Slaughter Finally Gets Chance to Help Oilers : AFC: He has four receptions, and Houston defense shuts out Cincinnati in second half.

Webster Slaughter signed with the Houston Oilers as a free agent on Sept. 29, but he did not feel like part of the team until Sunday.

Slaughter came on in the second half and caught a 36-yard touchdown pass, his first as an Oiler, and finished with four receptions for 68 yards as the the Oilers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-10.

“I was this far from blowing up,” Slaughter said of his first half bench time. “I was begging myself to be patient. Up to that point, I was thinking nothing would happen. I was so frustrated I was saying, ‘When will I get a chance to get in there?’

“Today I started feeling more like a part of the team.”

The Bengal secondary would have preferred Slaughter remained on the sideline.

“He (Slaughter) adds depth to their offense,” cornerback Eric Thomas said. “The last time we played them we knew he wouldn’t play. This time, there’s no doubt he’s a big threat. He was a big threat at Cleveland and he’s a big threat here.”

The Oilers (5-2), who lost in the final minute to Denver a week ago, got off to a sluggish start, but were saved by a defense that shut out the Bengals (2-5) in the second half.

The Bengals lost their fifth consecutive game and extended their Astrodome losing streak to eight in a row.

The Oilers limited the Bengals to 10 total yards in the second half. Boomer Esiason passed for 139 yards and Harold Green was the Bengals’ leading rusher with 38 yards.

“At the half, we felt it was a pride factor,” Oiler safety Marcus Robertson said. “We gave up so many yards and we were tied. The first defensive series (in the second half) we broke the huddle with more pride. When we play like that we’re almost unbeatable.”

The Bengals fought the Oilers to a 10-10 halftime standoff on Esiason’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Brian Brennan and a 24-yard field goal by Jim Breech.

Warren Moon completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Ernest Givins and Al Del Greco had a 27-yard field goal for the halftime deadlock.

But the Oilers’ defense came alive in the second half and Moon got the Oilers’ offense moving for two more touchdowns and the victory.

Moon, who completed 27 of 40 passes for 342 yards, engineered an 85-yard drive that ended with Lorenzo White following guard Doug Dawson’s block into the end zone with 1:12 left in the third quarter.

Slaughter broke away from coverage and outran linebacker Ricardo McDonald to the end zone, allowing the Oilers to take a 24-10 lead 1:02 into the fourth quarter.