Esiason’s Passes Go and Collect Some Elite Company

Week 14 and the questions:

1. Isn’t it about time Boomer Esiason came clean and admitted he has succeeded where Ponce de Leon failed?

2. Who is the highest-paid receiver behind San Francisco’s Jerry Rice?

3. Is Bill Walsh merely hanging around or has he had some impact on the 49ers?

4. Might the 49ers overlook the Falcons on Monday night, and falter?

5. This week’s upset possibility?

And the answers:

1. How else do you explain Arizona quarterback Esiason’s rebirth? He obviously has been sipping from the fountain of youth.

The Cardinals couldn’t score more than 13 points a game through September and October, but in the last three games with Esiason starting, Arizona had 37, 31 and 36 points. Arizona had not topped the 30-point mark in three consecutive weeks since 1988, when Gene Stallings was coach.

“It’s a team thing,” wide receiver Ron Moore said. “In the beginning, we didn’t really rally around Boomer. The receivers dropped the ball. We didn’t give him the support he needed.

“Boomer just said, ‘This thing isn’t over. We can still win.’ I think that’s given this team a new identity.”

Only Joe Montana and Dan Fouts have passed for more yards in three consecutive games than Esiason, who has piled up 1,149. In overtime and fourth-quarter action, Esiason has completed 38 of 54 passes for 555 yards and five touchdowns.

“It’s the way football was meant to be played,” Esiason said. “The way it’s going, I don’t ever want it to end.”

2. Isaac Bruce. That’s right, a guy who is playing for a team without a quarterback, a team that cannot score, or win: the St. Louis Rams.

Bruce, 24, signed a contract extension this week that will give him an annual salary of $3.025 million; Rice earns $3.8 million to $4 million a year.

The Rams let Henry Ellard, Sean Gilbert, Jerome Bettis and Troy Drayton leave, and they were not about to irritate the locals once again by allowing Bruce to become a restricted free agent at season’s end.

3. The 49ers have gone to the dink pass, a sure sign “consultant” Walsh has been calling the shots. Running back Terry Kirby and tight end Brent Jones combined for 16 catches last week, and for the first time since 1984, when Walsh was the coach, the team has completed at least 80% of its passes in two consecutive games.

Marc Trestman remains the 49ers’ offensive coordinator, but Walsh has been on the headsets and last week he began passing notes to Trestman. The 49ers had 27 first downs last week--the most since playing in the Super Bowl after the 1994 season.

4. Atlanta made a mistake. The Falcons beat the 49ers a year ago on the final day of the regular season, and San Francisco has not forgotten.

The 28-27 loss deprived the 49ers of the home-field advantage through the playoffs.

“That was a bad loss for us,” 49er quarterback Steve Young said. “That one really cost us a lot in momentum--the way we lost it, the way we played. Now that we’re at the end of the season again, it’s the same situation where we’re starting to roll. We want to finish the season the right way. We can’t afford to go down there and play an iffy game.

“Last year we kind of faded at the end and it was so un-49erlike. It stuck in all of our minds for a long time.”

Too bad, Falcons.

5. The temptation is to boldly predict that the Jets are about to play themselves out of getting Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning by beating Houston, but as long as the Chargers are involved in a big game, it’s a no-brainer: Take the other team--in this case, New England.

THE TV GAMES

* ONE-SIDED RIVALRY

Chicago (5-7) at Green Bay (9-3), 10 a.m., Channel 11: The Packers continue to struggle without their starting wide receivers, but if Andre Rison comes on as he did in his Green Bay debut, some other teams are going to wonder why they didn’t claim him when he became available on waivers. The Bears excel only in making a game dull.

--Say what: Raymont Harris, the blocker for Rashaan Salaam, has now officially become the Bears’ starting tailback, although unofficially, he was outplaying Salaam weeks ago.

--Player to watch: Harris. He has had three 100-yard rushing performances in the last four weeks.

--Finally: Green Bay has defeated the Bears five consecutive times, and Packer fans will remind their heroes how important it is to gain the home-field advantage through the playoffs.

* M*A*S*H RERUN

Buffalo (9-3) at Indianapolis (6-6), 10 a.m., Channel 4: Who will play is a better question than who will not. Both starting quarterbacks are hurt, and so is Buffalo running back Thurman Thomas. And the Colts’ Marshall Faulk hasn’t been himself all season.

--Say what: If Todd Collins starts for Jim Kelly, who has a pulled hamstring, he will be matched against Paul Justin, starting for Jim Harbaugh, who has a knee injury. The future is apparently now.

--Players to watch: Buffalo’s Bruce Smith and Indianapolis’ Richard Dent are tied with Lawrence Taylor for third place in NFL history with 132 sacks.

--Finally: Smith sacks Justin before Dent gets to Kelly or Collins.

* YAWN

Miami (6-6) at Oakland (5-7), 1 p.m., Channel 4: Both teams considered themselves playoff locks when the season began. Both teams were wrong.

--Say what: The Raiders are 8-0 in Oakland against Miami.

--Player to watch: Dan Marino’s first NFL game was against the Raiders. He threw two touchdown passes.

--Finally: Raider owner Al Davis is not happy in Oakland. So move, Al.

* MOMENT OF TRUTH

New England (8-4) at San Diego (7-5), 5 p.m., ESPN: The Chargers won their “must game” last week, so how do they approach this contest with the Patriots, who are trying to stay close to Buffalo for a division title or at the very least a wild-card berth?

--Say what: San Diego is the only NFL team to have scored in the first quarter every game this season, and the Chargers are 29-8 under Coach Bobby Ross when they score first.

--Player to watch: New England linebacker Chris Slade, who had 3 1/2 sacks in the last game against the Chargers.

--Finally: The Patriots have defeated the Chargers seven consecutive times, the last five in Foxboro.

YUK

St. Louis (3-9) at New Orleans (2-10): Jim Everett’s former team against Jim Everett’s current team. The Saints have defeated the Rams in 10 of their last 12 meetings--primarily because Everett was playing quarterback for the Rams.

--Say what: Tony Banks needs six more touchdown passes to top Dieter Brock’s Ram rookie mark of 16 in 1985. Speaking of terrible Ram quarterbacks--Dieter Brock!

--Player to watch: Doug Nussmeier. New Orleans Coach Rick Venturi says the time is coming when the team must take a look at Everett’s backup.

--Finally: Everett has passed for 34,050 yards in his career--most in NFL history by a quarterback throwing off his back foot.

Cincinnati (5-7) at Jacksonville (5-7): Unless you are interested in Bruce Coslet’s future with the Bengals, or the Jaguars’ explanation why they haven’t kept pace with expansion rival Carolina, this contest offers little.

--Say what: The Bengals won by seven points a few weeks ago against the Jaguars in Cincinnati.

--Player to watch: Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell has thrown for more than 200 yards in 14 consecutive games.

--Finally: The team that wins will immediately start talking about how all it has to do is win three more games and it will be in the playoff hunt. Until the next week, when it loses.

IT’S A MIRACLE

Tampa Bay (4-8) at Carolina (8-4): What’s more improbable? The Buccaneers winning four games or the Panthers sitting in prime position to make the playoffs? Kerry Collins starts again at quarterback for Carolina.

--Say what: Tampa Bay defense has limited the opposition to 17 or fewer points in seven consecutive games.

--Player to watch: Carolina running back Anthony Johnson needs 192 yards for his first 1,000-yard season.

--Finally: Carolina defense has given up only 46 second-half points all year.

Arizona (6-6) at Minnesota (6-6): Talking about miracles, the Cardinals have only one fewer victory than Philadelphia, and to really understand how ridiculous things have become in the NFL, they are two games out of first place in the NFC East--the same position they were in when the season started and no one had played a game.

--Say what: In the last three games, Esiason has played like a combination Joe Montana-Joe Namath.

--Player to watch: Esiason. He has thrown for eight touchdowns in the last three games.

--Finally: This is the first time since 1988 that the Cardinals have begun the final month of the season with a .500 winning percentage.

HOW EMBARRASSING

New York Giants (5-7) at Philadelphia (7-5): Just imagine how embarrassing it would be if the Eagles lost consecutive games to the Cardinals and the Giants. Philadelphia is on a three-game losing streak, but still in position to win the NFC East because of the Redskins’ grueling schedule.

--Say what: The Giant defense has produced 15 turnovers in the last five games.

--Player to watch: Cris Calloway--not exactly a household name even in his own home--has 17 receptions in his last three games for the Giants.

--Finally: Dan Reeves, who reportedly will be fired at season’s end, is making it tough on Giant management. The victory last week over Dallas was all coaching.

Houston (6-6) at New York Jets (1-11): How embarrassing if the Oilers become the Jets’ second victim this season. Houston, blessed with an easy schedule and a free ride to the playoffs, gagged last week against Carolina.

--Say what: Steve McNair gets the start for Houston at quarterback because of Chris Chandler’s sore ankle.

--Player to watch: Neil O’Donnell. Remember him? The $25-million quarterback is expected to return to the Jets’ lineup after being out since October because of a shoulder injury.

--Finally: O’Donnell is 3-0 in his previous three starts against the Oilers. Of course, he was wearing a Pittsburgh Steeler uniform then.

WHY BOTHER

Seattle (5-7) at Denver (11-1): It’s destiny that Seattle will be just another team this season, no matter who plays quarterback, and it’s destiny that America will probably have to deal with the Broncos in the Super Bowl again.

--Say what: Mike Shanahan, who faced the Seahawks as both Raider and Bronco head coach, is 1-5 against Seattle.

--Player to watch: Denver running back Terrell Davis needs 131 yards to become his team’s all-time single-season rushing leader, passing Otis Armstrong.

--Finally: Denver can clinch the AFC West with a victory.

Pittsburgh (9-3) at Baltimore (3-9): How do the Ravens get cranked up for this one: “Geez, we win, and we go 4-9.” The Steelers might be ripe for a letdown after winning in Miami on Monday night, but they are still in the running for the home-field advantage in the playoffs.

--Say what: The Ravens have the No. 2 passing attack with Vinny Testaverde, but the Steelers have the No. 1 passing defense in the AFC.

--Players to watch: Baltimore receivers Michael Jackson and Derrick Alexander need 62 and 125 yards, respectively, to hit the 1,000-yard mark.

--Finally: Four of the Ravens’ last six losses have been by a total of 14 points. Having Testaverde as your “savior” will do that to you.