1991 Houston Oilers season

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.

1991 Houston Oilers season
Owner	Bud Adams
General manager	Mike Holovak
Head coach	Jack Pardee
Home field	Houston Astrodome
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	1st AFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Jets) 17–10 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Broncos) 24–26
Uniform
← 1990 Oilers seasons 1992 →

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1991 NFL draft

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

^[1]

Personnel

Staff

1991 Houston Oilers staff

Front office Owner/Chairman of the Board/President – Bud Adams Executive Vice President/general manager – Mike Holovak Assistant general manager – Floyd Reese Head coaches Head coach – Jack Pardee Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Kevin Gilbride Running Backs – Frank Novak Receivers – Chris Palmer Offensive line – Bob Young

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Jim Eddy Defensive line – Jim Stanley Linebackers – Richard Smith Defensive backs – Pat Thomas Quality Control – Gregg Williams Special teams coaches Special teams – Richard Smith Strength and conditioning Strength and Rehabilitation – Steve Watterson

Roster

1991 Houston Oilers roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Cody Carlson  1 Warren Moon 10 Reggie Slack Running backs (RB) 33 Gary Brown 30 Victor Jones 20 Allen Pinkett KR 44 Lorenzo White Wide receivers (WR) 87 Pat Coleman 80 Curtis Duncan 81 Ernest Givins PR 83 Leonard Harris 85 Drew Hill 84 Haywood Jeffires 86 Alex Johnson 82 Tony Jones Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL) 66 Doug Dawson G 77 Kevin Donnalley G/T 55 John Flannery C/G 78 Don Maggs T 74 Bruce Matthews 63 Mike Munchak G 70 Dean Steinkuhler T 73 David Williams T Defensive linemen (DL) 76 Jeff Alm DT 79 Ray Childress DT 95 William Fuller DE 90 Ezra Johnson DE 96 Sean Jones DE 94 Glenn Montgomery DT 99 Doug Smith DT 97 Lee Williams DE

Linebackers (LB) 51 Eric Fairs MLB 56 Scott Kozak OLB 57 Lamar Lathon OLB 91 Johnny Meads OLB 53 Eugene Seale MLB 54 Al Smith MLB Defensive backs (DB) 28 Cris Dishman CB 38 Mike Dumas FS 24 Steve Jackson CB 23 Richard Johnson CB 29 Darryll Lewis CB 25 Bubba McDowell SS 26 Bo Orlando FS 31 Marcus Robertson CB/S Special teams  3 Al Del Greco K  9 Greg Montgomery P

Practice squad 89 Frank Miotke WR 88 Gary Wellman WR 47 active, 3 inactive, 2 practice squad Reserve 93 Rick Graf LB (IR) 64 Erik Norgard C/G (IR) 72 Willis Peguese DE (IR) 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

• October 13, 1991 – Warren Moon threw for 423 yards against the New York Jets.
• November 10, 1991 – Warren Moon threw for 432 yards against the Dallas Cowboys.
• October 13, 1991 – Haywood Jeffires set an Oilers record with most receptions in one game with 13.

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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	7	3	7	17
Oilers	6	10	21	10	47

Game information

First quarter HOU – Allen Pinkett 8-yard run (kick failed), 5:37. Oilers 6–0. Second quarter HOU – Warren Moon 1-yard run (Ian Howfield kick), 13:40. Oilers 13–0. HOU – Ian Howfield 34-yard field goal, 5:27. Oilers 16–0. LA – Willie Gault 59-yard pass from Jay Schroeder (Jeff Jaeger kick), 2:44. Oilers 16–7. Third quarter HOU – Ernest Givins 22-yard pass from Warren Moon (Ian Howfield kick), 12:17. Oilers 23–7. LA – Jeff Jaeger 39-yard field goal, 7:24. Oilers 23–10. HOU – Tony Jones 28-yard pass from Warren Moon (Ian Howfield kick), 5:59. Oilers 30–10. HOU – Mike Dumas 19-yard fumble return (Ian Howfield kick), 3:45. Oilers 37–10. Fourth quarter HOU – Ian Howfield 46-yard field goal, 9:43. Oilers 40–10. LA – Sam Graddy 80-yard pass from Vince Evans (Jeff Jaeger kick), 9:29. Oilers 40–10. HOU – Gary Brown 39-yard run (Ian Howfield kick), 1:52. Oilers 47–10. Top passers LA – Vince Evans – 6/10, 127 yards, TD, INT HOU – Warren Moon – 18/33, 250 yards, 2 TD Top rushers LA – Marcus Allen – 8 rushes, 17 yards HOU – Allen Pinkett – 26 rushes, 144 yards Top receivers LA – Sam Graddy – 3 receptions, 102 yards, TD HOU – Ernest Givins – 6 receptions, 90 yards, TD

Week One: Los Angeles Raiders (0–0) at Houston Oilers (0–0)

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

Week 14

See also: 1991 Philadelphia Eagles season

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	0	10	3	13
Oilers	0	3	3	0	6

Game information
Eagles Jim McMahon 12/20, 84 yards, int James Joseph 12 rush, 56 yards Roy Green 3 rec, 44 yards Oilers Warren Moon 24/46, 262 yards Allen Pinkett 6 rush, 10 yards Ernest Givens 6 rec, 89 yards

Philadelphia Eagles (7–5) at Houston Oilers (9–3)

at Astrodome • Houston, Texas

• Date: December 2
• Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Indoors (dome)
• Referee: Tom Dooley
• TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP PHI HOU 2 Oilers 42-yard field goal by Del Greco 0 3 3 Eagles 23-yard field goal by Ruzek 3 3 3 Eagles Jackson 21-yard touchdown reception from Kemp, Ruzek kick good 10 3 4 Oilers 47-yard field goal by Del Greco 10 6 4 Eagles 29-yard field goal by Ruzek 13 6 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 13 6

Standings

AFC Central
view talk edit	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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Jets	0	10	0	0	10
Oilers	7	7	0	3	17

Houston Oilers 17, New York Jets 10

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Played indoors, domed stadium
• Game attendance: 61,485
• Referee: Tom White
• TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Paul Maguire

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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Oilers	14	7	0	3	24
Broncos	6	7	3	10	26

Denver Broncos 26, Houston Oilers 24

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/2:00 p.m. MST
• Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C), cloudy
• Game attendance: 75,301
• Referee: Johnny Grier
• TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Todd Christensen

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

External links

• 1991 Houston Oilers at Pro-Football-Reference.com