Oilers Shut Out Pats in Opener, 7-0

Bum Philips long has been noted for his defensive tutoring, and his Houston Oilers made him look like a genius yesterday in his head coaching debut in the National Football League.

Safety Willie Germany scooped up a fumble and raced 48 yards for a first period touchdown, and the Oilers made the gift stand up for a 7-0 victory over the New England Patriots.

"Our defense played well, exceptionally well when it had to in the clutch," Phillips said. "I'm proud of our defense, but New England sure missed Jim Plunkett.

"It's a lot easier to play without a Plunkett in there at quarterback."

With Plunkett recuperating from a left shoulder separation and watching from the sidelines in a heavy rain, the Patriots were frustrated.

New England had a wide edge in the statistics, running 78 plays to 49 for Houston. The Patriots had a 17-6 bulge in first downs and outgained the Oilers 279 yards to 169.

The Patriots, who missed five days of practice because of their strike last week, threatened often, but were unable to reach the Houston 20.

Preparation

"We didn't have long to prepare, but we knew our stuff pretty well," New England player representative Randy Vataha said.

"We made some mistakes that hurt. We'll have to wait and see on film whether they were preparation mistakes, mental mistakes or physical mistakes. It didn't appear they were preparation mistakes."

"We played hard, but just couldn't get any points on the board," New England coach Chuck Fairbanks said. "It was extremely difficult to run and pass the ball. My hands felt like they were in a dishpan too long.

"I don't think we made a lot of mental errors. It's hard to say right now if the strike affected things. A few small things happened to us, but they might have happened anyway."