A capacity crowd of 67,000 at Qwest Field observed a moment of silence for Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy and his family about 15 minutes before kickoff of the Colts-Seahawks game yesterday.

Dungy's 18-year-old son, James, died of an apparent suicide earlier this week in Florida.

Each Colts player had a black horseshoe logo decal on the back of his helmet with the initials "JD" inscribed inside, also in black.

Dungy remained in Tampa yesterday with his family. He has been there since Thursday. First-year assistant head coach Jim Caldwell is filling in for Dungy indefinitely.

The Colts stayed at the door of their locker room during the moment of silence. The Seahawks were also in their locker room. The game officials stood and bowed their heads in a tunnel a few feet in front of the waiting Colts, who jogged onto the field immediately afterward.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whom Dungy coached from 1996-2001, also observed a moment of silence yesterday before their home game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Rams

St. Louis' loss yesterday to the 49ers might have been the home finale for Marshall Faulk, who has been used sparingly this season. The team showed a highlight montage at the end of the game. Faulk said he was undecided whether to retire, but it also might not be his decision. He caught nine passes for 44 yards and had three carries for 5 yards. "This is a business and you've got to understand that," Faulk said. "I always speak in business terms in this game and I learned that when I was young."

Vikings

Back when they were both coaches for the Minnesota Vikings in the late 1990s, Brian Billick and Mike Tice had a relationship that can be best described as contentious. Billick was the offensive coordinator and Tice was in charge of the offensive line.

"We would argue and dog cuss each other about game plans every week," Billick recalled. "In the end, we'd be bloody, but we'd have a good game plan."

Billick left to become head coach of the Ravens in 1999, a position he still holds. Tice is head coach of the Vikings. It's been a rough season for both men, which likely will be the topic of conversation when they chat before the Vikings (8-6) and Ravens (5-9) play tonight.

Bears

Chicago (10-4) has a shot at breaking the 2000 Baltimore Ravens' record for fewest points allowed since the NFL instituted a 16-game schedule in 1978. If the Bears hold the Packers (3-11), who they play today, and Minnesota to a combined 13 points or fewer, the record is theirs, eclipsing Baltimore's mark of 165 points.

Panthers

Wide receiver Steve Smith was ejected in the third quarter of the game against the Cowboys for grabbing an official. Smith was thrown out after he was tackled out of bounds by Terence Newman. He immediately began yelling at line judge Mark Steinkerchner and then placed his arms around the official. He was instantly called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty and ejected. "You're not supposed to touch a ref, I understand that," Smith said. "I wasn't doing it to put him down."

Injury report

Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell left the victory against the Giants with a sprained MCL in his right knee and could miss the regular-season finale.

Giants middle linebacker Chase Blackburn was carted off the field and taken for X-rays after his neck was sprained.

Titans quarterback Steve McNair left the game against the Dolphins in the second quarter with a strained pectoral muscle.

Cowboys right guard Marco Rivera (strained neck) sat out the game against the Panthers, ending his streak of 113 consecutive starts.