1979 Houston Oilers season
| 1979 Houston Oilers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bud Adams |
| Head coach | Bum Phillips |
| General manager | Bum Phillips |
| Home field | Houston Astrodome |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–5 |
| Division place | 2nd AFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Broncos) 13–7 Won Divisional Playoffs (at Chargers) 17–14 Lost AFC Championship (at Steelers) 13–27 |
| Pro Bowlers |
|
The 1979 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 20th overall and the 10th in the National Football League. The franchise scored 362 points while the defense gave up 331 points. Their record of 11 wins and 5 losses resulted in a second-place finish in the AFC Central Division. The Oilers appeared once on Monday Night Football on December 10, 1979 where the sports promotion Luv ya Blue was launched and returned to the AFC Championship Game for the second consecutive year. Earl Campbell would lead the NFL in rushing for the second consecutive year and set a franchise record for most touchdowns in a season with 19. The Oilers would make the playoffs again as a wild card. In the wild card game, they beat the Denver Broncos 13-7, and then defeated the San Diego Chargers 17-14 in San Diego to reach their second straight AFC Championship game. Unfortunately for them, they had to once again run into the Pittsburgh Steelers, who a year earlier had eliminated them 34-5 in the previous AFC Championship game. The Oilers lost the game 27-13. The game included a controversial moment in which wide receiver Mike Renfro had a touchdown called back after the referees of the game took a long time to decide the ruling on the field. The call went down as one of the most controversial calls in NFL history.
Offseason[]
NFL draft[]
| 1979 Houston Oilers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 31 | Mike Stensrud | Defensive tackle | Iowa State | |
| 2 | 50 | Jesse Baker | Defensive end | Jacksonville State | |
| 3 | 72 | Kenny King * | Running back | Oklahoma | |
| 6 | 143 | Daryl Hunt | Linebacker | Oklahoma | |
| 6 | 159 | Mike Murphy | Linebacker | Southwest Missouri State | |
| 7 | 171 | Tim Ries | Defensive Back | Southwest Missouri State | |
| 8 | 214 | Carter Hartwig | Defensive Back | USC | |
| 9 | 243 | Richard Ellender | Wide Receiver | McNeese State | |
| 11 | 298 | Mike Taylor | Offensive Tackle | Georgia Tech | |
| 12 | 324 | Wayne Wilson | Running Back | Shephard College | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Personnel[]
Staff[]
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches |
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
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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[]
Schedule[]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 2 | at Washington Redskins | W 29–27 | 1–0 | RFK Stadium | 54,582 |
| 2 | September 9 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–38 | 1–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | 49,792 |
| 3 | September 16 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 20–6 | 2–1 | Astrodome | 45,684 |
| 4 | September 23 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 30–27 | 3–1 | Riverfront Stadium | 45,615 |
| 5 | September 30 | Cleveland Browns | W 31–10 | 4–1 | Astrodome | 48,915 |
| 6 | October 7 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 17–24 | 4–2 | Astrodome | 53,043 |
| 7 | October 14 | at Baltimore Colts | W 28–16 | 5–2 | Memorial Stadium | 45,021 |
| 8 | October 21 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 14–34 | 5–3 | Kingdome | 60,705 |
| 9 | October 28 | New York Jets | W 27–24 | 6–3 | Astrodome | 45,825 |
| 10 | November 5 | at Miami Dolphins | W 9–6 | 7–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | 70,273 |
| 11 | November 11 | Oakland Raiders | W 31–17 | 8–3 | Astrodome | 48,614 |
| 12 | November 18 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 42–21 | 9–3 | Astrodome | 49,829 |
| 13 | November 22 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 30–24 | 10–3 | Texas Stadium | 63,897 |
| 14 | December 2 | at Cleveland Browns | L 7–14 | 10–4 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 69,112 |
| 15 | December 10 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 20–17 | 11–4 | Astrodome | 55,293 |
| 16 | December 16 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 20–26 | 11–5 | Astrodome | 49,407 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries[]
Week 1 at Washington Redskins[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 6 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 29 |
| Redskins | 0 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 27 |
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
- Date: September 2, 1979
- Game time: 12:00 p.m.
- Game attendance: 54,582
- Referee: Gordon McCarter
- TV: NBC
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Week 2 at Pittsburgh Steelers[]
Week 3 vs. Kansas City Chiefs[]
Week 4 at Cincinnati Bengals[]
Week 5 vs. Cleveland Browns[]
Week 6 vs. St. Louis Cardinals[]
Week 7 at Baltimore Colts[]
Week 8 at Seattle Seahawks[]
Week 9 vs. New York Jets[]
Week 10 at Miami Dolphins[]
Week 11 vs. Oakland Raiders[]
Week 12 vs. Cincinnati Bengals[]
Week 13 at Dallas Cowboys[]
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- Earl Campbell 33 Rush, 195 Yds
Week 14 at Cleveland Browns[]
Week 15 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers[]
Week 16 vs. Philadelphia Eagles[]
Standings[]
| AFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers(2) | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 4–2 | 9–3 | 416 | 262 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers(4) | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–2 | 9–3 | 362 | 331 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2–4 | 6–6 | 359 | 352 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–4 | 2–10 | 337 | 421 | W1 |
Postseason[]
AFC Wild Card vs. Denver Broncos[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Oilers | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
at Astrodome, Houston
- Date: December 23, 1979
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 48,776
- Referee: Gene Barth
- TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson
The Oilers managed to shut down the Broncos offense for most of the game en route to a 13–7 win.
AFC Divisional Playoff at San Diego Chargers[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Chargers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at San Diego Stadium, San Diego
- Date: December 29, 1979
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 51,192
- Referee: Ben Dreith
- TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
The Oilers offense, playing without starting quarterback Dan Pastorini, receiver Ken Burrough, and running back Earl Campbell, could only generate 259 yard compared to San Diego's 385. But they still won the game, largely due to the effort of rookie safety Vernon Perry, who set a playoff record with 4 interceptions as the Oilers defeated the Chargers, 17–14. In his first career playoff game, Chargers future Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts threw for 333 yards, but was intercepted 5 times.
AFC Championship Game at Pittsburgh Steelers[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Steelers | 3 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 27 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Date: January 6, 1980
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 26 °F (−3 °C), cloudy
- Game attendance: 50,475
- Referee: Jim Tunney
- TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
The Steelers held the Oilers to only 24 rushing yards, but were also aided by a controversial non-touchdown call on Mike Renfro to come away with a 27–13 win.
Awards and records[]
- Earl Campbell, NFL Rushing Leader, (1,697)
- Earl Campbell, 1979 NFL MVP
- Earl Campbell, PFWA NFL MVP (1979)
- Earl Campbell, Pro Bowl selection 1979
- Earl Campbell, All-Pro selection 1979
- Earl Campbell, NEA NFL MVP (1979)
- Earl Campbell, NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1979)
- Earl Campbell, 1979 Bert Bell Award[4]
- Earl Campbell, Houston Oilers record, Most Touchdowns in a Season (19)
- Mike Reinfeldt, NFL Interception Leader, 12
Milestones[]
- Earl Campbell, 2nd 1,000 yard rushing season
- Earl Campbell, 2nd NFL Rushing Title
References[]
- ^ "1979 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
- ^ "1979 Houston Oilers starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-09.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links[]
- 1979 National Football League season by team
- Tennessee Titans seasons
- 1979 in sports in Texas