1992 Houston Oilers

1992 Houston Oilers season
Owner	Bud Adams
Head Coach	Jack Pardee
Home Field	Astrodome
Results
Record	10–6
Place	2nd AFC Central
Playoff Finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Bills) 38–41 (OT)
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1991	1993

The 1992 Houston Oilers season was the team's 33rd season, and their 23rd in the 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 next season.) During their 1992 season, Houston finished the season 10–6, good enough for 2nd place in the FC 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 the Buffalo Bills only to lose by a score of 41–38. As noted at the time, the Buffalo Bills victory in this game is deemed the greatest comeback in NFL history (regular or postseason) and is referred to as "The Comeback" (or by then-Oiler fans, "The Choke").

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	Defensive back	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

Personnel

Staff

1992 Houston Oilers final 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

Final roster

1991 Houston Oilers roster
	Quarterbacks 14 Cody Carlson  6 Mike Elkins  1 Warren Moon Running backs 33 Gary Brown 30 Victor Jones 20 Allen Pinkett KR 44 Lorenzo White Wide receivers 87 Pat Coleman PR 80 Curtis Duncan 81 Ernest Givins 83 Leonard Harris 85 Drew Hill 84 Haywood Jeffires 86 Alex Johnson 82 Tony Jones 89 Frank Miotke Tight ends Vacant		Offensive linemen 66 Doug Dawson G 77 Kevin Donnalley G 55 John Flannery G 78 Don Maggs T 74 Bruce Matthews C 63 Mike Munchak G 70 Dean Steinkuhler T 73 David Williams T Defensive linemen 76 Jeff Alm DT 79 Ray Childress DT 95 William Fuller DE 90 Ezra Johnson DE 96 Sean Jones DE 94 Glenn Montgomery DT 99 Doug Smith DT 97 Lee Williams DE		Linebackers 51 Eric Fairs MLB 93 Rick Graf OLB 56 Scott Kozak OLB 57 Lamar Lathon OLB 91 Johnny Meads OLB 53 Eugene Seale MLB 54 Al Smith MLB Defensive backs 22 Herbie Anderson CB 28 Cris Dishman CB 38 Mike Dumas FS 24 Steve Jackson CB 23 Richard Johnson CB 29 Darryll Lewis CB 25 Bubba McDowell SS 26 Bo Orlando FS 31 Marcus Robertson FS Special teams  3 Al Del Greco K  6 Ian Howfield K  7 Kent Sullivan P		Reserve lists  9 Greg Montgomery P (IR) 72 Willis Peguese DE (IR) Practice/Taxi Squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 6, 1992	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 29–24	63,713
2	September 13, 1992	at Indianapolis Colts	W 20–10	44,851
3	September 20, 1992	Kansas City Chiefs	W 23–20	60,955
4	September 27, 1992	San Diego Chargers	W 27–0	57,491
5	Bye week
6	October 11, 1992	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 38–24	54,254
7	October 18, 1992	at Denver Broncos	L 27–21	74,827
8	October 25, 1992	Cincinnati Bengals	W 26–10	58,701
9	November 1, 1992	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 21–20	58,074
10	November 8, 1992	Cleveland Browns	L 24–14	57,348
11	November 15, 1992	at Minnesota Vikings	W 17–13	56,726
12	November 22, 1992	at Miami Dolphins	L 19–16	63,597
13	November 26, 1992	at Detroit Lions	W 24–21	73,711
14	December 7, 1992	Chicago Bears	W 24–7	62,193
15	December 13, 1992	Green Bay Packers	L 16–14	57,285
16	December 20, 1992	at Cleveland Browns	W 17–14	59,898
17	December 27, 1992	Buffalo Bills	W 27–3	61,742

Standings

AFC Central standings
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Pittsburgh Steelers	11	5	0	.688	299	225
Houston Oilers	10	6	0	.625	352	258
Cleveland Browns	7	9	0	.438	272	275
Cincinnati Bengals	5	11	0	.313	274	364

Playoffs

AFC Wildcard

• Main article: The Comeback

The Oilers held a 35-3 lead on the Buffalo Bills. Bills backup quarterback Frank Reich led the Bills on a 35–3 run in the second half and overtime against the Oilers defense en route to a 41–38 overtime victory. The game is the largest comeback in NFL history, regular or postseason. 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 Chris Dishman called it "the biggest choke in history,"

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."

Scoring summary

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Oilers	7	21	7	3		{{{RTotal}}}
Bills	3	0	28	7		{{{HTotal}}}

• HOU – Jeffires 3-yard pass from Moon (Del Greco kick) 7–0 HOU
• BUF – FG Christie 36-yards 7–3 HOU
• HOU – Slaughter 7-yard pass from Moon (Del Greco kick) 14–3 HOU
• HOU – Duncan 26-yard pass from Moon (Del Greco kick) 21–3 HOU
• HOU – Jeffires 27-yard pass from Moon (Del Greco kick) 28–3 HOU
• HOU – McDowell 58-yard interception return (Del Greco kick) 35–3 HOU
• BUF – K. Davis 1-yard run (Christie kick) 35–10 HOU
• BUF – Beebe 38-yard pass from Reich (Christie kick) 35–17 HOU
• BUF – Reed 26-yard pass from Reich (Christie kick) 35–24 HOU
• BUF – Reed 18-yard pass from Reich (Christie kick) 35–31 HOU
• BUF – Reed 17-yard pass from Reich (Christie kick) 38–35 BUF
• HOU – FG Del Greco 26-yards 38–38 tie
• BUF – FG Christie 32-yards 41–38 BUF

Awards and records

• Haywood Jeffires, Pro Bowl Selection
• Haywood Jeffires, All Pro Selection
• Warren Moon, AFC Passing Leader (Passer Rating 89.3)
• Warren Moon, Pro Bowl Selection
• Lorenzo White, Pro Bowl Selection

External links

• 1992 Houston Oilers season article at Wikipedia
• 1992 Houston Oilers at Pro Football Reference
• 1992 Houston Oilers at jt-sw.com