Sunday, Dec. 3
At San Diego Stadium
Raiders 41, Chargers 21

By Anthony Holden
CBS SportsLine Historian
Venerable All-Pro offensive tackle Ron Mix and his San Diego Chargers were forced to face reality after being mauled by the Oakland Raiders 41-21 in shiny new San Diego Stadium.

Quarterback Daryle Lamonica led the Raiders in the late-60s and early-70s. (AP)

"I'll never trust my feelings again," Mix said. "I had a great feeling about this game, I was sure we were going to win it. But the Raiders are probably the best team in AFL history. We threw everything we had at them but it wasn't enough."

Considering he had been in the AFL since its inception in 1960, Mix knew what he was talking about. There was little doubt about the Raiders' greatness in the aftermath of their second destruction of the Chargers in five weeks. Oakland clearly was the league's premier team in 1967, and quite possibly, the best in AFL history.

"They won't fall on their faces," said Chargers coach Sid Gillman, referring to Oakland's chances of winning the AFL title and then representing the league in Super Bowl II. "They've got a great football team with an excellent defense. We were ready, but they were better than we were today."

San Diego should have seen it coming.

Five weeks earlier, the high-flying Chargers ventured into Oakland having scored 151 points in their previous four games and sporting a 5-0-1 record, good enough for a half-game lead over the 5-1 Raiders in the Western Division.

Picked to finish last in the West, the Chargers were fast becoming the story of the season in the AFL -- until they walked out of Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum being jeered by a record crowd of 53,474 who had just reveled in its team's 51-10 decimation of San Diego. The victory moved the Raiders into first place.

Since then, both teams had won their next three games, turning the Western race into their own private little quarrel. And Oakland was still much better than San Diego.

Quarterback Daryle Lamonica, who had come to Oakland from Buffalo before the season in a trade, threw for 349 yards and four touchdowns as the Chargers were helpless all day trying to control him.

"Lamonica had a great day and we were never able to stop them on third down," Chargers defensive coordinator Tom Bass said. "The only way to beat Oakland is to get to Lamonica because when he has the time and he's on, he's tough."

Oakland opened the game with a 75-yard drive, capped with Lamonica's 18-yard touchdown pass to Fred Biletnikoff. The Chargers answered after John Hadl connected with Gary Garrison on a 60-yard pass play, which set up Hadl's 1-yard plunge that tied the score 7-7.

Lamonica then executed the play of the game. On third-and-short from his own 36, the Raiders QB play-faked to fullback Pete Banasza. The Chargers defense bit like a fish on a baited hook, leaving tight end Billy Cannon wide open. Lamonica fired the ball perfectly, and Cannon made the catch in stride and ran 64 yards for the score that put the Raiders ahead for good.

"I think the pass to Cannon on short yardage broke the game open," Raiders coach John Rauch said. "It was a big play."

Said Lamonica: "I knew they were strong on run support. I figured they just knew we were going to run for the first down. I saw the safety (Kenny Graham) sliding up tight for the run, so I called the pass."

Late in the first quarter, Oakland's Howie Williams picked off a Hadl pass to set up George Blanda's 24-yard field goal that gave the Raiders a 17-7 lead.

San Diego's Lance Alworth, the future Hall of Famer receiver who had caught 10 passes for 213 yards in the first meeting with Oakland, stung the Raiders again when he hauled in a 57-yard touchdown pass from Hadl early in the second quarter. But again, Lamonica had a response, hitting Bill Miller for a 29-yard score seven minutes later to up the count to 24-14.

Lamonica's 48-yard pass to Hewritt Dixon led to Larry Todd's 2-yard touchdown plunge. San Diego then closed the wild first half with Hadl firing a 29-yard pass to Garrison, cutting the Chargers' deficit to 31-21.

It was not lost on the Chargers how hard they had worked, yet they still trailed by two scores. "It's pretty tough when you score 21 points in the first half and you're still down by 10," backup San Diego quarterback Kay Stephenson said.

San Diego fell behind by 17 points as the Raiders marched 75 yards on their first possession of the third quarter. Cannon caught both a 29-yard pass and Lamonica's 1-yard scoring toss during the drive.

Blanda added a 21-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Oakland's defense shut out the Chargers the entire second half, something the Raiders had done in the first meeting, as well.

"I guess we'll have to face it, Oakland is the better team," Chargers linebacker Johnny Baker said. "I hope they go all the way, they'll be a good representative for the AFL."

The Raiders went on to finish the regular season 13-1, the best record ever compiled by an AFL team. But after steamrolling Houston 40-7 in the AFL title game, Oakland fell to Green Bay 33-14 in Super Bowl II.