Colonel William A. Phillips

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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

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

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Richard Smith

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Rehabilitation – Steve Watterson

Roster

1992 Houston Oilers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends


Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad

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.

Bye Week

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
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

AFC Wildcard Playoffs: Houston Oilers at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Oilers 7 21 73038
Bills 3 0 287341

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

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

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