1994 Houston Oilers season

Last updated

1994 Houston Oilers season
Owner Bud Adams
General manager Floyd Reese
Head coach Jack Pardee (fired on November 14, 1-9 record)
Jeff Fisher (interim; 1-5 record)
Home field Houston Astrodome
Results
Record2–14
Division place4th AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers C Bruce Matthews
CB Darryll Lewis
Uniform
Houston oilers uniforms.png

The 1994 Houston Oilers season was the 35th season overall the Oilers played and their 25th with the National Football League (NFL), and was part of the 1994 NFL season. [1] The Oilers missed the playoffs for the first time since 1986.

Contents

Two notable losses the Oilers suffered were the trading of Warren Moon, the team’s longtime starting quarterback, to the Minnesota Vikings and the departure of defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, who was hired to coach the Arizona Cardinals. With Moon being replaced by career backup Cody Carlson and the defense left without its leader, the 1994 Oilers went into a tailspin despite returning several of their explosive offensive players such as Ernest Givins and Haywood Jeffires. The team started out with only one win in their first ten games, which led to head coach Jack Pardee and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride being fired. Jeff Fisher, who had just joined the team that year as Ryan's replacement as defensive coordinator, was promoted to head coach.

Carlson did not last the season as he suffered a series of injuries that proved to be career ending. Billy Joe Tolliver ended up making the most starts of any Oilers quarterback, losing all seven of his starts. Neither Tolliver, Carlson, or third quarterback Bucky Richardson threw for more than six touchdowns (Carlson only managed one in five starts) and Tolliver and Carlson threw more interceptions than touchdowns. Running back Gary Brown could not repeat his 1,000-yard total from the previous year, managing only 648. Givins, who had recorded nearly 900 receiving yards in 1993, fell to 521 in 1994 while seeing his receptions total drop to 35. Jeffires' numbers improved slightly, and he led the Oilers in receiving touchdowns with six, but he was not elected to the Pro Bowl as he had been in 1993. Slaughter, meanwhile, only caught two touchdowns, which was his lowest total to that point in his career. The offense finished last in the league in points scored and 26th in total yardage.

The defense, which lost several of its key pieces from the previous season including its two leaders in sacks, also fell off. After giving up the fourth-lowest point total in 1993, the Oilers allowed a total of 352 points in 1994. Despite that, three players recorded at least six sacks with Lamar Lathon leading with 8.5. Darryll Lewis recorded five interceptions in his first full season as a starter, with fellow cornerback Cris Dishman getting four and returning one for a touchdown, and safety Marcus Robertson adding three of his own. The defense also managed to improve on their total yardage allowed from 1993, moving up from ninth in that category despite finishing near the bottom of the league in points allowed.

When the season was over the Oilers stood at 2–14, tying their 1983 squad with the team’s fewest wins in a sixteen game season and the second-fewest overall, with the 1972, 1973, 1982 squads only winning once each season. The ten-game swing is the worst season-to-season drop in games won in NFL history, which would later be tied by the 2013 Houston Texans. Seven of their fourteen losses came by three points or fewer.

Although the Oilers finished with the worst record that season, they did not receive the #1 pick in the 1995 NFL draft due to the entry of the expansion Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars into the league (under NFL rules, a new team is automatically granted the first pick in their first draft, unless they decide to give it up as the Panthers would do). However, the news was not all negative. With the high pick the Oilers chose Steve McNair, who would go on to become one of the franchise’s all-time great players.

Offseason

After having imploded in the playoffs against Kansas City in the 1993 playoffs, the Oilers traded long-time quarterback Warren Moon to Minnesota, leaving Cody Carlson as the starter for the 1994 season. Carlson, however, was severely injured early in the season and would eventually retire due to said injuries after the season.

NFL Draft

1994 Houston Oilers draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
126 Henry Ford   Defensive tackle Arkansas
260 Jeremy Nunley   Defensive end Alabama
3101 Malcolm Floyd   Wide receiver Fresno State
4119 Mike Davis   Cornerback Cincinnati
4129Sean Jackson  Running back Florida State
5157 Roderick Lewis   Tight end Arizona
5161Jim Reid  Offensive tackle Virginia
6187 Lee Gissendaner   Wide receiver Northwestern
6194 Barron Wortham   Linebacker UTEP
7220 Lemanski Hall  LinebackerAlabama
      Made roster  

[2]

Personnel

Staff

1994 Houston Oilers staff

Front office

  • Owner/chairman of the board/president – Bud Adams
  • Executive vice-president/general manager – Floyd Reese
  • Vice-president of player personnel and scouting – Mike Holovak

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Frank Novak

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Rehabilitation – Steve Watterson


Roster

1994 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

Practice squad

Reserve


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

[3]

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1September 4at Indianapolis Colts L 21–450–1 RCA Dome Recap
2September 11at Dallas Cowboys L 17–200–2 Texas Stadium Recap
3September 18 Buffalo Bills L 7–150–3 Astrodome Recap
4September 25 Cincinnati Bengals W 20–131–3Astrodome Recap
5October 3at Pittsburgh Steelers L 14–301–4 Three Rivers Stadium Recap
6 Bye
7October 13 Cleveland Browns L 8–111–5Astrodome Recap
8October 24at Philadelphia Eagles L 6–211–6 Veterans Stadium Recap
9October 30at Los Angeles Raiders L 14–171–7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
10November 6Pittsburgh SteelersL 9–12 (OT)1–8Astrodome Recap
11November 13at Cincinnati BengalsL 31–341–9 Riverfront Stadium Recap
12November 21 New York Giants L 10–131–10Astrodome Recap
13November 27at Cleveland BrownsL 10–341–11 Cleveland Stadium Recap
14December 4 Arizona Cardinals L 12–301–12Astrodome Recap
15December 11 Seattle Seahawks L 14–161–13Astrodome Recap
16December 18at Kansas City Chiefs L 9–311–14 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
17December 24 New York Jets W 24–102–14Astrodome Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 14

1234Total
• Cardinals01002030
Oilers930012
Scoring summary
Q19:33HOUSafety, Lamar Lathon tackled Jay Schroeder in end zoneHOU 2–0
Q111:50HOU Cris Dishman 36 yard interception return (Al Del Greco kick)HOU 9–0
Q22:59ARI Larry Centers 1 yard rush (Greg Davis kick)HOU 9–7
Q210:45ARI Greg Davis 25 yard field goalARI 10–9
Q213:42HOU Al Del Greco 34 yard field goalHOU 12–10
Q42:57ARI Gary Clark 13 yard pass from Jay Schroeder (Ronald Moore run)ARI 18–12
Q4ARI Greg Davis 23 yard field goalARI 21–12
Q4ARI Larry Centers 4 yard rush (Greg Davis kick)ARI 28–12
Q4ARISafety, Eric Swann tackled Billy Joe Tolliver in end zoneARI 30–12

[4]

This ninth successive defeat for the Oilers has the unusual distinction of being the most recent NFL game as of 2019 during which both teams scored a safety, and one of only eight since at least 1940. [5]

Week 17

Standings

AFC Central
WLTPCTPFPASTK
(1) Pittsburgh Steelers 1240.750316234L1
(4) Cleveland Browns 1150.688340204W1
Cincinnati Bengals 3130.188276406W1
Houston Oilers 2140.125226352W1

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References

  1. ↑ 1994 Houston Oilers
  2. ↑ "1994 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  3. ↑ "1994 Houston Oilers starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  4. ↑ Arizona Cardinals at Houston Oilers – December 4th, 1994. Retrieved 2018-Sep-10.
  5. ↑ Pro Football Reference ; In a single game, from 1940 to 2017, requiring opp Safeties >= 1 and Safeties >= 1, sorted by ascending Date
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