1979 Houston Oilers season
| 1979 Houston Oilers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Bum Phillips |
| Owner | Bud Adams |
| Home field | Astrodome |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–5 |
| Division place | 2nd AFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Lost AFC Championship Game (Steelers) |
The 1979 season was the Houston Oilers 20th season and their tenth in the National Football League (NFL). 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 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.
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 | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Personnel
Staff
| 1979 Houston Oilers staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches |
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
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Roster
| 1979 Houston Oilers roster | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
|
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
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Defensive linemen
Linebackers
|
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 2, 1979 | at Washington Redskins | W 29–27 | |
| 2 | September 9, 1979 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 38–7 | |
| 3 | September 16, 1979 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 20–6 | |
| 4 | September 23, 1979 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 30–27 | |
| 5 | September 30, 1979 | Cleveland Browns | W 31–10 | |
| 6 | October 7, 1979 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 24–17 | |
| 7 | October 14, 1979 | at Baltimore Colts | W 28–16 | |
| 8 | October 21, 1979 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 34–14 | |
| 9 | October 28, 1979 | New York Jets | W 27–24 | |
| 10 | November 5, 1979 | at Miami Dolphins | W 9–6 | |
| 11 | November 11, 1979 | Oakland Raiders | W 31–17 | |
| 12 | November 18, 1979 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 42–21 | |
| 13 | November 22, 1979 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 30–24 | |
| 14 | December 2, 1979 | at Cleveland Browns | L 14–7 | |
| 15 | December 10, 1979 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 20–17 | |
| 16 | December 16, 1979 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 26–20 | |
Game summaries
Week 13 at Dallas Cowboys
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- Earl Campbell 33 Rush, 195 Yds
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 |
- 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.