Chargers Stop Moon, but Oilers Stop Everyone

HOUSTON —  San Diego’s defense was ready for Houston’s run-and-shoot offense, holding quarterback Warren Moon to 175 yards passing.

The only problem was, Houston’s defense was ready for the Chargers, beating them, 27-0.

It was the Oilers’ first shutout in 45 games. The last one was against Pittsburgh on Oct. 22, 1989, also by a 27-0 score.

“It’s always great when you can get a team shut out,” Oiler Coach Jack Pardee said. “We played a physical game, and we certainly weren’t looking past the Chargers. There are not too many times in the NFL you get a team shut out.”

Moon, who completed 17 of 28 passes, took what the Chargers gave him, throwing a three-yard touchdown pass to Haywood Jeffires and scoring on a five-yard run.

The 175 yards is Moon’s lowest total since Oct. 20, 1991, when he passed for 171 against Miami. But it was enough to push him past the 50,000-yard mark. That includes 21,228 yards in the Canadian Football League.

The Oilers’ defense made the big plays that the offense couldn’t.

“We sat back and played the quarterback (Stan Humphries),” said cornerback Steve Jackson, whose interception late in the game stopped the Chargers’ best scoring chance. “He didn’t look off his receivers. Usually, the one he was looking at, he threw to.”

Humphries completed 22 of 38 passes for 219 yards, with three interceptions.

Bubba McDowell intercepted Humphries’ final pass of the first half, and Mike Dumas deflected a punt that set up Moon’s touchdown run.

The Oilers improved to 3-1. San Diego is winless in four games.

The Oilers blended Moon’s short passes with Lorenzo White’s runs and went 80 yards for a touchdown on the first drive of the game. Moon had a 33-yard pass to Curtis Duncan for a first down at the San Diego 16, White ran 13 yards to the three and then Moon found Jeffires, who outmaneuvered cornerback Donald Frank for the touchdown catch at the goal line.

A short punt gave Houston possession at the Chargers’ 42 on the Oilers’ next drive, and after Moon completed his fifth consecutive pass, he threw three incompletions in a row. So Al Del Greco came on to kick a 49-yard field goal.