By Anthony Holden
CBS SportsLine Historian

There were three changes that took place before the 1963 season that in a large way assured the AFL of its survival for the long haul.

In New York, bankrupt Harry Wismer was pushed out as owner and Sonny Werblin headed a five-man syndicate that purchased the team for $1 million. "The minute I met him, I knew he was the man for the New York franchise," said Commissioner Joe Foss.

Sonny Werblin lead a group that bought the Jets and brought stability to the New York franchise. (AP)

One of the other men to invest in the franchise was Leon Hess, whose family would ultimately gain sole ownership of the team, which it holds to this day.

In Oakland, Al Davis, the former San Diego scout and assistant coach, was hired as head coach, taking over a team that had won just nine of its first 33 AFL games.

And in Dallas, owner Lamar Hunt conceded his hometown to the Cowboys of the NFL and moved his team to Kansas City. Though the defending champions slumped to a 5-7-2 record, the fans appreciated the team and in a few years, the Chiefs were playing in front of packed houses at Memorial Stadium.

On the field, things were back to normal in the West. The Chargers won their third division crown in four years with an 11-3 record, but it took quite an effort. The Raiders swept the season series from San Diego including a 41-27 victory in Week 12 that pulled Oakland to within a game. Each team won its final two games, though, and the Chargers survived. They clinched the division with a 58-20 win over Denver in the last game while Oakland was outgunning Houston 52-49 in the highest-scoring game in AFL history and the second-highest scoring game in pro football history.

After spending three years in Canada, Tobin Rote returned to the U.S. and completed a league-best 59 percent of his passes. His favorite target was the great Lance Alworth, who caught 61 balls for 1,205 yards. Paul Lowe rushed for 1,010 yards and Keith Lincoln added 826 as the Chargers rolled up 399 points.

Oakland became a contender thanks to running back Clem Daniels who topped AFL rushers with 1,099 yards, and wide receiver Art Powell, who led the league with 1,304 yards receiving and 16 TDs.

What killed the Raiders was a four-game losing streak early in the year that dropped their record to 2-4 as their eight-game, season-ending winning streak came up just shy.

The Chiefs opened with a 59-7 romp over Denver, then won just once in their next 10 starts despite a rugged defense that was led by tackle Buck Buchanan and linebacker Bobby Bell. It was the Kansas City offense that hit the skids, as Abner Haynes and Curtis McClinton totaled 700 fewer yards rushing than 1962, a problem Len Dawson's league-best 26 TD passes could not overcome.

In the East, the league's first divisional playoff game was needed to determine the division champion as Boston and Buffalo each finished with 7-6-1 records. The Bills began the year 0-2-1, and after a five-game winning streak, lost a critical Week 12 game with Boston that appeared to spell doom. However, they beat New York on back-to-back weeks -- with Cookie Gilchrist setting a pro football rushing record of 243 yards in the first of those games -- to close the season while Boston lost its finale to Kansas City, 35-3.

The playoff was held in Buffalo, and home-field advantage meant nothing to the Bills as Boston held Gilchrist to eight yards rushing and rolled to an easy 26-8 victory.

Boston's offense was sporadic all year as Babe Parilli threw 24 interceptions and the top rusher was Larry Garron with 750 yards. However, Gino Cappelletti was deadly on field goals as he made 22 to lead the league in scoring.

The three-time defending East champion Oilers slumped to third place as they lost five of their last six games as Billy Cannon missed a large chunk of the season due to a back injury. George Blanda threw 25 interceptions, and the Oilers running game went into the tank without Cannon.

Weeb Ewbank took over in New York and though the Jets finished last at 5-8-1, progress was made as Ewbank began building the team that would ultimately shock the world and win Super Bowl III.