The 1975 Houston Oilers season was the team's 16th year and sixth in the National Football League.
In Bum Phillips' first season as Coach, the Oilers played competitive football, posting their first winning season in eight years with a 10–4 record. All four losses were to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, who beat out the Oilers for the Division Title and Wild Card spot, respectively; the Oilers did not make the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. During week 13, the Oilers defeated the Oakland Raiders, who posted an 11–3 record and advanced to the AFC Championship game. During the season, the Oilers also defeated Washington and Miami, each team with a winning record.
Had a second wild card been available (it was not until 1978), the Oilers would have clinched it thanks to their win vs. the Dolphins (both Houston and Miami finished 10-4).
It was a three-win improvement over their previous season, the Oilers' first winning season since 1967, and the franchise's best record since 1962.
Offseason NFL draft
Roster Houston Oilers roster Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Billy Johnson
Tight ends Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams Reserve lists
rookies in italics
Regular season The team achieved a winning record with ten wins and four losses, but finished only third in the division and missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 21 at New England Patriots W 7–0 1–0 Schaefer Stadium 51,934 2 September 28 San Diego Chargers W 33–17 2–0 Astrodome 33,765 3 October 5 Cincinnati Bengals L 19–21 2–1 Astrodome 42,412 4 October 12 at Cleveland Browns W 40–10 3–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 46,531 5 October 19 Washington Redskins W 13–10 4–1 Astrodome 49,566 6 October 26 Detroit Lions W 24–8 5–1 Astrodome 46,904 7 November 2 at Kansas City Chiefs W 17–13 6–1 Arrowhead Stadium 62,989 8 November 9 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–24 6–2 Three Rivers Stadium 49,460 9 November 16 Miami Dolphins W 20–19 7–2 Astrodome 48,892 10 November 24 Pittsburgh Steelers L 9–32 7–3 Astrodome 49,947 11 November 30 at Cincinnati Bengals L 19–23 7–4 Riverfront Stadium 46,128 12 December 7 at San Francisco 49ers W 27–13 8–4 Candlestick Park 44,015 13 December 14 at Oakland Raiders W 27–26 9–4 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 50,719 14 December 21 Cleveland Browns W 21–10 10–4 Astrodome 43,770 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Milestones When they defeated the Redskins in Week 5, the Oilers became the last AFL team to finally win a game against the NFC, since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970 (although the OIlers defeated former NFL teams Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, all of whom moved to the AFC as part of the merger, prior to 1975). Houston was 0-11-1 vs. the NFC from 1970-74, with the tie vs. New Orleans in 1971.
References
Oilers on Pro Football Reference Oilers on jt-sw.com