SPOTLIGHT / A GLANCE AT THIS WEEK IN THE NFL

TOP PERFORMANCES

Passing

Quarterback, Team Att. Cmp. Yds. TD DON MAJKOWSKI, Packers 19 35 295 1 HUGH MILLEN, Falcons 20 28 294 1 JIM KELLY, Bills 12 17 278 3 BUBBY BRISTER, Steelers 21 27 267 1 G. HOGEBOOM, Cardinals 24 43 261 1 BOBBY HEBERT, Saints 16 25 259 1 WARREN MOON, Oilers 19 23 254 2 JIM EVERETT, Rams 16 25 250 1

Rushing

Player, Team Car. Yds. TD THURMAN THOMAS, Bills 21 105 1 CURT WARNER, Seahawks 21 102 1 CHRISTIAN OKOYE, Chiefs 25 101 1

Receiving

Player, Team No. Yds. TD J.T. SMITH, Cardinals 11 123 0 HERSCHEL WALKER, Cowboys 9 85 1 BILLY BROOKS, Colts 7 159 1 LOUIS LIPPS, Steelers 7 126 1 BRIAN BLADES, Seahawks 7 113 1 MERVYN FERNANDEZ, Raiders 7 113 1 ROBERT CLARK, Lions 6 124 0 SHAWN COLLINS, Falcons 5 126 0 ANTHONY CARTER, Vikings 6 87 1 VANCE JOHNSON, Broncos 5 145 1 ART MONK, Redskins 5 95 0 ANDRE REED, Bills 4 114 0 FLIPPER ANDERSON, Rams 4 112 1

BIG PLAYS

Mike Lansford kicked a 26-yard field goal with two seconds left, lifting the Rams to a 13-12 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Matt Bahr kicked a 48-yard field goal that barely cleared the crossbar on the final play of the game and Cleveland ended a 15-year losing streak to Denver with a 16-13 victory.

Clarence Verdin returned a punt 49 yards for the winning touchdown and Indianapolis overcame a 10-point deficit to defeat the Jets, 17-10.

Leo Lewis caught a 28-yard touchdown pass and returned a punt 65 yards to set up a field goal as Minnesota ended a two-game losing streak with a 17-3 victory over Tampa Bay.

Rookie Chris Jacke kicked a 22-yard field goal with 1:42 left, capping a 17-point fourth-quarter to give Green Bay a 23-21 win over Atlanta.

Linebacker Leon White ran 22 yards untouched and almost unnoticed on a fourth-quarter fumble return, boosting Cincinnati to a 21-17 victory over Kansas City.

Dave Krieg threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Brian Blades with 9:58 to play, putting Seattle ahead to stay in a 24-20 victory over the Raiders.

Thurman Thomas turned a swing pass from Jim Kelly into a 74-yard touchdown in Buffalo’s 31-10 victory over New England.

Linebacker Billy Ray Smith returned a fumble 15 yards in the fourth quarter to help the San Diego Chargers to a 24-13 victory over Phoenix. It was the first touchdown of Smith’s NFL career.

Chip Lohmiller kicked an 18-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and Washington erased a 14-0 deficit to defeat New Orleans, 16-14.

ATTENDANCE

A look at how teams fared at the gate in Week 4.

Site Attend. Capacity % BUFFALO 78,921 80,290 98 SAN FRANCISCO 64,250 65,701 98 CLEVELAND 78,637 80,098 97 GREEN BAY 54,647 56,051 97 MINNESOTA 54,817 63,000 87 HOUSTON 53,326 61,000 87 INDIANAPOLIS 65,542 76,891 85 DALLAS 51,785 65,024 80 KANSAS CITY 60,165 78,067 77 NEW ORLEANS 46,358 69,548 67 PHOENIX 44,201 72,000 61 DETROIT 43,804 80,500 54 RAIDERS 44,319 92,488 48

STREAKS

Ozzie Newsome of Cleveland had three catches for 146 yards, extending to 147 his streak of games with at least one reception in the Browns’ 16-13 victory over Denver. . . . Al Toon of the New York Jets caught two passes in a 17-10 loss to Indianapolis, ending his streak of 52 games with three or more receptions.

Houston harassed Miami’s Dan Marino, but didn’t get a sack, extending the Dolphins’ NFL record to 16 games without allowing a sack in the Oilers’ 39-7 victory. Marino has not been sacked in 647 pass attempts.

Ram quarterback Jim Everett threw a touchdown pass for the ninth consecutive game, hitting Flipper Anderson on a 65-yarder in a 13-12 win over the San Francisco 49ers. . . . Ram receiver Henry Ellard had five receptions for 63 yards and has caught a pass in 39 consecutive games.

Warren Moon of the Houston Oilers completed 10 consecutive passes at one stage in a 39-7 victory over Miami. . . . Bubby Brister completed a team-record 15 passes in a row as Pittsburgh defeated Detroit, 23-3.

Stephone Paige of Kansas City had three receptions for 56 yards to extend his reception streak to 52 games in a 21-17 loss to Cincinnati. . . . Nick Lowery of the Chiefs had two extra points and has made 179 in a row, longest active streak in the NFL.

Anthony Carter had six catches for 87 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown, to extend his reception streak to 53 games in the Vikings’ 17-3 victory over Tampa Bay.

INJURIES

Troy Aikman, the first pick in the draft, fractured a bone in his left index finger on an eight-yard scramble in the first quarter of Dallas’ 30-13 loss to the New York Giants. Aikman, who was replaced by Steve Walsh, will be sidelined indefinitely.

Turk Schonert, starting at quarterback for Cincinnati in place of Boomer Esiason, who has an ankle injury, was shaken up on the first series and Esiason came on to help the Bengals to a 21-17 victory.

Minnesota quarterback Wade Wilson chipped a bone in his left index finger during a sack 5:44 into the Vikings’ 17-3 win against Tampa Bay. Wilson will have surgery and may miss a game or two. Coach Jerry Burns hinted that Tommy Kramer, who completed 18 of 32 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns, might be able to win his old job back if he performs well during Wilson’s absence.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

NFL games averaged 48.6 points through the first three weeks before the defense made a stand Sunday. A look at this week’s scoring as compared to last week.

Team Week 3 Week 4 +/- ATLANTA 9 21 +12 BUFFALO 47 31 -16 CHICAGO 47 -- -- CINCINNATI 21 21 Even CLEVELAND 14 16 +2 DALLAS 7 13 +6 DENVER 31 13 -18 DETROIT 27 3 -24 GREEN BAY 38 23 -15 HOUSTON 41 39 -2 INDIANAPOLIS 13 17 +4 KANSAS CITY 6 17 +11 PHILADELPHIA 28 -- -- RAIDERS 21 20 -1 RAMS 41 13 -28 MIAMI 33 7 -26 MINNESOTA 14 17 +3 NEW ENGLAND 3 10 +7 NEW ORLEANS 10 14 +4 GIANTS 35 30 -5 JETS 40 10 -30 PHOENIX 7 24 +17 PITTSBURGH 27 23 -4 SAN DIEGO 21 24 +3 SAN FRANCISCO 38 12 -26 SEATTLE 24 24 Even TAMPA BAY 20 3 -17 WASHINGTON 30 16 -14 AVERAGE 24.8 17.8 -6.4

MILESTONES

Roy Green caught the 60th touchdown pass of his career, a 59-yard bomb from Gary Hogeboom, to tie Sonny Randle on the all-time Cardinal list in Phoenix’s 24-13 loss to San Diego. . . . J.T. Smith caught 11 passes for 123 yards to move into sixth place on the Cardinals’ career receptions list. Smith has 329 catches, one better than Randle.

Mark Carrier had one reception for six yards to become the seventh Tampa Bay player to catch 100 passes in the Buccaneers’ 17-3 loss to Minnesota.

Louis Lipps caught seven passes for 126 yards to move into fifth place on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ career receiving chart. Lipps has 4,002 receiving yards, surpassing Ray Mathews’ total of 3,919.

Ed (Too Tall) Jones of Dallas recorded six tackles in the Cowboys’ 30-13 loss to the New York Giants to give him 1,005 tackles in his 15-year NFL career.

Buffalo recorded its 100th victory at home Stadium in a 31-10 victory over New England. The Bills improved to 100-109-4 over 30 seasons.

TONIGHT’S GAME

Philadelphia at Chicago, 6 p.m.--Coaches Mike Ditka of the Bears and Buddy Ryan of the Eagles may dislike each other, but they give each other’s teams lip service.

Ditka puts the Eagles on the same level as Super Bowl champion San Francisco, although the 49ers rallied last week to pull out a 38-28 victory at Philadelphia.

“When you look at it,” Ditka said, “the champions had to come from behind to beat the Eagles. They’re on the same level as the champions. The 49ers haven’t faltered.

“Randall (Cunningham) is better than most quarterbacks because he can make something happen out of nothing.”

But Ryan has not forgotten Bear quarterback Mike Tomczak.

“I remember he used to practice against us all the time,” said Ryan, who was the Bears’ defensive coordinator before leaving for Philadelphia. “He was a gutty, tough kid who had some ability. Somebody told me he won 19 of 20 games he’s played, so he must be doing something right.”

Actually, Tomczak has won 19 of 22 career starts, including three this year.

Ryan is 0-3 against Chicago since he left the Bears, much to the satisfaction of Ditka.

LOWLIGHTS

New Orleans’ Morten Andersen, most accurate kicker in NFL history, suffered through one of his worst days in a 16-14 loss to Washington. He missed two field goals, including a 36-yarder with 2:34 remaining.

Andersen also missed 52-yard kick in the third quarter, giving him a 3-7 mark for the season, well off his 78% career mark.

Still, Andersen managed to keep his performance in perspective.

“I had a lousy day,” he said.

Houston held Miami’s Dan Marino to a career-low 103 passing yards as a starter in the Oilers’ 39-7 victory. It was Marino’s lowest total since he had 90 yards in a reserve role in his pro debut against the Raiders in 1983.

Tampa Bay quarterback Vinny Testaverde, 1986 Heisman Trophy winner and 1987 first-overall draft choice, completed six of 23 passes in a 17-3 loss to Minnesota. He was sacked twice, putting Tampa’s net passing yardage at 64.

When the Denver Broncos’ offense was being pelted with debris by fans in the end zone seats at Cleveland Municipal Stadium while on their four-yard line early in the fourth quarter, officials had the teams switch end zones. That put the wind at the back of Browns’ kicker Matt Bahr for a 48-yard field goal on the last play of the game that gave Cleveland a 16-13 victory.

The Browns limited Denver’s John Elway to six completions, his lowest total in a start since his rookie year, 1983.

Detroit rookie Barry Sanders, slowed by a hip pointer suffered a week ago against Chicago, gained only one yard in five carries and lost a crucial fumble in the Lions’ 23-3 loss to Pittsburgh. He sat out the second half.

The Kansas City Chiefs committed two turnovers inside Cincinnati’s 10-yard line in the third quarter while holding a 17-14 lead, quarterback Ron Jaworski had four passes intercepted in his first start since 1986 and, finally, linebacker Leon White stole the ball from the Chiefs’ Christian Okoye and ran 22 yards for a touchdown that gave the Bengals a 21-17 victory.

Derrick Shepard of New Orleans muffed a punt on the Saint 18-yard line in the fourth quarter, setting the stage for Chip Lohmiller’s game-winning 18-yard field goal in the Redskins’ 16-14 victory.

IN QUOTES

Miami Dolphin Coach Don Shula after a 39-7 loss to Houston: “It was such a poorly played game, it was hard for me to be associated with it . “

Detroit quarterback Rodney Peete, a sixth-round draft pick out of USC, after making his first NFL regular-season start in a 23-3 loss to Pittsburgh: “It’s tough any time you lose a football game, and we haven’t won a game yet this season. But you can’t throw in the towel. We have to believe we’re going to turn it around and go up to Minnesota next week and beat the Vikings. We’re not going to quit . “

Indianapolis’ Clarence Verdin said after returning a punt 49 yards for the winning score in the Colts’ 17-10 win over the New York Jets: “My wife is expecting twins. I wanted to get out of here in a hurry,”

Tampa Bay Coach Ray Perkins, when asked if he saw anything he liked in the Buccaneers’ 17-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.: “No, but I missed the halftime show. That might have been good,”

Cornerback Raymond Clayborn on the Patriots’ defense after a 31-10 loss to Buffalo: “We have a lot of young people out there making mistakes. It’s on the job training. It can all be cured with a victory.”

Kansas City Chief Coach Marty Schottenheimer said after a 21-17 loss to Cincinnati: “ . . . What was most satisfying about the game was that we scrapped and fought and we kept coming back.” Perhaps Schottenheimer wanted to forget that the Chiefs blew leads of 10-0 and 17-7.