The 1978 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 19th overall and the ninth in the National Football League (NFL). Led by Rookie RB Earl Campbell, who won both the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Offensive Player of the Year, who rushed for 1,450 yards, the Oilers made the playoffs with a 10–6 record, making the playoffs for the first time since 1969, qualifying in the newly created fifth Wild Card spot. 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. In the playoffs, the Oilers would stun the Miami Dolphins, 17–9, in the two teams first playoff meeting, then defeated the New England Patriots 31–14 in New England to advance to their first ever AFC Championship game, but in that game, they would score a mere 5 points in a 34–5 blowout loss to the eventual champion Steelers.
Season summary 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 number one draft pick, Earl Campbell, a 5–11, 232-pound ball-carrying dynamo from the University of Texas, joined the Houston Oilers as the first player taken in the 1978 National Football League Draft. The first player to earn All-Southwest Conference honors four years, Campbell was a consensus All-America and the Heisman Trophy winner in 1977. Campbell took the NFL by storm right from the very start. In 1978, he was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player, All-Pro, and Rookie of the Year. He won the league rushing championship with 1,450 yards and was named to the AFC Pro Bowl squad. Possibly the highlight of the Oilers' fantastic season was the contest against the Miami Dolphins, in which Campbell racked up 199 yards, 81 of them coming on a TD run in the fourth quarter.
Offseason
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1978 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeRichard IngrahamTight endTexasGerald PetschTackleIowa StateMose RisonRunning backCentral MichiganRonald RummelQuarterbackCentral MichiganGregory WarrenTight endSouthern Illinois
Personnel
Roster
Preseason
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 Denver Broncos L 12–17 0–1 Astrodome 48,027 2 Philadelphia Eagles L 10–28 0–2 Astrodome 49,334 3 at Dallas Cowboys W 27–13 1–2 Texas Stadium 62,242 4 New Orleans Saints L 3–17 1–3 Astrodome 49,554
Pre season Game summaries Week P1 (Saturday, August 5, 1978): vs. Denver Broncos
Time of game:
BroncosGame statisticsOilers First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards
Week P2 (Monday, August 14, 1978): vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Time of game:
EaglesGame statisticsOilers First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards
Week P3 (Saturday, August 19, 1978): at Dallas Cowboys
Time of game:
OilersGame statisticsCowboys First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards
Week P4 (Saturday, August 26, 1978): vs. New Orleans Saints
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-pom before the game. The sight of over 50,000 fans waving the pom-poms inspired the Oilers to a 35–30 victory, behind Campbell's 199 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. This would be the start of Luv Ya Blue.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 at Atlanta Falcons L 14–20 0–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 57,328 Recap 2 September 10 at Kansas City Chiefs W 20–17 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium 40,213 Recap 3 September 17 San Francisco 49ers W 20–19 2–1 Astrodome 46,161 Recap 4 Los Angeles Rams L 6–10 2–2 Astrodome 45,749 Recap 5 October 1 at Cleveland Browns W 16–13 3–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 72,776 Recap 6 October 8 at Oakland Raiders L 17–21 3–3 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,550 Recap 7 October 15 Buffalo Bills W 17–10 4–3 Astrodome 47,727 Recap 8 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–17 5–3 Three Rivers Stadium 48,021 Recap 9 October 29 at Cincinnati Bengals L 13–28 5–4 Riverfront Stadium 50,532 Recap 10 November 5 Cleveland Browns W 14–10 6–4 Astrodome 45,827 Recap 11 at New England Patriots W 26–23 7–4 Schaefer Stadium 60,356 Recap 12 Miami Dolphins W 35–30 8–4 Astrodome 50,290 Recap 13 November 26 Cincinnati Bengals W 17–10 9–4 Astrodome 43,245Recap 14 Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–13 9–5 Astrodome 54,261 Recap 15 December 10 at New Orleans Saints W 17–12 10–5 Louisiana Superdome 63,169 Recap 16 December 17 San Diego Chargers L 24–45 10–6 Astrodome 49,554 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Regular season game summaries Week 1 (Sunday, September 3, 1978): at Atlanta Falcons The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Point spread: Oilers –3½ Over/under: Time of game:
OilersGame statisticsFalcons13 First downs 1121–156 Rushes–yards 35–100136 Passing yards 10419–36–2 10–23–04–31 Sacked–yards 4–33105 Net passing yards 71261 Total yards 171192 Return yards 1539–37.1 9–42.74–2 Fumbles–lost 3–17–52 Penalties–yards 8–75 Time of Possession
Individual stats Oilers Passing C/ATT1YdsTDINTSkYdsLG3RatePastorini19/36136124312147.9
Oilers Rushing Car2YdsTDLG3Campbell15137173Wilson619013
Oilers ReceivingRec4YdsTDLG3Burrough656019Caster544118Coleman445021Campbell2–80–3Renfro1303Carpenter1–40–4
Oilers Kick ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngDirden312742.3060Davis24221.0025
Oilers Punt ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngColeman4235.8016
Oilers PuntingPntYdsY/PLngBlckParsley933437.1471
Oilers KickingFGM–FGAXPM–XPAFritsch2–2
Oilers SacksSacksBrazile2.0Washington1.0Kennard1.0
Starting Lineups Position Starting Lineups at Atlanta Offense WR Ken Burrough LT Greg Sampson LG George Reihner C Carl Mauck RG Morris Towns RT Conway Hayman TE Mike Barber WR Mike Renfro QB Dan Pastorini RB Earl Campbell FB Tim Wilson Defense LDE James Young NT Curley Culp RDE Elvin Bethea LOLB Robert Brazile LILB Steve Kiner RILB Gregg Bingham ROLB Ted Washington LCB Willie Alexander RCB Greg Stemrick SS Bill Currier WS Mike Reinfeldt
Week 2 (Sunday, September 10, 1978): at Kansas City Chiefs The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Week 3 (Sunday, September 17, 1978): vs. San Francisco 49ers The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
49ersGame statisticsOilers First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of Possession
In an early test to see how good the Oilers are the Oilers took a 10-6 halftime lead on Earl Campbell's 4-yard touchdown run and a Toni Fritsch's 38-yard field goal while the 49ers countered with kicks of 26 and 19 yards by Ray Wersching. The Oilers extend their lead late in the third quarter with a nearly perfect 13-yard touchdown pass from Dan Pastorini to Ken Burrough, who out-reached cornerback Anthony Leonard in the end zone. But Steve DeBerg who had 321 yards passing this day came back with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Solomon before the third period and then with 7:51 left in the game completed a 78-yard drive that ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Paul Seal. It took a determined 80-yard drive that ended with a clutch 19-yard field goal by Fritsch with 1:16 left to give the Oilers the lead, but the 49ers had one more chance and doing it without O. J. Simpson but Wersching's 46-yard field goal sailed wide left as the Oilers got an important win.
Week 4 (Sunday, September 24, 1978): vs. Los Angeles Rams The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Point spread: Oilers +2½ Over/under: Time of game:
RamsGame statisticsOilers26 First downs 1050–175 Rushes–yards 23–112220 Passing yards 12017–26–0 10–20–11–7 Sacked–yards 0–0213 Net passing yards 120388 Total yards 23277 Return yards 783–47.3 5–30.64–3 Fumbles–lost 2–11–14 Penalties–yards 5–29 Time of Possession
Week 5 (Sunday, October 1, 1978): at Cleveland Browns The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Week 6 (Sunday, October 8, 1978): at Oakland Raiders The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Week 7 (Sunday, October 15, 1978): vs. Buffalo Bills The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Week 8 (Monday, October 23, 1978): at Pittsburgh Steelers The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Point spread: Oilers +7½ Over/under: Time of game:
OilersGame statisticsSteelers22 First downs 2143–169 Rushes–yards 31–113160 Passing yards 22613–19–0 17–33–10–0 Sacked–yards 1–11160 Net passing yards 215329 Total yards 32865 Return yards 1204–40.5 3–41.32–1 Fumbles–lost 2–06–51 Penalties–yards 7–53 Time of Possession
Week 9 (Sunday, October 29, 1978): at Cincinnati Bengals The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Week 10 (Sunday, November 5, 1978): vs. Cleveland Browns The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Week 11 (Sunday, November 12, 1978): at New England Patriots The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Point spread: Oilers +7 Over/under: Time of game:
OilersGame statisticsPatriots24 First downs 1646–128 Rushes–yards 35–144200 Passing yards 13015–28–1 9–18–21–6 Sacked–yards 0–0194 Net passing yards 130394 Total yards 27499 Return yards 1253–34.7 0–0.03–3 Fumbles–lost 3–25–30 Penalties–yards 2–10 Time of Possession
Week 12 (Monday, November 20, 1978): vs. Miami Dolphins The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
DolphinsGame statisticsOilers First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of Possession
Week 13 (Sunday, November 26, 1978): vs. Cincinnati Bengals The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Week 14 (Sunday, December 3, 1978): vs. Pittsburgh Steelers The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Point spread: Oilers –2½ Over/under: Time of game:
SteelersGame statisticsOilers17 First downs 948–177 Rushes–yards 26–8197 Passing yards 9111–24–1 10–27–32–23 Sacked–yards 1–874 Net passing yards 83251 Total yards 164106 Return yards 1285–47.8 5–40.21–1 Fumbles–lost 4–37–60 Penalties–yards 5–35 Time of Possession
Week 15 (Sunday, December 10, 1978): at New Orleans Saints The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
OilersGame statisticsSaints First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of Possession
Week 16 (Sunday, December 17, 1978): vs. San Diego Chargers The Football Database. Retrieved 2025-May-07.Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2025-May-07
Postseason
Playoffs Round Date Opponent Time TV Result Venue Attendance Recap Wild Card at (4) Miami Dolphins 3:00p.m. CST NBC W 17–9 Miami Orange Bowl 70,036 Recap Divisional at (2) New England Patriots 12Noon CST NBC W 31–14 Schaefer Stadium 60,881 Recap AFC Championship at (1) Pittsburgh Steelers 12Noon CST NBC L 5–34 Three Rivers Stadium 49,417 Recap
1978 AFC Wild Card Playoffs (Sunday, December 24, 1978): at (A4) Miami Dolphins