THE OTHER GAMES

GAME OF THE DAY

Buffalo (8-1) at Seattle (5-4), 1 p.m.

TV: Channels 4 and 39.

The Bills have won 4 straight games since their only defeat--by Chicago--and have the best record in the NFL, but they have lost the only 2 games they have played in the Kingdome. Chuck Knox, the last coach to take Buffalo to the playoffs, will be trying to knock off his former team in this match of division leaders. The Seahawks lost 2 straight before squeezing past San Diego last week, 17-14. Buffalo’s Andre Reed leads the AFC with 45 receptions and Jim Kelly ranks second in passing, but the big surprise has been Thurman Thomas, who leads rookie rushers with 567 yards.

AFC GAMES

New York Jets (5-3-1) at Indianapolis (4-5), 1 p.m.

The Colts have ridden Eric Dickerson (1,038 yards, 9 touchdowns) and rookie quarterback Chris Chandler to 3 straight victories and playoff contention, but face a team with a winning record. The Jets, despite missing three starters in the offensive line, have bounced back from lopsided defeats to Cincinnati and Buffalo with victories over Miami and Pittsburgh.

Miami (5-4) at New England (4-5), 10 a.m.

The Dolphins are starting a stretch of 5 straight AFC East games that figure to clarify playoff possibilities. Miami has lost 5 straight games and 6 of 7 to the Patriots, who are coming off a 30-7 victory over Chicago on the strength of 4 touchdown passes by Doug Flutie. New England has won 3 of 4 since Flutie took over at quarterback. He’ll have to complete more than 6 passes, though, to keep up with Dan Marino, who has the Miami offense in gear after a slow start.

Pittsburgh (2-7) at Cincinnati (7-2), 10 a.m.

The Bengals have looked more like last year’s team in losing 2 of 3 games after a 6-0 start. Cincinnati gave away a game to New England and lost to Cleveland when Boomer Esiason and the offense couldn’t muster a touchdown. The Steelers played Cincinnati tough in an earlier 17-12 defeat but Pittsburgh has self-destructed all season with 29 turnovers--6 in the loss to Bengals--and 5 blocked punts. Esiason leads the AFC with a 95.9 rating and 17 touchdowns, but hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in 2 games.

Kansas City (1-7-1) at Denver (4-5), 1 p.m.

The Chiefs, who haven’t won in 7 weeks, have the inside track for Troy Aikman, which figures, because they have Steve DeBerg, the quarterback who gave way to Joe Montana, John Elway and Vinny Testaverde. Neither DeBerg nor Bill Kenney has been able to get the Chiefs going, even though they beat the Broncos, 20-13, earlier. Elway’s ankle injury has hampered the Denver offense, and the Broncos can’t stop anybody on defense, where the loss of Karl Mecklenburg shows.

NFC GAMES

New Orleans (7-2) at Washington (5-4), 1 p.m.

Redskin Coach Joe Gibbs hasn’t named his starting quarterback but Mark Rypien replaced Doug Williams late in a 41-17 trouncing by Houston last week that knocked Washington out of a share of the NFC East lead. The Saints had their 7-game winning streak broken last week by the Rams, but are going for an NFL record-tying 11th consecutive road victory. The Saints’ Eric Martin is the league’s No. 1 wide receiver with 46 receptions.

San Francisco (6-3) at Phoenix (5-4), 1 p.m.

TV: Channel 2.

Joe Montana says he’s fit enough to play, but Coach Bill Walsh says Montana won’t start unless he’s 100%, so Steve Young probably will get the call again after his 49-yard scoring run beat Minnesota last week. The 49ers are a game behind the Rams and New Orleans, but both still have to play in San Francisco. The 49ers lead the NFL in total yards and Phoenix is second. Neil Lomax will be on the lookout for 49er Charles Haley, who leads the league with 10 1/2 sacks. San Francisco has won 11 of its last 12 on the road.

Tampa Bay (2-7) at Chicago (7-2), 10 a.m.

The Buccaneers could have found a better time to play the Bears, who are coming off a 30-7 defeat at New England and figure to be inspired to win for Coach Mike Ditka, who had a mild heart attack last week. Chicago also is missing quarterback Jim McMahon, out 4 to 6 weeks with a knee injury, but Mike Tomczak is a capable replacement. The Bears have beaten Tampa Bay 10 straight times. Joe Ferguson played well in Tampa Bay’s 17-14 loss to Miami last week, but Coach Ray Perkins will return to Vinny Testaverde at quarterback.

Dallas (2-7) at New York Giants (6-3), 10 a.m.

The Cowboys, who have lost 5 straight, are having a nightmare season, but have won 5 of the last 7 against the Giants. New York pulled out a 12-10 victory at Dallas in the third week of the season when officials erroneously awarded the Giants a safety, but the Giants have swept a season series from the Cowboys only once. The Giants, who had unimpressive victories over Atlanta and Detroit the last 2 weeks, are leading the NFC East. Steve Pelluer completed only 9 passes for the Cowboys against Phoenix last week and Herschel Walker didn’t catch a pass for only the second time as a pro. Dallas hasn’t lost 6 straight games in a season since 1960.

Detroit (2-7) at Minnesota (5-4), 10 a.m.

The Vikings have lost 3 of 5 since a rout of Chicago that seemed to give them control of the NFC Central. The Lions have allowed more than 20 points only twice and have a chance because Minnesota seems to play to the level of its competition. The Vikings, leading the NFL with 21 interceptions, had the 49ers on the ropes last week until losing in the final minute. Lion quarterback Rusty Hilger suffered a concussion last week but should play.

Green Bay (2-7) at Atlanta (2-7), 10 a.m.

With Chris Miller back at quarterback, the Falcons showed they are improved in beating Philadelphia last week. They’ll be even better if running back Gerald Riggs is healthy enough to play against the Packers. Since Green Bay won 2 straight and quarterback Don Majkowski signed a new contract, the Packers have lost 2 straight. Green Bay’s only positive number is a +9 turnover ratio.

MONDAY NIGHT

Cleveland (6-3) at Houston (6-3)

TV: Channel 7, 6 p.m.

Defense kept the Browns in the AFC Central race for 5 weeks when Bernie Kosar was injured, and was the difference in last week’s victory over Cincinnati. The Browns have allowed an NFL-low 12 touchdowns, but the Oilers, making their first Monday night appearance since 1982, also have been playing well with quarterback Warren Moon uninjured.