Remembering the Greatest Individual Defensive Performance in NFL Playoff History

If you were to mention the name of Vernon Perry to a typical pro football fan today, they would probably look at you with a very quizzical expression. “Vernon Who?” might be a common response that you would hear from them. But when you talk about pro football during the 1970s, and specifically when you mention the 1979 AFC Playoffs, the name of Vernon Perry of the Houston Oilers is synonymous with defensive greatness.

If ever a player would make headlines in the span of a few hours during the 1979 postseason, Vernon Perry would do so in spectacular fashion.

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Heading Into 1979 Playoffs

The Chargers were the highest scoring team in the league in 1979, and they were very healthy compared to the Oilers. San Diego was declared the favorites by every oddsmaker to beat Houston and advance to the AFC Championship Game. But a funny thing happened on the way to seeing the Chargers beat the Oilers.

Yes, Houston had more injuries to their starting personnel than any team in the 1979 postseason tournament. Yes, the Oilers would be without starting quarterback Dan Pastorini in this game.

Pastorini would be replaced by little-used second-year signal caller Gifford Nielsen. Yes, Houston would be without their starting tailback Earl Campbell, another key performer whose injuries kept him out of the lineup.

But the Oilers had a load of heart and character on their roster.

And they also had Vernon Perry.

Vernon Perry - Hero In The Making

Go up to San Diego Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts today and smile at him and say these two words…Vernon Perry.

Then watch Fouts’ demeanor switch instantly from a congenial smile to angst and perhaps even to anger. All Vernon Perry did in the AFC Playoffs at San Diego to cause such a reaction from Dan Fouts was to intercept the Chargers quarterback four times in the game, thus destroying four Chargers drives.

Fouts threw for 333 yards in the game, which was a decent amount of yardage. But Perry’s interceptions kept Fouts and his buddies from scoring a single point in the game’s fourth quarter. By the final gun, Fouts would throw a total of five interceptions, easily his worst outing of the year.

Perry also blocked a San Diego field goal attempt off the foot of Chargers placekicker Mike Wood in the second quarter, and he returned the ball 57 yards. That key blocked kick led to a Houston field goal, which would eventually provide the Oilers with their margin of victory, 17-14.

Fouts and the rest of his San Diego offense were definitely not used to playing in a low-scoring game, as this playoff contest had turned out to be. The Chargers offense were used to scoring lots of points, and moving the ball downfield in a brisk fashion, particularly through the air. Fouts threw for 4,082 yards during the 1979 season, which was tops in the league. His completion percentage of 62.6 percent was also the highest mark in the NFL in 1979.

So the efforts of Vernon Perry on December 29, 1979, had to be quite a shock to Fouts and to the rest of the San Diego offense.

Perry would say after the game that “…They (the Chargers) kept throwing at me and I kept intercepting passes. Picking on a rookie isn’t such a bad idea in a passing scheme.

This just happened to be one of those times where it worked out better for me.”

Vernon Perry was indeed the spark that the injury-ridden Houston Oilers needed to beat the San Diego Chargers in the 1979 AFC Divisional Playoffs. His ability to be in the right place at the right time, and to take the best advantage to all of the opportunities that were presented to him, enabled his team to advance to the 1979 AFC Title Game.

Vernon Perry is thus the answer to a great pro football trivia question: Who was the only player in the league’s modern era to intercept four passes in one playoff game and block one field goal in the same game? The answer is Vernon Perry.

Trivia Question:

Here’s another Trivia Question for you: What Houston Oilers defensive back besides Vernon Perry also intercepted a Dan Fouts pass in the 1979 AFC Divisional Playoff Game between Houston and San Diego?

Host of Pro Football in the 1970s - Joe Zagorski

Throughout his days, Joe spent some time as a sportswriter and has been a member of the Pro Football Researchers Association since the mid-1980s. Joe is also a proud member of the Pro Football Writers of America.

Also, if you’re interested in picking one of Joe’s books up, all three are listed below.

Here, you can learn more about Joe and Pro Football in the 1970s.