European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 17, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday december 17, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 21 sunday in the of boilers survive Browns weather Cleveland a its the ques lion the Houston oilers have been anxious to answer since Jack Pardee installed the run and shoot. A everybody says a what can they do when they need to win How will they do in bad weather a a quarterback Warren Moon said sunday. A we reacted pretty Well to that Moon drove the oilers 82 Yards through a snowstorm to the winning touchdown with two minutes left As Houston beat the Cleveland Browns 1714. He completed six passes on the win Ning drive and in the process set a single season nil record for completions in a season. His 2-Yard touchdown pass to Haywood Jeffires with 2 19 to play gave the oilers their first and Only Lead. It was Moons 382nd completion this season surpassing the Mark of 378 set by Dan Marino in 1986. The run and shoot is a proven offence indoors but doubters say it can t be relied upon when Snow wind and cold Are added to the mix. Though Houston had trouble getting into the end zone it moved the Ball Well despite 29-degree cold and occasionally heavy Snow a particularly when it mattered most. Moon completed 26 of 40 passes for 250 Yards and overcame an interception that killed one fourth Quarter drive. A it s just a matter of making the big plays w Hen you have to regardless of the weather he said. Quot coach Pardee said we had to go into this game not making an Issue of the weather. We be made some big drives before although this was maybe under worse the conditions became the oilers ally at the end. After Bernie Kosar took the Browns to the Houston 1-Yard line with Lour seconds left. Matt Stover hooked a 9 Yard Field goal attempt wide of the left upright. Quot i think i May have slipped a Little bit. But it was t enough to make me miss a Field goal a Stover said. Quot How far was it 18-19 Yards hell i Don t know. That s crazy i was having fun. I wanted to kick it. 1 Felt it was like solid. There Are no the loss mathematically eliminated Cleveland 6-9 from playoff possibilities. Houston 11-4 matched a team record for wins and kept alive its Hope for a first round Roll Over giants to go 14-1 Washington a the Washington redskins say complacency is their chief worry Between now and the Start of the playoffs but they dispatched those concerns for now with a convincing 34-17 Victory Over the new York giants on sunday. A i was really proud of our Guys because they had a Good attitude a redskins coach Joe Gibbs said after his club improved to 14-1. A they have a tremendous amount of respect for the giants and they played them they should sundays Victory marked the first time since 1983 that the redskins have swept their season series against the giants and despite their two wins this year new York has still won seven of the last 10 meetings Between the clubs. But the redskins who have wrapped up the pfc East title and Home Field advantage through the playoffs played like a super bowl contender. By contrast the defending super bowl champions eliminated from the playoffs last week suffered another bitter defeat. A obviously a coach is responsible for discipline and our discipline has just gone All to hell a said embattled giants coach Ray Handley. A by that 1 mean simple execution. The fundamentals have gone to the redskins used a hurry up offence to score one first half touchdown and scored two other touchdowns after giant turnovers to take a 24-10 halftime Lead and take control of the contest. After Matt Bahrs 36-Yard Field goal gave the giants 7-8 a 3-0 first period Lead the redskins went to a hurry up offence and scored on their second play when quarterback Mark Rypien hit Gary Clark for a 65-Yard scoring strike. Clark who ran a turn in out of a no huddle formation caught the Ball at the new York 40, bounced off free safety Myron Guyton and broke a tackle by cornerback Perry Williams and raced into the end zone. A that was just a throw and Gary Clark did the rest a said Rypien. A a Gary a been coming up big every game and it looks like this is really his it was the first Long gain of another big Day for Rypien who completed 9 of 19 passes for 230 Yards and three touchdowns before leaving the game in the fourth period with a torn Fingernail on his passing hand. A the had a he Kuva Day and he s really had a he Kuva year a Gibbs said of the of cd Stop rated signal caller entering the game. A i m really proud of him. Because he a kind of proved himself every Day Quot but before Rypien led Washington to its 14th Victory in 15 games it was giants quarterback Phil Simms Chance to Shine. After the giants got the Ball at the Washington 43 following a 25-Yard Kelly Goodburn punt new York took a 10-7 Lead with 13 34 remaining in the half when Simms ran the Ball in from the Washington 1. But then Washington a opportunistic defense took Over. Redskins defense surrounds and takes Down giants running Back Rodney hand rams 9th straight defeat Minneapolis up Reggie Rutland returned an interception a club record 97 Yards for one score and Herschel Walker ran in from the 2 for another sunday helping the Minnesota Vikings defeat the rams 20-14 and hand los Angeles a club record tying ninth straight loss. Even with the Victory the Vikings 8-7, were eliminated from Post season Contention when Dallas beat Philadelphia. Walkers scoring run six minutes into the second Quarter gave Minnesota a 7-0 Lead. The Vikings made it 10-0 on a 20-Yard Field goal by Fuad Reveiz with 16 seconds remaining in the first half. The rams 3-12, Cut the deficit to 10-7 Early in the third Quarter when Cleveland Gary scored from the 1. After Reveiz 22-Yard Field goal with 1 25 left in the third Quarter made it 13-7, los Angeles drove Down the Field and was in position to take the Lead. However Jim Everett a pass was picked off by Rutland who returned it 97 Yards Down the right sideline for the clinching score. Bills win Colts earn top pick Indianapolis a Buffalo gets to play at Home and Indianapolis gets to pick first in the draft. Kenneth Davis playing for the injured Thurman Thomas rushed for 90 Yards and one touchdown and caught one of three touchdown passes by Jim Kelly on sunday night As the Bills beat the Colts 35-7 and clinched the Home Field advantage throughout the acc playoffs. Buffalo 13-2scoring on its first three possessions with almost no resistance by a puny Indianapolis defense also set club season records for Points passing yardage and total offence. The Only Consolation for Indianapolis 1-14which went wingless at Home and matched a franchise record for the most losses in one season was the guarantee of the no. 1 pick in next Springs College draft As the worst team in the nil. Indianapolis also owns Tampa Bay s first round pick through a Trade last year and a Victory Over the buccaneers in the season Windup at Tampa next week would give the Colts the top two selections in the draft. The Only touchdown for the Colts was on a 1-Yard run by Tim Manoa Early in the fourth Quarter. Manoa started in place of Erie Dickerson out with the flu and set up his first to of the season with a 44-Yard run the Colts longest Rush in two years. Thomas who went in As the a Fly a leading rusher this season sprained his left ankle on his sixth carry of the games first series. He had rushed for 34 Yards and the Bills reached the Indianapolis 14 on that play. A 13-Yard pass to James Lofton then set up a i Yard run by Davis for the first touchdown two plays later. Buffalo went 96 Yards in 10 plays on its next Possession and runs of 10, 10 and 12 Yards by Davis helped set up an 11-Yard touchdown pass to Lofton. A 55-Yard punt return by Clifford Hicks minutes later gave the Bills the Ball at the Indianapolis 17, and three plays later Kelly passed 14 Yards to Davis for another to and a 21-0 Lead after one Quarter. Kelly who also passed 23 Yards to Andre Reed for a touchdown in the second Quarter finished with 119 Yards. The Bills also got a 4-Yard to pass from backup Frank Reich to Pete met Slaars Midway through the fourth Quarter and the teams 3,747 pacing Yards this season broke the former record of 3,589 set in 1989. The Bills 315 total offence gave them 6,198 Lor the season breaking the teams former record of 5,853 set in 1989. Buffalo also set a season scoring record of 444 Points breaking the former team record of 428 last year
