# 1982 Houston Oilers season

The 1982 Houston Oilers season was the franchise’s 23rd overall and the 13th in the National Football League (NFL). After losing their season opener, the Oilers beat the Seattle Seahawks at the Astrodome 23–21. The Oilers were 1–1 before the two-month players’ strike. When the season resumed the Oilers struggled, losing all seven games. Earl Campbell was held to just 536 yards, as the Oilers finished the season with a 1–8 record.
The last remaining active member of the 1982 Houston Oilers was offensive lineman Mike Munchak, who retired after the 1993 season.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1982 Houston Oilers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 8 | Mike Munchak * $^†$ | Guard | Penn State |
| 2 | 44 | Oliver Luck | Quarterback | West Virginia |
| 3 | 72 | Stan Edwards | Running back | Michigan |
| 3 | 77 | Robert Abraham | Linebacker | North Carolina State |
| 4 | 94 | Steve Bryant | Wide receiver | Purdue |
| 5 | 121 | Malcolm Taylor | Defensive end | Tennessee State |
| 6 | 148 | Gary Allen | Running back | Hawaii |
| 9 | 234 | Matt Bradley | Defensive back | Penn State |
| 10 | 261 | Ron Reeves | Quarterback | Texas Tech |
| 11 | 287 | Jim Campbell | Tight end | Kentucky |
| 12 | 314 | Donnie Craft | Running back | Louisville |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| 1 | September 12 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 6–27 | 0–1 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | September 19 | Seattle Seahawks | W 23–21 | 1–1 | Astrodome | Recap |
| Players’ strike |||||||
| 3 | November 21 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 10–24 | 1–2 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 4 | November 28 | at New England Patriots | L 21–29 | 1–3 | Schaefer Stadium | Recap |
| 5 | December 5 | at New York Giants | L 14–17 | 1–4 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | December 13 | Dallas Cowboys | L 7–37 | 1–5 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 7 | December 19 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 14–35 | 1–6 | Veterans Stadium | Recap |
| 8 | December 26 | Cleveland Browns | L 14–20 | 1–7 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 9 | January 2 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 27–35 | 1–8 | Astrodome | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Cincinnati Bengals$^{(3)}$ | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 | 3–1 | 6–2 | 232 | 177 | W2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers$^{(4)}$ | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 3–1 | 5–3 | 204 | 146 | W2 |
| Cleveland Browns$^{(8)}$ | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 140 | 182 | L1 |
| Houston Oilers | 1 | 8 | 0 | .111 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 136 | 245 | L7 |
AFCvte :
| # | Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| Seeded postseason qualifiers |||||||||
| 1 | Los Angeles Raiders | 8 | 1 | 0 | .889 | 260 | 200 | W5 |
| 2 | Miami Dolphins | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 | 198 | 131 | W3 |
| 3 | Cincinnati Bengals | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 | 232 | 177 | W2 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 204 | 146 | W2 |
| 5 | San Diego Chargers | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 288 | 221 | L1 |
| 6 | New York Jets | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 245 | 166 | L1 |
| 7 | New England Patriots | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 143 | 157 | W1 |
| 8 | Cleveland Browns | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 140 | 182 | L1 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason |||||||||
| 9 | Buffalo Bills | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 150 | 154 | L3 |
| 10 | Seattle Seahawks | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 127 | 147 | W1 |
| 11 | Kansas City Chiefs | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 176 | 184 | W1 |
| 12 | Denver Broncos | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 148 | 226 | L3 |
| 13 | Houston Oilers | 1 | 8 | 0 | .111 | 136 | 245 | L7 |
| 14 | Baltimore Colts | 0 | 8 | 1 | .056 | 113 | 236 | L2 |
| Tiebreakers |||||||||
| 1 2 Miami finished ahead of Cincinnati based on better conference record (6–1 to Cincinnati’s 6–2). 1 2 Pittsburgh finished ahead of San Diego based on better record against common opponents (3–1 to Chargers' 2–1). Conference tiebreak was initially used to eliminate New York Jets. 1 2 3 Pittsburgh and San Diego finished ahead of New York Jets based on conference record (Pittsburgh and San Diego 5–3 against Jets’ 2–3) 1 2 3 Cleveland finished ahead of Buffalo and Buffalo ahead of Seattle based on conference record (4–3 to Buffalo’s 3–3 to Seattle’s 3–5). |||||||||