SPOTLIGHT : A GLANCE AT THIS WEEK IN THE NFL : THE NFL’S ENDANGERED SPECIES

Quarterbackus healthius.

They are getting rarer and rarer around the league these days.

Sightings are frequent in Buffalo and Miami, and there are a couple of beautiful examples of the species in Philadelphia and Dallas. Of course, you couldn’t say that last year.

In the last couple of weeks, quarterbacks have been dropping like ratings for Twin Peaks. Sunday, things got even worse.

Starters Vinny Testaverde of Tampa Bay and Rich Gannon of Minnesota both were sidelined by injuries in the first half of the Vikings’ 26-20 victory over the Buccaneers.

Testaverde lost feeling in his right arm and hand after being hit on the forearm by Henry Thomas while throwing a pass. He stayed in the game until early in the second quarter, when he fumbled a snap.

He was replaced by always-ready Steve DeBerg.

Gannon left midway through the first quarter after his throwing hand was smashed by a defensive player’s helmet during the follow-through of a 30-yard touchdown pass to Cris Carter.

He also tried to return but was replaced by Sean Salisbury after haveing a pass intercepted by Darryl Pollard.

X-rays on Gannon’s hand were negative and the Vikings are expected to know more today.

Salisbury also was hurt, getting knocked woozy while throwing a pass early in the fourth quarter.

At Green Bay, Don Majkowski left with 8:44 to play in the first quarter when he was sacked by Cincinnati’s Tim Krumrie and suffered ligament damage to his left ankle.

Brett Favre took over and rallied the Packers to a 24-23 victory.

Stan Humphries of San Diego suffered a strained left ankle in the first half against Pittsburgh, but he returned in the second half of the 23-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

MORE TRAGEDY

Tragedy has befallen the Detroit Lions again, this time visiting kick returner Mel Gray.

Gray’s 73-year-old father James died in Williamsburg, Va., as the team was traveling to the capital to play the Redskins on Sunday. It fell upon Lion Coach Wayne Fontes, who lost his brother this year, to pass along the sad news to his player.

“I had a tough errand to do after the game,� Fontes said. “It was a very difficult thing for me to do.�

Last season, guard Mike Utley was paralyzed in a game against the Rams. Fontes’ brother Len, the team’s defensive backs coach, died of a heart attack in May. In June, guard Eric Andolsek died when he was struck by a truck while doing yardwork at his home in Louisiana.

NAMES AND NUMBERS

Washington’s Art Monk has caught a pass in 135 consecutive games. He has 810 career catches, nine behind all-time NFL leader Steve Largent. . . . Gary Clark’s five-yard reception with 7:40 left in the first half was the 500th catch of his career.

The Dallas Cowboys signed safety Thomas Everett to a three-year contract worth about $2 million after the game against Phoenix. Everett played five years for Pittsburgh but held out this year. . . . The Cowboys are 20-0 when Emmitt Smith carries the ball 18 or more times.

Joey Browner, cut by the Vikings as part of Coach Dennis Green’s summer housecleaning, played most of Sunday’s game for his new team, Tampa Bay. He was booed by the Metrodome crowd. . . . Tampa Bay’s Santana Dotson had 1 1/2 sacks. He has 5 1/2 sacks this season, setting a club rookie record.

The last time the New York Jets were 0-3 was 1981--and they wound up 10-5-1 and made the playoffs. . . . There are five domed stadiums in the NFL. The New Orleans Saints became the first team to win in all five.

JUST PRACTICING

All that talk about a Super Bowl preview in Philadelphia obviously wasn’t the right way to fire up the Denver Broncos.

As is well known, they haven’t done well in that particular game, losing four times by a combined score of 163-40.

Final score in Super Bowl XXVI 1/2 Sunday: Philadelphia 30, Denver 0.

John Elway has been the starting quarterback in three of the Broncos’ Super Bowl losses and he had a typically “super� performance against the Eagle defense: eight of 18, 59 yards, one interception, three sacks.

“When you play against a defense like that on a team that has a shot to go to the Super Bowl, you like to see how you stack up against them. We didn’t stack up,� Elway said. “I was frustrated, but I was always hopeful we were going to make the big play. We weren’t able to do it.�

BURY SANDERS

Barry Sanders gained 1,548 yards last season, setting a Detroit Lion record.

He gained 109 yards in a loss to Chicago two weeks ago, making all the highlights with a dazzling 43-yard touchdown run.

But something has happened the last two games.

Sanders was limited to 66 yards in 26 carries by Minnesota a week ago. The Vikings stopped Sanders, but lost to the Lions.

Sunday, the Washington Redskins limited Sanders to 34 yards in 13 carries, and only 23 yards through the first three quarters.

Is something wrong?

“I’m concerned that the best running back in the National Football League, he touches the ball and they’ve got him in the backfield before he can even get started,� Detroit Coach Fontes said.

NO GUARANTEES

Did he guarantee it or not?

“This is not a make-or-break game for the New York Jets. We’re going to go out and win the damn game, though.�

That’s what Coach Bruce Coslet said about his 0-2 Jets last week as they prepared to play the San Francisco 49ers at the Meadowlands.

It didn’t happen, though, as the 49ers took a 31-0 lead after three quarters and cruised to a 31-14 victory.

“I said we’d win, I didn’t guarantee we would win,� Coslet said. “Some local editors chose to print it that way. I didn’t say it to motivate our team or to give the 49ers something to put up on the bulletin board.

“I’ll say the same thing about next week’s game: I expect us to win.�

That seems safe. Quarterback Browning Nagle should be back.

And they play the Rams.

THE LAST WORDS

Cincinnati Coach Dave Shula, after the Bengals lost to Green Bay on a last-minute pass: “It didn’t come down to the last play of this game that lost it for us. We all had a part in it.�

Minnesota quarterback Sean Salisbury, after his first NFL action in five years: “I don’t want to say it’s nice to get beat up, but it sure is nice to get hit again.�

San Francisco receiver Jamie Williams, on playing at the Meadowlands: “It seems the people of the Meadowlands know how to cuss better than anybody. I got called some things today that I never heard in the neighborhood.�

Kansas City quarterback Dave Krieg, who drove the Chiefs to a tying touchdown, then saw his team lose in overtime: “The only way that drive could have been any better would have been if we could have scored eight points.�

Houston defensive tackle Doug Smith, who made a key fumble recovery in overtime: “I wasn’t thinking anything, I was just tired of playing defense. I saw that ball and I thought, ‘First down for the offense and I’m on the bench drinking cold water.�’

New Orleans kicker Morten Andersen, on his 47-yard field goal that beat Atlanta. “I’m a glutton for those types of kicks. I knew it was a medium kick. I don’t ask the distance. I know if you hit the ball properly, it’ll go 60.�

Atlanta Coach Jerry Glanville: “I don’t think we got beat. I just think we ran out of time.�

TONIGHT’S GAME

N.Y. GIANTS (0-2) AT CHICAGO (1-1)

Site: Soldier Field, Chicago

Time: 6 p.m.

TV: Channels 7, 3, 10, 42

There was a beer slogan many years ago that went, “It’s the water, and a lot more.�

The same could have been said about William (The Refrigerator) Perry last week in Chicago.

Bear Coach Mike Ditka wasn’t going to let Perry play against the Giants tonight unless he got under the 320-pound level. On Thursday, the Fridge was “significantly over� that mark, according to Ditka. But the next day, Ditka said the defensive lineman was under the acceptable limit and would be allowed to play.

Ditka’s explanation? “Maybe it was water weight.�

That aside, this figures to be a typical hard-hitting game between teams with struggling offenses. The Bears would match the Giants’ winless record if Jim Harbaugh hadn’t rallied them past Detroit in the final seconds two weeks ago.

“We are not a big-play team,� Giant Coach Ray Handley said in one of the season’s finest understatements. “We’re not going to hit an 80-yard pass on most teams.�

The Bears, who failed to start 2-0 for the first time in 10 years, haven’t had a running play for more than 30 yards since 1991, when Neal Anderson went 42 yards for a touchdown in a 20-17 victory over the Giants.

Their longest play this season has been a 28-yard pass from Harbaugh to Wendell Davis in their last-second, 27-24 opening victory over the Lions. They were limited to two field goals in a 28-6 loss at New Orleans last week.

The big plays in Bears’ games have been by their opponents.

“In two games we’ve given up six big plays, five on passes and one run,� Ditka said. “That’s a lot. We’re going to have to work on it and get better.�