Dickerson’s Fumble Is Costly; Houston Wins

INDIANAPOLIS — Eric Dickerson’s fumble gave the Houston Oilers another chance, and Tony Zendejas atoned for two earlier misses with a 35-yard field goal in overtime to beat the Indianapolis Colts, 17-14, Sunday.

Zendejas missed a 26-yard attempt with two minutes left in regulation. The kicker from Chino said, “There was just no excuse for that. I should never miss anything that close. It was my fault. It just went straight and hit the upright.”

The Oilers’ winning drive took six plays after Dickerson caught a pass but was tackled and fumbled at the Indianapolis 42 when he was hit by John Grimsley. Houston’s Robert Lyles caught the ball before it hit the ground.

“Everybody talks about our defense,” Houston Coach Jerry Glanville said. “All they do is make big plays. We may not have the best stats, but when you have to win a football game, they always come up and make a big play.”

After Dickerson’s fumble, which came on the first play of overtime, second-year quarterback Cody Carlson, subbing for injured Warren Moon, completed a third-down pass for 21 yards to Drew Hill at the Colts’ 24-yard line. After two short runs by Mike Rozier to the 18, Zendejas kicked the winning field goal 3:51 into overtime.

Zendejas also missed an attempt of 47 yards in the third quarter.

Dickerson rushed for 109 yards and caught 6 passes for 98 yards.

“Defensively, we played a very good football team but there were those turnovers, all the things that you don’t like to see,” Indianapolis Coach Ron Meyer said.

Moon, who completed 11 of 15 passes for 137 yards, suffered a bruised right shoulder early in the third quarter and Carlson, making his first appearance as a pro, went the rest of the game, completing 3 of 6 passes for 59 yards.

The Colts’ Gary Hogeboom completed 15 of 20 passes for 219 yards, but he was sacked 5 times.