1966 American Football League season

Last updated

1966 AFL season
Regular season
DurationSeptember 2 –
December 18, 1966
Playoffs
DateJanuary 1, 1967
Eastern champion Buffalo Bills
Western champion Kansas City Chiefs
Site War Memorial Stadium,
Buffalo, New York
Champion Kansas City Chiefs
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Green pog.svg
Oilers
Green pog.svg
Jets
Green pog.svg
Bills
Green pog.svg
Patriots
Green pog.svg
Dolphins
Yellow ffff00 pog.svg
Chargers
Yellow ffff00 pog.svg
Chiefs
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Raiders
Yellow ffff00 pog.svg
Broncos
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AFL teams: Yellow ffff00 pog.svg West, Green pog.svg East

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.

Contents

The season also saw the debut of the expansion Miami Dolphins, the AFL's ninth team (an odd number), requiring an idle team each week. A sixth official, the Line Judge, was added to the officiating crew; the NFL added the Line Judge the previous season.

The season ended when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the two-time defending champion Buffalo Bills in the AFL Championship game, and were defeated by the NFL's Green Bay Packers in the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, now known as Super Bowl I.

Division races

The AFL now had nine teams, grouped into two divisions (the new Miami team was in the Eastern Division, now with five teams), and still played a 14-game schedule. In previous seasons (with eight clubs), each played a home-and-away game against the other seven. All nine teams faced each other at least once, and each team played six others twice. Though Boston and Miami were both in the Eastern Division, they met only once, on November 27 (each team played Western Division teams Kansas City and Denver twice, while Boston also played San Diego twice and Miami played Oakland twice --- meaning that the Patriots and Dolphins each had a schedule that called for them to face three non-division opponents more often than they played a divisional opponent).

As in earlier years, the division champions met in the league championship game, with the home team rotating, this year to the Eastern champion. If there was a tie in the standings at the top of either division, a one-game playoff would be held to determine the division winner, with the other division's winner idle.

WeekEasternWestern
1Houston1–0–0Tie (Oak, SD)1–0–0
2Houston2–0–0Tie (KC, SD)2–0–0
3N.Y. Jets2–0–0Tie (KC, SD)2–0–0
4N.Y. Jets3–0–0Tie (KC, SD)3–0–0
5N.Y. Jets3–0–1San Diego4–0–0
6N.Y. Jets4–0–1Tie (KC, SD)4–1–0
7N.Y. Jets4–1–1San Diego4–1–1
8N.Y. Jets4–2–1Kansas City5–2–0
9Boston4–2–1Kansas City6–2–0
10Buffalo5–3–1Kansas City7–2–0
11Buffalo6–3–1Kansas City8–2–0
12Buffalo7–3–1Kansas City8–2–1
13Buffalo8–3–1Kansas City9–2–1
14Boston7–3–2Kansas City9–2–1
15Boston8–3–2Kansas City10–2–1
16 Buffalo 9–4–1 Kansas City 11–2–1

Regular season

Prior to the season, the AFL–NFL merger was announced in June, and both leagues agreed to have their champions meet in an annual AFL-NFL World Championship Game (later known as the Super Bowl), beginning in January 1967. Additionally, a common draft was introduced, with the first held in March 1967.

Also, the Miami Dolphins joined the AFL as its first expansion team. Joe Auer would score the first touchdown in Dolphins history, returning an opening kickoff for 95 yards versus the Oakland Raiders. [1]

Results

Home/RoadEastern DivisionWestern Division
BOS BUF HOU MIA NY DEN KC OAK SD
Eastern Boston Patriots 14–327–2124–2410–1724–4324–2135–17
Buffalo Bills 10–2027–2058–2414–338–2120–4217–17
Houston Oilers 14–3820–4213–2024–045–731–022–28
Miami Dolphins 14–200–2929–2814–1924–718–1914–23
New York Jets 38–2823–3352–1330–1324–3221–2417–16
Western Denver Broncos 10–2440–3817–77–1610–563–1720–17
Kansas City Chiefs 27–2714–2948–2334–1637–1013–3424–14
Oakland Raiders 10–3138–2321–1028–2828–1010–3220–29
San Diego Chargers 24–027–744–1042–2724–1717–2719–41

Standings

Playoffs

The Chiefs lost to the Packers in the first AFL-NFL Championship Game (Super Bowl I) 1986 Jeno's Pizza - 15 - Willie Davis.jpg
The Chiefs lost to the Packers in the first AFL–NFL Championship Game (Super Bowl I)

Stadium changes

Coaching changes

Offseason

In-season

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References

  1. ↑ 100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.19
  2. ↑ "Chargers' tie jolt to Raiders". Oakland Tribune. November 26, 1965. p. 51 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "AFL standings". Lompoc Records. December 19, 1966. p. 2-B – via newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Chargers' tie jolt to Raiders". Oakland Tribune. November 26, 1965. p. 51 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "AFL standings". Lompoc Records. December 19, 1966. p. 2-B – via newspapers.com.
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