1989 Houston Oilers season

Last updated

1989 Houston Oilers season
Owner Bud Adams
General manager Mike Holovak
Head coach Jerry Glanville
Home field Houston Astrodome
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd AFC Central
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Steelers) 23–26 (OT)
Uniform
Houston oilers uniforms.png

The 1989 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 30th season and their 20th in the National Football League (NFL). The franchise scored 365 points while the defense gave up 412 points. Their record of 9 wins and 7 losses resulted in a second-place finish in the AFC Central Division. The Oilers appeared once on Monday Night Football and appeared in the playoffs for the third consecutive year. It would be Jerry Glanville’s final year as the Oilers coach. Despite making the playoffs, the Oilers, like their arch rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, had a negative point differential, making them the first teams since the 1984 Giants with this distinction.

Contents

Offseason

NFL draft

1989 Houston Oilers draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
123 David Williams   Offensive tackle Florida
      Made roster  

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1989 Houston Oilers staff
Front office
  • Owner/Chairman of the Board/President – Bud Adams
  • Executive Vice President/General Manager – Mike Holovak

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Rehabilitation – Steve Watterson

Roster

1989 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

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 10at Minnesota Vikings L 7–380–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 54,015
2September 17at San Diego Chargers W 34–271–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 42,013
3September 24 Buffalo Bills L 41–47 (OT)1–2 Astrodome 57,278
4October 1 Miami Dolphins W 39–72–2Astrodome53,326
5October 8at New England Patriots L 13–232–3 Sullivan Stadium 59,828
6October 15at Chicago Bears W 33–283–3 Soldier Field 64,383
7October 22 Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–04–3Astrodome59,091
8October 29at Cleveland Browns L 17–284–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,765
9November 5 Detroit Lions W 35–315–4Astrodome48,056
10November 13 Cincinnati Bengals W 26–246–4Astrodome60,694
11November 19 Los Angeles Raiders W 23–77–4Astrodome59,198
12November 26at Kansas City Chiefs L 0–347–5Astrodome51,342
13December 3at Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–168–5 Three Rivers Stadium 40,541
14December 10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 20–179–5Astrodome54,532
15December 17at Cincinnati Bengals L 7–619–6 Riverfront Stadium 47,510
16December 23 Cleveland Browns L 20–249–7Astrodome58,852

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Playoffs

WeekDateOpponentResultAttendance
WildcardDecember 31, 1989 Pittsburgh Steelers L 26–23
58,406

Standings

AFC Central
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Cleveland Browns (2)961.5943–36–5–1334254W2
Houston Oilers (4)970.5633–36–6365412L2
Pittsburgh Steelers (5)970.5631–56–6265326W3
Cincinnati Bengals 880.5005–16–6404285L1

Game summaries

Week 3

Buffalo Bills (1-1) at Houston Oilers (1-1)
1234OTTotal
Bills1010714647
Oilers731417041

[2]

Playoffs

AFC Wildcard Game

Pittsburgh Steelers 26, Houston Oilers 23 (OT)
Period1234OTTotal
Steelers73310326
Oilers06314023

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Steelers defensive back Rod Woodson recovered a fumble to set up Gary Anderson's winning 51-yard field goal in overtime to give Pittsburgh the win. The Steelers scored first with running back Tim Worley's 1-yard rushing touchdown. But from that point on until the fourth quarter, the two teams exchanged 6 field goals. In the final period, Oilers quarterback Warren Moon, who finished the game with 315 passing yards, threw two touchdowns to wide receiver Ernest Givins, an 18-yarder and a 9-yarder. However, Pittsburgh running back Merrill Hoge tied the game on a 2-yard rushing touchdown with 46 seconds left in regulation.

Hoge finished the game with 100 rushing yards on just 17 carries, along with 3 receptions for 26 yards.

Awards and records

Milestones

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 Houston Oilers season</span> NFL team season

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1979 Houston Oilers season</span> NFL team season

The 1979 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 20th overall and the tenth in the National Football League. The franchise scored 362 points while the defense gave up 331 points. Their record of 11 wins and 5 losses resulted in a second-place finish in the AFC Central Division. The Oilers appeared once on Monday Night Football on December 10, 1979 where the sports promotion Luv ya Blue was launched and returned to the AFC Championship Game for the second consecutive year. Earl Campbell would lead the NFL in rushing for the second consecutive year and set a franchise record for most touchdowns in a season with 19. The Oilers would make the playoffs again as a wild card. In the wild card game, they beat the Denver Broncos 13-7, and then defeated the San Diego Chargers 17-14 in San Diego to reach their second straight AFC Championship game. They played the Pittsburgh Steelers, who a year earlier had eliminated them 34-5 in the previous AFC Championship game. The Oilers lost the game 27-13. The game included a controversial moment in which wide receiver Mike Renfro had a touchdown called back after the referees of the game took a long time to decide the ruling on the field. The call went down as one of the most controversial calls in NFL history.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 Houston Oilers season</span> NFL team season

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 Houston Oilers season</span> NFL team season

The 1990 Houston Oilers season was the 31st season and their 21st in the National Football League (NFL). The Oilers scored 405 points which ranked second in the AFC and second overall in the NFL. Their defense gave up 307 points. During the season, the Oilers appeared once on Monday Night Football and defeated the Buffalo Bills. On December 16, 1990, Warren Moon threw for 527 yards in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Moon was part of the Oilers "Run and shoot" era. The run and shoot offense also incorporated teammates Ernest Givens, Drew Hill, Haywood Jeffires and Curtis Duncan. The 1990 season saw the Oilers appear in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. They finished tied for first in the AFC Central with the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers, as all three teams finished with identical 9–7 records. The Bengals would be awarded the division title by having a better division record than Houston or Pittsburgh. The Oilers would win the tiebreaker over the Steelers by having a better division record than them. The Oilers finished the season 9–7 and clinched a wild card spot. However, they would have to play their playoff game without Moon, who dislocated his thumb two weeks before the season ended when he hit his thumb on the helmet of defender James Francis. Cody Carlson was tapped to start in what became his only career playoff start. In the wild card game, they were embarrassed by the Bengals 41–14, ending Houston's season in a flash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 Houston Oilers season</span> 32nd season in franchise history

The 1991 Houston Oilers season was the 32nd season and their 22nd in the National Football League (NFL). Haywood Jeffires would become the second Oiler to have 100 receptions in a season. The first Oiler to accomplish the feat was Charley Hennigan in 1964. Jeffires would be the fifth receiver in NFL history to have a 100 reception season. The Oilers scored 386 points and gave up 251 points. The franchise earned its first division title since the AFL-NFL merger, having last won a division title in the 1967 American Football League season. The franchise finished the season with 11 wins compared to 5 losses and appeared twice on Monday Night Football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 Houston Oilers season</span> 33rd season in franchise history

The 1992 Houston Oilers season was the team's 33rd season and their 23rd in the National Football League (NFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 Houston Oilers season</span> 34th season in franchise history, filled with turmoil

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The 1989 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 30th overall season as a football team and the 20th in the National Football League. The Bills finished in first place in the AFC East and finished the National Football League's 1989 season with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses. Although Buffalo won the division and qualified for the postseason, their record was a drop off from their 12–4 mark in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 Cincinnati Bengals season</span> NFL team season

The 2005 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 36th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 38th overall, and the third under head coach Marvin Lewis. It was the team's first season with a winning record, playoff berth, and division title since 1990. In the fourteen seasons and 224 games in between (1991–2004), the Bengals' record was 71–153, a 0.317 winning percentage. It would be the Bengals' lone playoff appearance in a span of 18 years (1991–2008). Quarterback Carson Palmer got off to a strong start on his way to a solid 3836-yard season with 32 touchdown passes, earning a trip to the Pro Bowl. Receiving many of Palmer's passes was Chad Johnson, who followed teammate Palmer to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, racking up an impressive 1,432 yards in receiving with nine touchdowns, many of which were followed by unique celebrations that made him a regular star on the sports highlight shows.

References

  1. "1989 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  2. . Retrieved 2021-Jun-05.