1978 Houston Oilers season
Encyclopedia
The 1978 season
was the Houston Oilers 19th season and their ninth 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.
, 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
.
led the Oilers to an upset victory by passing for 306 yards.
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.
1978 NFL season
The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference...
was the Houston Oilers 19th season and their ninth 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
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
. 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
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
35–30.
NFL Draft
| Pick # | |Player | |College | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston Oilers Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter... |
Earl Campbell Earl Campbell Earl Christian Campbell , nicknamed The Tyler Rose, is a former professional American Football running back. He, Paul Hornung and O.J Simpson are the only people to have won the Heisman Trophy , were first overall National Football League draft picks and are in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame... |
Running Back Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running... |
Texas University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin... |
Regular season
On November 20, 19781978 NFL season
The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference...
, the Oilers took on the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
. 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
Luv Ya Blue
"Luv Ya Blue" was the term given to a movement by fans of the Houston Oilers of the National Football League in the late 1970s that featured fight songs, pom-poms and other features more reminiscent of the college game than the NFL.- Coining of the term :...
.
Schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Oilers points | Opponents | Oilers first downs | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | Sept. 3 | at Atlanta Falcons Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Loss | 14 | 20 | 13 | 0–1 | |
| 2 | Sept. 10 | at Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a... |
Win | 20 | 17 | 15 | 1–1 | |
| 3 | Sept. 17 | San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and... |
Win | 20 | 19 | 23 | 2–1 | |
| 4 | Sept. 24 | Los Angeles Rams St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,... |
Loss | 6 | 10 | 10 | 2–2 | |
| 5 | Oct. 1 | at Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Win | 16 | 13 | 20 | 3–2 | |
| 6 | Oct. 8 | at Oakland Raiders Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Loss | 17 | 21 | 20 | 3–3 | |
| 7 | Oct. 15 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Win | 17 | 10 | 17 | 4–3 | |
| 8 | Oct. 23 | at Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC... |
Win | 24 | 17 | 22 | 5–3 | |
| 9 | Oct. 29 | at Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL... |
Loss | 13 | 28 | 15 | 5–4 | |
| 10 | Nov. 5 | Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Win | 14 | 10 | 18 | 6–4 | |
| 11 | Nov. 12 | at New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
Win | 26 | 23 | 24 | 7–4 | |
| 12 | Nov. 20 | Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Win | 35 | 30 | 23 | 8–4 | |
| 13 | Nov. 26 | Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL... |
Win | 17 | 10 | 17 | 9–4 | |
| 14 | Dec. 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC... |
Loss | 3 | 13 | 9 | 9–5 | |
| 15 | Dec. 10 | at New Orleans Saints New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League .... |
Win | 17 | 12 | 16 | 10–5 | |
| 16 | Dec. 17 | San Diego Chargers San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Loss | 24 | 45 | 14 | 10–6 | |
Roster
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
|
Offensive Linemen
Morris Towns Morris M. Towns is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the Houston Oilers and the Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Missouri.... T Greg Sampson Ralph Gregory Sampson is a former professional American football player.-College and professional career:... T George Reihner George Arthur Reihner is a former professional American football player who played Guard for four seasons for the Houston Oilers.He attended college at Penn State.... G Carl Mauck Carl Mauck is a former American football player who was a center who played thirteen seasons in the National Football League for four teams, and later served as an offensive line coach for several teams... C Ed Fisher Edward Fredrick Fisher was a Major League Baseball pitcher who appeared in one game for the Detroit Tigers near the end of the 1902 season... G Defensive Linemen
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Linebackers
Robert Brazile Robert Lorenzo Brazile, Jr. is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League. Nicknamed "Dr. Doom", Brazile played from 1975-1984 for the Houston Oilers.-Professional career:... OLB Art Stringer Arthur Stringer is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League. He played five seasons for the Houston Oilers .... OLB Gregg Bingham Gregg Bingham was a National Football League linebacker from 1973 through 1985 for the Houston Oilers.He played for Gordon Tech high school where is was a tight end and linebacker and was the teams leading tackler.... MLB Steve Kiner Steven Albert Kiner is a former American football linebacker who played nine seasons in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, and the Houston Oilers. Kiner attended the University of Tennessee from 1967 to 1969, where he was an All-American. He was elected to... MLB Ted Thompson Ted Thompson is the current general manager of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Thompson was named to the post on January 14, 2005, by Packers president and CEO Bob Harlan. Thompson took over the general manager duties from Mike Sherman, who had been serving as both head coach and general manager... MLB Steve Baumgartner Steven John Baumgartner is a former professional American football player who played defensive end for seven seasons for the New Orleans Saints and the Houston Oilers.... OLB Defensive Backs
Special Teams
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Reserve Lists
Practice Squad Rookies in italics |
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AFC Wild Card
Quarterback Dan PastoriniDan Pastorini
Dante "Dan" Anthony Pastorini is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, and the Philadelphia Eagles.-NFL career:...
led the Oilers to an upset victory by passing for 306 yards.
AFC Divisional Playoff
Quarterback Dan PastoriniDan Pastorini
Dante "Dan" Anthony Pastorini is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, and the Philadelphia Eagles.-NFL career:...
led the Oilers to a victory by throwing for 200 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Earl Campbell
Earl Campbell
Earl Christian Campbell , nicknamed The Tyler Rose, is a former professional American Football running back. He, Paul Hornung and O.J Simpson are the only people to have won the Heisman Trophy , were first overall National Football League draft picks and are in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame...
rushed for 118 yards and a score.
AFC Championship Game
On a wet, slick, and slippery field, the Steelers dominated the Oilers by forcing 9 turnovers and only allowing 5 points.Awards and records
- Earl Campbell, NFL Rushing Leader, (1,450)
- Earl Campbell, All-ProAll-ProAll-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...
selection - Earl Campbell, NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
- Earl Campbell, PFWA NFL MVP
- Earl Campbell, NEA NFL MVP
- Earl Campbell, NFL Offensive Player of the Year
- Earl Campbell, UPI AFL-AFC Player of the YearUPI AFL-AFC Player of the YearFrom 1960 to 1969, the United Press International gave the annual AFL Player of the Year award in the American Football League, whose teams in 1970 became the American Football Conference of the new National Football League ....
- Earl Campbell, Pro Bowl selection 1978
Milestones
- Earl Campbell, 1st 1,000 yard rushing season
- Earl Campbell, 1st NFL Rushing Title