The 1962 season started out as a race between Houston and Boston in the East, and Dallas and Denver in the West. After seven games, the Broncos were 6–1–0 and the Texans right behind at 5–1–0, while Boston and Houston were tied at 4–2–0. In Week Eight, Buffalo beat Denver 45–38, while Dallas won at Houston, 31–7. The Oilers' loss, and Boston's 26–16 win over Oakland, put the Patriots and Texans at the top of their divisions. The next week, though, Houston won its rematch at Dallas, 14–6, and though it did not help the Oilers,  Denver made a comeback to win 23–20 at San Diego to reclaim the division lead on November 4. In Week Ten, Boston beat Denver 33–29. Houston stayed half a game behind Boston, while Dallas pulled half a game ahead of Denver. In Week Eleven (November 18), Houston won at Boston, 21–17, to reclaim the East, and Dallas won 24–3 at Denver to boost its lead. Houston and Boston continued to win, but in the final week, the Oilers clinched the division with a 44–10 in over the Titans. The 1962 AFL Championship Game was played at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston, Texas on December 23, 1962. The day saw the Eastern Division's 11–3 Houston Oilers in the title game for their third straight year, against the West's Dallas Texans, also at 11–3. It was at the time the longest game in the history of professional American football, and remains the longest professional championship game (and the third-longest professional game of any kind) in the history of the sport. It truly was a classic 17-17 battle, as both teams fought valiantly until time ran out on the clock. The first overtime started with a potentially damaging gaffe by Dallas captain Abner Haynes, who won the toss and elected to "kick to the clock". What Haynes wanted was the strong wind behind his team, but, by saying "kick" first, he gave the Oilers the choice of having the wind at their backs. As it turned out, it didn't matter. The first overtime went scoreless, but Bill Hull intercepted a Blanda pass to end it with the Texans at the Oilers' 48. In the second overtime, Jack Spikes picked up ten yards on a
pass reception and nineteen yards on a rush. After the Texans ran a couple of plays to position the ball, rookie Tommy Brooker came in on fourth-and-nine, and calmly kicked a 25-yard field goal after 2:54 of the sixth quarter, or 17:54 of sudden-death overtime, to end the game, giving Dallas a 20-17 victory and the AFL Championship.