1975 Oakland Raiders season

The 1975 Oakland Raiders season was the team's 16th season, and 6th in the National Football League.

1975 Oakland Raiders season
Owner	Al Davis
General manager	Al Davis
Head coach	John Madden
Home stadium	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record	11–3
Division place	1st AFC West
Playoffs	Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Bengals) 31–28 Lost AFC Championship (at Steelers) 10–16
← 1974 Raiders seasons 1976 →

The 1975 season was George Blanda's final season in the NFL. Blanda retired with two significant records: the most seasons in American professional football (26), and most games played (340).^[1] The Raiders finished the season with an 11–3 record and won the AFC West for the 4th straight year. They also made the playoffs for the 4th straight season. In the playoffs, the Raiders stunned the Cincinnati Bengals 31–28 in the Divisional Round. In the AFC Championship game, their third straight, they lost to the Steelers for the second straight season 16–10.

Opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of 37.2 against Oakland in 1975, the second-lowest total of the Super Bowl era.^[2] The Raiders defeated the Dolphins to win their season opener for the first time since 1969.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1975 NFL draft

1975 Oakland Raiders Draft

Round	Selection	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	24	24	Neal Colzie	Ohio State	DB
2	19	45	Charlie Phillips	USC	DB
3	24	76	Louis Carter	Maryland	RB
5	24	128	David Humm	Nebraska	QB
7	24	180	James Daniels	Texas A&M	DB
9	24	232	Harry Knight	Richmond	QB
10	25	259	Steve Sylvester	Notre Dame	T
12	24	310	Jack Magee	Boston College	C
14	24	362	Tom Doyle	Yale	QB
15	25	389	Paul Careathers	Tennessee	RB

^[3]

Roster

1975 Oakland Raiders roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 15 Pete Beathard 11 David Humm 13 Larry Lawrence 12 Ken Stabler Running backs (RB) 40 Pete Banaszak 33 Louis Carter 28 Clarence Davis 34 Harold Hart 44 Marv Hubbard 30 Mark van Eeghen FB Wide receivers (WR) 81 Morris Bradshaw 25 Fred Biletnikoff 21 Cliff Branch 49 Mike Siani 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 78 Art Shell T 66 Steve Sylvester G 63 Gene Upshaw G 75 John Vella T Defensive linemen (DL) 84 Tony Cline DE 82 Horace Jones DE 71 Kelvin Korver DT 74 Dave Rowe DT 60 Otis Sistrunk DE 80 Art Thoms DT

Linebackers (LB) 54 Mike Dennery 83 Ted Hendricks 86 Gerald Irons 58 Monte Johnson 41 Phil Villapiano Defensive backs (DB) 43 George Atkinson FS 24 Willie Brown CB 20 Neal Colzie CB 47 Charlie Phillips 32 Jack Tatum FS 26 Skip Thomas CB Special teams (ST) 8 Ray Guy P 16 George Blanda K

Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 22	at Miami Dolphins	W 31–21	1–0	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
2	September 28	at Baltimore Colts	W 31–20	2–0	Memorial Stadium	Recap
3	October 5	at San Diego Chargers	W 6–0	3–0	San Diego Stadium	Recap
4	October 12	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–42	3–1	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
5	October 19	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 10–14	3–2	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
6	October 26	San Diego Chargers	W 25–0	4–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	Recap
7	November 2	at Denver Broncos	W 42–17	5–2	Mile High Stadium	Recap
8	November 9	New Orleans Saints	W 48–10	6–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	Recap
9	November 16	Cleveland Browns	W 38–17	7–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	Recap
10	November 23	at Washington Redskins	W 26–23	8–2	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	Recap
11	November 30	Atlanta Falcons	W 37–34	9–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	Recap
12	December 8	Denver Broncos	W 17–10	10–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	Recap
13	December 14	Houston Oilers	L 26–27	10–3	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	Recap
14	December 21	Kansas City Chiefs	W 28–20	11–3	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

^[4]

Season summary

Week 10

1 2 3 4 OT Total • Raiders 6 14 0 3 3 26 Redskins 0 9 7 7 0 23 Date: November 23 Location: RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C. Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 41 °F (5 °C) • Wind 10 mph (16 km/h) Referee: Pat Haggerty

Scoring summary 1 OAK Pete Banaszak 1-yard run (kick failed) Raiders 6–0 2 WSH Charley Taylor 8-yard pass from Billy Kilmer (kick failed) Tie 6–6 2 WSH Mark Moseley 34-yard field goal Redskins 9–6 2 OAK Pete Banaszak 27-yard run (George Blanda kick) Raiders 13–9 2 OAK Pete Banaszak 7-yard run (George Blanda kick) Raiders 20–9 3 WSH Mike Thomas 2-yard run (Mark Moseley kick) Raiders 20–16 4 OAK George Blanda 22-yard field goal Raiders 23–16 4 WSH Frank Grant 33-yard pass from Billy Kilmer (Mark Moseley kick) Tie 23–23 OT OAK George Blanda 27-yard field goal Raiders 26–23

^[5]

Standings

AFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Oakland Raiders(2)	11	3	0	.786	5–1	8–3	375	255	W1
Denver Broncos	6	8	0	.429	3–3	4–7	254	307	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	5	9	0	.357	3–3	3–8	282	341	L4
San Diego Chargers	2	12	0	.143	1–5	2–9	189	345	L1

Playoffs

The Raiders defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 31–28 in the divisional round in Oakland. The following Sunday, they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 16–10 in the AFC Championship Game.

Oakland Raiders 31, Cincinnati Bengals 28

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	0	7	7	14	28
Raiders	3	14	7	7	31

Game information

Scoring OAK – field goal Blanda 31 OAK 3–0 OAK – Siani 9 pass from Stabler (Blanda kick) OAK 10–3 CIN – Fritts 1 run (Green kick) OAK 10–7 OAK – Moore 8 pass from Stabler (Blanda kick) OAK 17–7 OAK – Banaszak 6 run (Blanda kick) OAK 24–7 CIN – Elliott 6 run (Green kick) OAK 24–14 OAK – Casper 2 pass from Stabler (Blanda kick) OAK 31–14 CIN – Joiner 25 pass from Anderson (Green kick) OAK 31–21 CIN – Curtis 14 pass from Anderson (Green kick) OAK 31–28

Game summary

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

• Date: December 28, 1975
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
• Game attendance: 53,030
• Referee: Jim Tunney
• TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis

Raiders go to the AFC Championship Game but lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Steelers 16-10.

Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Oakland Raiders 10

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	0	0	10	10
Steelers	0	3	0	13	16

Game information
Scoring PIT – field goal Gerela 36 PIT 3–0 PIT – Harris 25 run (Gerela kick) PIT 10–0 OAK – Siani 14 pass from Stabler (Blanda kick) PIT 10–7 PIT – Stallworth 20 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed) PIT 16–7 OAK – field goal Blanda 41 PIT 16–10

Game summary

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Date: January 4, 1976
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 50,609
• Referee: Ben Dreith
• TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis, and Don Meredith

Raiders lost and in 1976 finished 13-1 they win to the New England Patriots 24-21 in the Divisional Round. In the AFC Championship Game win over the Steelers 24-7. And win in Super Bowl XI to the Minnesota Vikings 32-14.

Awards and honors

• George Blanda, most seasons in American professional football (26)
• George Blanda, most games played, (340)