| 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 | |
 | |
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]
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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 | |||||
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Wade Hopkins | Wide receiver | Southwest Baptist |
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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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| Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
47 active, 2 inactive, 5 practice squad
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| 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. | |||||||
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.
Warren Moon added two more touchdowns while Jack Trudeau and Tom Tupa couldn't reach 140 passing yards in a 20–10 Oilers win.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
| 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 |
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Main article: The Comeback (American football) |
| 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
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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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]
