SPOTLIGHT / A GLANCE AT THIS WEEK IN THE NFL

HOUSTON 30, KANSAS CITY 0

You could have filled a city dump with the trash talked before this one. In fact, it has developed into the NFL’s best rivalry. Oilers versus Chiefs? Heck no, Oilers offense vs. Oilers defense. Coach Jack Pardee vs. defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan.

You don’t think Ryan wants to be the main man? As Chris Berman noted on ESPN, Ryan already has his own television show.

By mid-week, the two units were at war. Wide receiver Earnest Givens sniped at Ryan, who has called his team’s run-and-shoot offense the chuck-and-duck. Ryan retorted that he had never heard of Givens.

Finally, quarterback Warren Moon told everyone to shut up and play.

Who needs team harmony? Ryan’s defense held the Chiefs to 46 rushing yards, caused five turnovers and sacked Chiefs’ quarterback Dave Krieg four times. Moon’s offense controlled the game with, yes, that junk-yard offense, and peace was restored in Houston for at least another 15 minutes.

Oh, quarterback Joe Montana sat this one out with an injured wrist. Think the Chiefs missed him?

CAN’T WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK

This was no thriller even though Dean Biasucci of the Indianapolis Colts kicked a 42-yard field goal to beat Cincinnati, 9-6, with three seconds left.

What a shock this wasn’t a better game. We’ve come to expect so much from these franchises.

The final field-goal tally: Biasucci, 3, the Bengals’ Doug Pelfrey, 2.

Ooooh, what a finish. Biasucci missed a 39-yarder with 4:49 left, Pelfrey a 35-yard attempt with 2:18 remaining.

The quarterbacks sizzled. Colts’ starter Jack Trudeau was 17 for 36 for 218 yards with two interceptions. David Klinger of the Bengals completed 16 of 37 passes for 146 yards with an interception.

Looking ahead: The Colts host Cleveland next week, the Bengals will be at Pittsburgh.

ANYONE NEED A NAME TAG?

OK, let’s get our reunions straight: Reggie White, the former Philadelphia Eagle, faced his former teammates for the first time as a Green Bay Packer. While White had a good game, twice stripping Randall Cunningham of the ball in the first half, the Eagles beat the Packers on Roger Ruzek’s 30-yard field goal with five seconds left.

The night before the game, White went to dinner with a couple of former teammates. (Just an aside: Think Dick Butkus ever had dinner with the opposition?)

Lost in the White hoopla was the reunion of linebacker/defensive end Tim Harris, the former Packer who now plays for the Eagles.

Harris, who had two tackles and no sacks, was booed when he was introduced.

“The booing fired me up,” Harris said.

Apparently not.

Gary Clark, the former Washington Redskins star receiver, returned to RFK Stadium for the first time as a Phoenix Cardinal. It was a sweet day all around. The Cardinals defeated the Redskins, with Clark catching six passes for 93 yards.

In Minneapolis, Viking quarterback Jim McMahon defeated his former team, the Chicago Bears. McMahon completed a career-high 79% of his passes.

Jimbo, had you put those kinds of numbers up every week in Chicago, Da Bears would not have Da dumped you.

THE RECORD, FOR NOW

With his 25th consecutive field goal Sunday, New Orleans Saints’ kicker Morten Andersen set a record some experts predicted would last for hours.

Andersen’s 27-yard field goal in the first quarter against Atlanta broke the mark of 24 straight previously held by Chicago’s Kevin Butler in 1988-89.

Andersen’s streak was snapped when he missed a 42-yard try in the third quarter.

After the game, though, Andersen had to wait and see if his record would even hold the day.

John Carney of the San Diego Chargers entered an afternoon game against Denver having made 22 straight. Carney made his only attempt in the Chargers’ loss to Denver and will continue his chase of Andersen’s record next week.

SUPER BOWL PAYBACK

It was the Super Bowl rematch everyone was waiting for. Wasn’t it? Who could forget the humiliation, the disappointment. Super Bowl XIV. Terry Bradshaw’s victory-clinching pass to John Stallworth, the one that made that sports magazine cover. Jack Youngblood plays with broken leg. Pittsburgh beats Rams, 31-19.

Sunday, the Rams answered with a 27-0 victory over the Steelers. That evens the score.

In another Super Bowl rematch, the Buffalo Bills avenged their 52-17 loss in Super Bowl XXVII last Jan. 31 with a 13-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

DAN THE MAN

Before he’s done, Miami quarterback Dan Marino might own every significant passing record. With 286 yards passing Sunday, he became only the fourth player in NFL history to surpass 40,000 yards. With 40,024 career passing yards, Marino trails John Unitas by 215 yards on the all-time list. Fran Tarkenton and Dan Fouts are the only other passers with more than 40,000 passing yards in the NFL.

“It’s nice and it shows that you have been around awhile, but I would have liked to do it in a winning fashion,” Marino said.

ODDS AND ENDS

Bruce Coslet, coach of the New York Jets, won his 19th career game when he beat Don Shula’s Miami Dolphins. In his career, Coslet is exactly 300 wins behind Shula on the win list.

Good thing for the Houston Oilers Joe Montana didn’t play Sunday. In his career, Montana is 4-0 against Houston.

Quarterback Bobby Hebert, who came off the bench and nearly led the Atlanta Falcons to a dramatic comeback win over New Orleans, tossed a 98-yard touchdown pass to Michael Haynes, the longest in club history. Haynes was also on the receiving end of the previous record, an 89-yard pass thrown by Chris Miller last season.

New Orleans linebacker Ricky Jackson has now played in 185 consecutive games.

Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman’s streak of 166 passes without an interception was ended when Buffalo’s Nate Odomes picked off the Super Bowl MVP’s first pass of the afternoon.

Aikman had not been intercepted since Dec. 13 of last season. He had completed his final 77 passes of the 1992 season and the first 89 of this season prior to Odomes’ interception.

INJURY REPORT

Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien sprained ligaments in his right knee after being thrown to the ground by Phoenix Cardinals’ lineman Eric Swann.

Green Bay linebacker Brian Noble suffered torn ligaments in his right knee early in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. The extent of the injury and a determination on surgery will be made early this week.

Miami Dolphins tight end Keith Jackson pulled his right hamstring in the second quarter of his team’s game against the New York Jets. He watched the second half in street clothes, as did his teammate, linebacker John Offerdahl, who injured his shoulder.

New Orleans Saints rookie Lorenzo Neal, who earlier in the game had a 74-yard touchdown run, fractured his right ankle in the third quarter and will likely miss the rest of the season.

QUOTABLES

Chicago Bears kicker Kevin Butler, after his 53-yard field-goal attempt hit the cross bar in a 10-7 loss to Minnesota: “One official told me they removed that ball from the game right after the kick. I think the refs should check that. Footballs get beat up and lose pressure. It would have helped to have a little more air in it.”

New Orleans Saints Coach Jim Mora, whose team blew a big lead against Atlanta before winning on a Morten Andersen field goal: “It was a little touch and go there at the end. In fact, we had to hold on to our rear ends there, but hey, we pulled it out.”

Buffalo Bills Coach Marv Levy, after his team avenged last year’s Super Bowl loss to Dallas with a 13-10 win over the Cowboys: “We have put Pasadena behind us . This wasn’t a Super Bowl, but boy was it important.”

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Reggie White, after losing to his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles: “It was emotional to play against guys you worked your tail off for eight years . It would have been more emotional if we’d won.”

Houston Oilers cornerback Cris Dishman, on not having to face Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Joe Montana, sidelined with a wrist injury: “You don’t know how happy I was to see Dave Krieg come out . I mean, Krieg’s a good quarterback, but Montana’s great.”

Dallas Cowboys Coach Jimmy Johnson, after his placekicker Lin Elliott missed two field goals in a 13-10 loss to Buffalo: “We’re bringing in field goal kickers to Valley Ranch next week . We’ll bring in as many as necessary.”

TONIGHT’S GAME San Francisco at Cleveland

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

Cleveland cornerback Selwyn Jones will be playing in only his second NFL game tonight, and, in front of a national television audience, will be going up against wide receivers Jerry Rice and John Taylor of the San Francisco 49ers.

But Jones, a seventh-round choice out of Colorado State in 1992 who spent his rookie year on injured reserve with a bad hip that was injured during his senior year, is approaching tonight’s game with a self-assurance that might be mistaken for cockiness if he didn’t express it so politely.

“I know I can play with these guys,” said Jones, whose two interceptions in his pro debut last week helped the Browns beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 27-14. “There’s not many guys, even receivers, with my size (6-foot, 185 pounds) and my speed. I just need experience. That’s the only thing I might lack a little bit.”

Cleveland relied on Jones as a nickel back in passing situations last Sunday, which, because the Bengals had trouble running the ball, kept him on the field most of the afternoon. Also, he got far more playing time than he would have if starting cornerback Terry Taylor had been healthy.

Taylor, who sprained his knee in the exhibition season and was replaced by Everson Walls, is questionable tonight.

At Colorado State, Jones set a school career record with 15 interceptions.

The 49ers’ Steve Young had three passes intercepted in his team’s 24-13 win over Pittsburgh. Jones wouldn’t mind adding to that total tonight. “Going in on passing downs, you’ve got Everson Walls and Najee Mustafaa and Eric Turner back there, so I figure if there was a specific place that they might want to throw the ball, it would be at me,” Jones said. “So I kind of looked forward to having some chances.”