Today’s Nfl Previews

Sat., Dec. 20, 1997

Terry Bannon, Chicago Tribune

Bills at Packers (9:30 a.m., NBC)

Line: Packers by 9.

Last meeting: Bills won 29-20 at Buffalo, Nov. 20, 1994.

Key stat: Packers have not allowed a touchdown pass in 19 quarters.

Worth watching: Green Bay running back Dorsey Levens is just 110 yards short of Jim Taylor’s team-record 1,474 yards set in 1962, when teams played only 14 games.

Outlook: Packers will use this one to just stay sharp for the playoffs, which they’ll open at home the weekend of Jan. 3-4. Bills closing out a disappointing season in which they learned they had no heir apparent to retired quarterback Jim Kelly.

Rams at Panthers (1 p.m., Fox)

Line: Panthers by 5.

Last meeting: Panthers won 16-10 at St. Louis, Nov. 23.

Key stat: Panthers have lost four of their last six.

Worth watching: Two young quarterbacks trying to finish the season on the upswing - Rams’ Tony Banks and Panthers’ Kerry Collins.

Outlook: A year ago the Panthers were the NFL’s darlings - NFC West champs in only their second season. This year, they’ve been more like a third-year expansion team. They’re not a young team, so their future is muddled.

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Today’s Nfl Previews

Jesse Tinsley

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