Warren Moon isn’t getting older, he’s getting better.

Moon turned 34 Sunday and celebrated by passing for 322 yards and five touchdowns as the Houston Oilers beat the stumbling Cleveland Browns, 35-23.

“I think I showed I’ve got a few more games left in me,” said Moon, who threw his touchdowns to five different receivers.

Cleveland’s secondary was ill-prepared for Houston’s four-receiver attack with Pro Bowl cornerback Frank Minnifield sidelined by a sore heel.


His replacement on the left side of the defense, former Raider Stefon Adams, had been used mostly as a punt returner this season.

“We really weren’t trying to pick on Stefon Adams,” Moon said. “We know he wasn’t the natural corner out there. But I think it has more to do with the fact that I’m right-handed, and I felt more comfortable going to that side.”

Moon completed 24 of 32 passes and didn’t have an interception, but he was sacked five times.

Adams was beaten on two of Moon’s three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, a 37-yarder to Curtis Duncan and a 23-yarder to Tony Jones.


“We were going to keep going to that side until they did something to stop us,” Jones said.

Moon finished it off with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Ernest Givins, capitalizing on the second of Bernie Kosar’s two interceptions and giving the Oilers (5-5) a 35-16 lead with five minutes left.

The Browns (2-8) added Kosar’s four-yard scoring pass to Reggie Langhorne.

“This is a true run-and-shoot,” Cleveland safety Felix Wright said of the Oilers’ offense. “He doesn’t hold the ball long, and if he does, he usually gets crunched.”


Moon threw first-half touchdown passes of three yards to Lorenzo White and 46 yards to Haywood Jeffires.

Duncan, working mostly against Adams, caught seven passes for a career-high 130 yards.

Cleveland lost its fifth consecutive game and matched a team record with its fourth consecutive home loss in the head coaching debut of Jim Shofner, elevated from offensive coordinator when Bud Carson was fired on Nov. 5.

“We missed our two starting corners,” said Shofner, referring to Minnifield and Mark Harper, who has been out since dislocating his shoulder during the exhibition season. “It’s tough to go against a team like that.”


Houston ended a two-game losing streak during which the Oilers’ high-powered offense managed a total of 25 points.

“We came into the game knowing we wanted to go deeper,” Moon said. “We wanted to get some big plays, rather than dinking the ball downfield like we had been.”

The Browns took advantage of Houston turnovers for two first-half touchdowns. Kosar hit Ozzie Newsome with a 13-yard touchdown pass less than two minutes into the game after Houston’s Bernard Ford fumbled away the opening kickoff. Derrick Gainer scored his first career touchdown on a one-yard run following Moon’s fumble on a sack.

Kosar completed 25 of 35 passes for 279 yards.