How would the '70's Raiders have done in the NFC

[lastcat3]

This question came to mind when I began thinking about how the '70's Raiders and '70's Cowboys compared to eachother. Just on paper the '70's Cowboys appeared a lot better as they got to four more Super Bowls during the decade than the Raiders did. However at the same time Dallas likely wouldn't have gotten to all those Super Bowls had they had to play Pittsburgh in the playoffs like the Raiders did.

So just for conversation sake how do you think the Raiders would have done in the NFC during the decade where they wouldn't of had to play the Steelers until the Super Bowl. Do they take several Super Bowl appearances away from Dallas or would Dallas become the roadblock in the NFC for the Raiders much like the Steelers were the roadblock on their road to the Super Bowl in the AFC.

Lets just say that all the other contenders in the NFC during that time would be in on this conversation as well (Minnesota, L.A...etc...) and the Raiders would have had to face them as well.

[7DnBrnc53]

To do this, I am going to put the Raiders in the NFC West, the Saints in the AFC Central, and the Oilers in the AFC West.

Being in the NFC West, I think the Raiders have a tougher time. The 49ers, Rams, and Falcons were all at least fairly good from 1970-72, and then the Rams took it up a notch in 1973 (the Falcons were also good in 1973, 77, and 78, and SF was good in 76). Maybe they still break through in 76 and get to the SB, but I can see them losing to Pittsburgh (if Franco and Rocky are healthy) or New England.

[74_75_78_79_]

You had the Rams & Dolphins of the '70s - both meetings in '71 & '76, one team was good while the other team wasn't. Raiders/Cowboys, of course, even more elusive of a '70s matchup; their only meeting being the, for obvious reasons, quite meaningless '74 finale. Both cross-conference teams, I'd say, were pretty even during that stretch. With both Dallas and Oakland to have to deal with in this hypo-NFC "70s Scenario" (a track from my favorite Hall & Oates album), Vikings likely don't appear in as many SBs as they did. Perhaps they still make it in '73 (both Dal & Oak not that great) but doubtful they do in '74 or '76. Heck, do Rams even make it to the '75 & '76 NFCCs? How many times do George Allen's Redskins make the playoffs? Do they even make it to SBVII? In '75 who gets the wild card spot, Raiders or Cowboys? A crowded conference it would have indeed been!

Good topic! Sort of like the 'had there been no 1970 merger (Steelers/Browns/Colts staying in NFL)' topic not long ago.

EDIT: Rams (under Prothro) actually were winners at 8-5-1 in 1971; they just didn't make playoffs as, of course, SB-bound Miami did.

[BD Sullivan]

You had the Rams & Dolphins of the '70s - both meetings in '71 & '76, one team was good while the other team wasn't. Raiders/Cowboys, of course, even more elusive of a '70s matchup; their only meeting being the, for obvious reasons, quite meaningless '74 finale. Both cross-conference teams, I'd say, were pretty even during that stretch. With both Dallas and Oakland to have to deal with in this hypo-NFC "70s Scenario" (a track from my favorite Hall & Oates album), Vikings likely don't appear in as many SBs as they did. Perhaps they still make it in '73 (both Dal & Oak not that great) but doubtful they do in '74 or '76. Heck, do Rams even make it to the '75 & '76 NFCCs? How many times do George Allen's Redskins make the playoffs? Do they even make it to SBVII? In '75 who gets the wild card spot, Raiders or Cowboys? A crowded conference it would have indeed been!

Good topic! Sort of like the 'had there been no 1970 merger (Steelers/Browns/Colts staying in NFL)' topic not long ago.

EDIT: Rams (under Prothro) actually were winners at 8-5-1 in 1971; they just didn't make playoffs as, of course, SB-bound Miami did.

The opening loss to the Saints was costly since a win there (and everything else playing out) and the Rams sneak past the Niners and then host the Skins again. A little revenge would serve the Rams, who dropped a MNF game to the Skins in Week 13, though a win there would take them to Dallas--who beat them on Thanksgiving.

[Some Guy From Mars]

I am going to start by using the process of elimination:

At nine wins and seven losses, 1978 and 1979 were down years for the Raiders prior to returning to Super Bowl form in 1980. I say they miss the playoffs both years.

I also see an 8 win Raider team potentially getting lost in the shuffle of a tough NFC West in 1970, which included San Francisco (10 wins) and Los Angeles (9). Same with 1971 in that San Francisco took the division with 9 wins (and the wild card Redskins also had 9). Things get interesting in 1972 when the Raiders rebounded with a solid 10-3-1 record. It is a foregone conclusion they win the NFC West, but what happens in the post season in which they have to go through Dallas and Washington? I wish there had been more match up between Dallas and Oakland in the 70's so that we have a better gauge in terms of how the two teams match up.

What cannot be denied is that Raiders in the NFC leaves a significant power gap in the AFC West, which from 1972-1976 was mostly mediocre outside of Oakland. My thought is that Kansas City takes the division in 1972-73, Denver in 74, Houston in 75 and Denver again in 1976.

Speaking of which, 1976 is when things get interesting. I do not see the Raiders going 13-1 in 1976 in that if they played a similar schedule as the Saints, then they would have to go through a gauntlet that includes Minnesota, Dallas, Los Angeles (twice) and New England. Without doubt, Oakland had a great team in 1976 and despite the schedule still finish at 11-3. NFC Championship against the Vikings produces similar results as the real time Super Bowl- Raiders run all over them.

In the AFC, Denver wins the West with 10 wins, while everything else is the same: Pittsburgh in the AFC Central and Baltimore and New England in the East. New England travels to Denver and easily defeats an over-matched Broncos team. Pittsburgh, on the heels of 9 straight wins in impressive fashion, again curb stop Baltimore 40-14 but still lose Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier to injury. New England easily defeats an injury depleted Steelers team to set up a Super Bowl XI showdown with the Raiders.

I say this goes similar to OTL game with the Raiders prevailing 24-21 in controversial fashion. QB Ken Stabler leads the Raiders to two fourth quarter touchdowns to be named the games MVP. Patriots fans, however, to this day are still complaining about the bogus late game 'roughing' the passer penalty on Ray Hamilton!

[SixtiesFan]

I recall the Sports Illustrated football preview for 1974. Dan Jenkins moved from covering college football to pro football that year. In giving his rundown on the NFL, Jenkins called the Raiders the most overrated team.

[Bryan]

I recall the Sports Illustrated football preview for 1974. Dan Jenkins moved from covering college football to pro football that year. In giving his rundown on the NFL, Jenkins called the Raiders the most overrated team.

Kind of an odd sentiment from Jenkins...if the Raiders were the most overrated team after the 1973 season, then I don't know what that made the KC Chiefs who routinely finished behind the Raiders in the standings and on the scoreboard. There was really no reason for the Chiefs to have not won the AFC West from 1970-1972...they were stacked with HOFers, had a HOF coach, and had relatively good health all three years.

In 1970, KC destroyed the Colts early in the year, but then kind of muddled along (including Ben Davidson/Len Dawson 17-17 tie) and lost a winner-take-all game to the Raiders at the end of the year by a 20-6 score while being outgained nearly 3 to 1.

1971 they won the division but lost at home to Miami in a minor upset and with a plethora of HOFers on both sides.

1972 the Chiefs beat the Raiders in the middle of the year to take over division lead with an underwhelming 5-3 record, but then lost 3 in a row including a 6 turnover mess to a bad drugged-out Chargers team that came into the game with a 5 game losing streak. The Chiefs talent was so good and their performance so mystifying that the media still portrayed the Chiefs as strong Super Bowl contenders going into the 1973 season...despite the Chiefs last playoff win being Super Bowl IV. It was almost a repeat of 1970...hovering around .500 yet through a combination of ties and weird results, they played Oakland at the end of the year in another winner-take-all game. And, again, Oakland destroyed KC 37-7 by rushing 61 times for 259 yards against a HOF core of Culp-Buchanan-Lanier-Bell.

My overall point is that the Raiders usually came to play in the big games. When they lost in the postseason, it was invariably to the team that ended up winning the Super Bowl. The Raiders were the toughest competition for the Dolphins and Steelers dynasties. I would guess if they were in the NFC, they would still lose to those teams but it would be in the Super Bowl and not the AFC Championship game.

[SixtiesFan]

I recall the Sports Illustrated football preview for 1974. Dan Jenkins moved from covering college football to pro football that year. In giving his rundown on the NFL, Jenkins called the Raiders the most overrated team.

Kind of an odd sentiment from Jenkins...if the Raiders were the most overrated team after the 1973 season, then I don't know what that made the KC Chiefs who routinely finished behind the Raiders in the standings and on the scoreboard. There was really no reason for the Chiefs to have not won the AFC West from 1970-1972...they were stacked with HOFers, had a HOF coach, and had relatively good health all three years.

In 1970, KC destroyed the Colts early in the year, but then kind of muddled along (including Ben Davidson/Len Dawson 17-17 tie) and lost a winner-take-all game to the Raiders at the end of the year by a 20-6 score while being outgained nearly 3 to 1.

1971 they won the division but lost at home to Miami in a minor upset and with a plethora of HOFers on both sides.

1972 the Chiefs beat the Raiders in the middle of the year to take over division lead with an underwhelming 5-3 record, but then lost 3 in a row including a 6 turnover mess to a bad drugged-out Chargers team that came into the game with a 5 game losing streak. The Chiefs talent was so good and their performance so mystifying that the media still portrayed the Chiefs as strong Super Bowl contenders going into the 1973 season...despite the Chiefs last playoff win being Super Bowl IV. It was almost a repeat of 1970...hovering around .500 yet through a combination of ties and weird results, they played Oakland at the end of the year in another winner-take-all game. And, again, Oakland destroyed KC 37-7 by rushing 61 times for 259 yards against a HOF core of Culp-Buchanan-Lanier-Bell.

My overall point is that the Raiders usually came to play in the big games. When they lost in the postseason, it was invariably to the team that ended up winning the Super Bowl. The Raiders were the toughest competition for the Dolphins and Steelers dynasties. I would guess if they were in the NFC, they would still lose to those teams but it would be in the Super Bowl and not the AFC Championship game.

I think Jenkins meant the Raiders were the most overrated team going into 1974 that was considered a Super Bowl contender. Nobody considered the Chiefs Super Bowl contenders by this time.