The
1969 NFL season was the 50th
regular seasonThe National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...
of the
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, and the last one before the
AFL-NFL MergerThe AFL–NFL merger of 1970 was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League and the American Football League...
. To honor the NFL's 50th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season.
As per the agreement made during the
1967 seasonThe 1967 NFL season was the 48th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 16 teams with the addition of the New Orleans Saints. The league's teams were realigned into four divisions: the Capitol and Century Divisions in the Eastern Conference, and the Central and...
, the
New Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
and the
New York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
switched divisions again, returning to the 1967 alignment.
The season ended when the
Minnesota Vikings1969 was the ninth year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 50th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings again won the NFL Central Division title, as finished with a record of 12 wins and two losses, plus playoff wins over the Los Angeles Rams in the Western...
defeated the
Cleveland BrownsThe 1969 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 20th season with the National Football League and the last before the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger.-NFL Draft:The following were selected in the 1969 NFL Draft.-Preseason:...
in the NFL Championship Game, only to be defeated by the
American Football LeagueThe American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
's
Kansas City ChiefsThe 1969 Kansas City Chiefs season resulted in a 11–3 record and a 23–7 victory in Super Bowl IV over the NFL’s heavily-favored Minnesota Vikings. The team beat their rivals, the Oakland Raiders in the final AFL Championship Game, claiming their third AFL Championship in franchise history...
in
Super Bowl IVSuper Bowl IV was the fourth AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, and the second one to officially bear the name "Super Bowl"...
.
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 in which head to head record, then net points in head-to-head competition, followed by which team that had less recently been in a title game were the tiebreakers. As such, only one team in a division would be the division winner, even if the won-lost record was the same. (This tiebreaker was only needed once in the 3 years it was in existence, when in 1967 the Rams and Colts tied for the Coastal Division title but the Rams advanced to the playoffs based on their 1–0–1 record vs. the Colts).
The 1969 division races were largely uneventful. All 4 division winners assumed 1st place by week 5 and never gave up their lead. The closest races were in the Central and Coastal where the Vikings and Rams won their divisions by 2½ games, but they had both clinched with 3 games to play. As home field in playoffs was rotated and not determined by a teams' record at that time, the division winners had nothing to play for and the last month of the season was uneventful, save for the Rams' quest for a perfect record, which ended in L.A. in a week 12 loss to the Vikings, 20–13. The other story of note was Vince Lombardi's return to coach the Washington Redskins after a one-year hiatus from coaching; he led the Redskins to a 7-5-2- record, their first winning record in over a decade.
| Week |
Capitol |
|
Century |
|
Coastal |
|
Central |
|
| 1 |
WASHINGTON* |
1–0–0 |
PITTSBURGH* |
1–0–0 |
ATLANTA* |
1–0–0 |
GREEN BAY |
1–0–0 |
| 2 |
DALLAS |
2–0–0 |
CLEVELAND |
2–0–0 |
LOS ANGELES |
2–0–0 |
GREEN BAY |
2–0–0 |
| 3 |
DALLAS |
3–0–0 |
ST. LOUIS* |
2–1–0 |
LOS ANGELES |
3–0–0 |
MINNESOTA* |
2–1–0 |
| 4 |
DALLAS |
4–0–0 |
N.Y. GIANTS* |
3–1–0 |
LOS ANGELES |
4–0–0 |
MINNESOTA* |
3–1–0 |
| 5 |
DALLAS |
5–0–0 |
CLEVELAND |
4–1–0 |
LOS ANGELES |
5–0–0 |
MINNESOTA* |
4–1–0 |
| 6 |
DALLAS |
6–0–0 |
CLEVELAND |
4–1–1 |
LOS ANGELES |
6–0–0 |
MINNESOTA |
5–1–0 |
| 7 |
DALLAS |
6–1–0 |
CLEVELAND |
5–1–1 |
LOS ANGELES |
7–0–0 |
MINNESOTA |
6–1–0 |
| 8 |
DALLAS |
7–1–0 |
CLEVELAND |
5–2–1 |
LOS ANGELES |
8–0–0 |
MINNESOTA |
7–1–0 |
| 9 |
DALLAS |
8–1–0 |
CLEVELAND |
6–2–1 |
LOS ANGELES |
9–0–0 |
MINNESOTA |
8–1–0 |
| 10 |
DALLAS |
8–2–0 |
CLEVELAND |
7–2–1 |
LOS ANGELES |
10–0–0 |
MINNESOTA |
9–1–0 |
| 11 |
DALLAS |
8–2–1 |
CLEVELAND |
8–2–1 |
LOS ANGELES |
11–0–0 |
MINNESOTA |
10–1–0 |
| 12 |
DALLAS |
9–2–1 |
CLEVELAND |
9–2–1 |
LOS ANGELES |
11–1–0 |
MINNESOTA |
11–1–0 |
| 13 |
DALLAS |
10–2–1 |
CLEVELAND |
10–2–1 |
LOS ANGELES |
11–2–0 |
MINNESOTA |
12–1–0 |
| 14 |
DALLAS |
11–2–1 |
CLEVELAND |
10–3–1 |
LOS ANGELES |
11–3–0 |
MINNESOTA |
12–2–0 |
- 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
Playoffs
In the Eastern Conference Championship game, the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys met for the 3rd straight year. The Cowboys had won in 1967 and the Browns in 1968; this was the rubber match before the Browns would move to the American Conference in the 1970 merger/realignment. The Cowboys were favored as they featured the best offense in the NFL, a better record than Cleveland and they were home. However, the Browns jumped on the Cowboys early and often in cruising to a surprising 38–14 win.
In the Western Conference, the Vikings were 4 point favorites over the Rams in Minnesota. In week 12 of the season, the 10–1 Vikings beat the 11–0 Rams in L.A., 20–13. This time, the Rams broke out on top and led 17–7 at halftime. After the Vikings scored to make it 17–14, the Rams settled for another short field goal (both Ram field goals came when they could not get a touchdown from inside the 5 yard line; this would ultimately cost them the game) to make it 20–14. Joe Kapp led the Vikings to the go ahead touchdown early in the 4th quarter, and then Vikings DE Carl Eller sacked Ram QB Roman Gabriel in the end zone to make it 23–20. The Rams forced a Viking punt and began driving for a potential tying field goal or go ahead touchdown but Gabriel was intercepted by Alan Page with under 2 minutes to play to clinch the win.
In the NFL final, the Browns were thoroughly dominated for the second year in a row. In 1968 the Colts beat them 34–0; in this game the Vikings won 27–7, completely shutting down the Browns offense while Minnesota gained nearly 200 rushing yards.
Awards
| Most Valuable Player The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities, most notably the Associated Press , to the player who is considered most valuable in the league. When the award is referred to without mentioning the organization, it generally means the AP award. The AP NFL MVP...
|
Roman Gabriel Roman Ildonzo Gabriel, Jr. is a former American football player. The son of a Filipino immigrant, he was the first Asian-American to start as an NFL quarterback and is considered by many to have been one of the best players at that position during the late 1960s and early 70s.Gabriel attended and...
, QuarterbackQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
, L.A. Rams |
| Coach of the Year The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disposal. Currently, the most widely recognized award is presented by the...
|
Bud Grant Harry Peter "Bud" Grant, Jr is the former longtime American football head coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League for eighteen seasons. Grant was the second and fourth head coach of the team...
, Minnesota |
| Offensive Rookie of the Year |
Calvin Hill Calvin G. Hill is a retired American football running back who had a 12-year NFL career from 1969 to 1981. He played for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns...
, Running BackA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
, Dallas |
| Defensive Rookie of the Year |
Joe Greene Charles Edward Greene, known as “Mean Joe” Greene, is a former all-pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Throughout the early 1970s he was the one of most dominant defensive players in the National Football League...
, Defensive EndDefensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
, Pittsburgh |
See also
- Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV was the fourth AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, and the second one to officially bear the name "Super Bowl"...
: Kansas City (AFL) 23, Minnesota (NFL) 7, at Tulane StadiumTulane Stadium was an outdoor football stadium located in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1926 to 1980. Officially known as the Third Tulane Stadium, it replaced the "Second Tulane Stadium" where the Telephone Exchange Building is now located...
, New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
- 1969 American Football League season
The 1969 American Football League season was the tenth regular season of the American Football League, and the last one before the AFL-NFL Merger...