NFL game summary for 09/17/1972:

The Broncos withstood a fourth quarter Houston bid to preserve an opening victory and move to the forefront in the AFC Western Division. The Broncos' front four sacked Oiler quarterbacks seven times. Steve Ramsey scored on a short run and passed to Billy Masters for another TD, and Billy Van Heusen wound up the game with a 66-yard run from punt formation for a TD while attempting to run out the clock. Dan Pastorini threw TD passes to Ken Burrough and Jim Beirne.

Line: Broncos by 3

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Houston Oilers (0-1-0)	0	10	0	7	17
Denver Broncos (1-0-0)	10	7	6	7	30

( 0- 3) DEN Jim Turner 45 yard field goal ( 0-10) DEN Steve Ramsey 3 yard rush (Jim Turner kick) ( 0-17) DEN Billy Masters 25 yard pass from Steve Ramsey (Jim Turner kick) ( 7-17) HOU Ken Burrough 57 yard pass from Dan Pastorini (Mark Moseley kick) (10-17) HOU Mark Moseley 20 yard field goal (10-20) DEN Jim Turner 29 yard field goal (10-23) DEN Jim Turner 40 yard field goal (17-23) HOU Jim Beirne 18 yard pass from Dan Pastorini (Mark Moseley kick) (17-30) DEN Billy Van Heusen 66 yard rush (Jim Turner kick)

                     HOU             DEN
First Downs:         12              18
Rushes-yards:        19-54           36-239
Yards/rush:          2.8             6.6
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     14-33-203-1     11-24-261-1
Sacked-yards:        7-61            4-22
Net pass yards:      142             239
Net yards/pass:      3.5             8.5
Total net yards:     196             478
Total plays:         59 (32% run)    64 (56% run)  
Yards/play:          3.3             7.5
Fumbles-lost:        3-1             2-2
Turnovers:           2               3
Penalties-yards:     3-25            9-51

Attendance: 51,656

Passing:
HOU: Dan Pastorini, 14 of 33 for 203 yards and 2 TDs (1 int) DEN: Steve Ramsey, 11 of 24 for 261 yards and 1 TD (1 int)
Rushing:
HOU: Willie Rodgers, 6 for 13 yards; Robert Holmes, 5 for 13 yards; Al Johnson, 4 for 8 yards; Ward Walsh, 2 for 8 yards; Charlie Joiner, 1 for 9 yards; Dan Pastorini, 1 for 3 yards DEN: Floyd Little, 22 for 101 yards; Joe Dawkins, 8 for 34 yards; Bobby Anderson, 2 for 6 yards; Billy Van Heusen, 1 for 66 yards and 1 TD; Riley Odoms, 1 for 27 yards; Steve Ramsey, 1 for 3 yards and 1 TD; Rod Sherman, 1 for 2 yards
Receiving:
HOU: Ken Burrough, 4 for 92 yards and 1 TD; Charlie Joiner, 4 for 56 yards; Al Johnson, 3 for 17 yards; Jim Beirne, 1 for 18 yards and 1 TD; Robert Holmes, 1 for 11 yards; Willie Rodgers, 1 for 9 yards DEN: Rod Sherman, 4 for 110 yards; Billy Masters, 4 for 86 yards and 1 TD; Riley Odoms, 2 for 61 yards; Floyd Little, 1 for 4 yards
Kick returns:
HOU: Robert Holmes, 2 for 39 yards; Willie Rodgers, 1 for 32 yards DEN: Bobby Anderson, 1 for 13 yards
Punt returns:
HOU: Ken Houston, 4 for 41 yards DEN: Rod Sherman, 2 for 26 yards
Interceptions:
HOU: Willie Alexander, 1 for 16 yards DEN: Leroy Mitchell, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
HOU: Dan Pastorini, 7 for 354 yards DEN: Billy Van Heusen, 4 for 185 yards
Field Goals:
HOU: Mark Moseley, 1/2 DEN: Jim Turner, 3/3