# 1995 Houston Oilers season

The 1995 NFL season was the 36th overall season of the Houston Oilers and their 26th with the National Football League (NFL). Their 7–9 record bested their previous season's output of 2–14, but they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
The Oilers drafted quarterback Steve McNair with the third overall draft pick, but he started the season on the bench behind free agent signee Chris Chandler, who played solid football as the team showed improved in their first full year under Jeff Fisher. The story of the season came on November 16 when owner Bud Adams announced plans to move the team to Nashville when the lease at the Astrodome expired in 1998. The Oilers were the debut opponent of the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars, just as they had been with the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL's previous expansion.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1995 Houston Oilers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 3 | Steve McNair * | Quarterback | Alcorn State |
| 2 | 35 | Anthony Cook | Defensive end | South Carolina State |
| 3 | 67 | Chris Sanders | Wide receiver | Ohio State |
| 3 | 89 | Rodney Thomas | Running back | Texas A&M |
| 3 | 95 | Torey Hunter | Cornerback | Washington State |
| 4 | 101 | Michael Roan | Tight end | Wisconsin |
| 5 | 159 | Gary Walker * | Defensive tackle | Auburn |
| 6 | 174 | Hicham El-Mashtoub | Center | Arizona |
| 7 | 211 | C. J. Richardson | Safety | Miami (FL) |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| 1 | September 3 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 10–3 | 1–0 | Jacksonville Municipal Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | September 10 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 17–34 | 1–1 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 3 | September 17 | Cleveland Browns | L 7–14 | 1–2 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 4 | September 24 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 38–28 | 2–2 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap |
| 5 | October 1 | Jacksonville Jaguars | L 16–17 | 2–3 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 6 | October 8 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 17–23 (OT) | 2–4 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | Recap |
| 7 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 8 | October 22 | at Chicago Bears | L 32–35 | 2–5 | Soldier Field | Recap |
| 9 | October 29 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 19–7 | 3–5 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 10 | November 5 | at Cleveland Browns | W 37–10 | 4–5 | Cleveland Stadium | Recap |
| 11 | November 12 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 25–32 | 4–6 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 12 | November 19 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 13–20 | 4–7 | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap |
| 13 | November 26 | Denver Broncos | W 42–33 | 5–7 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 14 | December 3 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–21 | 5–8 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap |
| 15 | December 10 | Detroit Lions | L 17–24 | 5–9 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 16 | December 17 | New York Jets | W 23–6 | 6–9 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 17 | December 24 | at Buffalo Bills | W 28–17 | 7–9 | Rich Stadium | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1: at Jacksonville Jaguars

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oilers | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Jaguars | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida
* Date: September 3, 1995
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Overcast, 82 °F (28 °C)
* Game attendance: 72,363
* TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Beasley Reece
* Recap
Game information :
First quarter
HOU – Haywood Jeffires 4-yard pass from Chris Chandler (Al Del Greco kick), 6:43. Oilers 7–0. Drive: 13 plays, 78 yards, 7:17.
Second quarter
No scoring plays.
Third quarter
HOU – Al Del Greco 19-yard field goal, 5:22. Oilers 10–0. Drive: 9 plays, 59 yards, 4:41.
Fourth quarter
JAC – Mike Hollis 26-yard field goal, 11:58. Oilers 10–3. Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 4:32.
Top passers
HOU – Chris Chandler – 9/14, 61 yards, TD
JAC – Steve Beuerlein – 7/17, 54 yards
Top rushers
HOU – Gary Brown – 29 rushes, 101 yards
JAC – James Stewart – 10 rushes, 36 yards
Top receivers
HOU – Derek Russell – 2 receptions, 24 yards
JAC – Desmond Howard – 3 receptions, 33 yards :

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(2)}$ Pittsburgh Steelers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 407 | 327 | L1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 349 | 374 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 348 | 324 | W2 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 289 | 356 | L1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 275 | 404 | W1 |