# 1974 Houston Oilers season

The 1974 Houston Oilers season was the 15th season overall and fifth with the National Football League. The Oilers improved upon their previous season's 1–13 record, winning seven games. Despite the improvement, they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1974 Houston Oilers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 4 | 79 | Steve Manstedt | Linebacker | Nebraska | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Schedule
### Preseason

Due to a player's strike affecting the 1974 preseason, the Oilers, like the rest of the NFL, played the preseason using an all-rookie roster. The strike was resolved prior to the start of the regular season.
On July 16, the Oilers played a preseason game vs the minor league San Antonio Toros, marking the last time an NFL team would play a game against a minor league team. (In 1969, the Atlanta Falcons rookies would play the minor league Alabama Hawks and in 1972 the New York Jets rookies would play the minor league Long Island Chiefs)

### Regular season

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 15 | San Diego Chargers | W 21–14 | 1–0 | Astrodome | 25,317 | Recap |
| 2 | September 22 | at Cleveland Browns | L 7–20 | 1–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 55,242 | Recap |
| 3 | September 29 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 7–17 | 1–2 | Astrodome | 28,538 | Recap |
| 4 | October 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–13 | 1–3 | Astrodome | 30,049 | Recap |
| 5 | October 13 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 10–51 | 1–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 48,006 | Recap |
| 6 | October 20 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 27–31 | 1–5 | Astrodome | 26,371 | Recap |
| 7 | October 27 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 34–21 | 2–5 | Riverfront Stadium | 55,434 | Recap |
| 8 | November 3 | at New York Jets | W 27–22 | 3–5 | Shea Stadium | 47,218 | Recap |
| 9 | November 10 | at Buffalo Bills | W 21–9 | 4–5 | Rich Stadium | 79,144 | Recap |
| 10 | November 17 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 20–3 | 5–5 | Astrodome | 44,054 | Recap |
| 11 | November 24 | Dallas Cowboys | L 0–10 | 5–6 | Astrodome | 49,775 | Recap |
| 12 | December 1 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 13–10 | 6–6 | Three Rivers Stadium | 41,195 | Recap |
| 13 | December 8 | at Denver Broncos | L 37–14 | 6–7 | Mile High Stadium | 46,942 | Recap |
| 14 | December 15 | Cleveland Browns | W 28–24 | 7–7 | Astrodome | 33,299 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

## Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 10 | 3 | 1 | .750 | 4–2 | 7–3–1 | 305 | 189 | W2 |
| Houston Oilers | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 4–2 | 7–4 | 236 | 282 | W1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 5–6 | 283 | 259 | L3 |
| Cleveland Browns | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 1–5 | 3–8 | 251 | 344 | L2 |

## Season summary
### Week 1 vs Chargers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Chargers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Oilers | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas
* Date: September 15
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Indoors (dome)
* Game attendance: 25,317
* Referee: Pat Haggerty
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
HOU – George Amundson 1-yard run (Skip Butler kick). Oilers 7–0. Drive:
HOU – George Amundson 8-yard pass from Lynn Dickey (Skip Butler kick). Oilers 14–0. Drive:
Second quarter
SD – Glen Bonner 3-yard run (Dennis Partee kick). Oilers 14–7. Drive:
Third quarter
SD – Gary Garrison 29-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Dennis Partee kick). Tie 14–14. Drive:
Fourth quarter
HOU – George Amundson 3-yard run (Skip Butler kick). Oilers 21–14. Drive:
Top passers
SD – Dan Fouts – 13/20, 209 yards, TD, 2 INT
HOU – Lynn Dickey – 19/26, 195 yards, TD, INT
Top rushers
SD – Cid Edwards – 16 rushes, 100 yards
HOU – Ronnie Coleman – 21 rushes, 123 yards
Top receivers
SD – Gary Garrison – 4 receptions, 80 yards, TD
HOU – George Amundson – 5 receptions, 51 yards :