Oilers Win Outdoors in Pittsburgh Weather : Houston: Lorenzo White scores the game-winning touchdown with 21 seconds to play.

The weather outside was frightful, but the Houston Oilers--who usually play in the climate-controlled comfort of the Astrodome--found it downright delightful.

Lorenzo White ran for 115 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard run with 21 seconds left, and Warren Moon threw two touchdown passes in the final 1:54 of the first half during a driving snowstorm as the Oilers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 23-16, Sunday.

The cold weather-tested Steelers were supposed to have a decided advantage in the numbing wind and blowing snow, but it was the Oilers (8-5) who overcame a 10-0 deficit, three fumbles, and a minus 25-degree wind-chill factor to take over first place in the AFC Central Division.

Cincinnati’s 21-0 victory in Cleveland knocked the Browns (7-5-1) out of the lead.

“Pittsburgh was saying we couldn’t play in the cold--well, we did,” said Moon, who played numerous bad-weather games in the Canadian Football League. “I knew we could. We played well in Cleveland last year in bad weather in the playoffs, and we knew we had everything going for us.”

White, who didn’t start, said the only time he played in worse weather, “was my sophomore year at Michigan State, when it rained and hailed and snowed at Iowa. I always seem to have big games in the bad weather. I had my two best games in college in bad weather.”

The Steelers (6-7), who twice settled for field goals after driving to first downs at the Houston two-yard line, lost for the first time in three games to all but end their chances of making the playoffs for the first time since 1984.

“The Steelers have a young team and this was their first big pressure game, and they played it like a playoff game,” Oiler Coach Jerry Glanville said. “It wasn’t real pleasant out there, but you couldn’t tell it by the way they played. But our goal-line defense was great.”

After Gary Anderson’s third field goal made it 16-16 with 5:43 to play, Moon hit Haywood Jeffries for 37 yards to the Steelers’ 27 and White, who didn’t start, ran 26 yards on two carries ahead of his own go-ahead touchdown on a second-and-goal play.

“We had a long way to go against the wind, but we did it,” Moon said.