SPOTLIGHT : A GLANCE AT THIS WEEK IN THE NFL

CHANGING OF GUARD

Make that at least two more setbacks for quarterback Joe Montana, who has missed the last 23 regular-season games for the San Francisco 49ers.

The first is that Montana, 36, is feeling numbness in his right hand and is still unable to play after undergoing several surgeries on his right (throwing) arm.

The second is that he probably doesn’t have a job to go back to.

Steve Young, Montana’s replacement-in-waiting for four seasons and two Super Bowl championships, appears to be firmly entrenched as the 49ers’ new leader.

He passed for 399 yards and three touchdowns as San Francisco set a franchise record for points in a 56-10 rout of the Atlanta Falcons.

‘I don’t ever remember scoring six touchdowns in the first half before--unbelievable,” Young said. “We were just on a roll.”

So is Young. He came into the game with the NFL’s second-best passer rating and did nothing to hurt his standing. He leads the NFL in passing yardage (1,706) and is the leading rusher among quarterbacks with 325 yards.

Young’s performance against Atlanta signified that he has come full circle.

Last season, Young struggled with injuries and consistency after replacing Montana. In the 49ers’ first game against the Falcons, Young had two passes intercepted in the fourth quarter by former teammate Tim McKyer, who taunted the 49ers after his second interception preserved Atlanta’s 39-34 victory.

This time, Young led the 49ers on a 90-yard scoring drive on their first possession and the rout was on.

With six wins in seven starts, the news is all good for the 49ers and Young, but much less so for Montana, the quarterback with four Super Bowl championships to look back on but little to look forward to in San Francisco.

GROUND BREAKER

Randall Cunningham didn’t feel much like he had set an NFL record.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback was sacked five times and his team lost an NFC East showdown with Washington. But in the process, Cunningham gained 39 yards to become the all-time rushing leader for quarterbacks, surpassing Fran Tarkenton.

“It’s an honor, and I’ll just keep adding up yards,” Cunningham said. “But I didn’t even know about it. I just found out about it now, so I thank you guys for telling me.”

Cunningham has gained 3,683 yards in seven seasons. Tarkenton gained 3,674 in 18 seasons.

Not the same running threat he was before tearing up his knee in the first game and missing the rest of the season in 1991, Cunningham is still viewed as a threat by opposing defenses.

“We have a lot of respect for Randall,” Redskin defensive tackle Eric Williams said. “You have to take totally different angles with Randall. If you overrun your pass rush, he goes right by you.”

Cunningham set the record with a six-yard gain on a draw play in the fourth quarter.

IN QUOTES

49er tight end Brent Jones on the absence of cornerback Deion Sanders, who missed the game to start in left field for the Braves in Game 2 of the World Series. “What choice did he have? You can play in your first World Series or you can come and get abused by Jerry Rice.”

New England Coach Dick MacPherson after the Patriots dropped to 0-6: “Things are happening to us that don’t happen to good teams.” Charger running back Rod Bernstine, a converted tight end who rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns against the Colts. “It was fun, you know? Anytime you can get in the secondary on those DBs, it’s fun.”

OUTER LIMITS

Jerry Rice blew past the likes of Steve Largent and Franco Harris in the NFL record book, and the question isn’t whether he’ll break the mark for career touchdowns, but how far he’ll take it.

Rice scored three touchdowns against Atlanta to become the eighth player in league history to score 100 touchdowns. He has 102 touchdowns, sixth overall, and Jim Brown’s record of 126 will soon be history.

Coming into the season, Rice had averaged more than 12 touchdowns in his eight seasons, including 23 in 1987. Brown averaged 14 touchdowns before retiring after his ninth season in 1965.

After scoring only two touchdowns in the first six games, Rice broke loose against Atlanta. He caught touchdown passes of 80 and 40 yards from Steve Young in the first half, then scored on a 26-yard run on a reverse in the third quarter.

“It’s so dangerous when Jerry Rice doesn’t get the stats he thinks he’s supposed to be getting,” 49er center Jesse Sapolu said. “Games like this happen and he just explodes.”

Career Touchdowns

A look at the all-time leaders: Player: No Jim Brown: 126 Walter Payton: 125 John Riggins: 116 Lenny Moore: 113 Don Hutson: 105 x-Jerry Rice: 102 Steve Largent: 101 Franco Harris: 100 x-Marcus Allen: 96 x-Eric Dickerson: 94 x-active

MISCELLANY

The Rams are in a coin-toss slump, losing 11 in a row. The odds against losing 11 consecutive coin tosses are 2,047-1.

A new slogan spotted in Green Bay, where second-year quarterback Brett Favre is creating excitement: “Favre-vergnugen.”

After Miami limited New England to 18 yards rushing, the Dolphins presented the game ball to rookie linebacker Marco Coleman. “They just felt sorry for me because I haven’t got a sack,” Coleman said.

The Seattle Seahawks have been shut out twice in seven games under Coach Tom Flores. In nine seasons under previous coach Chuck Knox, the Seahawks were shut out only twice.

NAMES AND NUMBERS

Tight end Keith Jennings of the Chicago Bears and his brother, running back Stanford Jennings of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, were in an NFL game together for the first time. Another family connection involved linebacker Mike Singletary of the Bears and his nephew, linebacker Broderick Thomas of the Buccaneers. . . . Same names included safety Mark Carrier of the Bears and receiver Mark Carrier of the Buccaneers, and a pair named Tim Ryan, a defensive tackle for the Bears and an offensive guard for the Buccaneers.

Houston quarterback Warren Moon became the most prolific passer in pro football history. Moon threw for 321 yards in the Oilers’ 27-21 loss to Denver, giving him 50,589 yards for his 15-year career, eclipsing the record of 50,535 set in 19 seasons by Ron Lancaster, who played from 1960-78 for Ottawa and Saskatchewan of the Canadian Football League. Moon had 21,228 yards in the CFL and now has 29,361 in the NFL.

Eric Dickerson of the Raiders moved past Tony Dorsett into second place on the all-time NFL rushing list. Dickerson, who rushed for 24 yards against Seattle, has 12,744 yards in his 11th season. Walter Payton is the leader with 16,726 yards.

HAIR RAISING

Phoenix Coach Joe Bugel vowed to let Cardinal players shave the head of every coach on his staff should the team qualify for the playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons.

“Mohawks, baldos, whatever they want,” Bugel said. “I’d shave my whole body if it meant making the playoffs.”

It’s a safe bet that he won’t have to go quite that far this season. The Cardinals (1-5) have only won two of their last 17 regular-season games. They have not won a postseason game since 1947.

TONIGHT’S GAME

CINCINNATI (2-3) at PITTSBURGH (3-2)

Time: 6 p.m. TV: Channels 7,3,10,42

The NFL’s youngest coaches will face each other with their teams in the early stages of crisis.

The Bengals, under 33-year-old Dave Shula, have lost three games in a row and have the league’s worst-rated passing game.

And it could get worse.

Quarterback Boomer Esiason is listed as questionable after suffering a bruised right (non-throwing) arm last week during a 38-24 loss to Houston. If Esiason can’t play--the Steelers expect him to start--the Bengals will go with Don Hollas.

Not a bright outlook for a team that has been outscored by 80-31 the last two weeks.

“This football team needs to regroup,” Shula said. “We certainly see what we can’t do, which is compete against a good football team at this time.”

Fortunately for the Bengals, they run into a team facing its own struggles.

The Steelers, under 35-year-old Bill Cowher, haven’t scored an offensive touchdown since Sept. 20 and have lost two in a row.

In their first three games, the Steelers converted all 11 of their possessions inside the 20-yard line into points. The last two weeks, six drives inside the 20 have produced only three Gary Anderson field goals. Two other field-goal attempts--a blocked 20-yarder and a missed 31-yarder--failed.

“We’ve moved the ball,” said quarterback Neil O’Donnell, who has completed 83 of 142 passes for 1,088 yards and four touchdowns. “Now we’ve got to get touchdowns.”