Divisional playoffs Kansas City, favored by three points, had defeated the Jets 34–16 five weeks earlier on the same field. They knocked off the
defending Super Bowl champions in dominating form, holding them to just 234 yards and forcing four turnovers. The heavy winds at
Shea Stadium wreaked havoc on the kicking of Chiefs kicker
Jan Stenerud, who missed three field goals throughout the game, including an early 47-yard attempt in the first quarter. New York quarterback
Joe Namath then completed 4/4 passes on the way to a 27-yard
Jim Turner field goal that put the home team in front, 3–0. Kansas City responded with
Len Dawson's completions to
Otis Taylor,
Fred Arbanas, and
Wendell Hayes for gains of 13, 12, and 17 yards moving the team into position for a 23-yard Stenerud field goal to tie the game. This was the only score of the second quarter, as neither team had much success moving the ball for the rest of the half. Stenerud's missed 44-yard field goal attempt was close as either team came to changing the scoreboard. Defense continued to dominate the game in the second half, starting with Namath's interception to defensive back
Emmitt Thomas. However, this resulted in another missed field goal try from Stenerud, a 44-yard attempt. The next time New York got the ball, Namath was intercepted again, this time by
Jim Marsalis. Kansas City was forced to punt, but a running into the punter penalty against New York allowed them to keep possession. Dawson then threw a 27-yard completion to Arbanas that set up Stenerud's 25-yard field goal, giving the Chiefs a 6–3 lead. New York responded with a drive deep into Chiefs territory. A pass interference penalty against Thomas in the end zone gave them a first down on the Chiefs 1-yard line, but Kansas City's defense made a crucial stand. On the first two plays, runs by
Matt Snell and
Bill Mathis were stuffed for no gain by linebacker
Willie Lanier. New York attempted to pass the ball for a touchdown on 3rd down, but with all his receivers covered and facing a blitz from linebacker
Jim Lynch, Namath was forced to throw the ball away. Rather than attempt a 4th down conversion, the Jets tied the game, 6–6, on Turner's 9-yard field goal. Kansas City's goal line stand seemed to fire up their offense. On their ensuing drive, Dawson completed a 61-yard pass to Taylor. Then he found
Gloster Richardson in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown pass, giving the Chiefs a 13-6 fourth quarter lead. There was still time for New York to come back, but Namath completed only 6 of his next 20 passes, while the team was unable to score despite drives to the Chiefs 16 and 13-yard lines. On the drive to the 13, after Namath misfired on two passes to the end zone, Marsalis recorded his second interception of the game. Dawson completed 12 of 27 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown. Chiefs running back
Mike Garrett was the top rusher of the game with 67 yards. Namath completed only fourteen of forty passes for 169 yards and was intercepted three times. The Jets did not return to the postseason for a dozen years, in
1981. Oakland was favored by thirteen points, and quarterback
Daryle Lamonica tied a playoff record with six touchdown passes as the Raiders racked up 412 yards and 56 points, while holding Houston to just 197 yards and forcing five turnovers. After the game started with a punt from each team, Oakland suddenly scored four consecutive times to take a 28–0 first quarter lead. the teams combined for just 440 yards (233 for Oakland, 207 for KC) and had four turnovers each. It was a very satisfying win for Kansas City, who had lost to the Raiders twice during the season and in seven of their last eight, including a 41–6 loss in the previous year's postseason. The Raiders opened up the scoring with a 66-yard drive, featuring
Daryle Lamonica's 24-yard completion to
Warren Wells on the Chiefs' 3-yard line. Running back
Charlie Smith ran the ball across the goal line on the next play, giving Oakland a 7-0 lead. Both defenses would take over the majority of the rest of the half, but with 3:24 remaining in the second quarter, Kansas City, who had only gained two first downs up to now, drove 75 yards to tie the game. Quarterback
Len Dawson started off the drive with a 14-yard completion to
Otis Taylor, while
Robert Holmes' 8-yard run moved the ball into Raiders territory on their 42 for the first time in the game as the clock ran down to the 2-minute warning. On the next play, Dawson threw a 41-yard completion to receiver
Frank Pitts. Then
Wendell Hayes scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7 going into halftime. Oakland seemed primed to respond in the third quarter with a drive to the Chiefs 33-yard line, but in what turned out to be a crucial play, Lamonica jammed his thumb and fingers when his throwing hand struck the helmet of Chiefs defensive end
Aaron Brown, and had to miss the rest of the drive. Backup
George Blanda took over and tried to take the team the rest of the way to the end zone, but a few players later, defensive back
Emmitt Thomas made a clutch interception on the Chiefs' 5-yard line. Kansas City then drove 95 yards for a go-ahead score. The key play on the drive was a 35-yard reception by Taylor through triple coverage with the team facing 3rd and 13 from their own 2-yard line. Dawson later completed a 23-yard pass to Holmes on the drive, and defensive back
Nemiah Wilson's pass interference penalty eventually gave Kansas City a first down on the Raiders' 7-yard line. Holmes carried the ball three straight times after that, the last a 5-yard touchdown run to put the Chiefs up 14-7. Lamonica returned to the game in the 4th quarter, but was unable to lead the Raiders to any points, despite numerous opportunities. A promising drive into Kansas City territory was eliminated when
Jim Kearney intercepted Lamonica's pass on the Chiefs' 18-yard line. Two plays later, defensive end Carlton Oats recovered a fumble from Holmes on the Chiefs' 24. But on the next play, Oakland gave the ball right back with an interception to rookie cornerback
Jim Marsalis. Amazingly, Oakland got the ball back on another Holmes fumble, this one recovered by linebacker
Dan Conners on the Chiefs' 31. Still, the only result would be another Lamonica interception, this one to Thomas, who returned it 62 yards to the Raiders' 18-yard line, setting up
Jan Stenerud's 22-yard field goal that increased Kansas City's lead to 17-7. Oakland had one last chance to get back in the game when defensive end
Ike Lassiter recovered a fumble from Dawson on the Kansas City 13 with two minutes left. But Lamonica threw four straight incompletions and the Chiefs ran out the rest of the clock. Neither quarterback had a particularly good day. Dawson completed only 7 of 17 passes for 129 yards, while Lamonica finished 15/39 for 167 yards and three interceptions. Charlie Smith was the sole offensive star of the game, with 31 rushing yards and a touchdown, along with 8 receptions for 86 yards. ==See also==