Pardee Jumpy, Oilers Get Jump : AFC: Moon throws three touchdown passes in the first half of 35-3 victory over Bengals.

Coach Jack Pardee worried all week that his Houston Oilers would take the winless Cincinnati Bengals lightly. His concerns vanished quickly Sunday.

Warren Moon threw three touchdown passes in the first half, and the Oilers forced Erik Wilhelm into two interceptions and a fumble during a 35-3 victory over the Bengals.

“Now we’re 7-1, like everybody wanted to make us before the game,” Pardee said. “I was nervous about that. But our guys got serious and were ready to play. It wasn’t our top week of work, but we got the job done.

“That’s a big hurdle for us to win four in a row. That’s the first time we’ve gotten past three. At least we’ve got a little roll going, with a tough second half ahead of us.”

Houston, which plays at Washington next week, won its fourth in a row for the first time since 1980, and a 7-1 record is the Oilers’ best after eight games in franchise history.

Moon’s touchdown pass plays went six yards to Haywood Jeffires, 61 yards to Drew Hill and 14 yards to Ernest Givins on the way to a 23-3 halftime lead. Moon finished with 289 yards, completing 24 of 37 passes and had two interceptions.

“I felt real good. The ball was coming off with a lot of velocity,” Moon said. “Whenever you beat Cincinnati twice, you know you always have a shot at the division.

“We didn’t show a lot of things today, but basically it was because we didn’t have to. We still have a lot that we haven’t shown, but it wasn’t because of the Redskins.”

Backup quarterback Cody Carlson connected with Tony Jones on a 68-yard scoring play.

Cincinnati (0-8) played without injured quarterback Boomer Esiason, who watched the game from the sideline in street clothes.

Wilhelm completed 12 of 24 passes for 106 yards before he was replaced in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t look at it as how I did under these circumstances,” Wilhelm said. “It was my first start against Houston. I just look at the stats and, with that in mind, the score tells you how I performed.”