1968–69 NFL playoffs-The Daily Ledger

The NFL playoffs following the 1968 NFL season determined who would represent the league in Super Bowl III.

Tournament bracket

Within each conference, the two division winners qualified for the playoffs. In the start round, the Capitol and Century division winners played in the Eastern Conference Game, while the Coastal and Central division winners were in the Western Conference game. The winners of the two conference games advanced to the NFL Championship Game to compete for the NFL league title and the right to face the American Football League champion in the Super Bowl. The losers of the conference championship games played in the Playoff Bowl, a third place game held at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida.

1968–69 NFL playoffs

Prior to , the playoff sites rotated and were known prior to the start of the season. In 1968, the hosts were the Century and Coastal division winners for the conference championships (first round), and the Eastern Conference for the championship game. This effectively gave home field advantage to the Century Division winner, the Cleveland Browns (10–4). The 1967 and 1969 playoff hosts were Capitol, Central, and Western, respectively.

1968–69 NFL playoffs

The rotation system forced the 12–2 Cowboys, champions of the Capitol Division, to play at the 10–4 Browns in the Eastern Conference playoff. In the Western Conference, the 13–1 Colts hosted the 8–6 Vikings; the home teams won both games in the opening round.

1968–69 NFL playoffs

Conference Championships

Saturday, December 21, 1968

Eastern Conference: Cleveland Browns 31, Dallas Cowboys 20

Despite the game's high score, this was actually a defensive struggle as both teams took advantage of each other's turnovers throughout the game. However, Cleveland emerged triumphant, overcoming a 10–3 first half deficit with 21 unanswered points.

Early in the first quarter, Mike Howell intercepted a pass from Don Meredith (who was playing in his final game) and returned it 20 yards to set up Don Cockroft's 38-yard field goal. Dallas took the lead later on, when linebacker Chuck Howley forced a fumble while sacking Browns quarterback Bill Nelsen and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown.

In the second quarter, Dallas increased their lead to 10–3 when an interception by Cowboys linebacker Dave Edwards led to Mike Clark's 16-yard field goal. However, the Browns tied the game with a last minute drive at the end of the half, moving the ball 85 yards in 4 plays and scoring on Nelsen's 45-yard touchdown pass to running back Leroy Kelly.

The Browns broke the game open on the first play of the second half when linebacker Dale Lindsey intercepted Meredith's sideline pass intended for Bob Hayes and raced 27 yards to the end zone, giving Cleveland a 17–10 lead. Then on the third play after the ensuing kickoff, Meredith threw a pass that bounced out of the grasp of Lance Rentzel and was picked off by defensive back Ben Davis, who returned the ball 3 yards to the Cowboys' 35. On the next play, Kelly took a pitch to the right and ran 35 yards for a touchdown, increasing Cleveland's lead to 24–10.

Dallas coach Tom Landry eventually replaced Meredith with Craig Morton, who managed to lead the team to a 47-yard field goal by Clark with 3:24 left in the 3rd quarter. But 24–13 was as close as the score would get. On Cleveland's next drive, Nelsen's play action pass to Paul Warfield picked up 39 yards and a first down on the Dallas 11-yard line. Three plays later, Ernie Green's 2-yard touchdown run gave them an insurmountable 31–13 4th quarter lead. All that remained in the game would be Morton's meaningless 2-yard touchdown pass to fullback Walt Garrison with a minute left in regulation. The final 31 seconds would never be reached because the game had to be called off, as Cleveland fans spilled out on the field for an early victory celebration.

Nelsen completed 13 of 25 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. Kelly rushed for 87 yards, caught two passes for 46 yards, and scored two touchdowns.