Defense Returns, Oilers Ground Jets : AFC: Houston stops four drives into its territory in the second half, two inside the five-yard line.

The Houston Oilers stopped sputtering Sunday and now have something to celebrate: A return to form on defense and a 17-10 AFC wild-card victory over the New York Jets before 61,485 in the Astrodome.

“We’re going into Mile High Stadium a mile high,” Houston linebacker Lamar Lathon said of advancing to a game against Denver. “Something great is getting ready to happen to this team.”

The Oilers, who had a 4-4 record down the regular-season stretch after a 7-1 start, stopped the Jets short of the end zone four times in the second half.

“It’s a man-on-man thing,” said Jet tackle Irv Eatman, “and in the second half they just played it a little tougher than we did. There’s not a whole lot of trickery that goes on down there.”

The Jets opened the second half with a 70-yard drive to Houston’s seven-yard line, but on third and goal, quarterback Ken O’Brien let loose a pass that should have never been thrown.

Safety Bubba McDowell intercepted at the Oilers’ two to halt New York’s only scoring opportunity during the third quarter.

Safety Bo Orlando stopped running back Freeman McNeil a yard shy of a first down on fourth and one at the Oiler three midway through the final quarter.

“The big goal line stand and the clutch play by our defense was the difference,” Oiler Coach Jack Pardee said. “We were playing hurt on defense, and I’m proud of their effort.”

Orlando went flying over the top of the pile to meet McNeil head-on after Al Smith had stopped Brad Baxter for no gain on third down from the three-yard line.

“All of a sudden we weren’t the same defensive team that had led the AFC all year--after one poor week against the Giants,” Oiler defensive lineman Sean Jones said. “People have short memories. We’ve been playing pretty good defense all year.”

The Jets recovered a Warren Moon fumble after a Lonnie Young sack at the Oiler 26 with 4:59 to play, but gained four yards in four downs. On fourth and six from the Oiler 22, O’Brien passed to wide receiver Al Toon, but Toon could only reach for the ball with one hand.

The other hand was being held by cornerback Cris Dishman.

“It was legal in the ref’s eyes,” Toon said. “I thought there was a little bit of illegal contact, but the play is over.”

Dishman, who will start at cornerback in the Pro Bowl, said, “You’re allowed five yards to hit the receiver and I used as much of that five yards as I could.”

After the Oilers were unable to run out the clock, New York got the ball at its 20-yard line with 53 seconds to play and no timeouts remaining. The Jets pushed to the Houston 47, but offensive pass interference on Toon moved the ball to the Jets’ 43.

O’Brien sent a desperation pass to the Oilers’ one, but it was intercepted by McDowell, who took off running before lateraling to Dishman, Atlanta Falcons style.

“I’m sorry for putting the Houston fans and (Oiler broadcaster) Bum Phillips through that,” McDowell said.

“I would have fallen down, but I heard someone call my name and it was Dish. I had watched the Atlanta game and knew better, but it was just a reaction.”

The Oilers began the game with a 16-play, 80-yard drive, which ended with Moon completing a five-yard pass to Ernest Givins. It was the first time since the regular-season opener that the Oilers had scored on their opening drive.

The Jets tied the score in the second quarter with O’Brien’s 10-yard pass to Toon, who scored his first touchdown of the year.

An Orlando interception a few moments later set up another Moon-to-Givins touchdown celebration and gave Houston a 14-7 lead.

The Jets got a 33-yard field goal from Raul Allegre in the closing seconds of the first half, but Al Del Greco extended the lead to seven points again in the fourth quarter with a personal-best 53-yard field goal.

“I’m a little disappointed right now, but we went out there and laid it on the line,” Jet Coach Bruce Coslet said. “You’ve got to like games like this--it went down to the final tick.”

Said Moon, who completed 28 of 40 passes for 271 yards with an interception: “I wouldn’t say this was our best football game. But we’ve overcome a lot of things. There was the disappointment of playing this week (after failing to earn a bye), and a lot of other controversy. This was big hurdle to get over.”

Houston is the only team to have advanced to the playoffs for the last five years. The Oilers were 8-1 in the Astrodome this season. But now they must play at Denver.

“From what I understand, that’s been the rap on this team: It can’t win away from the dome,” said defensive lineman Lee Williams, who was traded to Houston from the San Diego Chargers at the beginning of the season.

“I’m sure there will be a lot of speculation in the upcoming week about our chances of success in the cold on the road.

“I had the privilege of going to Mile High Stadium once a year for the seven years I played in San Diego. It’s irrelevent that most of the time we got our butts kicked there. This isn’t San Diego.”

Jones was more threatening.

“I heard Wade Phillips (Denver defensive coordinator and son of the Houston radio announcer) said that there is no team he’d rather play than Houston,” Jones said. “You know, you should be careful what you wish for.”