Compiled from notes submitted by NFL beat writers

Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil took the last play of Monday night's game at Oakland as a good omen.

Jerome Woods tackled Tim Brown 1 yard short of the goal line on the last play to preserve Kansas City's 17-10 win, which evoked warm memories of Jan.  30, 2000. On that night in Atlanta, St. Louis' Mike Jones stopped Tennessee's Kevin Dyson at the 1 to save Super Bowl XXXIV for Vermeil's Rams.

Charmed in 1999.

Charmed in 2003?

"I didn't think about it at the time," Vermeil said of the similar plays, "but I did later."

TURNOVER POWER: The Chiefs lead the NFL with 20 takeaways. They lead the AFC with a plus-11 turnover margin and are 7-0. Minnesota leads the NFL with a plus-13 margin and is 6-0. Seattle is 5-1 and a third-best plus-10. The top three teams in turnover differential are a combined 18-1.

DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS: No state has more NFL owners than Texas. Based on the first seven weeks, an owner from the Lone Star State - perhaps even two - could be traveling to Houston for Super Bowl XXXVIII. Native Texans owning NFL teams: Bob McNair (Texans), Bud Adams (Titans), Jerry Jones (Cowboys), Lamar Hunt (Chiefs), Red McCombs (Vikings) and Tom Benson (Saints). Their teams have a combined record of 28-11.

ON THE HOT SEAT: Word around New York is the coach needs to win 8 of 10 to close the schedule and make the playoffs to save his job.

If Jim Fassel doesn't finish strong, the Giants might be on the phone to Tom Coughlin and other possible successors by New Year's Eve.

LIONS AND BEARS: Chicago defensive coordinator Greg Blache, noting that his 1-5 team plays the 1-5 Detroit Lions twice in the next three weeks: "It's like that cartoon of the two men stranded on the desert island. Both of them are looking at the other like he's the roasted turkey."

NUMBERS GAME: Joey Harrington has thrown three touchdown passes and 10 interceptions in the Lions' four-game skid. ... KC tailback Priest Holmes leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 994. ... The Dolphins are 15-1 against the AFC West in their past 16 games and play at San Diego on Monday night.

NO SURPRISE: Keyshawn Johnson wants the ball. The Tampa Bay wide receiver spoke up, not out of selfishness, he said, but rather out of concern for the team.

"It's not about me," said Johnson, who caught one pass for 4 yards in Sunday's 24-7 loss to the 49ers. "I feel if I'm not contributing, we're going to lose the game.''

He might be right. Johnson leads Bucs wide receivers with 26 catches; 20 are for first downs, including eight on third down.

GOODBYE? After 17 seasons with six teams, nine operations and 332 sacks, Steve Beuerlein's career likely will end because of a broken pinky. The Broncos put the 38-year-old quarterback on the Injured Reserve list Tuesday.

Beuerlein played in 148 career games, with 102 starts. He passed for 24,046 yards, with 145 touchdowns and 111 interceptions.

GOOD BEHAVIOR: There have been no verbal outbursts this season from Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss. Quarterback Daunte Culpepper thinks Moss has matured. Of course, being 6-0 with 39 receptions, 666 yards and six touchdowns helps maturity.

AFC NORTH: Ravens coach Brian Billick took exception to the attention his brief handshake with Marvin Lewis received after the Bengals upset Baltimore. "I'm critiqued a lot of ways, but to be now critiqued on how long I linger on a handshake at the end of a game, I don't know." ... Word out of Cleveland is that coach Butch Davis has no confidence in quarterback Tim Couch and won't bring him back next year. ... Bill Cowher's Steelers teams usually own the month of October, where they have a 32-12 record since he became coach. That .727 winning percentage is the best of any month since 1992. They are 0-2 this month. ... The Bengals are 1-1 in October under Lewis. A victory today would give them a winning October record for the first time since 1989. From the 1991 season through 2002 (the running playoff dry spell), the Bengals were 8-38 in October and winless in the month six times. They were 2-2 in 2001 under Dick LeBeau.

Return to Bengals front page...