The Houston Oilers season was the 32nd season and their 22nd in the National Football League (NFL). Haywood Jeffires would become the second Oiler to have 100 receptions in a season. The first Oiler to accomplish the feat was Charley Hennigan in 1964. Jeffires would be the fifth receiver in NFL history to have a 100 reception season. The Oilers scored 386 points and gave up 251 points. The franchise earned its first division title since the AFL-NFL merger, having last won a division title in the 1967 American Football League season. The franchise finished the season with 11 wins compared to 5 losses and appeared twice on Monday Night Football.
Offseason
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1991 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeGary HollingsworthQuarterbackAlabamaJon ReedWide receiverWestern CarolinaRon ViaeneDefensive TackleMinnesota Duluth
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 at San Diego Chargers L 29–31 0–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 43,042 2 Atlanta Falcons L 7–36 0–2 Astrodome 52,140 3 August 18 Dallas Cowboys W 30–20 1–2 Astrodome 53,314 4 vs. Los Angeles Rams W 16–13 2–2 Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 63,200
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 1 Los Angeles Raiders W 47–17 1–0 Astrodome 61,367 2 September 8 at Cincinnati Bengals W 30–7 2–0 Riverfront Stadium 56,463 3 September 16 Kansas City Chiefs W 17–7 3–0 Astrodome 61,058 4 September 22 at New England Patriots L 20–24 3–1 Foxboro Stadium 30,702 5 Bye 6 October 6 Denver Broncos W 42–14 4–1 Astrodome 59,145 7 October 13 at New York Jets W 23–20 5–1 Giants Stadium 70,758 8 October 20 at Miami Dolphins W 17–13 6–1 Joe Robbie Stadium 60,705 9 October 27 Cincinnati Bengals W 35–3 7–1 Astrodome 58,634 10 November 3 at Washington Redskins L 13–16 7–2 RFK Stadium 55,096 11 November 10 Dallas Cowboys W 26–23 8–2 Astrodome 63,001 12 November 17 Cleveland Browns W 28–24 9–2 Astrodome 58,155 13 November 24 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 14–26 9–3 Three Rivers Stadium 45,795 14 December 2 Philadelphia Eagles L 6–13 9–4 Astrodome 61,141 15 December 8 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–6 10–4 Astrodome 59,225 16 December 15 at Cleveland Browns W 17–14 11–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 55,680 17 December 21 at New York Giants L 20–24 11–5 Giants Stadium 63,421 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Games summaries
Week 1 vs Raiders
Week 14
With the loss, the Oilers fell to 9-4 (1-2 against the NFC East & 6-1 at home). This would be their last home loss against the Eagles until 2026 (when the franchise became the Tennessee Titans beginning in 1999).
Standings
Playoffs
AFC Wild Card
After leading 14–10 at halftime, the Oilers stopped the Jets twice inside the 5-yard line in the second half to preserve the victory. Houston quarterback Warren Moon threw two touchdowns in the first half, both to Ernest Givins for 5 and 20 yards. This would be the team's last playoff win while playing in Houston and would not win another playoff game until the Music City Miracle during the 1999 playoffs, their third season in Tennessee and their first season as the Titans.
AFC Divisional Playoff
Trailing 24–23 with 2:07 left in the game, quarterback John Elway led the Broncos from their own 2-yard line to the winning 28-yard field goal with 16 seconds remaining. On the drive, he converted on two fourth downs. On fourth down and 6 from the Denver 28, he rushed for 7 yards. Then on fourth down and 10, he completed a 44-yard pass to wide receiver Vance Johnson.
The Oilers jumped to a 14–0 lead with quarterback Warren Moon's two touchdown passes to wide receivers Haywood Jeffires and Drew Hill for 15 and 9 yards, respectively. Elway then completed a 10-yard touchdown to Johnson, but kicker David Treadwell missed the extra point. Moon responded by throwing a 6-yard touchdown to wide receiver Curtis Duncan to give Houston a 21–6 lead, but Denver running back Greg Lewis scored a 1-yard touchdown before halftime. In the second half, the Oilers were limited to only a 25-yard field goal by kicker Al Del Greco, which gave Houston a 24–16 lead in the fourth quarter. The Broncos then marched 80 yards to score on Lewis' 1-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 24–23.
Elway's comeback is now known solely as The Drive II.
Awards and records Haywood Jeffires – Houston Oilers record, most receptions in one game, (13) Haywood Jeffires, All Pro selection Haywood Jeffires, Pro Bowl selection Warren Moon, Pro Bowl selection Warren Moon, Houston Oilers record, most passing yards in a season (4,690) Warren Moon, NFL leader, most passing yards in a season (4,690)
Milestones Haywood Jeffires – 1st 100 reception season NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 440 Haywood Jeffires – 2nd 1,000 yard receiving season (1,181 yards) Warren Moon, 2nd 4,000 yard passing season (4,690) Warren Moon, 3rd 400 yard passing game (423 vs. New York Jets) Warren Moon, 4th 400 yard passing game (432 vs. Dallas Cowboys)
References
External links 1991 Houston Oilers at Pro-Football-Reference.com