The 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.
Offseason
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1990 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeVictor JonesRunning backLSU
Personnel
Roster
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 9 at Atlanta Falcons L 27–47 0–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 56,222 2 September 16 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 9–20 0–2 Three Rivers Stadium 54,814 3 September 23 Indianapolis Colts W 24–10 1–2 Astrodome 50,093 4 September 30 at San Diego Chargers W 17–7 2–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 48,762 5 October 7 San Francisco 49ers L 21–24 2–3 Astrodome 59,931 6 October 14 Cincinnati Bengals W 48–17 3–3 Astrodome 53,501 7 October 21 New Orleans Saints W 23–10 4–3 Astrodome 57,908 8 October 28 New York Jets L 12–17 4–4 Astrodome 56,337 9 November 4 at Los Angeles Rams L 13–17 4–5 Anaheim Stadium 52,628 10 Bye 11 November 18 at Cleveland Browns W 35–23 5–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 76,726 12 Buffalo Bills W 27–24 6–5 Astrodome 60,130 13 December 2 at Seattle Seahawks L 10–13 (OT) 6–6 Kingdome 57,592 14 December 9 Cleveland Browns W 58–14 7–6 Astrodome 54,469 15 December 16 at Kansas City Chiefs W 27–10 8–6 Arrowhead Stadium 61,756 16 December 23 at Cincinnati Bengals L 20–40 8–7 Riverfront Stadium 60,044 17 December 30 Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–14 9–7 Astrodome 56,906 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Playoffs
AFC Wild Card
Awards and records 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)
Milestones 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)
References
External links 1990 Houston Oilers at Pro-Football-Reference.com