Houston Oilers
September 29th, 1985 - Our man Warren Moon had quite a rough day in an early afternoon shootout against cross state rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys put Warren on the turf a record 12 times, and forced the future Hall of Famer to throw 4 interceptions. The Cowboys would pull out the 17-10 victory late in the fourth quarter on a Danny White Touchdown Pass to TE Fred Cornwell. It was the 2nd and final TD catch of Fred’s career.
On This Day
Rookie running sensation Earl Campbell stole the show as The Houston Oilers hosted the Miami Dolphins in a Monday Night Football thriller back on November 20th, 1978. Miami running back Delvin Williams was actually leading the league in rushing yards entering the contest, but that was about to change. A tight back and forth first half left the teams knotted 14-14 at the half. Earl had been held to just 44 yards thus far.
The tides would turn in Houston’s favor in the second half as everyone tuned into ABC that night around the country witnessed Earl’s stellar strength & skills. Earl had his way. Running with power & ease he effortlessly discarded dumbfounded Dolphin defenders to the wayside. Two Miami turnovers combined with Campbell’s epic second half allowed Houston to hold on for a 35-30 victory. Improving the Oilers to 8-4 on the season.
Earl finished the night with 199 yards on 28 carries with 4 touchdowns. One of those being an 81 yard scamper.
The Tyler Rose went on to earn many accolades for his stellar rookie season, finishing with a then rookie record 1450 yards on 302 carries and 13 touchdowns.
The two teams would meet again that post season in the Wild Card round, with Houston securing the win yet again. 17-9
Happy Birthday Lorenzo White. The Houston Oilers Running Back earned the only Pro Bowl nod of his eight year career during the 1992 season when he rushed for 1,226 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Did you know that in Lorenzo’s 1985 Sophomore season at Michigan State he became the 1st running back in Big Ten History to eclipse the 2,000 yard mark? His 2,066 yards and 17 touchdowns earned him 4th place in the Heisman race.
Happy Birthday Haywood Jeffires! The 3x Pro Bowler and member of the famous ‘Run & Gun’ Offense of the early 90’s Houston Oilers led the NFL in receptions in 1991 with 100 catches! Warren Moon’s statistics that season are pretty crazy. 404 completions for 4,690 yards and 23 touchdowns. He did lead the league with 21 interceptions though.
Oilers wide receiver Ernest Givins’ Rookie Year of 1986 happened to be the only season in which he would top the 1,000 yard receiving mark. Ernest would put together eight more solid years in Houston while catching bombs from Warren Moon in the ‘Run & Shoot’ offense and finishing as the All-Time leader in receptions & receiving yards in Oilers/Titans history. Happy Birthday Ernest !
Dudes We Dig ! (00) Ken Burrough - The Houston Oilers Wide Receiver is the last player to don the #00 in the NFL. During this Pro Bowl Season of 1975 6 of his 8 Touchdowns he scored went for 50 yards or more. Actually he was the only receiver in the league to eclipse the 1,000 yd mark in ‘75. (1,063yds)
