1969 Houston Oilers season

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1969 Houston Oilers season
OwnerBud Adams
General managerDon Klosterman
Head coachWally Lemm
Home fieldHouston Astrodome
Results
Record6–6–2
Division place2nd AFL Eastern
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(at Raiders) 7–56

The 1969 Houston Oilers season was the tenth and final season for the Houston Oilers as a professional AFL franchise before moving to the National Football League when the two merged. The team equaled their 1968 record of 7–7 (.500), finishing 6–6–2.[1] They qualified for the playoffs but lost in the divisional round to the Oakland Raiders.

Roster[edit]

Houston Oilers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Practice squad

rookies in italics

Season schedule[edit]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 14 at Oakland Raiders L 17–21 0–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 49,361 Recap
2 September 21 at Buffalo Bills W 17–3 1–1 War Memorial Stadium 40,146 Recap
3 September 28 Miami Dolphins W 22–10 2–1 Houston Astrodome 41,086 Recap
4 October 5 Buffalo Bills W 28–14 3–1 Houston Astrodome 46,485 Recap
5 October 12 at Kansas City Chiefs L 0–24 3–2 Municipal Stadium 45,805 Recap
6 October 20 at New York Jets L 17–26 3–3 Shea Stadium 63,841 Recap
7 October 26 Denver Broncos W 24–21 4–3 Houston Astrodome 45,348 Recap
8 November 2 at Boston Patriots L 0–24 4–4 Alumni Stadium 19,006 Recap
9 November 9 Cincinnati Bengals T 31–31 4–4–1 Houston Astrodome 45,298 Recap
10 November 16 at Denver Broncos T 20–20 4–4–2 Mile High Stadium 45,002 Recap
11 November 23 at Miami Dolphins W 32–7 5–4–2 Miami Orange Bowl 27,218 Recap
12 November 27 San Diego Chargers L 17–21 5–5–2 Houston Astrodome 40,065 Recap
13 December 6 New York Jets L 26–34 5–6–2 Houston Astrodome 51,923 Recap
14 December 14 Boston Patriots W 27–23 6–6–2 Houston Astrodome 39,215 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries[edit]

Week 1[edit]

The Oilers opened the season at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum and fell behind the Raiders 14–0 in the first quarter. They scored 17 points the next three quarters, but Daryle Lamonica unloaded a 64-yard touchdown to Warren Wells for the 21–17 Raiders win. Pete Beathard had one touchdown but also two interceptions

Week 2[edit]

1 234Total
• Oilers 0 737 17
Bills 3 000 3

[2]

The Oilers intercepted Jack Kemp three times and limited him to 99 passing yards as they scored on Alvin Reed's 12-yard touchdown catch, a Roy Gerela field goal, and Hoyle Granger score.

Week 3[edit]

Roy Gerela booted five field goals as the Oilers' home opener at the Astrodome was a 22–10 win over the Dolphins. Bob Griese had one touchdown, one interception, and was sacked five times.

Week 4[edit]

The Oilers faced Buffalo for the second time in three weeks and scored a touchdown in each quarter, winning 28–14. Jack Kemp threw for 223 yards, nearly reaching Houston's total offensive output of 252 yards.

Week 5[edit]

The Oilers traveled to Kansas City but came out with a shutout loss. The game saw a combined seventeen turnovers and just 345 combined yards of offense as the Chiefs put up 24 points for the 24–0 win.

Week 6[edit]

A full year before the debut of Monday Night Football the defending champion Jets hosted the Oilers on Monday Night and ground out a 23–17 win. Both teams combined for six turnovers (Zeke Moore put up Houston's first touchdown returning a Joe Namath pick in the second quarter) as Namath (306 passing yards) came out on top of Pete Beathard's 314 yards.

Week 7[edit]

With both teams at 3–3 the Oilers returned to the Astrodome to face Lou Saban and the Broncos. The game lead tied or changed on every score; the Oilers took a 14–7 lead in the second before Denver tied it at halftime; the Broncos then scored in the third on Floyd Little's three-yard run; in the fourth Roy Hopkins of the Oilers broke through for a 43-yard touchdown, then the Oilers won on Roy Gerela's 22-yard field goal and the 24–21 final.

Playoffs[edit]

Round Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance Game
recap
Divisional December 21 at Oakland Raiders L 7–56 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,539 Recap

Standings[edit]

AFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
New York Jets 10 4 0 .714 8–0 353 269 W2
Houston Oilers 6 6 2 .500 5–3 278 279 W1
Boston Patriots 4 10 0 .286 3–5 266 316 L2
Buffalo Bills 4 10 0 .286 2–6 230 359 L2
Miami Dolphins 3 10 1 .231 2–6 233 332 L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings of the AFL.

References[edit]