Jerry Rice has reached the end zone more times than anyone in NFL history.

The Niners, with Young a maybe because of his latest concussion, arrive in St. Louis with a 17-game winning streak over the Rams, who last beat them 28-17 on Nov. 25, 1990. That was the first loss after 10 wins for San Francisco that season.

So this year, the Niners can not only run their winning streak over the Rams to 18, but end St. Louis' unbeaten run, albeit a modest 3-0 against three of the NFL's lesser teams: the Colts, Falcons and Bengals.

There is no line on this game because of Young's injury. He was cleared to practice by his neurologist earlier this week, although Steve Mariucci might not decide until game time whether Young or Jeff Garcia starts. Garcia, a former Canadian Leaguer making his first start, was the quarterback as San Francisco beat Tennessee 24-22 last week.

But the line might be less important than three videotapes of the games in which former Arena Leaguer Kurt Warner has thrown nine touchdown passes and run up an outlandish 125 QB rating. Most defensive coaches believe that once they have three tapes on a young quarterback, they can find his weaknesses.

There's another "three" that comes into play: average teams that start 3-0 rarely win the fourth. 49ers 24, Rams 20.

Miami (minus 2) at Indianapolis: Jimmy Johnson's angry with Dan Marino. Jim Mora is not angry with Peyton Manning. Colts 17, Dolphins 12.

Tampa Bay (plus 6) at Green Bay: More Brett Favre heroics? Packers 24, Bucs 23.

Chicago (plus 13) at Minnesota: Time for both teams to revert to form. Vikings 34, Bears 10.

Pittsburgh (plus 6½) at Buffalo: Kordell already had problems. Now he faces that Buffalo defense. Bills 17, Steelers 3.

Cincinnati (minus 3) at Cleveland: Tim Couch vs. Akili Smith. The Browns' first win since 1995? Browns 11, Bengals 6.

Denver (plus 7) at Oakland: The Broncos haven't been this big an underdog since ... But that's what happens when you lose John Elway and Terrell Davis. Raiders 24, Broncos 6.

New England (plus 2½) at Kansas City: The Patriots aren't good enough to win five straight, and the Chiefs usually win at home. Chiefs 20, Patriots 17.

Dallas (minus 9½) at Philadelphia: The Eagles have gone 15 quarters without an offensive touchdown. Make it 19. Cowboys 32, Eagles 5.

Jacksonville (minus 3) at New York Jets (Monday night): Mark Brunell isn't Mark Brunell yet. Upset special. Jets 20, Jaguars 17.

San Diego (plus 3½) at Detroit: Bobby Ross knows the Chargers. The Chargers know Ross. Lions 20, Chargers 19.

New York Giants (plus 3) at Arizona: The Giants always beat the Cardinals, and their defense already had its bad game. Giants 12, Cardinals 10.

Baltimore (plus 7) at Tennessee: The Titans celebrate the NFL's return to Houston. Titans 20, Ravens 10.

Atlanta (off) at New Orleans: This is off because of questions about both teams' quarterbacks.Saints 16, Falcons 13.

Last week: 6-7-1 (spread); 10-4 (straight up). Season: 27-29-2 (spread); 38-20 (straight up).