1966_Buffalo_Bills_season

1966 Buffalo Bills season

1966 Buffalo Bills season

7th season in franchise history

The 1966 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s seventh season in the American Football League. It was the first season for head coach Joe Collier, who had been the Bills' defensive coordinator for the previous four seasons.[1]

Quick Facts Buffalo Bills season, Owner ...

It ended with a loss in the AFL Championship Game to the Kansas City Chiefs, ending the team's two-year reign as league champions. The score was 31-7 during the time.

The Bills allowed the fewest points in the AFL for the third consecutive year.[2] Although defensive tackle Tom Sestak hampered by a bad knee, defensive linemen Jim Dunaway and Ron McDole took a leadership position. Linebackers Mike Stratton, Harry Jacobs and John Tracey, and defensive backs George Saimes, Butch Byrd, Hagood Clarke and Tom Janik provided a strong defensive foundation.[3]

Halfback Bobby Burnett and split end Bobby Crockett joined long-time Bills running back Wray Carlton and quarterback Jack Kemp, leading Buffalo's offense to scoring 358 points,[4] second-most in the AFL in 1966. Burnett's 1,185 total yards from scrimmage were 5th in the AFL, and garnered AFL Rookie of the Year honors for Burnett.

Personnel

Staff

1966 Buffalo Bills staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  

Defensive coaches

Final roster

1966 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Note: rookies in italics

Offseason

Lou Saban, who had coached the Bills to consecutive AFL Championships, left the team after the 1965 season to coach at the University of Maryland.

AFL draft

Main article: 1966 American Football League draft

Regular season

Season schedule

More information Week, Date ...

Note:

  • Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

More information AFL Eastern Division, W ...

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.[5][6]

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

More information Total, Scoring summary ...

[7]

Week 10

More information Total, Scoring summary ...

[8]

Roster

More information Buffalo Bills roster ...

Postseason

AFL Championship Game

Main article: 1966 American Football League Championship Game
More information Total ...

Kansas City Chiefs 31, Buffalo Bills 7

January 1, 1967, at War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York
Attendance: 42,080

The Bills entered the AFL championship game seeking their third consecutive title. Though the game was played in Buffalo, the visiting Kansas City Chiefs were three-point favorites, mainly because of their explosive and innovative offense led by head coach Hank Stram. The Bills were a more conventional team with a solid defensive line and a running mindset on offense.

Buffalo found no offensive rhythm in the second half, and the Chiefs closed the game out in the fourth quarter with Dawson found Chris Burford for a 45-yard gain, setting up a one-foot touchdown run by rookie Mike Garrett. Less than two minutes later, Garrett scored a second touchdown following another Bills fumble.

Scoring

  • KC – Arbanas 29 pass from Dawson (Mercer kick)
  • BUF – Dubenion 69 pass from Kemp (Lusteg kick)
  • KC – Taylor 29 pass from Dawson (Mercer kick)
  • KC – Field goal Mercer 32
  • KC – Garrett 1 run (Mercer kick)
  • KC – Garrett 18 run (Mercer kick)

Awards and records

References

  1. [1]
    Collier would coach the Bills for three seasons: 1966–1968
  2. [2]
    Pro-Football-Reference: 1966 AFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics
  3. [3]
    Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p.108, Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN 0-312-11073-1
  4. [4]
    25.6 per game
  5. [5]
    "Chargers' tie jolt to Raiders". Oakland Tribune. November 26, 1965. p. 51 – via newspapers.com.
  6. [6]
    "AFL standings". Lompoc Records. December 19, 1966. p. 2-B – via newspapers.com.
  7. [7]
    Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Jan-06.
  8. [8]
    Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jan-24.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 1966_Buffalo_Bills_season, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.