NFL: MONDAY REPORT : Under Parity, Most Teams Equally Bad

The byword for the NFL has always been parity, but almost midway through the season the word has to be parody. Seventeen of the 28 NFL teams are UNDER .500. That’s 17, as in SEVENTEEN!

Moreover, in the last three weeks, just two of the 36 games have matched teams with winning records--the two between the Giants and the Redskins. The next best was the 3-3 Steelers at the 6-0 49ers last week.

Why? Because so many of last year’s playoff teams have fallen flat--the 1-6 Vikings, 3-4 Eagles, 2-4 Rams and 3-4 Broncos--and none of the up-and-coming teams have truly emerged.

So the 49ers and Giants are 7-0, and the Bears, Dolphins, Bills and Raiders are 6-1. The Bengals are 5-3, the Redskins and Chiefs 4-3.

And that’s it.

On the NFC front, the 49ers lead the West by four games, the Giants lead the East by three and the Bears lead the Central by two. The three will spend the rest of the season playing for home-field advantage in the playoffs and to avoid being the division winner relegated to the wild-card round.

“We should win unless we do something stupid, and we don’t plan on doing something stupid,” Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor said after Sunday’s 27-10 victory over the Redskins.

The AFC is better off, but just barely.

If the Raiders beat the Chiefs next Sunday, they’ll have a three-game lead in the West.

In the Central, the Bengals (5-3) were horrible Sunday night in Atlanta, but they’re coming off a five-game road trip and have six of their final eight games at home. Houston, which lost at home to the Jets on Sunday, is only a game behind but has five of its final eight games on the road.

So when is there an important game?

Maybe next week in Kansas City between the Raiders and Chiefs.

Or Nov. 19 in Miami, a Monday night game between the Raiders and Dolphins.

Which is a good lead-in to Dec. 3, when the 49ers and Giants meet at Candlestick.

BUD AND BUDDY--Did Bud Carson save his job because his Browns rallied to tie the 49ers before losing on (what else?) Joe Montana’s last-minute drive to set up a Mike Cofer field goal? Probably for a week or two before Jim Shofner takes over.

Did Buddy Ryan save his job when his Eagles rallied to beat Dallas 21-20 on Randall Cunningham’s 10-yard pass to Calvin Williams with 44 seconds to go? Probably for 1990 anyway.

“I sure would rather have won than tried to figure out what to do for the rest of the season,” Ryan said.

WINNING ISN’T THE ONLY THING--Winning may not be enough for the 49ers anymore.

“I could swallow it better if we played our butts off and someone beat us,” said Ronnie Lott after the 49ers edged Cleveland 20-17.