# 1963 Houston Oilers season

The 1963 Houston Oilers season was the fourth season for the Houston Oilers as a professional American football franchise. Houston had won the first two league championships and were runners-up in 1962, which went to a second overtime. In 1963, the Oilers lost their final four games to finish at 6–8, 1½ games behind the Boston Patriots and Buffalo Bills in the Eastern division. They failed to win the division (and qualify for the title game) for the first time in franchise history.

## Season schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 7 | Oakland Raiders | L 13–24 | 0–1 | Jeppesen Stadium | 24,749 | Recap |
| 2 | September 14 | Denver Broncos | W 20–14 | 1–1 | Jeppesen Stadium | 22,855 | Recap |
| 3 | September 22 | at New York Jets | L 17–24 | 1–2 | Polo Grounds | 9,336 | Recap |
| 4 | September 28 | at Buffalo Bills | W 31–20 | 2–2 | War Memorial Stadium | 32,340 | Recap |
| 5 | October 6 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 7–28 | 2–3 | Municipal Stadium | 27,801 | Recap |
| 6 | October 13 | at Denver Broncos | W 33–24 | 3–3 | Bears Stadium | 24,087 | Recap |
| 7 | October 20 | Buffalo Bills | W 28–14 | 4–3 | Jeppesen Stadium | 23,948 | Recap |
| 8 | October 27 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 28–7 | 5–3 | Jeppesen Stadium | 26,331 | Recap |
| 9 | November 1 | at Boston Patriots | L 3–45 | 5–4 | Fenway Park | 31,185 | Recap |
| 10 | November 10 | New York Jets | W 31–27 | 6–4 | Jeppesen Stadium | 23,615 | Recap |
| 11 | November 17 | Bye week | Bye week | Bye week | Bye week | Bye week | Bye week |
| | November 24 | Scheduled AFL games postponed to December 22 | Scheduled AFL games postponed to December 22 | Scheduled AFL games postponed to December 22 | Scheduled AFL games postponed to December 22 | Scheduled AFL games postponed to December 22 | Scheduled AFL games postponed to December 22 |
| 12 | December 1 | at San Diego Chargers | L 0–27 | 6–5 | Balboa Stadium | 31,713 | Recap |
| 13 | December 8 | Boston Patriots | L 28–46 | 6–6 | Jeppesen Stadium | 23,462 | Recap |
| 14 | December 15 | San Diego Chargers | L 14–20 | 6–7 | Jeppesen Stadium | 18,540 | Recap |
| 15 | December 22 | at Oakland Raiders | L 49–52 | 6–8 | Frank Youell Field | 17,401 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

## Standings

AFL Eastern Division :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK |
| Boston Patriots | 7 | 6 | 1 | .538 | 4–2 | 327 | 257 | L1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 7 | 6 | 1 | .538 | 3–3 | 304 | 291 | W2 |
| Houston Oilers | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 3–3 | 302 | 372 | L4 |
| New York Jets | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 2–4 | 249 | 399 | L3 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.

## Season summary
### Week 1 vs Raiders

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Raiders | 0 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 24 |
| Oilers | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
at Jeppesen Stadium, Houston, Texas
* Date: September 7
* Game weather: 88 °F (31 °C)
* Game attendance: 24,749
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
HOU – George Blanda 30-yard field goal. Oilers 3–0.
HOU – George Blanda 46-yard field goal. Oilers 6–0.
Second quarter
No scoring
Third quarter
OAK – Clem Daniels 2-yard run (Mike Mercer kick). Raiders 7–6.
OAK – Mike Mercer 11-yard field goal. Raiders 10–6.
Fourth quarter
OAK – Art Powell 85-yard pass from Tom Flores (Mike Mercer kick). Raiders 17–6.
OAK – Ken Herock 15-yard fumble return (Mike Mercer kick). Raiders 24–6.
HOU – Charley Hennigan 34-yard pass from Jacky Lee (George Blanda kick). Raiders 24–13.
Top passers
OAK – Tom Flores – 7/21, 217 yards, TD
HOU – Jacky Lee – 10/28, 123 yards, TD, INT
Top rushers
OAK – Clem Daniels – 16 rushes, 73 yards, TD
HOU – Charley Tolar – 9 rushes, 44 yards
Top receivers
OAK – Art Powell – 7 receptions, 181 yards, TD
HOU – Charley Hennigan – 7 receptions, 101 yards, TD :