1969 Buffalo Bills season

The 1969 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s tenth season, and was the final season of the American Football League before the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger. The Bills played an AFL-record seven games against opponents that went on to reach the postseason;[1] Buffalo lost all seven of these games.

1969 Buffalo Bills season
OwnerRalph Wilson
Head coachJohn Rauch
Home fieldWar Memorial Stadium
Results
Record4–10
Division place4th AFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1969 season was the first for running back O.J. Simpson, who would go on to a Hall of Fame career.

Although Buffalo only won four games, their penultimate win—a Week Ten victory against the Miami Dolphins—would be their last victory against the Dolphins until the 1980 season. After the win, the Bills suffered against Miami an NFL-record twenty consecutive games lost by one team to another.

Offseason
  • August 9, 1969: O.J. Simpson signs a four-year contract worth $215,000.[2]
  • August 20, 1969: The Bills acquired wide receiver Marlin Briscoe.[3]
  • August 25, 1969: Guard George Flint and defensive tackle Tom Sestak both announced their retirements.[4]
  • August 25, 1969: Running back/returner Ed Rutkowski was released by the Bills.[4]

Draft
Main article: 1969 NFL/AFL Draft
1969 Buffalo Bills draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 1 O.J. Simpson * †  RB USC
2 27 Bill Enyart  RB Oregon St
3 53 Julian Nunamaker  DE Tennessee-Martin
4 79 Mike Richey  OT North Carolina
5 105 Ben Mayes  DE Drake
7 157 John Helton  DE Arizona St
8 183 Waddey Harvey  DT Virginia Tech
8 192 James Harris *  QB Grambling State
10 235 James Baines  WR Montana
11 261 Bobby Hall  RB NC State
12 287 Lloyd Pate  RB Cincinnati
12 312 Leon Lovelace  OT Texas Tech
14 339 Bubba Thornton  WR TCU
15 365 Karl Wilson  RB Olivet
16 391 Robert Kirk  OG Indiana
17 417 Wayne Lineberry  LB East Carolina
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[5]

Personnel

Coaches/Staff
1969 Buffalo Bills staff
Front office

Coaching staff

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Final roster
1969 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics

Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.com
recap
1 August 2 at Houston Oilers L 7–24 0–1 Astrodome Recap
2 August 8 Washington Redskins W 21–17 1–1 War Memorial Stadium Recap
3 August 15 at Detroit Lions L 12–24 1–2 Tiger Stadium Recap
4 August 22 Baltimore Colts L 7–20 1–3 War Memorial Stadium Recap
5 August 30 Chicago Bears L 16–23 1–4 Cleveland Stadium Recap
6 September 6 at Los Angeles Rams L 20–50 1–5 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.com
recap
1 September 14 New York Jets L 19–33 0–1 War Memorial Stadium Recap
2 September 21 Houston Oilers L 3–17 0–2 War Memorial Stadium Recap
3 September 28 Denver Broncos W 41–28 1–2 War Memorial Stadium Recap
4 October 5 at Houston Oilers L 14–28 1–3 Astrodome Recap
5 October 11 Boston Patriots W 23–16 2–3 War Memorial Stadium Recap
6 October 19 at Oakland Raiders L 21–50 2–4 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap
7 October 26 at Miami Dolphins L 6–24 2–5 Miami Orange Bowl Recap
8 November 2 Kansas City Chiefs L 7–29 2–6 War Memorial Stadium Recap
9 November 9 at New York Jets L 6–16 2–7 Shea Stadium Recap
10 November 16 Miami Dolphins W 28–3 3–7 War Memorial Stadium Recap
11 November 23 at Boston Patriots L 21–35 3–8 Alumni Stadium Recap
12 November 30 Cincinnati Bengals W 16–13 4–8 War Memorial Stadium Recap
13 December 7 at Kansas City Chiefs L 19–22 4–9 Municipal Stadium Recap
14 December 14 at San Diego Chargers L 6–45 4–10 San Diego Stadium Recap

Week 1
1 234Total
• Jets 6 10314 33
Bills 3 0610 19
  • Date: September 14
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 46,165
  • Game weather: 70°F; wind 11

[6]

Week 2
1 234Total
• Oilers 0 737 17
Bills 3 000 3
  • Date: September 21
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 40,146
  • Game weather: 58°F; wind 6

[7]

Week 3
1 234Total
Broncos 14 077 28
• Bills 3 17210 41
  • Date: September 28
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 40,302
  • Game weather: 53°F; wind 9

[8]

Week 4
1 234Total
Bills 0 077 14
• Oilers 7 777 28
  • Date: October 5
  • Location: Houston Astrodome
  • Game attendance: 46,485
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)

[9]

Week 5
1 234Total
Patriots 6 073 16
• Bills 7 3310 23
  • Date: October 11
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 46,201
  • Game weather: 67°F; wind 14

[10]

Week 6
1 234Total
Bills 0 7014 21
• Raiders 14 2862 50

[11]

Week 7
1 234Total
Bills 3 030 6
• Dolphins 0 1437 24
  • Date: October 26
  • Location: Orange Bowl
  • Game attendance: 39,837
  • Game weather: 79°F; wind 14

[12]

Week 8
1 234Total
• Chiefs 0 3323 29
Bills 7 000 7
  • Date: November 2
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 45,844
  • Game weather: 56°F; wind 13

[13]

Week 9
1 234Total
Bills 0 330 6
• Jets 0 736 16
  • Date: November 9
  • Location: Shea Stadium
  • Game attendance: 62,680
  • Game weather: 52°F; wind 19

[14]

Week 10
1 234Total
Dolphins 3 000 3
• Bills 7 777 28
  • Date: November 16
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 32,686
  • Game weather: 28°F; wind 16

[15]

Week 11
1 234Total
Bills 7 770 21
• Patriots 14 7014 35
  • Date: November 23
  • Location: Alumni Stadium
  • Game attendance: 25,584
  • Game weather: 42°F; wind 14

[16]

Week 12
1 234Total
Bengals 3 307 13
• Bills 3 3100 16
  • Date: November 30
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 35,122
  • Game weather: 28°F; wind 17

[17]

Week 13
1 234Total
Bills 3 0106 19
• Chiefs 7 636 22

[18]

Week 14
1 234Total
Bills 0 006 6
• Chargers 10 14714 45
  • Date: December 14
  • Location: San Diego Stadium
  • Game attendance: 47,582
  • Game weather: 57°F; wind 6

[19]

Standings
AFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
New York Jets 1040.7148–0353269W2
Houston Oilers 662.5005–3278279W1
Boston Patriots 4100.2863–5266316L2
Buffalo Bills 4100.2862–6230359L2
Miami Dolphins 3101.2312–6233332L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972. This was the final year of the AFL The Baltimore Colts would join the AFL eastern teams and become the AFC East in 1970.

References
  1. Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the AFL, in the regular season, in games against playoff teams only, sorted by most games in season matching criteria., tied with the
  2. Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p. 435, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0
  3. Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.437, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0
  4. Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p. 439, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0
  5. The Football Database - 1969 Buffalo Bills Draft. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
  6. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
  7. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
  8. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
  9. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
  10. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
  11. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
  12. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
  13. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
  14. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
  15. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
  16. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
  17. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
  18. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
  19. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-11.
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