1992 Houston Oilers season
| 1992 Houston Oilers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Jack Pardee |
| General manager | Mike Holovak |
| Owner | Bud Adams |
| Home field | Astrodome |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–6 |
| Division place | 2nd AFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Bills) 41–38 (OT) |
The 1992 Houston Oilers season was the team's 33rd season and their 23rd in the National 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 that to seven straight playoff appearances the next season.)
Offseason
NFL Draft
| 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 | Defensive back | 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 | |||||
Personnel
Staff
| 1992 Houston Oilers staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 6, 1992 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 29–24 | |
| 2 | September 13, 1992 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 20–10 | |
| 3 | September 20, 1992 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 23–20 | |
| 4 | September 27, 1992 | San Diego Chargers | W 27–0 | |
| 5 | Bye | |||
| 6 | October 11, 1992 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 38–24 | |
| 7 | October 18, 1992 | at Denver Broncos | L 27–21 | |
| 8 | October 25, 1992 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 26–10 | |
| 9 | November 1, 1992 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 21–20 | |
| 10 | November 8, 1992 | Cleveland Browns | L 24–14 | |
| 11 | November 15, 1992 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 17–13 | |
| 12 | November 22, 1992 | at Miami Dolphins | L 19–16 | |
| 13 | November 26, 1992 | at Detroit Lions | W 24–21 | |
| 14 | December 7, 1992 | Chicago Bears | W 24–7 | |
| 15 | December 13, 1992 | Green Bay Packers | L 16–14 | |
| 16 | December 20, 1992 | at Cleveland Browns | W 17–14 | |
| 17 | December 27, 1992 | Buffalo Bills | W 27–3 | |
Standings
| AFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (1) Pittsburgh Steelers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 5–1 | 10–2 | 299 | 225 | W1 |
| (5) Houston Oilers | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 352 | 258 | W2 |
| Cleveland Browns | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 5–7 | 272 | 275 | L3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 4–8 | 274 | 364 | L1 |
Playoffs
AFC Wildcard
The Oilers held a 35–3 lead on the Buffalo Bills. Bills backup quarterback Frank Reich led the Bills on a 38–3 run in the second half and overtime against the Oilers defense en route to a 41–38 overtime victory. The game is the largest comeback in NFL history, regular or postseason. 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,"[3]
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."[4]
Scoring summary
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 7 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 38 |
| Bills | 3 | 0 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 41 |
- HOU – Jeffires 3-yard pass from Moon (Del Greco kick) 7–0 HOU
- BUF – FG Christie 36-yards 7–3 HOU
- HOU – Slaughter 7-yard pass from Moon (Del Greco kick) 14–3 HOU
- HOU – Duncan 26-yard pass from Moon (Del Greco kick) 21–3 HOU
- HOU – Jeffires 27-yard pass from Moon (Del Greco kick) 28–3 HOU
- HOU – McDowell 58-yard interception return (Del Greco kick) 35–3 HOU
- BUF – K. Davis 1-yard run (Christie kick) 35–10 HOU
- BUF – Beebe 38-yard pass from Reich (Christie kick) 35–17 HOU
- BUF – Reed 26-yard pass from Reich (Christie kick) 35–24 HOU
- BUF – Reed 18-yard pass from Reich (Christie kick) 35–31 HOU
- BUF – Reed 17-yard pass from Reich (Christie kick) 38–35 BUF
- HOU – FG Del Greco 26-yards 38–38 tie
- BUF – FG Christie 32-yards 41–38 BUF
Awards and records
- Haywood Jeffires, Pro Bowl Selection
- Haywood Jeffires, All Pro Selection
- Warren Moon, AFC Passing Leader (Passer Rating 89.3)[5]
- Warren Moon, Pro Bowl Selection
- Lorenzo White, Pro Bowl Selection
References
- ↑ "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, "WE CHOKED'/Oilers squander 32-point lead in historic 41–38 loss to Bills"|Houston Chronicle, January 4, 1993|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