Mark Curnutte

The 1993 Cowboys and 2001 Patriots won Super Bowls after starting 0-2.

Being 0-2 is not fun, especially in cities where expectations for teams run high. Buffalo is one such place, where the heat is falling right on team president Tom Donahoe.

He's in his fourth season, but the Bills are not making much headway. He misfired on his first choice for a head coach, Gregg Williams. Donahoe acquired quarterback Drew Bledsoe in a trade, which hasn't worked out.

Donahoe's 2002 draft pick, No. 4 overall Mike Williams, an offensive tackle, has been a disappointment.

RECORD GAME: Vikings kicker Morten Andersen will break Hall of Famer George Blanda's NFL record by playing in his 341st game today against Chicago at the Metrodome. Blanda was a quarterback and kicker.

"I'm very proud and humbled," Andersen said. "But obviously I haven't had the physical contact that George had, because he was also a quarterback for most of his career."

Blanda played a record 26 seasons with four teams before retiring as an Oakland Raider in 1975 at age 48.

LEGENDS: Green Bay travels to Indianapolis for a game today. It will bring top quarterbacks Brett Favre and Peyton Manning together on the same field.

Since 1999, Favre and Manning have 52 regular-season victories each - tied for first among quarterbacks.

FRAGILE: Redskins owner Daniel Snyder gave quarterback Mark Brunell $8.6 million. Brunell doesn't look good and is hurt with a pulled hamstring.

It's the fourth straight year Brunell has been hurt by the fifth game. He had concussions in 2001 and 2002, and an elbow injury last season.

BAD RUN: Miami has 90 rushing yards after getting just 25 against the Bengals last Sunday night. There are 29 players with more yards rushing than the Dolphins.

WHAT GIVES? Titans running back Chris Brown has 252 yards rushing in two games. Eddie George didn't hit 252 until the sixth game last year. He had 244 after five games.

The Titans host Jacksonville, which hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher in 17 games, since Stephen Davis did it for Carolina in the 2003 opener.

Brown is trying to become the second back in history to rush for at least 100 yards in his first three starts. Stump Mitchell did it in his first four starts for St. Louis.

CORNER THE MARKET: The public concern over the offseason departures of Pro Bowl cornerbacks Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor seems to be dissipating in Philadelphia.

Their two replacements, Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard, along with nickelback Rod Hood, turned in their second straight solid performance in Monday night's 27-16 win over Minnesota.

The young corners - Brown and Sheppard are in their third year, Hood in his second - also were helped by a relentless front-four pass rush led by left end Jevon Kearse.

Kearse didn't have any of the Eagles' four sacks, but he constantly pressured Culpepper and forced him to hurry his throws and rely on shorter pass routes.

BROWNS: Quarterback Jeff Garcia joined a small fraternity of quarterbacks by compiling a passer rating of 0.0 for his 8-for-27, 71-yard, three-interception outing at Dallas.

The others to throw a rating shutout since 1970: Bobby Douglass for Chicago, 1971; Kim McQuilken for Atlanta, 1975; Gary Marangi for Buffalo, 1976; Tim Hasselbeck for Washington, 2003.

A week earlier, Garcia was a hero in Cleveland for leading the 20-3 victory over rival Baltimore.

STEELERS: Hines Ward has smashed franchise records and played in the past three Pro Bowls. And at last, he leads the NFL in receiving, with 250 yards.

He's the only player in the AFC with more than 200 yards, 33 more than his closest NFL pursuer, Torry Holt of the St. Louis Rams.

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Written, in part, with notes submitted by other NFL beat writers.

Mark Curnutte's NFL power rankings

Team	Last week	Record	Comment
1. Patriots	1	2-0	17 wins in a row, one from tying record
2. Eagles	2	2-0	Much better than 0-2 start in 2003
3. Seahawks	6	2-0	Two road wins equals 2003 total
4. Colts	4	1-1	Face another powerful offense in Packers
5. Titans	3	1-1	Suddenly, the Jags are a tough game
6. Panthers	8	1-1	Foster saves run game after Davis injury
7. Packers	7	1-1	Favre, offense need to carry defense
8. Falcons	14	2-0	Self-confidence rising in Atlanta
9. Broncos	9	1-1	RB Griffin needs to put fumble behind him
10. Vikings	10	1-1	Wants revenge against Bears
11. Rams	5	1-1	Need Faulk, Jackson to produce on ground
12. Jets	15	2-0	Reaching Edwards' goal of quick start
13. Jaguars	24	2-0	Alone in first place for first time since 1999
14. Ravens	16	1-1	Loss of receivers will test run game, defense
15. Redskins	13	1-1	Brunell, Ramsey struggle at QB
16. Chiefs	11	0-2	Tears and talk of diapers in KC
17. Cowboys	19	1-1	Beating Browns not good enough for Parcells
18. Buccaneers	12	0-2	Black Hole ready to greet Gruden
19. Bills	15	0-2	2-11 in Bledsoe's last 13 road starts
20. Bengals	21	1-1	Palmer still good, defense still shaky
21. Browns	20	1-1	Injuries to Winslow, Brown devastating
22. Steelers	18	1-1	Faneca might end up liking playing with Ben
23. Lions	23	2-0	Best start in four years under Millen
24. Bears	27	1-1	Injuries reduce thrill of beating Packers
25. Saints	22	1-1	Ki-Jana Carter resurfaces to sub for Deuce
26. Raiders	25	1-1	Rice streak breaks, started Dec. 1, 1985
27. Dolphins	26	0-2	'D' declares civil war on offense
28. Giants	30	1-1	Break nine-game losing streak unimpressively
29. Chargers	28	1-1	Run defense is big problem
30. 49ers	32	0-2	Two losses by five combined points
31. Cardinals	31	0-2	Green's offense a mirage in desert
32. Texans	29	0-2	Already minus-6 in turnover differential