The 1965 Oakland Raiders season was the team's sixth in both Oakland and the American Football League. The campaign saw the team attempt to improve upon the prior year's disappointing 5–7–2 record, and finished at 8–5–1. While the effort was a definite improvement, it was not enough to win the division and secure a postseason berth. This was the third and last season for Al Davis as head coach, as he became the AFL commissioner in April 1966, and offensive backs coach John Rauch was promoted.

This was the first of sixteen consecutive winning seasons for the Raiders. It is also notable for the debut of Hall of Fame wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff, the first of several legendary Raiders drafted in the mid-1960s to early 1970s. The eleventh overall selection of the AFL draft out of Florida State, he was an integral part of the team's 1967 and 1976 Super Bowl runs.

It was also the Raiders' last year at Frank Youell Field; they moved to the new Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in 1966.

Roster

1965 Oakland Raiders Draft Round Selection Player Position College 1 3 Harry Schuh T 2 11 Fred BiletnikoffWRFlorida State 3 19 Bob Svihus T 4 27 Gus Otto LB 9 67 Rich Zecher DT

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Season

Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 12 Kansas City Chiefs W 37–10 1–0 Frank Youell Field 18,569 Recap 2 September 19 San Diego Chargers L 6–17 1–1 Frank Youell Field 21,406 Recap 3 September 26 Houston Oilers W 21–17 2–1 Frank Youell Field 18,116 Recap 4 October 3 at Buffalo Bills L 12–17 2–2 War Memorial Stadium 41,246 Recap 5 at Boston Patriots W 24–10 3–2 Fenway Park 24,824 Recap 6 at New York Jets T 24–24 3–2–1 Shea Stadium 54,890 Recap 7 October 24 Boston Patriots W 30–21 4–2–1 Frank Youell Field 20,585 Recap 8 October 31 at Kansas City Chiefs L 7–14 4–3–1 Municipal Stadium 18,354 Recap 9 November 7 at Houston Oilers W 33–21 5–3–1 Rice Stadium 35,729 Recap 10 November 14 Buffalo Bills L 14–17 5–4–1 Frank Youell Field 19,352 Recap 11 November 21 at Denver Broncos W 28–20 6–4–1 Bears Stadium 30,369 Recap 12 Bye 13 December 5 Denver Broncos W 24–13 7–4–1 Frank Youell Field 19,023 Recap 14 December 12 New York Jets W 24–14 8–4–1 Frank Youell Field 19,013 Recap 15 December 19 at San Diego Chargers L 14–24 8–5–1 Balboa Stadium 26,056 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

Pro-Football-Reference.com

Standings

References