Moon Drives Unbeaten Oilers Past Chiefs : Pro football: Houston quarterback sharp when he has to be against Kansas City, 17-7. Oilers are 3-0 for the first time.

The Houston Oilers didn’t repeat history Monday night, they added to it.

Warren Moon didn’t pass for 527 yards as he did in the Oilers’ last game against Kansas City, but he did rally them in the third quarter this time. He completed eight consecutive passes, including a four-yard touchdown to Haywood Jeffires, leading Houston to a 17-7 victory over the Chiefs.

Jeffires, who caught nine passes for 245 yards against the Chiefs last December, caught five passes during the Oilers’ go-ahead touchdown drive.

“That’s the type of receiver I’ve got to be,” Jeffires said. “I’m a big guy out there. I love the pressure and I love being a leader. It’s in my contract.”

The Chiefs sacked Moon only once, but he was pressured and pounded the entire game.

“It was one of the most physical games I’ve been involved in in quite a while; it put a lot of pressure on me,” Moon said. “We decided I had to get rid of the ball quicker in the second half.”

After being held to 63 yards passing in the first half, Moon directed a 93-yard third-quarter drive that helped the Oilers open the season with a 3-0 record for the first time in club history.

The Oilers, one of five undefeated teams in the NFL, were aided by Kansas City penalties, four of which gave Houston first downs.

“We’ve beaten three teams that had a better record than we did last year,” Oiler Coach Jack Pardee said.

“It boiled down to the kind of game we thought it would be, with the special teams making a big play. It might not have been the best offensive effort, but it was enough to win.”

Rookie Mike Dumas recovered a fumble that set up Houston’s first touchdown, and Cris Dishman intercepted a pass by Steve DeBerg with 9:40 left in the game that preserved the Oilers’ lead.

DeBerg threw 40 yards toward Fred Jones, but Dishman matched Jones stride for stride and picked the pass off in the end zone.

Kansas City (1-2) relied on big running backs Christian Okoye, who gained 75 yards in 17 carries, and Barry Word, who had 54 yards in 14 carries.

“I felt our players played their tails off,” Chief Coach Marty Schottenheimer said. “They played one of their best games, but it was not good enough. It was a gutty effort, but that doesn’t pay any dividends.”

Ian Howfield kicked a 23-yard field goal with 21 seconds left for the final margin.

The Oilers increased their Monday night record to 10-6, including four consecutive victories.

Moon’s 527 passing yards against Kansas City was the second-best mark in NFL history and led Houston to a 27-10 victory. He settled for completing 29 of 38 for 233 yards Monday night. His completion string reached 12 before he missed in the fourth quarter.

Houston’s Allen Pinkett had a one-yard scoring run in the first quarter. The Chiefs, scoreless in the first half of their first two games, rallied in the second quarter with Okoye’s two-yard touchdown run with 27 seconds left in the half.