Oilers Turn to the Blame Game, Fire Two : Pro football: Defensive assistants Eddy and Thomas pay the price for the Bills’ comeback victory. Cornerback Dishman decries second-half strategy.

The Houston Oilers, whose defense collapsed during the second half of Sunday’s overtime playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, fired defensive coordinator Jim Eddy and defensive back coach Pat Thomas on Monday.

Thomas was a cornerback with the Rams from 1976-82.

Backup quarterback Frank Reich threw three second-half touchdown passes to Andre Reed as the Bills scored a 41-38 victory in overtime after trailing, 35-3, early in the third quarter. It was the greatest comeback in NFL history, and it was accomplished against a unit that ranked fourth in total defense.

As might be expected, there was some bickering over the Oilers’ second-half strategy. Cornerback Cris Dishman criticized it; Eddy supported it.

“We knew they were going to feature Andre Reed in the second half, but we stayed in the same zones,” Dishman said. “When you play the same things all the time, teams are going to beat you. It was the same old coverage.”

Oiler Coach Jack Pardee said he saw nothing wrong with the coverage plans.

“We knew they’d concentrate on Reed, and he hurt us anyway,” Pardee said.

“We tried to blitz and that put us in some one-on-one coverages. They called timeout to stop a couple of blitzes.”

Said Eddy: “Any time you get beat, you always get outplayed and outcoached. They are an explosive team, and we allowed them to stay in the game.”

The Oilers also had breakdowns on special teams. Buffalo recovered an onside kick that led to a touchdown, and holder Greg Montgomery bobbled a snap that prevented an Oiler field-goal try.

“We didn’t allow our offense a chance to get back on the field and spin the clock,” Eddy said.

Asked about Dishman’s comments, Eddy said: “It’s a thing that happens in pro football. It gets down to where nobody wants to talk about themselves. They want to talk about the concept.”

The firings were announced late Monday after Oiler players cleaned out their lockers. Doors that usually were open to the team locker room were closed. Players reported for postseason physicals and, after talking in muted tones, departed into a steady drizzle that typified the mood of the moment.

Quarterback Warren Moon, usually affable, covered his face and left without comment.

General Manager Mike Holovak entered the practice facility and was asked for comment. “I’d rather not right now,” he said.

Pardee noted that the Oilers “played them for six quarters and gave up two field goals. Then they changed their crossing routes to vertical routes and they were making throws and catches like we were in the first half.”

The Oilers, who beat the Bills, 27-3, in the final regular-season game, tumbled out of the playoffs for the sixth year in a row.

“This is about as much fun as (Sunday),” Pardee said. “We played better than I thought we could play in the first half--four series, four touchdowns.

“Then in the second half, all of a sudden, they had the plays made. This is the first time anything like this has taken place.”

The Oilers have the longest current streak of qualifying for the playoffs, but have yet to get past the second round. They took a big lead over Denver a year ago before losing, 26-24, to a last-minute comeback by the Broncos.