The San Bernardino County Sun from San Bernardino, California • Page 21

C4 The Sun MONDAY, December 20, 1993 NFL: WEEK 16 Focused Oilers clinch division title the same time, you have to put it out of the same time, you have to put it out of i Pdyour mind, and concentrate on what you have to do. And we did what we had to William Fuller Oilers defensive end Johnson said. "They did a great job ol taking the crowd out of the game." The Oilers 6-0 division record assures they will win the division even should they lose their final two games. The Steelers (8-6) lost their first division home game in three years and probably must beat Seattle and Cleveland to make the playoffs as a wild card. Moon, winner of only three of nine previous starts in Pittsburgh, ducked a blitz to hit Brown on the Oilers' opening drive and the running back outran the secondary into the end zone with 3:53 gone.

Brown also rushed 20 times for 100 yards, only the second 100-yard game by an opposing back in Three Rivers in 3 'a seasons. Defensively, the Oilers disrupted Pittsburgh with a nonstop blitz that forced two point-producing turnovers and sacked Neil Donnell six times. The Oilers sustained a key injury, when leading receiver Webster Slaughter tore the medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments in his left knee in the second quarter. He will miss the rest of the season. By Alan Robinson The Associated Press PITTSBURGH Warren Moon's only promise before Houston's biggest game of the season was that the Oilers would honor the late Jeff Aim by playing with his reckless abandon and pent-up emotion.

Wearing No. 76 stickers on their helmets to remember their teammate, the Oilers did exactly that in clinching the AFC Central title Sunday. They took the crowd and the Pittsburgh Steelers out of the game early for a 26-17 win and their ninth straight victory. The Oilers (10-4), usually tentative at Three Rivers Stadium, scored two quick touchdowns and applied relentless defensive pressure. They also won for just the seventh time in 25 games at Pittsburgh.

Afterwards, the Oilers dedicated the victory to Aim, the defensive lineman who took his life Tuesday after being involved in an auto accident that killed a childhood friend. He was to have returned to the Oilers' lineup this week from a leg injury. "It was a very emotional week for us," said Moon, 19-of-38 for 268 yards and a touchdown. "It was hard to put it out of our minds, but I think the team did a great job of staying focused. We wanted to win for Jeff, and we're sending the game ball to his parents." Aim's picture was flashed on the scoreboard as both teams stood at attention prior to the national anthem, and several Oilers said he was constantly in their thoughts.

"I thought about it every time I turned around and saw that 76 on a helmet," defensive end William Fuller said. "At the same time, you have to put it out of your mind, and concentrate on what you have to do. And we did what we had to do." And they did it early, scoring twice in 1:30 of the first quarter on Moon's 38-yard screen pass to Gary Brown and Bo Orlando's 38-yard interception return for a 14-0 lead. The Steelers never caught up, psychologically or on the scoreboard. "We were fired up, the crowd was fired up but they quieted the crowd right way," Steelers cornerback D.J.

ETC. Standings AMERICAN CONFERENCE Wilt Pet PF PA Homi Awiy AFC NFC Kansas City 10 4 0 714 284 237 6-1-0 4-3-0 9-3-0 2-t-O RAIDERS 9 5 0 643 273 266 4-3-0 5-2-0 3-0-0 Denver 9 5 0 643 333 234 5-2-0 4-3-0 8-3-0 1-2-0 San Diego 6 8 0 429 245 253 3-4-0 3-4-0 5-60 1-2-0 Seattle 5 9 0 357 240 274 3-4-0 2-5) 5-7-0 0-2-0 Cwrtral it-Houston 10 4 0 714 336 231 6-1-0 4-3-0 9-2-0 1-2-0 PittsDurah 8 6 0 571 286 256 5-2-0 3-4-0 6-4-0 2-2-0 Cleveland 6 8 0 429 253 277 4-4-0 2-4-0 4-7-0 2-1-0 Cincinnati 2 12 0 143 153 282 2-5-0 0-7-0 1-11-0 1-1-0 Eait Buttalo 10 4 0 714 283 216 5-2-0 5-2-0 6-4-0 4-0-0 Miami 9 5 0 643 302 273 4-4-0 5-1-0 6-4-0 3-1-0 NY Jets 8 6 0 .571 256 207 3-5-0 5-1-0 6-4-0 2-2-0 Indianapolis 4 10 0 .286 179 310 2-54 2-5-0 4-60 0-4-0 New England 3 11 0 .214 167 259 1-5-0 2-6-0 2-10-0 1-1-0 NATIONAL CONFERENCE Watt Pet PF PA Horn Away AFC NFC -San Francisco 10 4 0 714 432 248 6-0-0 4-4-0 2-1-0 8-3-0 New Orleans 7 6 0 .538 257 269 3-3-0 4-3-0 1-2-0 6-4-0 Atlanta 6 8 0 .429 289 337 4-3-0 2-5-0 1-2-0 5-6-0 RAMS 4 10 0 286 187 319 2-4-0 2-6-0 2-1-0 2-9-0 Central Green Bay 6 6 0 .571 292 252 5-2-0 3-4-0 2-1-0 6-50 Detroit 8 6 0 571 248 258 4-3-0 4-3-0 2-0-0 6-6-0 Minnesota 7 7 0 500 233 271 3-4-0 4-3-0 1-2-0 6-50 Chicago 7 7 0 .500 214 190 3-4-0 4-3-0 2-2-0 5-50 Tampa Bay 4 10 0 .286 203 334 3-4-0 1-60 0-2-0 4-8-0 East y-NY Giants 10 3 0 .769 245 158 6-1-0 4-20 2-2Q 8-10 y-Dallas 10 4 0 .714 322 213 5-20 5-2-0 2-2-0 6-20 Philadelphia 6 8 0 .429 219 255 2-50 4-3-0 2-2-0 4-60 Phoenix 5 9 0 .357 282 253 3-4-0 2-50 1-1-0 4-60 Washington 4 10 0 .286 218 293 3-4-0 1-6-0 1-3-0 3-7Q x-clinched division title y-clinched playoff berth SUNDAY'S GAMES AT A GLANCE 1 1 ev ew- i KV. "4i lis 1 RAIDERS 27, BUCCANEERS 20: Raiders remained in the hunt for a playoff berth, while Bucs have lost 10 or more 1 1 consecutive years. BENGALS 15, RAMS 3: Cincinnati is now 2-0 against Los Angeles teams and 0-12 vs. the rest of the league.

OILERS 26, STEELERS 17: Houston dedicated the game to late teammate Jeff Aim, and clinched division. 49ERS SS, LIONS 17: Steve Young threw for 354 yards and four TDs as San Francisco won the NFC West BILLS 47, DOLPHINS 34: Buffalo won the highest-scoring NFL game this season to take AFC East lead. VIKINGS 21, PACKERS 17: Jim McMahon won his 10th consecutive start against Green Bay. CHIEFS 28, CHARGERS 24: Joe Montana's go-ahead TD pass came one play after a concussion in the third qparter. REDSKINS 30, FALCONS 17: Atlanta QB Bobby Hebert committed six turnovers as Washington beat the Falcons forthe 10th consecutive time at RFK Stadium.

PATRIOTS 20, BROWNS 17: New England managed to win a close game for the second consecutive week. CARDINALS 30, SEAHAWKS 27: Greg Davis kicked a franchise-record 55-yard field goal to send the game to overtime, and won it with a 41-yarder. EAGLES 20, COLTS 10: The Eagles sacked Jeff George four times and forced three fumbles. A VvCv Chiefs upend Chargers Kansas City rallies from a 17-0 deficit and remains In a three-way tie for home-field advantage In the AFC. By Doua Tucker The Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo.

Still woozy from a hit on the previous play, Joe Montana hit J.J. Birden for the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter Sunday, and Kansas City beat San Diego 28-24. The Chiefs erased a 17-0 deficit to beat the Chargers, remaining tied with Buffalo and Houston for the home-field advantage in the AFC. Montana had to call a 40-sec-ond time out after Junior Seau flattened him on an incomplete pass on second down. Appearing wobbly, he flipped a 4-yard pass to Birden in the corner of the end zone for a 21-17 lead as the Chiefs (10-4) maintained their one-game lead over the Los Angeles Raiders and Denver in the AFC West.

Montana, who has missed five starts due to injury, immediately went to the locker room and the team announced he had a mild concussion. Backup Dave Krieg made it 28-17 with 12:54 left on a 28-yard scoring strike to Willie Davis. After the Chargers made it 28-24 on Natrone Means' 2-yard run with 5:27 left, Montana returned to the game. The Chargers drove to the Chiefs' 32 but Albert Lewis' second interception sealed the victory with 1:13 left. San Diego quarterback Stan Humphries was Knocked out with a mild concussion in the first quarter, which otherwise belonged entirely to the Chargers (6-8), who lost their eighth consecutive regular-season game to Kansas City.

The Chiefs' first five plays from scrimmage netted an interception, an incompletion, a fumble, a 1-yard gain and a 4-yard loss on a quarterback sack. By the time Montana hit Birden on an 18-yard gain for Kansas City's initial first down, the Chargers had a 10-point lead on drives of 30 and six yards. On the first play of the second quarter, Duane Young snared a 3-yard touchdown pass from John Friesz for a 17-0 lead that quieted the crowd of nearly 75,000 and appeared to put the Chiefs' hopes for their first AFC West crown since 1971 in dire peril. Notable AP WIREPHOTO San Francisco 49ers receiver Sanjay Beach clutches a 20-yard touchdown pass from Steve Young while Detroit Lions defensive backs Harry Colon (21) and Ryan McNeil pursue in the first quarter of Sunday's game. With their 55-17 win over the Lions at the Silverdome, the 49ers captured their 10th division title in 12 years.

Young guns 49ers past Lions, 55-17 Besides losing leading receiver Webster Slaughter for the season with torn knee ligaments, the Oilers lost safety Bubba McDowell with a bruised kneecap tendon. Hpuston's nine-game win streak ties a franchise record set by the 1961 Oilers The 49ers came within one point of tying the team record for most points in a single game 49ers' Jerry Rice had more than 100 yards receiving (132) for the 44th time in his career Steve Young set a single-season personal best of 27 touchdown passes Marcus Allen extended his Chiefs record by scoring a touchdown forthe seventh game in a row. He has 91 rushing touchdowns in his career, tying him with Franco Harris for fourth on the all-time list Joe Montana's two touchdown passes gave him 256, moving him into fourth place on the career list The Chiefs' Nell Smith has 15 sacks, a career-high Green Bay's Sterling Sharps needs one catch to become the first receiver in NFL history with two 100-catch seasons Atlanta committed six turnovers, running its NFC-high total to 37 this season. Monday night football San Francisco wins its 10th NFC West title in 12 years as Steve Young passes for 354 yards and four touchdowns. the time the game began at 1 p.m.

PST, the Lions knew that Green Bay already had lost to Minnesota, but could not take advantage in losing for the fourth time in five games. Dexter Carter capped the 49ers' romp with a 50-yard touchdown run in the closing minutes. Last week in Atlanta, San Francisco missed a chance to clinch the division when Carter's two fumbles enabled the Falcons to rally from a 24-7 deficit in the fourth quarter for a 27-24 win. The 49ers joined Dallas, the New York Giants and Houston as teams to ensure playoff spots this season. This was the seventh time this season the 49ers have scored at least 35 points and the fourth time they have exceeded 40 points.

Young completed 17-of-23 passes before being replaced by Steve Bono with 2:33 left in the third quarter. Even with his reduced playing time, Young came within 59 yards of Sonny Jurgen-sen's record of 403 yards against the Lions in 1961. The 49ers led 31-10 at halftime on Young's TD passes of 68 yards to John Taylor, 20 yards to Sanjay Beach and 80 yards to Jerry Rice, a 2-yard touchdown plunge by Tom Rathman and a 43-yard field goal by Mike Cofer. Three of those first five scoring drives took less than one minute. The romp continued as the 49ers opened the third quarter with a 33-yard completion from Young to Rice, setting up a 1-yard touchdown dive by Rath-man.

Gary Anderson fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Damien Russell recovered for the 49ers. Three plays later, Young flipped a 12-yard TD pass to Amp Lee. That was all for Young. On Bono's first series, he directed a 67-yard drive that led to a 21-yard field goal in the fourth quarter by Cofer. Erik Kramer, in his second start since taking over at quarterback for the Lions, completed 19-of-29 for 220 yards.

He had a 12-yard TD pass to Derrick Moore and Jason Hanson kicked a 51-yard field goal. By Harry Atkins The Associated Press PONTIAC, Mich. This time, the San Francisco 49ers made sure they clinched the NFC West long before the fourth quarter. The 49ers, after blowing a big chance last week, scored on every possession in the first half behind Steve Young and swamped the Detroit Lions 55-17 Sunday to win their 10th division title in 12 years. Young, the NFC's leading passer, threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns in less than three quarters, and left with a 45-10 lead.

The 49ers (10-4) went on to score more points in Detroit than any Lions' opponent ever. The Lions (8-6) remained tied with Green Bay for the NFC Central lead. By GIANTS (10-3) vs. NEW ORLEANS (7-6) Time: 6 p.m. Key state Giants quarterback Phil Simms is three shy of 200 career passing touchdowns.

Saints linebacker Renaldo Turnbull leads NFC with 12 sacks. The Giants have the most wins in the NFL and want the nation to see why. They meet New Orleans after the Saints defense was completely run over by Jerome Bettis and the Rams. Rodney Hampton and the Giants offensive line looks for a big day vs. that defense, which should recover and make the running game much rougher for the Giants.

Not rough enough, however. As quarterback Wade Wilson said about his team's offense: "This offense has some problems." He knows what we know about the Saints offense it has deep problems. The Giants win with balance. Giants 17, Saints 16. Next week's games McMahon-led Vikings push back Packers, 21-17 Bills overcome Dolphins, 47-34 By Charles Nobles New York Times MIAMI After it was over, this scoreboard-bombarding game between the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, Bills linebacker Darryl Talley seemed glued to a chair in front of his locker.

Eventually, he glanced over at fellow linebacker Cornelius Bennett. "You know what I'm thinking?" Talley said. "I'm thinking, 'Oh, my feet are so far In a game that lasted 3 hours 32 minutes and became the National Football League's highest-scoring contest of the SATURDAY Houston at San Francisco, 2:30 p.m. SUNDAY Raiders at Green Bay, 10 a.m. Cleveland at Rams, 1 p.m.

Atlanta at Cincinnati, 10 a.m. Detroit at Chicago, 10 a.m. Indianapolis at New England, 10 a.m. New Orleans at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. New York Jets at Buffalo, 10 a.m.

Pittsburgh at Seattle, 1 p.m. New York Giants at Phoenix, 1 p.m. Tmpa Bay at Denver, 1 p.m. Washington at Dallas, 1 p.m. Kansas City at Minnesota, 5 p.m.

MONDAY Miami at San Diego, 6 p.m. AP WIREPHOTO Buffalo Bills receiver Don Beebe stretches over the goal line while Miami Dolphins safety Jarvis Williams holds on in the second half of Sunday's game in Miami. By Mike Nadel The Associated Press MILWAUKEE The Green Bay Packers' postseason push was muddled by nemesis Jim McMahon, whose passing revived the Minnesota Vikings' chances of repeating as NFC Central champions. McMahon threw for three touchdowns matching his season total entering the game in leading the Vikings to a 21-17 victory Sunday over the Packers. It was his 10th consecutive winning start against Green Bay.

"This keeps our hopes alive," McMahon said. "But if we lose, we're done," Scottie Graham rushed 30 times for 139 yards only 35 fewer than he had gained in his NFL career as Minnesota (7-7) moved into a third-place tie with Chicago, one game behind co-leaders Green Bay and Detroit. The Packers (8-6) had won six straight at County Stadium, Including five under second-year coach Mike Holmgren. But Holm gren left the game with an 0-4 mark against Vikings coach Dennis Green. The Packers are seeking their first playoff berth in a nonstrike season since 1972.

McMahon completed 22-of-31 passes for 207 yards in Minnesota's first three-touchdown game of the season before leaving late with a foot injury he said wouldn't keep him from starting next Sunday. As well as McMahon played, Green Bay still had a chance to take the lead with 2V4 minutes left, when it had the ball at Minnesota's 2-yard line. But the Vikings' NFC-leading defense pushed the Pack back. Vencie Glenn knocked down Favre's pass in the end zone with 1:14 left. "On first-and-goal from the 2, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that we would score," said Favre 20-of-33 for 256 yards.

"The first play, we just tried to line up and play smash-mtmth football and gii after them. They won that one. They won the others, too." sj7i hat's the usual Raider II mystique. They like to show you something after the into a 47-20 margin before enduring an exhausting final one and a half quarters, in which the Dolphins went to the pass and rallied for two touchdowns. Miami, which got just 23 yards rushing, abandoned the run almost totally in the second half.

Miami had a 17-9 lead at one point in the second quarter, but two turnovers Nate Odomes' return of the fumble and cornerback Mickey Washington's 27-yartl touchdown on an interception of Scott Mitchell proved crucial. year, liullalo outlasted Miami, 47-34, before 71,597 drained souls. The victory did not clinch a playoff berth for the Bills, but it did put them atop the East Division in the American Football Conference with a 10-4 record. Miami dropped to 9-5 in losing its third straight. Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly had promised his offensive linemen $1,000 each if he was not sacked in this game, which he was not.

The Bills turned a 26-20 halftime lead nrrtana Dotson Tampa Bay defensive lineman.