Oilers Provide Example of Too Little, Too Late : AFC: Houston ends 11-game losing streak with 24-10 victory over New York and ends season 2-14.

Just when they got it right, the season ended for the Houston Oilers.

Reserve quarterback Bucky Richardson, who hadn’t played in the last two games, ran for one touchdown and ignited the dismal Oiler offense to a 24-10 victory over the New York Jets on Saturday, ending an 11-game losing streak.

“I feel good about this, but I wish we could have done it all year,” wide receiver Haywood Jeffires said. “It seems like a shame we had to wait so long to get our offense going. We ought to be all set for next year.”

The Oilers (2-14) had only four touchdowns in their last five games to rank 28th in NFL scoring. But Richardson gave Houston its best offensive output of the season with 382 yards.

Houston hadn’t won since defeating Cincinnati, 20-13, on Sept. 25. The Jets lost their fifth in a row after being in position to take over first place in the East on Nov. 27.

The Oilers’ victory didn’t even jeopardize their No. 3 spot in the draft. With victories by both Washington and Cincinnati, the Oilers still had the worst record in the league and will pick behind expansion teams Carolina and Jacksonville.

“Our performance today is similar to how it’s been for us all season since the Miami game,” Jet Coach Pete Carroll said. “It’s hard to believe that one game could have that kind of effect, but it did.”

The Jets led Miami, 24-6, going into the fourth quarter but lost 28-24, initiating their losing streak.

The smallest crowd at Houston this season, 31,176, viewed the game, breaking the previous season low of 31,453 that watched the Oilers lose to Seattle on Dec. 11.

Richardson completed 17 of 30 passes for 220 yards and rushed six times for 46 yards before leaving with 13:42 to play because of a sprained knee.

The Jets, and not the Oilers, must live through the off-season with a losing streak.

“I have no answers right now,” Esiason said. “I’m sure that our team, the coaches and the staff will take a real good look at what’s going on. But to fail is something that’s very difficult to stomach.”