PRO FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT : TWO GUYS, SANTO AND CHAD

Twenty years from now, they will be the answer to a sports trivia question.

Well, maybe not. But how many more times will these guys get their names in the paper?

We’re talking firsts here. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers, who made their NFL debuts Sunday.

Chad Cota made the first tackle in Carolina history when he wrestled Atlanta’s Roell Preston to the turf at the Georgia Dome.

Santo Stephens goes into the annals for the Jaguars, making the first tackle on the first kickoff in franchise history.

Later in the Jacksonville game, Steve Beuerlein became the first Jaguar quarterback to get the hook as he was replaced by Mark Brunell in a 10-3 loss to Houston.

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE DOME

Risking life and perhaps limb, Jo Ann Chiesa strode bravely to her seat at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome for Sunday’s game between the Falcons and Jaguars, not knowing what the day or the roof might hold.

Two weeks ago, a thunderstorm ripped holes in four Teflon-coated panels of the roof, with the cascading water taking out seats in an upper deck.

The repaired seats and roof panels were easy to spot, they were a different color, but Chiesa felt no less safe than if she had attended a home Raider game.

“We’ve been in Georgia only two months,” said Chiesa of Augusta. “We’re from California, so disasters don’t bother us.”

NOTEWORTHY

Miami quarterback Dan Marino’s three touchdown passes Sunday leave him 11 behind Fran Tarkenton’s NFL record of 342. . . .

Pittsburgh linebacker Kevin Greene, the NFL sacks leader with 14 last season, had no sacks and only one tackle while playing with a broken right hand in his team’s 23-20 victory against Detroit. Greene has only one sack in his last eight games, counting the Steelers’ two 1994 playoff games. . . . Patriot runner Curtis Martin’s 102 rushing yards set a New England record for rookies in their first game. The previous mark of 81 yards was set by Tony Collins on Sept. 6, 1981 against Baltimore.

49er receiver Jerry Rice extended his consecutive games with a reception streak to 144. . . . Packer defensive end Reggie White increased his career sacks total to 147 1/2, most in NFL history, with 2 1/2 Sunday. . . . Ram running back Jerome Bettis, who has back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, picked up only four yards on seven carries Sunday after getting six yards on 20 carries in exhibition games. . . .Former Ram Flipper Anderson had six receptions for 67 yards in his debut with the Colts, including a pair of touchdown catches.

INJURY REPORT

Pittsburgh cornerback Rod Woodson, one of the NFL’s premier defensive players, damaged a right knee ligament against Detroit and probably will be sidelined the rest of the season. . . . Steeler quarterback Neil O’Donnell fractured the little finger on his throwing hand. . . . Washington quarterback Heath Shuler suffered a sprained right shoulder joint late in the first half after being hit by defensive end Clyde Simmons.

Bear fullback Raymont Harris broke his right collarbone three minutes into his team’s opener against Minnesota.

QUOTEWORTHY

“I guess you guys had a chance to see one of the ugliest displays of football in a while. I’m disappointed that we were so sloppy. I’ve got a lot of work to do with this football team.”

--Philadelphia Coach Ray Rhodes after his team’s 21-6 loss to Tampa Bay.

“The guys were great, all trying to pat me on the back. It was fun. I’m still taking it by the seat of the pants.”

--Former quarterback Joe Montana, on his broadcasting debut with NBC.

TONIGHT’S GAME

“This is My Team Now”

DALLAS at NEW YORK GIANTS: Cowboy Coach Barry Switzer versus Giant Coach Dan Reeves. Only bigger mismatch is New York quarterback Dave Brown versus Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman. At least Switzer, who announced earlier, “This is my team now,” has Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and Charles Haley. Brown has Chris Calloway and Mike Sherrard. Aikman has completed 68% of his passes and thrown for 10 touchdowns with five interceptions in 12 previous meetings with Giants. New York ended regular season a year ago with 15-10 victory over Cowboys, but Smith was standing on sideline as spectator resting sore hamstring. Smith has scored eight touchdowns in nine games with Giants and has averaged 95.5 yards a game. Dallas defense allowed NFC-low 27 touchdowns last season; finished year as No. 1 defense overall and No. 1 against pass. Giants must hold ball to spring upset; team had NFL-low seven fumbles a year ago.

Upset Special: Last four and eight of previous 10 Monday Night TV season openers have been won by the home team.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

AMERICAN CONFERENCE

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CENTRAL W L T Cincinnati Bengals 1 0 0 Houston Oilers 1 0 0 Pittsburgh Steelers 1 0 0 Cleveland Browns 0 1 0 Jacksonville Jaguars 0 1 0

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EAST W L T Miami Dolphins 1 0 0 New England Patriots 1 0 0 Buffalo Bills 0 1 0 Indianapolis Colts 0 1 0 N.Y. Jets 0 1 0

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NATIONAL CONFERENCE

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WEST W L T San Francisco 49ers 1 0 0 St. Louis Rams 1 0 0 Atlanta Falcons 1 0 0 Carolina Panthers 0 1 0 New Orleans Saints 0 1 0

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CENTRAL W L T Chicago Bears 1 0 0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1 0 0 Detroit Lions 0 1 0 Green Bay Packers 0 1 0 Minnesota Vikings 0 1 0

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EAST W L T Washington Redskins 1 0 0 Dallas Cowboys 0 0 0 N.Y. Giants 0 0 0 Arizona Cardinals 0 1 0 Philadelphia Eagles 0 1 0

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SUNDAY’S RESULTS

* Oakland 17, San Diego 7

* St. Louis 17, Green Bay 14

* San Francisco 24, New Orleans 22

* Cincinnati 24, Indianapolis 21 (OT)

* New England 17, Cleveland 14

* Houston 10, Jacksonville 3

* Atanta 23, Carolina 20 (OT)

* Tampa Bay 21, Philadelphia 6

* Pittsburgh 23, Detroit 20

* Miami 52, N.Y. Jets 14

* Kansas City 34, Seattle 10

* Washington 27, Arizona 7

* Chicago 31, Minnesota 14

* Buffalo at Denver

TONIGHT’S GAME

* Dallas at N.Y. Giants, 6 p.m.

SUNDAY’S GAMES

* Oakland at Washington

* New Orleans at St. Louis

* Miami at New England

* Pittsburgh at Houston

* Detroit at Minnesota

* Carolina at Buffalo

* N.Y. Giants at Kansas City

* Tampa Bay at Cleveland

* Denver at Dallas

* Indianapolis at N.Y. Jets

* Jacksonville at Cincinnati

* Atlanta at San Francisco

* Seattle at San Diego

* Philadelphia at Arizona

MONDAY’S GAME

* Green Bay at Chicago, 6 p.m.

TOP PERFORMANCES

PASSING

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Player, Team Att. Cmp. Yds. TD FRANK REICH, Panthers 44 23 329 1 DREW BLEDSOE, Patriots 47 30 302 1 STAN HUMPHRIES, Chargers 46 23 300 1 BRETT FAVRE, Packers 51 29 299 2 JEFF GEORGE, Falcons 45 27 290 2 STEVE BONO, Chiefs 23 18 278 3 JIM EVERETT, Saints 35 23 266 2 ERIK KRAMER, Bears 28 19 262 3 STEVE YOUNG, 49ers 27 21 260 2 VINNY TESTAVERDE, Browns 29 20 254 2 DAN MARINO, Dolphins 26 16 250 3

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RECEIVING

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Player, Team Rec. Yds. TD MICHAEL JACKSON, Brown 7 157 2 WILLIE DAVIS, Chiefs 6 155 2 HORACE COPELAND, Buccaneers 5 155 1 HERMAN MOORE, Lions 10 131 1 WILLIE GREEN, Panthers 7 121 1 TIM McGEE, Bengals 6 118 0 CURTIS CONWAY, Bears 5 110 2 IRVING FRYAR, Dolphins 5 110 1

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RUSHING

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Player, Team Car. Yds. TD TERRY ALLEN, Redskins 26 131 0 GREG HILL, Chiefs 15 109 0 BARRY SANDERS, Lions 21 108 0 CURTIS MARTIN, Patriots 19 102 1

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