1962 American Football League season

The 1962 American Football League season was the third regular season of the American Football League (AFL). It consisted of 8 franchises split into two divisions: the East Division (Buffalo Bills, Houston Oilers, Titans of New York, Boston Patriots) and the West Division (San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos, Dallas Texans, Oakland Raiders).

1962 American Football League season
Regular season
DurationSeptember 7 – December 16, 1962
Playoffs
DateDecember 23, 1962
Eastern ChampionHouston Oilers
Western ChampionDallas Texans
SiteJeppesen Stadium, Houston, Texas
ChampionDallas Texans

The season ended when the Texans defeated the Houston Oilers in the AFL Championship game.

Division races

The AFL had 8 teams, grouped into two divisions. Each team would play a home-and-away game against the other 7 teams in the league for a total of 14 games, and the best team in the Eastern Division would play against the best in the Western Division in a championship game. If there was tie in the standings, a playoff would be held to determine the division winner.

The 1962 season started out as a race between Houston and Boston in the East, and Dallas and Denver in the West. After seven games, the Broncos were 6–1–0 and the Texans right behind at 5–1–0, while Boston and Houston were tied at 4–2–0.

In Week Eight, Buffalo beat Denver 45–38, while Dallas won at Houston, 31–7. The Oilers' loss, and Boston's 26–16 win over Oakland, put the Patriots and Texans at the top of their divisions. The next week, though, Houston won its rematch at Dallas, 14–6, and though it did not help the Oilers, Denver made a comeback to win 23–20 at San Diego to reclaim the division lead on November 4. In Week Ten, Boston beat Denver 33–29. Houston stayed half a game behind Boston, while Dallas pulled half a game ahead of Denver.

In Week Eleven (November 18), Houston won at Boston, 21–17, to reclaim the East, and Dallas won 24–3 at Denver to boost its lead. Houston and Boston continued to win, but in the final week, the Oilers clinched the division with a 44–10 win over the Titans.

Week Eastern Western
1 Tie (Hou, TNY) 1–0–0 Tie (Dal, Den) 1–0–0
2 (Bos, Hou, TNY) 1–1–0 Tie (Den, Dal) 2–0–0
3 (Bos, Hou, TNY) 2–1–0 Dallas Texans 2–0–0
4 Tie (Bos, Hou) 2–1–0 Dallas Texans 3–0–0
5 Tie (Bos, Hou) 3–1–0 Denver Broncos 4–1–0
6 Houston Oilers 4–1–0 Denver Broncos 5–1–0
7 Tie (Bos, Hou) 4–2–0 Denver Broncos 6–1–0
8 Boston Patriots 5–2–0 Dallas Texans 6–1–0
9 Boston Patriots 5–2–1 Denver Broncos 7–2–0
10 Boston Patriots 6–2–1 Dallas Texans 7–2–0
11 Houston Oilers 7–3–0 Dallas Texans 8–2–0
12 Houston Oilers 8–3–0 Dallas Texans 9–2–0
13 Houston Oilers 9–3–0 Dallas Texans 9–3–0
14 Houston Oilers 10–3–0 Dallas Texans 10–3–0
15 Houston Oilers 11–3–0 Dallas Texans 11–3–0

Regular season

Results
Home/Road Eastern Division Western Division
BOS BUF HOU NY DAL DEN OAK SD
Eastern Boston Patriots 21–10 34–21 24–17 7–27 41–16 26–16 24–20
Buffalo Bills 28–28 23–28 6–17 23–14 20–23 14–6 35–10
Houston Oilers 21–17 17–14 56–17 7–31 34–17 32–17 33–27
Titans of New York 14–43 3–20 10–44 31–52 10–32 31–21 23–3
Western Dallas Texans 42–28 41–21 6–14 20–17 17–10 35–7 26–17
Denver Broncos 29–33 38–45 20–10 45–46 3–24 44–7 30–21
Oakland Raiders 20–0 6–10 20–28 17–28 16–26 6–23 33–42
San Diego Chargers 14–20 20–40 17–42 40–14 32–28 20–23 31–21

Standings

Playoffs
Main article: 1962 American Football League Championship Game
 
AFL Championship Game
 
  
 
December 23, 1962 – Jeppesen Stadium
 
 
Dallas Texans (2OT)20
 
 
Houston Oilers17
 

Awards
Most Valuable Player
 		Cookie Gilchrist, fullback, Buffalo Bills
Len Dawson, quarterback, Dallas Texans
Coach of the YearJack Faulkner, Denver Broncos
Rookie of the YearCurtis McClinton, fullback, Dallas Texans
1962 All-AFL Team

Stadium changes

Coaching changes

Offseason

In-season
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