1978 Houston Oilers season
| 1978 Houston Oilers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bud Adams |
| Head coach | Bum Phillips |
| General manager | Bum Phillips |
| Home field | Houston Astrodome |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–6 |
| Division place | 2nd AFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Dolphins) 17–9 Won Divisional Playoffs (at Patriots) 31–14 Lost AFC Championship (at Steelers) 5–34 |
The 1978 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 19th overall and the 9th in the National Football League (NFL). Led by Rookie RB Earl Campbell, who won both the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Offensive Player of the Year, who rushed for 1,450 yards, the Oilers made the playoffs with a 10-6 record, qualifying in the newly created 5th Wild Card spot. The franchise scored 283 points while the defense gave up 298 points. Their record of 10 wins and 6 losses resulted in a second-place finish in the AFC Central Division. In the playoffs, the Oilers would stun the Miami Dolphins, 17-9, in the two teams first playoff meeting, then defeated the New England Patriots 31-14 in New England to advance to their first ever AFC Championship game, but in that game, they would score a mere 5 points in a 34-5 blowout loss to the eventual champion Steelers.
Season summary[]
The Oilers appeared twice on Monday Night Football. In their first appearance on Monday Night Football, the Oilers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 24–17. In their second appearance, the Oilers defeated the Miami Dolphins 35–30. The Oilers number one draft pick, Earl Campbell, a 5–11, 232-pound ball-carrying dynamo from the University of Texas, joined the Houston Oilers as the first player taken in the 1978 National Football League Draft. The first player to earn All-Southwest Conference honors four years, Campbell was a consensus All-America and the Heisman Trophy winner in 1977. Campbell took the NFL by storm right from the very start. In 1978, he was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player, All-Pro, and Rookie of the Year. He won the league rushing championship with 1,450 yards and was named to the AFC Pro Bowl squad. Possibly the highlight of the Oilers' fantastic season was the contest against the Miami Dolphins, in which Campbell racked up 199 yards, 81 of them coming on a TD run in the fourth quarter.[1]
Offseason[]
NFL draft[]
| 1978 Houston Oilers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Earl Campbell * † | Running back | Texas | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Personnel[]
Roster[]
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
Practice squad
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Regular season[]
On November 20, 1978, the Oilers took on the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football. In order to boost team spirit, the Oilers gave each fan a blue and white pom-pon before the game. The sight of over 70,000 fans waving the pom-pons inspired the Oilers to a 35–30 victory, behind Campbell's 199 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. This would be the start of Luv Ya Blue.
Schedule[]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 14–20 | 0–1 | Fulton County Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | September 10 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 20–17 | 1–1 | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | September 17 | San Francisco 49ers | W 20–19 | 2–1 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 4 | September 24 | Los Angeles Rams | L 6–10 | 2–2 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 5 | October 1 | at Cleveland Browns | W 16–13 | 3–2 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | October 8 | at Oakland Raiders | L 17–21 | 3–3 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | Recap |
| 7 | October 15 | Buffalo Bills | W 17–10 | 4–3 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 8 | October 23 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 24–17 | 5–3 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap |
| 9 | October 29 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 13–28 | 5–4 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap |
| 10 | November 5 | Cleveland Browns | W 14–10 | 6–4 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 11 | November 12 | at New England Patriots | W 26 –23 | 7–4 | Schaefer Stadium | Recap |
| 12 | November 20 | Miami Dolphins | W 35– 30 | 8–4 | Astrodome | recap |
| 13 | November 26 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 17 –10 | 9–4 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 14 | December 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 3–13 | 9–5 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 15 | December 10 | at New Orleans Saints | W 17–12 | 10–5 | Louisiana Superdome | Recap |
| 16 | December 17 | San Diego Chargers | L 24–45 | 10–6 | Astrodome | Recap |
Standings[]
| AFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers(1) | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 5–1 | 11–1 | 356 | 195 | W5 |
| Houston Oilers(5) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 283 | 298 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 1–5 | 4–8 | 334 | 356 | L1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–4 | 2–10 | 252 | 284 | W3 |
Game summaries[]
Week 3 vs SF 49ers[]
- Television Network: CBS
- Announcers: Lindsey Nelson and Paul Hornung
In an early test to see how good the Oilers are the Oilers took a 10-6 halftime lead on Earl Campbell's 4-yard touchdown run and a Toni Fritsch's 38-yard field goal while the 49ers countered with kicks of 26 and 19 yards by Ray Wersching. The Oilers extend their lead late in the third quarter with a nearly perfect 13-yard touchdown pass from Dan Pastorini to Ken Burrough, who out-reached cornerback in the end zone. But Steve DeBerg who had 321 yards passing this day came back with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Solomon before the third period and then with 7:51 left in the game completed a 78-yard drive that ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Paul Seal. It took a determined 80-yard drive that ended with a clutch 19-yard field goal by Fritsch with 1:16 left to give the Oilers the lead, but the 49ers had one more chance and doing it without O.J. Simpson but Wersching's 46-yard field goal sailed wide left as the Oilers got an important win.
Week 12[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphins | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 30 |
| Oilers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
at Astrodome • Houston, Texas
- Date: November 20
- Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Indoors (dome)
- Referee: Gene Barth
- TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Don Meredith, and Howard Cosell
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Playoffs[]
AFC Wild Card[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| Dolphins | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
- Date: December 24, 1978
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 70,036
- Referee: Dick Jorgensen
- TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Len Dawson
Quarterback Dan Pastorini led the Oilers to an upset victory by passing for 306 yards.
AFC Divisional Playoff[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 0 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 31 |
| Patriots | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
at Schaefer Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
- Date: December 31, 1978
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 60,881
- Referee: Gordon McCarter
- TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson
Quarterback Dan Pastorini led the Oilers to a victory by throwing for 200 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Earl Campbell rushed for 118 yards and a score.
AFC Championship Game[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Steelers | 14 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 34 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Date: January 7, 1979
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 27 °F (−3 °C), freezing rain
- Game attendance: 49,417
- Referee: Jim Tunney
- TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy, John Brodie, and Merlin Olsen
On a wet, slick, and slippery field, the Steelers dominated the Oilers by forcing 9 turnovers and only allowing 5 points.
Awards and records[]
- Earl Campbell, NFL Rushing Leader, (1,450)
- Earl Campbell, All-Pro selection
- Earl Campbell, NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
- Earl Campbell, PFWA NFL MVP
- Earl Campbell, NEA NFL MVP
- Earl Campbell, NFL Offensive Player of the Year
- Earl Campbell, UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year
- Earl Campbell, Pro Bowl selection 1978
Milestones[]
- Earl Campbell, 1st 1,000 yard rushing season
- Earl Campbell, 1st NFL rushing title
References[]
- ^ Earl Campbell HTML at Pro Football Hall of Fame website
- ^ "1978 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
- ^ "1978 Houston Oilers starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
- ^ "1978 Houston Oilers Statistics & Players".
External links[]
- 1978 National Football League season by team
- Tennessee Titans seasons
- 1978 in sports in Texas