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The Sea of Hands Game
The year, 1974. The date, Dec. 21. The occasion, AFC Divisional Round playoff— with the winner advancing to the AFC Championship Game with the legendary Bill King calling the game on radio.
The Miami Dolphins had made a habit of being here, playing in the AFC Championship Game the prior three seasons in succession. It was just expected that they’d be there under Don Shula.
The Raiders, meanwhile, had plenty of success in that same time span under the legendary John Madden. But defeating the greatest team of the early ‘70s was quite a task.
Though the Raiders were hosting the game in Oakland, defeating the mighty Dolphins would still count as an upset. As such, team officials, and others in Oakland, had gotten the word out to fans who were attending the game to make it a “blackout”.
Not only did the fans show up and give AC/DC inspiration for a future song (no idea if that’s true or not), but they were loud. Some Raiders staffers and players said it was the loudest they had ever heard it in the stadium.
And that was during the pregame ceremonies.
Once the kickoff occurred, they were silenced for a bit. Nat Moore returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, forcing the fans to sit down and be quiet.
The Dolphins had done what every road team since the dawn of competition has aimed to do: take the crowd out of the game.
And it seemed that it was working awfully well for much of the first half. Though the Dolphins’ three-headed monster at running back was mostly unsuccessful, Shula’s defense stymied the Raiders’ deep passing attack, by getting pressure on Kenny Stabler and playing physical with Fred Biletnikoff and Cliff Branch on the outside.