1991 Houston Oilers season

1991 Houston Oilers season
OwnerBud Adams
General managerMike Holovak
Head coachJack Pardee
Offensive coordinatorKevin Gilbride
Defensive coordinatorJim Eddy
Home stadiumHouston Astrodome
Results
Record11–5
Division place1st AFC Central
PlayoffsWon Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Jets) 17–10
Lost Divisional Playoffs
(at Broncos) 24–26
Uniform

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.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1991 NFL draft
1991 Houston Oilers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 28 Mike Dumas  Safety Indiana
2 38 Darryll Lewis *  Cornerback Arizona
2 44 John Flannery  Guard Syracuse
3 71 Steve Jackson  Cornerback Purdue
3 79 Kevin Donnalley  Guard North Carolina
4 101 David Rocker  Defensive tackle Auburn
4 102 Marcus Robertson *  Safety 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  Safety Richmond
12 325 Alex Johnson  Wide receiver Miami (FL)
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Undrafted free agents

1991 undrafted free agents of note
Player Position College
Gary Hollingsworth Quarterback Alabama
Jon Reed Wide receiver Western Carolina
Ron Viaene Defensive Tackle Minnesota Duluth

Personnel

Staff

1991 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

1991 Houston Oilers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)


Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Practice squad

Reserve

47 active, 3 inactive, 2 practice squad
Rookies in italics

[2]

Preseason

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

[3]

Regular season

Schedule

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.

Games summaries

Week 1 vs Raiders

Week One: Los Angeles Raiders (0–0) at Houston Oilers (0–0)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 7 3717
Oilers 6 10 211047

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

  • Date: September 1
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)
  • Game attendance: 61,367
  • Box Score, Box Score
Game information

Week 14

See also: 1991 Philadelphia Eagles season
Philadelphia Eagles (7–5) at Houston Oilers (9–3)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 0 10313
Oilers 0 3 306

at Astrodome • Houston, Texas

Game information

Standings

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

Playoffs

AFC Wild Card

Houston Oilers 17, New York Jets 10
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Jets 0 10 0010
Oilers 7 7 0317

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

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.

AFC Divisional Playoff

Denver Broncos 26, Houston Oilers 24
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Oilers 14 7 0324
Broncos 6 7 31026

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.

Awards and records

  • Haywood Jeffires – Houston Oilers record, most receptions in one game, (13)
  • Haywood Jeffires, All Pro selection
  • Haywood Jeffires, Pro Bowl selection
  • Warren Moon, Pro Bowl selection
  • Warren Moon, Houston Oilers record, most passing yards in a season (4,690)
  • Warren Moon, NFL leader, most passing yards in a season (4,690)

Milestones

  • Haywood Jeffires – 1st 100 reception season [4]
  • Haywood Jeffires – 2nd 1,000 yard receiving season (1,181 yards)
  • Warren Moon, 2nd 4,000 yard passing season (4,690)
  • Warren Moon, 3rd 400 yard passing game (423 vs. New York Jets)
  • Warren Moon, 4th 400 yard passing game (432 vs. Dallas Cowboys)

References

  1. ^ "1991 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  2. ^ "1991 Houston Oilers starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  3. ^ "1991 Houston Oilers (NFL)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  4. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440
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