The 1962 AFL season was the third regular season of the American Football League. It consisted of 8 franchises split into two divisions: the East Division (Buffalo Bills, Houston Oilers, Titans of New York, Boston Patriots) and the West Division (San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos, Dallas Texans, Oakland Raiders).
The season ended when the Texans defeated the Houston Oilers in the AFL Championship game.
The AFL had 8 teams, grouped into two divisions. Each team would play a home-and-away game against the other 7 teams in the league for a total of 14 games, and the best team in the Eastern Division would play against the best in the Western Division in a championship game. If there was a tie in the standings at the top of either division, a one-game playoff would be held to determine the division winner.
The 1962 season started out as a race between Houston and Boston in the East, and Dallas and Denver in the West. After seven games, the Broncos were 6âÂÂ1âÂÂ0 and the Texans right behind at 5âÂÂ1âÂÂ0, while Boston and Houston were tied at 4âÂÂ2âÂÂ0.
In Week Eight, Buffalo beat Denver 45âÂÂ38, while Dallas won at Houston, 31âÂÂ7. The Oilers' loss, and Boston's 26âÂÂ16 win over Oakland, put the Patriots and Texans at the top of their divisions. The next week, though, Houston won its rematch at Dallas, 14âÂÂ6, and though it did not help the Oilers, Denver made a comeback to win 23âÂÂ20 at San Diego to reclaim the division lead on November 4. In Week Ten, Boston beat Denver 33âÂÂ29. Houston stayed half a game behind Boston, while Dallas pulled half a game ahead of Denver.
In Week Eleven (November 18), Houston won at Boston, 21âÂÂ17, to reclaim the East, and Dallas won 24âÂÂ3 at Denver to boost its lead. Houston and Boston continued to win, but in the final week, the Oilers clinched the division with a 44âÂÂ10 win over the Titans.