Actual: Kansas City’s Beathard scored on dashes of 20 and two yards as the Chiefs kept on San Diego’s heels. His second touchdown run gave the Chiefs a 24-7 lead and, after Denver pulled to within 24-17; he set up the clinching tally with a 73-yard completion to Frank Jackson. Cookie Gilchrist scored twice on short bursts for the Broncos, who slipped into the Western Division cellar with a 2-3 mark.
Actual: The emergence of John Hadl as a standout pro quarterback and the disappearance of Buffalo’s passing attack has helped swing the balance of power in the American Football League back to the West. John Hadl shocked Buffalo’s defending champions with three touchdown passes Sunday as the Chargers stampeded the injury-plagued Bills 34-3. After Buffalo took a 3-0 first period lead on Pete Gogolak’s field goal, the Chargers struck twice in 4 1/2 minutes with TD passes to Lance Alworth and Keith Lincoln. Later, John Hadl fired a 59-yard TD bomb to Alworth, Herb Travenio kicked two field goals and Bud Whitehead capped the on-slaught by stealing a pass from Bill’s flanker Ed Rutkowski and racing 35 yards for a touchdown.
Actual: Art Powell who combines a solid 212 pounds with track sprinter’s speed, wrecked Boston defenses by grabbing 11 passes, including two for touchdowns, Friday night as the Raiders handed the hapless Patriots their fifth straight defeat, 24-10. Asked about the coverage of Powell, Boston coach Mike Holovak said: “We couldn’t get in on Flores with our blitz. And when your blitz doesn’t work, that leads to one-on-one situations.” Flores connected on 20 of 34 passes for 261 yards as the Raiders boosted their record to 3-2. Clem Daniels complemented the overhead attack by carrying 20 times for 113 yards, including 57 on a dash which helped set up a fourth period touchdown by Roger Hagberg.
Actual: Buffalo Bills switched from their passing to a ground attack Sunday to overpower the Oakland Raiders 17-12 for their fourth consecutive American Football League victory. The game-winning touchdown came on a pass, however. The Bills broke a 10-10 halftime tie at 6:49 of the third quarter to drive 68 yards – mostly on the ground – for a touchdown on a four-yard pass from Jack Kemp to Ernie Warlick.
Actual: John Hadl’s long scoring passes and 157 yards gained personally by Paul Lowe helped the San Diego Chargers pound out a 31-14 victory over the Houston Oilers Sunday. Hadl’s scoring passes to Lance Alworth covered 69 and 57 yards. The latter clinched the Charger’s third win against no losses and one tie. John Hadl, completing 15 of 26 passes for 242 yards, also pitched a 15-yard touchdown pass to Dave Kocourek to open the second half and boosted the Chargers lead to 17-0.
Actual: Kansas City’s proud defensive team, with Bobby Bell and Willie Mitchell scoring interception touchdowns, made the difference as the Chiefs handed Boston’s stumbling veterans their fourth straight American Football League defeat Sunday 27-17. Mitchell’s 37-yarder two minutes from the finish put it on ice. Mitchell was a goat just moments before as he was called for pass interference against Boston’s tight end, Tony Romeo, at the Kansas City one, setting up a touchdown which cut the Chief’s lead to 20-17.
Actual: Denver’s Broncos thundered 84 yards in the last two minutes for a touchdown to overtake New York 16-13. Joe Namath, the Jets’ $400,000 quarterback, directed New York to a third quarter touchdown and a 13-9 lead after Denver’s Gary Kroner kicked three field goals to give the Broncos a 9-6 lead. Denver’s winning march started with a punt reception on the Bronco’s 16 and was speeded by a pass interference call against the Jets that gave Denver the ball on the New York 37.
Actual: Oakland scored with 54 seconds left to defeat Houston 21-17. Oakland’s Gene Mingo missed a game-tying field goal with less than two minutes left in the game, but the Raiders got the ball right back when linebacker Archie Matsos recovered a fumble by Houston’s Don Trull. Quarterback Tom Flores hit Art Powell with a 12-yard toss and then threw five yards to Alan Miller for the winning tally. Flores and Powell had teamed up on a 43-yard scoring pass in the third quarter to put Oakland in front before Trull hit Willie Frazier with a four-yard toss in the fourth period to put the Oilers ahead.
Actual: Tommy Booker booted a 28-yard field goal with 49 seconds left enabling Kansas City to tie San Diego. Kansas City held a 7-3 lead entering the fourth quarter on Len Dawson’s 12-yard scoring toss to rookie Otis Taylor but the Charger’s Leslie Duncan sprinted 66 yards with a punt by Jerrel Wilson to score. The tie kept the Chargers in first place in the Western Division with two victories and a tie, while Kansas City was left with a 1-1-1 mark.
In the Chargers first two games, Lance Alworth had 11 receptions for 277 yards and a 25.2-yard average. However in this game, defensive back, Fred Williamson, only allowed the flanker two catches.
Actual: Joe Namath made a $400,000 impression by turning in possibly the best passing show any rookie has put on in his first start as a professional Sunday against the toughest defense in the American Football League. Namath, signed by the Jets off the Alabama campus for six-figure bonus, piled up 287 yards passing, hitting 19 of 40 attempts, including two for touchdowns. He had the Jets on the verge of upsetting the Bills with five minutes left in the game. New York pulled within five points at 26-21 before the Bills took over and drove 66 yards for the insurance touchdown. Jack Kemp, a nine-year veteran, had an even better day – perhaps Kemp’s best in a Buffalo uniform – passing the Bills to a 33-21 triumph over the Jets. He completed 22 of 37 passes for 292 yards and threw a scoring strike to Elbert Dubenion.
