10 greatest Raiders teams of all time

Coached by John Gruden, the Raiders burst out of the gates with an 8-1 record. They cooled off, but still finished the regular season with 12 wins. Then they hammed the Dolphins, 27-0, in the divisional round.

And in the championship game against the defensive juggernaut Ravens, the game turned on a 96-yard touchdown pass from Trent Dilfer to Shannon Sharpe. The Raiders fell short of the Super Bowl in a 16-3 decision, but it was still one of their best teams.

9. 1968 Raiders

It would be hard to keep this team off the list. The Raiders went 12-2 and crushed the Chiefs, 41-6, in their first playoff game.

However, in the AFC Championship game, they lost a tough 27-23 decision to the Jets on a 6-yard fourth-quarter scoring strike from Joe Namath to Don Maynard.

The Raiders had a terrific offense, ranking No. 1 overall by finishing second in passing and third in rushing.

8. 1969 Raiders

Another great regular season ended one game short of the Super Bowl. The Raiders went 12-1-1 and destroyed the Oilers 56-7 in the divisional round.

However, the Raiders couldn’t find a way to solve the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. The Raiders led 7-0 after the first quarter, and the game was tied at halftime. A Robert Holmes 5-yard scoring run in the third quarter gave the Chiefs the lead, and the Raiders couldn’t respond.

They surpassed the 1968 team based on earning a tie against the Dolphins in Week 4, which resulted in one fewer loss.

7. 1977 Raiders

Coming off a Super Bowl victory, the Raiders seemed to have their sights set on a repeat with an 8-1 start to the season. However, a pair of losses down the stretch dampened their enthusiasm.

Then they met the Colts in the divisional round of the playoffs. Thanks to a late field goal from Errol Mann, the Raiders forced overtime. And Dave Casper sealed the win by catching a 10-yard touchdown pass from Ken Stabler.

Perhaps a little drained from that win, the Raiders fell behind 14-3 to the Broncos entering the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship game. They got a pair of TD connections between Stabler and Casper, but fell short by a 20-17 margin.

6. 2002 Raiders

This team made it to the Super Bowl despite a four-game losing streak that left the Raiders with a 4-4 record at the midway point of the season. They bounced back to win seven of their last eight games and hammered the Jets and Titans in the playoffs.

However, the Raiders had next to nothing to offer the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl, who were led by former Raiders coach Jon Gruden. With Gruden having the huge advantage of having recently coached the Raiders, the Buccaneers built a 20-3 halftime lead. They tacked on two third-quarter touchdowns, and the Raiders were mostly done.

The Raiders did manage to cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 34-21 on Jerry Rice’s 48-yard touchdown reception with 6:06. However, the Bucs authored their second and third pick-sixes in the final 1:18 of the game.

5. 1967 Raiders

After an early season loss to the Jets, the Raiders ripped off 10 straight wins to finish the regular season with a 13-1 mark. Then they crumpled the overmatched Oilers 40-7 in the AFC Championship.

Unfortunately, Vince Lombardi and the Packers awaited in the Super Bowl. The Raiders pulled within seven points in the second quarter when Daryle Lamonica threw a 23-yard scoring pass to Bill Miller. But the Packers scored the next 20 points of the game.

It was a disappointing performance for an offense that ranked No. 3 in the NFL and totaled over 40 points six times. The team also had nine 30-point efforts. But not against the sturdy Packers.

4. 1974 Raiders

The season started on a down note, a 21-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills. But the Raiders bounced back and finished the regular season with a mark of 12-2.

They rolled into the playoffs and knocked off the mighty Dolphins, who had made three straight Super Bowl appearances. The thrilling win came thanks to a fourth-quarter 8-yard touchdown pass from Stabler to Clarence Davis.

And here’s the kicker. Think about the history here. The Raiders beat the Steelers 17-0 in Week 3. And they had shaken off the 1972 Franco Harris miracle by whipping the Steelers, 33-14 in the 1973 playoffs.

Many things pointed to a Raiders victory, including a 10-3 lead entering the fourth quarter. However, Harris scored on a 3-yard run to tie the game. Terry Bradshaw threw a 6-yard scoring strike to Lynn Swann, and the Raiders trailed 17-10. A George Blanda field goal gave Oakland hope, but Harris’ 21-yard scoring dash ended the suspense.

If the Raiders had held on, they might have become the Team of the ’70s instead of the Steelers.

3. 1980 Raiders

It didn’t seem like a Super Bowl season as the Raiders got out of the gates with a 2-3 mark. Included in the mix was a humbling 24-7 setback against the Bills.

But the Raiders regrouped and entered the playoffs as a wild card with an 11-5 record. They hammered the Oilers (24-7), edged the Browns (14-12), and held off the Chargers (34-27) in the AFC Championship game.

And in the Super Bowl, the Raiders proved to be a different animal. They scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter, the second one an 80-yard pass from Jim Plunkett to Kenny King. The rout was on, and Plunkett finished with three scoring strikes. They became the first Wild Card team to win the Super Bowl.

2. 1976 Raiders

Finally, the Raiders got their dream win. They had lost the Super Bowl in 1967 before a string of three straight AFC Championship losses. They were turned around by the Jets, Chiefs, and Colts.

If that wasn’t hard enough, the Raiders turned the trick again. They lost to the Dolphins in the 1973 AFC Championship, the Steelers in 1974, and the Steelers again in 1975.

However, in 1976, the Raiders shook off a Week 4 blowout loss to the Patriots and finished with a 13-1 record. They avenged that loss by beating the Patriots 24-21 in the first round of the playoffs — thanks to a stirring fourth-quarter comeback. Trailing 21-10, the Raiders got a pair of 1-yard scoring runs from Mark van Eeghen and Stabler to eek out a three-point victory.

In the AFC Championship, the Raiders shook off the Steelers’ curse as they harassed Bradshaw into a 14-of-35 performance with three sacks and an interception. The Vikings offered little resistance in the Super Bowl as the Raiders led 19-0 at the break and never looked back in a 32-14 win.

1. 1983 Raiders

A Los Angeles version of the Raiders, this was the franchise’s most complete squad. They had trouble with the Seahawks in the regular season, losing 38-36 on the road and 34-21 at home.

But the Raiders finished 12-4 and won the division. They crushed the Steelers 38-10 in the first round of the playoffs and faced a rematch with the Seahawks. However, the Raiders had learned from the regular season. They completely shut down Seahawks star running back Cut Warner (11 carries for 26 yards), built a 20-0 halftime lead, and got 154 yards rushing from Marcus Allen in a blowout 30-14 decision.

The Super Bowl figured to be a daunting task. Washington entered in search of a second straight title, and had The Diesel, John Riggins, gassed up and ready to go. The ’Skins had beaten the Raiders 37-35 in the regular season with Riggins rushing for 91 yards and Joe Theismann passing for 417 yards with three touchdowns.

But again, the Raiders had learned in the regular season. Jack Squirek sniffed out a screen pass right before halftime for a 5-yard pick-six and a 21-3 lead. The ‘Skins couldn’t get Riggins loose (26 carries for 64 yards), and Theismann finished with 243 yards passing, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and got sacked six times.

It was a brutal 38-9 beating with Allen crushing it for 191 yards rushing and two touchdowns, according to pro-football-reference.com. He also salted the wound with 18 yards receiving.

One reason the Raiders had their way with Washington’s offense was a trade that occurred after the regular-season loss. The Raiders sent a 1984 first-round pick and a 1985 second-round selection to New England for Mike Hayes. That gave the Raiders Haynes and Lester Hayes, giving them one of the best cornerback duos in NFL history. Their press coverage kept the ‘Skins’ receivers from getting off the line of scrimmage, and the Raiders dominated.

Tom Flores was the Raiders’ head coach for that Super Bowl win. It was his second title, having coached the Raiders to the 1980 Super Bowl title as well. Flores wasn’t John Madden in terms of personality, according to yahoo.com. But he won like Madden.

“I was quiet, under control,” Flores said. “John was a far more emotional person, and he was that way on the sideline. When I was hired, I told Al ‘I’m not John,’ and he said, ‘I know that. I hired you to win.’ ”

Both coaches had to work under Al Davis, who created pressure, Flores said.

“He was tough, demanding; he was fearless,” Flores said. “You had to know him, and I got to know him pretty well. You had to know the good things and bad things, and he had so many good things to offer.”