SPOTLIGHT / A GLANCE AT THIS WEEK IN THE NFL

TOP PERFORMANCES

Passing

Quarterback, Team Att. Cmp. Yds. TD CHRIS MILLER, Falcons 39 28 340 1 MARK RYPIEN, Redskins 42 23 333 3 D. MAJKOWSKI, Packers 32 21 313 4 BOBBY HEBERT, Saints 49 31 308 2 GARY HOGEBOOM, Colts 35 20 296 3 JOE MONTANA, 49ers 29 21 291 3 JIM EVERETT, Rams 28 16 290 2 V. TESTAVERDE, Bucs 36 22 269 3 DAVE KRIEG, Seahawks 36 20 252 0

Rushing

Player, Team Car. Yds. TD CHRISTIAN OKOYE, Chiefs 30 156 1 JAMES BROOKS, Bengals 17 127 2 BRENT FULWOOD, Packers 28 119 0 LARS TATE, Buccaneers 18 112 2 BOBBY HUMPHREY, Broncos 23 102 1 EARNEST BYNER, Redskins 14 100 0

Receiving

Player, Team No. Yds. TD DALTON HILLIARD, Saints 9 77 1 HENRY ELLARD, Rams 8 165 0 J.T. SMITH, Cardinals 8 114 3 ART MONK, Redskins 8 102 1 LOUIS LIPPS, Steelers 8 99 0 LONZELL HILL, Saints 8 88 0 RON HARMON, Bills 8 75 0 JERRY RICE, 49ers 7 149 1 ANDRE REED, Bills 7 75 1 STERLING SHARPE, Packers 6 132 1 BRUCE HILL, Buccaneers 6 107 1 MARK CARRIER, Buccaneers 6 105 1 ERNEST GIVINS, Oilers 5 128 0 BILL BROOKS, Colts 5 111 0

BIG PLAYS

Joe Montana teamed with John Taylor on touchdown pass plays of 21 and 32 yards in the fourth quarter as San Francisco rallied to defeat New Orleans, 24-20.

Rookie Pete Stoyanovich, who missed a 45-yard field goal with three seconds left in regulation time, kicked a 35-yarder in overtime to give the Miami Dolphins a 13-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

Mike Merriweather returned an interception 15 yards for a touchdown and Ike Holt took another interception 90 yards for a score as Minnesota’s defense forced four turnovers and recorded eight sacks in a 24-17 victory over Detroit.

James Brooks scored on runs of 13 and 65 yards in the fourth quarter as Cincinnati took sole possession of first place in the AFC Central with a 26-16 victory over Pittsburgh.

Lars Tate scored fourth-quarter touchdowns on runs of 16 and four yards to seal Tampa Bay’s 42-35 victory over Chicago.

Don Majkowski threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Sharpe to give Green Bay a 17-13 halftime lead and the Packers went on to defeat Dallas, 31-13.

Anthony Toney ran two yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:18 remaining and William Frizzell intercepted Phil Simms’ first pass on the ensuing possession as Philadelphia rallied to defeat the New York Giants, 21-19.

Mark Rypien threw fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Art Monk and Gary Clark to lift Washington to a 30-28 comeback victory over Phoenix.

Rookie Bobby Humphrey, in the first start of his pro career, ran 17 yards for a touchdown with 1:03 remaining to give Denver a 16-10 victory over San Diego.

ATTENDANCE

How teams fared at the gate Sunday.

Site Attend. Capacity % DENVER 75,222 76,273 99 PHILADELPHIA 65,688 66,592 99 GREEN BAY 56,656 57,095 99 NEW ENGLAND 59,828 60,794 98 INDIANAPOLIS 58,890 60,127 98 TAMPA BAY 72,077 74,315 97 WASHINGTON 55,692 58,049 96 SEATTLE 60,715 64,984 93 PITTSBURGH 52,785 59,000 89 MINNESOTA 55,380 63,000 88 NEW ORLEANS 60,488 69,548 87 MIAMI 58,444 73,000 80 RAMS 52,182 69,008 76

STREAKS

With New England’s 23-13 win against Houston, quarterback Doug Flutie improved his record to 11-0 at Sullivan Stadium, winning six games with the Patriots and five with Boston College.

The Miami Dolphins did not allow a quarterback sack in a 13-10 overtime victory over Cleveland, extending to 17 games their NFL record. Dan Marino has attempted 680 passes in that span. . . . Browns tight end Ozzie Newsome had three receptions for 40 yards and has caught passes in 148 consecutive games.

Anthony Carter had one reception for 19 yards in Minnesota’s 24-17 victory over Detroit and has caught passes in 54 consecutive games.

A 30-28 loss to Washington extended to 11 games Phoenix’s losing streak in the nation’s capital. The Cardinals last won at RFK Stadium in November 1978. . . . Washington won its third game in a row and snapped a five-game home losing streak, its longest in 25 years.

Kansas City receiver Stephone Paige had one reception for seven yards and has caught passes in 53 consecutive games. . . . The Chiefs, in defeating Seattle, 20-16, snapped a six-game losing streak in the Kingdome. . . . Kansas City limited the opposition to under 300 yards in total offense for the fifth week in a row. Seattle managed 288 net yards--including only 52 rushing yards. . . . Chief kicker Nick Lowery made both his extra-point attempts and has converted 181 in a row, the longest active streak in the NFL.

Dalton Hilliard of New Orleans scored a touchdown for the sixth consecutive game--a 19-yard reception in the third quarter of the Saints’ 24-20 loss to San Francisco.

MILESTONES

Art Monk of Washington moved into seventh place on the all-time NFL receiving list. A look at the top 10 career receivers.

PLAYER Yrs. No. Yards TD STEVE LARGENT* 14 792 12,709 98 CHARLIE JOINER 18 750 12,146 65 CHARLEY TAYLOR 13 649 9,110 79 DON MAYNARD 15 633 11,834 88 RAYMOND BERRY 13 631 9,275 68 O. NEWSOME* 11 623 7,548 45 ART MONK* 10 603 8,424 42 JAMES LOFTON* 11 599 11,085 54 H. CARMICHAEL 14 590 8,985 79 F. BILETNIKOFF 14 589 8,974 76

* Active

Dan Marino of Miami threw for 234 yards to set a team career yardage record and become the 25th NFL quarterback to throw for 25,000 yards. Bob Griese, who played from 1967 to 1980, held the old Miami record of 25,092 yards. Marino now has 25,101 in seven seasons.

The Dallas Cowboys, 31-13 losers to Green Bay, dropped to 0-5, their worst start since finishing with an 0-10 record in 1960.

INJURIES

Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly, the leading passer in the AFC, suffered a separated left shoulder as he completed a touchdown pass in the Bills’ 37-14 loss to Indianapolis.

Kelly was hit hard by Colts’ defensive end Jon Hand as he passed 16 yards to Andre Reed for a touchdown late in the third quarter. Kelly is expected to miss at least four weeks.

Minnesota nose tackle Tim Newton broke his hand early in the Vikings’ 24-17 win against Detroit.

Tampa Bay quarterback Vinny Testaverde suffered a bruised right knee on a late hit in the fourth quarter by Chicago’s Steve McMichael. X-rays showed no major damage to Testaverde, who completed 22 of 36 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns in the Bucs’ 42-35 win.

Rams running back Greg Bell, who entered the day as the NFL’s leading rusher, suffered a hamstring strain in the second quarter and did not return after carrying 10 times for 62 yards in a 26-14 victory over Atlanta.

Pittsburgh quarterback Bubby Brister sprained his left knee with 35 seconds remaining in the Steelers’ 26-16 loss to Cincinnati. Brister was injured when Bengal defender Jason Buck rolled over his leg. X-rays of Brister’s leg were negative, but he was taken to a nearby hospital for more tests. The extent of Brister’s injury is expected to be released today.

Phoenix, battered by injuries all season, lost two more players in the second quarter of a 30-28 loss to Washington. Wide receiver Roy Green fractured his collarbone and right tackle Shawn Knight injured his right shoulder. Neither played in the second half.

IN QUOTES

Quarterback Joe Montana after rallying San Francisco to a 24-20 victory over New Orleans, the 49ers’ fourth come-from-behind win in five weeks: “This is bad for the heart.”

New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms, who had been quoted in Philadelphia last week as saying that a good high school quarterback could throw for 300 yards with proper protection against the Philadelphia defense, denied the quote after the Giants’ 21-19 loss to the Eagles and said: “I’m not going to talk to you--write that down, then get away from me.”

Defensive tackle Keith Millard, after Minnesota thwarted Detroit’s last scoring threat with 1:22 remaining in a 24-17 Vikings victory: “We looked at each other and said, ‘If they score, we’re going into overtime. If we’re tired now, what will we be then? Let’s do the job and go home.”’

Indianapolis Coach Ron Meyer on the Colts’ 37-14 victory over AFC East co-leader Buffalo: “We got the first turnover and jammed it in, and then we were rockin’ and rollin’.... It was a big win for us, no question about it. But we must temper that. First, we’re extremely sorry for Jim Kelly. Second, it’s only five games into the season. It will wind down to the last week of the season, as it always does.”

Cincinnati Coach Sam Wyche after James Brooks broke off a 65-yard touchdown run with 1:49 remaining to seal the Bengals’ 26-16 victory over Pittsburgh: “It was third-and-forever, and we were going to pop the play up the middle and keep the clock going . After that it’s up to the running back, and we’ve got a great running back.”

Tampa Bay linebacker Ervin Randle after the Bucs upset Chicago, 42-35, to raise their record to 3-2: “It makes us look back at the San Francisco game (a 20-16 loss) and Minnesota game and we realize that we could have won those, too. Chicago is just as good.”

Minnesota defensive coordinator Floyd Peters on Detroit running back Barry Sanders, who rushed for 99 yards in 23 carries in the Vikings’ 24-17 win: “The guy that dropped everybody to his knees was Sanders. He scares the living daylights out of you. He came within an eyelash of breaking about three of them for touchdowns. And we have to play him again in two weeks.”

Chicago quarterback Mike Tomczak after the Bears were upset, 42-35, by Tampa Bay: “I’ll be honest with you. Tampa Bay’s a good football team, but I know they’re not better than us. I’m optimistic we’re going to win the rest of our ballgames.”

Dallas Coach Jimmy Johnson, still looking for his first NFL victory after a 31-13 loss to Green Bay: “This is getting pretty old.”

Miami Coach Don Shula after rookie kicker Pete Stoyanovich, who earlier missed field-goal attempts of 46 and 45 yards, did wonders for his job security by making a 35-yarder in overtime to give the Dolphins a 13-10 victory over Cleveland: “This is a big, big kick in his career.”

Kansas City Coach Marty Schottenheimer, on fullback Christian Okoye’s 156-yard performance in a 20-16 win against Seattle: “If he stays healthy and continues to progress, he could be something because he’s only realized about 70% of his potential. He is to us like Eric Dickerson is to the Colts.”

DISTURBING TREND

Tim Newton started at nose tackle Sunday, one day after he was involved in the Minnesota Vikings’ 10th drunken driving incident in the last three years.

Newton has been arrested three times, the only Viking with multiple incidents, and may face a 30-day suspension under the NFL’s substance-abuse policy.

Vikings general manager Mike Lynn said the “appropriate action” will be taken after learning the complete circumstances of the arrest.

Newton started in the Vikings’ 24-17 victory over Detroit because first-string nose tackle Henry Thomas was out with an injury. Newton broke his right hand and was replaced in the second quarter by Ken Clarke.

LOWLIGHTS

Detroit quarterback Bob Gagliano was sacked three straight times and fumbled on fourth down on the Lions’ final drive in a 24-17 loss to Minnesota.

Chicago had three turnovers, including a fumble and interception to set up first-half touchdowns in a 42-35 loss to Tampa Bay.

Cleveland was slapped with eight penalties for 86 yards in a 13-10 overtime loss to Miami.