1969 Houston Oilers season

1969 Houston Oilers season
Owner	Bud Adams
Head coach	Wally Lemm
Home field	Astrodome
Results
Record	6–6–2
Division place	2nd AFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Round

The 1969 Houston Oilers season was their tenth and final in the American Football League before moving to the National Football League 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.

Roster

Houston Oilers roster
Quarterbacks 11 Pete Beathard 12 Bob Davis 10 Don Trull Running Backs 35 Woody Campbell 32 Hoyle Granger 36 Roy Hopkins Wide Receivers 81 Jim Beirne 84 Mac Haik 40 Charlie Joiner 87 Paul Zaeske Tight Ends 89 Alvin Reed		Offensive Linemen 61 Hank Autry C 66 Sonny Bishop G 78 Glen Ray Hines T 50 Bobby Maples C 60 Tom Regner G 76 Walt Suggs T Defensive Linemen 65 Elvin Bethea DE 71 Tom Domres DT 79 Pat Holmes DE 74 Willie Parker DT 72 George Rice DT		Linebackers 52 Garland Boyette 56 Olen Underwood 53 Loyd Wainscott 90 George Webster Defensive Backs 20 Miller Farr CB 33 W. K. Hicks FS 29 Ken Houston SS 22 Zeke Moore CB Special Teams 3 Roy Gerela K		Reserve Lists Practice Squad Rookies in italics

Season schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 14, 1969	at Oakland Raiders	L 21–17	49,361
2	September 21, 1969	at Buffalo Bills	W 17–3	40,146
3	September 28, 1969	Miami Dolphins	W 22–10	41,086
4	October 5, 1969	Buffalo Bills	W 28–14	46,485
5	October 12, 1969	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 24–0	45,805
6	October 20, 1969	at New York Jets	L 26–17	63,841
7	October 26, 1969	Denver Broncos	W 24–21	45,348
8	November 2, 1969	at Boston Patriots	L 24–0	19,006
9	November 9, 1969	Cincinnati Bengals	T 31–31	45,298
10	November 16, 1969	at Denver Broncos	T 20–20	45,002
11	November 23, 1969	at Miami Dolphins	W 32–7	27,218
12	November 27, 1969	San Diego Chargers	L 21–17	40,065
13	December 6, 1969	New York Jets	L 34–26	51,923
14	December 14, 1969	Boston Patriots	W 27–23	39,215

Game summaries

Week 1

The Oilers opened the season at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum and fell behind the Raiders 14–0 in the first quarter. They scored 17 points the next three quarters, but Daryle Lamonica unloaded a 64-yard touchdown to Warren Wells for the 21–17 Raiders win. Pete Beathard had one touchdown but also two interceptions

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total • Oilers 0 7 3 7 17 Bills 3 0 0 0 3 Date: September 21 Location: War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York Game weather: 58°F, wind 6 mph

Scoring summary 1 BUF Bruce Alford 14 yard field goal Bills 3–0 2 HOU Alvin Reed 12 yard pass from Pete Beathard (Roy Gerela kick) Oilers 7–3 3 HOU Roy Gerela 21 yard field goal Oilers 10–3 4 HOU Hoyle Granger 1 yard run (Roy Gerela kick) Oilers 17–3

The Oilers intercepted Jack Kemp three times and limited him to 99 passing yards as they scored on Alvin Reed's 12-yard touchdown catch, a Roy Gerela field goal, and Hoyle Granger score.

Week 3

Roy Gerela booted five field goals as the Oilers' home opener at the Astrodome was a 22–10 win over the Dolphins. Bob Griese 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. Jack Kemp threw for 223 yards, nearly reaching Houston's total offensive output of 252 yards.

Week 5

The Oilers traveled to Kansas City 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 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 put up Houston's first touchdown returning a Joe Namath pick in the second quarter) as Namath (306 passing yards) came out on top of Pete Beathard's 314 yards.

Week 7

With both teams at 3–3 the Oilers returned to the Astrodome to face Lou Saban and the Broncos. 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's three-yard run; in the fourth Roy Hopkins of the Oilers broke through for a 43-yard touchdown, then the Oilers won on Roy Gerela's 22-yard field goal and the 24–21 final.

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Divisional	December 21, 1969	at Oakland Raiders	L 56–7	53,539

Standings

AFL Eastern Division
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
New York Jets	10	4	0	.714	8–0	353	269	W2
Houston Oilers	6	6	2	.500	5–3	278	279	W1
Boston Patriots	4	10	0	.286	3–5	266	316	L2
Buffalo Bills	4	10	0	.286	2–6	230	359	L2
Miami Dolphins	3	10	1	.231	2–6	233	332	L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings of the AFL.