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1974 Houston Oilers season
Owner Bud Adams
General manager Sid Gillman
Head coach Sid Gillman
Home field Houston Astrodome
Results
Record7–7
Division place2nd AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1974 Houston Oilers season was the 15th season overall and fifth with the National Football League. The Oilers improved upon their previous season's 1–13 record, winning seven games. [1] Despite the improvement, they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

Offseason

NFL draft

1974 Houston Oilers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
4 79 Steve Manstedt  Linebacker Nebraska
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Roster

1974 Houston Oilers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Schedule

Preseason

Due to a player's strike affecting the 1974 preseason, the Oilers, like the rest of the NFL, played the preseason using an all-rookie roster. The strike was resolved prior to the start of the regular season.

On July 16, the Oilers played a preseason game vs the minor league San Antonio Toros, marking the last time an NFL team would play a game against a minor league team. [3] (In 1969, the Atlanta Falcons rookies would play the minor league Alabama Hawks and in 1972 the New York Jets rookies would play the minor league Long Island Chiefs) [4]

Regular season

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 15 San Diego Chargers W 21–14 1–0 Astrodome 25,317 Recap
2 September 22 at Cleveland Browns L 7–20 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 55,242 Recap
3 September 29 Kansas City Chiefs L 7–17 1–2 Astrodome 28,538 Recap
4 October 6 Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–13 1–3 Astrodome 30,049 Recap
5 October 13 at Minnesota Vikings L 10–51 1–4 Metropolitan Stadium 48,006 Recap
6 October 20 St. Louis Cardinals L 27–31 1–5 Astrodome 26,371 Recap
7 October 27 at Cincinnati Bengals W 34–21 2–5 Riverfront Stadium 55,434 Recap
8 November 3 at New York Jets W 27–22 3–5 Shea Stadium 47,218 Recap
9 November 10 at Buffalo Bills W 21–9 4–5 Rich Stadium 79,144 Recap
10 November 17 Cincinnati Bengals W 20–3 5–5 Astrodome 44,054 Recap
11 November 24 Dallas Cowboys L 0–10 5–6 Astrodome 49,775 Recap
12 December 1 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 13–10 6–6 Three Rivers Stadium 41,195 Recap
13 December 8 at Denver Broncos L 37–14 6–7 Mile High Stadium 46,942 Recap
14 December 15 Cleveland Browns W 28–24 7–7 Astrodome 33,299 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Pittsburgh Steelers 10 3 1 .750 4–2 7–3–1 305 189 W2
Houston Oilers 7 7 0 .500 4–2 7–4 236 282 W1
Cincinnati Bengals 7 7 0 .500 3–3 5–6 283 259 L3
Cleveland Browns 4 10 0 .286 1–5 3–8 251 344 L2

Season summary

Week 1 vs Chargers

Week One: San Diego Chargers (0–0) at Houston Oilers (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 7 7014
Oilers 14 0 0721

at Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas

  • Date: September 15
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)
  • Game attendance: 25,317
  • Box Score
Game information


References

  1. ^ 1974 Houston Oilers
  2. ^ "1974 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  3. ^ Today in SA history (July 16)
  4. ^ "Packer Excels at Quarterback as Jets Top L.I. Chiefs, 29‐3". The New York Times. July 30, 1972.