1968 Buffalo Bills season

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

1968 Buffalo Bills season
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Head coach	Joe Collier and Harvey Johnson
Home stadium	War Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	1–12–1
Division place	5th AFL Eastern
Playoffs	Did not qualify
← 1967 Bills seasons 1969 →

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

• 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

Personnel

Coaches/Staff

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

1968 Buffalo Bills roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 10 Dan Darragh  3 Benny Russell Running backs (RB) 22 Max Anderson 23 Charlie Brown 36 Bob Cappadona 32 Gary McDermott 30 Wayne Patrick 40 Ed Rutkowski QB Wide receivers (WR) 83 Bobby Crockett 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/G 62 Dick Cunningham T 63 George Flint G 61 Bob Kalsu G 73 Howard Kindig C 76 Mike McBath T 66 Billy Shaw G Defensive linemen (DL) 89 Tom Day DE 78 Jim Dunaway DT 72 Ron McDole DE 70 Tom Sestak DT 71 Bob Tatarek DT

Linebackers (LB) 52 Edgar Chandler MLB 59 Paul Guidry OLB 64 Harry Jacobs MLB 57 Marty Schottenheimer OLB 58 Mike Stratton OLB Defensive backs (DB) 42 Butch Byrd CB 45 Hagood Clarke FS 27 Tom Janik SS 21 Jerry Lawson CB 48 John Pitts SS 26 George Saimes FS Special teams (ST) 46 Bruce Alford K 55 Paul Maguire P

Practice squad 80 Charley Ferguson TE Reserve -- Wayne DeSutter T (Military) 74 Chuck DeVleigher DT (IR) 44 Elbert Dubenion WR (Retired) 24 Booker Edgerson CB (IR) 16 Tom Flores QB (IR) 33 Ben Gregory RB (IR) 79 Dick Hudson T (IR) 15 Jack Kemp QB (IR) 67 Joe O'Donnell G (IR) 18 Kay Stephenson QB (IR) 88 Bill Wilkerson DE (IR) Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
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

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
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

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

Week 12 vs. Raiders

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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
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

Thanksgiving Day

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score 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

• Bob Kalsu, Team Rookie of the Year^[7]