Sidelines

After catching two touchdown passes on Sunday in a 28-14 win over Kansas City, San Diego wide receiver Tony Martin leads the NFL with 13 TD grabs. A seven-year veteran, Martin credits pickup basketball last summer with enhancing his breakaway skills....

The 8-4 Panthers lead the league in covering kickoffs (their opponents' average start is the 22.4-yard line) and are second in returning them (to the 30.9-yard line). Both units are spearheaded by Michael Bates, the bronze medalist in the 200 meters at the 1992 Olympics, whose 31.9-yard average on kick returns leads the league by almost five yards. He has also forced a fumble and a blocked punt....

A sign of the Lions' desperation under coach Wayne Fontes was their unscripted triple lateral—from wideout Brett Perriman to tackle Ray Roberts to wideout Johnnie Morton—late in the first half of a 31-14 loss to Chicago....

Colts quarterback Jim Harbaugh was the league's highest-rated passer last year, but he's struggling in 1996. On third downs he has a league-low 43.4 rating....

Under Bruce Coslet the Bengals are 4-1 and have outscored their opponents 69-21 in the fourth quarter....

The Ravens, who went 0-4 in November to fall to 3-9, are the fifth straight team that has had a losing season after moving to a new city. Their roster is so thin that assistant coaches have had to play on scout teams during practice....

Oakland backup quarterback Billy Joe Hobert was pressed into service as a punter after Jeff Gossett was injured on Sunday. Hobert punted twice for 40 and 39 yards; the 39.5-yard average is just .2 of a yard below Gossett's season mark....

Talk about the Big Easy: New Orleans defensive end Renaldo Turnbull, who has earned $6.25 million in signing bonuses since 1994. has 10 tackles in eight games this year.