PRO FOOTBALL / Week 6 : THE OTHER GAMES

GAME OF THE DAY New York Jets (4-1) at New England (3-2), 10 a.m. Whoever wins takes the upper hand in the AFC East, where everyone else has dropped out early. Both No. 1 quarterbacks are hurt. The Jets’ Ken O’Brien is out with a small break in his left knee, and the Patriots’ Tony Eason has battered ribs. Eason probably will be in uniform but won’t play. The Patriots have the better backup in veteran Steve Grogan, who could find easy pickings in the Jets’ patchwork secondary. Pat Ryan will replace O’Brien, with recycled Richard Todd next in line.

OTHER AFC GAMES Buffalo (1-4) at Miami (1-4), 10 a.m. Usually, Miami can beat the Bills from memory. The Dolphins lead the series, 29-3. But this is Don Shula’s worst start in 24 years of coaching. Dan Marino is slumping with seven interceptions in the last two weeks, and the NFL’s worst defense leaves the Dolphins little chance of outscoring anyone. The Bills have led in the last quarter of every game, losing four by a total of 11 points.

Denver (5-0) at San Diego (1-4), 1 p.m. Has Dan Fouts lost it? The Chargers’ future Hall of Famer hasn’t produced a second-half touchdown in a month, and the defense reverted to its old form at Seattle Monday night. Playing at home, at least Coach Don Coryell won’t be left behind by the team buses, as he was at the Coliseum two weeks ago. Denver nose tackle Rubin Carter is out with a sore knee.

Kansas City (3-2) at Cleveland (3-2), 10 a.m. The Browns were outplayed by lowly Detroit and Pittsburgh, but 5-7 Gerald (Ice Cube) McNeil pulled out wins by scoring on punt and kickoff returns. The big guys will have to start helping, too, if they aren’t too busy making rock videos (“Masters of the Gridiron”). Bernie Kosar hasn’t thrown an interception in four games but faces a tough Chief secondary, without balance from a running attack. Kevin Mack remains in and out with a shoulder injury, and tackle Rickey Bolden is gone with a broken arm. The Chiefs may miss receiver Carlos Carson, who has a thigh injury. Tackle Mark Adickes is out with a neck injury, caused by Raider Greg Townsend forcibly removing Adickes’ helmet last Sunday.

NFC GAMES Washington (5-0) at Dallas (3-2), 10 a.m. As he always feared, Tom Landry finds himself low on ammunition and surrounded by Redskins. Two losses to Dallas kept Washington out of the playoffs last season, so they have been pointing for this one. Cowboy quarterback Danny White won’t play because of a sore hip, and Tony Dorsett may play wearing a knee brace. They hope that Herschel Walker can just keep rolling along at fullback, flanker, tight end and anywhere else he wants to play. Injuries have hurt the Redskins on defense, especially at linebacker.

Minnesota (3-2) at San Francisco (4-1), 1 p.m. Viking quarterback Tommy Kramer returned from visiting his cancer-stricken mother in Texas to learn that Coach Jerry Burns was threatening to fine him and receiver Anthony Carter for drawing unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against the Bears last week. That should boost morale as the Vikings face a 49er team that has recovered from the loss of Joe Montana and is winning with a new leader, Jeff Kemp, who is the league’s second-rated passer. Kemp and receiver Jerry Rice add a previously missing dimension to Bill Walsh’s sophisticated passing scheme: the bomb. Roger Craig, hobbled recently by a sore hip, should be back, and Wendell Tyler just came off the injured-reserve list, but tackle Bubba Paris had knee surgery.

Detroit (2-3) at Green Bay (0-5), 10 a.m. Eric Hipple and James Jones give the Lions just enough offense to get by the bad teams, and this is the Packers’ worst start in 68 years. Losing five starters along the way, they have offered little threat offensively and less resistance defensively.

Philadelphia (2-3) at New York Giants (4-1), 1 p.m. Everybody else they have played has been unbeaten, so, on paper, this may be the Eagles’ easiest test. It may be on the field, too. While the Eagles seem to be getting the hang of Buddy Ryan’s 46 defense, the Giants’ offense has been coughing and sputtering like Jack Benny’s Maxwell. The Giants smuggled veteran runner Ottis Anderson out of St. Louis after last week’s game, giving up two 1987 draft choices.

St. Louis (0-5) at Tampa Bay (1-4), 10 a.m. Quarterback Neil Lomax stands alone in the ruins of what was once a dazzling Cardinal offense. He has only one wide receiver, J.T. Smith, who has ever caught a pass in the NFL, and Coach Gene Stallings is thinking about replacing Lomax with backup Cliff Stoudt. That certainly would turn things around. The Buccaneers haven’t been beaten in regulation time in three straight weeks--they’ve lost twice in overtime--but their offense may continue to struggle against the Cardinals’ No. 1-ranked defense. Defensive end Ron Holmes and offensive tackle Marvin Powell are out with knee injuries.

INTERCONFERENCE GAMES Chicago (5-0) at Houston (1-4), 10 a.m. The Oilers’ flashy statistics figure to be blown to bits by the Bears, who have decided to take this season seriously. Jim McMahon was even talking about taking some time off for shoulder surgery before the playoffs, once the Bears wrap up the title in the NFC Central, which should be any week now.

New Orleans (1-4) at Indianapolis (0-5), 10 a.m. Both sides are probably thinking this is the easiest game they’ve had. Although the Colts have been blown out every week, the Saints have been competitive. They’ll be without defensive end Casey Merrill, who broke his left foot in practice. That’s the same injury suffered earlier by quarterback Bobby Hebert and tackle Jim Dombrowski.

MONDAY NIGHT Pittsburgh (1-4) at Cincinnati (3-2), 6 p.m. Bad news for Steeler hard hats: Quarterback Mark Malone, the target of their booing, may be able to play despite a bruised right thumb. Newcomer Earnest Jackson has helped the ground game, and Malone will have receiver Louis Lipps uninjured for a change. Bengal quarterback Boomer Esiason has just about lost patience with Coach Sam Wyche for tinkering with an offense that’s averaging 24.2 points a game. Who’s running this team, anyway?