Head coach Jack Pardee Owner Bud Adams Record 10–6 | General manager Mike Holovak Home field Astrodome Division place 2nd AFC Central | |
The 1992 Houston Oilers season was the team's 33rd season and their 23rd in the National Football League (NFL).
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The Oilers reached the playoffs for the 6th consecutive season, which was the longest such streak in the NFL at the time. (They would extend that to seven straight playoff appearances the next season.) During this season, Houston finished the season 10-6, good enough for 2nd place in the AFC Central. In the postseason, the Oilers would suffer the worst choke in NFL history, losing a 35-3 lead in the Wild Card game against Buffalo to lose 41-38. This is deemed the greatest comeback in NFL history (regular or postseason) and is called "The Comeback".
AFC Wildcard
The Oilers held a 35–3 lead on the Buffalo Bills. Bills backup quarterback Frank Reich led the Bills on a 38–3 run in the second half and overtime against the Oilers defense en route to a 41–38 overtime victory. The game is the largest comeback in NFL history, regular or postseason. Houston, whose 1992 team some believed gave them their best chance to win the Super Bowl, made several sweeping changes in the offseason.
Defensive coordinator Jim Eddy was fired shortly after the game. Oilers cornerback Cris Dishman called it "the biggest choke in history,"
According to statistics site Football Outsiders, who does play-by-play analyses of each team each season, the Oilers were the best team in the AFC at the end of the 1992 season. "So if you are a Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans fan," says the site, "who agonizes over the Frank Reich comeback game blowing your franchise's best shot at a Super Bowl title, well, here's another opportunity to feel sad."
Scoring summary