The season ended when the Buffalo Bills defeated the San Diego Chargers in the AFL Championship game.
Buffalo came back from a 24–14 deficit at San Diego on Thanksgiving Day to eke out a 27–24 win.
On December 6 at Oakland, the Raiders beat the Bills on the final play of the game, 16–13, and did not try for an extra point.
In Week Fourteen, Boston was idle, and Buffalo took a 1/2 game lead with a 30–19 win at Denver.
As it turned out, the Eastern Division title would come down to the final game of the season, with Buffalo (11–2–0) traveling to Boston (10–2–1) on December 20, with the winner to take all.