SPOTLIGHT : A QUICK LOOK AT THIS WEEK’S HIGHS AND LOWS

TOP PERFORMANCES

Passing

Quarterback Yds TD R. CUNNINGHAM (Eagles) 447 5 JIM McMAHON (Chargers) 389 2 JIM EVERETT (Rams) 368 3 DON MAJKOWSKI (Packers) 354 3 BOB GAGLIANO (Lions) 344 1 TONY EASON (Patriots) 341 1 BOOMER ESIASON (Bengals) 328 2 GARY HOGEBOOM (Cardinals) 298 4 MARK RYPIEN (Redskins) 288 4 BOBBY HEBERT (Saints) 282 3

Rushing

Player Yds TD GERALD RIGGS (Redskins) 221 1 B. FULLWOOD (Packers) 125 2 ERIC DICKERSON (Colts) 116 1 JAMES BROOKS (Bengals) 113 1 NEAL ANDERSON (Bears) 97 2

Receiving

Player No. Yds HENRY ELLARD (Rams) 12 230 KEITH JACKSON (Eagles) 12 126 RICHARD JOHNSON (Lions) 9 172 BRIAN BLADES (Seahawks) 9 146 ROY GREEN (Cardinals) 8 166 KEITH BYARS (Eagles) 8 130 JERRY RICE (49ers) 8 122 STERLING SHARPE (Packers) 8 107 ROD BERNSTINE (Chargers) 8 78 ANTHONY MILLER (Chargers) 7 162 J.T. SMITH (Cardinals) 7 104

BIG PLAYS

Joe Montana scored on a four-yard run with 40 seconds remaining to lift the San Francisco 49ers to a 20-16 victory at Tampa Bay.

Neal Anderson scored on runs of two and 13 yards in the fourth quarter as Chicago pulled away from Minnesota in a 38-7 victory.

Roy Green caught touchdown passes of 51, six and 59 yards from Gary Hogeboom as Phoenix made itself at home in Seattle, 34-24.

Don Majkowski threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Sharpe with 1:26 left as Green Bay rallied from a 24-7 halftime deficit to stun the New Orleans Saints, 35-34.

Wes Hopkins ran 77 yards with a lateral after a fumble recovery, setting up Randall Cunningham’s third touchdown pass to Keith Jackson with 52 seconds left as Philadelphia rallied for a 42-37 victory at Washington.

Browns safety Thane Gash returned an interception 36 yards with five minutes left in the first half and Cleveland went on to post a 38-24 victory over the New York Jets.

John Settle scored on a four-yard run midway through the fourth quarter as Atlanta rallied to defeat Dallas, 27-21.

LOWLIGHTS

Fifty yards in penalties against Raider cornerback Terry McDaniel bolstered an 87-yard Kansas City drive that was capped by Christian Okoye’s one-yard run as the Chiefs rallied for a 24-19 victory.

A holding penalty against Tampa Bay defensive back Donnie Elder kept alive San Francisco’s game-winning drive, and two plays later 49er quarterback Joe Montana scored the game-winning points on a four-yard run.

New England’s pass blocking left much to be desired, as Patriots quarterback Tony Eason, who still managed to throw for 341 yards, was sacked seven times.

The NFL’s antiquated television black-out and doubleheader rules kept Eric Dickerson’s return to Anaheim Stadium off local network coverage when the Rams fell 2,353 tickets short of a sellout.

BELATED DEBUTS Sammie Smith, the Dolphins’ first-round draft pick out of Florida State who was a contract holdout, rushed for 40 yards in seven carries in Miami’s 24-10 victory over New England. Wide receiver Mark Clayton, who also ended his contract holdout last week, caught six passes for 79 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown 3:29 into the game, in the Dolphin victory. MILESTONES

Quarterbacks who were the fastest to record 200 touchdown passes.

Quarterback, Team Games DAN MARINO, Dolphins 89 JOHNNY UNITAS, Colts 121 FRAN TARKENTON, Vikings * 137 DAN FOUTS, Chargers 143 JOHN HADL, Chargers 152 LEN DAWSON, Chiefs ** 153 SONNY JURGENSEN, Redskins *** 156 Y.A. TITTLE, Giants 164 ROMAN GABRIEL, Rams **** 167

* Also played for Giants

** Also played for Steelers, Browns

and Cowboys

*** Also played for Eagles

**** Also played for Eagles

IN QUOTES Green Bay Coach Lindy Infante after the Packers rallied from a 21-0 deficit to defeat New Orleans: “Quite frankly, I’m astounded. . . . The major thing we talked about at half was that the worst thing we could do was panic and say there was no way we could catch up against these guys.” Minnesota defensive lineman Henry Thomas after Chicago scored 28 points in the fourth quarter of a 38-7 victory over the Vikings: “We laid an egg in the fourth quarter, it was embarrassing.” Pittsburgh Coach Chuck Noll after the Steelers were routed for the second week in a row, this time in Cincinnati, 41-10: “Either the Super Bowl team comes out of the Central Division, or we are very bad, one or the other . We’re not a very good football team, but we’re not as good right now as we’re going to be later on.” Steeler quarterback Bubby Brister on the 0-2 start: “You’ve got to believe . That’s all we’ve got. No one can get closer than we’ve gotten when you go through two games like this.” Tampa Bay safety Mark Robinson after Joe Montana’s four-yard touchdown run with 40 seconds remaining gave the 49ers a 20-16 victory: “You spill your guts. You are tired, you are hurting, then something like that happens. That makes the whole thing tough.” Houston quarterback Warren Moon after the Oilers held off San Diego, 34-27: “We made too much of a game of it. . . . We just should have run away and hid.” Ram quarterback Jim Everett on Eric Dickerson’s return to Anaheim: “A lot of guys here involved in the trade wanted to do well because they knew the comparison would be made.” Ram offensive tackle Irv Pankey, a friend of Dickerson’s: “I wanted to see him do well but I wanted us to win the game. There are no hard feelings between (Eric) and the offensive line.”

JUST REWARDS The timing couldn’t have been more appropriate.

After Randall Cunningham passed for five touchdowns Sunday, to rally Philadelphia to a 42-37 victory over Washington, the fifth-year player announced that he had signed a five-year contract extension, assuring he’ll be with the Eagles through 1995.

“Signed, sealed and delivered,” said Cunningham, who passed for 447 yards.

Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but team officials said Cunningham signed the extension at the team’s hotel before the game.

“Maybe that’s the reason I played good today,” said Cunningham, whose original contract was due to expire at the end of the season. TONIGHT’S GAME

Denver at Buffalo, 6 p.m.--If it were up to Jim Kelly, the Buffalo Bills would be throwing bombs from the opening snap.

But when the Bills face the pass-oriented Denver Broncos tonight, it’s not likely the Buffalo offense will be radically different. That’s because the Bills’ coaching staff dislikes the shotgun.

“I love the shotgun,” Kelly said. “I love sending four receivers out on a pass play. . . . It reminds me of the USFL.”

It was with the USFL’s Houston Gamblers that Kelly established himself as one of professional football’s premier passers. But since he joined the Bills in 1986, his passing has been restrained.

Last week, the Bills’ offense sputtered until the last 4:17 of the game when, from a shotgun formation, Kelly engineered two touchdowns as Buffalo defeated Miami, 27-24. Kelly scored the game-winner on a two-yard touchdown run, the first rushing touchdown of his NFL career.

Nevertheless, Denver’s primary task will be to stop a Buffalo running game led by second-year pro Thurman Thomas, who rushed for 94 yards in the first week.

The Broncos are coming off a 34-20 win over Kansas City. The Broncos’ defense was the big surprise, accounting for 14 points on two interception returns.

INJURIES Defensive tackle Eric Dorsey of the New York Giants had his foot stepped on in the fourth quarter of a 24-14 victory over Detroit. The the preliminary diagnosis was a broken bone in his right foot. Dorsey will be sidelined indefinitely. A similar injured has sidelined Giants running back Joe Morris for the season.

Wide receiver Eddie Brown, in his first game since ending a contract holdout, left with a pulled groin muscle in the third quarter of Cincinnati’s 41-10 rout of Pittsburgh. Brown is not expected to miss any games. Bengal running back Ickey Woods, who scored on a one-yard run in the second quarter, twisted his ankle in the second half and did not return.