The Week Ahead

Broncos at Browns. The good news for Cleveland is that this isn't an AFC Championship Game. The Browns have blown two such title games in the last three years—both against Denver, both in the final minutes. The bad news for Cleveland is that the Broncos are 10-0 against the Browns since 1975. Says Denver safety Dennis Smith, "Whatever the Browns do to us now, it can't make up for what we've done to them already." Adds Cleveland tight end Ozzie Newsome, "Sometimes we wonder, Is it possible to beat these guys?"

Rams at 49ers. L.A. is off to a 3-0 start, but it had a soft schedule in September. Six of the Rams' next seven games will be against teams that averaged 11 wins in 1988. This week's game will feature the two players with the most receiving yards in the NFL over the past two seasons: San Francisco's highly rated Jerry Rice and Los Angeles's underrated Henry Ellard. Ellard really started to come on after the Rams traded Eric Dickerson to the Colts on Oct. 31, 1987. In 28 regular-season games since then, Rice has accumulated a league-high 2,552 yards, followed by Ellard, who has 2,472.

Eagles at Bears. Philadelphia is 0-12 in Cook County. The 12th defeat came in the bizarre Fog Game, during last season's playoffs. "The important thing about this team is it's so young, there aren't a lot of guys who know much about the past," says Philly linebacker Al Harris, who formerly played for Chicago. "I remember watching the Eagles last year and thinking how much they reminded me of the Bears—a young team about to be dangerous."