The Patriots beat the Raiders, 20-17, on a Friday night in Boston, aided by a freak play. The Raiders led 17-13 in the fourth quarter, when Wayne Crow’s punt from the Oakland end zone struck the goal post and bounced back into the end zone where Boston’s Leroy Moore recovered it for a touchdown.
Center Jim Otto came down with the flu but played the game anyway.
| Final | |||||
| Oakland | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| Boston | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
1 BOS Ron Burton 6 run (Gino Cappelletti kick)
2 OAK Charlie Hardy 31 pass from Tom Flores (George Fleming kick)
2 BOS Gino Cappelletti 29 field goal
2 OAK Doug Asad 5 pass from Tom Flores (George Fleming kick)
2 BOS Gino Cappelletti 33 field goal
3 OAK George Fleming 16 field goal
4 BOS Leroy Moore recovered blocked punt in end zone (Gino Cappelletti kick)
Head coaches - Marty Feldman, Mike Holovak
Starting QBs - Tom Flores, Babe Parilli
Quarterback Tom Flores suffered a hip injury early on, but stayed in the game.