1978 Houston Oilers season

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1978 Houston Oilers season
Head Coach O.A. Bum Phillips
Home Field Astrodome
Results
Record 10-6
Place 2nd AFC Central
Playoff Finish Lost AFC Championship Game (Steelers)
Timeline
Previous Season Next Season
1977 1979

The 1978 season was the Houston Oilers 19th season and their 9th in the NFL. The franchise scored 283 points while the defense gave up 298 points. Their record of 10 wins and 6 losses resulted in a second place finish in the AFC Central Division. The Oilers appeared twice on Monday Night Football. In their first appearance on Monday Night Football, the Oilers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-17. In their second appearance, the Oilers defeated the Miami Dolphins 35-30.

Contents

[edit] Offseason

[edit] NFL Draft

Pick # NFL Team Player Position College
1 Houston Oilers Earl Campbell Running Back Texas

[edit] Regular Season

On November 20, 1978, the Oilers took on the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football. In order to boost team spirit, the Oilers gave each fan a blue and white pom-pon before the game. The sight of over 70,000 fans waving the pom-pons inspired the Oilers to a 35-30 victory, behind Campbell's 199 rushing yards. This would be the start of Luv Ya Blue.

[edit] Season Standings

AFC Central
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Pittsburgh Steelers 14 2 0 .875 356 195
Houston Oilers 10 6 0 .625 283 298
Cleveland Browns 8 8 0 .500 334 356
Cincinnati Bengals 4 12 0 .250 252 284

[edit] Season Schedule

[edit] Roster

[edit] Postseason

[edit] AFC Wild Card

  • Houston Oilers 17, Miami Dolphins 9
1 2 3 4 Total
Oilers 7 0 0 10 17
Dolphins 7 0 0 2 9

at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

Quarterback Dan Pastorini led the Oilers to an upset victory by passing for 306 yards.

[edit] AFC Divisional Playoff

  • Houston Oilers 31, New England Patriots 14
1 2 3 4 Total
Oilers 0 21 3 7 31
Patriots 0 0 7 7 14

at Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Quarterback Dan Pastorini led the Oilers to a victory by throwing for 200 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Earl Campbell rushed for 118 yards and a score.

[edit] AFC Championship Game

  • Pittsburgh Steelers 34, Houston Oilers 5
1 2 3 4 Total
Oilers 0 3 2 0 5
Steelers 14 17 3 0 34

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

On a wet, slick, and slippery field, the Steelers dominated the Oilers by forcing 9 turnovers and only allowing 5 points.

[edit] Awards and records

[edit] Milestones

  • Earl Campbell, 1st 1,000 yard rushing season
  • Earl Campbell, 1st NFL Rushing Title

[edit] References

1978 NFL season
v  d  e
AFC East Central West NFC East Central West
Baltimore Cincinnati Denver Dallas Chicago Atlanta
Buffalo Cleveland Kansas City NY Giants Detroit Los Angeles
Miami Houston Oakland Philadelphia Green Bay New Orleans
New England Pittsburgh San Diego St. Louis Minnesota San Francisco
NY Jets Seattle Washington Tampa Bay
1978 NFL DraftNFL PlayoffsPro BowlSuper Bowl XIII