Football League (NFL) in June, which took effect fully in 1970.
The 1965 AFL Championship Game was the American Football League's sixth championship game, played on December 26 at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, California.
The 1964 AFL season was the fifth regular season of the American Football League.
The 1963 AFL season was the fourth regular season of the American Football League.
The 1962 AFL season was the third regular season of the American Football League. It consisted of 8 franchises split into two divisions: the East Division and the West Division.
The 1961 AFL season was the second regular season of the American Football League. It consisted of 8 franchises split into two divisions: the East Division and the West Division.
The 1960 AFL season was the inaugural regular season of the American Football League. It consisted of 8 franchises split into two divisions: the East Division and the West Division.
The 1966 Season was the 7th season for the San Diego Chargers as a professional American Football League (AFL) franchise; the team failed to improve on their 9–2–3 record from 1965. In the team's final season at Balboa Stadium, the Chargers went 7–6–1 and finished in third place in the AFL West Division. They would move to San Diego Stadium for the following season. It was the first season to feature an AFL-NFL World Championship Game, now known as the Super Bowl. San Diego began the season among the favorites to represent the AFL in the historic game, but faded after a 4–0 start, winning only three more times in the remaining ten games.
The 1965 San Diego Chargers season was their sixth as a professional AFL franchise; the team improved on their 8–5–1 record in 1964. Head Coach Sid Gillman led the Chargers to their fifth AFL West title with a 9–2–3 record, before losing the AFL Championship Game to the Buffalo Bills for the second consecutive season. It would prove to be the Chargers' last post-season appearance until 1979.
The 1964 San Diego Chargers season was their fifth as a professional AFL franchise; the team failed to repeat as AFL champions after winning the championship in 1963 with a record of 11–3, and finished at 8–5–1. San Diego struggled at the start and finish of the season, but a six-game winning streak in the middle proved to be enough to win the AFL West, in a league where the two strongest teams were in the Eastern division.
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Nashville to become the Tennessee Oilers for the 1997 and 1998 seasons, operating out of Nashville, Tennessee for the 1997 season while traveling to Memphis for every home game at the Liberty Bowl, playing the 1998 season at Vanderbilt in Nashville, and then becoming the Tennessee Titans in 1999. That same year, a new organization, the Houston Texans, was founded to replace the Oilers and began play in 2002 as an expansion team in the AFC South, creating a divisional rivalry between them and the Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). The team won two AFL championships before joining the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger in the late 1960s.
