The 1993 Houston Oilers season was the team's 34th, and their 24th in the National Football League (NFL).
The 1993 Oilers season is widely regarded as one of the most notorious and turbulent seasons in NFL history, both on and off the field. Before the season began, owner Bud Adams told the team that unless the Oilers made the Super Bowl, they can expect to see a massive overhaul next year due to the impending salary cap. Despite their poor start (four losses in their first five games), the Oilers went on a remarkable 11–0 run to finish the 1993 season, ending up tied for the best record in the NFL, and the best record in franchise history, at 12–4. Houston earned the #2 seed in the playoffs, and a first-round bye that meant they would host their first ever Divisional Round playoff game. The 11-game winning streak was the longest in the NFL since 1972.Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p.680, Martin's Press, August 1994,
Statistics site Football Outsiders calculates that the Oilers were the hottest team in the NFL heading into the playoffs at the end of the 1993 season.Football Outsiders, 1993, 34.4% "weighted" DVOA, "adjusted so that earlier games in the season become gradually less important. It better reflects how the team was playing at the end of the season."
Despite the winning streak, first round bye and playing in front of a home crowd, the Oilers were upset by Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs at the Astrodome during the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
The 2006 edition of Pro Football Prospectus,Pro Football Prospectus 2006 (), p. 73–75 listed the 1993 Oilers as one of their "Heartbreak Seasons", in which teams "dominated the entire regular season only to falter in the playoffs, unable to close the deal." Said Pro Football Prospectus, "Early in 1993, the Oilers seemed unable to put 'The Comeback' behind them, dropping four of their first five games. But Houston righted the ship and ran the table, winning its final 11 contests. ... The Oilers allowed 20 points only once during the streak, and in one game held the top offense of the 49ers offense to 7 points.
"In their first playoff game", Pro Football Prospectus continued, "they faced Joe Montana's Kansas City Chiefs, a team Houston had beaten 30–0 during the regular season. The Oilers jumped out to an early 10–0 lead, but stalled; leading 13–7 in the fourth quarter, they collapsed, losing 28–20. The team that had played eleven straight games while holding opponents to 20 points or less gave up 21 in the fourth quarter of a playoff game." This would be the last season Warren Moon played for the Oilers, as he was traded to Minnesota in the 1994 offseason. This would be their last winning season and playoff appearance under the Houston Oilers name, or as the Oilers. Their next winning season and playoff appearance would be in their first year as the Tennessee Titans in 1999. The 1993 season was later covered in the "Houston '93" episode of the NFL Films documentary series A Football Life.
Season Review
"Babygate" One bizarre sidelight to the season for Houston came just before the October 17 game vs. the New England Patriots. The day before, Oilers offensive tackle David Williams' wife Debi went into labor that Saturday but the baby was not born yet and Williams was unable to catch a flight, causing him to miss the game. Williams was fined $111,111 by the Oilers for missing the game and criticized by owner Bud Adams for "misplaced priorities", a move that led to intense criticism of the Oilers from fans, players such as defensive end Sean Jones, and news media and talk shows across the United States.
Buddy Ryan-Kevin Gilbride Conflict New defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride did not get along at all; Ryan's autonomy with the defense as promised by team owner Bud Adams (granted in the aftermath of Houston's historic collapse in the previous season playoff loss in Buffalo) and loyalty amongst his players and coaches led to clashes with Gilbride, who was angered by cheap shots the defense regularly inflicted on the offense during practices. Ryan had been criticizing Gilbride's "run and shoot" offense, referring to it as the "chuck and duck." Ryan's own rage grew when two of his players were hurt after going back into games when the offense could have simply just run the ball and killed the clock, but were not able to because of problems the Oilers had using conventional running plays.
At the end of the first half in the final game of the season, a national broadcast against the New York Jets, Gilbride called a pass play, and when Cody Carlson was sacked and fumbled, Ryan started yelling at Gilbride, who started walking towards Ryan, yelling back. When they were in arms length, Ryan threw a glancing punch at Gilbride, who was ready to hit Ryan in return but slightly lost his balance and was then blocked from doing so as two players quickly separated them.YouTube video: Buddy Ryan punching Kevin Gilbride Gilbride wanted to physically pay Buddy back for the cheap shot but several players on both offense and defense begged him to not do so because they were winning a key game. Gilbride reluctantly agreed, and ignored Buddy for the rest of the season and reportedly never spoke to him again. Buddy Ryan would become the Arizona Cardinals head coach after the season.
Gay teammates In 2013, former teammates on the 1993 team said that at least two key players on their roster were generally known by the team to be gay, and were accepted by the team. It confirmed a rumor that had been hinted since that season, but had never been confirmed; had the rumors been proven in 1993, during an era of heightened stigma in the United States towards the HIV/AIDS epidemic compared to today and a mere two years after NBA superstar Magic Johnson's high-profile retirement upon being diagnosed with the disease, it would have almost certainly been the most controversial story of an already turbulent season for the Oilers. Teammate Bubba McDowell said showering with the gay teammates was "no big deal." Lamar Lathon added that he had "never seen tougher guys than those guys."
Jeff Alm's suicide Late in the season, the Oilers suffered the loss of reserve defensive tackle Jeff Alm, who had played two games earlier in the season and was due back soon after rehabilitating a broken leg. At approximately 2:30 am on December 14, 1993, Alm and his best friend, Sean P. Lynch, were in an accident that consisted of Alm losing control of his Cadillac Eldorado near the 610 and Highway 59 interchange, ejecting Lynch out through the windshield of the car where he fell several stories to the asphalt below, killing him instantly. Both Alm and Lynch were intoxicated at the time of the crash after spending a night on the town, and the latter was not wearing a seatbelt while in the vehicle. After seeing his friend was dead, Alm called 9-1-1 and then committed suicide with a shotgun he kept in the trunk of his car. In memory of Alm, his number was worn as a decal on his teammates' helmets and his locker remained untouched for the rest of the season.
Offseason
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents + 1993 undrafted free agents of note Player Position College Lee Williamson Quarterback Presbyterian
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 5 at New Orleans Saints L 21–33 0–1 Louisiana Superdome 69,029 2 September 12 Kansas City Chiefs W 30–0 1–1 Astrodome 59,780 3 September 19 at San Diego Chargers L 17–18 1–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 58,519 4 September 26 Los Angeles Rams L 13–28 1–3 Astrodome 53,072 5 Bye 6 at Buffalo Bills L 7–35 1–4 Rich Stadium 79,613 7 October 17 at New England Patriots W 28–14 2–4 Foxboro Stadium 51,037 8 October 24 Cincinnati Bengals W 28–12 3–4 Astrodome 50,039 9 Bye 10 November 7 Seattle Seahawks W 24–14 4–4 Astrodome 50,447 11 November 14 at Cincinnati Bengals W 38–3 5–4 Riverfront Stadium 42,347 12 November 21 at Cleveland Browns W 27–20 6–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 71,668 13 November 28 Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–3 7–4 Astrodome 61,238 14 December 5 Atlanta Falcons W 33–17 8–4 Astrodome 58,186 15 December 12 Cleveland Browns W 19–17 9–4 Astrodome 58,720 16 December 19 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 26–17 10–4 Three Rivers Stadium 57,592 17 December 25 at San Francisco 49ers W 10–7 11–4 Candlestick Park 61,744 18 January 2, 1994 New York Jets W 24–0 12–4 Astrodome 61,040 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at New Orleans Saints
Houston's run and shoot offense and 46 defense were inconsistent throughout the game. The Oilers scored first to take a 7–0 lead in the first, but the Saints would respond by scoring 33 unanswered points to go up 33–7 in the fourth. Starting quarterback Warren Moon would eventually be benched in favor of Cody Carlson, with the latter breaking Houston's scoring drought with a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Week 2: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The Oilers blanked the Chiefs 30–0, who were without star quarterback Joe Montana. The Houston defense forced five turnovers, picking off Kansas City quarterback Dave Krieg twice, and cornerback Cris Dishman returning a fumble 58 yards for a touchdown.
Week 3: at San Diego Chargers
Both offenses struggled in the game with both teams benching their respective starting quarterbacks. Houston quarterback Warren Moon threw four interceptions before being benched for backup quarterback Cody Carlson. Stan Humphries started at quarterback for San Diego, but was benched after completing just 27% of his passes for 73 yards and an interception in favor of John Friesz. The Chargers failed to score a single touchdown, but kicker John Carney made six field goals to give San Diego the one-point victory.
Week 4: vs. Los Angeles Rams
The Oilers' offensive woes continued against the Rams. Warren Moon threw for 310 yards and a touchdown, but also threw two interceptions and completed just 45% of his passes on 42 attempts.
Week 6: at Buffalo Bills
Coming out of their first bye, the Oilers' offense continued to struggle with Warren Moon throwing three interceptions before being benched for backup Cody Carlson for the third time of the season. With the loss, the Oilers dropped to 1–4. This would be Houston's last loss of the regular season as the team would then go on an eleven game win streak.
Week 7: at New England Patriots
After weeks of poor offensive performances, the Oilers would score 21 points on offense. Quarterback Warren Moon, who had been benched three times and was listed second on the depth chart entering the game, came off the bench, throwing for two touchdowns and no interceptions. With the win, Houston improved to 2–4. This would be their last road win against New England until 2019.
Week 8: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Week 10: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Week 11: at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 12: at Cleveland Browns
Week 13: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 14: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Week 15: vs. Cleveland Browns
Week 16: at Pittsburgh Steelers
5 days after Jeff Alm's tragic death, the Oilers secured their 9th consecutive win in a row by sweeping the Steelers to improve to 10-4 and clinched the AFC Central.
Week 17: at San Francisco 49ers
Despite being held to 10 points, the Oilers won their 10th straight game to improve to 11-4. A Chiefs loss to Minnesota the next day would result in Houston clinching the #2 seed in the AFC and a first-round bye.
Week 18: vs. New York Jets