Ask Mark

Emmitt Smith needs 93 yards today to break Walter Payton's career rushing record.

Smith enters Dallas' game against Seattle with 16,634 yards. Payton has 16,726 yards.

"I'll tell you what it will mean. Most people have the ambition of growing up, getting married someday and having kids," Smith says. "You know how excited you are when you get married. Then you know how excited you are when you have your first child. I look at this as the same situation. This is something that's pretty exciting to me. I'll take advantage of what the defense gives me."

Seattle's rush defense has given a lot this season. It's ranked 30th against the run.

Smith also needs one rushing touchdown to be the first player in NFL history with 150.

He has 447 rushing yards this season and a 4.2-yard average.

SEAHAWKS (1-5) at COWBOYS (3-4): The other big news this week in Dallas is the first NFL start for rookie free agent quarterback Chad Hutchinson. He takes over for Quincy Carter, in whom offensive coordinator and former Bengals coach Bruce Coslet lost faith last Sunday.

"Everybody is speculating on how Chad will do, and I don't know. I mean, how can we know?" Coslet said of Hutchinson, who will be playing a real game of football for the first time in five years. "We need to find out, because we weren't getting it done the way things were going." COWBOYS 24-16.

STEELERS (3-3) at RAVENS (3-3): Baltimore coach Brian Billick scolds Ravens fans for selling tickets to Steelers fans. Ravens will miss LB Ray Lewis more than Steelers will miss RB Jerome Bettis. Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher pushed right button using Tommy Maddox, who has led Steelers to three wins in four games. Speaking of Cowher, Steelers are 70-1 under him when gaining a 10-point lead. The exception was Dec.30, 2001, at Paul Brown Stadium, when Pittsburgh blew a 23-10 lead in the fourth quarter and lost in overtime to the Bengals.

STEELERS 17-13.

LIONS (2-4) at BILLS (4-3): Buffalo quarterback Drew Bledsoe will have a chance to pad his league-high 2,198 pass yards against Detroit's slow secondary and 29th-ranked pass defense. Bledsoe's even scarier now that he has a productive running back in Travis Henry (631 yards, seven touchdowns). BILLS 33-13.

BUCCANEERS (5-2) at PANTHERS (3-4): Carolina rookie quarterback Randy Fasani gets first career start against Rob Johnson, who will make first start for Tampa Bay in place of injured Brad Johnson. BUCS 24-7.

RAIDERS (4-2) at CHIEFS (3-4): Look for another high-scoring game in the AFC West, the best and most entertaining division in the league. Kansas City can score but can't stop anyone, either. Bank on Jerry Rice getting the one touchdown he needs to be first in history to score 200. RAIDERS 36-30.

BEARS (2-4) at VIKINGS (1-5): Minnesota's league-worst minus-14 turnover differential could gift-wrap enough easy points to keep the Bears in this one. A nod to one of the great Bears in the sky, Walter Payton, on the day his career rushing record looks to fall. BEARS 27-24.

FALCONS (3-3) at SAINTS (6-1): Second cousins Michael Vick and Aaron Brooks play against each other for the first time since the pair squared off as youths of Newport News, Va. Vick is ranked second in the NFC in passer rating (93.8). Brooks is third (90.8). Brooks has more talent at his disposal. SAINTS 28-17.

BROWNS (3-4) at JETS (2-4): Cleveland tries to stay in the AFC North race with a road victory against the Jets, who are happy with new quarterback Chad Pennington. The former Marshall star has completed 79 percent of his passes against the Chiefs and Vikings, two bad defenses. JETS 21-19.

CARDINALS (4-2) at 49ERS (4-2): This game, for first place in the NFC West, will be much closer than the team's reputations and recent histories might suggest. SF's defense has problems, especially on third down, and Arizona can run the ball. San Francisco has too much firepower offensively, and Arizona has problems scoring points. 49ERS 31-20.

TEXANS (1-5) at JAGUARS (3-3): Expect to see Fred Taylor, more Fred Taylor and even more Fred Taylor in an attempt to wear down the thin Houston defense. Game brings together Tom Coughlin, only coach in Jacksonville history, and Houston coach Dom Capers. Capers was original coach of Carolina, which came into the league in 1995 with Jacksonville. JAGUARS 23-15.

BRONCOS (5-2) at PATRIOTS (3-3): Denver quarterback Brian Griese will meet the man he beat out for the starting job at Michigan, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Brady was a sophomore when he lost the backup job to Griese, a position that ultimately led to the starting job on the Wolverines 1997 national championship team. Today, Griese will be handing the ball to running backs, and the Broncos will run until New England proves it can stop them. BRONCOS 24-22.

COLTS (4-2) at REDSKINS (2-4): Washington will host 70 greatest Redskins tonight, but rest assured quarterback Shane Matthews isn't on that list. COLTS 28-24.

GIANTS (3-3) at EAGLES (4-2): Philadelphia has offense and defense both ranked in top seven, but special teams are near bottom. Giants are better than 3-3 and will force a tight game. EAGLES 17-14.

LAST WEEK: 9-5.

SEASON: 65-37.

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