| 1991 Houston Oilers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bud Adams |
| General manager | Mike Holovak |
| Head coach | Jack Pardee |
| Home field | Houston Astrodome |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–5 |
| Division place | 1st AFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Jets) 17–10 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Broncos) 24–26 |
| Uniform | |
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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.
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Main article: 1991 NFL draft |
| 1991 Houston Oilers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 28 | Mike Dumas | Defensive back | Indiana | |
| 2 | 38 | Darryll Lewis * | Defensive back | Arizona | |
| 2 | 44 | John Flannery | Guard | Syracuse | |
| 3 | 71 | Steve Jackson | Defensive back | Purdue | |
| 3 | 79 | Kevin Donnalley | Guard | North Carolina | |
| 4 | 101 | David Rocker | Defensive tackle | Auburn | |
| 4 | 102 | Marcus Robertson * | Defensive back | Iowa State | |
| 5 | 129 | Gary Wellman | Wide receiver | USC | |
| 7 | 183 | Kyle Freeman | Linebacker | Angelo State | |
| 8 | 214 | Gary Brown | Running back | Penn State | |
| 9 | 240 | Shawn Jefferson | Wide receiver | Central Florida | |
| 10 | 267 | Curtis Moore | Linebacker | Kansas | |
| 11 | 294 | James Smith | Defensive back | Richmond | |
| 12 | 325 | Alex Johnson | Wide receiver | Miami (FL) | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
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Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 3 | at San Diego Chargers | L 29–31 | 0–1 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 43,042 |
| 2 | August 9 | Atlanta Falcons | L 7–36 | 0–2 | Astrodome | 52,140 |
| 3 | August 18 | Dallas Cowboys | W 30–20 | 1–2 | Astrodome | 53,314 |
| 4 | August 22 | vs. Los Angeles Rams | W 16–13 | 2–2 | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | 63,200 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 1 | Los Angeles Raiders | W 47–17 | 1–0 | Astrodome | 61,367 | |
| 2 | September 8 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 30–7 | 2–0 | Riverfront Stadium | 56,463 | |
| 3 | September 16 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 17–7 | 3–0 | Astrodome | 61,058 | |
| 4 | September 22 | at New England Patriots | L 20–24 | 3–1 | Foxboro Stadium | 30,702 | |
| 5 | Bye | ||||||
| 6 | October 6 | Denver Broncos | W 42–14 | 4–1 | Astrodome | 59,145 | |
| 7 | October 13 | at New York Jets | W 23–20 | 5–1 | Giants Stadium | 70,758 | |
| 8 | October 20 | at Miami Dolphins | W 17–13 | 6–1 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 60,705 | |
| 9 | October 27 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 35–3 | 7–1 | Astrodome | 58,634 | |
| 10 | November 3 | at Washington Redskins | L 13–16 (OT) | 7–2 | RFK Stadium | 55,096 | |
| 11 | November 10 | Dallas Cowboys | W 26–23 (OT) | 8–2 | Astrodome | 63,001 | |
| 12 | November 17 | Cleveland Browns | W 28–24 | 9–2 | Astrodome | 58,155 | |
| 13 | November 24 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 14–26 | 9–3 | Three Rivers Stadium | 45,795 | |
| 14 | December 2 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 6–13 | 9–4 | Astrodome | 61,141 | |
| 15 | December 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 31–6 | 10–4 | Astrodome | 59,225 | |
| 16 | December 15 | at Cleveland Browns | W 17–14 | 11–4 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 55,680 | |
| 17 | December 21 | at New York Giants | L 20–24 | 11–5 | Giants Stadium | 63,421 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raiders | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| Oilers | 6 | 10 | 21 | 10 | 47 |
| Game information | ||
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See also: 1991 Philadelphia Eagles season |
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 13 |
| Oilers | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
at Astrodome • Houston, Texas
| Game information | ||
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| Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| AFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (3) Houston Oilers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 5–1 | 10–2 | 386 | 251 | L1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–2 | 7–5 | 292 | 344 | W2 |
| Cleveland Browns | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 2–4 | 6–6 | 293 | 298 | L3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 1–5 | 2–10 | 263 | 435 | W1 |
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jets | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Oilers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
After leading 14–10 at halftime, the Oilers stopped the Jets twice inside the 5-yard line in the second half to preserve the victory. Houston quarterback Warren Moon threw two touchdowns in the first half, both to Ernest Givins for 5 and 20 yards. This would be the team's last playoff win while playing in Houston and would not win another playoff game until the Music City Miracle during the 1999 playoffs, their third season in Tennessee and their first season as the Titans.
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 14 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
| Broncos | 6 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 26 |
at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
Trailing 24–23 with 2:07 left in the game, quarterback John Elway led the Broncos from their own 2-yard line to the winning 28-yard field goal with 16 seconds remaining. On the drive, he converted on two fourth downs. On fourth down and 6 from the Denver 28, he rushed for 7 yards. Then on fourth down and 10, he completed a 44-yard pass to wide receiver Vance Johnson.
The Oilers jumped to a 14–0 lead with quarterback Warren Moon's two touchdown passes to wide receivers Haywood Jeffires and Drew Hill for 15 and 9 yards, respectively. Elway then completed a 10-yard touchdown to Johnson, but kicker David Treadwell missed the extra point. Moon responded by throwing a 6-yard touchdown to wide receiver Curtis Duncan to give Houston a 21–6 lead, but Denver running back Greg Lewis scored a 1-yard touchdown before halftime. In the second half, the Oilers were limited to only a 25-yard field goal by kicker Al Del Greco, which gave Houston a 24–16 lead in the fourth quarter. The Broncos then marched 80 yards to score on Lewis' 1-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 24–23.
Elway's comeback is now known solely as The Drive II.
