1974 Oakland Raiders season

NFL team season December 2013 March 2026 Oakland Raiders 1974 12–2 1st AFC West Al Davis Al Davis John Madden Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Won Divisional Playoffs(vs. Dolphins) 28–26Lost AFC Championship(vs. Steelers) 13–24 Raiders seasons 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. 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 ProspectusPro Football Prospectus 2006 (0761142177), p.73-75 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,Warnock to sell luxury suites at stadium https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=1797330 ESPN 2004-05-07 2008-01-27The Recap https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/29/AR2006102900909.html The Washington Post 2006-10-30 2008-01-27Steele David Coliseum Turns Into Wind Tunnel for a Day http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/10/23/SP81987.DTL https://web.archive.org/web/20030324210310/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/10/23/SP81987.DTL dead March 24, 2003 San Francisco Chronicle 2000-10-23 2008-01-27Carr Bob What do the Tennessee Titans and the San Diego Chargers have in Common? http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/author?blogid=11&auth=34&o=10 https://web.archive.org/web/20110525122950/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/author?blogid=11&auth=34&o=10 dead May 25, 2011 San Francisco Chronicle 2005-11-01 2008-01-27 and was first used for the team's official team yearbook film in 1974. It was narrated by John Facenda,Peterseim Peter Cool Hand Luke, Wilt the Stilt, and the nine-headed monster http://espn.go.com/abcsports/mnf/s/annotatedmiller/1106.html https://web.archive.org/web/20030222074505/http://espn.go.com/abcsports/mnf/s/annotatedmiller/1106.html dead February 22, 2003 ESPN 2001-12-29 2008-01-27 and dubbed "The Battle Hymn of the Raider Nation".Lynch Kevin Foreboding song blows through practice http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/11/01/SP153120.DTL https://web.archive.org/web/20110525122957/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/11/01/SP153120.DTL dead May 25, 2011 San Francisco Chronicle 2002-11-01 2008-01-27 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 1974 NFL draft 1974 Oakland Raiders 1 19 Henry Lawrence Tackle Florida A&M yes yes 2 45 Dave Casper Tight end Notre Dame yes yes yes 3 75 Mark van Eeghen Running back Colgate yes 4 93 Morris Bradshaw Wide receiver Ohio State yes 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 yes 10 253 Chris Arnold Defensive back Virginia State 11 279 Harold Hart Running back Texas Southern yes 12 305 Noe Gonzalez Running back Southwest Texas State 13 330 Mike Dennery Linebacker Southern Miss yes 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 https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/rai/1974_draft.htm 1974 Oakland Raiders Draftees Pro Football Reference February 13, 2022 Personnel Staff / Coaches 1974 Oakland Raiders Principal Owner/General Manager - Al Davis Minority Co-Owner - Eddie McGah Minority Co-Owner - F. Wayne Valley President of the General Partner / General Manager – Al Davis Senior Executive – John Herrera Scout/ Executive assistant, Personnel Director - Ken Herock Executive Assistant / Scout - Al LoCasale Head Coach – John Madden Assistant Head Coach / Executive Assistant - Tom Flores Offensive Backs – Paul Roach Receivers Coach – Tom Flores Offensive line – Ollie Spencer Defensive Line – Tom Dahms Linebackers – Don Shinnick Defensive Backfield – Bob Zeman Special teams – None - N/A Source:https://www.profootballarchives.com/1974nfloak.html Roster 1974 Oakland Raiders  3 Daryle Lamonica 13 Larry Lawrence gridiron football y 12 Ken Stabler 40 Pete Banaszak 28 Clarence Davis 34 Harold Hart y 44 Marv Hubbard 36 Bob Hudson running back 23 Charlie Smith running back 30 Mark van Eeghen y 25 Fred Biletnikoff 21 Cliff Branch 85 Frank Pitts 46 Warren Bankston 87 Dave Casper y 88 Bob Moore American football 64 George Buehler G 50 Dave Dalby C 70 Henry Lawrence American football y T 79 Dan Medlin G 00 Jim Otto C 78 Art Shell T 63 Gene Upshaw G 75 John Vella T 84 Tony Cline DE 82 Horace Jones American football DE 71 Kelvin Korver DT 60 Otis Sistrunk DT 77 Bubba Smith DE 80 Art Thoms DT 54 Mike Dennery y OLB 55 Dan Conners MLB 86 Gerald Irons OLB 58 Monte Johnson MLB 41 Phil Villapiano OLB 52 Gary Weaver OLB 43 George Atkinson safety SS 24 Willie Brown American football CB 29 Bob Prout no FS 27 Ron Smith defensive back SS 31 Jack Tatum FS 26 Skip Thomas CB 20 Jimmy Warren FS/CB 43 Nemiah Wilson CB 16 George Blanda K  8 Ray Guy P  6 George Jakowenko K 81 Morris Bradshaw y WR IR 18 Kent Gaydos TE IR 49 Mike Siani American football WR IR Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 16, 1974 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, 1974 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 1974 Buffalo Bills season #fff #eee background-color:#000; color:#fff; text-align:center collapsed Week One: Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills – Game summary September 16 9:00 p.m. EST Raiders 0 3 7 10 Bills 0 7 0 14 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 59 F, wind 13 mph on Ben Dreith ABC Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell and Alex Karras Box Score Raiders Ken Stabler – 9/22, 122 yards, INT Charlie Smith – 14 rush, 64 yards Cliff Branch – 4 receptions, 60 yards Bills Joe Ferguson – 10/22, 122 yards, 3 TD O.J. Simpson – 12 rush, 78 yards Ahmad Rashad – 5 receptions, 68 yards, 2 TD Raiders Bills collapsed 2 Bills RecTD J. D. Hill Joe Ferguson 4 good John Leypoldt run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 7 2 Raiders FG 34 George Blanda 3 7 3 Raiders RushTD Clarence Davis 15 good George Blanda run/pass good/failed/incomplete 10 7 4 Raiders FG 41 George Blanda 13 7 4 Bills RecTD Ahmad Rashad Joe Ferguson 8 good John Leypoldt run/pass good/failed/incomplete 13 14 4 Raiders FumbleTD Art Thoms 29 good George Blanda run/pass good/failed/incomplete 20 14 4 Bills RecTD Ahmad Rashad Joe Ferguson 13 good John Leypoldt run/pass good/failed/incomplete 20 21 20 21 Week 2 Chiefs 0 0 7 0 Raiders 7 13 0 7 September 22 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California 1:00 p.m. 60 F • Wind 9 mph on Fred Silva NBC yes 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 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 3 Raiders 7 10 0 0 Steelers 0 0 0 0 September 29 Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 4:00 p.m. 63 F • Wind 15 mph on yes 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 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 14 Cowboys 9 0 7 7 Raiders 3 14 7 3 December 14 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California 6:00 p.m. 53 F • Wind 7 mph on Bob Frederic Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell and Alex Karras ABC yes 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 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Standings Playoffs 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 Dolphins 7 3 6 10 Raiders 0 7 7 14 December 21 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California 1:00 p.m. PST 49 F, wind 8 mph on Ben Dreith Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis and Don Meredith NBC Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com yes 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 yes 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. References External links 1974 Oakland Raiders at Pro Football Reference 1974 Oakland Raiders at JT-SW.com Oakland Category:Oakland Raiders seasons Category:AFC West championship seasons Oakland Category:1970s in Oakland, California