Anti-Dynasty #32: 1970-73 Houston Oilers
The early 70s Oilers: a quick spiral into absolute terrible football, and nearly an equally quick recovery.
Peak Anti-Dynasty Points: 42
Record: 9-45-2 (.179)
Average DVOA: -23.4%
Bottom-Five DVOA: -18.7%
Two last-place finishes in the NFL; Three last-place finishes in the AFC Central
Head Coaches: Wally Lemm, Ed Hughes, Bill Peterson, Sid Gillman
Key Players: QB Dan Pastorini, WR Charlie Joiner, DE Elvin Bethea, DE Pat Holmes, CB Zeke Moore, S Ken Houston
Z-Score: -1.14
The 1970s Oilers are the last team to make our list without lasting five full seasons, and thus taking a penalty to their bottom-five DVOA. They're also just one of two teams to pull this feat off since the merger; most teams that stopped after three or four seasons did so in the 1920s and 1930s, and they "stopped" because their franchise stopped existing. This is the epitome of the short, sharp shock team—a quick spiral into absolute terrible football, and nearly an equally quick recovery.
