THE NICKEL PACKAGE

5 FIRST-ROUND QUARTERBACKS WITH NO PASSES AS ROOKIES

Kelly Stouffer,

Cardinals, 1987

* Sat out his rookie season because of a contract dispute.

Daunte Culpepper,

Vikings, 1999

* Minnesota had a quarterback logjam with Randall Cunningham and Jeff George.

Carson Palmer,

Bengals, 2003

* Strong play by Jon Kitna afforded Cincinnati the chance to let Palmer learn.

Jason Campbell,

Redskins, 2005

* Campbell is expected to make his debut in place of banged-up Mark Brunell.

Jay Cutler,

Denver, 2006

* Despite a scoring-

challenged offense, Jake Plummer is holding on to his job for now.

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5 HIGHEST-SCORING GAMES*

*Over the past 20 seasons

* 106 points: Cincinnati’s 58-48 victory over Cleveland two years ago was the most scoring since Washington beat the New York Giants, 72-41, in 1966.

* 90: LaDainian Tomlinson scored four touchdowns and the Chargers outlasted the Bengals in a 49-41 shootout last Sunday.

* 88: Buffalo’s Jim Kelly threw for 366 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Bills to a 47-41 overtime victory over Houston in 1989.

* 88: The “Greatest Show on Turf” rolled up 614 yards as the St. Louis Rams rolled over winless San Diego, 57-31, in 2000.

* 88: Three weeks later, the Rams lost to cross-state rival Kansas City, 54-34, as Kurt Warner suffered injuries to both hands.

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5 TOUGHEST SCHEDULES PLAYED*

*Based on current record of opponents

* Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- .605: No wonder Buccaneers lost their first four; Tampa Bay hasn’t caught a break.

* Cleveland Browns -- .593: At least the Browns can take solace in their finale: at Houston.

* Buffalo Bills -- .580: Relative “breathers” come against Houston, Miami and Tennessee.

* Tennessee Titans -- .580: Next three are killers: at Philadelphia, then home against the Giants and Colts.

* New York Giants -- .568: After three home games in a row, three of four are on the road.

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5 LOCKS

* Carolina over St. Louis -- Panthers will hand the Rams their first five-game losing streak since 2002.

* New England over Green Bay -- Packers have played better of late, but the Patriots are simply better.

* Kansas City over Oakland -- The games have been close, but the Chiefs have won the last six meetings with the Raiders.

* Philadelphia over Tennessee -- The league’s No. 1 offense will tear up its No. 32 defense.

* Chicago over New York Jets -- The Bears looked at home at the Meadowlands last Sunday. Why not today?

* Last week: 2-3. Season: 36-14.

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5 KNOCKDOWN ARTISTS

Most quarterback knockdowns this season:

* Julius Peppers, Panthers -- 20: He also gets his man; he leads the league with 11 sacks.

* Leonard Little, Rams -- 19: With nine sacks, he’s on pace for the best season of his career.

* Aaron Kampman, Packers -- 19: Green Bay has had four sacks or more in the last four games.

* Adalius Thomas, Ravens -- 16: He’ll need lots of endurance to chase down Michael Vick today.

* Derrick Burgess, Raiders -- 15: Over the last five games, the Raiders have given up an average of 13.6 points.

Source: STATS LLC