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1978 Houston Oilers

Earl Campbell Carries The 1978 Houston Oilers Into The Playoffs

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The 1978 Houston Oilers came into the season looking to break dry spell for their franchise and they moved aggressively draft Heisman Trophy-winning running back Earl Campbell, a hero of the University of Texas. The Oilers, one of the most successful teams in the first years of the AFL when it was founded in 1960, had never made the playoffs since the merger with the NFL in 1970. Campbell made the difference in 1978’s success.

A big bruising runner, with the power of a fullback and the breakaway speed of a halfback, Campbell joined a team that was showing clear signs of progress. The Oilers had winning seasons in two of the previous three years and in 1977 they’d gone 8-6. They aggressively traded up in the draft to get the star runner with the first overall pick and Campbell rushed for 1,450 yards.

The rest of the offense was not exceptional. Dan Pastorini was up and down at quarterback. The receivers were competent—Ken Burroughs had some deep speed, Mike Renfro was a rookie possession receiver and tight end Mike Barber was pretty good—but there was nothing spectacular. There were no Pro Bowlers on the offensive line.

There was more talent defensively, with two Pro Bowlers up front in Curley Culp and Elvin Bethea and another at outside linebacker with Robert Brazile. But there was no game-changer, no defensive equivalent of Campbell and the D finished 16th in the league.

Houston opened the season at the Atlanta Falcons, who would make the postseason for the first time in the Super Bowl era. Campbell rushed for 137 yards, but four turnovers doomed the Oilers in a 20-14 loss.

It looked like the season might get off to a really rough start when Houston fell behind in two consecutive games against bad teams in the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. Campbell scored two second-half touchdowns to carry the Oilers to a 20-17 win in KC. And a late field goal from Toni Fritsch got Houston past San Fran, 20-19.

Houston dropped a tough home game to the Los Angeles Rams 10-6, the second straight game that Campbell was held under 100 yards. The defense stepped up with a big game in Cleveland the following week. They picked off Browns quarterback Brian Sipe three times, Pastorini threw for 215 yards and Houston won 16-13.

Campbell got back on track with 104 yards in Oakland and the Oilers built up a 17-7 lead as the Raiders, a perennial AFC contender and two years removed from winning the Super Bowl, committed five turnovers. Houston was going in for a touchdown that would have put it away, when a fumble was returned 96 yards for a touchdown. The Raiders stole a 21-17 win and dropped the Oilers to 3-3.

A must-win home game against lowly Buffalo was next. Pastorini was efficient, 12/22 for 158 yards, and Campbell churned out 105 yards in a 17-10 win. Houston was in contention, but there was nothing to suggest this was a team in the midst of a special season. Then came Monday Night in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers were a division rival in the old AFC Central (including the Browns and Cincinnati Bengals) and they were off to a 7-0 start. It was the age of the “Steel Curtain” and Pittsburgh was a feared force. Houston simply controlled the game on the national stage.

No one overwhelmed anybody, but Campbell ground out 89 yards on 21 carries, while Steeler counterpart Franco Harris was held to 56 yards on 16 carries. Pastorini was 13/19 for 160 yards and no interceptions. The lead was 24-10 in the fourth quarter and ended 24-17.

The coming out party of the Oilers was dampened with a letdown loss in Cincinnati, as Houston was carved up Bengal quarterback Ken Anderson, fell behind 28-6 and lost 28-13. But the Oilers got back on track with another hard-fought win over Cleveland. The Houston defense held the Browns to 28 yards rushing and Rob Carpenter provided some support to Campbell, with 54 yards and two short TD runs in a 14-10 win.

Two consecutive big games with AFC East contenders awaited and all facets of the offense were on display. The Oilers went to New England and fell behind 23-0. Pastorini responded by throwing for 200 yards and Houston beat the Patriots 26-23. Then it was a Monday Night home game with the Miami Dolphins. In a big-and-forth battle, Houston trailed 23-21.

Campbell first ran in from 12 yards to get the lead. Then he took off on an 81-yard jaunt for a touchdown that sealed the 35-30 win. Earl finished with 199 yards and went a long way to cementing a season where he would emerge as the alternative to Steeler quarterback Terry Bradshaw in the MVP race. Bradshaw won the AP vote, but Campbell got his share of awards from other outlets.

Cincinnati came to Houston and this time the Oilers didn’t let down against a team that would finish 4-12. Campbell ran for 122 yards, Pastorini threw for 122 yards and they won 17-10. At 9-4, the playoffs were within reach when the Steelers came to the Astrodome for the rematch. In a tough defense-oriented game, Pittsburgh got their revenge. They intercepted Pastorini three times and won 13-3.

Pittsburgh had the AFC Central wrapped up, but a wild-card berth was one win from being clinched. Houston went to New Orleans and were leading the Saints 10-7. Pastorini rifled an 80-yard touchdown pass for a 17-7 lead and that all but sealed the game that ended 17-12. The Oilers were in the playoffs.

This was the first year the NFL, then using a three-division format for each conference, had a wild-card round in its playoffs. Houston was the #4 seed and in position to host the first-ever AFC wild-card game if they could win their finale with the San Diego Chargers. The Oilers lost at home, 45-24 and when Miami won on Monday Night it dropped Houston to the 5-spot. They would go on the road.

On the late afternoon of Christmas Eve, the Oilers and Dolphins squared off in the old Miami Orange Bowl. Houston fumbled a punt early in the game and fell behind 7-0, but was able to tie it up by halftime. Campbell was running consistently, 84 yards on 26 carries, but it was Pastorini was really playing well. The quarterback finished 20/29 for 306 yards and outplayed his more accomplished counterpart, Bob Griese.

A Fritsch field goal gave Houston a 10-7 lead, and an interception set up a Campbell touchdown run. The Houston defense had Miami locked down. Pastorini voluntarily took a safety late in the game to make it 17-9—with no two-point conversion, the eight-point lead was insurmountable—and Houston had an impressive win.

Just like in the regular season, Houston would draw the powers of the AFC East back-to-back, as they traveled to Foxboro to meet New England. The Patriots were the 2-seed, but they were in turmoil, as head coach Chuck Fairbanks had already announced he would be leaving at season’s end. Houston took advantage.

After a scoreless first quarter, Pastorini found Burrough down the right sideline on a 71-yard strike for a 7-0 lead. New England drove it back down the field, but Oiler safety Mike Reinfeldt intercepted a pass at the goal line. Houston returned on a drive of their own, and Pastorini connected with Barber for a TD. Another Reinfeldt interception set up another Pastorini-to-Barber touchdown pass. It was 21-0 and all but over, with the game ending 31-14.

Round Three against Pittsburgh awaited in the AFC Championship Game and the special season finally came to an end. In a freezing rain, Campbell couldn’t find traction to run, and the Steelers were just too good and too battle-tested. The Oilers turned it over nine times, five of them interceptions by Pastorini and the final was 34-5.

Nothing could take away what a breakout year it was for the 1978 Houston Oilers though. They produced the league’s brightest young star, made the playoffs and saw Pastorini come through big-time in the first two postseason games. It was something to build on going forward.

NFL Championship Sunday History: Greatness In 1978

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As part of The Sports Notebook’s NFL Championship Sunday extravaganza, we’re featuring two years that represent different types of NFL championship history. In 1978, the games weren’t especially competitive, but you had two of the league’s signature teams step up and make the mark. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys were each gunning to be the first franchise to three Super Bowl wins as they got set for Championship Sunday following the ’78 season.

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Pittsburgh won consecutive Super Bowls in 1974-75, and won the AFC Central each of the ensuing years before losing in the playoffs (the Central of this era was the Steelers, Houston Oilers—now the Tennessee Titans, the Bengals and the Browns). This was the era of the “Steel Curtain” defense and the Pittsburgh D was the NFL’s best. A tough front four was led by end L.C. Greenwood and tackle Joe Greene.

The linebacking posts were manned by future Hall of Famers in Jack Lambert and Jack Ham. Mel Blount and Donnie Shell were in the secondary and also among the league’s best. And we haven’t even gotten to the offense, with Terry Bradshaw at quarterback, Franco Harris running the ball and a dynamic receiving duo of Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. The Steelers’ offensive line was a tough, physical unit personified by its center and anchor, Mike Webster. A 14-2 season produced a runaway division crown and an easy playoff win over Denver set them up in this game.

If the Steelers were the traditional power, then Houston was the up-and-comer. The Oilers drafted Heisman Trophy running back Earl Campbell and hoped he could do what the previous years’ Heisman winner Tony Dorsett had done for Dallas, and that’s win the Super Bowl his rookie year. There was not tremendous talent around Campbell, but it was manageable, and head coach Bum Phillips, father of today’s Texan coordinator Wade, put it all together. After a 3-3 start, Houston rallied to a 10-6 finish, then decisively beat Miami and New England to reach the AFC Championship Game.

Dallas had won the Super Bowl the prior year, but in this first season of the 16-game schedule (they’d gone 12-2 the year before), the Cowboys took some time to find their rhythm. They were sitting at 6-4 after a couple midseason losses, before righting the ship, winning six straight and getting the #2 seed in the NFC playoffs. They would play the Los Angeles Rams. Each team had finished 12-4, but the Rams won a Week 3 game in LA because Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach threw four interceptions in the 27-14 final.

The NFC Championship Game was a contrast in styles. Dallas was the NFL’s most prolific offense, with Staubach, second-year running back Dorsett, and Pro Bowlers in receiver Tony Hill and tight end Billy Joe Dupree. The only skill players not in the Pro Bowl were Drew Pearson, a cagey veteran receiver, and fullback Robert Newhouse, who would be the best the franchise had at the position until current Fox analyst Daryl Johnston came to town in the 1990s.

Los Angeles’ strength was its defense, particularly up front. They had three Pro Bowlers in the front four, with the legendary Jack Youngblood, Larry Brooks and Cody Jones. The only one who didn’t make it was Fred Dryer, and he still enjoyed a Pro Bowl career. Although for myself, as a junkie of the 1980s-early 1990s sitcom Cheers, I’ll always remember Dryer for his portrayal of sleazy broadcaster Dave Richards and the fact he came in second to Ted Danson in the battle for the lead role as Sam Malone.

Coming in second was a problem for the Rams, who’d never been to the Super Bowl, despite consistently winning the NFC West in the 1970s. Still rankling was a 1975 NFC Championship loss to these same Cowboys by a humiliating 37-7 count right here in the LA Coliseum. With first-year head coach Ray Malavasi at the helm, the fan base hoped the near misses of the Chuck Knox era would be a thing of the past.

The schedule for Championship Sunday had Houston-Pittsburgh kicking off at 1 PM EST, with Dallas-Los Angeles going at 5 PM EST. A Steelers-Cowboys game would be a “Three Rings” battle in the Super Bowl, but the prospect of Houston-Dallas had its own unique storylines. Pittsburgh-Los Angeles (a matchup we would ultimately see one year later) could offer a popular team along with the nation’s #2 market. Houston-Los Angeles would be kind of dry for fans, although the networks still would mind having that large media market in LA. In short, there weren’t too many bad options when it came to the Super Bowl matchups.

As far as Championship Sunday went, the only bad option would be if both games turned up as blowouts and that’s what happened. The artificial turf at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium was covered in sleet on gameday and Campbell could never get traction, rushing for only 62 yards, after a year where he’d piled up 1,450 yards and got some MVP votes along with Bradshaw. But before using that as an excuse, we must note that Pittsburgh also held Campbell to under 100 yards in both regular season meetings, where the road team won each game.

And we also have to note that on this day, Campbell could’ve rushed for 200 and it wasn’t going to matter, because his team turned the ball over nine times. The Steelers had five turnovers of their own, but also scored two first quarter touchdowns on the ground. Then Bradshaw hit both Swann and Stallworth for scores in the second quarter. It was 28-3 at halftime and ended 34-5. Pittsburgh punched its ticket to Miami’s Orange Bowl in two weeks.

 

The Cowboys-Rams game was a defensive battle in the first half, exactly as Los Angeles would have preferred. Even though they had current USC athletic director Pat Haden at quarterback, and Haden was a reliable passer, they couldn’t win a scoring race with the Cowboys. But even though the Rams’ defense had been the statistically superior unit in 1978, Dallas had more playmakers. Up front, Harvey Martin and Randy White had been co-MVPs of the Super Bowl a year earlier, Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, whose showboating style drove head coach Tom Landry crazy, was at linebacker and both safeties, Charlie Waters and Cliff Harris were Pro Bowlers. Great players swing championship games and that’s what Dallas did in the third quarter.

Waters intercepted successive Haden passes and each one set up a Dallas touchdown. Trailing 14-0, Haden then broke his thumb. Los Angeles drove to the 10-yard line, before a fumble and ensuing touchdown drive the other way all but sealed the game at 21-0. But playing in Los Angeles, we had to hear from Hollywood Henderson didn’t we? With under two minutes left he intercepted a pass and took it 68 yards to the house, doing a finger roll with the ball over the goal post to seal the win. Los Angeles had now lost two championship games at home to Dallas by a combined score of 65-7. The Cowboys would get a chance to repeat.

Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl showdown 35-31, the competitive game that Championship Sunday lacked. But if the day of the conference championships didn’t give us drama, it gave us a display of greatness in consecutive games. And if you want to read about a Championship Sunday that was more dramatic, check out the recap of 1987.