1974 Oakland Raiders season

The 1974 Oakland Raiders season was the team's 15th season in Oakland and fifth in the National Football League. The team posted a 12–2 record; the campaign's two losses were by a total of four points. The Raiders' record (the team's best since 1969) ensured their fourth AFC West title in five years.

1974 Oakland Raiders season
Owner	Al Davis
General manager	Al Davis
Head coach	John Madden
Home stadium	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record	12–2
Division place	1st AFC West
Playoffs	Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Dolphins) 28–26 Lost AFC Championship (vs. Steelers) 13–24
← 1973 Raiders seasons 1975 →

For the second straight campaign, the Raiders exacted revenge upon the team that had eliminated them in the prior year's playoffs. This time, Oakland toppled the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins, by a score of 28–26, in the playoffs' Divisional round. Quarterback Ken Stabler (in his first full season as a starter) threw a last-minute winning touchdown pass to running back Clarence Davis in what has come to be known as the "Sea of Hands" game.

For the second straight season, however, the Raiders lost in the AFC Championship Game. They were upset, 24–13, by the eventual champion Pittsburgh Steelers. While the Raiders led 10–3 at the end of the third quarter, a defensive meltdown allowed the Steelers to score 21 points in the final frame.

The 2006 edition of Pro Football Prospectus^[1] listed the 1974 Raiders as one of their "Heartbreak Seasons", in which teams "dominated the entire regular season only to falter in the playoffs, unable to close the deal." Pro Football Prospectus states, The John Madden Raiders were a consistently good regular season team, but the playoffs were a different story. The 1972 season came to an end with the painful Immaculate Reception game. The 1973 Raiders ended Miami's 18-game winning streak during the regular season but lost to the Dolphins in the AFC Championship game. In 1974, the Raiders seemed to finally have all the pieces."

Despite the disappointment at the end of the 1974 season, Pro Football Prospectus continues, "[t]he Raiders persevered, keeping the team's core together the next several seasons. In 1975, they again fell to the Steelers in the AFC title game, but caught a break in the 1976 AFC Championship, when they cruised to a 24–7 victory over Pittsburgh, who were without running backs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier. Finally, in the Super Bowl, they did not waste their opportunity, crushing the Vikings 32–14 behind Ken Stabler and Clarence Davis."

"The Autumn Wind", a poem written by former NFL Films President and co-founder Steve Sabol, became the unofficial team anthem of the Raiders,^[2][3][4][5] and was first used for the team's official team yearbook film in 1974. It was narrated by John Facenda,^[6] and dubbed "The Battle Hymn of the Raider Nation".^[7]

1974 marked the end of an era, as the last remaining original Raider, longtime offensive lineman Jim Otto, retired after all 10 seasons in the AFL, 5 seasons in the NFL, and 15 seasons with the Raiders. Counting playoff games, he showed up for every one of the first 223 games in Oakland Raiders history.

Offseason

Draft

Main article: 1974 NFL draft

1974 Oakland Raiders draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	19	Henry Lawrence *	Tackle	Florida A&M
2	45	Dave Casper * †	Tight end	Notre Dame
3	75	Mark van Eeghen	Running back	Colgate
4	93	Morris Bradshaw	Wide receiver	Ohio State
5	123	Pete Wessel	Defensive back	Northwestern
6	148	James McAlister	Running back	UCLA	Signed with Southern California Sun (WFL)
7	175	Rod Garcia	Kicker	Stanford
9	227	Ken Pope	Defensive back	Oklahoma
10	253	Chris Arnold	Defensive back	Virginia State
11	279	Harold Hart	Running back	Texas Southern
12	305	Noe Gonzalez	Running back	Southwest Texas State
13	330	Mike Dennery	Linebacker	Southern Miss
14	357	Don Willingham	Running back	Milwaukee
15	383	Greg Mathis	Defensive back	Idaho State
16	409	Delario Robinson	Wide receiver	Kansas
17	435	James Morris	Defensive tackle	Missouri Valley
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[8]

Roster

1974 Oakland Raiders roster

Quarterbacks (QB)  3 Daryle Lamonica 13 Larry Lawrence 12 Ken Stabler Running backs (RB) 40 Pete Banaszak 28 Clarence Davis 34 Harold Hart 44 Marv Hubbard 36 Bob Hudson 23 Charlie Smith 30 Mark van Eeghen Wide receivers (WR) 25 Fred Biletnikoff 21 Cliff Branch 85 Frank Pitts Tight ends (TE) 46 Warren Bankston 87 Dave Casper 88 Bob Moore

Offensive linemen (OL) 64 George Buehler G 50 Dave Dalby C 70 Henry Lawrence T 79 Dan Medlin G 00 Jim Otto C 78 Art Shell T 63 Gene Upshaw G 75 John Vella T Defensive linemen (DL) 84 Tony Cline DE 82 Horace Jones DE 71 Kelvin Korver DT 60 Otis Sistrunk DT 77 Bubba Smith DE 80 Art Thoms DT

Linebackers (LB) 54 Mike Dennery OLB 55 Dan Conners MLB 86 Gerald Irons OLB 58 Monte Johnson MLB 41 Phil Villapiano OLB 52 Gary Weaver OLB Defensive backs (DB) 43 George Atkinson SS 24 Willie Brown CB 29 Bob Prout FS 27 Ron Smith SS 31 Jack Tatum FS 26 Skip Thomas CB 20 Jimmy Warren FS/CB 43 Nemiah Wilson CB Special teams (ST) 16 George Blanda K  8 Ray Guy P  6 George Jakowenko K

Reserve 81 Morris Bradshaw WR (IR) 18 Kent Gaydos TE (IR) 49 Mike Siani WR (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 16	at Buffalo Bills	L 20–21	0–1	Rich Stadium	80,020	Recap
2	September 22	Kansas City Chiefs	W 27–7	1–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	48,108	Recap
3	September 29	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 17–0	2–1	Three Rivers Stadium	48,304	Recap
4	October 6	at Cleveland Browns	W 40–24	3–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	65,247	Recap
5	October 13	at San Diego Chargers	W 14–10	4–1	San Diego Stadium	40,539	Recap
6	October 20	Cincinnati Bengals	W 30–27	5–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	54,020	Recap
7	October 27	at San Francisco 49ers	W 35–24	6–1	Candlestick Park	58,284	Recap
8	November 3	at Denver Broncos	W 28–17	7–1	Mile High Stadium	45,946	Recap
9	November 10	Detroit Lions	W 35–13	8–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	51,973	Recap
10	November 17	San Diego Chargers	W 17–10	9–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	50,178	Recap
11	November 24	Denver Broncos	L 17–20	9–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	51,224	Recap
12	December 1	New England Patriots	W 41–26	10–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	50,120	Recap
13	December 8	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 7–6	11–2	Arrowhead Stadium	60,577	Recap
14	December 14	Dallas Cowboys	W 27–23	12–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	45,840	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

See also: 1974 Buffalo Bills season

Week One: Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	3	7	10	20
Bills	0	7	0	14	21

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

• Date: September 16
• Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 59 F, wind 13 mph (21 km/h)
• Referee: Ben Dreith
• TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell and Alex Karras
• Box Score

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Raiders Bills 2 Bills J. D. Hill 4-yard touchdown reception from Joe Ferguson, John Leypoldt kick good 0 7 2 Raiders 34-yard field goal by George Blanda 3 7 3 Raiders Clarence Davis 15-yard touchdown run, George Blanda kick good 10 7 4 Raiders 41-yard field goal by George Blanda 13 7 4 Bills Ahmad Rashad 8-yard touchdown reception from Joe Ferguson, John Leypoldt kick good 13 14 4 Raiders Fumble recovery returned 29 yards for touchdown by Art Thoms, George Blanda kick good 20 14 4 Bills Ahmad Rashad 13-yard touchdown reception from Joe Ferguson, John Leypoldt kick good 20 21 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 20 21

Week 2

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Chiefs	0	0	7	0	7
• Raiders	7	13	0	7	27

• Date: September 22
• Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
• Game start: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C) • Wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
• Referee: Fred Silva
• Television network: NBC

Scoring summary

1		OAK	Dave Casper 5 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 7–0
2		OAK	Mike Siani 9 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 14–0
2		OAK	Pete Banaszak 20 yard run (kick failed)	Raiders 20–0
3		KC	Wilbur Young 50 yard interception return (Jan Stenerud kick)	Raiders 20–7
4		OAK	Dave Casper 2 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 27–7

^[9]

Week 3

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Raiders	7	10	0	0	17
Steelers	0	0	0	0	0

• Date: September 29
• Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Game start: 4:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C) • Wind 15 mph (24 km/h)

Scoring summary

1		OAK	Ken Stabler 1 yard run (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 7–0
2		OAK	Cliff Branch 19 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 14–0
2		OAK	George Blanda 35 yard field goal	Raiders 17–0

^[10]

Week 14

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	9	0	7	7	23
• Raiders	3	14	7	3	27

• Date: December 14
• Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
• Game start: 6:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C) • Wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
• Referee: Bob Frederic
• TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell and Alex Karras

Scoring summary

1		DAL	Drew Pearson recovers fumble in end zone (Efren Herrera kick)	Cowboys 7–0
1		OAK	George Blanda 31 yard field goal	Cowboys 7–3
1		DAL	Safety, center snap fumbled out of end zone	Cowboys 9–3
2		OAK	Fred Biletnikoff 9 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 10–9
2		OAK	Charlie Smith 14 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 17–9
3		OAK	Cliff Branch 28 yard pass from George Blanda (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 24–9
3		DAL	Doug Dennison 1 yard run (Efren Herrera kick)	Raiders 24–16
4		OAK	George Blanda 34 yard field goal	Raiders 27–16
4		DAL	Doug Dennison 2 yard run (Efren Herrera kick)	Raiders 27–23

^[11]

Standings

AFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Oakland Raiders	12	2	0	.857	5–1	9–2	355	228	W3
Denver Broncos	7	6	1	.536	3–3	5–4–1	302	294	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	5	9	0	.357	2–4	4–7	233	293	L2
San Diego Chargers	5	9	0	.357	2–4	4–7	212	285	W2

Playoffs

Main article: 1974–75 NFL playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Divisional	December 21	Miami Dolphins	W 28–26	1–0	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	52,817
AFC Championship	December 29	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 13–24	1–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	53,515

Game summaries

Divisional: vs. Miami Dolphins

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Dolphins	7	3	6	10	26
• Raiders	0	7	7	14	28

• Date: December 21
• Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. PST
• Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
• Referee: Ben Dreith
• TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis and Don Meredith

• Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary

1		Dolphins	Nat Moore 89 yard kickoff return (Garo Yepremian kick)	Dolphins 7–0
2		Raiders	Charlie Smith 31 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)	Tie 7–7
2		Dolphins	Garo Yepremian 33 yard field goal	Dolphins 10–7
3		Raiders	Fred Biletnikoff 13 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 14–10
3		Dolphins	Paul Warfield 16 yard pass from Bob Griese (kick failed)	Dolphins 16–14
4		Dolphins	Garo Yepremian 46 yard field goal	Dolphins 19–14
4		Raiders	Cliff Branch 72 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 21–19
4		Dolphins	Benny Malone 23 yard run (Garo Yepremian kick)	Dolphins 26–21
4		Raiders	Clarence Davis 8 yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)	Raiders 28–26

Raiders go to the AFC Championship Game but lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers 24-13. And in 1975 finished 11-3 they win to the Cincinnati Bengals 31-28 but lost again to the Steelers but this time 16-10.