SPOTLIGHT / A GLANCE AT THIS WEEK IN THE NFL : DA BUMS

OK, what’s wrong with the Chicago Bears, who have lost four in a row and are 4-7 after their 17-3 setback against Green Bay?

Mike Ditka, you have the stage.

“Well, this is starting to sound like a broken record,” the fiery coach said. “We have to give them credit. They played good and kept us off balance. They played better and the team that plays best should win the game.”

Ditka noted the Bears were called for four penalties in a row at one point. “I know our guys held a lot, but it seems like every time we are out of line, we get called. Those are tough breaks to overcome.”

Actually, Ditka seemed to take the loss better than some of his players.

Said linebacker Ron Rivera: “The season is over December 28th. If you quit before that, you should take your paycheck and walk out.”

And this from tackle Stan Thomas, whose holding penalty cost the Bears a touchdown: “The media and the fans put so much pressure on you. If they’re not happy with me here, if they want me to go someplace else, fine.”

GO DEEP

The Miami Dolphins won a crucial game Sunday on the strength of Pete Stoyanovich’s leg. He kicked four field goals in a 19-16 victory over Houston, including the game-winner from 52 yards with two seconds to play. That bailed out Coach Don Shula, who wouldn’t let Stoyanovich try a long field goal at the end of the first half.

It appears Tom Dempsey’s record 63-yard field goal will never be broken, because conservative coaches won’t let kickers attempt field goals from that distance, fearing to give up field position on a miss.

Here was the situation: six seconds to play in the half, Oilers lead, 13-10, Dolphin ball on Houston’s 44-yard line. Shula elected to have Dan Marino throw into the end zone, rather than let Stoyanovich try a 61-yard field goal. The pass was incomplete.

Why not give it a shot? Stoyanovich has a career best of 59 yards, before Sunday he had nine field goals of 50 or more, and his 50-yarder Monday night against Buffalo would have been good from 60. And in this case, there was no risk, because time would run out.

GUMBEL FUMBLES

First CBS cut off the Shark Shootout on the final hole to go to the Ram-49er game. No problem; it was one of those contractual things.

But at halftime, CBS announcer Greg Gumbel gave this result: “At the Shark Shootout, the winner was Tom Kite. Davis Love finished second.”

And we thought the other Gumbel was the one who didn’t know much about sports. Kite and Love won the team event by one shot.

GIVE THANKS

It’s Thanksgiving week, which means too much good food, and too little good football.

Thursday’s matchups are Detroit-Houston at 9:30 a.m., followed by Dallas against the New York Giants at 1 p.m.

The Oilers don’t have Warren Moon and the Lions have been playing like--dare we say it?--turkeys all season. That even included Barry Sanders, until the last few weeks. He ran for 151 yards in 29 carries against Cincinnati on Sunday, after going for 108 and 94 in the past two games.

“Barry Sanders is one of those guys who shows you something that you’ll never see again,” Bengal linebacker James Francis said. “He’s one of those guys that comes along once every 10 years.”

If Sanders is back in form, that alone makes the game worth watching. If not, there’s always the Twilight Zone.

The second game will probably mean an early start to the dining. The Giants are collapsing like cranberry sauce around Coach Ray Handley and the Cowboys should stuff them.

NAMES AND NUMBERS

The usually pass-happy NFL was grounded on Sunday. There was only one player with 100 yards in receptions (Chicago’s Wendell Davis), but 11 players rushed for more than 100 yards.

The crowd of 27,642 at Foxboro Stadium for New England against the New York Jets on the drizzly, foggy day was the smallest in the NFL this season. The previous low was 27,735 when New Orleans visited Phoenix on Oct. 18.

Dan Marino’s 39-yard second quarter touchdown pass to Fred Banks was his 20th of the season and extended to 10 the Miami quarterback’s NFL record for consecutive seasons with 20 or more touchdown passes. His 237 passing yards gave him 3,008 for the season, extending to nine his NFL record for most seasons with at least 3,000 yards passing.

The Dallas Cowboys solidified their position as the NFL’s No. 1 defense. They had been giving up 251 yards per game and yielded only 149 to the Cardinals. . . . Emmitt Smith of the Cowboys gained 84 yards in 23 carries, 49 yards coming in the fourth quarter. It was the first time in seven games on a grass field that Smith has been held to fewer than 100 yards.

The Indianapolis Colts were down to third-team quarterback Tom Tupa after Jack Trudeau took a blow to the head late in the game. He apparently did not suffer a concussion and should be ready to play next week against Buffalo. Colt starter Jeff George is out for at least two more weeks with a broken bone in his right hand. . . . Barry Foster has 690 rushing yards in the Steelers’ five home games.

Cincinnati’s Boomer Esiason completed only one pass to a wide receiver, a six-yarder to Tim McGee on the Bengals’ final possession. Esiason didn’t have a completion of longer than nine yards.

Buffalo guard Jim Ritcher became the Bills’ all-time leader in games played with his start Sunday against Atlanta. Ritcher has played in 198 games, breaking Joe Devlin’s record of 197. . . . Thurman Thomas played only in the first half, rushing for 103 yards. He bruised his left calf muscle, but said he could have returned to the game if he was needed. . . . Steve Tasker, Buffalo special teams star, broke a bone in his right hand covering a kickoff in the first quarter. He left the field briefly, but returned and played the rest of the game in a cast.

THE LAST WORD

Atlanta Coach Jerry Glanville, after Buffalo routed the Falcons, 41-14: “I’ve been here on numerous occasions with other teams and I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Buffalo Bills look any better. They might be the class of the league right now.”

Falcon defensive lineman Tim Green, taking a different perspective on the loss: “This isn’t the true Atlanta Falcons. Games like this and the 49er games are ... aberrations.”

New York Giant cornerback Mark Collins, on his team’s struggles: “You have to blame yourself first, before you blame anyone else.”

Minnesota linebacker Jack Del Rio, after the Viking defense scored its seventh touchdown of the season during a 17-13 victory over Cleveland: “I don’t know if our defense actually expects to score every game, but we realize it’s possible on every play. It’s a great feeling to be part of a feeding frenzy like this.”

Viking cornerback Todd Scott, on winning ugly: “I’d rather be talking about winning ugly than standing here talking about how pretty we lost.”

Cincinnati Coach Dave Shula, after the Bengals had 95 yards of offense in a 19-13 loss to Detroit: “I can’t think of any adjective to describe how poorly our offense played.”

TONIGHT’S GAME

WASHINGTON (6-4)

at NEW ORLEANS (7-3)

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

It has been six weeks since the Monday night when Art Monk became the NFL’s all-time leading receiver. He did it in the final minutes of a 34-3 victory over the Denver Broncos when it looked as if the Washington Redskins’ sluggish passing game finally came to life.

What they hoped would be a beginning has turned into anything but. In five games since, the Redskins’ offense has scored two touchdowns in 19 1/2 quarters as injuries have chopped up the offensive line and quarterback Mark Rypien has lost the strike zone.

Is Gary Clark the same guy who caught 70 balls and averaged 19 yards a catch last season? Has Monk--approaching his 35th birthday--lost a step? Is it time the Redskins moved Desmond Howard, or at least Ricky Sanders, who is having perhaps his best season, into more prominent roles?

Monk’s 35 catches are down from 44 at this point last season and he still hasn’t caught one for a touchdown--he had seven after 10 games last season. Clark and Sanders’ numbers are down only slightly, but Clark’s average per catch has dropped dramatically (from 18.5 to 14.7).

“No one is going to slow down and wait for us to catch up,” Redskin Coach Joe Gibbs said. “You have to play with who is healthy, and we must find a way to make it work.”

In its 35-16 loss to Kansas City last week, Washington was able to rush for only 81 yards--33 on a fake punt. Rypien had 199 yards passing, mostly on short throws to running back Ricky Ervins.

In their heartbreaking loss to the 49ers last week, the Saints rushed for a season-low 43 yards in 15 carries. Over the last four weeks, they have averaged only 3.2 yards per rush.

“We have to concentrate on doing our jobs,” Saint running back Dalton Hilliard said. “You can’t let your attention slip against the Redskins.

“They have one of the top defenses in the league and never give you anything.”

If it comes down to a field goal, both teams are in good hands (feet?) with Chip Lohmiller and Morten Andersen.