1990 Houston Oilers season

The 1990 Houston Oilers season was the 31st season and their 21st in the National Football League (NFL). The Oilers scored 405 points which ranked second in the AFC and second overall in the NFL. Their defense gave up 307 points. During the season, the Oilers appeared once on Monday Night Football and defeated the Buffalo Bills. On December 16, 1990, Warren Moon threw for 527 yards in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Moon was part of the Oilers "Run and shoot" era. The run and shoot offense also incorporated teammates Ernest Givins, Drew Hill, Haywood Jeffires and Curtis Duncan. The 1990 season saw the Oilers appear in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. They finished tied for first in the AFC Central with the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers, as all three teams finished with identical 9–7 records. The Bengals would be awarded the division title by having a better division record than Houston or Pittsburgh. The Oilers would win the tiebreaker over the Steelers by having a better division record than them. This placed them in second place behind Cincinnati, who would turn out to be their playoff opponent. However, they would have to play their playoff game without Moon, who dislocated his thumb two weeks before the season ended when he hit his thumb on the helmet of defender James Francis. Cody Carlson was tapped to start in what became his only career playoff start. As a result, the Oilers were embarrassed by the Bengals 41–14 in the wild card game, in what was Cincinnati's last playoff win until 2021, being outgained 349–226 in total yards and committing 2 turnovers in the defeat.

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 |

37 Victor Jones 20 Allen Pinkett 44 Lorenzo White Wide receivers (WR)

80 Curtis Duncan 88 Bernard Ford KR 81 Ernest Givins 83 Leonard Harris 85 Drew Hill 84 Haywood Jeffires 82 Tony Jones 89 Gerald McNeil Tight ends (TE) | | Offensive linemen (OL) 66 Doug Dawson G 78 Don Maggs T 74 Bruce Matthews G 63 Mike Munchak G 64 Erik Norgard C/G 52 Jay Pennison C 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/DT 96 Sean Jones DE 94 Glenn Montgomery DT 99 Doug Smith DT | | Linebackers (LB) 51 Eric Fairs OLB 59 John Grimsley OLB 56 Scott Kozak OLB 57 Lamar Lathon OLB 91 Johnny Meads OLB 53 Eugene Seale MLB 54 Al Smith MLB Defensive backs (DB)

29 Patrick Allen CB 24 Steve Brown CB 28 Cris Dishman CB 23 Richard Johnson CB 27 Terry Kinard FS 21 Leander Knight CB/S 25 Bubba McDowell SS 26 Bo Orlando FS 36 Dee Thomas CB/S Special teams (ST)

 8 Teddy Garcia K  9 Greg Montgomery P | | Practice squad 17 Pat Coleman WR 98 Keith Friberg DE 30 Doug Lloyd RB  6 Tom Muecke QB Reserve

72 Willis Peguese DE (IR) -- Willie Snead WR (IR) 68 Alex Stewart DE (IR) 22 Brett Tucker S (NF-Inj.)  7 Tony Zendejas K (IR) 47 active, 5 inactive, 4 practice squad

Rookies in italics |

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

• Ray Childress, 1990 AFC Pro Bowl selection

• Ernest Givins, Pro Bowl selection

• Drew Hill, Ranked second in AFC in receptions

• Haywood Jeffires, Led AFC in Receptions

• Warren Moon, NFL leader, passing yards (4,689)

• Warren Moon, Pro Bowl selection

• Warren Moon, All-Pro selection (1990)

• Warren Moon, NEA NFL MVP

• Warren Moon, NFL Offensive Player of the Year

• Warren Moon, UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year

• Warren Moon, Houston Oilers record, most passing yards in one game (527)

• Haywood Jeffires – 1st 1,000 Yard Receiving Season (1,048 yards)

• Drew Hill – 4th 1,000 Yard Receiving Season (1,019 yards)

• Warren Moon, 2nd 400 Yard Passing Game (527)

• 1990 Houston Oilers at Pro-Football-Reference.com