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Houston Oilers history

1993 Houston Oilers: A Big Tease & A Final Collapse

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The 1993 Houston Oilers had spent the previous six seasons as a consistent playoff team that always seemed just ready to break through to the league’s elite. But postseason success was missing. They had not even made the AFC Championship Game during this time period, much less gotten to a Super Bowl. The ’93 Oilers, after a slow start, had the look of a team ready to do just that. But instead, another playoff collapse spelled the end of the era.

1992 had ended with the collapse of all collapses, blowing a 35-3 second half lead in the wild-card round at Buffalo. Suffice it to say, Houston was looking to make some changes. They went out and hired Buddy Ryan, architect of the great 1985 Chicago Bears defense, and more recently, a modestly successful head coach in Philadelphia, to be the new coordinator.

Buddy got the defense playing well, with the trademark pressure he liked to bring. A veteran defensive line, with all the key players 31-years-old, saw William Fuller, Ray Childress and Sean Jones combine for 31 sacks. Childress and Jones made the Pro Bowl.

The pressure allowed free safety Marcus Roberts to have the year of his life, intercepting seven passes and making 1st-team All-NFL. Cris Dishman and Steve Jackson at the corners combined for 11 more picks themselves. Houston’s defense ranked fourth in the NFL In points allowed.

But the Oilers of this era were ultimately defined by Warren Moon, the future Hall of Fame quarterback, and the spread-the-field attack that was the first of its kind to consistently use four wide receivers at a time. Webster Slaughter was the prime target in 1993, catching 77 passes for over 900 yards and making the Pro Bowl. Ernest Givins and Haywood Jeffires were each in the high 60s for receptions. Curtis Duncan caught 41 more balls.

In spite of these targets, Moon did not have one of his better statistical years. His 6.7 yards-per-attempt was squarely in the middle of the league and that was his strongest area. The 58 completion rate was subpar. And the 21-21 TD/INT ratio, while not as awful as it would be today, was still poor by the standards of 1993.

Houston might have been in serious trouble offensively, but the running game picked up the slack. Gary Brown emerged as a 1,000-yard rusher. He ran behind an offensive line  that had veteran Pro Bowlers in Mike Munchak and Bruce Matthews. And it was enough for the Oilers to still rank fourth in the league in points scored.

The season started on a Sunday Night in New Orleans. The Saints had been another consistent playoff team going back to 1987, that also couldn’t advance deep in the playoffs. Even though they slipped to mediocrity this year, it didn’t start in Week 1. Houston lost four fumbles and were beaten up front to the tune of a 142-70 deficit in rush yardage. The result was a 33-21 loss.

The home opener was against Kansas City. The Chiefs were not only another consistent playoff team looking to take the proverbial next step, but they had signed the great Joe Montana as their quarterback. But Montana wasn’t ready to play yet and the Oilers had their way with the Dave Krieg-led offense. They forced five turnovers. Moon went 22/35 for 204 yards. Houston cruised to a 30-0 blowout.

A road trip to San Diego followed. The Chargers had won the AFC West a year earlier, and would slip to .500 this year. Like New Orleans though, their slippage didn’t come against Houston in September. Moon played terribly, throwing four interceptions. Some timely red zone defense and a Pick-6 by defensive back Darryl Lewis kept them in the game. But it ended an 18-17 loss.

A home date with a bad Los Angeles Rams team resulted in a passing battle between Moon and Jim Everett. But Moon was erratic in getting his 310 yards, while Everett’s 316 yards came with efficiency. The Oilers lost this one 28-13 and were 1-3 going into a bye week.

The two weeks prep time, combined with the revenge factor, didn’t help them in a return to Buffalo for Monday Night Football. Moon threw three more interceptions. Houston lost four fumbles. They lost the football game 35-7.

There was nothing in this Oiler team that looked like a contender. But a soft part of the schedule was ahead. Moon played clean football the following week in New England, where Bill Parcells was just starting on a rebuilding project. The Oilers beat the Patriots 28-14. They came back home and beat lowly Cincinnati 28-12, with Moon going 24/34 for 253 yards and spreading the ball around effectively.

1993 was the one year the NFL experimented with the concept of a double-bye, so just when Houston had some momentum, they took another week off. No matter. They were able to keep it going when they returned at home against Seattle. Moon played his best game of the year, going 36/55 for 369 yards. Slaughter caught nine balls for 135 yards and the Oilers won 24-14. They were back to .500.  

The alignment of the era had the Oilers in the AFC Central along with the Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers. The return visit to Cincinnati was next and it marked the emergence of Brown. He rolled up 166 yards, enabling Houston to control the ball for over 36 minutes in a 38-3 rout. Brown was even better a week later in Cleveland, piling up 194 yards and leading the way to a 27-20 win.

Pittsburgh had won this division a year earlier and would make the playoffs again in ’93. So the first matchup with the Steelers got the Sunday Night stage, a couple days after Thanksgiving. Fuller put on a show and picked up four sacks. Jeffires caught seven passes for 139 yards. The Oilers rolled, 23-3.

Then they came home to face Atlanta. The Falcons weren’t very good, but they were coached by Jerry Glanville, who had guided the Oilers to their playoff trips in 1987, 1988 and 1989 before being replaced by Jack Pardee. Ryan’s defense intercepted six passes and turned a 14-6 third quarter deficit into a 33-17 win.

Houston was riding high at 9-4. Their ability to run the ball and play defense was getting noticed nationally. They were a game up on Pittsburgh in the AFC Central and already had control of the tiebreaker, even if they were to lose the second game with the Steelers in two weeks.

With Brown surging, the Oilers didn’t look like they could lose. He went for 109 yards in a 19-17 win over Cleveland, who was making great strides under Bill Belichick and would get into the playoffs a year later. Houston had the chance to clinch when they went to Pittsburgh.

Brown showed he could also catch the football, bringing in a 38-yard TD pass from Moon. Safety Bo Orlando came up with a Pick-6 and the Oilers had a quick 14-0 lead. It was 23-3 by the third quarter and with Brown delivering another 100-yard game, Houston salted away the AFC Central title with a 26-17 win.

Now it was time to focus on getting one of the two first-round byes and, hopefully, the 1-seed in the AFC bracket. The Oilers, along with the Chiefs and Bills were 10-4. Houston had the tiebreaker on KC, did not with Buffalo, but in the event of a three-way tie, Houston would end up on the top line thanks to their conference record.

On Christmas Night, they went to San Francisco. The 49ers had an explosive offense led by Steve Young and were bound for the NFC Championship Game. In this high-profile spot, the Oilers showed how far they had come. Brown rushed for 114 yards. The defense was dominant. Houston won 10-7. A defensive-oriented game on the road was exactly the kind of game that had typically been their vulnerability. Winning it seemed to send a message on who the team to beat in the AFC was.

But the Oilers didn’t control their fate, and when Kansas City lost the next day, it reduced the top of the AFC to Houston and Buffalo at 11-4. That Monday Night debacle from October would be the difference for the 1-seed and the Bills wrapped it up on the early TV window in the final week.

The Oilers were locked into the 2-seed when they took the field Sunday Night against the Jets. It was not a game that had playoff implications and in our own day, would have been flexed out of the prime-time spot. Which would have denied America some considerable entertainment.

Not because it was a noteworthy game. Even with Moon and Brown sitting out, the Oilers got three sacks from Childress, dominated on defense and won 24-0. No, what was most entertaining is that the internal tension between Ryan and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride boiled over. What makes me say that? How about the fact that, on national television, Ryan threw a punch at Gilbride.

Even allowing the obvious dislike between the coaches, and even allowing that Buffalo was the 1-seed and three-time defending AFC champs, Houston still looked like the team to beat. Dallas, the defending Super Bowl champ and NFC 1-seed was the odds-on favorite to win it all, but this had the feel of a Lone Star State Super Bowl ahead.

After a week off, the Oilers hosted the Chiefs in the late Sunday afternoon window on Divisional Round Weekend. Montana was healthy, but for three quarters, Ryan’s defense continued to stay in control. With Moon on his way to a 32/43 for 306 yards performance, Houston led 10-0 at the half and 13-7 after three quarters.

But the offensive line was not able to keep control of the line of scrimmage. Brown was held to 17 yards. Gilbride only gave him the ball 11 times. With the season on the line, Houston was reverting to their complete dependence on Moon. And they paid the price for it. The quarterback was sacked nine times. The result was another collapse. Montana led KC to three fourth-quarter touchdowns and sent Houston packing with a 28-20 loss.

This is a franchise that endured its share of playoff disappointments—blown fourth-quarter leads against Pittsburgh in 1989 and Denver in 1991 also marked the recent landscape. This one, coming on top of the ’92 disaster in Buffalo, was the final blow.

With so many key players over the age of 30, it was time to rebuild. Moon was traded to Minnesota in the offseason. Munchak retired. And the Oilers completely collapsed in 1994. By the time the franchise started to be competitive again in the latter part of the decade, they had relocated to Tennessee. The city of Houston waited until 2002 to get pro football back. They’re still waiting for that first Super Bowl trip ever, and the first AFC Championship Game appearance since 1979.

A Sour Ending For The 1989 Houston Oilers

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The 1989 Houston Oilers came into the season looking for more. In both 1987 and 1988, they made the postseason and advanced to the divisional round. The Oilers had clearly arrived as a playoff contender under the coaching regime of Jerry Glanville. Now it was time for more—like a division championship and deeper advancement into the playoffs. The ’89 Oilers were squarely in position to accomplish their goals…until a sudden and late fade ended the season and ended Glanville’s tenure.

Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon was the clear leader of a team that was built around its offensive firepower. Moon had a vintage Pro Bowl season in 1989. His 60 percent completion rate, 7.8 yards-per-attempt, 23 touchdown passes and 3 percent interception rate were all in the top eight among starting quarterbacks.

The Oilers of this era were known for their “Run-And-Shoot” offense, the first of its kind to spread the field with four different receivers. With Moon pulling the trigger, all four had big years—Drew Hill, Earnest Givins, Curtis Duncan and Haywood Jeffires all averaged 13-14 yards per catch and all shared the wealth that Moon distributed.

Running the ball wasn’t a priority, but Houston had good options. Alonzo Highsmith and Allen Pinkett each averaged better than a four yards a pop. Lorenzo White was another capable back. All three shared the load. Pinkett was also a threat in the passing game, catching 31 balls.

The interior of the offensive line was as good as it gets. Two future Hall of Famers held down the guard spots and both were in their prime in 1989. Mike Munchak made the Pro Bowl and Bruce Matthews was even better, earning recognition as 1st-team All-NFL.

All told, the offense ranked seventh in the league in points scored. And it was necessary, because the defense was a sieve.

Ray Childress was a good defensive tackle, recording 8 ½ sacks. Houston was breaking in a rookie strong safety, Bubba McDowell, who would turn out to be pretty good. But the Oilers as a whole ranked 26th in points allowed in what was then a 28-team NFL. They weren’t going to win games by stopping anyone, something that became painfully clear in the season’s decisive moments.

A high-profile season opener came at Minnesota. The Vikings were a team similar to the Oilers, one that had come into their own in 1987 and was now looking for the next step. Like the Oilers, the Vikings would also come up short, but they would still make the playoffs this season and they certainly looked the part of a Super Bowl contender today. Houston was outrushed 155-70. Moon only threw for 69 yards. The Oilers lost the turnover battle 3-zip. The final was an embarrassing 38-7 loss.

Houston went on to play the subpar San Diego Chargers on the road and turned things around. They got the running game going, to the tune of a 132-41 edge in rush yardage. Moon went 21/35 for 235 yards. They won the turnover battle 5-zip. The Oilers took a 34-14 lead and then held on to win 34-27.

That set up another high-profile game, this one at home against Buffalo. The Bills had reached the AFC Championship Game the previous year, would win their division again this season and were on the verge of becoming a conference dynasty. Moon and Buffalo counterpart Jim Kelly put on a passing show.

Both Hall of Fame QBs threw for over 300 yards. Kelly did it by frequently targeting Andre Reed. Moon did it by spreading the ball all over. The Oilers rallied from 27-10 down to take a 38-34 lead in the fourth quarter.  The game eventually went overtime, tied at 41-41 before a Buffalo touchdown won it. A thrilling home opener ended on a disappointing note.

Houston welcomed a Miami Dolphins team that would stay on the playoff fringe throughout the year. And for the first time this season, the Oilers played a complete football game. They ran for nearly 200 yards. Moon went 19/23 for 254 yards with no mistakes. The defense completely dominated. The only points the Oilers allowed came on a kickoff return for a touchdown late in what ended as a 39-7 rout.

But Houston could not build on the success. They went up to New England and lost 23-13 to a bad team, thanks to five turnovers and a spotty performance from Moon. Houston was 2-3 and on their way to visit what looked like a good Chicago Bears team.

The Bears were one of the league’s perennial contenders under Mike Ditka and were off to a 4-1 start. The Oilers trailed 28-19 in the fourth quarter. Then Moon opened up. Playing against a traditionally good defense on the road, Moon threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes. Hill caught five balls for 128 yards. Houston won 33-28. The game started Chicago spiraling toward a surprising collapse. The Oilers were just happy to be back to .500.

Pittsburgh, a division rival, came into the old Astrodome and Houston delivered a 27-0 beatdown behind 132 rushing  yards and three TD passes from Moon. But a road trip to another division rival in Cleveland didn’t go as well. Even though an early Moon-to-Jeffires touchdown pass keyed a 10-0 lead, the defense allowed a couple of long TD passes. A game where the Oilers generally outplayed the Browns ended up as a 28-17 loss.

We were now halfway through this season that was supposed to be a springboard to bigger things. And the Oilers were only 4-4.

This might be a good spot to step back and remind younger readers that the alignment of the NFL prior to 2002 was only three divisions per conference. The Oilers shared the AFC Central with the Steelers, Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. All four teams would be contenders this season. And as hard as it might be for a younger generation to grasp, Cincinnati was coming off a Super Bowl season and Cleveland was one of the AFC’s most consistent teams.

Furthermore, prior to 1990, only five teams per conference made the playoffs. So if Houston could not win what was shaping up as a competitive AFC Central race, there were only two wild-card berths available.

In short, the Oilers needed to get their act together. They fell behind mediocre Detroit 24-14 at home, thanks to sloppy play that resulted in ten penalties. But Moon covered for a lot of mistakes. On this day, he went 30/38 for 345 yards. He threw second-half TD passes to Givins and Hill, then ran for another. Houston pulled out a 35-31 win.

That set up a Monday Night visit from Cincinnati. The game would be a classic. The Oilers recovered a fumble in the end zone early in the game. They led 16-14 in the second half. The leaky defense again allowed a long touchdown pass. Moon answered right back, leading a drive that ended with a TD pass of his own. The Bengals got a field goal to get the lead. Moon answered again, leading a drive that ended with a game-winning field goal. Houston had a thrilling 26-24 win.

Now they had some momentum, but could they keep it going on a short week, facing another playoff contender in the Los Angeles Raiders? The answer was yes. Playing for both the home crowd and the late Sunday afternoon national TV audience, the Oilers played a terrific all-around game and won 23-7.

At 7-4, Houston went on to visit Kansas City. The Chiefs were in their first year under Marty Schottenheimer and on the fringes of wild-card contention. Today, the Oilers made them look like a Super Bowl team. They committed 16 penalties, Moon was horrible and the end result was a 34-0 debacle.

We were headed into the season’s final quarter. Houston’s 7-5 record had them a half-game behind Cleveland, who was 7-4-1. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati were both 6-6. In the wild-card picture, the Oilers and Dolphins, who were also 7-5, held the lead for the two spots. But the Raiders, Colts and Chiefs all joined the AFC Central in giving chase.

Furthermore, Week 13 was an AFC Central-fest. The Oilers were visiting the Steelers, while the Browns and Bengals squared off. Houston took care of their business. After spotting Pittsburgh a 10-0 lead, Moon went to work. He threw an 18-yard TD pass to Duncan and a 16-yard scoring pass to Hill. McDowell recorded a sack for a safety.

Holding on to a 16-13 lead, the defense came up with a big red zone stop, forcing the Steelers to settle for an 18-yard field goal. The game was tied, but it could have easily been worse. Moon led one more touchdown drive that pulled out the 23-16 road win. Meanwhile, Cincinnati beat Cleveland. Houston had the lead in the AFC Central.

The Oilers hosted a bad Tampa Bay team and jumped out to 20-3 lead by the first quarter, then held on for a 20-17 win. Cleveland lost again. So did Cincinnati. Houston was now 9-5. Cleveland was 7-6-1, while Pittsburgh and Cincinnati were 7-7. With two weeks to go, the Oilers had complete command of the AFC Central.

A road trip to play the Bengals was up next. It was no secret that Glanville and Cincinnati head coach Sam Wyche absolutely loathed each other. That made the possibility of clinching the franchise’s first-ever division title in old Riverfront Stadium more appealing…and what actually happened all the more humiliating. The Oilers were down 21-0 after the first quarter…31-0 at half…52-0 after three quarters…and lost 61-7.

Now, everything was up for grabs heading into the final week of the season that would be played over December 23-25. Here’s the scenario—Houston was hosting Cleveland on a Saturday night game that would kick off the season finales. This was winner-take-all for the division title. The AFC Central champ would also be the 2-seed in the playoffs and get the divisional round game at home. Simply taking care of business in the Astrodome would get the Oilers to the AFC Championship Game.

But if they lost…then all bets were off. Houston could not even be assured of a playoff berth if they didn’t win this game.

And they didn’t come out like a team that had a lot on the line, digging a 17-3 hole. Moon, never to be counted out, rallied with a nine-yard TD pass to Hill. A Houston field goal cut the lead to 17-13. Moon stepped up and threw another TD pass to Hill, this one from 27 yards. Hill would finish the game with 10 catches for 141 yards. But it wasn’t enough. Moon was also sacked five times and a late Browns drive produced the decisive touchdown in a 24-20 loss.

Now there was nothing to do but wait. The Colts and Bengals held the inside track to the two wild-card spots. If either one lost, Houston was in. Indianapolis was playing mediocre New Orleans on Sunday, but Monday Night offered reason for hope—Cincinnati had to go to Minnesota, where the Vikings were also playing with win-or-go-home stakes.

The tension ended early when the Colts were shockingly flat and got leveled 41-6. The Oilers were at least back in the playoffs. When the Bengals lost to the Vikings, Houston got the wild-card game at home. And on top of it all, it was the Steelers—whom the Oilers had already beaten twice, that snuck into the last playoff berth through the backdoor.

So here we were again. Houston still had a chance to reclaim their momentum if they just won a home playoff game as a 6 ½ point favorite. But it was a virtual repeat of the Cleveland game. The Oilers were flat early and trailed 16-9. Moon rallied and threw two touchdown passes, this time to Givins and gave his team a 23-16 lead. The defense gave it back by allowing a late drive that tied it up. Houston lost this one in overtime 26-23.

It was a terribly bitter end to the season. Not only had the Oilers missed out on their preseason goals, but it was three straight losses to divisional rivals—one of them a colossal embarrassment and two heartbreaks as a home favorite that drove the knife in.

The front office responded by firing Glanville and hiring Jack Pardee. The move didn’t hurt—Houston kept producing playoff teams for four more years. But it only made things marginally better. While the Oilers under Pardee did win a couple division titles, they never did get past the second round of the playoffs.

1992 Houston Oilers: The Heartbreak Keeps Growing

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The city of Houston saw good football in the seven-year stretch from 1987-93. The Oilers made the playoffs each season. There were also some tough playoff losses, like the endings to 1989 and 1991. But the 1992 Houston Oilers edition took the cake, getting into the postseason with real prospects of reaching a Super Bowl…and then suffering one of the most devastating playoff losses of all time.

Houston was in its third year under head coach Jack Pardee, who had kept the playoff train rolling after Jerry Glanville was at the helm the first three years of the run. The thread of consistency was the presence of Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon.

In 1992, Moon would miss five games with injuries and be limited in three others. But he still finished third in the NFL in completion percentage, eighth in yards-per-attempt and his 18-12 TD/INT ratio was above average for this era. It was another Pro Bowl year for Moon.

Moon was at the helm of an offense called the “run and shoot”, the forerunner of today’s spread. The field was spread with speedy receivers in Haywood Jeffires, Curtis Duncan and Ernest Givins. All three made the Pro Bowl, averaging in the neighborhood of 10-12 yards-per-catch.

And the Oilers weren’t all about the passing game. The offensive line had two future Hall of Fame inductees in center Bruce Matthews and guard Mike Munchak (who later coached this organization after it relocated to Tennessee and became the Titans). They paved the way for Lorenzo White to clear 1,200 yards and finish fifth in the NFL in rushing.

It was enough to finish sixth in the league in points scored and the defense wasn’t far behind, ranking ninth. The key was a veteran defensive front, where the best players were all 30-years-old. Sean Jones and William Fuller each had eight sacks off the opposite edges. Defensive tackle Ray Childress had 13 sacks and was 1st-team All-NFL. Middle linebacker Al Smith was another 1st-team All-NFL player and corner Jerry Gray picked off six passes in 1992.

The season opened in Pittsburgh where the Steelers were beginning a new era under first-year coach Bill Cowher. The Steelers were also a divisional rival, sharing the old AFC Central with the Oilers, Bengals and Browns.

Pittsburgh was coming off a bad year in ‘91 and had few expectations for this year. When Houston linebacker Johnny Meads returned a fumble for a touchdown and helped build a 14-0 lead, it looked par for the course. But the Oilers bogged down. Moon was intercepted five times. A 24-16 lead in the fourth quarter disappeared and Houston lost 29-24.

They went on to Indianapolis, another team coming off a forgettable 1991 campaign. Moon made amends for Week 1. He threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to White to get the scoring going and finished the day 29/39 for 360 yards and no interceptions. The Oilers won 20-10 in a game they were in command of throughout.

That set up a good early showdown at home with the Kansas City Chiefs, another team of this era that consistently made the playoffs and consistently lost. Houston was beaten in the trenches, losing rush yardage 187-77 and they trailed 13-6 in the fourth quarter. But Moon threw a couple fourth-quarter TD passes, the game ended up in overtime and the Oilers ultimately won 23-20.

The defense stood up in a home date with winless San Diego, intercepting three passes and holding the Chargers to 52 rush yards in an easy 27-0 win. On the surface, it appeared the Oilers had played an easy September schedule, with Pittsburgh, Indy and San Diego all coming off bad years. But it turned out the Steelers and Chargers—along with the Chiefs—would make the playoffs in 1992. And the Colts got close, going 9-7. In retrospect, a 3-1 start against this slate wasn’t too bad.

After a bye week, Moon came out in Cincinnati and threw three TD passes to Jeffires, two more to Givins, while White ran for 149 yards in an easy 38-24 win. Two weeks later the Bengals paid the return visit to Houston. Moon went 27/40 for 342 yards, with Givins and Duncan combining for 17 catches and 184 yards. The final of that game was 26-10.

In between these routs of Cincinnati, Houston went to Denver, site of their playoff misery the year before. Moon played well and went 23/39 for 321 yards, with Duncan catching five of the passes for 133 yards. But the Oilers kept getting penalties—thirteen in all—and they couldn’t stop the run, allowing 170 yards on the ground to a team that would struggle all year to run the football. Appropriately, it was a 20-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter that beat Houston 27-21.

The Oilers were still 5-2 and primed for a visit from Pittsburgh that would open November and shape the divisional race for the rest of the season. Just like in the season opener, Houston got a defensive touchdown, this one when Childress brought a fumble to the house. Just like in the season opener, the Oilers had a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter, this time 20-7. And just like in the season opener, Houston lost the game. This time it was 21-20.

Making matters worse was that Moon had suffered a concussion and had to be replaced by Cody Carlson. Moon was start the next two games, but recurring symptoms meant that Carlson would continue to get a significant amount of playing time in each game.

Perhaps then it’s not surprising that Moon played poorly against the Cleveland Browns, making improvement in their second year under Bill Belichick. The Oilers fell behind 17-0 and lost 24-14. The offense continued to struggle in Minnesota, losing three fumbles. But Houston played well defensively and got a 17-13 win against another eventual playoff team.

But now Moon had suffered a broken arm. It was his non-throwing left arm, so it wasn’t complete disaster. But there was no doubt that Carlson was the man who would have to push the Oilers over the finish line and into the playoffs. He had experience doing this, stepping in for an injured Moon to lead Houston to past Pittsburgh in a win-or-go-home season finale in 1990. But now the backup would have to lead the way for six weeks.

It didn’t start well in Miami. Carlson played respectably, but the Dolphins were bound for the playoffs and got the Oilers in overtime, 19-16. Houston was 6-5 and their Thanksgiving Day visit to Detroit had must-win overtones.

The run defense stepped up and contained the great Lion running back Barry Sanders. Carlson was brilliant, going 24/33 for 338 yards. The 24-21 win kept the Oiler season alive. They went on to host the collapsing Chicago Bears on Monday Night and used a 175-99 edge in rush yardage to get an easy 24-7 win.

But a third consecutive nationally televised game with an NFC Central foe—this one at home on Sunday Night against the Green Bay Packers and first-year starter Brett Favre—didn’t go as well. Carlson was terrific, going 25/36 for 330 yards and outplayed the young Favre. But Houston did not run the ball, Carlson threw a couple interceptions, and the Oilers lost 16-14.

The loss ended their hopes of winning the AFC Central. Houston was 8-6 and two games back of Pittsburgh with two to play, with the Steelers holding the head-to-head tiebreaker. At this time the NFL format had three divisions per conference and the playoffs were filled out with three wild-cards.

You could realistically book the Buffalo-Miami runner-up in the AFC East for one of those. Kansas City and San Diego were both 9-5 and tied in the AFC West, meaning the runner-up likely took the second wild-card. That left Houston at 8-6 , with fading Denver, improving Cleveland and surprising Indianapolis at 7-7 all racing for the third and final wild-card spot.

Houston would play Cleveland in the Dawg Pound on December 20. The Saturday prior to that saw the Oilers get some surprising help. The Chiefs lost to the mediocre New York Giants. To make a long story short, the tiebreaker situation—wins over KC and Indianapolis—meant that Houston would be in the playoffs if they could beat the Browns.

That didn’t come easily, as they trailed 14-3 in the fourth quarter. Carlson would deliver a great moment in a backup career that has a surprising number of them. He threw a couple fourth quarter TD passes, got the 17-14 win and put the Oilers into the postseason.

From Houston’s perspective, the steam for their Sunday Night home finale against Buffalo was reduced. The Bills were playing to win the AFC East. But the Oilers still brought it. They knocked Jim Kelly out of the game and got seven sacks—three from Lee Williams and two more by Childress—in an easy 27-3 win.

The win meant that Houston got the 5-seed, while Kansas City settled for the 6-spot. But that also meant the Oilers had to rematch with the Bills a week later on the road. If nothing else, Moon was back while Kelly was still out of commission for the start of the postseason.

And Houston came out on the early Sunday afternoon of wild-card weekend and picked up where they left off. Moon, who finished the day 36/50 for 371 yards and four touchdowns, led the way to a 28-3 lead at halftime. When Bubba McDowell picked off Buffalo backup Frank Reich and went 58 yards to the house, it was 35-3 in the third quarter and the game seemed all but over by any reasonable—or even unreasonable measure.

A Houston fan couldn’t be blamed if they started thinking big picture. The AFC bracket was extremely balanced in 1992, with everyone finishing 11-5 or 10-6. Closing out this game would send Houston on to Pittsburgh. The Steelers were a young team and there was every reason for the Oilers to believe the third time would be the charm.

A win there and the Dolphins or Chargers would await in the AFC Championship Game. The Oilers had to believe they could beat San Diego and Miami (the team that ultimately advanced) had barely survived Houston without Moon in November.

In short, the path to the Super Bowl was wide open. Then Frank Reich happened.

Maybe Houston should have been forewarned. As a college quarterback at Maryland, Reich had authored the greatest comeback in college football history in a 1984 win over Miami. Now he was about to do the same at the professional level.

The Oiler defense collapsed rapidly, as the Buffalo ripped off five straight touchdown drives—the last four ending on relatively long TD passes from Reich on a typically cold day in this part of the country. The collapse came so fast, that it was Moon who had to author one more drive of his own, racing the Oilers down for a field goal that tied the game 38-38 and sent it to overtime.

But you only have to ask the 2016 Atlanta Falcons how stories like this end in overtime. There was no way Buffalo was losing this game now. The Bills got a field goal and the Oiler season ended in misery—again.

Houston had one more run left in them and their 1993 team was very good. But the path to the Super Bowl may never have been wider than those brief moments early in the second half at Buffalo at the end of the 1992 season.

1991 Houston Oilers: More Wins & More Heartbreak

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The Houston Oilers were on a nice run from 1987-90 of producing good football teams, but losing in the playoffs. The 1991 Houston Oilers took it to the next level—no, they didn’t break through and get to a Super Bowl. In this case the next level means even better regular seasons, finally winning division titles…and even tougher postseason defeats.

Houston had gone the wild-card route to the playoffs in the old AFC Central (including Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Cleveland) in each of the previous four years. Jerry Glanville coached the first three of those teams and Jack Pardee was in his second year at the helm in 1991. Whomever was the head coach mattered less than the fact Warren Moon was at quarterback.

The future Hall of Famer was still playing solid football at age 35. His 62% completion rate and 7.2 yards-per-attempt were each top ten among quarterbacks. The interceptions were high, but 21 picks was manageable by the standards of 1991 if you also made big plays—and Moon did, throwing 23 touchdown passes.

He had a good corps of receivers, with Haywood Jeffires and Drew Hill each clearing the 1,000-yard mark and Ernest Givins nearing that threshold with 990 receiving yards. The offensive line was led by two more future Hall of Famers, center Bruce Matthews and guard Mike Munchak. They led the way for a running game that was decent, if underused, with Alan Pinkett and Lorenzo White each getting better than four yards a pop.

Houston’s offense ranked fourth in the league in scoring and got the media attention, but the defense wasn’t far behind. A tough front four keyed the sixth-best unit in the NFL. William Fuller and Sean Jones combined for 25 sacks coming off opposite edges. Ray Childress had seven sacks at defensive tackle. Fuller and Childress were both Pro Bowlers and were joined by middle linebacker Al Smith. The secondary had great players in Cris Dishman, one of the game’s top corners and safeties Bubba McDowell and Bo Orlando, each of whom intercepted four passes.

The fan base was hungry for a Super Bowl breakthrough and it was easy to understand why. The necessary pieces were in place. Houston just had to put it together with enough consistency to first win a division title and get decent playoff seeding, and then finally do some damage in January.

A high-profile home game with the Los Angeles Raiders, who had reached the AFC Championship Game in 1990 and would go back to the playoffs in 1991, started the season. For a national audience in the late Sunday afternoon TV window, Houston came out firing. They forced four turnovers and shut down the Raider ground game, while Pinkett rumbled for 144 yards and Givins caught six balls for 90 yards. The result was a 47-17 demolition.

Sunday Night Football in Cincinnati was next and the rivalry with the Bengals was particularly heated at this time, after some bad blood the previous year and the Oilers ultimately losing in the playoffs at Cincy. They took a small measure of revenge here. Pinkett ran for 100-plus again, Moon was 22/37 for 315 yards and Houston pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 30-7 win.

The challenging early schedule continued with a third straight playoff team from 1990, this time the Kansas City Chiefs. And the Oiler defense continued to deliver. They shut down a solid KC running game, held them to 93 passing yards and Moon needed only to play mistake-free football to deliver a 17-7 win.

After these three wins, perhaps a letdown in Foxboro was inevitable. The Patriots of this era were a bottom-feeder, but Houston’s running game was non-existent and they allowed a late touchdown pass that sent them to a 24-20 loss. The Oilers went into their bye week at 3-1.

John Elway’s Denver Broncos came to the Astrodome to start October and the Houston defense met him with five sacks—three from Fuller. They also scored defensive touchdowns when McDowell recovered a fumble in the end zone and Dishman brought another one to the house. The final was 42-14, although the Oilers had not seen the last of these Broncos.

A late afternoon game in the Meadowlands against the playoff-bound Jets saw the running game stumble, but Moon pick up the slack. The great quarterback threw the ball 50 times, completed 35 and generated 423 yards. Jeffires was the prime target, with 13 catches for 186 yards. Houston pulled out a 23-20 win against another team that would see further on down the line. The road trip continued with a visit to Miami and their own great quarterback, Dan Marino. Both Moon and Marino were under steady pressure and it was a sloppy game, with nine combined turnovers. The Oilers survived, 17-13.

Cincinnati was going through a down year and their return trip to Houston meant boom times for the Oilers. Moon got the ball rolling with touchdown passes to Jeffires, Hill and Givins and they never stopped rolling, en route to a 35-3 blowout. Houston was soaring at 7-1 and running neck-and-neck with Buffalo for the top seed in the AFC.

Two tough games with playoff-bound teams from the NFC East were on deck and the toughest was a trip to Washington. The Redskins would ultimately win their third Super Bowl in the last ten years and this was their best unit yet. They were undefeated coming into this November 3 game. Houston forced four turnovers and in a 13-13 game were in position to win it with a 33-yard field goal attempt. Ian Howfield missed. The Oilers lost in overtime. Howfield was cut two days later.

Dallas was a rising force under third-year coach Jimmy Johnson coming into the Astrodome and for the second straight week, Houston went overtime. The Oilers gave up an early special teams touchdown, but made up for it by shutting down Emmitt Smith on the ground. Moon threw for 452 yards, spreading the ball out so exquisitely that no one receiver exceeded 100 yards. This OT period was kinder to the Oilers and they won it 26-23.

A Sunday Night home date with Cleveland was next. The Browns were just starting a rebuilding project under novice first-year head coach Bill Belichick. Houston did not play well, committing four turnovers and the running game continued to be a non-factor. Moon continued to be the biggest factor though—he went 31/44 for 399 yards, this time hooking up with Hill eleven times. It was the difference in the 28-24 win.

With everything in their grasp, Houston suddenly got careless with the football. Moon threw five interceptions in a 26-14 road loss to a bad Pittsburgh team. The Oilers lost five fumbles the next Monday Night at home in a 13-6 loss to a good Philadelphia team. The back-to-back losses realistically removed the Oilers from the race with the Bills for the #1 playoff seed. But they were still tied with AFC West-leading Denver for the #2 seed and first-round bye, and held the tiebreaker thanks to the decisive October beatdown of the Broncos.

Everyone got back on track when the Steelers made their return visit to the Astrodome. Pinkett ran for 98 yards, Hill caught eight passes for 97 yards and the 31-6 rout clinched the franchise’s first division title since 1967.

Houston rematched with Cleveland on a snow-covered field in the Dawg Pound. Fuller came up with two sacks and the Oilers clung to a 17-14 lead with the Browns on the doorstep in the closing seconds. Cleveland opted to try a tying field goal rather than win or lose it on one play from the two-yard line. On the bad terrain, the kick was shanked.

Denver was keeping pace though and with both teams at 11-4, the Oilers still needed to win their season finale on the road against the New York Giants. The Giants were the defending Super Bowl champion, but in the first year after Bill Parcells’ retirement they were struggling badly under overmatched head coach Ray Handley and at 7-8 were out of the playoff picture.

Which makes the result of this early Saturday afternoon game even more difficult to understand. Houston was simply pounded on the ground, giving up nearly 200 yards. They had the ball for only 22 minutes and they lost 24-20. The Oilers had left the door open for the Broncos, who won the following day. Instead of a week off and preparing to stay at home for the divisional playoffs, Houston had to be immediately ready to bounce back.

The Jets had snuck into the playoffs at 8-8 and the Oilers were a decisive nine-point favorite in the wild-card game that would go down on late Sunday afternoon to conclude the first round of the playoffs. When Moon came out firing, leading a touchdown march on the first drive of the game, capped off with a five-yard toss to Givins, it looked like an easy day.

But Houston couldn’t protect Moon consistently, giving up four sacks. They didn’t run the ball and Moon put it up 40 times. He played well, completing 28 for 271 yards and threw a 20-yard touchdown strike to Givins in the second quarter. But the lead was only 14-10 and the offense would not see the end zone again.

Fortunately, the Oiler defense came ready. They intercepted three Ken O’Brien passes, two by McDowell and one inside their own 10-yard line. Holding on to a 17-10 lead in the fourth quarter and with the Jets on the three-yard line, the Oilers stuffed running back Freeman McNeil to preserve the lead. When the offense almost gave it back, by fumbling it away on their own 26, the D delivered one last time. Three times the Jets had the ball in the red zone in the second half. All three times Houston turned them back.

Now it was time to go to Denver. Moon again come out firing on all cylinders. In the first half, he found Jeffires, Hill and Curtis Duncan for touchdown passes. With a 21-6 lead, it looked like Houston would avoid the negative consequences of blowing the 2-seed.

But the postseason history of the Houston Oilers and John Elway couldn’t be more different and that was underscored on this day. The Oilers couldn’t salt the game away on the ground and the lead was chipped down to 24-23. Even with Elway backed up on his own two-yard line with 2:07 to play, the result seemed inevitable. Denver drove for a field goal and Houston’s season was over, 26-24.

It was still a historic year for the 1991 Houston Oilers, marked by that long-sought division title and a playoff win. But the collapse at the end—starting with the no-show performance in the regular season finale to the playoff defeat—left a bad taste.

It was the start of a pattern. Houston had another good year in 1992, but then blew a 35-3 lead at Buffalo in the playoffs. In 1993, the Oilers got the 2-seed and were playing as well as anyone in the NFL down the stretch. They lost at home to Kansas City in the divisional round. These Oilers were good and as exciting to watch as any team in football. But there was something missing in the biggest moments.

1990 Houston Oilers: More Of The Same–For Better And For Worse

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The Houston Oilers decided to change horses in midstream coming into the 1990 season. Even though Jerry Glanville led the franchise to the playoffs each year from 1987-89, postseason disappointments cost him his job. The 1990 Houston Oilers were entrusted to Jack Pardee, who started a four-year run that was—for better and for worse—more of the same.

On the good side, more of the same meant future Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon spreading the field to a variety of good receivers. Moon made another Pro Bowl at age 34. His completion percentage of 62% and his TD-INT ratio of 33/13 were dazzling by the standards of the time. His 8.0 yards-per-attempt was excellent for any era.

Wide receiver Drew Hill was another 34-year-old Pro Bowler and he caught 74 balls for over 1,000 yards. The Oilers had a young dynamic target in Haywood Jeffires, who also caught 74 and cleared the 1K mark in receiving yardage. The balanced passing attack included Ernest Givins (72 catches and a Pro Bowl), along with Curtis Duncan who caught 66 more. Houston routinely put four receivers onto the field at a time when such a strategy was not in vogue.

The Oilers could also do the work in the trenches. They had a Pro Bowler in guard Mike Munchak (a future head coach with the organization after they moved to Tennessee) and 1st-team All-Pro Bruce Matthews, who ended up in the Hall of Fame.

It added up to an offense that was the second-most prolific in the league and they covered for a defense that was average. Houston had a strong defensive line, with William Fuller, Ray Childress and Sean Jones combining for 28 ½ sacks. They had aggressive players in the secondary, with Richard Johnson intercepting eight passes and Cris Dishman picking off four more. But there were also enough breakdowns to keep the Houston D ranked 14th in what was then a 28-team league.

The season did not start well. The Oilers went to Atlanta, where Glanville was now in charge, and he took his revenge in a 47-27 thrashing. Houston then traveled to Pittsburgh, who had eliminated them in the previous year’s wild-card game and lost again, 20-9.

Things started to look upward the next five weeks. Houston got on track with wins over subpar teams in Indianapolis and San Diego. A 24-21 loss to the two-time defending champion San Francisco 49ers was no shame. The Oilers responded by winning the next two home games against eventual playoff teams. They dropped 48 on Cincinnati in a blowout win, then churned out a victory over New Orleans.

But the offense sputtered the next two weeks against weaker competition. The mediocre New York Jets came into the Astrodome, sacked Moon five times and used a fourth quarter defensive touchdown to steal a 17-12 upset.

Houston then went west to face the Los Angeles Rams, who had been a playoff perennial through the 1980s, but were falling apart in 1990. A 40-yard touchdown pass from Moon to Hill got the game off to a good start, but the Rams pounded the Oilers on the ground, took control and won 17-13.

The positive was that no one had taken control of the old AFC Central, a division that then included the Bengals, Steelers and Browns. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh were 5-4. Even going into their bye week at 4-5, the Oilers were squarely in the mix. They also had two games coming up with lowly Cleveland, another recent perennial contender that was beginning a collapse this season. Houston got back to .500 with a win at the Dawg Pound.

That set up a Monday Night showdown with Buffalo at the Astrodome. The Bills were in the middle of a big year, one that would see them make the first of four consecutive Super Bowl trips. Houston trailed 17-13 in the third quarter, but they were playing some of their best defense of the year. The Oilers held multi-talented Buffalo runner, Thurman Thomas, to just 54 yards.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo White was giving Houston a rushing attack. He finished the night with 125 yards. Moon was both efficient and made big plays, going 16/22 for 300 yards. Hill went over 100 yards receiving. The Oilers rallied and won 27-24.

There was a letdown overtime loss at a competitive Seattle team the following week, but the Oilers got well when the Browns came to town, opening up for 58 points. The win moved their record to 7-6 and the AFC Central race was a three-way dead heat.

A difficult road trip to playoff-bound Kansas City awaited on December 16. Moon and Jeffires took over against one of the league’s best defenses. They connected on an 87-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter. Jeffires caught nine passes for 245 yards. Moon finished 27/45 for 527 yards—just 27 yards short of the all-time record. Houston pulled away to win 27-10.

If there’s one thing the Houston Oilers of this era could do well, it’s dash hopes after they had been raised. With a division title in their grasp, they went to Cincinnati and laid an egg in a 40-20 loss. Worse, Moon was injured and would be unavailable for the season finale with Pittsburgh.

Cody Carlson was behind center for a prime-time Sunday Night game that was a de facto playoff matchup. The winner was going to the postseason, the loser was going home. Carlson met his moment—he went 22/29 for 247 yards and three touchdowns. One of them was a 53-yard strike to Jeffires in the second quarter that gave the Oilers a shocking 31-7 lead. They coasted him to a 34-14 win.

The win gave the Bengals the division title, the Oilers a wild-card berth and sent the Steelers home. It also gave Houston a rematch with Cincinnati in the wild-card round. But it did not end well—Moon was still out, Carlson’s magic was gone and another blowout loss went down at old Riverfront Stadium. This time the Oilers lost 41-14.

Pardee would spend three more years producing playoff teams in Houston, all of which were better than this edition. But he also spent three more years producing heartbreak. The 1990 Houston Oilers were part of a seven-year run that was remarkably consistent—for better and for worse.

1988 Houston Oilers: A Playoff Era Continues

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Jerry Glanville & Warren Moon had returned playoff football to the city of Houston in 1987 after a six-year absence. Lest anyone think that was a fluke, a byproduct of the strike-torn year of 1987, the 1988 Houston Oilers validated the franchise’s rise to the status of a contender and returned to the postseason.

GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS
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Moon orchestrated an explosive offense that, even with him missing five games due to injury, still ranked second in the NFL in points scored. Big plays were the key. While Moon’s 54% completion rate was a bit below the league average, he was third in yards-per-attempt at 7.9.

Pro Bowl receiver Drew Hill was the prime target, racking up over 1,100 yards receiving. Ernest Givens wasn’t far behind, catching 60 balls for nearly a thousand yards himself. Both players were shifty at getting open and could stretch the field, each averaging better than fifteen yards a catch.

Houston could also run the ball behind an excellent offensive line. Left guard Mike Munchak, eventually to become the franchise’s head coach after they had moved to Tennessee, was a Pro Bowler. Left tackle Bruce Matthews was 1st-team All-Pro and begin a string of fourteen straight Pro Bowl years in 1988. Mike Rozier ran behind them for a 1,000-yard season and a Pro Bowl trip of his own.

It was the defense that was the Oiler shortcoming. Individually, there were some good players in the front seven. Defensive ends Ray Childress and William Fuller each had 8 ½ sacks and Childress made the Pro Bowl. So did inside linebacker John Grimsley. On the edge, outside linebacker Johnny Meads added eight more sacks. But there were problems in the secondary and Houston ultimately finished 22nd in the league in points allowed.

The Oilers opened the season at Indianapolis. The Colts had reached the playoffs in 1987 and like Houston had exited in the divisional round. That the teams were seen as even was reflected in the fact Indianapolis was a three-point favorite, the customary edge given for homefield.

The plans for the season went immediately awry—Moon broke a bone in his shoulder and was going to the sideline as quickly as the year had begun. Cody Carlson came on to replace him and the game proved to be about running the football. While Indy’s future Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson went for 109 yards, Houston had more balance—100 yards from Rozier and 63 more from Allan Pinkett. They also got a Pick-6 from the defense and ultimately won in overtime, 17-14.

The home opener was against a mediocre Los Angeles Raiders team and the defense struggled early on, giving up 28 first-half points. Carlson’s overall numbers in his five starts weren’t great, but he was good in this game when he needed to be. The Baylor product went 21/34 for 276 yards, finding Givins nine times. Houston rallied and again won by a field goal, this time 38-35.

Carlson looked much more like a backup in Week 3 at the New York Jets. He went 9/25 for 108 yards against an average team. Houston turned the football over four times and were crushed 45-3. They immediately turned it around the next week at home against New England. Carlson found Pinkett out of the backfield twice for long touchdown passes and Pinkett ran in for another score. The final was 31-6.

Houston went to Philadelphia where the building program of third-year head coach Buddy Ryan was bearing fruit and would produce an NFC East title in 1988. The Oilers jumped out to an early 16-0 lead, keyed by a blocked punt recovery for a touchdown by rookie defensive back Cris Dishman. But the Oilers couldn’t run the ball or stop the run on this day and the Eagles turned it around and won 32-23.

The quarterback situation went for troublesome to worse the following week. Carlson was knocked out at home against Kansas City. Brent Pease, who had quarterbacked the Oilers as one of the replacement players during the 1987 strike got on the field again. His 3/14 for 26 yards performance wasn’t exactly inspiring. But there were three pieces of good news—one was that at least Pease ran for a touchdown. The second was that the defense was good enough against a bad opponent to make this stand up in a 7-6 win. Third, and most important was that Moon was ready to come back.

Moon delivered an efficient 11/19 for 174 yards and no mistakes performance in Pittsburgh. Most of the production went to Givins, who caught five balls for 104 yards. The Houston special teams again produced a touchdown and the result was an easy 34-14 win. But the good times stopped in Cincinnati, where the Bengals were having a great year behind MVP quarterback Boomer Esiason. The Oiler D got lit up for four touchdowns in the first quarter and lost 44-21.

The lights of Sunday Night Football—still a novelty in its second year—were on in the Astrodome the next week. The Washington Redskins were the defending Super Bowl champs, but they were having a tough year in 1988—the worst of the Joe Gibbs glory years in fact. Houston held the Redskins to 29 rushing yards, Drew Hill caught nine passes for 148 yards and the Oilers cruised to a 41-17 win.

Another prime-time home game was on deck, this time a Monday Nighter with the Cleveland Browns. The Browns were fresh off back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances in the era where Marty Schottenheimer was their coach. They had also lost their quarterback in Week 1, in this case Bernie Kosar and just got him back a couple weeks earlier.

Both teams were in the mix for the old AFC Central title along with Cincinnati (Pittsburgh was the division’s other team). The Houston rush defense clamped down again for a national audience, holding the Browns to 44 yards on the ground. The Oilers jumped out to a 21-3 lead in the third quarter and held on to win 24-17.

After two stellar performances, the rush defense wavered the following week at playoff-bound Seattle. Even though Houston ran for 237 yards themselves and led 24-17 in the fourth quarter, a big game from big Seahawk back John L. Williams turned the game back around and the Oilers lost 27-24. They went to the desert to play the Cardinals and rediscovered the ability to stop the run, holding a mediocre opponent to 60 rush yards. Moon was clicking with Givins and Hill, who each racked up over 100 receiving yards and Houston coasted to a 38-20 win.

Houston was 8-4, a game back of Cincinnati for Central lead and a game ahead of Cleveland in a wild-card race the Oilers were in firm control of. They traveled to Dallas for a Thanksgiving feast against a bad Cowboy team, one that would get Tom Landry fired at year’s end. After some sluggish play that saw Houston trail 17-10 in the third quarter, they began to take over. Moon threw for 226 yards and nine of his passes were caught by Hill. The Oilers won 25-17.

The season would end with three straight divisional games and the easy one was first, at home against the Steelers who were on their way to a 5-11 campaign. Instead, Houston’s defense made Pittsburgh quarterback Bubby Brister look like Terry Bradshaw. The Oilers turned it over four times and ultimately gave up a late touchdown pass to lose 37-34.

Houston was now two games back of Cincinnati, taking at least a little bit of the steam out of their home game with the Bengals. At least Cincinnati must have thought so, because the Oilers dismantled them in every way possible. Rozier muscled for 126 yards. Moon finished 14/25 for 254 yards and two touchdown passes. The final was 41-6.

Houston’s September win over New England was now decisive. The Patriots joined the Oilers and Browns in a race for the two wild-card spots. Houston was 10-5, with Cleveland and New England at 9-6. The head-to-head win by the Oilers over the Patriots meant Houston had clinched a playoff berth.

They also had hope for the AFC Central title, though Cincinnati would lose a home game to Washington on Saturday afternoon. It almost happened—the Redskins were poised to win it before they shanked an easy field goal on the final play of regulation and enabled the Bengals to win in overtime.

The result meant that Houston took the field in Cleveland hoping only to host the AFC wild-card game and knock out the rival Browns. That’s something, but Cleveland was fighting for its life. The difference showed in the second half—after looking in control with a 23-7 lead against a backup quarterback in Don Strock, the Houston defense fell apart and lost 28-23.

Instead of a playoff game in the comfort of the Astrodome, Houston had to come right back to Cleveland and play on Christmas Eve afternoon. And the Oilers picked up where they had left off in the second half of the regular season finale. Moon threw an early interception that set up a field goal and a quick 3-0 lead for the Browns. After the ensuing kickoff, Houston was pinned inside its own 10-yard line.

This time the Oilers found their footing and they put together a 91-yard drive, chewing up nearly ten minutes of clock. Pinkett caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Moon to finish it off. Houston then recovered a fumble and quickly got another Pinkett touchdown, this one a 16-yard jaunt. Strock was knocked out of the game, the Browns were forced to go to Mike Pagel and everything was going right for Houston.

Until the latter part of the second quarter. With a chance to put the game away early, Moon threw an interception in the end zone. Pagel drove the Browns two different times for field goals before the half and cut the lead to 14-9.

It was a sloppy game, with a combined 22 penalties and a fight between the teams at one point. For Houston, the bigger sloppiness problem was Moon’s carelessness. He threw a third interception, one that set up an easy Cleveland touchdown. The game Houston had threatened to blow open now saw them trailing 16-14.

Once again though, the Oilers showed resilience with a long drive. This one went 76 yards and ended with a short TD run by rookie Lorenzo White. Late in the fourth quarter, the beleaguered secondary delivered. Richard Johnson intercepted a pass that set up a field goal. In the days prior to the two-point conversion, a 24-16 lead was huge. The Browns got a touchdown with 31 seconds left, but the Oilers covered the onside kick and celebrated a 24-23 win.

It marked the second straight year Houston was not only in the playoffs, but advancing to the divisional round. It was also the second straight year that the run ended here, this time in Buffalo.

Houston didn’t play well and trailed 17-3 with five minutes left. After a Rozier touchdown and a defensive stop, it looked like Moon would get a chance to try and pull it out, but a fumble on the punt return ended the season with a 17-10 loss.

The 1988 Houston Oilers season was clearly a success, overcoming the normally fatal combination of a leaky defense and an injury to a Hall of Fame quarterback. It was part of a solid run for the franchise where they would make the playoffs seven consecutive seasons. The lingering disappointment is that the divisional round is as far as they ever got.

1987 Houston Oilers: A New Playoff Era Starts

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The 1980s hadn’t been kind to the Houston Oilers. After a three-year stretch from 1978-80 where they made the playoffs each year and reached two AFC Championship Games, the Oilers fell hard. They hired a colorful new coach in Jerry Glanville for the 1986 season and the result was a 5-11 season. But Glanville and the 1987 Houston Oilers got back into the postseason and started a new era of success for the city of Houston.

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Warren Moon was at quarterback and while he could be erratic—a 50% completion rate that was 24th in the league, and mistake-prone—18 interceptions—he also made big plays. Moon generated 7.6 yards-per-attempt, eighth-best in the NFL. He threw 21 touchdown passes and he orchestrated an attack that was geared to getting the football to the receivers.

The wideouts were a good 1-2 punch of Earnest Givins and Drew Hill. Givins caught 53 balls and his 17.6 yards-per-catch was 12th in the league. Hill had 49 catches and his 20.2 yards a pop was in the top five among receivers.

Nor were the Oilers one-dimensional. Running back Mike Rozier produced 957 yards, fourth-best in the league and the offensive line was anchored by two elite guards. Mike Munchak was 1st-team All-Pro and Bruce Mathews, at age 26, was a future Hall of Famer.

It was enough for Houston’s offense to rank 10th in the NFL in points scored. They carried a defense that had a couple notable players with inside linebacker Al Smith and Pro Bowl strong safety Keith Bostic, but otherwise finished 19th in the league in points allowed.

If the Oilers were striving to be a playoff team then the Los Angeles Rams were a good team to open up with—the Rams had reached the postseason each of the previous four years. Moon threw an early Pick-6 and Houston fell behind 13-zip, but the quarterback turned it around. He threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes, including a 59-yard strike to Givins. Though Moon only completed 21/43 passes, he got 310 yards from those completions and led a 20-16 win.

Moon and the offense had it in gear again in Buffalo a week later, but the Bills had a rising star of their own at quarterback. Even though Houston had leads of 17-6 in the second quarter and 30-20 in the fourth quarter, they eventually succumbed to Jim Kelly and lost 34-30.

Tensions between the NFL Players Association and the owners boiled over after two weeks and the players went out on strike. All Week 3 games were canceled and the owners brought in replacement players. Over the next three weeks, while the labor issues were worked out, the replacements would be on the field.

It proved to be opportune for Houston. Their games on October 4 and 11 were on the road at Denver and Cleveland respectively. Those just happened to be the best two teams in the AFC, both in 1986 and again this year. The Oilers took advantage of the break and won both road games.

Brent Pease was the stand-in quarterback and the University of Montana product went to Denver and delivered a 15/25 for 260 yard performance. The featured running back was Andrew Jackson, who had a mediocre college career at Iowa State, but one glorious day, was a star in the NFL. Jackson ran for 99 yards and the Oilers beat the Broncos 40-10.

The game in Cleveland was more of a defensive battle and Houston was aided by the fact that regular defensive end Charles Martin crossed the picket line and played. Martin recorded two sacks. The running back in this game was Herman Hunter and he rushed for 121 yards in a 15-10 win.

Pease’s tenure as an NFL starter ended the following week at home against New England. He went 21/49 for 250 yards, but threw two interceptions. With more veterans crossing the line, the Patriots had Doug Flutie at quarterback though and the Oilers lost 21-7. Pease had still impressed the coaching staff enough to stay with Houston as a backup for another year, and he had put the regulars in good position when they came back on October 25.

The Oilers hosted the lowly Atlanta Falcons and pounded the ball on the ground, with Rozier gaining 144 yards. They also forced five turnovers. It should have been an easy win, but poor special teams work, especially on kickoff coverage, kept giving the Falcons favorable field position. Houston had to hang on for a 37-33 win.

Special teams worked in Houston’s favor the following week in Cincinnati. Curtis Duncan got consistently good returns, but it looked like it would go for naught when the Oilers were getting shredded by Boomer Esiason and trailed 29-14 in the fourth quarter. Moon turned it around with a rally for 17 unanswered points and a 31-29 win.

Houston traveled to San Francisco, where the 49ers were on their way to the best regular season record in the league. Moon threw three interceptions, the running game didn’t work and the Oilers lost 27-20. They turned it around with a big 23-3 win in Pittsburgh. The game was tied 3-3 at the half when Moon took over. He threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Duncan and a 42-yarder to Hill in the third quarter. Moon finished 16/22 for 239 yards and no interceptions.

After the three-week stretch of road games Houston had a record of 6-3 and were poised to not only make the playoffs, but maybe win a division title and get a high seed. Then the defense completely came apart over the next two weeks.

The Oilers hosted the Browns in a big AFC Central game (a division that included the Steelers & Bengals) and gave up 200 rushing yards while turning it over six times. The final was 40-7. Houston then went to Indianapolis, an eventual playoff team themselves. They again gave up over 200 yards on the ground and turned it over five times. The final in this one was 51-27. The 91 points allowed in two weeks was bad enough—the fact the Oilers trailed at halftime in these games by a combined scored of 44-10 just made it worse.

The AFC playoff race was jam-packed. Houston’s 6-5 record had them a game back of Cleveland in the Central, and they were one of four teams, including division rival Pittsburgh, that were a game out of a wild-card spot.

A home game with San Diego, one of the teams Houston was chasing, was a must-win. Oiler linebacker Robert Lyles made a big play early with a 55-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Johnny Meads got two sacks and the rush defense finally tightened up, holding the Chargers to 43 yards on the ground. Houston got out to a 20-0 lead by the second quarter and coasted home to a 33-18 win.

The Browns had lost, so the AFC Central was a three-way tie and the Oilers were also now in a tie in the wild-card race. Houston had a tough road game up at New Orleans, a team that would finish with the second-best regular record in the NFL. The Oilers fell behind 14-0 and lost 24-10. The Browns & Steelers both won. The Seahawks and Chargers were each 8-5 and in control of the two wild-card spots. Houston, along with Buffalo and Miami, were giving chase at 7-6 with two weeks to go.

Pittsburgh came to the old Astrodome an Houston’s rush defense was again exposed, giving up 176 yards. But they got turnovers, five overall, including two interceptions from free safety Jeff Donaldson. Moon was able to get the ball downfield, especially to Hill, who caught four balls for over 100 yards. A 24-16 win kept the Oilers alive.

Houston was now ahead of Pittsburgh by virtue of their head-to-head sweep. San Diego also lost and slipped to 8-6. With a head-to-head win there, the Oilers were ahead of the Chargers. Houston’s conference record was better than Miami’s, and Buffalo had lost to fall to 7-7.

That’s the long way of saying the Oilers controlled their fate when the Bengals came to Houston for the final game of the season. There was still a chance at the division title, but with Cleveland beating Pittsburgh on Saturday, Houston knew that chance was gone when they took the field against Cincinnati for the finale.

The Bengals were going through a miserable year and came in with a record of 4-10. But this was a still a team with talent, as they would demonstrate one year later when they reached the Super Bowl. And they played with pride in Houston.

The difference was that the Oilers finally got control of the ground game. Rozier ran for 103 yards. Alonzo Highsmith, a rookie who had been the third overall draft pick in the spring, added 61. Moon made big plays, with his 14/25 day producing 280 yards. Hill caught six of those passes for 109 yards. With a 21-17 win, Houston was going to the playoffs for the first time in eight years.

The news would get even better—when Seattle was blown out by Kansas City it moved the Oilers up to the 4-seed and gave them homefield for the wild-card game with the Seahawks.

Houston took the opening kickoff and moved the ball into Seattle territory to start the game when Moon threw an interception. It was returned just past midfield and the Seahawks drove a short field for a 7-0 lead. Moon came back and led another drive, this time getting a field goal out of it.

Rozier and Highsmith were a balanced 1-2 punch in this game, combining for 140 rush yards. Rozier took it in from a yard out to give the Oilers a 10-7 lead. The teams traded field goals and it went to halftime at 13-10.

Seattle was playing without its best running back, Curt Warner, and the Houston defense completely shut down a good #2-back in John Williams. They ultimately won the rushing battle 178-29. After the Seahawks got a third-quarter field goal to tie it, Moon led a drive that ended with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Willie Dewey.

Ahead 20-13, Houston controlled the fourth quarter, but failures in the kicking game kept it close. Tony Zendejas missed one field goal from 52 yards. That was understandable enough, but a miss from 29 yards late in the game gave Seattle new life. And the Oiler defense allowed an 80-yard drive in the final 1:47 that tied it 20-20 and sent the game to overtime.

It would have been a nightmare loss for a franchise that would, in later years suffer their share of heartbreaks (notably 1989 to the Steelers, 1991 to the Broncos and the unthinkable collapse in 1992 to the Bills). But Houston gave Zendejas another chance in OT and the kicker hit from 42 yards to secure the 23-20 win. Moon finished 21/32 for 273 yards, with most of those yards going to Givins and Hill who combined to catch thirteen balls.

The Oilers got a crack at defending AFC champion Denver in the divisional playoffs. Houston was a ten-point underdog and the game went awry from the beginning. They fumbled on their own one-yard line gave the Broncos a quick touchdown. It was 24-3 by halftime and ended 34-10.

It was still a breakthrough year for Houston and the good news was that this started a string of seven straight playoff seasons. The bad news? They never got further than the divisional round. This was both the start of an era and tied for its high point.

The Game-By-Game Narrative Of The 1980 Houston Oilers

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The anticipation was high for the 1980 Houston Oilers. Two years earlier they had drafted running back Earl Campbell and he proved to be the missing piece for a team on the brink of the playoffs. The Oilers made the AFC Championship Game in 1978 before being blown out by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Houston made it back in 1979 and lost a more competitive game to Pittsburgh. 1980 was set to be the Oilers’ time.

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Houston made a big trade in the offseason, swapping quarterbacks with the Oakland Raiders. The Oilers gave up Dan Pastorini in exchange for Ken Stabler. In the mid-1970s, Stabler had lost two straight AFC Championship Games to Pittsburgh before getting over the top against the Steelers in 1976 and winning in the Super Bowl. The Oilers wanted the veteran lefty to bring that same know-how to the rest of the time.

“…we knocked on the door,” head coach Bum Phillips told a rally of Houston fans regarding the 1978 season. “Then we beat on it. Next year, we’re gonna kick (profane slur) in!” The rallying cry for the Oilers was set.

The time to back up the talk would come right away when Houston visited Pittsburgh for a Week 1 game. In our own day, this would be in prime-time, probably a Thursday Night season opener. 1980 was a different time and it was a normal early afternoon kick in old Three Rivers Stadium.

It didn’t start well or finish well for the Oilers. They fell behind 17-0, and Campbell would only carry the ball 13 times. Houston rallied to tie the game 17-17, but Stabler threw five interceptions in what ended up as a 31-17 defeat.

Campbell completed a 57-yard touchdown pass, but perhaps that underscored the problem—if Houston had known that Earl was going to be their best passer, and that he would get as many yards in in the air as he did on the ground, the Oilers would have known this wouldn’t be their day.

Houston had never been a great offensive team in this short period of ascendancy. They were usually fairly average, relying on Campbell to exclusively carry the load. This season didn’t turn it out any different in that regard—Earl’s 1,934 yards won him a third rushing title in three NFL seasons, and left tackle Leon Gray was another 1st-team All-Pro.

But Stabler threw 28 interceptions against only 13 touchdowns and the Oilers still finished 20th in the NFL in points scored. The defense made up for it. Though the only Pro Bowl talent was outside linebacker Robert Brazile and corner Greg Stemrick, the whole was greater than the sum of the parts and Houston ranked 2nd in the league in points allowed.

The Oilers came out of Pittsburgh and had another tough divisional game against the Cleveland Browns, this one on Monday Night Football. The offensive struggles continued for a half and Houston trailed 7-3. But Stabler was staying away from mistakes this time. His high-percentage short-yardage passing produced a 23/28 for 187 yards and Campbell rushed for 106. The Oilers won 16-7.

Campbell only got seven carries in the next week’s home opener against the Baltimore Colts, but Rob Carpenter stepped and gained 114 yards. Stabler was 18/21 for 219 yards, and even with two interceptions, it was enough for a 21-16 win over a mediocre opponent.

The Cincinnati Bengals were the only non-contending team in the old AFC Central, joining Houston, Pittsburgh and Cleveland. But the Oilers had their problems in Cincy, trailing 10-7 in the fourth quarter and even when they rallied, two drives stalled in the red zone. Houston was still able to escape with a couple field goals in a 13-10 win.

A lousy team in the Seattle Seahawks visited Houston next and Campbell only ran for 50 yards, while Stabler threw five interceptions in an embarrassing 26-7 loss. The following week’s trip to Kansas City ended in another loss. Even though Earl got rolling with 178 yards, Stabler had an interception returned for a touchdown and the Oilers lost to a .500 team, 21-20.

Amidst the 3-3 record, the positive was that Campbell was untracked after slow start. He romped for 203 yards in a 20-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And the front office continued to go all-in, making another trade with the Raiders, this one for veteran tight end Dave Casper, a favorite Stabler target.

You could play with anyone at the skill positions when Campbell was in high gear though, and he continued to be at home against the Bengals, racking up a third straight 200-yard game in a 23-3 win. A road trip to Denver saw Earl get the ball 36 times, produce 147 yards and lead the way to a 20-16 win.

The New England Patriots had a high-powered offense and they were coming into the Astrodome for a Monday Night appearance. Houston was ready. Campbell had 130 yards and Stabler played perhaps his best game of the year, going 15/17 for 258 yards a great display of precision and big-play ability. The Oilers jumped out to a 24-6 lead and held off a Patriots rally for a 38-34 win. It was a game that would prove decisive in the push for the AFC playoffs.

After being “held” to 130 yards against the Pats, Campbell apparently felt he had something to prove in Chicago and he again rolled past the 200-yard mark in a tough 10-6 win. Houston was 8-3 and atop the AFC Central, with the Browns and Steelers both giving chase at 7-4. Maybe the Oilers really were going to kick that door in.

Then came an inexplicably bad showing at the New York Jets, a woeful team that won only four games. An early Houston drive ended with a Stabler interception being taken back the other way and Houston trailed 21-0 early. Stabler fought back gamely, and threw four touchdown passes to lead a furious rally to tie the game 28-28, skillfully working his tight end-heavy passing game of Casper, Mike Barber and Rich Caster. Stabler finished with 388 yards, but the Jets stole the game in overtime.

The final day of November saw Cleveland come into Houston for a late Sunday afternoon kickoff. The teams were tied for first, with Pittsburgh, showing their age and struggling a game behind. This game with the Browns, and a rare Thursday Night game five days later with the Steelers, gave Houston a perfect chance to put the division race under firm control.

But turnovers did them in against the Browns, five of them in all. Campbell ran for 109 yards, but Earl simply being good wasn’t enough—he always had to be great—and with the turnovers, the Browns won 17-14. Houston’s defense responded against Pittsburgh. Though the game took “ugly” to new levels, the Oilers picked off Terry Bradshaw three times, Campbell ground out 81 yards on 21 carries and Houston won 6-0.

With a record of 9-5, the Oilers were a game back of the Browns and a game ahead of the Steelers and the Patriots. You could reasonably assume that the AFC West was going to produce two playoff teams, Oakland and the San Diego Chargers, and in the format of 1980, that left one wild-card berth. Houston at least controlled their destiny for that.

And the Oilers locked up the playoff spot the next week in Green Bay. This writer grew up in southeastern Wisconsin and this December 14 game was my first trip to Lambeau Field at the age of ten. I remember Houston controlling the game, Campbell running for a touchdown and a bunch of guys near us passing around a bottle of rum. Houston won 22-3.

They also got a break when Cleveland lost at Minnesota, keeping the division title—and even in the #1 seed in play. The finale was Houston’s turn to play Minnesota. The Oilers trailed 16-13, but it was another vintage performance from Campbell, who ran for 203 yards. Stabler went 19/33 for 239 yards, with Casper being his top target.

Cleveland was taken to the wire in Cincinnati, but the Browns survived and won the division. Houston’s 11-5 record was tied for the best in the AFC—all five playoff teams finished with the same record. It was one game better than the Patriots, who ended up outside the playoff picture—that Monday Night win in November was the difference between Houston and New England. And the Oilers were two games better than the Steelers, who saw their dynasty end.

After all the preseason hype, was there anyone more appropriate for Houston to play in the AFC wild-card game than Oakland? Pastorini had gotten hurt and then lost his job to Jim Plunkett, so Houston wouldn’t face their old friend. They would have been better off if they had.

Campbell fumbled on the game’s first play and set up a quick Oakland field goal. The great running back was held to just 91 yards. Even though Houston trailed just 10-7 going into the fourth quarter, the roof fell in at the end. The Raiders scored ten points and then iced the win when Stabler threw the second of his two interceptions and it ended up returned for a score.

The year of great expectation ended in deep disappointment with the 27-7 loss. The disappointment only got deeper as it became apparent that Houston’s rise to contender status was over. The Oilers never again made the playoffs with this core group.

Campbell’s body wore down prematurely, a victim of both all those carries and the philosophy of defenses to put four helmets on him every time he touched the football. The man who was perhaps the greatest running back of the modern era ended up with debilitating lower body problems that have plagued him going forward. Although we must note that Campbell’s life overall is a success story, as he become a successful businessman and gives back to his alma mater, the University of Texas.

1980 was also a temporary end for the Houston Oilers. They didn’t make the playoffs until Warren Moon came to town in 1987, and this city has never reached the Super Bowl, with either the Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans) or today’s Texans.

The Game-By-Game Narrative Of The 1979 Houston Oilers

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The Houston Oilers reached the AFC Championship Game for the first time in the Super Bowl era in 1978. The Pittsburgh Steelers were all that stood in their way. The 1979 Houston Oilers saw the same ending, but they seemed to be an inching just a little bit closer to the ultimate goal.

GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS
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Houston’s success of this season, along with the previous one, was built around Earl Campbell. The power running back who won the Heisman Trophy at Texas in 1977, had been blazed onto the NFL scene in 1978, and he was even better in his second year. Campbell rushed for nearly 1,700 yards and won the MVP award.

Campbell’s MVP season made him the most notable of a lineup that was top-heavy in terms of its contributors. Left tackle Leon Gray was also a 1st-team All-Pro, as was outside linebacker Robert Brazile.

The only other Pro Bowler was defensive end Elvin Bethea. Although free safety Mike Reinfeldt picked off twelve passes and rookie defensive back Vernon Perry would make an unforgettable mark on the season before it was over

The presence of Campbell made up for a mediocre passing game. Dan Pastorini was up and down at quarterback, throwing for 2,100 yards—acceptable for the era—but also had a TD-INT ratio of 14/18, and there was no real top threat at wideout. Even so, Houston ranked 8th in the NFL in points scored, compared to more mediocre defensive numbers, which saw the Oilers rank 16th in points allowed

Houston opened the season with tough road games, starting with a road trip to a Washington Redskins team that would win ten games, and then going to Pittsburgh. The Oilers fell behind the Redskins 27-13 after three quarters, with Pastorini throwing three interceptions. But Campbell ran for 166 yards, and Houston rallied for a 29-27 win.

When the Oilers played the Steelers in the previous year’s AFC Championship Game, the result had been an ugly 34-5 loss played in the sleet. The weather was better this time but the result wasn’t. Pastorini threw five interceptions, Campbell was held to 38 yards and Houston didn’t score until a meaningless touchdown in the fourth quarter finished a 38-7 rout. The gap between Houston and the dynasty in their division was still substantial.

Gifford Nielsen had stepped in for Pastorini at the end of the debacle, and with the starter injured, Nielsen played Week 3’s home opener against the mediocre Kansas City Chiefs. Nielsen played efficiently, 12/18 for 173 yards and most important, no interceptions. Reinfeldt and J.C. Wilson each picked off two passes of their own, and Campbell churned out 131 yards. The result was a 20-6 win.

A road trip to the horrible Cincinnati Bengals, with Pastorini back in the saddle, couldn’t have started worse. Houston was in a 24-0 hole by the second guard. But then the quarterback started to play well for the first time in 1979. He threw a 35-yard pass to Ken Burrough and a 22-yard strike to Richard Caster. Houston actually led 27-24 before the Bengals tied it on a 55-yard field goal. The Oilers survived the wild game in overtime.

Pastorini took the positive momentum to a home game with the Cleveland Browns. This time he played a clean football game, no mistakes and the Oilers churned out a 31-10 win. The team was rolling at 4-1, but then they dumped a home game with a bad St. Louis Cardinals team. Campbell didn’t produce in this one, while the Cards got 109 yards rushing from Ottis Anderson. Houston led 17-10 in the fourth quarter, but gave up two rushing touchdowns to lose it 24-17.

Another bad opponent, the Baltimore Colts, was up next, this one on the road. Jesse Baker returned a fumble for a touchdown to get the scoring started. Reinfeldt had two interceptions and Campbell got back into gear with 149 yards, keying an easy 28-16 win. But another loss followed, with the Oilers being dominated in all phases of the game in a 34-14 loss at Seattle.

The record was 5-3, and in the second half of the season the Oilers started to roll. Pastorini got into a passing battle with the New York Jets’ Richard Todd, and Pastorini pulled it out 27-24 in overtime. Then came a Monday Night visit to the Miami Dolphins, a return to where Houston won the AFC wild-card game the prior year, and the Dolphins were on their way to an AFC East title this year.

Pastorini only completed 6/10 passes for 25 yards, but Campbell ground out 120 yards, the Oilers won the turnover battle 4-zip and survived a game of all field goals, 9-6. Pastorini again was mistake-free in a home game with the Oakland Raiders. His numbers were 8/13, but they went for 207 yards, including two long strikes to Burrough in a 31-17 win.

The success in the turnover battle continued with the Bengals made their return trip to the Astrodome (Houston was then in the old AFC Central, along with Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Cincinnati). The Oilers forced six, committed none, Campbell churned for 112 and the result was a 42-21 rout.

Now it was time for a Thanksgiving Day trip to Dallas, where the Cowboys were on their way to an 11-win season and the top seed in the NFC playoffs. Campbell put on a big-time show for the national TV audience. After Dallas scored first, Campbell rumbled 61 yards for the tying touchdown. Then he took off on a 27-yard scoring jaunt in the second quarter.

For the game, Campbell  carried 33 times for 195 yards, completely outplaying counterpart Tony Dorsett, a fellow Heisman Trophy winner (1976, Pitt) and star young back, as Dorsett only gained 54 yards. Pastorini threw the winning touchdown pass, a 32-yard pass to Burrough in the fourth quarter, as Houston won 30-24.

Houston was now 10-3. The AFC would end up with several teams stacked at 9-7—the Raiders, Browns, Seahawks and New England Patriots, while the Jets ended up at 8-8. But with three weeks to play, Houston’s race was pretty simple. They were in good shape to at least make the playoffs, with two-wild card qualifiers and only the Denver Broncos within one game. And the Oilers were tied with the Steelers for first in the AFC Central.

A trip to Cleveland though, resulted in a tough loss that ended the win streak. Campbell and Browns’ counterpart Mike Pruitt each ran for over 100 yards, but Cleveland got the fourth-quarter touchdown to win 14-7. The Broncos, who had lost, were each within one game of Houston, and now it was time for a Monday Night battle in the Astrodome with the Steelers.

Campbell, having been stymied in the last two meetings with Pittsburgh, finally got rolling against the Steel Curtain He ran for 109 yards and this time Pastorini stayed away from mistakes. He went 10/16 for 170 yards and outplayed Terry Bradshaw, who struggled to 14/29 for 237 yards, and two interceptions. The Oilers led 20-17 and covered an onside kick with 1:10 left to secure the win.

Houston had clinched a playoff berth and still had a shot at the division, sharing an 11-4 record with Pittsburgh, though losing the tiebreaker. The Oilers’ finale was a late Sunday afternoon game with a fellow playoff-bound team, the Philadelphia Eagles.

By the time the game began, Pittsburgh had beaten Buffalo to clinch first place. Houston lost 26-20, and then found out their wild-card opponent the next night when Denver lost a head-to-head battle with the San Diego Chargers for the AFC West title on Monday Night Football.

The Oilers were still hosting a playoff game for the first time in the Super Bowl era on December 23. They opened as a solid (-7) favorite over the Broncos. Campbell ran for a touchdown in the second quarter to give them a 10-7 lead, but then the worst possible scenario went down—the big running back went down. Then Pastorini also left the game with an injury.

It was up to the defense to take over and that’s exactly what happened. Houston registered five sacks, two by nose tackle Curley Culp and three more by defensive end Andy Dorris. Gregg Bingham intercepted a pass that set up a field goal with less than five minutes left and Houston survived 13-7.

The bad news was that Campbell, Pastorini, along with Burrough were ruled out of the following Saturday’s trip to San Diego. The Chargers were the AFC’s top seed. Their high-powered passing attack was led by quarterback Dan Fouts and orchestrated by offensive coordinator Joe Gibbs, who would eventually accomplish some pretty big things as a head coach.

When San Diego marched for a touchdown on their first possession, it seemed like the game everyone expected. Then Houston scratched back in. Vernon Perry blocked a field goal, returned it 57 yards and set up a field goal. With 19 seconds left in the first half, the Oilers faced fourth-and-goal inside the 1-yard line. Head coach Bum Phillips decided to go for it. Without Campbell, the play went to the outside and running back Boobie Clark won the race to the goal line.

Houston led 10-7, and Perry had intercepted two passes. They fell behind 14-10, but then Gifford Nielsen threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Mike Renfro to get the lead. But a 17-14 lead couldn’t be enough to hold off Fouts, could it? Perry intercepted a third pass…then a fourth. The unlikely hero delivered a stunning upset.

Afterwards, defensive coordinator Ed Biles confirmed that the Oilers had the drop on San Diego’s signals, and usually knew when they were going to pass. In case you’re curious, the answer is no—a young Bill Belichick was not on the staff and not employing an early version of Spygate.

Houston was going back to the AFC Championship Game and again going back to Pittsburgh. Pastorini and Campbell were both cleared to play.

They played much more competitively this time, trailing 17-10 early in the fourth quarter and driving for the tying touchdown. Pastorini appeared to complete the game-tying pass to Mike Renfro in the back of the end zone. Officials conferred and ruled Renfro was out of bounds. It was extremely close, but I think the wrong call was made.

In any case, the Steel Curtain again locked down Campbell, and the Oilers only had 24 rush yards as a team and Pittsburgh took over the remainder of the game, winning 27-13.

The season still concluded with a lot of optimism. Houston appeared to be gradually pushing towards a Super Bowl. But, as it turned out, the 1979 Houston Oilers were the high point of the franchise, at least until they moved to Tennessee and became the Titans. The Oilers lost the wild-card game the following year. Campbell started to wear down after too many hits. The city of Houston has never again experienced the AFC Championship Game.

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.

The Playoff Teams Of The 1980 NFL Season

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Read the story of the 1980 NFL season as told from the perspective of the 11 most consequential teams. Each section consists of a discussion of each team’s key players and then a game-by-game narrative of their drive through the season.

No wild-card team had ever won the Super Bowl prior to the 1980 NFL season, and three years earlier the league had made it even more difficult. They expanded the playoffs to five teams per conference, but with a three-divisional alignment similar to what major league baseball uses today, the wild-cards would now have to win an extra game for the first time. In spite of these obstacles, the Oakland Raiders pulled it off and went the distance.

This blog compilation contains the complete game-by-game narratives of every notable team in the 1980 NFL season, starting with…

*The Raiders and Houston Oilers pull off a big quarterbacks swap of Ken Stabler-for-Dan Pastorini, but it ends up being Jim Plunkett who makes the biggest mark of them all.

See how Oakland began to come together around the 1980 season’s midway point and how Houston seemed close to fulfilling their dream of a Super Bowl run behind powerful back Earl Campbell, but first lost tiebreakers and then lost a wild-card playoff game…ironically in Oakland.

*In the NFC East, the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys were both at the top of the NFL and jousted all season for the top. See the strange way the Eagles “beat” the Cowboys in the season’s final week. It proved to be a historic year for both franchises—Philadelphia made its first Super Bowl trip and Dallas began the post-Roger Staubach era.

*The Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns each had magical years, and both were in positions to win playoff games at home, against the more tradition-laden Cowboys and Raiders respectively. Each had their hearts ripped out. Read how their rises to prominence came about before the fall.

*The San Diego Chargers continued to be the league’s most exciting offense with Dan Fouts at quarterback, and went all-in to try and win in 1980. Read how they survived Oakland in the AFC West during the season before losing to the Raiders in the playoffs.

*The Buffalo Bills stepped up and won the AFC East. Read how an excellent head coach in Chuck Knox guided a team through the season even though they didn’t have the best talent.

*The Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams, two powers of the 1970s, would fade briefly in this decade, but still had enough in the tank to reach the playoffs. Read how the Vikings crawled to the finish line in a weak NFC Central, aided by a miracle pass, and the Rams played their way into the postseason a year after making a Super Bowl run.

*And how can we forget the Pittsburgh Steelers? They didn’t make the playoffs, but this was the two-time defending Super Bowl champion, with four titles in the previous six years. “One For The Thumb” was the rallying cry. You’ll read how they came up short, as well as the moments at the early and mid-points when it seemed like they were still in position to make a championship run.

Each of these articles is published individually on TheSportsNotebook.com and editing has been done to eliminate obvious redundancies. Taken together, these eleven articles tell the story of the 1980 NFL season through the eyes of its most consequential teams. Download it from Amazon today.