PRO FOOTBALL WEEK / 3 : THE OTHER GAMES

GAME OF THE DAY

San Francisco (2-0) at Philadelphia (2-0), 10 a.m.

TV: Channel 2.

This could be an early look at the NFC championship game, not to mention the NFC Pro Bowl team. They may need more than one football for Randall Cunningham and Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Mike Quick, Keith Jackson and Roger Craig. However, Philadelphia may be better on defense with Reggie White and Jerome Brown, but the Eagles say the 49er they fear most is safety Ronnie Lott. The Eagles may be the best team in the league, but they’ll have to prove it. They play Chicago and the New York Giants in the next two weeks. San Francisco started 2-0 twice before in this decade (1984 and 1988), and both times went on to win the Super Bowl.

INTERCONFERENCE GAMES

Atlanta (1-1) at Indianapolis (0-2), 10 a.m.

Joe Montana and Jim Everett cut the Colts’ pass defense to pieces in the first two weeks, and if Indianapolis doesn’t tighten up, Chris Miller will do the same. Miller has passed for 554 yards in two games and hasn’t thrown an interception in his last 94 passes. Eric Dickerson has the early AFC rushing lead with 222 yards, but the 49ers and Rams didn’t let him dominate either game. Deion Sanders has made an immediate impact for the Falcons, returning a punt for a touchdown in his first game and intercepting a pass in his second. The Colts are 9-0 against Atlanta.

Minnesota (1-1) at Pittsburgh (0-2), 10 a.m.

Chuck Noll, 0-2 for the first time, is on the ropes in Pittsburgh after the Steelers were outscored, 92-10, in two games. Things figure to get worse with the Vikings coming off a 38-7 setback to Chicago. Minnesota leads the league in defense, giving up only 205 yards per game. It was the offense that let the Bears pull away with five turnovers. Wade Wilson and Anthony Carter figure to have easy pickings against the worst defense in the league, which gave up 520 yards and 30 first downs to Cincinnati.

AFC GAMES

Buffalo (1-1) at Houston (1-1), 10 a.m.

The Bills eliminated the Oilers from the playoffs, 17-10, last season but Houston has beaten Buffalo five consecutive times in the Astrodome--where the Bills last won in 1966. Buffalo lost linebacker Shane Conlan for at least six weeks with a knee injury last Monday night against Denver, and quarterback Jim Kelly also is hobbling but will play with a sore knee. Warren Moon had to notice how John Elway ran the Denver offense for 382 yards and 26 first downs.

Seattle (0-2) New England (1-1), 10 a.m.

The Seahawks, 0-2 for the first time since 1982, are having trouble stopping offenses. Chuck Knox’s team has given up 417 yards per game and Brian Bosworth is again on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Misplays on New England’s special teams have led to 24 of the 48 points the Patriots have given up. The Patriots led the NFL with 588 rushing plays last season, but Tony Eason passed on 47 of 55 plays--including the last 26--after Miami took a 24-0 lead last week.

Kansas City (1-1) at San Diego (0-2), 1 p.m.

The Chiefs, even with new Coach Marty Schottenheimer, continue their pattern of playing well at home, beating the Raiders, and not so well on the road, losing at Denver. Kansas City has won once in 10 years at San Diego. Jim McMahon passed for 389 yards against Houston, but the Chiefs’ No. 3-ranked defense will be a challenge. Steve DeBerg will try to exploit the disappointing Charger defense, which ranks 23rd.

New York Jets (0-2) at Miami (1-1), 1 p.m.

New York has won three of four against the Dolphins and last season broke a seven-year losing streak in Miami. It’s never easy because Dan Marino has thrown 31 touchdown passes in 10 games against the Jets. Miami hasn’t allowed a sack in 14 games over 575 attempts, a league record, while the Jets have one sack this season. Al Toon has caught at least three passes in his last 51 games.

NFC GAMES

Phoenix (2-0) at New York Giants (2-0), 10 a.m.

Plan B free agent Gary Hogeboom, who threw four touchdown passes last week, tries to lead the Cardinals to a third consecutive road victory after wins at Detroit and Seattle. The Cardinals limited the Seahawks to 77 yards rushing and New York is without Joe Morris, though ex-Cardinal Ottis Anderson has done well replacing him. The Giants have beaten the Cardinals seven of their last 10 meetings, including six of seven at the Meadowlands.

New Orleans (1-1) at Tampa Bay (1-1), 10 a.m.

The Saints have beaten Tampa Bay six consecutive times, but these don’t appear to be the same Buccaneers. New Orleans made Don Majkowski of Green Bay look like Johnny Unitas last week, as he completed 18 consecutive passes to rally the Packers from a 24-7 deficit to a 35-34 victory. Vinny Testaverde, after throwing 35 interceptions last season, threw his first two of the season last week but still had the Buccaneers in position to upset the 49ers until the closing minutes.

Washington (0-2) at Dallas (0-2), 10 a.m.

These are teams trying to recover, the Cowboys from their first 0-2 start since 1963, and the Redskins from last week’s 42-37 defeat to Philadelphia after holding leads of 20-0 and 27-7. Rookie Troy Aikman led Dallas to a 21-10 halftime lead but went scoreless in the second half at Atlanta. Jimmy Johnson didn’t have these problems at Miami. Washington has won four of the last five against Dallas.

Chicago (2-0) at Detroit (0-2), 10 a.m.

The Lions are hoping quarterback Rodney Peete’s injured knee is ready for his first NFL start, but Coach Wayne Fontes might be wise to hold him out for a lesser foe than the Bears, who have beaten Detroit nine in a row. With little practice, Barry Sanders rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown in his debut with the Lions. All Mike Tomczak (18-3) does is win, but Chicago hasn’t taken to him as it did Jim McMahon.

MONDAY NIGHT

Cleveland (2-0) at Cincinnati (1-1)

TV: Channel 7, 6 p.m.

Bud Carson, undefeated in two games as a head coach, should find out if it’s really that easy in Riverfront Stadium, where the Browns have lost four of their last six games. The Bengals lost Ickey Woods last week with a knee injury, but the league’s No. 2-ranked offense has plenty in reserve. Boomer Esiason & Co. will test the young Browns’ defense, which includes rising stars Michael Dean Perry and David Grayson. They have made it easy for Bernie Kosar’s offense by racking up 12 turnovers.

NOTE: All times PDT. Standings, Page 20.