1993 Houston Oilers season
Owner	Bud Adams
General manager	Mike Holovak
Head coach	Jack Pardee
Home stadium	Houston Astrodome
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1stAFC Central
Playoff finish	LostDivisional Playoffs (vs.Chiefs) 20–28
Pro Bowlers	QBWarren Moon WRHaywood Jeffires WRWebster Slaughter GMike Munchak CBruce Matthews DESean Jones DTRay Childress PGreg Montgomery
Uniform
← 1992 Oilers seasons 1994 →

The1993Houston Oilers season was the team's 34th, and their 24th in theNational 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, ownerBud Adams told the team that unless the Oilers made theSuper Bowl, they can expect to see a massive overhaul next year due to the impending salary cap.^[1] 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 since1972.^[2]

Statistics siteFootball Outsiders calculates that the Oilers were the hottest team in the NFL heading into the playoffs at the end of the 1993 season.^[3]

Despite the winning streak, first round bye and playing in front of a home crowd, the Oilers were upset byJoe Montana and theKansas City Chiefs at theAstrodome during the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

The 2006 edition ofPro Football Prospectus,^[4] 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." SaidPro 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 the49ers 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 seasonWarren Moon played for the Oilers, as he was traded toMinnesota in the 1994 offseason.^[5] This would be their last winning season and playoff appearance under the Houston Oilers name,^[6] or as the Oilers. Their next winning season and playoff appearance would be in their first year as the Tennessee Titans in1999. The 1993 season was later covered in the "Houston '93" episode of theNFL Films documentary seriesA Football Life.^[7]

One bizarre sidelight to the season for Houston came just before the October 17 game vs. theNew England Patriots. The day before, Oilers offensive tackleDavid 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 ownerBud Adams for "misplaced priorities", a move that led to intense criticism of the Oilers from fans, players such as defensive endSean Jones, and news media and talk shows across the United States.^[8]

New defensive coordinatorBuddy Ryan and offensive coordinatorKevin 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, anational broadcast against theNew York Jets, Gilbride called a pass play, and whenCody 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.^[9] 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 theArizona Cardinals head coach after the season.

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 theHIV/AIDS epidemic compared to today and a mere two years after NBA superstarMagic 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. TeammateBubba McDowell said showering with the gay teammates was "no big deal."^[10]Lamar Lathon added that he had "never seen tougher guys than those guys."^[10]

Late in the season, the Oilers suffered the loss of reserve defensive tackleJeff Alm, who had played two games earlier in the season and was due back soon after rehabilitating a broken leg.^[11] 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 hisCadillac 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 wereintoxicated 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 called9-1-1 and then committedsuicide with a shotgun he kept in the trunk of his car.^[12] 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.

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Houston'srun and shoot offense and46 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 quarterbackWarren Moon would eventually be benched in favor ofCody Carlson, with the latter breaking Houston's scoring drought with a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

The Oilers blanked the Chiefs 30–0, who were without star quarterbackJoe Montana. The Houston defense forced five turnovers, picking off Kansas City quarterbackDave Krieg twice, and cornerbackCris Dishman returning a fumble 58 yards for a touchdown.

Both offenses struggled in the game with both teams benching their respective starting quarterbacks. Houston quarterbackWarren Moon threw four interceptions before being benched for backup quarterbackCody 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 ofJohn Friesz. The Chargers failed to score a single touchdown, but kickerJohn Carney made six field goals to give San Diego the one-point victory.

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.

Coming out of their first bye, the Oilers' offense continued to struggle withWarren Moon throwing three interceptions before being benched for backupCody 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.

After weeks of poor offensive performances, the Oilers would score 21 points on offense. QuarterbackWarren 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.

With the AFC Central and a first-round bye locked up, the Oilers rested many of their starters against the Jets. The game became notorious for an incident that occurred near the end of the first half. Fourth-year offensive coordinatorKevin Gilbride and first-year defensive coordinatorBuddy Ryan had budded heads since Ryan's arrival in the offseason. Things boiled over in the second quarter when Gilbride called a pass play that resulted in a sack and fumble by quarterbackCody Carlson. Ryan walked over to Gilbride while yelling at him, with Gilbride yelling at Ryan in return. Ryan then threw a punch at Gilbride before the two were separated by players. After the incident, Gilbride reportedly never spoke to Ryan again.

Despite the incident, the Oilers would shutout the Jets 24–0. Houston finished the season 12–4 for the best record in franchise history up to the point. The Oilers also finished the season with an eleven game win streak after having started the season 1–4.

Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana threw three touchdown passes in the second half to give his team a 28–20 win. The Oilers jumped to a 10–0 lead in the first quarter with kickerAl Del Greco's 49-yard field goal and running back Gary Brown's 2-yard touchdown. Then after a scoreless second period, Montana threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight endKeith Cash in the third quarter. In the fourth period, Del Greco kicked a 43-yard field goal to give Houston a 13–7 lead. But aided by a 38-yard pass interference penalty, the Chiefs advanced 71 yards to score on wide receiverJ. J. Birden's 11-yard touchdown reception from Montana. On the Oilers' next possession, Kansas City defensive linemanDan Saleaumua recovered a fumble by Houston quarterbackWarren Moon, setting up Montana's 18-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Willie Davis. The Oilers then drove 80 yards to score on wide receiverErnest Givins' 7-yard touchdown catch, but the Chiefs responded with running back Marcus Allen's game-clinching 21-yard touchdown that capped off a 79-yard drive to go up two scores (the NFL would not introduce thetwo-point conversion until the following season).

• Haywood Jeffires, Pro Bowl Selection
• Warren Moon, Pro Bowl Selection
• Bruce Mathews, Pro Bowl Selection^[15]
• Greg Montgomery, Pro Bowl Selection^[15]
• Ray Childress, Pro Bowl Selection^[15]
• Mike Munchak, Pro Bowl Selection^[15]
• Sean Jones, Pro Bowl Selection^[15]
• Webster Slaughter, Pro Bowl Selection^[15]

The January 16th game marked the last time the Oilers would play a playoff game while playing in Houston. It was not until their third year in Tennessee, which by that time saw the team renamed the Titans, that the team would return to the playoffs;in that season the franchise advanced all the way to the Super Bowl.

Houston itself would not see another NFL playoff game until theHouston Texans, the successors to the Oilers who entered the league in 2002, hosted a Wild Card playoff game atReliant Stadium in early 2012.

As of the end of the 2021 season, the Oilers/Titans franchise has only seen five division titles since 1993 (2000 in theAFC Central, 2002, 2008, 2020, and 2021 in theAFC South). In all five of those seasons, the franchise failed to advance to the Super Bowl, and in three of those years the team was defeated as the AFC's #1 seed. The Titans, however, have made ten playoff appearances since the team moved to Tennessee in 1997 and have won eight playoff games, the most recent in 2019 when they defeated theRavens in a Divisional matchup. Incidentally, theTennessee Titans victory against the Patriots in the Wild Card playoff game was the first victory the organization achieved in Foxboro since October 17, 1993, when the organization was still based out of Houston as the Oilers.

• List of NFL teams affected by internal conflict

• 1993 Houston Oilers atPro-Football-Reference.com

• 1993 NFL season by team
• Houston Oilers seasons
• AFC Central championship seasons
• 1993 in sports in Texas

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from November 2013