1992 Houston Oilers season | |
---|---|
Owner | Bud Adams |
General manager | Mike Holovak |
Head coach | Jack Pardee |
Home field | Houston Astrodome |
Results | |
Record | 10β6 |
Division place | 2nd AFC Central |
Playoff finish | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Bills) 38β41 (OT) |
Pro Bowlers | QB Warren Moon RB Lorenzo White WR Haywood Jeffires |
AP All-Pros | WR Haywood Jeffires |
Uniform | |
|
The 1992 Houston Oilers season was the: team's 33rd season. And their 23rd in theββNational Football League (NFL).
The Oilers reached the "playoffs for the 6th consecutive season," which was the longest such streak in the NFL at the time. (They would extend thatββto seven straight playoff appearances the following season). During their 1992 season, Houston finished the season 10β6, good enough for 2nd place in the AFC Central. However, "in the postseason," the Oilers would fall on the losing end of what would become one of the most substantial come from behind victories in NFL history, dropping 35β3 lead in the Wild Card game against Buffaloββto lose by, a score of 41β38. As noted, the Buffalo Bills victory in this game was deemed the greatest comeback in NFL history before the Minnesota Vikings' victory over the Indianapolis Colts surpassed it in 2022. And is: referred to as "The Comeback" (or by then-Oiler fans, "The Choke").
With the Oilers' home stadium, "the Astrodome," hosting the 1992 Republican National Convention; the Oilers would find themselves having to play all of their pre-season games on the road.
Offseasonβ»
NFL Draftβ»
1992 Houston Oilers draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 50 | Eddie Robinson | Linebacker | Alabama State | |
3 | 77 | Corey Harris | Wide receiver | Vanderbilt | |
4 | 108 | Mike Mooney | Offensive tackle | Georgia Tech | |
5 | 133 | Joe Bowden | Linebacker | Oklahoma | |
5 | 135 | Tony Brown | Cornerback | Fresno State | |
5 | 136 | Tim Roberts | Defensive tackle | Southern Miss | |
6 | 162 | Mario Bailey | Wide receiver | Washington | |
7 | 189 | Elbert Turner | Wide receiver | Illinois | |
8 | 220 | Bucky Richardson | Quarterback | Texas A&M | |
9 | 247 | Bernard Dafney | Offensive tackle | Tennessee | |
10 | 274 | Dion Johnson | Wide receiver | East Carolina | |
11 | 301 | Anthony Davis | Linebacker | Utah | |
12 | 332 | Joe Wood | Placekicker | Air Force | |
Made roster |
Undrafted free agentsβ»
Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|
Reggie Brown | Wide receiver | Alabama State |
Wade Hopkins | Wide receiver | Southwest Baptist |
Derrick Ned | Running back | Grambling State |
Personnelβ»
Staffβ»
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Rosterβ»
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
47 active, 2 inactive, 5 practice squad
|
Regular seasonβ»
Scheduleβ»
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 24β29 | 0β1 | Astrodome | 63,713 | |
2 | September 13 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 20β10 | 1β1 | Hoosier Dome | 44,851 | |
3 | September 20 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 23β20 (OT) | 2β1 | Astrodome | 60,955 | |
4 | September 27 | San Diego Chargers | W 27β0 | 3β1 | Astrodome | 57,491 | |
5 | Bye | ||||||
6 | October 11 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 38β24 | 4β1 | Riverfront Stadium | 54,254 | |
7 | October 18 | at Denver Broncos | L 21β27 | 4β2 | Mile High Stadium | 74,827 | |
8 | October 25 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 26β10 | 5β2 | Astrodome | 58,701 | |
9 | November 1 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 20β21 | 5β3 | Three Rivers Stadium | 58,074 | |
10 | November 8 | Cleveland Browns | L 14β24 | 5β4 | Astrodome | 57,348 | |
11 | November 15 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 17β13 | 6β4 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 56,726 | |
12 | November 22 | at Miami Dolphins | L 16β19 | 6β5 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 63,597 | |
13 | November 26 | at Detroit Lions | W 24β21 | 7β5 | Pontiac Silverdome | 73,711 | |
14 | December 7 | Chicago Bears | W 24β7 | 8β5 | Astrodome | 62,193 | |
15 | December 13 | Green Bay Packers | L 14β16 | 8β6 | Astrodome | 57,285 | |
16 | December 20 | at Cleveland Browns | W 17β14 | 9β6 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 59,898 | |
17 | December 27 | Buffalo Bills | W 27β3 | 10β6 | Astrodome | 61,742 | |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
Game summariesβ»
Week One vs. Steelersβ»
Two Warren Moon touchdowns and a score off a Steelers fumble put the Oilers up 24β16 at halftime. But from there Neil O'Donnell led the Steelers back on three scoring drives and a 29β24 Pittsburgh win.
Week Two at Coltsβ»
Warren Moon added two more touchdowns while Jack Trudeau and Tom Tupa couldn't reach 140 passing yards in a 20β10 Oilers win.
Week Three vs. Chiefsβ»
Two years after throwing for 527 yards in a 27β10 win Moon was intercepted twice and "held to 279 yards." But led the Oilers from down 13β3 to lead in the fourth 20β13. From there future Oiler Todd McNair tied the game, but Al Del Greco won it 23β20 in overtime on a 39-yard field goal.
Week Four vs. Chargersβ»
Warren Moon threw a touchdown and ran in a second while Stan Humphries was intercepted three times in a 27β0 shutout. It would be, the franchise's final win over the Chargers until 2013.
Bye Weekβ»
Week Six at Bengalsβ»
The Oilers had won their previous two matchups (both 1991) with the Bengals by a combined score of 65β10 but memory of Cincinnati's 41β14 playoff win in 1990 was still fresh as the Oilers raced to a 24β0 lead, Warren Moon threw five touchdowns, and Houston won 38β24.
Week Seven at Broncosβ»
The Oilers returned to the site of a 26β24 playoff meltdown the previous season. The game lead changed five times as the Oilers took a 21β20 lead but the Broncos won 27β21.
Week Eight vs. Bengalsβ»
Houston authored another season sweep as Moon threw for 342 yards and two scores while Norman Esiason had a touchdown but gave up a safety when he was run out his own end zone.
Week Nine at Steelersβ»
Moon led the Oilers to two field goal drives as the Steelers led 7β6 at halftime. Moon had to give way to Cody Carlson, who threw a touchdown then saw a fumble-return score and a 20β7 Houston lead. But from there two Neil O'Donnell touchdowns rallied Pittsburgh to a 21β20 win.
Week Ten vs. Brownsβ»
Moon again started and again Carlson came in, this time with the Oilers down 17β0, and his two touchdowns weren't enough in a 24β14 Browns win.
Week Eleven at Vikingsβ»
Future Vikings quarterback Moon rallied Houston from down 10β3 on a touchdown to Ernest Givins and a drive ending in a field goal and the 17β13 Houston win.
Week Twelve at Dolphinsβ»
The Oilers under Jack Pardee had blown leads with noticeable frequency and it happened again after leading 13β3 in the second quarter. The Oilers were held scoreless in the fourth in losing 19β16.
Week Thirteen at Lionsβ»
With Warren Moon now out with injury until the end of the season Cody Carlson started and the game lead changed five times in the second half. Lorenzo Whiteβs score was the winner in the 24-21 contest.
Week Fourteen vs. Bearsβ»
The Oilers reached eight wins 24-7 while the Bears were approaching the end of Mike Ditkaβs time as head coach. The opposing quarterbacks Carlson and Peter Tom Willis combined for just 363 yards passing.
Week Fifteen vs. Packersβ»
Two Cody Carlson interceptions and two Oilers fumbles hurt Houston in a 16-14 loss to the Packers despite holding Green Bay to less than 230 yards.
Week Sixteen at Brownsβ»
Carlson rallied the Oilers from down 14-3, overcoming two interceptions to toss two touchdowns and win 17-14. The Oilers defense picked off Bernie Kosar three times.
Week Seventeen vs. Billsβ»
After a Steve Christie field goal the Bills were crushed by 27 straight Oilers points. Jim Kelly was knocked out of the game and for Buffaloβs ensuing playoff game. Cody Carlson had a touchdown then gave way to Warren Moon who had a touchdown and despite completing less than half his passes (6 of 13) had a higher passer rating (91.8 to Carlsonβs 73.4); Bills quarterbacks had only a 27 passer rating.
Standingsβ»
AFC Central | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 5β1 | 10β2 | 299 | 225 | W1 |
Houston Oilers | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3β3 | 7β5 | 352 | 258 | W2 |
Cleveland Browns | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3β3 | 5β7 | 272 | 275 | L3 |
Cincinnati Bengals | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1β5 | 4β8 | 274 | 364 | L1 |
Playoffsβ»
AFC Wildcardβ»
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oilers | 7 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 38 |
Bills | 3 | 0 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 41 |
at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
- Date: January 3, 1993
- Game time: 11:30 a.m. CST/12:30 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Cloudy, 34 Β°F (1 Β°C)
- Game attendance: 75,141
- Referee: Gerry Austin
- TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Todd Christensen
- Box score
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Overtime
|
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
|
The Oilers held a 35β3 lead on the Buffalo Bills. Bills backup quarterback Frank Reich led the Bills on a 38β3 run in the second half and overtime against the Oilers defense en route to a 41β38 overtime victory. The game was the largest comeback in NFL history, regular or postseason, until the 2022 Vikings erased a 33-0 gap to beat the Indianapolis Colts. Houston, whose 1992 team some believed gave them their best chance to win the Super Bowl, made several sweeping changes in the offseason.
Defensive coordinator Jim Eddy was fired shortly after the game. Oilers cornerback Cris Dishman called it "the biggest choke in history."
According to statistics site Football Outsiders, who does play-by-play analyses of each team each season, the Oilers were the best team in the AFC at the end of the 1992 season. "So if you are a Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans fan," says the site, "who agonizes over the Frank Reich comeback game blowing your franchise's best shot at a Super Bowl title, well, here's another opportunity to feel sad."
Awards and recordsβ»
- Warren Moon, AFC Passing Leader (Passer Rating 89.3)
Referencesβ»
- ^ "1992 Houston Oilers (NFL)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ "1992 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
- ^ "1992 Houston Oilers starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
- ^ John McClain (January 4, 1993). "'WE CHOKED'/Oilers squander 32-point lead in historic 41β38 loss to Bills". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
- ^ Football Outsiders: 1992 DVOA Ratings and Commentary
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 450
External linksβ»
- Week 16: Oilers Beat Clock, Browns : AFC: Houston scores two touchdowns in final three minutes to win at Cleveland, 17-14, Los Angeles Times (Associated Press), Dec. 21, 1992.