(Oct. 5, 1999) — With four weeks behind them and a 1-3 record with two heartbreaking losses to show for it, the Carolina Panthers head into their bye week looking to find ways to turn their harrowing litany of close losses in the last two seasons into wins.

As time goes "bye"

• This is the Panthers' second October bye in their five year history. The only other October off week came in 1997, which was followed by a 21-14 loss in Minnesota to the Vikings, a game best remembered for a touchdown pass that was thrown and caught by the same player — Minnesota's Brad Johnson.

• Carolina is 1-3 following byes. The lone win came in 1996, with a 23-7 home triumph over the 49ers, their opponents in their first game following this year's bye, on Oct. 17.

• Although he coached the 49ers to wins in 75.5 percent of his games in San Francisco, current Panthers coach George Seifert had his troubles during the weeks following byes. The 49ers were just 3-5 in games following byes, including the afore-mentioned Panthers win of 1996. However, it is worth nothing that the caliber of competition following byes in the Seifert era was unusually fierce. In the 'Niners' eight post-bye games under Seifert, they faced five teams that would go on to the playoffs and two who would eventually qualify for their conference championship game. In addition, seven of Seifert's eight post-bye games were away from the 49ers' home of 3Com (neé Candlestick) Park.

Cat bites

• Steve Beuerlein ranks fourth in the NFC with an 86.1 passer rating, including a six-to-three touchdown-to-interception ratio. His 961 passing yards are third in the NFC.

• Running back Tshimanga Biakabutuka ranks second in NFL with five rushing touchdowns and 366 rushing yards on 34 carries, for a 10.8-yard average.

• Wideout Muhsin Muhammad is tied for the NFC lead with 24 catches and ranks second in the conference with 435 receiving yards. He also has a 60-yard touchdown, posted against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 19. Muhammad notched his sixth career 100-yard game and third straight with 151 receiving yards on eight catches against the Washington Redskins, breaking a tie for the club record with Mark Carrier and Willie Green.

• Tight end Wesley Walls leads NFC with five receiving touchdowns, equaling his 1998 total and halfway to equalling his career high of 10, set in 1996. In 1999, he has 11 catches for 113 yards

• Punter Ken Walter leads the league with a 40.9-yard net average. His nine punts inside the 20-yard-line are tied for second in the league.

• The good news against the Redskins? The Panthers' 36 points were their highest since putting 38 up against Oakland on Nov. 2, 1997. The bad news? They gave up 38, meaning that the 36-point figure is the most the Panthers have ever scored in a loss. The previous high was last year, when Carolina fell to the Green Bay Packers, 37-30.

Seifert on the bye week:

"We went into game with the theme that we were going to get after it so we could enjoy these two weeks. I think all of the players really felt good about that part of it. I think we are all really in the tank at the moment, but what we felt good about (the loss to Washington) was the fact that we did come back. We did give up a big lead and looked like we were in shambles, and then came back. The gumption and the emotion on the sideline were as positive as any that I've been around. I didn't feel like we were going to lose. I felt like we were certainly going to win the game.

"Is this a bad time? In a way it is because you like to get right back into battle, and yet at the same time, there are things that we can look at now and evaluate and see if we can't improve for the next game. The thing that is gut-wrenching from a coaching standpoint is that I look at this club, and there's a part of me that is so excited. I am more excited than a lot of times when I was coaching in San Francisco. I am excited about the group and what I am able to see them do. When you don't get the carrot at the end of the day, you feel like you've let the club down. You are frustrated from that standpoint. I think that this club still can have a good season. It would be a lot nicer going to San Francisco 2-2 rather than 1-3, but that's the way it is, and we just have to get ourselves ready for the season following this bye week.

"We will be doing some work on our next game, but it is not all going to be on the next game. We are going to do some things to try to make ourselves better. When we go out and practice, we will be practicing against one another, not necessarily against San Francisco."