1992 Houston Oilers season

1992 Houston Oilers season
Owner	Bud Adams
General manager	Mike Holovak
Head coach	Jack Pardee
Home field	Houston Astrodome
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	2nd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Bills) 38–41 (OT)
Pro Bowlers	QB Warren Moon RB Lorenzo White WR Haywood Jeffires
AP All-Pros	WR Haywood Jeffires
Uniform
←  1991 Oilers seasons 1993  →

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 following season). During their 1992 season, Houston finished the season 10–6, 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 a 35–3 lead in the Wild Card game against Buffalo to lose by a score of 41–38. 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. ^[1]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1992 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	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

^[2]

Undrafted free agents

1992 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Wade Hopkins	Wide receiver	Southwest Baptist

Personnel

Staff

1992 Houston Oilers staff

Front office Owner/Chairman of the Board/President – Bud Adams Executive Vice President/General Manager – Mike Holovak Assistant General Manager – Floyd Reese Head coaches Head Coach – Jack Pardee Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Kevin Gilbride Running Backs – Frank Novak Receivers – Chris Palmer Offensive Line – Bob Young Assistant Offensive Line – Richard Smith

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Jim Eddy Defensive Line – Jim Stanley Linebackers – Frank Bush Defensive Backs – Pat Thomas Quality Control – Gregg Williams Special teams coaches Special Teams – Richard Smith Strength and conditioning Strength and Rehabilitation – Steve Watterson

Roster

1992 Houston Oilers roster

	Quarterbacks 14 Cody Carlson  6 Mike Elkins  1 Warren Moon  7 Bucky Richardson Running backs 33 Gary Brown 32 Spencer Tillman KR 44 Lorenzo White Wide receivers 87 Pat Coleman KR/PR 80 Curtis Duncan 81 Ernest Givins 83 Leonard Harris 84 Haywood Jeffires 86 Damon Mays 89 Webster Slaughter PR 88 Gary Wellman Tight ends		Offensive linemen 66 Doug Dawson G 77 Kevin Donnalley T 55 John Flannery C 78 Don Maggs T 74 Bruce Matthews C 63 Mike Munchak G 64 Erik Norgard C 73 David Williams T Defensive linemen 76 Jeff Alm DT 79 Ray Childress DT 95 William Fuller DE 96 Sean Jones DE 94 Glenn Montgomery DT 68 Tim Roberts DT 97 Lee Williams DE		Linebackers 59 Joe Bowden OLB 93 Rick Graf OLB 56 Scott Kozak OLB 50 Eddie Robinson OLB 53 Eugene Seale MLB 54 Al Smith MLB Defensive backs 22 Tony Brown CB 28 Cris Dishman CB 38 Mike Dumas FS 21 Jerry Gray CB 24 Steve Jackson CB 29 Darryll Lewis CB 25 Bubba McDowell SS 26 Bo Orlando FS 31 Marcus Robertson FS Special teams  3 Al Del Greco K  9 Greg Montgomery P		Reserve lists 57 Lamar Lathon LB (IR Tooltip Injured reserve) 99 Doug Smith DT (IR Tooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 82 Mario Bailey WR 17 Reggie Brown WR 19 Joe Campbell WR 67 Mike Gisler C 78 LeRoy Truitt G 47 active, 2 inactive, 5 practice squad Rookies in italics

^[3]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 6	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 24–29	0–1	Astrodome	63,713
2	September 13	at Indianapolis Colts	W 20–10	1–1	Hoosier Dome	44,851
3	September 20	Kansas City Chiefs	W 23–20 (OT)	2–1	Astrodome	60,955
4	September 27	San Diego Chargers	W 27–0	3–1	Astrodome	57,491
5	Bye
6	October 11	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 38–24	4–1	Riverfront Stadium	54,254
7	October 18	at Denver Broncos	L 21–27	4–2	Mile High Stadium	74,827
8	October 25	Cincinnati Bengals	W 26–10	5–2	Astrodome	58,701
9	November 1	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 20–21	5–3	Three Rivers Stadium	58,074
10	November 8	Cleveland Browns	L 14–24	5–4	Astrodome	57,348
11	November 15	at Minnesota Vikings	W 17–13	6–4	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	56,726
12	November 22	at Miami Dolphins	L 16–19	6–5	Joe Robbie Stadium	63,597
13	November 26	at Detroit Lions	W 24–21	7–5	Pontiac Silverdome	73,711
14	December 7	Chicago Bears	W 24–7	8–5	Astrodome	62,193
15	December 13	Green Bay Packers	L 14–16	8–6	Astrodome	57,285
16	December 20	at Cleveland Browns	W 17–14	9–6	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	59,898
17	December 27	Buffalo Bills	W 27–3	10–6	Astrodome	61,742
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week One vs. Steelers

Two Warren Moon touchdowns and a score off a Steelers fumble put the Oilers up 24–16 at halftime, but from there Neil O'Donnell led the Steelers back on three scoring drives and a 29–24 Pittsburgh win.

Week Two at Colts

Warren Moon added two more touchdowns while Jack Trudeau and Tom Tupa couldn't reach 140 passing yards in a 20–10 Oilers win.

Week Three vs. Chiefs

Two years after throwing for 527 yards in a 27–10 win Moon was intercepted twice and held to 279 yards but led the Oilers from down 13–3 to lead in the fourth 20–13. From there future Oiler Todd McNair tied the game, but Al Del Greco won it 23–20 in overtime on a 39-yard field goal.

Week Four vs. Chargers

Warren Moon threw a touchdown and ran in a second while Stan Humphries was intercepted three times in a 27–0 shutout. It would be the franchise's final win over the Chargers until 2013.

Week Six at Bengals

The Oilers had won their previous two matchups (both 1991) with the Bengals by a combined score of 65–10 but memory of Cincinnati's 41–14 playoff win in 1990 was still fresh as the Oilers raced to a 24–0 lead, Warren Moon threw five touchdowns, and Houston won 38–24.

Week Seven at Broncos

The Oilers returned to the site of a 26–24 playoff meltdown the previous season. The game lead changed five times as the Oilers took a 21–20 lead but the Broncos won 27–21.

Week Eight vs. Bengals

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 Steelers

Moon led the Oilers to two field goal drives as the Steelers led 7–6 at halftime. Moon had to give way to Cody Carlson, who threw a touchdown then saw a fumble-return score and a 20–7 Houston lead. But from there two Neil O'Donnell touchdowns rallied Pittsburgh to a 21–20 win.

Week Ten vs. Browns

Moon again started and again Carlson came in, this time with the Oilers down 17–0, and his two touchdowns weren't enough in a 24–14 Browns win.

Week Eleven at Vikings

Future Vikings quarterback Moon rallied Houston from down 10–3 on a touchdown to Ernest Givins and a drive ending in a field goal and the 17–13 Houston win.

Week Twelve at Dolphins

The Oilers under Jack Pardee had blown leads with noticeable frequency and it happened again after leading 13–3 in the second quarter. The Oilers were held scoreless in the fourth in losing 19–16.

Week Thirteen at Lions

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 White’s score was the winner in the 24-21 contest.

Week Fourteen vs. Bears

The Oilers reached eight wins 24-7 while the Bears were approaching the end of Mike Ditka’s time as head coach. The opposing quarterbacks Carlson and Peter Tom Willis combined for just 363 yards passing.

Week Fifteen vs. Packers

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 Browns

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. Bills

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 Buffalo’s 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 Carlson’s 73.4); Bills quarterbacks had only a 27 passer rating.

Standings

AFC Central
view talk edit	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

Main article: The Comeback (American football)

AFC Wildcard Playoffs: Houston Oilers at Buffalo Bills – Game summary

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 °F (1 °C)
• Game attendance: 75,141
• Referee: Gerry Austin
• TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Todd Christensen
• Box score

Game information

First quarter HOU – Haywood Jeffires 3-yard pass from Warren Moon (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 7–0. BUF – Steve Christie 36-yard field goal. Oilers 7–3. Second quarter HOU – Webster Slaughter 7-yard pass from Warren Moon (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 14–3. HOU – Curtis Duncan 26-yard pass from Warren Moon (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 21–3. HOU – Haywood Jeffires 27-yard pass from Warren Moon (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 28–3. Third quarter HOU – Bubba McDowell 58-yard interception return (Al Del Greco kick). Oilers 35–3. BUF – Kenneth Davis 1-yard run (Steve Christie kick). Oilers 35–10. BUF – Don Beebe 38-yard pass from Frank Reich (Steve Christie kick). Oilers 35–17. BUF – Andre Reed 26-yard pass from Frank Reich (Steve Christie kick). Oilers 35–24. BUF – Andre Reed 18-yard pass from Frank Reich (Steve Christie kick). Oilers 35–31. Fourth quarter BUF – Andre Reed 17-yard pass from Frank Reich (Steve Christie kick). Bills 38–35. HOU – Al Del Greco 26-yard field goal. Tied 38–38. Overtime BUF – Steve Christie 32-yard field goal. Bills 41–38. Top passers HOU – Warren Moon – 36/50, 371 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT BUF – Frank Reich – 21/34, 289 yards, 4 TD, INT Top rushers HOU – Lorenzo White – 19 rushes, 75 yards BUF – Kenneth Davis – 13 rushes, 68 yards, TD Top receivers HOU – Ernest Givens – 9 receptions, 117 yards BUF – Andre Reed – 8 receptions, 136 yards, 3 TD

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 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." ^[4]

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." ^[5]

Awards and records

• Warren Moon, AFC Passing Leader (Passer Rating 89.3) ^[6]

References

1. "1992 Houston Oilers (NFL)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
2. "1992 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
3. "1992 Houston Oilers starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
4. John McClain (January 4, 1993). "'WE CHOKED'/Oilers squander 32-point lead in historic 41–38 loss to Bills". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved January 8, 2012.
5. Football Outsiders: 1992 DVOA Ratings and Commentary
6. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 450

External links

• 1992 Houston Oilers at Pro-Football-Reference.com

• 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.