THE NFL: MONDAY REPORT : Ugly Records Looming on the Playoff Horizon

The NFL assured us when it added two more playoff teams (for TV money, naturally) that only teams that merit it would make the postseason.

Well, after Sunday’s game, there were just 10 teams in the league with winning records.

And 12 make the playoffs.

So if the season ended this week, Pittsburgh and Houston, each 3-3, would be tied for the final AFC wild-card spot. Houston would win the tie-breaker, based on conference records.

In the NFC, Phoenix, Atlanta and New Orleans, all 2-3, would be tied for the sixth spot. The tiebreaker on that one is a little arcane.

Moreover, the format would--again, on this week’s standings--penalize the Bears, who are 5-1. They would be forced to play wild-card week, an extra playoff game, because the Giants and 49ers, who lead the NFC’s other divisions, are 5-0, the league’s only unbeaten teams.

Points on the board: For all those people worried that the new speedup rules would cause lower-scoring games, forget it.

There were 545 points scored Sunday, an average of 49.5 a game. That’s one point less in 11 games than the 546 scored in 12 last weekend, and that was the 10th-highest scoring week in NFL history.

Defense wins: Not counting Philadelphia, which had allowed 95 points going into tonight’s game, seven teams in the NFL have given up fewer than 100 points this season.

All seven have winning records--the Giants (67 points, 5-0); Dolphins (73, 4-1); Bears (75, 4-1); Redskins (75, 3-2); Raiders (90, 5-1); 49ers, (94, 5-0); Chiefs, (95, 4-2), and Bills (99, 4-1).

Wasted draft choice?As Eric Green, the Steelers’ first-round draft choice, continued his holdout through the start of the season, Coach Chuck Noll began suggesting that the massive tight end not bother showing up. “He can’t help us this year,” Noll had said.

Now that Pittsburgh has exploded offensively--nine touchdowns in two games after going without an offensive TD in the first four--Noll presumably has changed his mind.

Of Pittsburgh’s eight TDs, Green has four of them.

The Johnny Johnson watch: Phoenix’s seventh-round draft choice had his first 100-yard game Sunday, 120 yards in 19 carries in the 20-3 win over Dallas.

Johnson’s biggest break may have been getting tossed off the San Jose State basketball team two years ago. He concentrated on football full-time and is now leading the NFC in rushing.

Vintage quarterbacks: It was no coincidence that Sunday’s stars were Phil Simms, 34, Joe Montana, 34, and Warren Moon, 33.

Montana keeps getting better with age. His 476 yards and six touchdowns against a blitzing Atlanta defense would have been mind-blowing for someone else. But what else do you expect from Joe Montana? Or Jerry Rice, whose five TD catches tied an NFL record?

Some young quarterbacks did pretty well, too. Like Vinny Testaverde, who threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay, and Steve Walsh, who came off the bench in his first appearance for New Orleans and led the Saints to a 25-20 win over Cleveland.

And another old guy, 35-year-old Steve DeBerg, threw for 256 yards as Kansas city ripped through Detroit, 43-24. DeBerg’s major task, however, was handing off to the rejuvenated Barry Word, who ran for 200 yards.

On the other hand, some guys showed their youth.

Don Majkowski threw five interceptions against Tampa, and the Giants’ fifth straight win over Washington came largely because Simms outplayed Stan Humphries, making just his second NFL start. Humphries passed for just 135 yards and killed the Redskins with three interceptions, the last snuffing out Washington’s last chance with 1:34 left.

“Our young guy made three bad throws,” coach Joe Gibbs said.