The 1975 Houston Oilers season was the team's 16th year and sixth in the National Football League.
In Bum Phillips' first season as Coach, the Oilers played competitive football, posting their first winning season in eight years with a 10âÂÂ4 record. All four losses were to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, who beat out the Oilers for the Division Title and Wild Card spot, respectively; the Oilers did not make the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. During week 13, the Oilers defeated the Oakland Raiders, who posted an 11âÂÂ3 record and advanced to the AFC Championship game. During the season, the Oilers also defeated Washington and Miami, each team with a winning record.
Had a second wild card been available (it was not until 1978), the Oilers would have clinched it thanks to their win vs. the Dolphins (both Houston and Miami finished 10-4).
It was a three-win improvement over their previous season, the Oilers' first winning season since 1967, and the franchise's best record since 1962.
The team achieved a winning record with ten wins and four losses, but finished only third in the division and missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
When they defeated the Redskins in Week 5, the Oilers became the last AFL team to finally win a game against the NFC, since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970 (although the OIlers defeated former NFL teams Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, all of whom moved to the AFC as part of the merger, prior to 1975). Houston was 0-11-1 vs. the NFC from 1970-74, with the tie vs. New Orleans in 1971.