“Last week (we) were a very unemotional team. That’s why we lost,” Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason said after the game, referencing the 27-21 loss to the Patriots the week before.
“This week was just the opposite,” Esiason added. “It shows you what emotions can do for football team.”
The Bengals jumped out to a 14-0 lead before Houston, which came into the game 5-2 and went on to finish 10-6, even took an offensive snap.
Cincinnati received the opening kickoff and went 77 yards in nine plays, with the final one being an Ickey Woods 1-yard touchdown run.
After the Oilers fumbled the ensuing kickoff, James Brooks ran one in from 7 yards out for his first of what would be a franchise record-tying three touchdowns.
In addition to the three scores, which at the time marked a career high, Brooks ran for a season-high 102 yards after missing most or all of the previous two games with a broken hand.
“I feel like I’ve been on vacation,” Brooks said after the game. “It’s been tough on me. I feel like need to be in there doing my part. When I’m not out there, I’m very moody.”
The Oilers’ mood declined substantially three plays after Brooks’ first touchdown when Bengals cornerback Eric Thomas picked off Warren Moon. Five plays later, Brooks got back in the end zone on 9-yard run that made it 21-0.
And then in the closing seconds of the first quarter, linebacker Leo Barker sacked Moon and forced a fumble that he scooped up and returned 34 yards to make it 28-0.
“Every defensive player wants to score a touchdown,” Barker said. “So when I got the ball, it was instant joy. As soon as I got it, I turned around and ran as fast as I could.”
Brooks added his third score midway through the third quarter on an 18-yard run to make it 35-7. Houston would score a pair of touchdowns to close within 35-21 with 1:06 left in the third quarter.
But a nine-play, 72-yard drive that ended with another 1-yard run by Woods pushed the lead back to 42-21, and a safety in the closing moments accounted for the final score of 44-21.
The Bengals committed four turnovers of their own and had a 75-yard touchdown on a fake punt nullified by a holding penalty, but the Oilers were unable to take advantage of mistakes while Cincinnati capitalized on every single one Houston made.
Game 8
Oct. 23, 1988
At Riverfront Stadium
Houston 0 7 14 0 — 21
Cincinnati 28 0 7 9 — 44
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
C: Ickey Woods 1 run (Jim Breech kick), 5:22
C: James Brooks 7 run (Breech kick), 5:50
C: Brooks 9 run (Breech kick), 8:39
C: Barker 34 fumble return (Breech kick), 14:51
Second Quarter
H: Mike Rozier (Tony Zendejas kick), 14:17
Third Quarter
C: Brooks 18 run (Breech kick), 7:09
H: Willie Drewery 10 pass from Warren Moon (Zendejas kick), 10:36
H: Drew Hill 15 pass from Moon (Zendejas), 13:54
Fourth Quarter
C: Woods 1 run (Breech kick), 7:05
C: Bengals safety
PASSING
Houston – Warren Moon 13-32-2-158; Cincinnati – Boomer Esiason 11-20-2-154.
RUSHING
Houston – Mike Rozier 18-73, Alonzo Highsmith 4-24, Warren Moon 1-5, Allen Pinkett 1-2; Cincinnati – James Brooks 16-102, Stanley Wilson 11-45, Ickey Woods 14-40, Boomer Esiason 4-34, Marc Logan 1-1.
RECEIVING
Houston – Drew Hill 6-79, Curtis Duncan 1-23, Alonzo Highsmith 2-20, Ernest Givins 2-16, Jamie Williams 1-10, Willie Drewrey 1-10; Cincinnati – Eddie Brown 2-36, James Brooks 2-27, Ickey Woods 3-25, Tim McGee 1-25, Rodney Holman 1-21, Cris Collinsworth 1-11, Ira Hillary 1-9.
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