# 1990 Houston Oilers season

The 1990 Houston Oilers season was the 31st season and their 21st in the National Football League (NFL). The Oilers scored 405 points which ranked second in the AFC and second overall in the NFL. Their defense gave up 307 points. During the season, the Oilers appeared once on Monday Night Football and defeated the Buffalo Bills. On December 16, 1990, Warren Moon threw for 527 yards in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Moon was part of the Oilers "Run and shoot" era. The run and shoot offense also incorporated teammates Ernest Givins, Drew Hill, Haywood Jeffires and Curtis Duncan. The 1990 season saw the Oilers appear in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. They finished tied for first in the AFC Central with the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers, as all three teams finished with identical 9–7 records. The Bengals would be awarded the division title by having a better division record than Houston or Pittsburgh. The Oilers would win the tiebreaker over the Steelers by having a better division record than them. This placed them in second place behind Cincinnati, who would turn out to be their playoff opponent. However, they would have to play their playoff game without Moon, who dislocated his thumb two weeks before the season ended when he hit his thumb on the helmet of defender James Francis. Cody Carlson was tapped to start in what became his only career playoff start. As a result, the Oilers were embarrassed by the Bengals 41–14 in the wild card game, in what was Cincinnati's last playoff win until 2021, being outgained 349–226 in total yards and committing 2 turnovers in the defeat.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1990 Houston Oilers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 15 | Lamar Lathon * | Linebacker | Houston | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 9 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 27–47 | 0–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 56,222 |
| 2 | September 16 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 9–20 | 0–2 | Three Rivers Stadium | 54,814 |
| 3 | September 23 | Indianapolis Colts | W 24–10 | 1–2 | Astrodome | 50,093 |
| 4 | September 30 | at San Diego Chargers | W 17–7 | 2–2 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 48,762 |
| 5 | October 7 | San Francisco 49ers | L 21–24 | 2–3 | Astrodome | 59,931 |
| 6 | October 14 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 48–17 | 3–3 | Astrodome | 53,501 |
| 7 | October 21 | New Orleans Saints | W 23–10 | 4–3 | Astrodome | 57,908 |
| 8 | October 28 | New York Jets | L 12–17 | 4–4 | Astrodome | 56,337 |
| 9 | November 4 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 13–17 | 4–5 | Anaheim Stadium | 52,628 |
| 10 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 11 | November 18 | at Cleveland Browns | W 35–23 | 5–5 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 76,726 |
| 12 | November 26 | Buffalo Bills | W 27–24 | 6–5 | Astrodome | 60,130 |
| 13 | December 2 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 10–13 (OT) | 6–6 | Kingdome | 57,592 |
| 14 | December 9 | Cleveland Browns | W 58–14 | 7–6 | Astrodome | 54,469 |
| 15 | December 16 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 27–10 | 8–6 | Arrowhead Stadium | 61,756 |
| 16 | December 23 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 20–40 | 8–7 | Riverfront Stadium | 60,044 |
| 17 | December 30 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 34–14 | 9–7 | Astrodome | 56,906 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(3)}$ Cincinnati Bengals | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–1 | 8–4 | 360 | 352 | W2 |
| $^{(6)}$ Houston Oilers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 405 | 307 | W1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2–4 | 6–6 | 292 | 240 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 1–5 | 2–10 | 228 | 462 | L2 |

## Playoffs
### AFC Wild Card

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oilers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Bengals | 10 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 41 |
at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 40 °F (4 °C), rain
* Game attendance: 60,012
* Referee: Dale Hamer
* TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy

## Awards and records

* Ray Childress, 1990 AFC Pro Bowl selection
* Ernest Givins, Pro Bowl selection
* Drew Hill, Ranked second in AFC in receptions
* Haywood Jeffires, Led AFC in Receptions
* Warren Moon, NFL leader, passing yards (4,689)
* Warren Moon, Pro Bowl selection
* Warren Moon, All-Pro selection (1990)
* Warren Moon, NEA NFL MVP
* Warren Moon, NFL Offensive Player of the Year
* Warren Moon, UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year
* Warren Moon, Houston Oilers record, most passing yards in one game (527)

### Milestones

* Haywood Jeffires – 1st 1,000 Yard Receiving Season (1,048 yards)
* Drew Hill – 4th 1,000 Yard Receiving Season (1,019 yards)
* Warren Moon, 2nd 400 Yard Passing Game (527)