In this storied rivalry
The temperature at Lambeau Field was 15 degrees at kickoff, with a wind chill of 6 degrees. That marked the coldest game between the Bears and Packers since Nov. 28, 1976, when the temperature was 6 degrees at kickoff. . . . Green Bay tight end Ed West (ankle) didn't play, missing his first Bears-Packers game in the last 22 contests between the NFC Central rivals. . . . The Packers are 61-81-6 against the Bears.
Warren's big game
Chris Warren almost out-gained the Oilers offense yesterday and helped the Seahawks ease two weeks of misery.
Warren, involved in an auto accident that paralyzed teammate Mike Frier on Dec. 2, rushed for a career-high 185 yards on 30 carries and scored on a 33-yard run.
"Mike Frier gets the game ball," Warren said. "I'm sure it will make him feel better. All my prayers and sympathy have been with him. He'll be getting better."
Warren ignored the fractured ribs he received in the accident and played until the Seahawks were in control in the fourth quarter.
"I like to have the focus on me, like it was today," Warren said. "I like to be the one that makes things happen. When something starts to work, why abandon it? We were running the ball real well.
"Every time I took a deep breath, I had pain," Warren said. "We had the lead and were pretty much in control until the very end. This game was special, because of some key players we have that are injured." The Buccaneers' victory was their first over a California team since 1980, when they beat the Rams, 10-9, and San Francisco, 24-23. . . . Toby Wright blocked a field-goal try in the first quarter, the first for the Rams since 1988. . . . In his six starts since taking over for Jim Harbaugh, the Colts' Dan Majkowski hasn't thrown for more than 186 yards in any game. . . . Pittsburgh is 31-13 in December at Three Rivers Stadium. . . . The 11-win season is only the sixth in the Steelers' 62-season history. . . . The Bears entered their game leading the NFL in clock control, but the Packers had the ball 39 minutes to the Bears' 21. . . . Ernest Givins' 78-yard punt return for a touchdown was the first by an Oiler since Billy "White Shoes" Johnson's 72-yard return against Cleveland on Dec. 11, 1977.
And more stats
Rodney Hampton's 76 yards moved him into second place on the Giants rushing list with 4,655 yards, surpassing Alex Webster, who had 4,638. Joe Morris is first with 5,296. . . . Sterling Sharpe extended his Packer record to 101 straight games with at least one reception, and he hasn't missed a start since being drafted in 1988.
In the stands
There were 31,453 fans at the Astrodome to see the Seahawks and Oilers, the smallest crowd of the season in Houston. There were 14,358 no-shows. . . . But in the Los Angeles Coliseum, there were just 130 no-shows and 60,016 people who used their tickets.
Love those St. Louis Rams
The concept of the St. Louis Rams is popular in Tampa, Fla.
The reason? If the Rams move to St. Louis, the Buccaneers won't be able to move there.
That's why fans hung a sign in Tampa Stadium for the game between the Bucs and Rams wishing "The St. Louis Rams luck in 1995."
"We don't want the Buccaneers moving to St. Louis," Bucs season ticket holder Russ Barner told the Los Angeles Times. "If the Buccaneers leave, it will cripple this town. We'll go right back to the Stone Age.
"I don't know how you feel about your team out in Los Angeles. But we would rather [the Rams] go to St. Louis than us."