# 1989 Houston Oilers season

The 1989 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 30th season and their 20th in the National Football League (NFL). The franchise scored 365 points while the defense gave up 412 points. Their record of 9 wins and 7 losses resulted in a second-place finish in the AFC Central Division. The Oilers appeared once on Monday Night Football and appeared in the playoffs for the third consecutive year. It would be Jerry Glanville’s final year as the Oilers coach. Despite making the playoffs, the Oilers, like their arch rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, had a negative point differential, making them the first teams since the 1984 Giants with this distinction.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1989 Houston Oilers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 23 | David Williams | Offensive tackle | Florida |
| 2 | 50 | Scott Kozak | Linebacker | Oregon |
| 3 | 77 | Bubba McDowell | Safety | Miami (FL) |
| 4 | 104 | Rod Harris | Wide receiver | Texas A&M |
| 5 | 131 | Glenn Montgomery | Defensive tackle | Houston |
| 6 | 157 | Bo Orlando | Safety | West Virginia |
| 7 | 190 | Tracy Rogers | Linebacker | Fresno State |
| 8 | 217 | Alvoid Mays | Cornerback | West Virginia |
| 9 | 244 | Bob Mrosko | Tight end | Penn State |
| 10 | 271 | Tracy Johnson | Running back | Clemson |
| 11 | 298 | Brian Smider | Tackle | West Virginia |
| 12 | 325 | Chuck Hartlieb | Quarterback | Iowa |
| Made roster ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1989 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Steve Avery | Fullback | Northern Michigan |
| Scott Bednarski | Fullback | TCU |
| Twalure Boyd | Wide receiver | Wyoming |
| Daryl llikainen | Guard | North Dakota State |
| Wesley Keck | Fullback | North Texas State |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 10 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 7–38 | 0–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 54,015 |
| 2 | September 17 | at San Diego Chargers | W 34–27 | 1–1 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 42,013 |
| 3 | September 24 | Buffalo Bills | L 41–47 (OT) | 1–2 | Astrodome | 57,278 |
| 4 | October 1 | Miami Dolphins | W 39–7 | 2–2 | Astrodome | 53,326 |
| 5 | October 8 | at New England Patriots | L 13–23 | 2–3 | Sullivan Stadium | 59,828 |
| 6 | October 15 | at Chicago Bears | W 33–28 | 3–3 | Soldier Field | 64,383 |
| 7 | October 22 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 27–0 | 4–3 | Astrodome | 59,091 |
| 8 | October 29 | at Cleveland Browns | L 17–28 | 4–4 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,765 |
| 9 | November 5 | Detroit Lions | W 35–31 | 5–4 | Astrodome | 48,056 |
| 10 | November 13 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 26–24 | 6–4 | Astrodome | 60,694 |
| 11 | November 19 | Los Angeles Raiders | W 23–7 | 7–4 | Astrodome | 59,198 |
| 12 | November 26 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 0–34 | 7–5 | Arrowhead Stadium | 51,342 |
| 13 | December 3 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 23–16 | 8–5 | Three Rivers Stadium | 40,541 |
| 14 | December 10 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 20–17 | 9–5 | Astrodome | 54,532 |
| 15 | December 17 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 7–61 | 9–6 | Riverfront Stadium | 47,510 |
| 16 | December 23 | Cleveland Browns | L 20–24 | 9–7 | Astrodome | 58,852 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Playoffs

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
| Wildcard | December 31, 1989 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 26–23 | 58,406 |

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Cleveland Browns$^{(2)}$ | 9 | 6 | 1 | .594 | 3–3 | 6–5–1 | 334 | 254 | W2 |
| Houston Oilers$^{(4)}$ | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 365 | 412 | L2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers$^{(5)}$ | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 1–5 | 6–6 | 265 | 326 | W3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 5–1 | 6–6 | 404 | 285 | L1 |

### Week 3

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| • Bills | 10 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 47 |
| Oilers | 7 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 0 | 41 |

## Playoffs
### AFC Wildcard Game

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Steelers | 7 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 26 |
| Oilers | 0 | 6 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 23 |
at Astrodome, Houston, Texas
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST
* Game attendance: 59,406
* Referee: Pat Haggerty
* TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Bob Trumpy
Steelers defensive back Rod Woodson recovered a fumble to set up Gary Anderson's winning 51-yard field goal in overtime to give Pittsburgh the win. The Steelers scored first with running back Tim Worley's 1-yard rushing touchdown. But from that point on until the fourth quarter, the two teams exchanged 6 field goals. In the final period, Oilers quarterback Warren Moon, who finished the game with 315 passing yards, threw two touchdowns to wide receiver Ernest Givins, an 18-yarder and a 9-yarder. However, Pittsburgh running back Merrill Hoge tied the game on a 2-yard rushing touchdown with 46 seconds left in regulation.
Hoge finished the game with 100 rushing yards on just 17 carries, along with 3 receptions for 26 yards.

## Awards and records

* Ray Childress, 1989 AFC Pro Bowl selection
* Warren Moon, Pro Bowl
* Warren Moon, All-Pro selection
* Warren Moon, Man of the Year

### Milestones

* Warren Moon, 1st 400 Yard Passing Game (414)