The1978Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 19th overall and the ninth in theNational Football League (NFL). Led by Rookie RBEarl 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 since1969, 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 stunthe Miami Dolphins, 17–9, in the two teams first playoff meeting, then defeatedthe 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 tothe eventual champion Steelers.
The Oilers appeared twice onMonday Night Football. In their first appearance on Monday Night Football, the Oilers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 24–17. In their second appearance, the Oilers defeatedthe 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.[1]
On November 20,1978, the Oilers took onthe Miami Dolphins onMonday 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 ofLuv Ya Blue.
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 byRay 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 cornerbackAnthony Leonard in the end zone. ButSteve DeBerg who had 321 yards passing this day came back with a 58-yard touchdown pass toFreddie 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 toPaul 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 withoutO. J. Simpson but Wersching's 46-yard field goal sailed wide left as the Oilers got an important win.
QuarterbackDan Pastorini led the Oilers to an upset victory by passing for 306 yards. Houston outgained the Dolphins in total yards, 455-209, and forced 5 turnovers while only losing one on their end.
Miami managed to keep Houston running backEarl Campbell well contained in the first half, limiting him to just 16 yards on 13 carries, but they were unable to handle the passing attack of Pastorini, who completed 16 of 21 passes for 261 yards during that time. Meanwhile, Dolphins quarterbackBob Griese completed just 6 of 16 passes in the first two quarters.
The Dolphins scored first afterEarnie Rhone recovered a fumbled punt from Robert Woods at the Houston 21-yard line, setting up quarterbackBob Griese's 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Andre Tillman. However, the Oilers responded with an 11-play, 71-yard drive in which Pastorini completed 6 of 7 passes for 66 yards, the last one a 13-yard touchdown pass to running backTim Wilson. Neither team scored again until the fourth quarter, despite several chances. In the second quarter, Pastorini completed a 55-yard pass to tight end Mike Barber on the Dolphins 9-yard line, but the drive ended with no points whenToni Fritsch's 28-yard field goal attempt was blocked by linebacker Kim Bokamper. The Oilers later drove to the Dolphins red zone with 14 seconds left in the half. On the next play, Pastorini completed a pass toKen Burrough, but he was tackled short of the end zone and the clock ran out before the team could spike the ball to stop it.
In the third quarter, Miami blew a chance to take then lead whenGaro Yepremian drove a 38-yard field goal attempt wide left. In the final period,Toni Fritsch made a 35-yard field goal to give the Oilers a 10-7 lead. Then linebackerGregg Bingham intercepted a pass from Griese and returned it 4 yards to midfield. Campbell finally managed to get into gear with a 20-yard run on the ensuing drive, and eventually finished it off with a 1-yard rushing touchdown. The Dolphins closed out the scoring, but only when Pastorini ran out of the end zone for an intentional safety to run out the clock.
Despite his poor first half, Campbell finished the game with 84 rushing yards and a 13-yard reception. Wilson rushed for 76 yards and caught 5 passes for 40. Barber had 112 yards on 4 receptions, while Burroughs caught 6 passes for 103. Griese finished the game just 11/28 for 114 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Oilers and Dolphins.
1978 AFC Divisional Playoffs (Sunday, December 31, 1978): at (A2)New England Patriots
QuarterbackDan Pastorini led the Oilers to a victory by throwing for 200 yards and three touchdowns, while running backEarl Campbell rushed for 118 yards and a score.
After a scoreless first quarter, Houston completely took over the game. Houston receiverKen Burrough caught a pass from Pastorini at the Pats 40-yard, broke through coverage fromMike Haynes, and took off for a 71-yard touchdown reception. Raymond Clayborn's 47-yard kickoff return gave the Patriots a chance to strike back, but two plays later,Steve Grogan's pass on aflea flicker play was intercepted byMike Reinfeldt on the Oilers 1-yard line. Aided by an unnecessary roughness penalty that gave them a first down after failing to convert a 3rd down on their own 7-yard line, Houston drove 99 yards to score on Pastorini's 19-yard touchdown pass to tight endMike Barber. Again, the Patriots seemed ready to respond, driving to the Oilers 23-yard line, but again they came up short due to Reinfeldt, who intercepted another pass from Grogan to end the drive. Reinfeldt's 27-yard return and another unnecessary roughness penalty against New England gave the Oilers a first down on the Patriots 49-yard line. Pastorini completed a 22-yard pass to Barder, and eventually got his team a 21-0 lead with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Barber at the end of the possession.
Pastorini finished the first half with 10 of 12 completions for 184 yards and 3 touchdowns. He threw only two passes in the second half, both completions. Meanwhile, Grogan was benched with 18 seconds left in the half, having completed only 3 of 12 passes for 38 yards.
A 30-yard field goal byToni Fritsch gave the Oilers a 24-0 third quarter lead before New England managed a comeback. First they drove 75 yards to score onAndy Johnson's 24-yardhalfback option play pass to receiverHarold Jackson. Then in the fourth quarter, they took advantage of a short field due to a poor punt byCliff Parsley, scoring onTom Owen's 24-yard touchdown pass to tight endRuss Francis that cut their deficit to 24-14. However, their efforts were dashed on their drive when linebackerGregg Bingham intercepted an Owen pass and returned it 19 yards to the Patriot 18-yard line, setting up Campbell's 2-yard touchdown run to put the game away.
Francis caught 8 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.
This was the Patriots only playoff loss at Foxboro Stadium. They did not lose another home playoff game again until31 years later, seven years afterGillette Stadium opened.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Oilers and Patriots.
1978 AFC Championship Game (Sunday, January 7, 1979): at (A1)Pittsburgh Steelers
On a wet, slick, and slippery field, the Steelers dominated the Oilers by forcing 9 turnovers and only allowing 5 points. Pittsburgh took the early lead by driving 57 yards to score on running backFranco Harris' 7-yard touchdown run. Then, linebackerJack Ham recovered a fumble at the Houston 17-yard line, which led to running backRocky Bleier's 15-yard rushing touchdown.
In the second quarter, a 19-yard field goal by Oilers kickerToni Fritsch cut the score 14–3, but then the Steelers scored 17 points during the last 48 seconds of the second quarter. First, Houston running backRonnie Coleman lost a fumble, and moments later Pittsburgh wide receiverLynn Swann caught a 29-yard touchdown reception. ThenJohnnie Dirden fumbled the ensuing kickoff, which led to Steelers wide receiverJohn Stallworth's 17-yard reception. After the Oilers got the ball back, Coleman fumbled again, andRoy Gerela kicked a field goal to increase Pittsburgh's lead, 31–3. Houston never posed a threat for the rest of the game as they turned over the ball four times in their six second-half possessions.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Oilers and Steelers.
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