| < 1967 | 1969 > |
The 1968 AFL season was the nineth and penultimate season of the American Football League, made up of 14 regular season games, and 3rd season as part of the merger process with the National Football League (NFL), which took effect fully in 1970.
The Cincinnati Bengals became the 10th AFL team and played at the Nippert Stadium.
With the addition of the Cincinnati Bengals, the AFL's ten teams were split equally into two divisions. Each played a home-and-away game against the other four teams in its division, one game against each of the five teams in the opposite division, and a second game against one of the other division's teams.
As with the previous eight seasons, the best record in the Eastern Division played the best in the Western Division in the AFL championship game, with the site alternating between the divisions; the Eastern division hosted in even-numbered years. If there was tie at the top of either division standings (as happened when Oakland and Kansas City both finished at 12–2), a one-game playoff was held to determine the division winner. The Jets, with the third-best record in the league in 1968, had a week off and hosted the title game.
In anticipation of the merger, all AFL on-field officials wore uniforms similar to those used in the NFL.
| REGULAR SEASON | September 6 – December 15, 1968 |
| Western Division playoff | December 22 |
| 1967 afl championship game | December 31, 1967 |
| AFL Eastern Division | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W | L | T | |
| 1 |  |
New York Jets | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 |  |
Houston Oilers | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 3 |  |
Miami Dolphins | 5 | 8 | 1 |
| 4 |  |
boston patriots | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| 5 |  |
Buffalo Bills | 1 | 12 | 1 |
| AFL Western Division | |||||
| RK | TEAM | W | L | T | |
| 1 |  |
Oakland Raiders | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 |  |
Kansas City Chiefs | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 |  |
San Diego Chargers | 9 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 |  |
Denver Broncos | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| 5 |  |
Cincinnati Bengals | 3 | 11 | 0 |
Western Division playoff was held for the 2nd time due to both the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders being tied in their division.
| Western Division playoff | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEC 22 |  KC |
6 @ 41 | OAK |
||
| 1968 AFL Championship Game | |||||
| Shea Stadium, New York,NY | |||||
| DEC 29 1968 |
OAK |
23 @ 27 | NYJ |
||
The 1968 AFL Championship Game featured the New York Jets (1st appearance appearance) beating the Oakland Raiders (2nd consecutive appearance) to win their 1st AFL title.
The third AFL-NFL World Championship Games, now known as Super Bowl III (NFL) featured the New York Jets (1st appearance appearance) becoming the first AFL team to beat an NFL team Baltimore Colts (NFL), and win their 1st Super Bowl title.