Elway Hard on Himself and Oilers, 31-20

John Elway had the numbers and the victory, but again thought he fell short of playing a complete game.

All Elway did was throw three touchdown passes to lead the Broncos to a 31-20 victory over the Houston Oilers and into a four-way tie in the AFC West with the Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks.

“On a scale of one-to-100, I’d rate myself a 50,” Elway said. “I haven’t gotten off to a fast start in the last three games, and I really wanted to start fast today.”

The Denver quarterback was critiquing himself after completing 17 of 35 pass attempts for 256 yards.

Elway hit Steve Watson for a 41-yard scoring pass in the second quarter, and he connected on a 6-yard pass to Clarence Kay and a 29-yard pass to Vance Johnson in the third quarter that helped the Broncos to a 24-3 lead.

The Oilers (1-4) helped the Broncos set an NFL record for most first downs acquired by penalties with 11. Hopuston was penalized 15 times for 188 yards.

“It’s not a good plan to give up so many penalties,” Houston Coach Hugh Campbell said. “But this is a young team and a lot of those were rookie mistakes.

“I’m sure most of the penalties were justified. I don’t know if their calls were consistent, but they have a very difficult job. The officials didn’t make the difference in the game. We just didn’t execute very well.”

Several of the Houston penalties were for personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct, but Reeves said he didn’t take offense. “There was some late hitting, but I think Houston is just a rough, tough, aggressive football team.”

Elway saw it a little differently, saying the Oilers are “an aggressive team, but I thought they kind of overdid it. They were headhunting more than they were going for the ball.”

The Broncos’ offense, dominating the first quarter, took a 10-0 lead on a 37-yard field goal by Rich Karlis and a one-yard run by Sammy Winder.

It was Karlis’ ninth straight field goal without a miss this season and extended his consecutive streak to 13.

Tony Zendejas’ 27-yard field goal culminated a 10-play, 57-yard drive, bringing the Oilers within 10-3.

Denver (3-2) responded with an 81-yard, four-play drive that made it 17-3 at halftime. On third-and-five at the Denver 24, Elway connected with Clint Sampson on a 35-yard pass to the Houston 41. On a flea-flicker, Elway handed off to Winder who gave to Butch Johnson, who then tossed back to Elway. Elway found Watson down the right sideline for the latter’s first touchdown reception of the year with 4:10 left go in the first half.

The Broncos took a 24-3 lead with 5:04 gone in the third quarter. After stopping Houston to open the second half, Denver went 52 yards in six plays, capped by Elway’s six-yard pass to Kay.

Houston took advantage of shoddy tackling to close within 24-10 when Warren Moon hit Butch Woolfolk on their 67-yard scoring play. Woolfolk broke six Denver tackles on the play.

Denver restored its 21-point lead on its next possession, capping an 80-yard, six-play drive with Elway’s touchdown pass to Vance Johnson with 7:33 gone in the third quarter.

Houston made a futile rally, with Zendejas kicking his second field goal late in the third quarter, and Mike Moroski, who replaced Moon at quarterback, hitting Drew Hill on a seven-yard scoring pass with 7:58 gone in the fourth quarter.

Moon completed 8 of 17 passes for 122 yards, while Moroski was 11 of 15 for 115 yards.