San Diego led the Western Division for the entire season, with Oakland following one game behind from Week Eight onward. The Raiders had started at 2–0, then lost four straight, then began a winning streak. Starting from a 2–4–0 handicap was insurmountable, and although Oakland beat San Diego twice (34–33 on October 27, and 41–27 on December 8), they were unable to catch up. The Eastern race changed in Week Seven, after the Jets lost to Oakland, 49–26, and the Patriots and Oilers tied at 4–3–0 for the lead. Houston pulled ahead the next week, and Boston beat them 45–3 the week after that. The next week, Boston lost 7–6 to San Diego, while Houston beat the Jets 31–27 to pull Ahead again. Two weeks later (Week Twelve), San Diego beat Houston 27–0, while Boston led again after a 17–7 win over Buffalo. In Week Thirteen, Boston was at 7–5–1, and Buffalo and Houston right behind. In the final week, spoiler San Diego took out Houston, 20–14. Buffalo won 19–10 over the Jets, while Boston lost 35–3 to Kansas City, giving the Bills and Pats records of 7–6–1 and forcing a playoff. The Patriots would go on to beat the Bills 26-8 and earn the right to meet San Diego in the Championship game. In the game, fullback Keith Lincoln performed tremendously and led the Chargers to an astounding 51–10 victory over Boston. Lincoln carried the ball for 206 yards and led the team with 123 yards in receiving.