1993 Houston Oilers season
The 1993 Houston Oilers season was the team's 34th, and their 24th in the National Football League (NFL).
| 1993 Houston Oilers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bud Adams |
| General manager | Mike Holovak |
| Head coach | Jack Pardee |
| Home field | Houston Astrodome |
| Results | |
| Record | 12–4 |
| Division place | 1st AFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. Chiefs) 20–28 |
| Pro Bowlers | QB Warren Moon WR Haywood Jeffires WR Webster Slaughter G Mike Munchak C Bruce Matthews DE Sean Jones DT Ray Childress P Greg Montgomery |
| Uniform | |
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, owner Bud Adams told the team that unless the Oilers made the Super Bowl, he would break up the team. 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. The 11-game winning streak was the longest in the NFL since 1972.
Statistics site Football Outsiders calculates that the Oilers were the hottest team in the NFL heading into the playoffs at the end of the 1993 season.
Despite the winning streak, first-round bye and playing in front of a home crowd, the Oilers were upset by Joe Montana and the Kansas City Chiefs at the Astrodome during the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
The 2006 edition of Pro Football Prospectus, 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." Said Pro 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 league-leading 49ers 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." True to his word, Bud Adams dismantled the team that off-season. Quarterback Warren Moon was shipped to Minnesota, and the Oilers fell to 2–14 the following year. By 1995, there was talk of the team leaving Houston for Nashville. The 1993 season was later covered in the "Houston '93" episode of the NFL Films documentary series A Football Life.