SPOTLIGHT / A GLANCE AT THIS WEEK IN THE NFL

TEAM DICKERSON

Eric Dickerson returned from a three-game suspension for insubordination, and Indianapolis Coach Rick Venturi did his best to put the incident behind him.

Venturi left his marquee running back in the game with the Colts far behind the Cleveland Browns, and Dickerson responded by picking up the majority of his season-high 117 yards.

“He did a fine job. That’s encouraging for the last three games,” Venturi said. “I thought about bringing him out, but it was important to get Eric back on track, get him back in his rhythm.”

Dickerson moved past Jim Brown into third place in NFL all-time rushing with 12,367 yards. He is within 372 yards of Tony Dorsett. Walter Payton is the leader with 16,726 yards.

Dickerson, who has rushed for 5,122 yards with the Colts, needs 52 more to pass Lenny Moore in the No. 2 spot on the team’s all-time list.

But if Dickerson was moved by the occasion of returning to the lineup or of supplanting a legend in the record book, he wasn’t saying.

“No comment. I’ve got nothing to say,” he told a crowd of reporters in the Colts’ locker room.

The Colts, who scored 55 points and gained their first victory during Dickerson’s absence, were shut out by the Browns, 31-0.

Welcome back, Eric.

GROUND WORK

Indianapolis quarterback Jeff George also went into the record books, mostly for reasons he would rather forget.

George, sacked six times for minus 72 yards, set Colt records for most sacks in a season (46) and most yards lost on sacks in a season (406), replacing Greg Landry and Bill Troup, respectively.

George has been sacked 18 times for 175 yards in the past three games.

He also has a strong chance to set a more positive team record. George is third in Colt history with 250 completions in a season, trailing only Johnny Unitas (255 in 1967) and Landry (270 in 1979).

STRETCH DRIVE

The San Francisco 49ers, their playoff hopes all but lost four weeks ago with a 4-5 record and no quarterback when Steve Young was lost to a knee injury, have new life.

His name is Steve Bono.

The former UCLA quarterback improved to 3-1 as a starter for the 49ers, avenging his only loss by passing for 347 yards and three touchdowns as San Francisco defeated NFC West leader New Orleans, 38-24.

The victory put the 49ers (7-6) above .500 for the first time this season--and in the middle of the NFC playoff hunt. More than half of the NFC’s 14 teams can still qualify for the playoffs, and no one is counting out the 49ers.

But time is fast running out on the New York Giants. Faced with their own must-win situation at Cincinnati, the Giants--with Phil Simms back at quarterback--built a 10-point lead, then fell apart and dropped to 7-6.

Afterward, the Giants--with the same record as the 49ers but sensing the consequences of a missed opportunity against a losing team--knew where to point the blame.

“We beat ourselves,” Giant Coach Ray Handley said.

Said Simms: “We’ve been doing that all year. That’s pretty typical of us. We made a lot of mistakes in all facets of the game. We had a lot of chances.”

They don’t have many more left.

NAMES AND NUMBERS

Nick Lowery became Kansas City’s all-time leading scorer by kicking four field goals and an extra point. He finished the day with 1,236 points in 12 seasons, breaking the team record of 1,231 points set by Jan Stenerud. . . . Lowery has 280 field goals and became the team’s career field goal leader. Stenerud kicked 279 field goals for the Chiefs. . . . Chief running back Christian Okoye left the game in the second quarter with a sprained right knee.

With 307 yards passing, Miami’s Dan Marino reached 3,121 for the year, exceeding the 3,000-yard mark for an NFL-record eighth time. Marino has reached the plateau every season except his rookie year of 1983, when he started only nine games.

Jim Kelly threw two touchdown passes, giving him a single-season Bills record of 28, two better than the mark set by Joe Ferguson in 1983. . . . Thurman Thomas had four catches to set a Buffalo record for career receptions by a running back. He has 181, one better than Joe Cribbs. . . . The Bills, who set NFL single-season attendance records in each of the last three seasons, are on their way again. Buffalo has sold out all eight home games this season and, with the crowd of 80,243, the Bills have drawn 557,830 in seven games. There were only 118 no-shows.

Bernie Kosar’s three-yard scoring pass to Kevin Mack was his 100th regular-season touchdown pass.

Phil Simms of the New York Giants threw three touchdown passes, giving him a team-record 175, two more than Charlie Conerly. . . . Lawrence Taylor, with a sprained left knee, missed only his second game in 11 years. . . . Bengals offensive lineman Anthony Munoz severely dislocated his elbow during the third quarter and will be sidelined indefinitely.

Steve Bono’s first completion of the day was a three-yard pass to Jerry Rice, the San Francisco receiver’s 500th career catch. Four years ago with Pittsburgh, Bono was the passer when John Stallworth made his 500th reception--a one-yard touchdown--in a strike game Oct. 18, 1987. . . . Since 1986, San Francisco is a league-best 18-3 in December games.

MIRACLE CURE

There is a new remedy for flu, as discovered by noted physician Chris Miller, quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons.

Miller missed the first half against Green Bay with a 103-degree temperature. “I had a sweatsuit on . . . and I just started sweating, and I think I kind of burned out of it,” he said.

Doctors gave him two bags of an intravenous solution and Miller returned to revive the Falcons’ playoff hopes. He threw two touchdown passes to Andre Rison, including the game-winner with 41 seconds to play, as Atlanta rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat Green Bay, 35-31.

DOMINO EFFECT

Lindy Infante is 23-38 as coach at Green Bay, but a victory late in the 1988 season may turn out to be his undoing with the Packers.

When Green Bay posted a 26-17 upset of the Phoenix Cardinals, it lost the first pick in the draft. That pick turned out to be quarterback Troy Aikman, who went to Dallas. Packer General Manager Tom Braatz then selected lineman Tony Mandarich over Barry Sanders. Hindsight is painfully clear to the Packers.

Ron Wolf is the new Packer general manager, and a new coach might not be far behind. Green Bay blew a 14-

point lead and lost to Atlanta Sunday, and for Infante, the cost of a since-

forgotten victory may be his job.

IN QUOTES

Washington’s Ricky Ervins, a rookie running back from Pasadena and USC, after scoring a touchdown and giving the ball to his 5-year-old nephew, Brandon: “I promised him I’d score one for him three weeks ago.”

Miami running back Mark Higgs, who rushed for 131 yards after starting in place of Sammie Smith: “Hopefully now I can get off the kickoff return team.”

Add Higgs: “My patience paid off. In Dallas, I backed up Herschel Walker and I never played. In Philadelphia, I waited until Keith Byars got hurt. So I’m used to it.”

Kicker Nick Lowery after becoming the Chiefs’ all-time scoring leader: “It’s hard to believe that I had 11 tryouts with eight teams before landing a job with Kansas City. This is unbelievable, because I didn’t think I’d make it anywhere in the league.”

Indianapolis quarterback Jeff George, who was sacked six times and had two passes intercepted as the Colts dropped to 1-12: “I don’t know what we can do differently. We’re just getting beat up. I’m getting beat up. We’re struggling, and there doesn’t seem to be anything we can do to stop it.” New England Coach Dick MacPherson after the Patriots lost at Denver, 20-3: “We came into a hostile environment, and you saw how we reacted . I don’t think we did anything real well.”

TONIGHT’S GAME

HOUSTON vs. PHILADELPHIA

Site: Houston Astrodome

TV: Channel 7, 6 p.m.

Jim McMahon should feel right at home in the House of Pain.

Rarely able to practice because of knee, ankle and elbow injuries, the quarterback’s presence on game day has kept the Philadelphia Eagles’ playoff hopes alive. Riding a four-game winning streak, they are 7-1 with McMahon in the lineup, 0-4 without him.

Tonight, McMahon leads the Eagles into Houston (9-3). The Oilers can finish no worse than tied for first in the AFC Central Division.

Philadelphia’s road to the playoffs is less certain. Six teams are separated by two games with three to play in the battle for the NFC’s three wild-card berths.

McMahon’s performances have earned the respect of his teammates, who weren’t sure what to think of the controversial quarterback when he signed as a free agent last season.

“(McMahon’s) stepping in and playing with injuries has really boosted this team,” defensive end Reggie White said. “We knew he could do what he’s done in the past. We were just hoping he could do it the whole season because we believe with him in there, we can go a long way.

“My impressions of him have changed tremendously. My attitude changed to the point where I had to personally apologize to him.

“When he was with the Bears, I liked him as a person, but I didn’t like his image. I made some comments about that. When he got to Philadelphia we saw what a good person he was, and he got along with everyone.”

The Eagles’ defense has been outstanding. It ranks first in the NFL in total defense, pass defense and run defense. The last team to finish the season leading in all three categories was Minnesota in 1975.

That Minnesota team also reached the Super Bowl. The Eagles still have plans to get there, too.