5 Things to Look For:

1. Deja lose. If the Bears lose to Green Bay, and wouldn’t that be a surprise, they will match their 0-7 start of 1969, when they went on to finish 1-13 and lose a coin flip with the Steelers and the chance to draft Terry Bradshaw. Good thing the Bears don’t need a franchise quarterback.

2. The NFL’s oldest player remaining perfect. Eddie Murray will try for his 235th consecutive extra point, surpassing the mark set by San Francisco’s Tommy Davis, after Minnesota scores its first touchdown. Don’t think he will miss.

Murray last missed at Chicago on Dec. 11, 1988, when he was playing with Detroit.

3. More AFC domination. So far this season the AFC has a 12-6 lead over the NFC in inter-conference games. It’s the AFC’s best inter-conference record through six weeks since the AFC had a 9-3-1 advantage in 1987. That makes Jacksonville a good pick over Philadelphia this week.

4. Ken Ruettgers’ future in politics. The former USC and Green Bay offensive lineman strongly considered a run for the 8th congressional seat in Green Bay.

“The bottom line was, it didn’t mesh well with what I want for my family and my relationship with my wife,” said Ruettgers, working as a volunteer assistant coach at nearby West De Pere High School.

5. The Raiders to bounce back. NFL teams do not like to be booed, and especially at home.

“Who likes to walk around being called ugly names?” said Raider Coach Joe Bugel. “The only cure for that sickness is winning a football game and everything is forgotten.

“Hey, my dad is 89 years old. He was there, and he booed too. Everybody booed. My wife, everybody. We stunk. We have to play better. That’s the bottom line.”

AROUND THE NFC / WEST / He’s the Real Big Hurt

Some draft observers criticized the Saints for taking guard Chris Naeole so high, but there’s no way of knowing who was right. Naeole remains untested, sidelined for at least four more weeks because of an ankle injury. The guy must be hurt, or he’d have Coach Mike Ditka jumping on him. . . . San Francisco tight end Brent Jones has a hairline fracture in his right leg that might require Greg Clark to start. No big deal, since the 49ers are playing the Rams, a team San Francisco has whipped 14 consecutive times. “We’re a pretty young team so we’re not really aware of how many losses in a row we’ve had,” Ram quarterback Tony Banks said. “I know we’ve lost three in a row since I’ve been here. That’s the only streak we’re worried about.” . . . Atlanta reports most of its injured players have returned to work, which should disappoint Falcon fans dreaming of a future with Peyton Manning.

He said it: “I don’t know if I make that call if I’m Dom Capers.” Carolina offensive lineman Greg Skrepenak on Capers’ decision to bench quarterback Kerry Collins and start Steve Beuerlein.

Opinion: I don’t make that call if I’m Dom Capers.

Statistic: The Saints, 0 for 12 on third-down plays against the Bears, won.

CENTRAL / Is Johnson John’s Son?

Another John Elway in the making: Minnesota quarterback Brad Johnson has started 15 games and has already directed four fourth-quarter comebacks. . . . Can’t anyone block in Detroit? John Jett punted 253 times for Dallas and never had a punt blocked. In his first 30 punts for the Lions, he has already had two blocked.

The Packers took a chance in releasing Wayne Simmons, a quality defender considered a potential troublemaker, to make room in the lineup for veteran Seth Joyner. Simmons, a favorite of many of the Packer players, had been late for meetings and had irritated Coach Mike Holmgren, who was worried Simmons would become disruptive if he had to surrender playing time to Joyner. Chicago linebacker Bryan Cox, fined $10,000 by his own team for throwing his helmet in frustration during a loss to Green Bay to open the season, goes up against the Packers again. “That was the lowest point in my football career,” Cox said. “I was betrayed, no doubt about it. This is the worst year in my career. Not necessarily because of the playing standpoint, but because after that first game was the lowest point of my career from a mental standpoint and an emotional standpoint.”

He said it: “It’s a tough situation, it really is. He came in here and everybody knows the story.” Chicago Coach Dave Wannstedt, who traded a No. 1 pick for quarterback Rick Mirer, and has now dropped him to No. 3 on the depth chart, behind Erik Kramer and Steve Stenstrom.

Opinion: Wannstedt has mishandled Mirer from the outset, promoting journeyman Kramer to No. 1 to start the season and then jerking Mirer every time he looked the least bit shaky.

Statistic: Detroit running back Barry Sanders needs 15 yards to pass Jim Brown for fourth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list. Each has 58 100-yard rushing games.

EAST / They Could Kick Themselves

The Cardinals have four losses by a total of 11 points. “The Grim Reaper has been on our sideline four of five games,” wide receiver Kevin Williams said. Arizona has fallen on hard times, in part because kicker Kevin Butler has been horrible. “They don’t have a 1-4 team,” one NFL scout said. “They have a 1-4 kicker.” . . . The Cowboys can’t score, and now might have trouble keeping the opposition out of the end zone because of the loss of defensive tackle Chad Hennings for up to eight weeks because of an aggravation of a strained groin.

The Giants have benched Dave Brown in favor of Danny Kanell. He should not have been starting in the first place. . . . The Eagles released defensive tackle Andy Harmon because his knee--surgically repaired twice last year--was still bothering him. Philadelphia could have put him on injured reserve and paid him, but elected to save $850,000 on their 1997 salary cap.

He said it: “There is no chance of any coaching changes.” Dallas owner Jerry Jones when asked about the status of Coach Barry Switzer.

Opinion: That change should have been made before the season started--before ever hiring Switzer in the first place.

Statistic: The Giants gained only 166 yards in last week’s victory over Dallas, the 10th time in the 1990s they finished a game with fewer than 170 yards.

AROUND THE AFC / WEST/ Not So Fast, Elway

Denver quarterback John Elway said this week, “It’s Terrell’s team.” Terrell Davis ran over the Patriots and has established himself as the top back in the game. “My job now is picking up third downs,” Elway said. Don’t look for defenses to overlook No. 7.

Kicker Greg Davis, six for six on field goals in his San Diego debut after being fired by Minnesota for missing a 22-yarder, will remain employed with the Chargers because John Carney’s sore knee will prevent him from returning any time soon. . . . After averaging an NFL-best 15.1 yards on punt returns last season, Desmond Howard is averaging 7.5 for the Raiders.

Kansas City ranks 25th on defense, 27th against the pass, and that explains why they were so interested in Green Bay linebacker Wayne Simmons. . . . Although he didn’t begin the season as the starter, Warren Moon has thrown for more yards than any other passers in the AFC except Jeff George and Vinny Testaverde.

He said it: “He never gave us the evidence that he could be the speed player who would be productive.” Kansas City Coach Marty Schottenheimer after waiving wide receiver Brett Perriman.

Opinion: The Chiefs didn’t do their free agent homework before signing him.

Statistic: Denver linebacker John Mobley earned Pro Bowl votes off Monday night’s performance: 13 tackles, three passes knocked down, an interception return for a touchdown, and a forced fumble.

CENTRAL / How Much Did That Cost?

It’s tough to get a win in Tennessee, tougher yet to do business under the leadership of team owner Bud Adams. Adams sent out a memo recently to employees in his Houston, Nashville and Memphis offices that every expense of more than $200 has to be approved by him. . . . Fewer than 14,000 tickets have been sold for this week’s game in Memphis between Cincinnati and Tennessee.

It takes time for Pittsburgh quarterback Kordell Stewart to get going, but then he comes on like an avalanche. In the second half of Pittsburgh’s last three games, he has a 146.7 passer rating. . . . Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell wants to play without his heavy knee brace. “That’s a good sign,” Coach Tom Coughlin said.

The Ravens continue to blow second-half leads, and now they have been scolded. “That type of performance in the second half, Mr. [Art] Modell and I can’t tolerate,” Coach Ted Marchibroda said. “If there are any more performances such as that, I think it would be a situation where nobody’s job would be safe in a situation like that.” Beginning with the coach.

He said it: “Right now I have a frustrated team that doesn’t have confidence.” Cincinnati Coach Bruce Coslet.

Opinion: It’s also a team lacking leadership, discipline and living up to expectations, which reflects on the coach.

Statistic: The Oilers do not have an interception.

EAST / Controversy? No Way

The Colts have been unable to win, but Coach Lindy Infante has refused to make quarterback Jim Harbaugh the scapegoat--unlike Dave Wannstedt in Chicago and Dom Capers in Carolina. “Emphatically, Jimmy Harbaugh will start at quarterback,” Infante said. “We do not have a quarterback controversy going on around here, at least in my mind.” . . . The Dolphins, desperate for wide receivers, grabbed Brett Perriman after the Chiefs released him. Perriman played for Miami Coach Jimmy Johnson at the University of Miami. Perriman says he is fully recovered from a hamstring injury that ruined his stay in Kansas City.

Johnson, who rebuilt the Cowboys, admires the work being done by Bill Parcells in New York. “I can see the Jets surpassing what we did in Dallas,” Johnson said. . . . The Patriots have 41 penalties in five games. Obviously, everything went kaput in New England when Parcells left.

He said it: “Looking around the league at the quality of play and quality of other teams, you’ve got about 26 teams bunched in the middle. A team that makes improvement on a weekly basis, like the Jets, avoids some injuries and wins a couple of key games, I think that team is going to put itself in position to get in the playoffs.” Johnson, assessing the Jets.

Opinion: They have a better chance than Johnson’s Dolphins.

Statistic: Infante was 0-5 in his first season with the Packers as coach, and the team finished 4-12 before coming back to help him win coach-of-the-year honors with a 10-6 mark.

First Things First in East

This is a battle for first place in the NFC East, and just maybe the beginning of the end for the Cowboys. Dallas stands bewildered, unable to figure out why it can’t score touchdowns and mocked for its inability to get Emmitt Smith into the end zone.

Dallas is the only team not to have scored a touchdown rushing this season, and has been confounded by the opposition’s penchant to blitz all the time.

The best thing going for the Cowboys now, however, is a matchup with the Redskins, who haven’t been able to stop the run for two years.

Washington, 0-6 in the week before playing the Cowboys, thereby demonstrating the significance of the rivalry, will try to punish the Dallas defense with a running game of its own.

If they have to throw, the Redskins might consider just surrendering.

On TV

* Miami (3-2) at New York Jets (4-2), 10 a.m., Channel 4: The two best coaches in the game are matched in a key battle to determine who will give chase to the Patriots. The Jets have to worry about looking ahead: Next week they get the Patriots at home.

Line: N.Y. Jets by 3 1/2

* Green Bay (4-2) at Chicago (0-6), 10 a.m., Channel 11: Now what would possess anyone to watch this game when they can view a competitive contest between the Dolphins and Jets? This is one of those “name your final score” games for the Packers, who get a breather and the chance for some injured players to heal.

Line: Green Bay by 11 1/2

* St. Louis (2-3) at San Francisco (4-1), 1 p.m., Channel 11: Another one-sided waste of time. The 49ers have beaten the Rams 14 consecutive times, once earlier this year in St. Louis with Jim Druckenmiller at quarterback.

Line: San Francisco by 14

* Indianapolis (0-5) at Pittsburgh (3-2), 5 p.m., TNT: This completes maybe one of the worst Sundays of pro football in recent memory. You had no idea there were so many bad teams, did you? Only way the Colts win is if Kordell Stewart goes through one of those growing spurts and turns the ball over to Indianapolis. How’s that for suspense?

Line: Pittsburgh by 10 1/2

Sunday’s Other Games

* Buffalo at New England, 10 a.m.

Line: New England by 8 1/2

* Phila. at Jacksonville, 10 a.m.

Line: Jacksonville by 3 1/2

* Detroit at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m.

Line: Tampa Bay by 6

* Cincinnati at Tennessee, 10 a.m.

Line: Tennessee by 2

* Atlanta at New Orleans, 10 a.m.

Line: New Orleans by 2

* Carolina at Minnesota, 1 p.m.

Line: Minnesota by 3 1/2

* N.Y. Giants at Arizona, 1 p.m.

Line: Arizona by 3 1/2