The Nfl

Don't give me this stuff about how Elway hasn't won the Big One. This was a big one, with the AFC West lead on the line, the Broncos without a touchdown in their last 12 quarters, Kansas City stifling the Denver offense for 58 minutes and 10,000 fans headed for the parking lot with five minutes to go. "It can't happen," Chief corner Kevin Ross said after the game, recalling his thoughts in the fourth quarter. "It won't happen. Even the fans know it won't happen. They've all left."

But Elway threw TD passes of 25 yards and 12 yards, the latter with 38 seconds remaining. It was Elway's 21st fourth-quarter comeback victory in his 10-year career. "We had a dim light at the end of the tunnel," said Denver defensive end Ron Holmes. "It was John Elway."

PATS-PATTER

The Patriot casualty report after Sunday's 30-21 loss to the Jets: Vice-president for public relations Pat Hanlon quit; coach Dick MacPherson had to step between feuding offensive linemen Pat Harlow and Eugene Chung on the sidelines after Harlow started chewing out Chung for blowing his blocking assignments; and defensive end Ray Agnew and Harlow spent halftime screaming and throwing their helmets around the locker room.

STATS OF THE WEEK

? San Francisco quarterback Steve Young has 228 yards rushing this season. The Colts have 226.

? Warren Moon has thrown for 50,052 yards as a pro in Canada and the U.S. That's 2.2 miles longer than a marathon.

?The Bears have allowed more points (100) in second halfs this year than each of 20 teams has given up all season.

ON SECOND THOUGHT

The Cowboys have drafted shrewdly since owner Jerry Jones and coach Jimmy Johnson took over four years ago, but there's one pick Jones would love to have back. "We made a mistake in not getting Rocket Ismail last year," says Jones. He isn't saying that Dallas should have taken Ismail instead of defensive tackle Russell Maryland with the first pick of the '91 draft; Ismail's asking price was silly, and he had to go to Canada to get it.