PRO FOOTBALL : SPOTTING UP FOR THE THREE / A GLANCE AT THIS WEEK IN THE NFL

Another week, another batch of games dominated by little guys who would probably rather be playing soccer.

National Football League? More like the National Field goal League.

Nine games were played Sunday, and in every game but the Rams’ defeat of the Houston Oilers, the team whose kicker made the most field goals won the game. Every game but the Rams’ and New England-New York had at least four field goals.

Nine games (eight, by the way, on artificial surface), 39 field goals. That’s an average of over four field goals a game in a league that before Sunday already was on pace to break a season record for field goals.

Forget about fullbacks and first downs, touchdowns and third downs, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly. This year, everything’s a prelude to the fabulous field goal.

Some of the highlights:

--In Minneapolis, no other Viking non-kicker put points on the board, but it didn’t matter because Fuad Reveiz kicked his fifth three-pointer of the game, a 22-yarder, to lift Minnesota over the Green Bay Packers, 15-13, with six seconds to play. Earlier, Reveiz made a 51-yard attempt.

Green Bay’s Chris Jacke chipped in two field goals of his own.

--In Detroit, the Lions’ Jason Hanson made more news by his failure than his successes, which, again, were many. Hanson’s missed 43-yard attempt in the third quarter of Detroit’s 26-20 victory over the Cardinals was his first miss as a pro from inside 45 yards. He had been 30 for 30.

That didn’t prevent him from making four field goals in the game, anyway, two more than Phoenix’s Greg Davis, who stirred up a little drama of his own by making a 54-yarder at the end of the first half. That was the longest of his career and the longest in Cardinal history.

--In Orchard Park, N.Y., Buffalo’s Steve Christie kicked a 59-yard field goal at the end of the first half, tying him for the third-longest field goal in NFL history.

It was the longest kick in Christie’s four-year pro career and the longest since Miami’s Pete Stoyanovich kicked a 59-yarder Nov. 12, 1991, against the New York Jets. Philadelphia’s Tony Franklin also kicked a 59-yarder Nov. 12, 1979, against Dallas.

The field goal was the longest in Bills history, eclipsing a 54-yarder Christie kicked last year against Miami.

The longest field goal in NFL history was 63 yards by Tom Dempsey in 1970. Steve Cox and Morten Andersen have made 60-yarders.

Stoyanovich, though, kicked three field goals to Christie’s two in the game, and Miami won, 22-13.

--At New Orleans, the Saints’ Andersen was involved in the kicking craze, of course, beating the San Francisco 49ers on a 49-yard kick with five seconds remaining after Mike Cofer had tied it with a 30-yarder.

Andersen also had two other field goals in New Orleans’ 16-13 victory.

All this took place, incidentally, with San Diego’s John Carney, on a pace to make 69 field goals this year, resting his foot on a bye week.

CURIOUS, GEORGE?

If Jeff George, who held out of Indianapolis Colt training camp for 36 days for reasons that are still mostly unexplained, was wondering what the home crowd’s response to his first appearance would be, he has to wait no more.

When he made his 1993 debut in the third quarter of Sunday’s game at Indianapolis against the Cleveland Browns, he received a loud mixture of boos and a smattering of applause.

George entered the game when starter Jack Trudeau had to leave for a series after injuring a muscle in his leg. Trudeau returned after George handed off three consecutive times deep in Indianapolis territory and the Colts punted.

George, fourth on the franchise’s all-time list for pass completions and fifth in passing yardage after three seasons, had been the club’s emergency quarterback behind backup Don Majkowski and starter Jack Trudeau in his team’s first two games, but moved up to No. 2 last week.

The Colts won, 23-10.

A BARRY LONG TIME

If it seems as if the Detroit Lions haven’t had any other running back besides Barry Sanders these past few years, you’re not far off. At least not any other running back who got the ball into the end zone.

Since a Garry James touchdown in 1988, Sanders had been the only Lion runner to rush for a touchdown. The only one in almost five years.

Sunday, that weird streak came to an end, when somebody named Derrick Moore put one in from one yard out in the second quarter.

When will the next non-Barry Detroit running back touchdown happen? Maybe we should check back with Detroit in about, say, 1998.

VIKING LEADER

They had a brand-new coordinator, but a quarterback who is used to beating the Green Bay Packers no matter who calls the plays. And Jim McMahon, the quarterback the Minnesota Vikings picked up in the off-season to teach them how to win, did not fail Sunday.

With Brian Billick only one week into his new job as offensive coordinator replacing Jack Burns, McMahon ad-libbed a 45-yard pass to Eric Guliford to set up the Vikings’ game-winning field goal with six seconds left to play.

“There’s a handful of guys who have the kind of personality, the kind of experience, the kind of intelligence to not let the pressure get to him,” Billick said.

“Jim’s done that his whole career. That’s the consummate reason Coach (Dennis) Green was so emphatic about bringing Jim McMahon in here.”

McMahon, the former Chicago Bear, San Diego Charger and Philadelphia Eagle, won his ninth consecutive start against the Packers. The last time he played in a loss to the Packers was 1983, when he was a second-year pro with Chicago.

He has also won 18 starts in a row against NFC Central teams (not including Minnesota).

“Had I played any better, I don’t think it would have been that close,” McMahon said of the game. “I’m not happy with not scoring points. That’s my fault.”

LET’S GET READY TO FUMM-BLE

With Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Joe Montana, John Elway and Randall Cunningham all taking the week off, you probably could have predicted sloppy offensive football. You would have been right.

Right along with the field goal festival, that other symbol of inconsistent offensive play--the fumble--was in abundance and very influential Sunday.

For example:

--The Bears turned three fumble recoveries into touchdowns, including a fourth-quarter fumble return for a touchdown by Myron Baker from eight yards out.

Baker also recovered an Anthony McDowell fumble in the second quarter on the Tampa Bay 24 and, eight plays later, the Bears scored a touchdown to put them ahead for good, 7-3.

--Indianapolis linebacker Jeff Herrod cemented the Colts’ victory over Cleveland when he recovered a Vinny Testaverde fumble in the end zone for a fourth-quarter touchdown.

--Seattle linebacker Kevin Murphy stripped Bengal tailback Harold Green in the end zone as Cincinnati tried to run a sweep, and Rod Stephens fell on the ball for a touchdown with 4:26 to play that turned the game in the Seahawks’ victory over the Bengals.

--A fumble by Phoenix rookie tailback Garrison Hearst, recovered by linebacker Pat Swilling on the Cardinal 24, set up the Detroit Lions’ first touchdown.

49ER KILLER

Wade Wilson looked fine leading the New Orleans Saints quarterback through a 3-0 start, but the Saints always seem to get off to 3-0 starts.

Sunday was the real test, the crucible that Bobby Hebert, Wilson’s predecessor, never seemed to be able to pass: Can you beat the San Francisco 49ers in the late going?

He did exactly that, setting up a last-minute field goal that gave the Saints their first fourth-quarter points against the 49ers in three years. They had been outscored, 41-0.

“I never had any concern about Wade’s ability to get the job done,” said Saint Coach Jim Mora, who had lost three in a row to the 49ers. “He’s proven he can do what we want to do. I’ve seen him from the other side enough times to know that he’s a heck of a football player. That last drive was a heck of a job.”

Wilson, who completed 18 of 32 passes for 170 yards, put together the winning drive to set up a field goal with three completions for 33 yards.

San Francisco had not lost to an NFC West team since the Saints beat them 10-3 on Nov. 10, 1991. That loss dropped the 49ers to 4-6, but since then they have had the best record in football--22-4.

THIS AND THAT

Chicago running back Neal Anderson gained 104 yards on 23 carries against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers--his first 100-yard game since the 1991 playoffs against New Orleans.

Meanwhile, Buccaneer runner Reggie Cobb, who had two 100-yard games against the Bears last year, gained only eight yards in 12 carries Sunday.

The Buccaneers, averaging a league-low 35 yards on the ground in their first two games, gained only 36 against the Bears.

Despite losing to the Saints, San Francisco remains ahead of Buffalo for the best record in the 1990s. The Bills lost to Miami on Sunday and have a 39-12 regular-season record in the decade. The 49ers are 40-12.

TONIGHT’S GAME

Pittsburgh at Atlanta

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

The kind of defense Jerry Glanville loves will finally show up in the Georgia Dome tonight.

But it won’t be his.

Instead, it belongs to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a quick, swarming unit that will try to give Glanville’s winless Atlanta Falcons their fourth defeat.

“They’re unbelievable,” the Falcon coach said of the Steelers’ defensive speed. “I never saw a Pittsburgh team that did not hit, not in my entire life. Pittsburgh has a new staff and has different players, but it still has the same mental attitude. You may change everything, but the bottom line is they’re still going to get after you.”

Glanville’s defense hasn’t gotten after anyone this year. It has given up 101 points in three games, by far the most in the NFL.

The Falcons have won eight consecutive home games over AFC teams since a 10-7 loss to San Diego on Nov. 13, 1988.

A trend that favors the 1-2 Steelers is Atlanta’s record on Monday nights--5-13, including a six-game losing streak. Pittsburgh also holds an 8-1 series lead, with Atlanta claiming its only victory in 1970.

The Pittsburgh defense features cornerback Rod Woodson and linebacker Greg Lloyd.

The Steelers will be facing a run-and-shoot attack that has put up 61 points the last two weeks in a 34-31 loss to New Orleans and a 37-30 loss to San Francisco.

“With the run-and-shoot, you’ve got to stop the run first,” Woodson said.

Pittsburgh’s offense features the running of Barry Foster, who has 233 yards and a 4.2 average so far.

Neil O’Donnell has completed 47 of 74 passes for 450 yards and three touchdowns. He has been bothered by tendinitis in his right elbow.