The Week That Was

TEA AND SYMPATHY

The Bills knocked around New England quarterback Steve Grogan in a 27-10 win, but they did it with kid gloves. Grogan, who had neck surgery in '89 and missed four games this season with recurring neck pain, admitted before the game that a doctor had advised him to retire. The Patriots had asked Grogan to sign a waiver absolving them of liability resulting from any injury. Grogan didn't sign but played anyway.

When Buffalo defensive end Leon Seals read about Grogan's situation in The Boston Globe on Sunday morning, he got chills. He sacked Grogan once later in the day, but not viciously. "I'm just going to be honest about it," says Seals. "I wasn't going in there for the kill. With any kind of hit, the guy could go down for good. If you delivered that hit, you would have to live with it for the rest of your life."

The 37-year-old Grogan withstood two additional sacks and numerous other hits from the Buffalo pass rush without suffering an injury.

HEY, THE BEARS MIGHT BE PRETTY GOOD

Chicago's offensive line has been intact since 1985, but Pro Bowl center Jay Hilgenberg missed Sunday's game against the Cardinals because of a stomach virus, which came on suddenly and put him in a Phoenix hospital. So backup center Jerry Fontenot, the Bears' third-round pick in the '89 draft, started his first NFL game. With 1:56 remaining before halftime, Chicago already had 249 yards of offense and a 28-0 lead. By the end of the game, the Bears had 382 yards, 223 of them coming on 41 rushing attempts, and they allowed only one sack.

The Bears of the mid-'80s were composed of irreplaceable stars. The 1990 version has more interchangeable parts. Twenty-one players had tackles in the 31-21 Chicago victory.

CAN'T ANYBODY HERE PLAY THIS GAME?

?Out of the 420 minutes the 2-5 Colts have played this season, they have held the lead only three times, for 21:24. Their biggest cushion has been seven points.

?In the Dolphins' 27-7 win against the Colts on Sunday. Miami's third-string running back, Mark Higgs, had more rushing yards (52) than Indianapolis's Eric Dickerson and Albert Bentley had between them (31).