Al Davis' Past Shows Us Thoughts on Super Bowl LVIII

Originally posted on FanNation Raider Maven
By Tom LaMarre | Last updated 2/15/24

The late Al Davis obviously would have been pleased that the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 25-22, in overtime on Sunday in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

We know this because of what Davis did and said before and after the American Football Conference champion Chiefs played the 13-point favorite Minnesota Vikings of the National Football Conference in Super Bowl IV before 80,997 spectators at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans at the end of the 1969 National Football League season.

The Chiefs held a 9-0 lead in the second quarter when Davis walked from his private box to where the Kansas City coaches were watching calling plays from their position upstairs.

“You guys keep throwing the ball to the wrong side of the field,” Davis told them. “(All-Pro wide receiver) Otis Taylor is on this side of the field and is much bigger than the cornerback who is covering him. You have to take advantage of that mismatch for the whole game and it will pay off for you.”

On the next play, Taylor caught a 10-yard pass from quarterback Lenny Dawson that set up a five-yard touchdown run by running back Mike Garrett to give the Chiefs a 16-0 lead with 1:47 remaining in the first half.

As Davis had advised, the Chiefs kept going to Taylor in the second half. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound wide receiver dominated the Minnesota secondary, finishing with six receptions for 81 yards and a 46-yard touchdown pass from Dawson, the game’s Most Valuable Player, to cap a 23-7 victory that made them the first original American Football League team to in the NFL’s ultimate game.

Taylor just as easily could have been the MVP.

“I just wanted one of our original American Football League teams to win the Super Bowl,” said Davis, who came to the Raiders as a coach and general manager in 1963 after being an assistant coach with the San Diego Chargers and briefly was AFL Commissioner leading to the AFL-NFL merger. “It’s us against the NFL, and we finally won.”

The Chiefs probably would have won anyway, but Davis gave them a hand.

Davis was looking at the game film of the Chiefs a few years later and thought he saw Taylor on both sides of the field, but the other guy turned out to be Warren Wells, who Kansas City tried to sneak through waivers, but the Raiders grabbed him.

Wells gave the Raiders a bit of Taylor before personal problems dragged him down.

The Raiders, the Chiefs (originally the Dallas Texans), the Chargers, the Boston Patriots, the Buffalo Bills, the Denver Broncos, the Houston Oilers, and the New York Titans (now Jets) were the eight teams in the inaugural season in the AFL in 1960.

The Raiders, Chiefs, Broncos, Patriots, and Jets have won 17 Super Bowls, and Davis certainly would be happy with that, although knowing him, he would want more.

From February 27 to March 4, 2024, the NFL Scouting Combine will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.

The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently hold the No. 13 overall pick.

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This article first appeared on FanNation Raider Maven and was syndicated with permission.

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