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1994 Houston Oilers season

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1994 Houston Oilers season
OwnerBud Adams
General managerFloyd Reese
Head coachJack Pardee (10 games)
Jeff Fisher (final 6 games)
Home fieldHouston Astrodome
Results
Record2–14
Division place4th AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersC Bruce Matthews
CB Darryll Lewis
Uniform

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.

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

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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

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Main article: 1994 NFL draft
1994 Houston Oilers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 26 Henry Ford  Defensive tackle Arkansas
2 60 Jeremy Nunley  Defensive end Alabama
3 101 Malcolm Floyd  Wide receiver Fresno State
4 119 Mike Davis  Cornerback Cincinnati
4 129 Sean Jackson  Running back Florida State
5 157 Roderick Lewis  Tight end Arizona
5 161 Jim Reid  Offensive tackle Virginia
6 187 Lee Gissendaner  Wide receiver Northwestern
6 194 Barron Wortham  Linebacker UTEP
7 220 Lemanski Hall  Linebacker Alabama
      Made roster  

[2]

Personnel

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Staff

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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

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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


53 active, 3 inactive, 2 practice squad Reserve


Rookies in italics

[3]

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 4 at Indianapolis Colts L 21–45 0–1 RCA Dome Recap
2 September 11 at Dallas Cowboys L 17–20 0–2 Texas Stadium Recap
3 September 18 Buffalo Bills L 7–15 0–3 Astrodome Recap
4 September 25 Cincinnati Bengals W 20–13 1–3 Astrodome Recap
5 October 3 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 14–30 1–4 Three Rivers Stadium Recap
6 Bye
7 October 13 Cleveland Browns L 8–11 1–5 Astrodome Recap
8 October 24 at Philadelphia Eagles L 6–21 1–6 Veterans Stadium Recap
9 October 30 at Los Angeles Raiders L 14–17 1–7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
10 November 6 Pittsburgh Steelers L 9–12 (OT) 1–8 Astrodome Recap
11 November 13 at Cincinnati Bengals L 31–34 1–9 Riverfront Stadium Recap
12 November 21 New York Giants L 10–13 1–10 Astrodome Recap
13 November 27 at Cleveland Browns L 10–34 1–11 Cleveland Stadium Recap
14 December 4 Arizona Cardinals L 12–30 1–12 Astrodome Recap
15 December 11 Seattle Seahawks L 14–16 1–13 Astrodome Recap
16 December 18 at Kansas City Chiefs L 9–31 1–14 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
17 December 24 New York Jets W 24–10 2–14 Astrodome Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 14

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1 234Total
• Cardinals 0 10020 30
Oilers 9 300 12
Scoring summary
Q19:33HOUSafety, Lamar Lathon tackled Jay Schroeder in end zoneHOU 2–0
Q111:50HOUCris Dishman 36 yard interception return (Al Del Greco kick)HOU 9–0
Q22:59ARILarry Centers 1 yard rush (Greg Davis kick)HOU 9–7
Q210:45ARIGreg Davis 25 yard field goalARI 10–9
Q213:42HOUAl Del Greco 34 yard field goalHOU 12–10
Q42:57ARIGary Clark 13 yard pass from Jay Schroeder (Ronald Moore run)ARI 18–12
Q4ARIGreg Davis 23 yard field goalARI 21–12
Q4ARILarry 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

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Standings

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AFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(1) Pittsburgh Steelers 12 4 0 .750 316 234 L1
(4) Cleveland Browns 11 5 0 .688 340 204 W1
Cincinnati Bengals 3 13 0 .188 276 406 W1
Houston Oilers 2 14 0 .125 226 352 W1

References

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  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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