Lamonica Had a Hand in Raiders' 1969 Playoff Win and Loss
John Madden took over as head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 1969 and all he did in that first season was lead them to a 12-1-1 record and the Western Division title in the final season of the American Football League as he began his trip toward the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Perhaps the Raiders’ best game that season came after that when they faced the Houston Oilers in a 1969 AFL Divisional playoff game before 53,539 fans at the Oakland Coliseum.
The Silver and Black’s performance was nearly flawless.
The Raiders came into the game riding a six-game winning streak and didn’t slow down, scoring four touchdowns in a span of 4 minutes, 22 seconds in the first quarter, and reaching the AFL Championship Game for the third consecutive season by trouncing the Oilers, 56-7.
To this day, those are the most points the Raiders have scored in any post-season game.
Quarterback Daryle Lamonica, the famed “Mad Bomber,” undoubtedly was the star of the game as he completed 13-of-17 passes for 276 yards and a franchise record six touchdowns before leaving after three quarters with the score 49-0.
“There were things we saw in the game films which we thought we could do against them (Houston) and we went out and did what we had in mind,” said Lamonica, who also led the Raiders to Super Bowl II at the end of the 1967 season after he was acquired by Oakland in a trade with the Buffalo Bills.
Lamonica spread the ball around among his talented teammates.
Running back Charlie Smith caught four passes for 103 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown; wide receiver Rod Sherman made four catches for 60 yards and scores of 24 and 23 yards; future Hall of Fame wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff had three receptions for 70 yards and TDs of 13 and 31 yards in the first quarter, and tight end Billy Cannon’s only catch of the game went three yards for the Lamonica’s last touchdown pass to make it 49-0.
“Daryle Lamonica was the perfect quarterback for the Raiders at that time,” Madden said several years later. “He wasn’t intruding on a team that was set, he eased into a team that was being built, a team that went to the Super Bowl that season (1967), a team that was starting a tradition of success.”
The Raiders’ defense also got into the act as Houston quarterback Pete Beathard was sacked six times while completing only 18-of-46 passes for 209 yards with three interceptions, one of which safety George Atkinson returned 57 yards for the second touchdown of the game.
Cornerbacks Willie Brown, another future Hall of Famer, and Nemiah Wilson had the other interceptions, while defensive end Ike Lassiter had three of the sacks, linebacker Bill Budness added two and defensive tackle Tom Keating had one.
“It was an exciting time,” Lamonica said of the AFL’s 10-year run. “We were innovative in the AFL. We brought the passing game more into play than the NFL did. AFL fans wanted to see the ball in the air.”
The Raiders thought they had what it took to win the Super Bowl that season, but unfortunately, Lamonica injured his right hand when he hit it on the helmet of Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Aaron Brown while throwing a pass in the second quarter of the final AFL Championship Game a week later before 54,544 fans at the Oakland Coliseum.
Lamonica, who had led the Raiders a 7-0 lead when he hit wide receiver Warren Wells on a 24-yard pass that set up Smith’s three-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, was replaced by George Blanda and was ineffective because of the injury when he did return later in the game.
The Chiefs scored on a one-yard run by Wendell Hayes in the second quarter, a five-yard run by Robert Holmes in the third quarter, and Jan Stenerud’s 17-yard field goal in the fourth on their way to a 17-7 victory, and went on to beat the Minnesota Vikings, 23-7, in Super Bowl IV at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.
Longtime fans of Raider National will always believe it would have been different had Lamonica not been injured.
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