1975 Houston Oilers season

Last updated

1975 Houston Oilers season
Owner Bud Adams
General manager Bum Phillips
Head coach Bum Phillips
Home field Houston Astrodome
Results
Record10–4
Division place3rd AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers WR Ken Burrough
QB Dan Pastorini
DT Curley Culp
DE Elvin Bethea
RS Billy "White Shoes" Johnson
AP All-Pros DT Curley Culp (1st team)
RS Billy "White Shoes" Johnson (1st team)
DE Elvin Bethea (2nd team)

The 1975 Houston Oilers season was the team's 16th year and sixth in the National Football League.

Contents

In Bum Phillips' first season as Coach, the Oilers played competitive football, posting their first winning season in eight years with a 10–4 record. All four losses were to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, who beat out the Oilers for the Division Title and Wild Card spot, respectively; the Oilers did not make the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. During week 13, the Oilers defeated the Oakland Raiders, who posted an 11–3 record and advanced to the AFC Championship game. During the season, the Oilers also defeated Washington and Miami, each team with a winning record.

It was a three-win improvement over their previous season and the franchise's best record since 1962.

Offseason

NFL draft

1975 Houston Oilers draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
16 Robert Brazile  *   Linebacker Jackson State
115 Don Hardeman   Running back Texas A&I
240 Emmett Edwards   Wide receiver Kansas
6146Jesse O‘Neill  Defensive end Grambling State
7162Mike Biehle  Offensive tackle Miami (OH)
7171 Mark Cotney   Safety Cameron
8196Jerry Lawrence  Defensive tackle South Dakota State
9221 Bob Bruer   Tight end Mankato State
10246 Alan Pringle   Kicker Rice
11271 John Sawyer   Tight end Southern Mississippi
12302 Willie Miller   Wide receiver Colorado State
13327Ricky Scales  Wide receiver Virginia Tech
14352Jody Medford  Guard Rice
15377 Jack Holmes   Running back Texas Southern
16402Ken Lambert  Defensive back Virginia Tech
17427Ricky Seeker  Center Texas A&M
      Made roster        Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Roster

Houston Oilers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Practice squad

rookies in italics

Regular season

The team achieved a winning record with ten wins and four losses, but finished only third in the division and missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 21at New England Patriots W 7–01–0 Schaefer Stadium 51,934
2September 28 San Diego Chargers W 33–172–0 Astrodome 33,765
3October 5 Cincinnati Bengals L 19–212–1Astrodome42,412
4October 12at Cleveland Browns W 40–103–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 46,531
5October 19 Washington Redskins W 13–104–1Astrodome49,566
6October 26 Detroit Lions W 24–85–1Astrodome46,904
7November 2at Kansas City Chiefs W 17–136–1 Arrowhead Stadium 62,989
8November 9at Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–246–2 Three Rivers Stadium 49,460
9November 16 Miami Dolphins W 20–197–2Astrodome48,892
10November 24 Pittsburgh Steelers L 9–327–3Astrodome49,947
11November 30at Cincinnati Bengals L 19–237–4 Riverfront Stadium 46,128
12December 7at San Francisco 49ers W 27–138–4 Candlestick Park 44,015
13December 14at Oakland Raiders W 27–269–4 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 50,719
14December 21 Cleveland Browns W 21–1010–4Astrodome43,770
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC Central
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Pittsburgh Steelers (1)1220.8576–010–1373162L1
Cincinnati Bengals (4)1130.7863–38–3340246W1
Houston Oilers 1040.7142–47–4293226W3
Cleveland Browns 3110.2141–52–8218372L1

Milestones

When they defeated the Redskins in Week 5, the Oilers became the last NFL team to finally win a game against the NFC, since the AFL/NFL merge happened in 1970.

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References

  1. "1975 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2014.