Originally published on Jul. 14, 2022
By Zane Miller
On Sunday, September 9th, 1990, the Atlanta
Falcons hosted the Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans) at Atlanta-Fulton
County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, in the season opener for both teams, as
they were out with something to prove after underwhelming results the previous
year.
In 1989, the Houston Oilers were able to continue
their recent streak of regular season success, taking their third consecutive
winning record by finishing at 9-7. However, the Oilers still had plenty to
prove going into 1990, as they would not be so fortunate in the postseason
after losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round. As a result, the
team went with a new head coach, with Jack Pardee coming over following a stint
with the University of Houston football team. The Falcons, on the other hand,
did not have nearly the same fortune the previous season, finishing as the
second-worst team in the NFL with a 3-13 showing. As a result, the team hired a
new head coach for 1990, as Jerry Glanville took over after being fired by none
other than the Oilers, whom he had coached for beginning with the 1985 season.
Both teams would retain their starting quarterbacks
from the previous campaign, as Warren Moon looked to match his playoff-caliber
performance for the Oilers, while Chris Miller started under center for the
Falcons, setting his sights on bouncing back from the largely disastrous 1989
season.
Although the Oilers clearly came into the opening game
as the favorites on paper, it didn’t take long for Atlanta to establish
themselves courtesy of an Oiler turnover on their opening drive, leading to a
touchdown run by rookie running back Steve Broussard to go up 7-0 early in the
first quarter. Houston proceeded to dig their hole even deeper with one of the
most bizarre defensive touchdowns I’ve ever seen, after linebacker Aundray
Bruce jarred the ball loose from Moon, it bounced off of three other Falcons
players before winding up in the end zone, with a few other Falcons celebrating
without realizing the play was still going. Luckily for them, cornerback Bobby
Butler scooped up the loose ball to officially make it a touchdown.
The comedy of errors carried on for Houston, as they
squandered a massive break on a punt return turnover by turning the ball over
themselves, leading to a 65-yard fumble return by linebacker Jessie Tuggle. At
the end of the first quarter, the Falcons had stunned the Oilers, going up
21-0.
The second quarter would see Atlanta increase their
advantage with a pair of field goals from kicker Greg Davis, although the
Oilers would eventually get their first score of the afternoon as Moon found
rookie wide receiver Tony Jones for his first career touchdown. Despite that
feel-good story, the Oilers still found themselves behind 27-7 as the teams
vacated the field for halftime.
The Falcons kept their momentum going in the second
half, with Miller hitting wide open wide receiver Andre Rison for a 26-yard
touchdown, scoring the only points of the third quarter. Atlanta proceeded to
add a field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, claiming a commanding
37-7 lead.
Determined to make the final score look somewhat
respectable, the Oilers offense came back strong on their ensuing drive, as
Moon hit wide receiver Ernest Givins for the game’s longest offensive
touchdown, with the 80-yard strike lighting a bit of a fire for Houston.
Givins, who would go on to be named as a second-team All-Pro at season’s end,
caught another touchdown pass from Moon to make it a 37-21 game. After getting
the ball back once again, the Oilers continued to march down the field, with
Moon scoring his fourth touchdown pass of the game, this time finding wide
receiver Bernard Ford for his lone touchdown grab as a member of the Oilers.
Although their extra point attempt was unsuccessful, they had finally cut down
the Falcons’ lead to just two possessions. With less than four minutes to work
with, Houston had no choice but to roll the dice with an onside kick, which was
easily handled by the Falcons’ Michael Haynes.
With the contest essentially out of reach, the Falcons
capitalized on the short field with a 51-yard field goal from Davis, before
putting an exclamation point on the opening day victory with an 82-yard
interception by cornerback Deion Sanders, for the first of what would be 10
defensive touchdowns for the future Hall of Famer. With that, the Falcons
finished off a convincing 47-27 win, although this performance would be far
from representative of the rest of Atlanta’s season.
Despite the spectacular opening day win, the Falcons’
momentum would quickly stall out, losing the next two games and ended the year
at a 5-11 record to miss the postseason for the eighth straight year. However,
the Oilers responded to their slow start by matching their 1989 record of 9-7
thanks in large part to the play of Moon, who would go on to score offensive
player of the year honors. This would allow the Oilers reach the playoffs yet
again, though they would fall in the first round to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Link to stats database:
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199009090atl.htm
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