The 1969 Houston Oilers season was the tenth and final season for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

as a professional

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

before moving to the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

when the two merged. The team equaled their 1968 record of 7–7 (.500), finishing 6–6–2. They qualified for the playoffs but lost in the Divisional Round to the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

Roster

Season schedule

Game summaries

Week 1

The Oilers opened the season at

Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently naming rights, branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880 (California), In ...

and fell behind the Raiders 14–0 in the first quarter. They scored 17 points the next three quarters, but

Daryle Lamonica Daryle Pasquale Lamonica (July 17, 1941 – April 21, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. He spent ...

unloaded a 64-yard touchdown to

Warren Wells Warren Wells (November 14, 1942 – December 27, 2018) was an American college and professional football player, who played wide receiver for five seasons, with the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders. He had success with the Raiders with one 1,00 ...

for the 21–17 Raiders win.

Pete Beathard Peter Falconer Beathard ( ;

had one touchdown but also two interceptions

Week 2

Pro-Football-Reference.com
/ref> The Oilers intercepted

Jack Kemp Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician and a professional football player. A member of the Republican Party from New York, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bu ...

three times and limited him to 99 passing yards as they scored on Alvin Reed's 12-yard touchdown catch, a

Roy Gerela Roy Gerela (born April 2, 1948 in Sarrail, Alberta) is a Canadian former professional football player who was a placekicker in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He won three Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Ste ...

field goal, and

Hoyle Granger Hoyle John Granger ( ;
Retrieved July 29, 2020 born March 7, 1944) is a former collegiate a ...

score.

Week 3

booted five field goals as the Oilers' home opener at the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

was a 22–10 win over the

Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...

Bob Griese Robert Allen Griese (pronounced ; born February 3, 1945) is a former American football quarterback who earned All-American honors with the Purdue Boilermakers before being drafted in 1967 by the American Football League's Miami Dolphins. Gries ...

had one touchdown, one interception, and was sacked five times.

Week 4

The Oilers faced Buffalo for the second time in three weeks and scored a touchdown in each quarter, winning 28–14.

threw for 223 yards, nearly reaching Houston's total offensive output of 252 yards.

Week 5

The Oilers traveled to

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

but came out with a shutout loss. The game saw a combined seventeen turnovers and just 345 combined yards of offense as the Chiefs put up 24 points for the 24–0 win.

Week 6

A full year before the debut of ''

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

'' the defending champion Jets hosted the Oilers on Monday Night and ground out a 23–17 win. Both teams combined for six turnovers (

Zeke Moore Zeke Moore (born December 2, 1943) is a former professional American Football player who played defensive back for the American Football League's Houston Oilers from 1967–1969, and for the NFL Oilers from 1970 through 1977. Moore returned 14 k ...

put up Houston's first touchdown returning a

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college foot ...

pick in the second quarter) as Namath (306 passing yards) came out on top of

Pete Beathard Peter Falconer Beathard ( ;

's 314 yards.

Week 7

With both teams at 3–3 the Oilers returned to the

to face

Lou Saban Louis Henry Saban (October 13, 1921 – March 29, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He played for Indiana University in college and as a professional for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference between 1946 a ...

and the

Broncos A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...

. The game lead tied or changed on every score; the Oilers took a 14–7 lead in the second before Denver tied it at halftime; the Broncos then scored in the third on

Floyd Little Floyd Douglas Little (July 4, 1942 – January 1, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a halfback for the Denver Broncos, initially in the American Football League (AFL) and later the National Football League (NFL). He ...

's three-yard run; in the fourth Roy Hopkins of the Oilers broke through for a 43-yard touchdown, then the Oilers won on

's 22-yard field goal and the 24–21 final.

Playoffs

Standings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1969 Houston Oilers Season Houston Oilers seasons

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...