1968 National Football League season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Regular season | |||
Duration | September 14, 1968 - December 15, 1968 | ||
Playoffs | |||
East Champions | Cleveland Browns | ||
West Champions | Baltimore Colts | ||
Championship Game | |||
Champions | Baltimore Colts | ||
National Football League seasons
|
The 1968 NFL season was the 49th regular season of the National Football League. As per the agreement made during the 1967 realignment, the New Orleans Saints and the New York Giants switched divisions; the Saints joined the Century Division while the Giants became part of the Capitol Division.
The season ended when the Baltimore Colts defeated the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship Game, only to be upset by the American Football League's New York Jets in Super Bowl III.
Division races[]
The Eastern Conference was split into the Capitol and Century Divisions, and the Western Conference had the Coastal and Central Divisions. In the past, if two teams were tied for the division lead at season's end, a one-game playoff was conducted to break the tie. Starting in 1967, a tiebreaking system was implemented that started with net points in head-to-head competition, followed by which team that had less recently been in a title game [1]. As such, only one team in a division would be the division winner, even if the won-lost record was the same.
Week | Capitol | Century | Coastal | Central | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | WASHINGTON* | 1-0-0 | CLEVELAND | 1-0-0 | BALTIMORE* | 1-0-0 | MINNESOTA* | 1-0-0 |
2 | N.Y. GIANTS* | 2-0-0 | CLEVELAND* | 1-1-0 | BALTIMORE* | 2-0-0 | MINNESOTA* | 2-0-0 |
3 | N.Y. GIANTS* | 3-0-0 | CLEVELAND* | 1-2-0 | BALTIMORE* | 3-0-0 | MINNESOTA* | 2-1-0 |
4 | N.Y. GIANTS* | 3-1-0 | CLEVELAND | 2-2-0 | BALTIMORE* | 4-0-0 | MINNESOTA | 3-1-0 |
5 | DALLAS | 5-0-0 | ST. LOUIS* | 2-3-0 | BALTIMORE* | 5-0-0 | MINNESOTA* | 3-2-0 |
6 | DALLAS | 6-0-0 | ST. LOUIS* | 3-3-0 | LOS ANGELES | 6-0-0 | DETROIT | 3-2-1 |
7 | DALLAS | 6-1-0 | ST. LOUIS* | 4-3-0 | BALTIMORE* | 6-1-0 | DETROIT* | 3-3-1 |
8 | DALLAS | 7-1-0 | ST. LOUIS* | 5-3-0 | BALTIMORE* | 7-1-0 | CHICAGO* | 4-4-0 |
9 | DALLAS | 7-2-0 | CLEVELAND | 6-3-0 | BALTIMORE* | 8-1-0 | CHICAGO* | 5-4-0 |
10 | DALLAS | 8-2-0 | CLEVELAND | 7-3-0 | BALTIMORE | 9-1-0 | MINNESOTA | 6-4-0 |
11 | DALLAS | 9-2-0 | CLEVELAND | 8-3-0 | BALTIMORE | 10-1-0 | MINNESOTA | 6-5-0 |
12 | DALLAS | 10-2-0 | CLEVELAND | 9-3-0 | BALTIMORE | 11-1-0 | CHICAGO* | 6-6-0 |
13 | DALLAS | 11-2-0 | CLEVELAND | 10-3-0 | BALTIMORE | 12-1-0 | CHICAGO* | 7-6-0 |
14 | DALLAS | 12-2-0 | CLEVELAND | 10-4-0 | BALTIMORE | 13-1-0 | MINNESOTA | 8-6-0 |
- indicates more than one team with record
Final standings[]
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
Note: Prior to 1972, the NFL did not include tie games when calculating a team's winning percentage in the official standings
Eastern Conference | ||||||
Capitol Division | ||||||
Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dallas Cowboys | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 431 | 186 |
New York Giants | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 294 | 325 |
Washington Redskins | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 249 | 358 |
Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 202 | 351 |
Century Division | ||||||
Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
Cleveland Browns | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 394 | 273 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 9 | 4 | 1 | .692 | 325 | 289 |
New Orleans Saints | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 246 | 327 |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 2 | 11 | 1 | .154 | 244 | 397 |
Western Conference | ||||||
Coastal Division | ||||||
Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baltimore Colts | 13 | 1 | 0 | .929 | 402 | 144 |
Los Angeles Rams | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 312 | 200 |
San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 6 | 1 | .538 | 303 | 310 |
Atlanta Falcons | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 170 | 389 |
Central Division | ||||||
Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 282 | 242 |
Chicago Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 250 | 333 |
Green Bay Packers | 6 | 7 | 1 | .462 | 281 | 227 |
Detroit Lions | 4 | 8 | 2 | .333 | 207 | 241 |
Playoffs[]
Conference Championship Games | NFL Championship Game | ||||||
December 22, 1968 - Memorial Stadium | |||||||
Minnesota Vikings | 14 | ||||||
Baltimore Colts | 24 | ||||||
December 29, 1968 - Cleveland Stadium | |||||||
Baltimore Colts | 34 | ||||||
Cleveland Browns | 0 | ||||||
December 21, 1968 - Cleveland Stadium | |||||||
Dallas Cowboys | 20 | ||||||
Cleveland Browns | 31 |
Awards[]
Most Valuable Player | Earl Morrall, Quarterback, Baltimore Colts |
Coach of the Year | Don Shula, Baltimore Colts |
Offensive Rookie of the Year | Earl McCullouch, Wide receiver, Detroit |
Defensive Rookie of the Year | Claude Humphrey, Defensive End, Atlanta |
See also[]
- Super Bowl III: N.Y. Jets (AFL) 16, Baltimore (NFL) 7, at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
- 1968 American Football League season
References[]
- The NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
- NFL History 1961-1970 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
- 1968 season in details
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
1968 NFL Season
| |||
---|---|---|---|
Eastern Conference | Western Conference | ||
Capitol | Century | Coastal | Central |
Dallas | Cleveland | Atlanta | Chicago |
NY Giants | New Orleans | Baltimore | Detroit |
Philadelphia | Pittsburgh | Los Angeles | Green Bay |
Washington | St. Louis | San Francisco | Minnesota |
1968 NFL Draft • NFL Playoffs • NFL Championship • Pro Bowl • Super Bowl III Related: 1968 AFL Season |