FLASHUPDATE WEEK 12 TEAM NOTES/Wednesday, 19 November, 2014
Compiled By FlashUpdate Editor Bob Harris

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ARIZONA CARDINALS
The Cardinals are pulling away from the competition in the NFC.
At 9-1, they have a three-game lead over Seattle and San Francisco in the NFC West and are at least two games up on everyone else in the conference.
Of the four 7-3 teams in the NFC, Arizona has beaten three.
The road gets a lot rougher now, though. The Cardinals play four of their final six regular-season games on the road, starting next Sunday at Seattle, where Arizona handed Russell Wilson his first home loss as a pro.
With that memory still stinging, and fighting for their playoff lives, the Seahawks will be highly motivated, head coach Bruce Arians said.
"We're going to get their best shot for sure," he said.
Larry Fitzgerald injured his left knee in Sunday's 14-6 win over Detroit. He left the game, then returned and caught a crucial final pass from Drew Stanton to clinch the Cardinals' sixth straight victory.
Arians said on Monday that Fitzgerald has a "grade two MCL sprain and should be able to play this week."
As Associated Press sports writer Bob Baum suggested Monday, there is plenty of skepticism nationally over just how far these Cardinals can go, especially now that quarterback Carson Palmer is out for the season. His replacement, Stanton, threw two early touchdown passes to Michael Floyd on Sunday but had a pair of interceptions later.
"I thought he played extremely well," Arians said. "He came out focused and ready to play."
Arians said that on one interception, Stanton stared down the intended receiver, and the linebacker read his eyes.
"The second one was a good play by Cassius [Vaughn]," the coach said. "It was man coverage and he dumped his guy. Drew assumed he was going to cover his guy. You never assume anything."
Arizona has four games remaining against NFC West foes, two against Seattle and one each against San Francisco and St Louis. Three are on the road.
The Cardinals also play at Atlanta and are home against Kansas City. They finish the regular season at home against the Seahawks.
Arians was asked to evaluate that remaining schedule.
"Hard as hell," he said. "Everybody's in it. ... Everybody that we play now is do or die. It's extremely difficult. ..."
It would help the Cardinals -- and fantasy owners -- if Floyd continued to show up like he did against Detroit.
"It's kind of different every single week," Floyd said. "You never know who's going to step up. You never know what play is going to make the game-ending play. But it all starts in practice for me: Working hard, running all my routes right, just making sure I'm there where [Stanton] needs me."
On his first touchdown catch, a 42-yard pass from Stanton on which he boxed out Vaughn to make the play, Floyd ran a 16-yard in on a dig route but the safety wasn't over the top, he said, so he took advantage of the open field. His second score, a 12-yard out route, came from a bunch formation to the right of Stanton, who recognized the blitz, stood in the pocket and made the throw.
He finished with just those two catches on five targets for 54 yards.
As ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss notes, it was the right time for the Cardinals to welcome Floyd back into the offense. He had more yards Sunday than his last three games combined. Against Philadelphia in Week 8, he didn't make a catch. A week later in Dallas, Floyd had four catches for 36 yards and last week against St. Louis, he had just one catch for 11 yards.
Of his 454 yards this season -- which puts Floyd on pace for well below the 1,041 he had last season -- 252 of them came in the first three games. Since his 114 yards against San Francisco in Week 3, Floyd has caught 15 passes for 202 yards, an average of 36 yards per game.
Until Sunday, he hadn't scored a touchdown since Oct. 19 in Oakland.
"Being a wide receiver, it is frustrating not getting the ball," he said. "I go back to the Philly game when I had chances to make a play and I fell short. Since then, practice is where I want to do it and make sure I do everything right to feel good on Sundays.
"I think this week I made a big emphasis of making sure that Drew is comfortable with me and comfortable with all our wide receivers, too."
Arians said Floyd and Stanton talked all week. That communication led to the second touchdown.
"They blitzed on that second touchdown and Drew just stood in there and took a shot for the team and threw that touchdown pass," Arians said. "We really should've had a sight adjustment over there and didn't have it communicated well enough, but it was a great play by Drew and a great play by Mike."
Floyd's found a role in this offense, but it's come at a price.
Of his 26 receptions this season, 11 have been on plays of 15 yards or longer, according to ESPN Stats & Information. They've accounted for 333 yards and three of his four touchdowns. If the big play isn't open, Floyd tends to not be a part of the offense.
"I think we're all deep-threat guys," Floyd said. "Drew gives us a chance to make a play on the ball and we expect every single time that ball is in the air to come down to us and you just make a big play for the team. ..."
Now they just need to keep that roll going -- especially with the schedule intensifying down the stretch. ...
Other notes interest. ... Andre Ellington gained 42 yards in 19 carries, an average of just 2.2 yards per attempt. The previous week against St. Louis, he gained 23 yards in 18 carries.
"It's not far away," left tackle Jared Veldheer said. "There's just little things here and there that we've got to figure out and take care of. Once we do that, I think that will be a very dynamic aspect of our game. And it's frustrating right now because you can see that, but it's not happening."
Ellington has played all season with a foot injury that prevents him from practicing on Wednesdays and limits him on Thursdays. That's part of the problem, but Arians laid some of the blame on the running back.
"He's gutting it up on Sundays, but he needs to perform better, too," Arians said. "Right now, he's as healthy as he's been and we need more out of him. ..."
For what it's worth, Ellington was set for limited work this Wednesday. It's safe to assume that's no coincidence. ...
With a 22-yard reception toward the end of the first quarter, Fitzgerald became the second-youngest player in NFL history to reach 12,000 receiving yards.
At 31 years and 77 days, Fitzgerald was ahead of Jerry Rice (31 years, 333 days) and trailed Randy Moss who hit the mark at 30 years, 306 days. ...
Again, Fitzgerald expects to play despite his minor knee sprain, but that doesn't mean he will. He did not practice Wednesday. I'll have more via Late-Breaking Update in coming days. ...
According to the Sports Xchange, rookie tight end Troy Niklas is out for the season after suffering an ankle injury against the Lions. Niklas missed three games with a high ankle sprain earlier this year and aggravated the same ankle last Sunday. With Niklas out, Darren Fells moves up to the No. 3 spot behind John Carlson and Rob Housler.
Niklas, a second-round pick, was just beginning to display some solid blocking skills, which the Cardinals need, given their struggles in the run game.
The team signed veteran tight end Matthew Mulligan to fill the open spot on the roster. Mulligan played two games with the Bears earlier this season and has also played with the Patriots, Rams and Jets over the course of his career. ...
And finally. ... Arians is hopeful Palmer will be back to full strength in time for the start of the next one.
In an interview on Sirius XM NFL Radio, Arians said Palmer had surgery on his knee on Tuesday and the hope is he will be ready to go in time for training camp next year.
"Carson's surgery went great today," Arians said.
"It was a very, very small cartilage repair and his ACL. Everything else was intact and fine. He tells me he'll be out (in time) for OTAs, I doubt it. But I'm hoping July 1."
Palmer had thrown for 1,626 yards with 11 touchdowns and just three interceptions in six starts for the Cardinals this year. His 95.6 passer rating would be the second best mark of his career if extrapolated over an entire season.
Palmer had just signed a three-year extension with the Cardinals before suffering the knee injury two weeks ago against the St. Louis Rams. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Drew Stanton, Logan Thomas, Ryan Lindley 
RB: Andre Ellington, Stepfan Taylor, Marion Grice, Kerwynn Williams 
FB: Robert Hughes 
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, John Brown, Ted Ginn, Jaron Brown, Walt Brown 
TE: John Carlson, Robert Housler, Darren Fells, Matthew Mulligan 
PK: Chandler Catanzaro 
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ATLANTA FALCONS
As Associated Press sports writer Paul Newberry noted, the Falcons reported to work Monday in a strange place.
First place.
Yep, the Falcons (4-6) are tied with New Orleans atop the NFC South and actually hold a tiebreaker edge after beating the Saints in Week 1.
Not so long ago, Atlanta was mired in a five-game losing streak that raised doubts about the future of head coach Mike Smith. Now, the Falcons have won two straight heading into Sunday's suddenly important game against Cleveland (6-4).
"There's a lot of football to be played," Smith said. "But we're aware of where we are. Our goal is to continue to improve. We've got some young guys that are starting to get significant playing time at different positions across the board. I think everybody is improving. I think everybody is aware of what we need to do this week."
After a stretch with only one home game in 59 days, the schedule turns in Atlanta's favor the rest of the way.
Four of their last six games are at the Georgia Dome.
"We're now back in the driver's seat of our destiny," running back Steven Jackson said. "That's where we want to be. Ultimately you have to continue to win. You can't look for anybody else to help you out."
Smith senses that the Falcons came together after their fifth straight loss, a 22-21 defeat to Detroit in London three weeks ago. Atlanta built a 21-0 lead at halftime and was still in good position to hold on at the end, but poor clock management gave the Lions a chance to kick a game-winning field goal on the final play.
Instead of folding, the Falcons bounced back to win their last two games on the road, albeit against division foes (Tampa Bay and Carolina) with a combined record of 5-15-1.
"When you have adversity, when you don't have things going your way, when you start getting yourself painted into certain situations, it changes things," the coach said. "There is a sense of urgency. As a team, we talked right after we got back from London. We discussed what we needed to do as a coaching staff and as a team. There was a commitment to one another to accomplish what we needed to accomplish."
And now, they're on top of their division.
As strange as that seems.
As noted above, the Falcons have a tough set of games upcoming, but at least they'll play three of the next four at the Georgia Dome after playing the past four away from home. The first opponent is the surprising Cleveland Browns (6-4) this Sunday. ...
Other notes of interest. ... According to ESPN.com's Vaughn McClure, before Matt Ryan took questions about Sunday's win over the Panthers, the Falcons quarterback took a moment to acknowledge an accomplishment by one of his favorite targets.
"Before we get started, I just want to say how proud I am of Roddy [White] for passing the milestone that he has," Ryan said of White reaching 10,000 career receiving yards. "Certainly he's shown great longevity throughout his career and has made a huge impact on my own career, so I couldn't be happier of him. Now he's got to go get to 11,000."
Coming into the game, White needed 73 yards to reach 10,000. He got 75 on eight receptions while be targeted a team-high 12 times.
White surpassed 10,000 with an 11-yard catch with 4 minutes, 53 seconds left in regulation. It was part of a 12-play, 54-yard drive that set up Matt Bryant's game-deciding, 44-yard field goal.
White is the 42nd player in NFL history to reach 10,000 receiving yards, joining the likes of other actives players such as Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne and Steve Smith, to name a few.
"It's a great achievement," White said. "Some of the guys, you know, came over and gave me a nice hug. So, it was good. But the win was more gratifying. I'd rather win the division and go to the playoffs, do things like that, then these individual achievements. But it's a good achievement. It speaks volumes of just going out there and playing consistent football for the last 10 years. ..."
The Falcons placed explosive running back Antone Smith on season-ending injured reserve after he suffered a broken leg in Sunday's win over Carolina.
Smith suffered the injury while on the punt-coverage unit early in the fourth quarter. He had to be helped off the field and was on crutches following the game.
The loss of Smith takes away one of the Falcons' most dangerous offensive weapons. He currently is tied with White for the team lead with five touchdowns. Smith also was one of the Falcons' best special-teams players.
Smith is in the final year of his contract, and Falcons owner Arthur Blank expressed a desire to have Smith back for years to come.
According to McClure, the loss of Smith likely means more opportunities for rookie running back Devonta Freeman behind Jackson and backup Jacquizz Rodgers.
Mike Smith also said cornerback Robert Alford wills miss two to four weeks with a wrist injury suffered Sunday. Robert McClain will step into a starting role with Alford out.
Antone Smith was the eighth Falcons player to be placed on season-ending injured reserve since June. The team first lost Sean Weatherspoon to an Achilles tear. Offensive linemen Sam Baker (knee)
Receiver Devin Hester didn't have any protection on his left wrist, but it could be sprained and he's set to undergo further testing on Monday.
Harry Douglas (foot) was held out of practice Wednesday, but he's played with the same injury the last two games. ...
One last note here. ... Ryan led the Falcons on a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter for the second straight week and the third time this season. Sunday's win also marked the 26th time Ryan has led the Falcons on a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime (including playoffs) in his career. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Matt Ryan, T.J. Yates, Sean Renfree 
RB: Steven Jackson, Jacquizz Rodgers, Devonta Freeman 
WR: Julio Jones, Roddy White, Harry Douglas, Devin Hester, Freddy Martino, Eric Weems 
TE: Levine Toilolo, Bear Pascoe 
PK: Matt Bryant 
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BALTIMORE RAVENS
According to Associated Press sports writer David Ginsburg, the Ravens returned to the practice field Monday after a late-season break that appeared to rejuvenate a weary team in search of consistency.
Baltimore endured 10 straight weeks of football before reaching its long-awaited bye week.
"Our guys did a good job of pushing through," head coach John Harbaugh said. "I thought we played hard and well right through to the end, which is challenging when you have a bye this late."
The Ravens beat Tennessee 21-7 before entering their bye. Upon their return, the players appeared "re-energized," Harbaugh said.
"Players took some time off and kind of emotionally and physically recharged a little bit," he said. "You don't realize how exhausted you are until you get a chance to take a deep breath and relax."
Even though the Ravens didn't play Sunday, they moved up in the muddled AFC North. Before Pittsburgh faced Tennessee on Monday night, Cincinnati led the division with a 6-3-1 record. The other three teams -- Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Baltimore -- were a half-game back at 6-4.
The Ravens probably need to go 4-2 over the final six weeks to return to the playoffs after last year's 8-8 misfire.
Baltimore next plays Monday night in New Orleans. The Saints are 4-6 after a 27-10 home loss to Cincinnati on Sunday.
Coming off a bye, the Ravens should be ready to go. After all, they got ample rest and the coaches had extra time to prepare for Saints quarterback Drew Brees and New Orleans' smothering defense.
Yet, there are times when teams come off a bye with a flat performance. For instance, the Titans offered little resistance against the Ravens two weeks ago, and the Washington Redskins were ineffective at home against last-place Tampa Bay on Sunday.
"It's a challenge, but we'd better not get into that situation," Harbaugh said. "We're going to have a tough environment. We're playing on Monday night in New Orleans, they're coming off two losses, they're a very proud team, very well coached, very talented. Great quarterback, aggressive defense.
"We're going to have our hands full and we'd better be ready to go. I'd like to think our guys understand that, but we'll find out Monday night."
Including this game, the combined record of Baltimore's remaining opponents is a mundane 28-32, with none of the teams better than 6-4 at this juncture. The lone division foe on the schedule is Cleveland in the finale.
During a bye in which the Baltimore coaching staff reviewed virtually every play of an up-and-down season, Harbaugh said there's plenty that can be improved upon offensively down the stretch.
"The turnovers is where it starts," he said. "Third down has been important to us. You go back two weeks ago, if we convert on third down, we're a whole different offense in Pittsburgh (Baltimore was 3 for 13 in a 43-23 loss). That would have been big for us."
That's not all.
Harbaugh said the team needs to score more touchdowns in the red zone and make more big plays.
Baltimore has a plus-1 turnover differential and ranks 19th in red zone percentage.
Indeed, Joe Flacco has said all along the Ravens are going to be hard to beat if they don't turn the ball over. Tight end Owen Daniels took it one step further.
"I think if we protect the football and protect Joe -- keep him upright and take the hits off of him -- we'll be really, really tough to beat," he said.
"Protect" has certainly been the buzz word lately for the Ravens -- and for good reason. It's no secret that turnovers are a major factor in outcomes of games. Under Harbaugh, the Ravens are 63-28 (.692) when they turn the ball over two or fewer time. They are 5-10 (.333) when they give the ball away three or more times.
The Ravens have similar success when they're able to protect Flacco. Since 2008, the Ravens allow an average of 1.9 sacks in wins and 2.9 sacks in losses.
When you combine pass protection and turnovers -- just like Daniels suggested -- the Ravens are very tough to beat. In fact, they're nearly unbeatable. Over the past three seasons, the Ravens are 15-1 (.937) when they allow two or fewer sacks and don't turn the ball over more than once. The Ravens were able to do that in five victories this season: home against Pittsburgh, at Cleveland, home against Carolina, at Tampa Bay and home against Tennessee.
The Ravens' pass protection hasn't been as strong as earlier in the season, but it's certainly a significant improvement from last season. Flacco is on pace to be sacked 22 times; he was sacked 48 times last season.
This would mark only the second time in Ravens history that they've allowed less than 30 sacks in a season. In 2006, Steve McNair and Kyle Boller were sacked a total of 17 times.
One last note here. ... As the Sports Xchange pointed out, Steve Smith has played a limited role in the offense over the past three games after a red-hot start.
Smith had more than 100 yards receiving in four of his first six games. However, Smith has been held to less than 40 yards receiving in the past three games. Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak said the offense has simply tried to spread the ball around and he has not seen opposing defense's doing anything differently against Smith.
"You have to get all of your playmakers the ball," Kubiak said. "Steve is doing a good job, and hopefully we get him back on the track that he was on earlier in the year. But he's playing hard, working hard." 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Joe Flacco, Tyrod Taylor 
RB: Justin Forsett, Lorenzo Taliaferro, Bernard Pierce 
FB: Kyle Juszczyk 
WR: Steve Smith, Torrey Smith, Jacoby Jones, Marlon Brown, Kamar Aiken, Michael Campanaro 
TE: Owen Daniels, Crockett Gillmore, Ryan Taylor 
PK: Justin Tucker 
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BUFFALO BILLS
With the Bills playoff hopes fading fast following two consecutive losses, the team captain and inspirational leader eagerly anticipates the chance to play after missing two of the past three games with a groin injury.
"We need all hands on deck," Fred Jackson said Monday, when the Bills returned from an extended weekend break since a 22-9 loss at Miami on Thursday.
"I need 100 percent for me to be out there and help my teammates," Jackson said. "I think they want me out there. I want to be out there. I want to try to make some plays and get this thing turned around."
As Associated Press sports writer John Wawrow suggested, Buffalo (5-5) has run out of room for error in preparing to host its AFC East rival New York Jets (2-8) on Sunday.
It's the first in what has essentially become a season-ending stretch of must-win games for the Bills who, because of tiebreaking formulas, rank 12th among the AFC's 12 teams at 5-5 or better. That's a big drop for Buffalo, which failed to ride the wave of momentum coming out of its bye week off by losing twice in five days, starting with a 17-13 loss to Kansas City on Nov. 9.
"Obviously, it's a big hit. We lost to two (teams) that we'll be fighting for position with," said Jackson, who saw limited playing time against the Chiefs before aggravating his groin injury in practice last week. "But there's always a chance. And anytime you have a chance, you're going to show up and fight. That's what I expect out of the guys in this locker room. And that's what I'm definitely going to do."
Jackson was hurt in a 17-16 win over Minnesota on Oct. 19. It was the same game the Bills lost co-starting running back C.J. Spiller, who broke his collarbone and isn't eligible to play until Week 16.
Jackson's return has the potential of instilling a spark to a sluggish offense that has managed five field goals in seven-plus quarters since scoring a touchdown on its opening drive against Kansas City.
The red-zone production has been even worse. The Bills have scored one touchdown in their last nine drives inside an opponent's 20, dating to the second half of a 43-23 win at the Jets on Oct. 26.
Buffalo now ranks dead last in the NFL in red-zone efficiency by having scored just 14 touchdowns in 36 chances.
Both of Jackson's touchdowns this season have come from inside the red zone.
Just as important, he is the team's most complete running back.
Despite missing parts of the past four games, Jackson still ranks second on the team with 37 catches. His combined 549 yards from scrimmage (249 rushing, 300 receiving) account for more than 17 percent of Buffalo's offense. Jackson is also the team's most dependable backfield blocker in pass situations. ...
Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Mike Rodak notes the promise that Kyle Orton showed by kicking off his stint as the Bills' starting quarterback with a 3-1 record has evaporated. His completion percentage has hovered at or below 60 percent in each of his past three games, and while Orton hasn't thrown an interception in that span, he's done little to inspire confidence.
As Pro Football Focus noted this week, faced with pressure on 14 dropbacks against Miami, he capitulated, and even when afforded a clean pocket he couldn't connect on anything downfield.
He completed just 3-of-8 passes attempted over 10 yards in the air.
Still, head coach Doug Marrone said that the thought of going back to EJ Manuel hasn't crossed his mind. It's hard to blame him; the Bills weren't going anywhere with Manuel at the helm earlier this season.
"Right now I'm sticking with Kyle," Marrone said, via the team's official website. "We'll go with who gives us the best chance to win."
Still, as Rodak suggested, it's looking more and more like the Bills have two backup quarterbacks on their roster -- and no starter.
It doesn't matter how many sacks the defensive line racks up -- they tallied another five Thursday night -- or how much big league talent Sammy Watkins flashes. Without a quarterback, the Bills are stuck in the mud.
There are only six games remaining and precious time is slipping away for the Bills.
They'll get a reprieve when they return home next week to host the New York Jets (2-8). But after that, watch out. Playing four of their five games against winning teams and two of those on the road -- against the Denver Broncos and the Patriots -- the Bills have a steep, challenging path to the playoffs. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Watkins played the whole game against Miami, but was limited by a groin injury and he caught only three passes for 32 yards. Meanwhile, Chris Hogan caught seven passes for 74 yards and continues to improve each week to the point where he has become a vital member of the offense.
Tight end Scott Chandler did not catch a pass, dropping one against Miami, and it's obvious the Bills have to improve at this position next year.
Anthony Dixon rushed 10 times for 35 yards and caught two passes for 13 yards against Miami. Bryce Brown rushed for only 14 yards against Miami, but he did catch seven passes for 57 yards and returned three kickoffs for 75 yards subbing for injured Marquise Goodwin.
Dan Carpenter made his first three field goals, but missed his fourth in the fourth quarter which would have tied the game at 12-12.
Starting CB Leodis McKelvin on the season-ending reserve/injured list after he hurt his ankle against Miami. ... To fill his roster spot, Buffalo signed free agent DB Bacarri Rambo, who played 13 games with Washington before being cut after Week 2 this season. ...
And finally. ... The NFL is working with the Bills to determine the viability of Ralph Wilson Stadium -- which like the rest of the region -- is under a thick blanket of snow, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. A league official told Rapoport there is no specific timeline in place and the league will make a decision based on input from the team and local authorities.
Approximately four feet of snow was dumped on the region by Wednesday. The forecast calls for a rise in temperature by the weekend, but more snowfall is expected before then. ESPN's Ed Werder reported that the Bills have concerns beyond stadium accessibility, including practice preparation and team meetings. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Kyle Orton, EJ Manuel 
RB: Fred Jackson, Bryce Brown, Anthony Dixon, Philip Tanner, C.J. Spiller 
FB: Frank Summers 
WR: Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Chris Hogan, Mike Williams, Marquise Goodwin, Marcus Easley 
TE: Scott Chandler, Lee Smith, Chris Gragg 
PK: Dan Carpenter 
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CAROLINA PANTHERS
In what he called a weak moment on Monday, head coach Ron Rivera looked ahead on the schedule.
The man who has drilled into his players not to look past the next game, looked at the next five.
According to ESPN.com's David Newton, the coach did so because he felt it was important that his players understood that despite a 3-7-1 record, despite having lost five straight games and winning only once in the past nine, they still have a chance at the playoffs.
Why? Because they are only one game back of Atlanta (4-6) and New Orleans (4-6) in the NFC South and have a game left with each.
That was Rivera's message on Monday as Carolina enters a bye week before resuming its season on November 30 at Minnesota.
"I broke my own rule and looked ahead," Rivera said. "I told the guys, 'We've got five games left to play. If we take care of business in all five games and one or two things happen, then we win the division.'
"That's how simple it is."
As Newton suggested, it's not really that simple.
Rivera admitted the Panthers have to win all five games against Minnesota, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Atlanta to have a chance. They also need Atlanta and New Orleans to lose at least one more game and not get past eight wins.
An 8-7-1 Carolina team then would win the division title by percentage points because of its tie against Cincinnati.
It's also not that simple, because that would mean a team that hasn't won since Oct. 5 against Chicago has to win five straight.
But Rivera doesn't think it's such a long shot.
"I don't believe it's a faint hope," he said. "I believe it's a strong hope."
On paper, the Panthers have the easiest route. Their opponents have a combined record of 20-30 (.400) record. The Saints' opponents are 25-35-1 (.410). Atlanta's opponents are a combined 35-25-1 (.574).
So when Rivera got out of his comfort one and looked ahead on the schedule, his players didn't think it was that unusual.
Defensive tackle Colin Cole said Rivera's speech was motivational, especially for younger players used to the college system in which one or two losses takes you out of the running for a national championship.
"If we take care of our business and one other thing happens, we win the division," Rivera said. "That's how crazy it is."
Meanwhile, Rivera wasn't going to second-guess his own late-game play calls (imagine that), but he did have a beef with one aspect of Sunday's loss to the Falcons.
Rivera told reporters he thought rookie wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin was interfered with in the end zone earlier in the game, potentially costing them points during a 19-17 loss.
Rivera stepped into a basketball metaphor, saying the 6-5, 240-pound Benjamin was like former NBA center Shaquille O'Neal, who often absorbed contact and didn't get calls because his sheer size made him harder to knock down.
"I have my own opinion on that, there are things I would like to have seen called," Rivera said. "I feel Kelvin hasn't gotten calls because of his size."
Of course, as Profootballtalk.com's Darin Gantt suggested, Benjamin's inability to make routine catches could be linked to O'Neal's inability to hit free throws, as well. And it doesn't hurt for Rivera to plant that thought in the heads of future officials, as well.
The rookie wideout has made a pair of glaring mistakes in recent weeks which led to interceptions, quitting on routes and allowing defenders to muscle him out of position.
He's making circus catches for touchdowns on a somewhat regular basis, but his inability to get the fundamentals down is circumventing his progress.
Indeed, as Pro Football Focus noted, despite coming into this game with seven touchdowns, Benjamin has been very inconsistent in his rookie season. His performance against Atlanta ended up being his best of the year grade-wise, and he set a season-high with nine catches for 117 yards and a touchdown, although he added two more drops to his resume as well.
Benjamin has 52 receptions, 768 yards and eight touchdowns this season. All are Panthers rookie records. ...
Other notes of interest. ...When the Panthers were mounting a fourth-quarter comeback in Sunday's loss, their running backs that count more than $10 million against the salary cap were nothing more than spectators.
On the field for two straight series -- three if you go back to Carolina's last series of the third quarter -- was journeyman Fozzy Whittaker.
It seemed odd.
Asked about it, Rivera didn't offer much insight.
"We have a nice trifecta of running backs," he said.
Since DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart became the first pair of NFL running backs to top 1,100 yards in the same season, they have been known as "Double Trouble," even when the trouble was keeping them both on the field because of injuries.
Now they are part of a trifecta?
If that is the case, Whittaker should ask for a pay raise.
Williams has a cap number of $6 million this season. Stewart is at $4.85 million. Together they count more than 19 percent of Carolina's 2014 salary cap.
Whittaker, who came into the NFL in 2012 with Arizona as an undrafted player out of Texas, is making $495,000. He counts 0.90 of the cap, signed in training camp only after rookie Tyler Gaffney suffered a season-ending knee injury.
As David Newton suggests, this could be a sign that Carolina is close to turning the page on "Double Trouble."
For neither to be on the field during a crucial part of a game that was crucial to the season raises questions about whether they are to be a crucial part of 2015.
Williams is the most likely to be gone. He has one year left on his deal. Because of an option bonus that would have to be exercised between the first and fifth day of next season, odds favor him being cut.
The fourth quarter on Sunday might have been a sign. Williams had one carry for one yard. Stewart had one carry for minus-one yard in the entire second half.
Whittaker had three carries for 11 yards in the second half. For the game, he was on the field for 14 plays -- most if not all in the second half -- compared to 23 for Williams and 30 for Stewart.
Rivera called them a "good combination of guys" and said they all bring something "different to the table." Mike Tolbert, was activated off injured reserve on Tuesday, will be added to the mix when the Panthers (3-7-1) next play on Nov. 30 at Minnesota.
It still seemed odd that Whittaker was on the field at a crucial time.
Just when you thought it couldn't get much worse for quarterback Cam Newton, who had a passer rating of 61.12 over the past four games, it did.
He threw an interception on Carolina's first series, giving him at least one in seven straight games. That tied Steve Beuerlein (2000) and Jake Delhomme (2003-04) for the longest streak in franchise history. Newton opened the second half with an interception. Midway through the second half, his passer rating was a dreadful 25.4 -- against the worst pass defense in the league. Then he caught fire, throwing touchdown passes of 22 and 47 yards to give the Panthers a 17-16 lead. But it was too little, too late. ...
Philly Brown scored his first receiving touchdown since he hauled in a 20-yarder for Ohio State against Michigan State in last year's Big Ten Championship.
Graham Gano missed two field goals in a game for the first time since Nov. 20, 2011, when he was with the Redskins.
Carolina's red zone woes continued against the Falcons.
Ranked 27th in the NFL with 14 touchdowns on 29 trips inside the 20 coming into the game, the Panthers had to settle for a 23-yard field goal after driving 83 yards on 17 plays and eating up 9:05 on the clock.
It's something they'll have to work on over the bye week. ...
And finally. ... As Profootballtalk.com noted, the Panthers brought veteran wide receiver Jason Avant in as a mentor. But after sharing his opinion on the way things were going, they may have decided he wasn't sharing the right things.
The team released Avant on Tuesday.
Avant made some comments after last week's loss that pointed to the conservative play-calling down the stretch, when the Panthers played for a potential game-winning field goal, which was ultimately missed by Gano. "I've been in the league a long time. I know two things. You never want to give a team a chance to win a game, with how much time was left on the clock. And asking a kicker to make a 50-yard field goal with the game on the line is rough sledding," Avant said, via Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer. "If that's the only option, yes.
"But if it's not, you want to get as close as you can and think score and play to score a touchdown. Because I'd rather the team have to score a touchdown to win the game than to have to kick a field goal. It's just a lot different. It's a 30-yard difference."
Apparently that didn't go over well. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
The Panthers are idle this week due to the NFL bye. 
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CHICAGO BEARS
The Bears got the win they needed. But as Associated Press sports writer Andrew Seligman suggested, they still have plenty of room to improve.
The Bears shut down Teddy Bridgewater and the Vikings in a 21-13 victory Sunday after dropping five of six and sustaining two of the biggest blowouts in franchise history.
"It was a little rough, still had a slow start, still wasn't good enough, but we got the win and we're going to enjoy it," Brandon Marshall said Monday. "I guess we're done enjoying it, we got back to work (Monday) and watched film and we really held each other accountable and focused on how we can continue to get better and build off of it."
It was hardly a flawless performance. But after getting blown out at New England and Green Bay and joining the 1923 Rochester Jeffersons as the only teams to give up 50 or more points in back-to-back games, the Bears will take it.
The Bears gained nearly twice as many yards as Minnesota (468-243) and dominated time of possession (38:38-21:22).
Jay Cutler completed 31 of 43 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns. Alshon Jeffery and Marshall dominated the Vikings' smaller defensive backs. Matt Forte finished with 117 yards on a season-high 26 attempts after running just twice in the first quarter.
For all those positives, the Bears got off to another slow start, falling behind 10-0 after being outscored a combined 94-7 over the first halves of the previous three games, and they hardly lit up the scoreboard in the end with 21 points.
They also committed three penalties on their first possession, although they only had four the rest of the way. And their special teams gave up a 48-yard end-around by Andrew Sendejo on a fake punt.
"This was definitely a much-needed win," said Ryan Mundy, who sealed it with an interception in the end zone in the final minute. "It was a great team effort all around. There's always going to be an ebb and flow to the football game. It's never going to be perfect. I'm sure there's going to be things we can build off of defensively, but this is a step in the right direction."
The Bears thought they would be a more refined product, challenging for a playoff spot. Instead, they're simply trying to salvage something from a season in which they came apart.
The win over the Vikings was a step even if it was a flawed performance, and Chicago will try to make it two in a row when Tampa Bay visits Sunday.
Chicago will be seeing some familiar faces in former coach Lovie Smith and quarterback Josh McCown. Smith spent nine seasons in Chicago, led the 2006 team to the Super Bowl, but was let go after the Bears missed the playoffs despite winning 10 games in 2012.
They've been on a decline since, going 12-14 under Marc Trestman, and will likely miss the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years.
"The thing I can tell you about Lovie is that I've watched him for years and played against him for years and I know him as a person and I have tremendous respect for him as a person in all areas," Trestman said. "That's the only thing I can speak of at this point, and I truly mean that."
Other notes of interest. ... According to ESPN.com's Michael C. Wright, Marshall didn't stick around after Sunday's game to explain why he was waving his arms at Cutler before hauling in his second touchdown during Sunday's win.
Cutler didn't see Marshall anyway.
"He was waving at me?" Cutler asked. "B acts like I don't know the formations or something. On that one, I worked to the short side [of the field] first, and [Alshon Jeffery] got covered up pretty good. So I just came backside, and B kind of had him posted up, and just made a heck of a play."
Cutler didn't need to see Marshall waving feverishly. All the quarterback needed was to find the mismatches against Minnesota's secondary, which is precisely what Cutler did in going after the diminutive Josh Robinson for all three of his scoring strikes.
At 5-feet-10, Robinson gives up six inches to the 6-4 Marshall, and five to Jeffery (6-3).
"We wanted to kind of go at [No.] 21," Cutler said. "We knew he was a little bit smaller. [No. 29 Xavier Rhodes has] got some length and some speed. So we wanted to put some balls up to our right side. We got a few opportunities to do it."
So many that Marshall and Jeffery combined for 225 yards and three touchdowns on 18 receptions with Robinson playing the victim's role on all three scoring connections.
It was just the second time this season, and eighth time in their three seasons together, that Marshall and Jeffery scored touchdowns in the same game.
As Pro Football Focus pointed out, Jeffery accounted for 40 percent of Cutler's aimed passes, Jeffery turned those 16 targets into 135 yards and a season-high 11 catches, six of which moved the chains and one that put points on the board.
As for the rushing attack?
According to ESPN.com's Jeff Dickerson, the main complaint is Forte only carried the ball 26 times. Forte's day included a brilliant 32-yard run where he broke a minimum of five tackles. ...
Cutler completed 72 percent of his throws with the three touchdowns for a passer rating of 98.0. But Cutler's stock continues to tumble because of his inability to play turnover-free football.
Cutler has thrown multiple interceptions in five games, with four resulting in losses. The Bears captured this win despite Cutler's turnovers because they finally met a team as bad as they are on offense in the Minnesota Vikings. ...
Robbie Gould squandered the club's first real opportunity to tie the score at 3 when his 47-yard field goal attempt at the end of Chicago's first drive sailed wide right. Forgive him, though. Up until Sunday's game against the Vikings, Gould hadn't attempted a field goal since the team's Oct. 12 win at Atlanta.
If you're counting at home, it had been more than a month since Gould attempted a field goal in a game. ...
Josh Morgan was inactive Sunday due to a shoulder injury and remains day to day. Marquess Wilson caught 2-of-4 targets for 11 yards in his first game back after fracturing his collarbone this summer. ...
And finally. ... The club announced Tuesday it had signed ex-Titans wide receiver/returner Marc Mariani. To make room for Mariani, the Bears waived safety Ahmad Dixon.
The 27-year-old Mariani made the Pro Bowl as a return specialist in 2010, his rookie season with Tennessee. However, he missed the 2012 season with a broken leg and the 2013 campaign with a shoulder injury. The Titans released him in August.
Mariani could challenge or displace Chris Williams as the Bears' punt and kickoff returner. He returned 92 kickoffs for 2,278 yards and one TD and 35 punts for 819 yards and two TDs in his first two NFL seasons before the injuries. Mariani could also be expected to contribute on the Bears' coverage teams. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Jay Cutler, Jimmy Clausen 
RB: Matt Forte, Ka'Deem Carey, Senorise Perry 
RB: Tony Fiammetta 
WR: Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Marquess Wilson , Josh Morgan, Chris Williams, Marc Mariani 
TE: Martellus Bennett, Dante Rosario 
PK: Robbie Gould 
=========================

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CINCINNATI BENGALS
With an extra three days between games, A.J. Green had time last week to take a good, hard look at himself.
According to ESPN.com's Coley Harvey, the wideout wasn't pleased with what he saw.
Forget Andy Dalton's 2.0 passer rating and the rest of his struggles last week against the Cleveland Browns. Green didn't fare much better in the 24-3 loss. He caught three passes for just 23 yards. For a receiver who has made the Pro Bowl each of his first three seasons in the league, numbers like those were concerning.
"I didn't play good," Green said Sunday about last week's loss. "You can't put all the blame on the quarterback. We're the receivers. We've got to run better routes. I challenged myself this week to be able to come out there and help my team win."
Once the fourth quarter arrived, he did just that.
With a 24-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter, Green helped answer a New Orleans Saints touchdown drive that had cut the Cincinnati Bengals' lead in half on the previous possession. Once Green's feet came down in bounds with the ball -- just barely -- in the end zone, the game was all but officially over. While Green celebrated his fourth touchdown reception of the season, Saints fans began trickling out of the Superdome.
Green's TD catch was his fourth reception on the seven-play drive that put the game out of reach.
"I was just trying to get back into rhythm," Green said. "The last couple of weeks I didn't really feel like myself. Not because I was injured, but because it was just tough to get back into the flow of things."
After missing three games earlier this season with a toe injury, Green had trouble the past two games getting back to his old form. Although Green has now played in three straight games, he said he didn't feel comfortable in the first two because he didn't practice much those weeks. This week, Green said he practiced fully.
"I took every rep," Green said.
This was the first time he had a chance to do that in about a month and a half.
After catching just six passes for 67 yards and a touchdown through his first two games back from the toe injury, he caught six passes Sunday for a game-high 127 yards and the timely late touchdown.
Meanwhile, it's safe to say no Bengal had a more disappointing game 11 days ago than Dalton.
The fourth-year starter had career-lows in completions (10) and passer rating (2.0). No quarterback in the league had a single-game passer rating that low in 31 years.
Dalton bounced back Sunday afternoon at New Orleans with a 16-for-22, 220-yard, three-touchdown performance in the Bengals' 27-10 win against the Saints. As Harvey suggested, he looked like the old Dalton, the one who had guided the Bengals to three straight wins at the outset of the season.
The one who is now 11-3-1 against the NFC. The one who is vastly superior than the version of himself that seems to show up in prime time, when he is 2-6.
On the fourth-quarter drive Green had his score, five of the seven plays were passes from Dalton to Green. The tandem hooked up on four of those. Each ball looked prettier than the one that preceded it.
"They were dimes," Green said of the throws. "We have faith in him, he has faith in himself. There was nothing wrong with him this week. He, and we, just kept our heads down and we kept grinding."
It certainly was a timely victory for the Bengals, who are now 6-3-1 and back atop the AFC North standings.
They will have a challenging task next Sunday when they visit Houston to play a team that has beaten them five straight times, including the postseason. The Texans last lost to the Bengals in 2005. In the two playoff losses, he has four interceptions and no touchdown passes.
Other notes of interest. ... Among the problems the Bengals had offensively earlier this season was getting the football into their tight ends' hands in red zone situations. With Tyler Eifert out since the season opener with a dislocated elbow, that namely has meant getting the ball into Jermaine Gresham's hands inside the 20. The fifth-year tight end didn't cut off routes near the goal line, as he had at other times this season, and ended up scoring two touchdowns, both from inside the red zone.
The first touchdown came after he caught a 12-yard pass and fumbled reaching for the end zone. As the ball got kicked around, he somehow landed on it in the end zone for the fumble recovery for the score. He also had a 1-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter that helped put the game out of reach.
Rookie running back Jeremy Hill gets this week's game ball after his 27-carry, 152-yard rushing performance. It's his second 150-yard rushing performance of the season, following his 154-yard day against the Jaguars two weeks ago. In that game, he had a 60-yard touchdown run that put the game out of reach.
In this one, he had a 62-yard carry with seconds remaining in the second quarter. He went down with one second left, just in time for the Bengals to make a field goal as time expired for a 13-3 lead.
Worth noting, however; Giovani Bernard is expected to return to practice this week after missing the last three games with hip and clavicle injuries. According to ESPN, head coach Marvin Lewis remains optimistic, but when asked if the second-year running back would make his return in Houston, he said, "we'll see."
Bernard has missed three consecutive games due to multiple injuries. He has 446 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the season.
He was on the practice field Wednesday, but Bernard was running behind Hill during the portion of practice open to the media.
I'll be watching for more on Bernard's health and possible role working in tandem with Hill in coming days. Watch the Late-Breaking Updates season for more. ...
A few final items. ...James Wright appears to have moved past Brandon Tate as the team's No. 3 wide receiver after playing 30 snaps Sunday to Tate's five. ...
Rookie AJ McCarron will be able to practice with the team beginning this week, the team announced Tuesday. A fifth-round pick in May, McCarron has spent the regular season on the reserve/non-football injury list because of a shoulder ailment.
Cincinnati has 21 days to decide whether to add the 24-year-old McCarron to the 53-player roster. He remains on the reserve list. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Andy Dalton, Jason Campbell 
RB: Jeremy Hill, Giovani Bernard, Cedric Peerman, Rex Burkhead 
WR: A.J. Green, Mohamed Sanu, James Wright, Brandon Tate, Dane Sanzenbacher, Greg Little 
TE: Jermaine Gresham, Ryan Hewitt, Tyler Eifert 
PK: Mike Nugent 
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CLEVELAND BROWNS
As Associated Press sports writer Tom Withers noted this week, the immensely talented but troubled Josh Gordon, who broke out as one of the NFL's biggest playmakers last season, returned from his 10-game, league-imposed suspension for drug violations on Monday and was a welcomed sight to the Browns, still stinging from a 23-7 loss on Sunday to the Houston Texans.
"It was good to see him back today, a smile on his face and be truly among his teammates," head coach Mike Pettine said.
Gordon officially rejoined the Browns (6-4) on a day when they learned starting linebackers Karlos Dansby (knee) and Jabaal Sheard (foot) may have both sustained season-ending injuries. The 23-year-old Gordon chatted briefly with a few reporters, saying he was excited to be back and "let's see if I can help the guys."
The Browns said he'll speak to a larger media group following Wednesday's practice, when the electrifying No. 12 will be running pass routes with his teammates for the first time since late August.
Gordon was allowed in the team's facility for the past two months but had been banned from working out with his teammates during his suspension -- originally a one-year ban -- for failing a test for marijuana. The Pro Bowler had been restricted to catching passes from a JUGS gun, lifting weights on his own and counting down the days until he was allowed to get back on the field and do what he does best.
Minutes after he left the locker room, Gordon posted a comment on Twitter that summed up his changed status.
He wrote: "No place I'd rather be than Cleveland right about now ... #reinstated."
Pettine said it's too early to know if Gordon, who led the league with 1,646 yards receiving last season, will be able to play this Sunday when the Browns visit Atlanta. Pettine wants to gauge what kind of shape Gordon is in before deciding whether to include him in the game plan.
"He hasn't had contact, hasn't played in a game in 75, 80 days," Pettine said. "That is a lot of time. He has been working out, but that's not football. Josh is an elite receiver, he's proven that, but we have to be very smart with how we handle it."
Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer is thrilled Gordon will be back on the field. They developed great chemistry last season and Hoyer has seen the kind of stress Gordon's speed and size can put on a defense. However, Hoyer cautioned it's unfair to put any expectations on Gordon or expect him to step in an immediately impact Cleveland's offense.
"You get a guy out there like Josh, the defense has to respect him," Hoyer said. "Anytime you have a threat like that, it definitely helps out the offense. Look, we all know what Josh is capable of, but let's not put all this pressure on him that he's going to be the savior."
Pettine was quick to point out the contributions of wide receivers Andrew Hawkins, Taylor Gabriel, Travis Benjamin and Miles Austin while Gordon was out. And just because Gordon's eligible, Cleveland's other receivers won't be pushed aside.
"We've played a lot of good football. I think that group has done an outstanding job. Whether it's Miles, whether it's Hawk, Gabriel, Travis, I think they've all done exceptionally well throughout the year," Pettine said. "They've all had their moments making big plays."
"We're looking for more of the same from them, and again, it'll be a process with Josh," he said. "We're going to be smart. ..."
I'll go ahead and remind you that last season, upon returning from a two-game suspension, Gordon caught 10 passes for 146 yards against the Vikings.
Yes. This was a much longer layoff.
Still, Hawkins said there's "no question that [Gordon is] hungry. He's told me that numerous times over the last 10 weeks. This is a time he's been counting down the minutes to."
The countdown is over; time to launch. ...
Meanwhile, Ben Tate doesn't have to worry about losing carries with the Browns any longer.
The team released the disgruntled running back on Tuesday, two days after he was given the ball just twice in a matchup against the Houston Texans, his former team.
Tate signed a two-year, $6.2 million free agent contract in March with Cleveland to be the Browns' every-down back. He rushed for 333 yards, but his playing time had been dwindling with the emergence of rookies Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West.
Last week, Tate said he wasn't satisfied with Cleveland's running backs rotation and the team decided to move on without him.
Browns general manager Ray Farmer explained the move in a release.
"With all the transactions we make while constructing our roster, it will always be our intent to do what is best for our football team," Farmer said. "This move is no different and we wish Ben the best going forward."
On Sunday, Tate was made a captain for the game against the Texans, his team for four seasons. But he had just two rushes for minus-9 yards and initially declined interviews following the game.
Tate, who made six starts this season, rushed for 124 yards against Tennessee but hasn't been as productive in recent weeks. On Monday, Pettine was asked what had happened to Tate.
"Nothing I would speak on here," he said before praising Crowell and West. "The young backs -- and I've talked of this before about West -- is that there's an explosiveness there with the young backs, just a little bit more pop. We wanted to see those guys out there. Sometimes it's not a matter of a negative against a guy. Sometimes it's more of a positive with the other ones, but we take everything into account when we discuss the running backs."
But we all realized the direction this situation was taking. And it continues to point toward more Crowell.
Indeed, as Cleveland Plain Dealer staffer Tom Reed put it, "Nobody in the Browns' backfield runs the ball harder or with more nasty intent than Crowell.
"The rookie halfback seems to fear no confrontation. If he owns a pair of dancing shoes, he doesn't wear them on Sundays."
Crowell appeared poised for a big afternoon against the Texans right up to the moment he committed the game's biggest mistake.
With the Browns surging for a potential go-ahead touchdown late in the second quarter, Crowell collided with linebacker Brian Cushing and fumbled on a first-and-10 at the Texans' 19. Standout defensive lineman J.J. Watt pounced on the ball to end the threat with 3:11 left in the half and the score knotted at 7-7.
The Texans used the reprieve to drive 78 yards for a touchdown in the quarter's dying seconds and complete a dramatic 14-point swing. While the physical Texans likely would have won regardless of the miscue, Crowell's fumble was the turning point.
"It was real critical because it was in the red zone," he said. "You have to protect the ball more. I can't give no excuses."
It marked Crowell's second lost fumble of the season. He's also had a pair of dropped pitchouts in the Steelers' game here Oct. 12.
Pettine and left tackle Joe Thomas downplayed the idea the rookie is fumble prone. He's given it away twice on 78 carries totaling 358 yards and five touchdowns.
Pettine started Crowell on Sunday and, more importantly, started him in the second half after the turnover. He finished with 61 yards on 14 carries, including a 35-yard run in the first quarter.
Minus that big carry, the Browns managed just 23 yards on 23 attempts.
Despite entering the game ranked 12th in rushing, the Browns have no set running-back rotation. Rookie Terrance West, who carried 26 times for 94 yards against the Bengals, had just five attempts versus the Texans.
"It's something we'll look at week to week," Pettine said. "We're not just going to pick one. When you go in a game-plan situation you look at what gives us the best chance to win."
The good news? We now have one less guy to worry about when that decision comes down -- which in recent weeks has been in the half hour before kickoff. ...
Other notes of interest. ... According to ESPN.com's Pat McManamon, Hoyer set a Cleveland Browns record he probably did not want to set in the loss to the Texans.
Hoyer threw 30 incompletions, the most in one game in team history, according to Elias.
He also had the highest number of incompletions in the NFL this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Only 18 times since 1950 have Browns quarterbacks thrown 25 or more incompletions in a game. Hoyer is on the list twice -- 30 against Houston (he went 20-for-50) and 25 against Jacksonville earlier this season, according to Pro Football Reference.
Jason Campbell's 29 incompletions in a loss in Cincinnati a year ago rank second in team history. Some other outstanding Browns quarterbacks had games when they threw a lot of missed passes. Brian Sipe had 28 in a loss to Houston in 1981, and Hall of Famer Otto Graham also had 28 in a 1952 win over Pittsburgh.
Four times the Browns had 26 incompletions in a game, seven times they had 25.
Since 1940, 85 teams have finished games with 30 or more incompletions, with the 1988 Chicago Bears finishing with the all-time high of 38.
Clearly as the NFL has turned more into a passing league, games with more incompletions are becoming more common.
The league has had seven games with 30 or more incompletions since 2010.
The Browns have had seven games since 2012 of 25 or more incompletions.
Hoyer did not specifically address the record, but he did say that he is willing to take an incompletion with a throwaway to avoid a sack. Joe Thomas said earlier this season that is one of Hoyer's strengths.
"That's just the way I play," Hoyer said. "I don't want to put that (sack) on my offensive linemen. If a sack is a negative play, a throwaway I don't see as a negative play. Maybe your completion percentage won't be as great, but no game was ever lost on a throwaway."
And finally. ... Jordan Cameron missed his second-straight game with a concussion and might not play again this season, according to the Plain Dealer.
"You don't know ... it's a touchy subject," Pettine said last week when asked about Cameron's status going forward. Pettine added that symptoms can come and go.
If the 2013 Pro Bowler is indeed done for the year, he will conclude it with 13 catches for 250 yards and one touchdown in just six games.
Cameron was not on the practice field Wednesday. ... I'll continue to watch for signs of a possible return and report back when Late-Breaking Updates begin early Thursday. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel 
RB: Isaiah Crowell, Terrance West 
FB: Ray Agnew 
WR: Josh Gordon, Andrew Hawkins, Miles Austin, Taylor Gabriel, Travis Benjamin, Rodney Smith, Marlon Moore 
TE: Jim Dray, Gary Barnidge, Jordan Cameron 
PK: Billy Cundiff 
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DALLAS COWBOYS
As ESPN.com's Todd Archer suggested Monday, the bye week could not have worked out any better for the Dallas Cowboys.
With the Philadelphia Eagles losing to the Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys and Eagles have the same record with six games to play. With the New York Giants losing to the San Francisco 49ers, the Cowboys' next opponent has lost five in a row. With the Washington Redskins losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Cowboys' divisional rival dropped to 3-7, just like New York.
Of the Cowboys' final five opponents, only the Chicago Bears won on Sunday.
The Cowboys (7-3) return to work on Tuesday knowing everything they want is in their control with six games to play.
The Eagles (7-3) are technically in first place in the NFC East because of a 2-0 division record -- the Cowboys are 1-1 -- but the 53-20 loss to the Packers has to damage at least a little of their confidence and shake at least some faith in their current starting quarterback, Mark Sanchez, who is playing with Nick Foles out.
Only the Arizona Cardinals (9-1) have a better record in the NFC than the Cowboys with the Packers and Detroit Lions also checking in at 7-3. The Cowboys lose a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Cardinals in a race for home-field advantage, but they will play with their backup quarterback,Drew Stanton, the rest of the way. The Cowboys will be in the mix for a first-round bye as long as they keep winning.
Four of the Cowboys' final six games are away from AT&T Stadium, including their upcoming meeting with the Giants. Playing on the road might not be such a bad thing for the Cowboys, who are 4-0 as the visitor this season.
The off weekend allowed starters like Tony Romo, Rolando McClain and Tyrone Crawford to heal up, and allowed others to rest up. Romo did not take part in the two brief practices the Cowboys held last week. Crawford sat out as well, but said he expects to play against the Giants. McClain was able to practice, which is a good sign for his availability.
Owner Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan that a week of rest was very good for Romo, and as a result Jones expects that Romo will feel a lot better going forward, starting on Sunday night against the Giants.
"I think it's really beneficial, and he knows how to use it," Jones said, via the Dallas Morning News. "I think by the time we kickoff Sunday he will have maximized this break for himself and for us. I was really pleased he had the outing he had in London. It certainly showed that with a couple more weeks of just simple letting it rest, if no other thing, then he'll be in better shape in that particular area of his back."
After giving Romo a week of rest last week (and holding him out of practice Wednesday, as has become the norm), the Cowboys will need Romo to be able to bounce back without much rest a week from now. After the game against the Giants on Sunday, the Cowboys take on the Eagles on Thanksgiving, with first place in the NFC East on the line.
Having beaten the Jacksonville Jaguars at London's Wembley Stadium on Nov. 9, the Cowboys were able to stop a two-game losing streak and return to the form that saw them win six in a row in September and October.
"I think there is a good formula in place on how we play football," tight end Jason Witten said last week. "It's so week to week in how you play and how you have to go do it. Just because it's a good formula and you can run the football well, I don't know if that equates to wins. So we put ourselves in good position. Now we got to go do it."
Meanwhile, DeMarco Murray turned off the football world during the Dallas Cowboys' bye weekend.
He watched a little of the Eagles' loss, but that was it. On Tuesday, Murray and the Cowboys returned to Valley Ranch to start their final six-week stretch of the regular season.
Murray, who has already surpassed his career highs in rushing yards and carries, figures to play an even bigger role down the stretch than he did in the first 10 games of the season.
"I'm ready," Murray said after serving early Thanksgiving meals at the Salvation Army Carr P. Collins Social Service Center in Dallas on Monday. "Like I've said before, whatever they ask me to do I'm going to do it times 10. It's going to be an exciting next couple of weeks for us."
Murray leads the NFL with 1,233 yards on 244 carries with seven touchdowns. He has had 100 yards rushing in nine of the Cowboys' 10 games. Before this season, he never had more than 1,121 yards or 217 carries in a season.
As much as his body needed the rest, he felt the time off did wonders for his mind, too.
"I don't know about anyone else, but I just totally got away," Murray said. "I didn't watch it. I didn't concentrate on it. So I'm excited. I think we're all recharged and ready to go."
With four of their six games on the road and all in cold-weather cities, the Cowboys are built more for the upcoming stretch than in years past where they relied on Romo's right arm. The Cowboys still rely on Romo and Dez Bryant and Witten, but Murray's legs have been a large factor in the success.
"Obviously we're running the ball well, and I think we're throwing it well, too," Murray said. "So in this part of the year, it's cold, the weather, so I think running is going to be a little bit more of a factor for us, which is good. We've got a strong offensive line. We've got some backs who can run and also got a lot of guys on the edge that can go up and get the ball. So it's going to be huge for us."
I suspect it will be huge for fantasy owners as well. ...
Other notes of interest. ... As the Sports Xchange pointed out, Witten is on pace for the fewest yards and fewest catches since his rookie season. He has excelled as a run blocker and said his focus in on winning not stats.
"So it's a winning formula for us so far and that's why it's exciting," Witten said. "It's always easy for guys to say, 'Yeah, it's about the team.' I think especially when you're at this point, where I'm at, it's like, 'Man, I want to do everything I can to hopefully get a glimpse of what a championship team feels like.'
"You get fewer opportunities with the different way we're playing but it's been good to take pride in all of the other things you try to do to help. So I think those opportunities will come depending on the defenses and how they play. I still think that playing at a high level and the mismatches ... I just think it's a different way we're attacking as an offense. You just got to stay ready. I think Dez is an example of that. You go two weeks and you don't have a whole lot of catches and you don't have many opportunities and then you have a good game like that."
Meanwhile, Romo ranks seventh in the league in passer rating and has 18 touchdowns to just six interceptions. Bryant remains a beast on the outside with 56 catches for 793 yards and eight touchdowns. They will be the go-to combo down the stretch. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Tony Romo, Brandon Weeden, Dustin Vaughan 
RB: DeMarco Murray, Joseph Randle, Lance Dunbar 
FB: Tyler Clutts 
WR: Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley, Dwayne Harris, Devin Street 
TE: Jason Witten, Gavin Escobar, James Hanna 
PK: Dan Bailey 
=========================

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DENVER BRONCOS
Suddenly, the Broncos have a whole lot more to worry about than their spongy offensive line, and Associated Press sports writer Arnie Stapleton reported a testy head coach John Fox said Monday he wants frustrated fans to know he feels their pain.
"We're not too happy with the results, either," Fox said in the wake of Denver's second double-digit road loss in three weeks. But, he added: "There's no panic inside the building."
And he stressed that Denver's latest loss can't just be pinned on his scuffling, shuffling O-line, either.
"Offensively we didn't execute enough," Fox said. "It's not all on the O-line. I want to make that point."
The Broncos' latest loss, a 22-7 stunner at St. Louis, proved extra costly. They not only fell into a tie atop the AFC West with Kansas City, but they lost Julius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders and Montee Ball to injuries.
Thomas' sprained left ankle was deemed less serious than feared, and he is day to day -- although Denver Post staffer Mike Klis suggested it might be difficult for Thomas to play Sunday against the Dolphins in the Broncos' first home game in a month.
The good news? Thomas was not in a boot, which is encouraging. He was able to slip on a basketball shoe, which is also encouraging. He walked through the locker room without a noticeable limp. "I knew it was something that wasn't going to end my season," Thomas told the Post. "I'm day to day."
Sanders likely will miss practice this week after he suffered a concussion Sunday against the Rams. Sanders will go through the concussion protocol, and his status against the Dolphins will be a matter of whether he is cleared later in the week by an independent doctor.
Sanders finished with 102 yards on his five receptions and scored the team's only touchdown on a 42-yard catch with 2 minutes, 22 seconds left in the second quarter.
Peyton Manning said: "I feel a part of that. I probably could have held the safety a little longer, keep him from getting a jump on that. Every pass you throw you feel responsible for. ... I hope he's OK. ... Any time a player gets injured on the end of one of your passes, my heart drops. ... He said was OK. I take that very seriously. I always have."
Ball, who was in uniform for the first time since he suffered a groin injury Oct. 5 against the Arizona Cardinals, played just a handful of snaps, including two on the Broncos' opening drive, before he limped off the field after being unable to reel in a high pass from Manning on a third-and-6 play on the Broncos' second possession.
Ball remained on the sideline, in uniform, for the remainder of the game.
Asked if he felt like he did when he originally suffered the injury, Ball said, "It's hard to tell, really. I'll have to see when we get back and I get it checked out. We'll have to see what the trainers, the doctors say."
That said, two NFL sources told the Post that Ball will miss the next two or three weeks.
In addition, Ronnie Hillman is expected to miss another game with his left midfoot injury Sunday. The Broncos hope to have him back for Week 13.
Of course, Thomas, Sanders and Ball were injured when the Broncos (7-3) lost to a sub-.500 team on the road for the first time since Tim Tebow was their quarterback in 2011.
Just as he had after a big loss at New England three weeks ago, Manning took the blame. "I've got to play better," Manning said three times after Sunday's loss.
On Monday, Fox said he and his staff have to coach better.
This marked just the sixth time in Manning's 250 career regular-season games that his team scored seven points of less. Two of those came in the first month of his rookie season in 1998, two came in meaningless regular-season finales (1999 and 2009), and another came in 2001, at Miami.
Manning was sacked twice, knocked down four times and watched a dozen of his passes get batted down. He threw 54 passes and handed off just nine times, a formula Fox admitted wasn't a good recipe.
"There's no doubt that to be the kind of team we want to be we have to run the ball more," Fox said.
C.J. Anderson said offensive coordinator Adam Gase apologized for the run-pass disparity, but the running back noted it was the players who didn't make it work, and "whether it's 90 passes and one run, whatever's called, you've just got to go out there and execute."
In addition to the run-pass ratio that was off-kilter, Fox lamented his offense failing to reach the red zone after entering the game with the league's second-highest scoring average (31.8).
Fox defended his decisions to forgo long field goal tries, saying Brandon McManus' range was only 50 yards inside the dome. He stressed, "It has nothing to do with confidence level of anybody."
McManus has been dealing with a strained groin and that might have been a factor in Fox's thinking.
But the Broncos went 0 for 3 on fourth downs in Rams territory.
"We did what I would consider being aggressive," said Fox, who's been labeled as a coach who's too conservative. "You could punt for field position. You know, going for it on fourth down is in my mind more aggressive than kicking a field goal. ..."
For the record, I'll be following up on Thomas, Sanders and Ball via Late-Breaking Update in coming days.
For now, however, I'll note that neither Thomas nor Sanders practiced Wednesday -- although Sanders was on the field in sweats for the session. He still needs to pass his benchmark concussion testing to gain clearance.
Hillman and Ball were also absent Wednesday. ...
Other notes of interest. ... The Broncos' seven points was their lowest total since Manning signed with the team before the 2012 season. It ended the team's regular-season streak of at least 20 points in a game that dated back to a 17-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 25, 2012. It also ended Manning's 15-game streak of at least two touchdown passes in a game. The Broncos made no trips inside the Rams' 20-yard line. They did not run a play inside the Rams' 28-yard line in the game.
"I felt like we had some good red zone plays, but I'm not sure we got to call any red zone plays," Manning said.
And finally. ... Tight end Virgil Green missed a third consecutive game because of a calf injury. He did not practice last week but was on the field Wednesday. With Thomas dealing with a sprained ankle, the Broncos have just one healthy tight end (Jacob Tamme) and might have to sign another this week. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Peyton Manning, Brock Osweiler 
RB: C.J. Anderson, Juwan Thompson, Kapri Bibbs, Ronnie Hillman, Montee Ball 
WR: Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Wes Welker, Andre Caldwell, Cody Latimer, Isaiah Burse 
TE: Julius Thomas, Jacob Tamme, Virgil Green 
PK: Brandon McManus 
=========================

=========================
DETROIT LIONS
As ESPN.com's Michael Rothstein notes, the Lions don't rank in the top 10 in any major offensive statistical category. In a lot of them, they actually slide in at the lower third of the NFL.
Yet head coach Jim Caldwell appears to be fine with the way first-year offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi is calling plays.
"Certainly I'm satisfied with it," Caldwell said. "Joe does a good job."
When asked what he wanted to see change with the plays that are called, he instead pointed to Joique Bell's 14-carry, 85-yard performance Sunday -- the first time this season Bell has eclipsed the 75-yard rushing mark. It is also the first time Bell gained more than 5 yards a carry in a game.
But for once this year, the run game wasn't an issue -- at least not Bell's portion of it. It was a little bit of everything else that was the problem.
Consistent production has been a problem for Detroit's offense all season. They haven't gained more than 400 yards in a game since Week 1 against the New York Giants. They've gone over 350 yards of offense in half of their games this season.
That has alternated with games where the Lions struggle to move the ball. Even in their three straight come-from-behind wins to help them reach 7-2 prior to Sunday, there were offensive inefficiencies.
In two of those three games -- New Orleans and Atlanta -- the Lions gained more than 100 yards in the fourth quarter. So the drama of the late-game movement from Matthew Stafford and the offense might have temporarily masked offensive issues that are now wide open.
"Maybe a little bit," left guard Rob Sims said. "I'm not sure. I know some things from playing in my left guard spot, I'll tell you that. I know I played with these guys for five years and we figure out a way to get it done over the years.
"There's nothing in me that says we're not going to. Obviously there are some things that we missed. Obviously some things that we didn't do right but we'll go back and look at the film and see what we can do."
What happened when Caldwell went back and looked at the film was essentially the same things he saw when he was coaching it live. Protection issues. Reads by Stafford. Predictability of play calls from Lombardi.
All of it rolls into one inefficient unit right now.
Detroit is 21st in yards per game (332.3), 25th in yards per play (5.13), 30th in rushing yards per game (79.8) and yards per run (3.24), 12th in passing yards a game (252.5) and 17th in net yards per attempt (6.81).
"There's never been any one thing," Caldwell said. "And that's the thing with consistency. We haven't been able to be really consistent across the board and consistent enough to play as well as well as we're capable of.
"Now, when you put 21 points up in a half or 22 points in a half, that's moving the ball pretty well so we've had our spurts. But we just haven't been able to do that consistently across the board. That's what we're striving for. We've got time to do it.
"All of the things that we've got problems with, they're correctable."
How long it takes to make those corrections, though, could determine the amount of success Detroit has throughout the remainder of the season.
This week, the Lions continue their two-game road trip by heading to New England on Sunday for a game against Tom Brady and the Patriots.
Other notes of interest. ... Also according to Rothstein, Stafford can add another record to his ever-growing ledger of them.
The Lions quarterback eclipsed 20,000 career passing yards in the first half of Sunday's game, his 71st, doing that faster than any quarterback in NFL history. Stafford entered the game with 19,953 yards and with a 30-yard pass to Golden Tate in the second quarter, passed the milestone.
Stafford has 75 yards through the 9:00 mark in the first half, giving him 20,028 yards in his career.
Dan Marino had previously reached the mark in 74 games, followed by Kurt Warner in 76 games and Peyton Manning in 78 games.
Stafford is already the Lions' career leader in passing yards. ...
Calvin Johnson was the last Lions player seen leaving the locker room because he spent extensive time after the game in the training room. Although he finished with five catches for 59 yards, Johnson said he was dealing with an elbow issue. He said the elbow shouldn't be an issue in the future.
"I was out there all day, man," Johnson said.
Caldwell said Johnson's elbow will not have long-term ramifications on his availability. Johnson revealed on Wednesday that the issue was merely a cut, and that his elbow and ankle are fine heading into Sunday's game against New England. That said, Johnson didn't practice Wednesday.
Johnson also told the Detroit News he's confident the Lions will become more explosive down the stretch. ...
As noted above, Bell once again had an inspired game. He hurdled defenders, was rarely brought down by the first tackler and again gave evidence he should be the team's lead running back.
He gained 85 yards on 14 carries against one of the top rushing defenses in the NFL. He also caught three passes for 30 yards and ran hard when the rest of the Detroit offense looked fairly lifeless. Bell looked more and more like the running back he was a season ago, when he ran for 3.9 yards a carry as the complement to Reggie Bush.
Bush sat out his third game of the season Sunday against Arizona. He's not planning on missing a fourth due to injury.
The veteran speedster said Monday he expects to play against the Patriots as he continues to heal from an ankle injury suffered in Week 5 against Buffalo and aggravated often over the past six weeks.
"It's very frustrating because it's been one of those injuries that's been kind of lingering," Bush said. "I've been trying to do my best to just get as healthy as I can and be as smart as I can about it. Obviously, I don't plan on getting injured when I go back in the game.
"It's just one of those things that happened last time I was out there so hopefully not playing this past game will pay dividends for this week."
The 29-year-old appeared to be healthy again coming off Detroit's off week to face the Dolphins. Then he was hit again in the first half in a spot that aggravated the injury again, once again knocking him out.
It was the second time the ankle had been aggravated in a game, as he also tweaked the ankle when he tried to return against New Orleans in Week 7. He then practiced one day in England prior to Week 8 before shutting it down and sitting out against the Falcons prior to the off week.
So it has been a lingering issue for Bush, who has 191 yards rushing on 53 carries and 169 receiving yards on 26 receptions this year.
"The last time, the last game, there's not much I can do. I don't care who you were. The way my ankle got bent, if I didn't have an ankle injury, I would have had one after that play, so it's just one of those deals.
"It's just unfortunate. All I can do is just kind of get myself back as close to 100 percent as possible to be able to play this weekend."
This is a game where Bush could be heavily utilized.
Bush has had success in the past against New England. In 2011 with Miami, Bush had 139 yards of offense, including 113 yards rushing, in a 27-24 loss to New England. It was the sixth-best rushing game of Bush's career.
I'll have more on Megatron and Bush, who was on the practice field Wednesday, via Late-Breaking Update in coming days. ...
One last note here. ... Eric Ebron hasn't played football in a month. But he started against Arizona after usual tight end Brandon Pettigrew was listed as an inactive as he continues to deal with a foot injury. Ebron had missed the Lions' last three games with a hamstring injury of his own. Ebron caught 4-of-4 targets for 22 yards in Arizona. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Matthew Stafford, Dan Orlovsky, Kellen Moore 
RB: Joique Bell, Reggie Bush, Theo Riddick, George Winn 
FB: Jed Collins 
WR: Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, Jeremy Ross, Corey Fuller, Ryan Broyles 
TE: Eric Ebron, Joseph Fauria, Brandon Pettigrew, Kllen Davis 
PK: Matt Prater 
=========================

=========================
GREEN BAY PACKERS
After spending half of last season on the sideline with a broken collarbone, Aaron Rodgers has been a spectator a lot lately, too, though for a different reason.
As the Associated Press pointed out, the Packers' offense is so good that Rodgers is not even playing a full game most weeks.
It happened again during the Packers' 53-20 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Rodgers was done for the day with 12 minutes, 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter and his team up 46-13. He didn't take any fourth-quarter snaps in the team's previous three home games -- a 42-10 victory over Minnesota, a 38-17 victory over Carolina and a 55-14 victory over Chicago.
Green Bay is the first team in NFL history to score at least 28 points in the first half of four consecutive home games.
"Obviously Aaron is having a great season and has done so many things, but I think you can't lose sight of the fact that this is a team sport," head coach Mike McCarthy said Monday, one day after his team improved to 5-0 this season at Lambeau Field. "I just think it's a group that's a year better and has hit its stride a little bit."
Leading the way is Rodgers, who missed seven games last season with a fractured left clavicle but has been making a strong case for his second NFL MVP ever since telling Packers fans to relax on his weekly ESPN Milwaukee radio show after a 1-2 start.
In those first three games, Rodgers completed 64 of 102 passes (62.7 percent) for 697 yards with five touchdowns and one interception for a passer rating of 95.1. Since then, the Packers have won six of seven while Rodgers has completed 145 of 211 passes (68.7 percent) for 2,051 yards with 23 touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 132.2.
Against the Eagles, Rodgers finished 22 for 36 for 341 yards with three TDs, no picks and a passer rating of 120.3.
"If you blitzed him, he got it out quick. If you didn't, he held it until guys got open. He got it to everybody," Eagles coach Chip Kelly said. "Everybody contributed for him, but that all starts with the trigger man, and he put on a show. He is as good as they get."
He is getting plenty of help from his receivers. Top targets Jordy Nelson both rank in the top 15 in receiving yards -- Nelson is third with 998, Randall Cobb is 12th with 779 -- and Cobb leads NFL wide receivers in touchdown receptions with 10; Nelson is tied for second with nine.
"He's hot right now and making a lot of plays, putting us all in good situations to make those plays," Nelson said. "It's a good time."
Also helping the cause: The Packers are plus-14 in turnover differential this season and they have stayed healthy. Although guards T.J. Lang (ankle) and Josh Sitton (toe) have played each of the past two games with minimal practice time because of their injuries, their preferred starters have lost only one game due to injury this season.
Otherwise, the starting five of David Bakhtiari, Sitton, Corey Linsley, Lang and Bryan Bulaga have been together up front. Nelson, Cobb and running back Eddie Lacy have started all 10 games.
"Having Randall stay healthy and put up the kind of numbers he's putting up (is big), and obviously Jordy's having a Pro Bowl season," Rodgers said. "The offensive line, being able to have some continuity there has given those guys a consistency we haven't had here in a while. We've been able to avoid the major injuries so far, and hopefully that continues."
Most important, though, will be Rodgers' health. The Packers found out last year how difficult life can be without him.
"It's about playing 16 games in this league; it's about being available," said Rodgers, who before last season had missed only one game -- with a concussion in 2010 -- due to injury before last season. "That's how you create some consistency and that's how you win football games. If you can keep your guys healthy and you can keep them together and start to get on the same page week after week, that's how you get the momentum and get this thing rolling like we are on offense right now."
And they are rolling. ... According to ESPN Stats & Information, Rodgers has thrown for at least three touchdowns in all five of his home starts this season, tying the longest streak of his career, from his MVP season of 2011. At home this season, Rodgers has thrown for 282 yards per game with 18 touchdowns against no interceptions.
Rodgers extended a few NFL home-game passing records on Sunday, according research by the Elias Sports Bureau. He has not thrown a pick in any of his past 11 home games and has thrown 29 straight touchdown passes without a pick, both extending his own records.
He's also thrown 322 straight passes at Lambeau Field without a pick, breaking the previous record of 288 held by Tom Brady.
This season is eerily reminiscent of Rodgers' 2011 MVP season. Through 10 games that season, Rodgers averaged 317 yards per game and had a touchdown-interception ratio of 31-4. Rodgers is averaging 275 yards per game this season through 10 games and boasts a touchdown-interception ratio of 28-3.
The Pack improved to 5-0 at home on the season, and over the past four home games, they've outscored opponents 128-9. ... In the first half, According to Elias research, the Packers are the first team in NFL history to score at least 28 points in four straight home games.
The Packers showed their versatility Sunday, too. They scored offensive, defensive and special teams touchdowns in the same game for the first time since Week 9 of the 2010 season, against the Cowboys. The Packers also scored a touchdown on a fumble return, an interception return and a punt return, just the second time in franchise history they've achieved that. ...
In other words, fantasy owners should feel confident rolling with any and all Packers. ...
Other notes of interest. ... According to Pro Football Focus, while Nelson made plays downfield, Cobb was a consistent short and intermediate threat in this game, catching 10 balls – nine of which went for first downs – for 129 yards and against four different defenders in primary coverage.
Cobb ran 37 of 43 routes as a slot receiver, most of them coming lined up on the right side of the offense. He leads the league in Yards per Route Run from the slot with 2.16.
Lacy provided a nice compliment to Green Bay's downfield passing game, impressing as both a rusher, forcing three missed tackles and picking up more than half of his yards after contact, and a screen receiver. As PFF noted, Lacy wasn't too bad on his eight snaps in pass protection either – through 10 games, no RB has a better Pass Blocking Efficiency rating.
According to ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky, Lacy figured there was no way he was going to score when he caught a short pass from Rodgers early in the fourth quarter. But 32 yards later, he was in the end zone, thanks to a spin move, a handful of broken tackles and a goal-line push from teammate Andrew Quarless.
"It actually was crazy," Lacy said. "I really didn't know if I was going to score. Q helped me out a lot, he pushed me in at the end. It was a crazy play." When asked about the play, Bulaga just laughed and said: "Eddie's touchdown -- that's just ridiculous. ..."
Rookie wideout Davante Adams caught a 6-yard slant in traffic and muscled his way across the goal line in the first quarter Week 11. It was one of only two grabs for Adams, who drew two targets for the second straight week and finished with 13 receiving yards. His playing time, however, increased with the Packers using fewer two-tight end sets and more three wide sets. ..
One reason for the decrease in two-TE sets was the absence of Brandon Bostick, who sat out with a hip injury. Bostick wasn't on the practice field to open the week on Wednesday. ...
And finally. ... As CBSSports.com notes, the Packers DST unit put together another huge performance in Week 11.
After recording three turnovers and one defensive touchdown in Week 10's blowout win over the Bears, the Packers' DST unit stepped it up Sunday. They came away with three DST touchdowns, including a punt return, interception return and fumble return for touchdowns. All in all, they held the Eagles to two late touchdowns in the win, while coming down with four turnovers and three sacks. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn, Scott Tolzien 
RB: Eddie Lacy, James Starks, DuJuan Harris 
FB: John Kuhn 
WR: Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams, Jeff Janis, Jarrett Boykin 
TE: Richard Rodgers, Andrew Quarless, Brandon Bostick, Justin Perillo 
PK: Mason Crosby 
=========================

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HOUSTON TEXANS
According to Associated Press sports writer Kristie Rieken, Ryan Mallett didn't approach this Monday any differently than he'd handled all the other Mondays he'd spent in his four years in the NFL.
Houston's new quarterback, who picked up a win over the Browns in his first career start Sunday, didn't let the weekend's success change anything.
"It seems like a smart thing to do to me," he said.
Another thing that didn't change Monday was Mallett's easygoing demeanor. When he was asked about his "first game" he at first seemed annoyed.
"Well I mean, I've played football before," he deadpanned before adding, "I was just kidding."
The Texans hoped benching veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick in favor of Tom Brady's former backup would give their offense a spark that had been missing as they'd lost four of their last five games. The move paid off in a 23-7 win over Cleveland, where Mallett, who entered the game having attempted just four passes in his NFL career, threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns.
"It didn't feel like my. ... First start or whatever," he said. "It felt normal. It felt natural. So I'm just going to try to build on that and every day get better."
He'll need to this week if the Texans hope to compete with the AFC North-leading Cincinnati Bengals, who are coming off a 27-10 win over New Orleans. He denied spending any time celebrating his success on Sunday, insisting his thoughts immediately shifted to the Bengals.
"Got to do it again," he said. "Can't get complacent, obviously. It's one game. We have to go continue to work."
Head coach Bill O'Brien likes that attitude, of course, and while he was pleased with Mallett's work Sunday, he's looking for more this week.
"He did a solid job, but he made mistakes," O'Brien said. "There's a lot of things he and we need to clean up."
Mallett received so many well wishes following the game that he hadn't had a chance to read them all by Monday morning. He did, however, take a second to check a message sent by Brady.
"He said congratulations," Mallett said beaming.
His teammates loved the way he commanded the huddle and raved about all the little things he did right.
"He's a very confident person," left tackle Duane Brown said. "Very vocal and it shows. We mixed it up a little bit out there with some of the players and he didn't back down from it, and that's great to see. He has a great intensity about him, but is also very poised."
His big day was helped by what O'Brien called the best performance of the year from Brown and the rest of Houston's offensive line. They didn't allow a sack and their blocking helped the running game not miss a beat with rookie Alfred Blue filling in for Arian Foster, out with a groin injury.
Blue, a sixth-round pick out of LSU, set a franchise record with 36 carries and tied Houston's single-game rookie rushing mark with 156 yards rushing. When asked about Blue's performance O'Brien joked it isn't that hard to get more than 100 yards when you have that many carries. Then he got serious.
"When we drafted him, we felt like he was a smart player, a tough player," O'Brien said. "(But) I told him this morning and he knows that you're only as good as your next game."
As Pro Football Focus suggested, "Blue was the fulcrum about which the Houston offense pivoted in this game, churning through hard yardage and gaining good ground every carry."
PFF added 88 of Blue's 156 yards came after first contact.
Meanwhile, the offensive line didn't give up any sacks and played what O'Brien called its best game of the season.
"I got hit like once or twice," Mallett said, after an impressed exhale.
They had spent extra time during the Texans' bye week meeting, reviewing the offense, what they needed to improve and how they could improve it. Mallett's comprehension of O'Brien's system was apparent in those meetings.
"He knows everything," receiver Andre Johnson said.
Said Mallett: "Being in the system for those three years has helped me be at the point where those guys know that I know it, so we can go talk about it, and sometimes it's without the coaches. Great teams, you gotta meet without coaches to be good. ... That's just the extra work you have to put in."
And while he didn't like waiting so long for his turn, in hindsight Mallett said he believes that was helpful. For three years in New England he learned behind one of the best quarterbacks to have played the game in Brady, with an organization singularly focused on the task immediately before them.
As ESPN.com's Tania Ganguli noted, Mallett channeled that singular focus, and even some of his former coach's words, after the game.
"We're on to Cincinnati, if that sounds familiar," he said, borrowing the phrase Patriots coach Bill Belichick repeated throughout his news conference following a blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Any questions about how big a win it was, or where it ranked for him personally, were met with that stoicism that alternated with pride. Mallett has been dreaming of this for a long time -- but he didn't dream of just one win, nor did he dream of just making one NFL start.
Other notes of interest. ... J.J. Watt is becoming an offensive threat, too.
The defensive star caught a 2-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter Sunday, making Watt the first defensive lineman since 1948 to score four touchdowns in a season.
Watt, who came into the game with three TDs -- one on offense, and two on defense -- grabbed his TD pass from Ryan Mallett after lining as a receiver on a first-and-goal play. The completion gave Mallett, making his first NFL start, his first TD and put the Texans ahead 7-0.
Watt lined up on the left side and the 6-5, 290-pounder hauled in Mallett's first career TD pass on a fade into the end zone. Watt made the lunging grab over rookie linebacker Chris Kirksey and was able to get his knee down inbounds.
Watt scored on a 1-yard TD pass earlier this season against Oakland. He also has an 80-yard interception return against Buffalo and a 45-yard fumble return against Indianapolis.
Moments after the sack, Watt stripped Cleveland quarterback Brian Hoyer on a sack. Hoyer was able to recover the fumble.
No NFL defensive lineman had scored four TDs in a season since Ray Poole (Giants) and Jack Zilly (Rams) both did it 66 years ago.
In the second quarter, Watt, who always seems to be everywhere on the field, was twice called for roughing Cleveland punter Spencer Lanning. Watt's second infraction led to the Browns scoring a tying touchdown.
After the TD, a clearly disgusted Watt paced back and forth on Houston's sideline, waiting for a chance to atone for his mistakes. ...
Johnson had seven catches for 68 yards against the Browns, giving him 55 for 631 this season. Johnson has 982 career receptions, tying Randy Moss on the NFL's all-time list.
And finally. ... There hasn't been much early word on Foster's chances of returning this week. It's something I'll be following up on in coming days; watch the Late-Breaking Updates section for more as the week progresses. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Ryan Mallett, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tom Savage 
RB: Arian Foster, Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes 
FB: Jay Prosch 
WR: Andre Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins, Damaris Johnson, Keshawn Martin, DeVier Posey 
TE: Garrett Graham, C.J. Fiedorowicz, Ryan Griffin 
PK: Randy Bullock 
=========================

=========================
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
As ESPN.com's Mike Wells framed it: "It's now or never for Trent Richardson.
"It truly is.
"No more of the Indianapolis Colts' running back needing to learn the playbook or get comfortable with the rest of the offensive unit.
"Simply no more excuses. ..."
With Ahmad Bradshaw's season over due to a fractured fibula, the Colts' running game falls strictly on Richardson's broad shoulders. Bradshaw was placed on season-ending IR on Tuesday. Daniel "Boom" Herron will back up Richardson.
"It's tough," quarterback Andrew Luck said about the loss of Bradshaw. "A great teammate, a great player, but it's a part of football and we know no one is going to feel sorry for the Colts. We certainly don't feel sorry for ourselves. Unfortunate or not, it's a theme of football and we have to make it work."
Richardson will get the majority of the snaps in the backfield, so here's another opportunity for him to try to help general manager Ryan Grigson look better for trading for him in September 2013. So far, the trade has not paid off for the Colts. Richardson has yet to rush for 100 yards in a game since being acquired.
Wells went on to suggest if Sunday's performance against the New England Patriots was any indication, there's every reason to be worried on whether Richardson is capable of being the Colts' workhorse in the backfield. He had seven rush attempts and finished with zero yards.
"It's going to be what it is," Richardson said after the game. "Will it be bigger shoes for me to fill? Of course. I have to make sure I step up and do what I have to do."
The Colts once had a balanced attack on offense, but things have changed in recent weeks. They rushed for a season-low 19 yards on 17 attempts against the Patriots and haven't had a 100-yard rushing game as a team since running for 171 against Cincinnati on Oct. 19.
"[The running backs and offensive line] all go hand in and hand and they all work together," head coach Chuck Pagano said. "...The line has to do their jobs and the backs have to do their job. If everybody is not on the same page and everybody is not doing their job on a consistent basis. ... It falls on everybody."
Richardson not only has to produce running the ball, but he also has to be a pass-catching running back. Bradshaw has 38 catches for 300 yards and six receiving touchdowns. Richardson has 22 receptions for 203 yards and no touchdowns.
Here's further proof of what the Colts will miss without Bradshaw. They've run 135 plays on third down this season, Bradshaw was on the field for 114 of those plays.
And Richardson?
Only nine plays.
"He's a warrior, he loves football," Pagano said about Bradshaw. "He loves his teammates. He loves the shoe. He loves competing. We're going to miss his energy, his passion, everything he brings to the table during the week, during preparation and certainly on game day. Hate to see it."
"Now," Wells summed up, "it's time for Richardson to be that warrior. ..."
Fantasy owners should set their expectations in a realistic manner; Richardson is a volume play in a good offense. Beyond that, it's anybody's guess if he'll suddenly live up to his vast potential. My guess is he won't. ...
Worth noting. ... Richardson did not practice Wednesday due to an illness. I'll follow up via Late-Breaking Update as needed in coming days, but assume T-Rich will be ready until we have reason not to. ...
Meanwhile, Profootballtalk.com reports the team isn't interested in adding Ray Rice should he be reinstated on appeal of his indefinite suspension, but could make a play for either Ben Tate or LeGarrette Blount after both players were dropped on Tuesday.
Indianapolis also officially announced the signing of veteran kick returner Josh Cribbs along with two other moves. They've signed tight end Weslye Saunders and released linebacker Victor Butler.
As Wells noted, the running back situation is impacted by the signing of Cribbs. Herron has returned kicks at times this season. The Colts can't afford to put him back there now considering their lack at depth at running back. In addition, Griff Whalen, the Colts' primary return specialist on kicks and punts this season, has been far from impressive.
The Colts are 23rd in the league in punt return average at 7.2 yards per return.
Enter Cribbs, who worked out for the Colts last week.
Cribbs was with the Browns from 2005-12, and he returned 11 kicks -- eight kickoffs and three punts -- for touchdowns during his time there. He played six games with the New York Jets after being released by the Oakland Raiders in 2013.
Other notes of interest. ... Perhaps lost a little in the loss to New England was one of the best games of Coby Fleener's career. Fleener caught seven passes for a career-high 144 yards, including a long reception of 45 yard.
As Pro Football Focus noted, first exploiting breakdowns in coverage and then simply taking control down the field Fleener caught every pass thrown his way including three down the field, snagging 89 yards on three passes aimed 20-plus yards downfield.
It was the second 100-yard performance of his career (107 at Tennessee, 11/14/13). His 144 receiving yards tie the third-highest total by a tight end in club history and are the most since Dallas Clark registered 183 in 2009.
Dwayne Allen suffered a sprained ankle in the first half. Allen was wearing a walking boot on his right foot on Monday and says the injury is a low-grade sprain. He remains optimistic of being able to play this week against Jacksonville, but Wells believes the addition of Sanders in an indication Allen won't play.
Allen was not practicing Wednesday. ...
I'll have more on the tight end's status via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses. ...
Adam Vinatieri improved his streak of consecutive games having scored at least one point to 171 and became the fourth player in league history to reach 2,100 points. Vinatieri tied the second-longest streak of consecutive field goals made in franchise history and improved his career best to 28. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Andrew Luck, Matt Hasselbeck 
RB: Trent Richardson, Dan Herron 
FB: Mario Harvey 
WR: T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne, Hakeem Nicks, Donte Moncrief, Griff Whalen, Josh Cribbs 
TE: Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen, Jack Doyle, Weslye Saunders 
PK: Adam Vinatieri 
=========================

=========================
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
The Jaguars returned to the team facility on Monday refreshed and energized after five days off.
According to ESPN.com's Michael Di Rocco, the hope inside the locker room is that will result in a similar turnaround to what the team experienced after last season's bye week.
"The bye week was great and everything," left tackle Luke Joeckel said. "[I am] coming back after it hungrier than ever for sure and I think the whole team is."
It'd be a surprise if most of the players didn't feel the same way after a 1-9 record. The Jaguars rebounded from an 0-4 start and played competitive football for the next two weeks until finally getting their only victory over Cleveland. Since then, however, the Jaguars have lost three consecutive games by double digits.
The last came Nov. 9 in London against Dallas, a game in which five Jaguars missed tackles on two long touchdown catches by receiver Dez Bryant. Ace Sanders also muffed a punt in the first quarter that led to a Cowboys touchdown.
That's similar to the way the first half of the 2013 season unfolded. Before the bye, the Jaguars lost eight games by double digits -- including a 32-point whooping by San Francisco in London -- but went 4-4 after the bye week, including a stretch in which they won four of five games.
The Jaguars simplified things, concentrated on fundamentals, and became a more consistent team after their bye week. It's a formula they're hoping to use again heading into Sunday's game at Indianapolis.
The most important improvement needs to be in consistency, head coach Gus Bradley said. Right behind that is eliminating dumb mistakes such as turnovers in the red zone, busted coverages, and penalties on key downs.
"I think for the players what I'd like to see from them is consistency where we're moving the ball and driving the ball and the self-inflicted wounds leave our game," Bradley. "I don't know where that will put us but I do know that it will feel better and look better and give us an opportunity [to win games]. I think that's what they're really striving to get done because they're seeing glimpses of it.
"They're seeing this is a great drive, this is a great defensive series, this is a nice job on special teams but then it's like we have these things that pop up that keep us from finishing. I think that's what's frustrating for the guys more than anything."
Meanwhile, DiRocco advised readers it's easy to see how eager tight end Marcedes Lewis is to get back on the field.
His eyes light up when he talks about his impending return in the Jaguars' next game, which will be Nov. 23 in Indianapolis.
"I had two good weeks of practice," Lewis said. "And I'm ready to go."
Lewis caught eight passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns in the Jaguars' first two games, but he suffered a high ankle sprain in the Week 2 loss to Washington and hasn't played since. The Jaguars placed him on IR/designated to return and he's missed the past eight games. He returned to practice on a limited basis on Oct. 29 and is expected to be moved to the active roster early next week.
The Jaguars will obviously benefit from his return in the passing game, especially with the loss of receiver Allen Robinson for the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his right foot. Lewis also will provide a boost in the run game as well. The 6-6, 272-pound Lewis is regarded as one of the league's better blocking tight ends.
"I take pride in every aspect of that game, and I really embody being a complete tight end," Lewis said. "So whether it be in the run game, pass-blocking or being a dominant force in the pass game, I feel I can help in a lot of areas."
Expectations were high for Lewis in 2014 after his performance over the past five games of 2013. He caught 16 passes for 242 yards and four touchdowns. He missed five games with a calf injury and finished with 25 catches for 359 yards and four touchdowns. His 14.4 yards-per-catch average was the second highest of his career, behind only the 16.2 he averaged in 2009.
Lewis caught six passes for 35 yards in the 2014 season opener and two for 71 yards, including a 63-yarder for a touchdown, against Washington before his injury. That was before rookie quarterback Blake Bortles got on the field and Lewis said he's eager to work with Bortles for the first time since the third preseason game.
"I'm looking forward to coming back and getting on the same page with him and kind of picking his brain and seeing what he likes to do," Lewis said.
Meanwhile, the loss of Robinson means more work for Marqise Lee. Not on special teams, however. Nor will Lee start at wideout.
Despite Sanders' struggles, Bradley said Lee won't get any reps as a punt returner. The Jaguars don't want to risk an injury and further hurting the team at receiver.
"I think now with the injuries that are taking place [at receiver] we will lock him into playing wide receiver," Bradley said.
Sanders is averaging 7.4 yards on 20 punt returns. He's coming off his best game numbers-wise, averaging 11.3 yards on four returns, which included a season-long 23 yarder. However, he muffed a punt in the first quarter and that was the key turning point in the Dallas Cowboys' 31-17 victory.
Lee only returned eight punts for 46 yards in his career at USC but averaged 26.1 yards on 50 kickoff returns, including two that went for touchdowns. ...
With Robinson out, Bradley told Jaguars.com on Monday that rookie Allen Hurns and veteran Cecil Shorts will start, but that Lee will move into the third receiver role. ...
Hurns is still in the concussion program but has been cleared to practice and will likely play Sunday. ...
One last note. ... The Sports Xchange notes the Jaguars rank 22nd in rushing offense. They signed Toby Gerhart to replace Maurice Jones-Drew, but he has been injured and struggled and has just 154 yards rushing. Robinson has been a pleasant surprise and leads the team with 483 yards rushing, but had a costly fumble against Dallas. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Blake Bortles, Chad Henne 
RB: Denard Robinson, Toby Gerhart, Storm Johnson, Jordan Todman 
FB: Will Ta'ufo'ou 
WR: Cecil Shorts, Allen Hurns, Marqise Lee, Ace Sanders, Mike Brown 
TE: Marcedes Lewis, Clay Harbor, Mickey Shuler 
PK: Josh Scobee 
=========================

=========================
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
The Seattle Seahawks kept driving deep into Kansas City territory. They kept getting stonewalled. First they were held to field goals, and then they were held to nothing.
The result? The Chiefs earned a 24-20 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champs.
Not only did the spirited performance on a bone-chilling Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium extend their winning streak to five games, it also pushed Kansas City into a tie with Denver atop the AFC West. The Broncos were stunned by St. Louis while the Chiefs were putting away Seattle.
As Associated Press sports writer Dave Skretta suggested, Kansas City's turnaround has been nothing short of remarkable.
After getting slapped around by Tennessee in their opener and losing at Denver in Week 2, the Chiefs (7-3) have won seven of their last eight. Their only loss in that span came in San Francisco, a game against another tough team that could have gone either way.
Now, they head to winless Oakland for a Thursday night matchup knowing another victory would set up a pivotal Sunday night showdown against the Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium.
"It feels good to know that we were able to bounce back after a poor start at the beginning of the season," Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali said, "but we have a lot of work to do."
In the passing game? Perhaps. On special teams? Maybe. But the truth is, there aren't a whole lot of holes in the Chiefs right now, especially when it comes to defense.
The Chiefs still have not allowed a 300-yard passer through the first 11 weeks, including games against Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Philip Rivers. They also haven't given up a touchdown on the ground, the only team in the NFL to accomplish that this season.
In fact, the next-fewest touchdowns allowed on the ground? Four, by several teams.
Next up?
The Chiefs have their only Thursday night game of the season this week. They'll take on the Raiders in Oakland in their first prime-time game since beating the New England Patriots on the final Monday night in September.
Other notes of interest. ... As ESPN.com's Adam Teicher suggested on Monday, try as he might to avoid this sort of thing, Jamaal Charles got caught up Sunday in his personal side duel with Marshawn Lynch.
Trying to keep up with Lynch, whose violent running style earned him the appropriate nickname of Beast Mode, Charles fumbled fighting for extra yards late in the third quarter.
"I have to learn how to go down," said Charles, who has conquered a fumbling habit from early in his career. "I think I was doing too much. I was trying to be like Marshawn and hold on to that ball and keep going.
"I'm a better running back than that and I should have just gone down in that situation."
The Seahawks converted Charles' fumble into a go-ahead touchdown, but all worked out for Charles and the Chiefs. Charles' 47-yard run in the fourth quarter set up Kansas City's winning touchdown, allowing Charles to win both the battle and the war.
He outrushed Lynch 159-124. Charles also scored two of Kansas City's three touchdowns.
While Lynch has nothing to be ashamed of, he failed on his biggest play of the game. He couldn't budge the Chiefs' defense on a fourth-and-1 run in the fourth quarter, the stop being one of the game's crucial moments.
The Seahawks never quite got that kind of handle on Charles, who averaged almost eight yards for every one of his 20 carries. For that, Charles gave credit to his resolve after the Seahawks made him fumble.
"Every time I lose an opportunity [by] fumbling the ball, I always come back harder," Charles said. "It makes me hungry. ..."
The Chiefs not only remain the only NFL team without a touchdown catch from a wide receiver -- they also got catches from only one wideout Sunday.
Dwayne Bowe had two catches for 18 yards, but otherwise, their wide receivers were shut out. The Chiefs were 3-for-4 scoring touchdowns in the red zone (three rushing TDs). The Chiefs' ability to run the ball in the red zone mutes the fact that their wide receivers don't have a touchdown catch.
On the plus side, wide receiver Frankie Hammond had a nice block on one of Charles' touchdown runs and Bowe had a key block on a long Charles run in the fourth quarter.
According to the Sports Xchange, Donnie Avery (groin) worked on a limited basis Tuesday, but the veteran wideout -- along with fellow receiver A.J. Jenkins -- were officially ruled out Wednesday.
Anthony Fasano returned to practice on Monday and worked on a limited basis again Tuesday, before being listed as questionable.
Fasano did not play against Seattle because of the bruised knee he suffered in a victory over the New York Jets.
Worth noting, tight end Travis Kelce caught three passes but also lost a fumble late in the first half that the Seahawks converted into a field goal. He worked fully on Tuesday despite rib and shoulder issues and is listed as probable. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Alex Smith, Chase Daniel, Aaron Murray 
RB: Jamaal Charles, Knile Davis, De'Anthony Thomas, Charcandrick West 
RB: Anthony Sherman 
WR: Dwayne Bowe, Junior Hemingway, Frankie Hammond, Albert Wilson, Donnie Avery, A.J. Jenkins 
TE: Travis Kelce, Anthony Fasano, Phillip Supernaw 
PK: Cairo Santos 
=========================

=========================
MIAMI DOLPHINS
As the Sports Xchange notes, the Dolphins kept their playoff hopes alive with a 22-9 victory over Buffalo in a Thursday night game that saw them outscore the Bills, 19-3, in the second half.
The Dolphins (6-4) thrived despite a matchup that featured a shuffled offensive line going against the NFL leader in sacks. Miami gave up five sacks, but none were of the game-changing variety. And the offensive line cleared the way for 125 yards rushing, 86 of those by ailing running backLamar Miller, who was playing with an injured left shoulder.
The combination of rugged defense, the running game and quarterback Ryan Tannehill (26-for-34, 240 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions) posting a 114.8 passer rating spelled doom for the Bills.
It was a huge victory for the Dolphins, who had lost three consecutive games and four of the last five to the Bills.
The winning offensive formula for the Dolphins so far has been a strong ground game and efficient passing by Tannehill. The combination has produced effective results.
"It keeps the chains moving," said Tannehill, who has posted a passer rating of more than 100 in three of the last five games, all victories.
"I think that's the biggest thing (because) when you keep drives alive and keep the chains moving, it keeps your defense off of the field. It tires out the other defense. Ultimately, if you keep doing that, you're going to score points.
"I think that the defense played great once we got the lead. The defense really stepped up and held them where they were at."
The biggest surprise of the game wasn't the victory, but the performance of the makeshift offensive line.
Left tackle Ja'Wuan James was making his first start at the position, having shifted from right tackle. Right tackle Dallas Thomas was making his first start at the position having shifted from left guard. And left guard Shelley Smith was making his first start at the position having come off the bench.
And somehow they held up against the Bills' formidable defensive line.
"I thought that they played well," Tannehill said of the line. "Most of the night, I was able to get the ball out of my hands (and) get through my reads. (There were a couple plays) where there was nobody open. I went through my progressions and I would go back to my (fourth read) and then the sack happened.
"It's not just that the offensive line gave up five sacks; it's me getting the ball out of my hands (and) receivers running and them blocking. It's a full picture."
But thanks largely to the offensive line, the Dolphins remain in the playoff picture as they head into this week's game against the Denver Broncos. ...
Other notes of interest. ... As noted above, Miller delivered more than expected after his injured shoulder limited him to just 11 snaps four days earlier against Detroit. Miller's effort was a big key to defeating Buffalo because it gave the Dolphins a balanced attack.
Head coach Joe Philbin didn't take a guess on how much Miller's shoulder might have hurt.
"He'd probably be the better guy to ask that question," he said. "I thought he ran hard. I thought he was decisive. His play speed was good. I thought he did OK."
Miller had a 33-yard run in the third quarter, the longest run by a Dolphins RB this season and the third-longest of his career.
As Pro Football Focus notes, the Dolphins offensive line requires a back that can cut on a dime, with designed cutback lanes often impeded by up field penetration. For that they're grateful for Miller, who is able to turn plays that look like they're going nowhere, into drive builders.
The only blot on his copybook was his usual subpar pass protection which will continue to keep him off the field on every down. ...
Also according to PFF, on passes thrown less than 20 yards in the air Tannehill went 26-of-30 for all 240 of his yards. ...
According to the Sports Xchange, Damien Williams had a 32-yard reception against Buffalo and is beginning to show the hard-running that got the undrafted rookie from Oklahoma a spot on the 53-man roster. ...
Receiver Brandon Gibson, who has been used sparingly and was even inactive for one game, had his first TD of the season against Buffalo. ...
Mike Wallace expressed his frustration over Miami's red zone scoring as of late. The Dolphins finished 2 of 6 in the red zone Thursday night against Buffalo, and Wallace was held to just four catches for 38 yards in Week 11.
According to Wallace, the blame should be placed on the players and not on offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, per the South-Florida Sun Sentinel.
"We keep leaving touchdowns on the field week after week, after week. Same story," Wallace said, "Coach (Lazor) is calling good plays, getting us in good positions, and we have to execute better. We keep doing it every week."
In case you missed it, a story on NFL.com said a few offensive players are upset with Lazor for his harsh, candid style. Philbin said he's not aware of any such complaints.
"I think Bill's doing an excellent job, number one,' Philbin said. "When I talk to the coaching staff numerous times during the course of the year, I always tell them I want us to be demanding, but never demeaning to the players.
"The foundation of a successful football team is really the relationship between the players and the coaches, and the mutual trust, the respect. Certainly, we want to do a great job communicating. I think Bill's doing an outstanding job the way he communicates with the players and, if there's issues, we want communicate, we've got an open door policy and continue to work on that." 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Ryan Tannehill, Matt Moore 
RB: Lamar Miller, Daniel Thomas, Damien Williams 
WR: Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, Jarvis Landry, Rishard Matthews, Brandon Gibson 
TE: Charles Clay, Dion Sims, Gator Hoskins 
PK: Caleb Sturgis 
=========================

=========================
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Adrian Peterson will not return to football in 2014.
The NFL announced Tuesday the Minnesota Vikings running back will be suspended without pay for the remainder of the 2014 season, and cannot be considered for reinstatement before April 15, 2015.
Commissioner Roger Goodell expanded on his decision in the following letter to Peterson:
"The timing of your potential reinstatement will be based on the results of the counseling and treatment program set forth in this decision. Under this two-step approach, the precise length of the suspension will depend on your actions. We are prepared to put in place a program that can help you to succeed, but no program can succeed without your genuine and continuing engagement. You must commit yourself to your counseling and rehabilitative effort, properly care for your children, and have no further violations of law or league policy."
Peterson, who stands accused of an "incident of abusive discipline" toward his 4-year-old son, has three days to mount an appeal, which the NFLPA indicates will happen. The All-Pro has made no secret about his desire to return to football as quickly as possible.
Peterson would continue to receive a paycheck and remain on the Commissioner's Exempt List during the appeal process.
He was most recently coming off a Monday hearing on his status on the exempt list, which opened the door for Wednesday's decision by the NFL. Barring a successful appeal, they will not get that chance until training camp in 2015. Peterson's will lose $4.2 million if he is suspended over the next six games.
In addition, the arbitrator in that Monday hearing ruled on Tuesday that the NFL was not required to remove Peterson from the Exempt List. Peterson losing his grievance means that the arbitrator agrees with the league's contention that the commissioner gets to decide when a player comes off the Commissioner's Exempt List.
That means there's no chance of Peterson being allowed to play pending the appeal of his suspension. Given that Peterson's appeal will be heard by Goodell -- the very man who just suspended him -- it is extraordinarily unlikely that Peterson will play this year.
Peterson is running out of options, other than to accept his suspension and go through the process that Goodell has laid out that could result in him being reinstated in 2015.
The NFL Players Association quickly released a statement about appealing the decision, calling the suspension "another example of the credibility gap that exists between the agreements they make and the actions they take." The NFLPA is also demanding that a neutral arbitrator oversee the process.
"We call on the NFL Management Council to show our players and our sponsors leadership by committing to collective bargaining so a fair personal conduct policy can be implemented as quickly as possible," the statement read.
Indeed, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith has had plenty of strong words for the league.
Those strong words could be supplemented with strong action.
Appearing on Tuesday's PFT Live, Smith said "litigation is inevitable" regarding Peterson. It could come in the form of an effort to force the NFL to allow Peterson to play while the appeal of his suspension is pending. If Peterson were suspended under the substance abuse policy or the PED policy, he'd be permitted to play while his internal appeal rights are exhausted; why shouldn't he play while the appeal of his punishment for off-field conduct proceeds?
Smith also declined to identify the NFL executive who allegedly told Peterson that the games missed during his paid suspension would count as "time served," deferring the disclosure to the formal appeal process. Likewise, Smith explained that a third-party arbitrator should resolve the appeal, not Goodell.
For what it's worth, the Vikings had no complaints in the wake of the suspension announcement.
"The NFL has informed the Vikings of today's decision regarding Adrian Peterson," the team said in a statement issued on Tuesday morning. "We respect the league's decision and will have no further comment at this time."
The Vikings respect the decision, but they may not like it. And now they have reason to like it even less.
That's because Peterson's status won't be revisited until April 15, 2015.
According to Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio, the Vikings' hands will be tied until at least one month into the 2015 league year, making it harder to trade him (if they choose to do so), since any team that may be interested in him likely will have addressed their needs at the position elsewhere in free agency. The end result could be that the Vikings ultimately will have to decide to keep him at a salary of $12.75 million for 2015, or to cut him. ...
Stay tuned. ... Regardless of the ultimate outcome, we certainly haven't heard the last of this one. ...
One last minute note here. .. According to ESPN.com's Field Yates, the Vikings have claimed Ben Tate off waivers.
Tate was released by the Browns earlier this week. The Vikings learned that Peterson was suspended for the rest of the season. It all makes sense. We'll have more on the team's plans for Tate going forward via Late-Breaking Updates as further details come to light. ...
Other notes of interest. ... The Vikings have a new coaching staff. There's a fresh start at the quarterback position. The defense has been one of the toughest in the league to pass against this season. That game at Chicago, though, was one of those seen-this-before bad movies for a team that still has a lot of flaws. Regression was one way to put it.
"None of that showed up in practice. They were enthusiastic and energetic before the game," head coach Mike Zimmer said Monday.
Whatever the reason or cause, the Vikings sure looked a lot like last year's version while losing 21-13 to fall into a last-place tie with the Bears in the NFC North at 4-6.
Teddy Bridgewater finished 18 for 28 for 158 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but he passed for only 56 yards through three quarters. He took two sacks.
As Pro Football Focus noted, rarely throwing downfield, the Louisville product settled for checkdowns and erred on the side of caution for most of the game, seldom making mistakes but also failing to really challenge the defense.
Bridgewater attempted only one pass more than 20 yards downfield, his final throw of the game. Sixteen of his 25 aimed passes were between the numbers and within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. ...
Tight end Kyle Rudolph played just 14 snaps and was not targeted in his Week 11 return from groin surgery. Zimmer told 1500ESPN.com that Rudolph "was feeling his way a little bit still. And so you know he's got to let it loose a little bit more.
"We wanted to be careful with him, but on the same token he needs to continue to feel good about where he's at and try to let it loose too."
The report noted tight end Chase Ford, not Rudolph, was on the field as Minnesota mounted a late comeback attempt in Sunday's loss at Chicago and the Vikings stuck with Rhett Ellison and Ford in their two-tight end sets on first and second down, for the most part. Bridgewater found Ellison on a well-executed bootleg off play-action for the Vikings' only touchdown. ...
Receiver Charles Johnson saw his role in the Vikings' offense continue to increase on a day when a hamstring injury limited Jarius Wright's playing time and Greg Jennings briefly left the game with an injury to his ribs. Johnson finished the day as the Vikings' leading receiver, with six catches on seven targets for 87 yards. ...
Wright, perhaps the team's most underrated player, didn't catch a pass and was targeted only once.
Neither Wright nor Jennings were expected to practice Wednesday. I'll have more on their status via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses. ...
Patterson had another invisible game with just two catches for 24 yards. He was targeted just three times and is proving more and more that his inability to run sharp routes and be where he's supposed to be is hindering his progress. Both of Patterson's catches came in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings didn't spend much time trying to establish the run, with Bridgewater handing off to a running back just 10 times. Cordarrelle Patterson got a toss out off the backfield for two yards, and Bridgewater kept the ball on one read-option play, but the Vikings' lack of a run game contributed significantly to the fact they held the ball for just 21:22.
For what it's worth, Patterson hasn't just come up short as a receiver. The Minneapolis Star Tribune notes that Patterson who has 28 catches for 332 yards and a touchdown in what was supposed to be his breakout season, isn't faring much better returning kickoffs.
He ranks 10th among 18 qualifying kickoff returners with an average of 24.4 yards. Last year he led the NFL by averaging 32.4 yards per return and scoring two touchdowns. His longest return this season is 49 yards. ...
This week, the Vikings return to TCF Bank Stadium still in search of their first division victory, as they begin a three-game homestand against the Green Bay Packers. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Teddy Bridgewater, Christian Ponder 
RB: Jerick McKinnon, Matt Asiata, Ben Tate, Joe Banyard, Adrian Peterson 
RB: Jerome Felton 
WR: Greg Jennings, Cordarrelle Patterson, Jarius Wright, Charles Johnson, Adam Thielen 
TE: Kyle Rudolph, Chase Ford, Rhett Ellison, MarQueis Gray 
PK: Blair Walsh 
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NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
As Associated Press sports writer Howard Ulman framed it: "Need a quarterback to throw for four touchdowns or a running back to rush for four?
"The New England Patriots have those.
"How about a defense to dominate the NFL's highest scoring team?
"The Patriots have done that. Twice. ..."
Ulman went on to explain the Patriots latest blowout, 42-20 over the Indianapolis Colts, was their sixth straight win and another sign of their all-around superiority entering the last six weeks of the season. At 8-2, they have the best record in the AFC with wins over the other three division leaders.
"Whatever it takes," Tom Brady said.
On Sunday night, it took little-known Jonas Gray to rush for 201 yards and four touchdowns behind a steamrolling offensive line.
In the previous game, Brady was the key to the prolific offense, throwing for four scores in a 43-21 rout of the Broncos.
Denver entered that as the leader in points per game. Indianapolis took over that spot before Sunday night's game.
Now it belongs to New England.
"We always try to stay balanced," Brady said. "You never go in saying we're going to run it this much or throw it this much. You try to get the runs on your terms, and if they're going to load up and stop it, you've got to throw it, but if they're not going to respect the running game, you've got to keep giving it to him."
For the record, the NFL and Elias Sports Bureau made an official change to Gray's rushing total for Sunday night, giving him 37 carries for 201 yards instead of 38 carries for 199 yards.
In the fourth quarter on third-and-2 with 10:31 remaining, Gray had a carry that went for negative-2 yards, but there was a penalty that was enforced on the play. The Colts were offsides, but the accepted penalty was a personal foul facemask on Colts linebacker Erik Walden.
With that play now having been nullified, Gray gets those 2 yards back (and finishes with zero negative rushes).
As Pro Football Focus noted, the combination of a solid game by his own offensive line and a dreadful display by the Colts' front seven gifted him a platform that he converted into consistent yards. Gray gained 96 of his 199 yards on 16 carries when the Patriots pulled a blocker from the backside; 6.0 yards per carry with more than half of that (3.2 yards per carry) coming before first contact.
Of course, the emphasis is likely to shift away from the running game on Sunday since the Lions (7-3) have allowed the fewest yards on the ground in the NFL.
"It's going to be a great challenge for us," said fullback James Develin, who threw key blocks for Gray. "Whatever gets the 'W' on the board is what we'll do."
The challenge for the defense won't be as great as it was against the Broncos and the Colts. Only six teams have scored fewer than the Lions' 18.8 points per game.
The Patriots held Reggie Wayne to five catches by matching Darrelle Revis up with him. The other wide receiver, T.Y. Hilton, also was limited, making three catches. And the Colts running game managed 19 yards on 17 carries.
"I just think as a competitor when you go against the best you want to go out there and play well," Devin McCourty said. "That's anybody, whether the offense plays (against) a good defense and vice versa. You want to go out there and play great against a great team or a great player."
The Patriots have a few of them coming up in their next two games -- Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson followed by Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay.
But this is the time of year the Patriots are nearly unbeatable -- 22-2 in the last six games of the past four seasons.
"We know how critical each game is," Gray said. "Every game becomes bigger and bigger."
Meanwhile, as ESPN.com's Mike Reiss suggested, for a player who spent the first six weeks of the season on the practice squad and entered the NFL in 2012 as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Dolphins coming off a torn ACL sustained at Notre Dame, it has never been bigger than this.
Gray was charted on the field for a career-high 53 snaps (not including kneel-downs) Sunday night, and the Patriots' focus on power running was clear from the start when they churned out 77 rushing yards on their opening drive.
It almost didn't turn out that way, though, with head coach Bill Belichick admitting that Gray was a serious consideration to make the 53-man roster coming out of training camp.
"We talked about that long and hard," Belichick said. "We really talked about bringing him up on the roster several weeks before we did [Oct. 16]. I had several conversations with him in previous weeks, telling him, ‘You're close. We want to try to get you on the roster but right now we've had a couple other issues we've had to deal with.' I think we all felt as a coaching staff that he would be playing for us at some point this year at that final cut. Obviously we didn't want to expose him, but we did what we thought was best."
When top big back Stevan Ridley sustained a season-ending torn ACL on Oct. 12 against the Bills, the door finally swung open for Gray. He plowed through it, just as he did the sizable holes created by Patriots' offensive linemen, tight ends and fullbacks Sunday night.
As Reiss put it, "This was power football at its best -- a black-and-blue performance with shades of Gray."
For the record, Gray joined Barry Sanders, Doug Martin and Mike Anderson as the only running backs in the past 50 years to run for more than 180 yards and score four touchdowns on the road, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
He was also named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his effort.
The question is, can Gray be counted on as a high-end weekly contributor?
It's the Patriots.
None of the primary running backs should be considered a weekly lock. There's no doubt Gray has worked his way into the conversation, much like LeGarrette Blount did as a Patriot late last season, but if you expect the same game plan against Detroit's NFL-best run defense as we saw this past weekend, you would be reaching. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Rob Gronkowski had played all but five snaps on offense, yet another sign that he is all the way back from his torn ACL. He was coming off a season-high 78-snap performance against Denver on Nov. 2. His 63 snaps Sunday against the Colts were his third-highest total of the season (also had 66 against the Bengals on Oct. 5), and as he showed with his remarkable touchdown catch and run, he finished strong. ...
As PFF noted, Gronkowski wasn't the focal point of the offense, but he put in the dirty work as a run blocker and took his chances with ball in hand when they came.
Julian Edelman's 35 snaps were a season-low, which was likely a result of whatever ailed him after he landed on one of the sticks along the sideline in the first quarter. He played 10 of the first 12 snaps in the game before the injury and then was used in a limited role after that point. ... Danny Amendola mixed into some two-receiver sets in place of Edelman. ... Bryan Tyms started and played two snaps on the opening drive and only saw two snaps the rest of the game.
Edelman missed a few snaps against the Colts after landing hard on his hip on the sideline trying to make a leaping reception. Edelman seemed to have landed on the first-down stick, but returned to finish the game.
Shane Vereen gained 18 yards on his only carry Sunday while catching all four of his targets for 59 yard. Even on a big night for Gray, Vereen still delivered some production in PPR leagues. ...
James White was a healthy scratch in Indy. The fourth-round rookie was inactive for the eighth time in 10 games. Aaron Dobson was also a healthy scratch against the Colts, the second-year second-round pick inactive for the seventh time in 10 games. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo 
RB: Shane Vereen, Jonas Gray, Brandon Bolden, James Develin, James White 
WR: Brandon LaFell, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Bryan Tims, Aaron Dobson, Matthew Slater 
TE: Rob Gronkowski, Tim Wright, Michael Hoomanawanui 
PK: Stephen Gostkowski 
=========================

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NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
The New Orleans Saints will have to continue their chase for an NFC South title without a pair of starters: receiver Brandin Cooks and safety Rafael Bush.
Cooks had surgery on Monday on his broken right thumb and his recovery time is expected to be four to six weeks, said his agent, Jeff Sperbeck.
The recovery time became moot on Tuesday, however, when the Saints placed the rookie wideout on season-ending IR.
Bush said he has a fractured bone in his lower right leg. Bush initially said the broken bone was his tibia, but a person familiar with the situation said Bush mistakenly used the wrong term and that the fracture was to Bush's fibula. Associated Press sports writer Brett Martel reports the injury will likely be surgically repaired to hasten healing, but it's not yet clear if Bush will miss the rest of the season.
Both injuries occurred inside the final five minutes of New Orleans' 27-10 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday, and because Cooks and Bush were hurt when that game was no longer in doubt, they'll miss far more meaningful action coming up.
New Orleans (4-6) has six games remaining and is tied with Atlanta (4-6) atop the NFC South. Carolina (3-7-1) is close behind, followed by Tampa Bay (2-8) which won only its second game of the season in Week 11 but is now just two games out of the division lead.
Cooks, a first-round draft choice last spring, has assumed a prominent role in the offense and also has been New Orleans' primary punt returner.
He's second on the Saints in both catches with 53 and yards receiving with 550, to go with three touchdown receptions this season. He has also rushed seven times for 73 yards and a touchdown.
His injury occurred during a punt return. His right hand appeared to be struck by a tackler's helmet, and he fumbled.
Bush's injury occurred when he raced toward the line of scrimmage to help tackle Cincinnati's Jeremy Hill on a running play.
Head coach Sean Payton was somewhat cryptic when asked if he was comfortable that his current roster possessed the depth to overcome recent injuries.
"There's certain positions in-house that are deeper," Payton began, adding that there are "others where you would look very quickly to a short list that are outside the building. Those are things we meet on all the time."
The roster upheaval comes as the Saints try to sort out costly breakdowns, particularly on defense. New Orleans has lost leads in the last two minutes of four games and on Sunday allowed Cincinnati to convert nine of 13 third downs, including five conversions ranging from third-and-8 to third-and-18.
Meanwhile, the Saints, who still rank second in the NFL in total offense and third in passing offense, have six experienced receivers on the roster but veteran Robert Meachem has also been dealing with an ankle injury. Backups Joseph Morgan and Nick Toon and pass-catching running backTravaris Cadet could become more important in the short term.
As NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal suggests, the Saints will mostly rely heavily on Graham and starting receivers Marques Colston and Kenny Stills. It would also help if they could get running back Pierre Thomas back from shoulder and rib injuries, as he's also a big part of the screen passing game.
Cooks will also need to be replaced as the Saints' punt returner, as Cadet is listed as the backup on the depth chart. The Saints rank 31st in the NFL with just 3.5 yards per punt return.
Next up, the Saints will host the Baltimore Ravens (6-4) on "Monday Night Football."
Although the Saints have suddenly lost their magic touch at home, the one thing they have continued to do consistently well this season is dominate in prime-time games at home. They have won 14 straight, including the playoffs, by nearly 20 points per game.
That said, their NFL-record streak of 28 straight home games with 20-plus points was snapped. ...
Other notes of interest. ... According to Pro Football Focus, it's amazing to think as precise as Brees threw the ball that the Saints could only muster 10 points on the day.
Per PFF, "Brees was accurate on a ridiculous 34 of his 39 targets," but all that led to just 255 yards. Some of this is on Brees for not taking more shots downfield, but the completely ineffective rushing attack and lack of production after the catch from wide receivers (averaged 2.8 YAC) didn't help either.
In addition, ESPN.com's Mike Triplett notes the Saints took very few deep shots -- partly by design against the Bengals' zone-heavy scheme. But when Brees did throw deep, he missed. He overshot a wide-open Cooks in the first quarter after he recognized him late in the progression. Brees also overshot Colston in the fourth quarter, possibly because he was hit as he threw.
As for tight end Jimmy Graham's limited (three catches for 29 yards on three targets, plus an incomplete pass that resulted in a late-hit penalty) production?
According to Triplett, it seemed like the Saints were settling for a lot of underneath throws by design. And on the few plays when it appeared Brees was looking deeper for Graham, the Bengals usually had two guys in the area, which led to more check-downs.
Graham was never an option on any of the four goal-line plays. He was an attractive target in single coverage later inside the 10-yard line, but Brees went with a 9-yard TD pass to an uncovered Stills instead. ...
As the Sports Xchange notes, the Saints have been running the ball effectively this season, but they were stoned for the most part by the Bengals. Mark Ingram had his three-game streak of 100-yard performances stopped when he was held to 67 yards and a 2.9-yard average on 23 attempts with a long gain of 13 yards.
As a team, the Saints, who were limited as to what they could do by injuries, finished with 75 yards on 26 attempts with a 2.9 average. ...
Meanwhile, Thomas, who has shoulder and rib injuries, missed his fourth consecutive game Sunday and it's not known when he'll return. Khiry Robinson was also sidelined for a fourth consecutive game because of a forearm injury. His status moving forward is also unclear.
Robert Meachem was inactive for the second week in a row because of an ankle injury and running back Edwin Baker did not play against the Bengals after suffering a concussion in the previous game.
I'll be following up on all four players via Late-Breaking Update in coming days. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Drew Brees, Luke McCown 
RB: Mark Ingram, Travaris Cadet, Brian Leonard, Pierre Thomas, Khiry Robinson 
FB: Erik Lorig 
WR: Marques Colston, Kenny Stills, Robert Meachem, Nick Toon, Joe Morgan 
TE: Jimmy Graham, Ben Watson, Josh Hill, Tom Crabtree 
PK: Shayne Graham 
=========================

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NEW YORK GIANTS
Sitting at home hours after tying his career-worst game with five interceptions, Eli Manning couldn't avoid watching the video of the frustrating loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Five interceptions in 45 passes, or one every nine throws. Five interceptions in a game that sent the Giants (3-7) to their fifth straight loss. Five interceptions in a 16-10 loss, including three on plays that started in San Francisco territory.
As Associated Press sports writer Tom Canavan, it was akin to last season, when Manning threw a career-worst 27 interceptions. It was also out of character for this season. Coming into the game, Manning had thrown six picks all season in the new west coast offense.
Bad Eli returned at the worst time, and it was hard for him to turn the page Sunday night.
"Sometimes you don't always see it exactly how you thought you saw it on certain plays," Manning said Monday. "You try to learn from it. It's hard to put it behind you. It kind of wakes you up and you start thinking about it at night also when you are trying to sleep. Plays you wish you had back or opportunities you wish you had."
While there were some interceptions where Manning and his receivers seemed to be out of sync, the two-time Super Bowl MVP said none of the picks resulted from a miscommunication between him and the intended targets.
"I think all of them were on me, just a poor decision and trying to make the throw, or an inaccurate throw," said Manning, who added even if a receiver blew an assignment he probably still would take the blame.
Manning was candid about the interceptions.
Linebacker Chris Borland got inside Odell Beckham and made the first interception in Giants' territory to set up a field goal.
Linebacker Michael Wilhoite got the second on a play where Manning saw a cornerback jumping a route. He tried to stop the throw and ball slipped out and went Wilhoite at the 49ers 14.
Safety Eric Reid made the third interception on a play Manning got rid of the ball under intense pressure. He probably should have held it.
Chris Culliver got the fourth interception at the San Francisco 20, while Borland got the last one at the 49ers 2 with less than five minutes to play. The pick came on fourth down after New York got a first-and-goal at the 4.
"The one on the fourth down was just double tipped, those are kind of unfortunate," Manning said. "Some are from pressure and trying to throw it before the receiver gives me an exact place I want to put the ball, and just throwing it inaccurately."
Manning is having an outstanding season, hitting 224 of 366 passes for 2,495 yards, 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He is completing more than 61 percent of his passes.
Head coach Tom Coughlin said Manning threw the interceptions but there are many who can share the blame.
The offensive line allowed him to get hit too many times and never got the running game going despite the return of No. 1 halfback Rashad Jennings. The 49ers also did a good job of getting defenders close to Manning just as he was about to release the ball, forcing him to hurry and make mistakes.
"There was no tempo or rhythm with regard to run-pass, pass-run," Coughlin said.
Even with all this mistakes, the Giants had a first and goal at the 49ers 4 with five minutes to play. They threw three fade routes and Coughlin said two of them should have been caught.
"You have a chance to win the game," Coughlin said. "Somebody make a play. Get the ball in the end zone and you win. I will remember that one. As a matter of fact, I thought when (Beckham) made that spectacular catch, I figured this is going to be great. We are going to win one of those nail biters."
Up next, the Giants host the 7-3 Dallas Cowboys, who are coming of their bye, at MetLife Stadium.
Other notes of interest. ... According to New York Daily News staffer Ebenezer Samuel, it definitely wasn't the return that Jennings wanted.
Jennings, who missed the last four weeks with a sprained MCL in his left knee, said his injury was "all right" after the game, but his performance (59 rushing yards on 18 carries) wasn't. And when the Giants needed him most, he was unable to deliver.
On fourth-and-1 from the Niner 43, with thirty seconds left in the third quarter, the Giants gave Jennings the ball and needed him to earn a few inches. He couldn't, getting stuffed for no gain by Antoine Bethea and Ray McDonald.
"I didn't make enough plays," Jennings said. "The ball is in my hands and I have to make the play. ..."
On a more positive note, the knee held up well.
"We're good; no setbacks," said Jennings. "That is all in the past. ..."
In a game that will be remembered for Manning's five interceptions, Pro Football Focus notes that Rueben Randle actually performed like the second wide receiver the Giants need with Victor Cruz out.
While three of Manning's interceptions came when targeting Randle, he was able to make plays and gain good chunks of yards averaging 16 yards per catch.
Randle and Preston Parker both got dinged up Sunday but returned to the game.
Parker suffered a sprained ankle. Randle was dealing with cramps and also took a couple of hard shots, but said he was OK afterward. He finished with seven catches for a career-high 112 yards. ...
One last note here. ... Guard Geoff Schwartz was activated from the short-term injured reserve list on Monday. Schwartz underwent a lengthy rehab after dislocating his toe in the preseason. Coughlin would not say where Schwartz will fit in to the offensive line upon his return, according to the Daily News. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Eli Manning, Ryan Nassib 
RB: Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams, Orleans Darkwa 
RB: Henry Hynoski 
WR: Odell Beckham, Rueben Randle, Preston Parker, Corey Washington, Kevin Ogletree 
TE: Larry Donnell, Daniel Fells, Adrien Robinson 
PK: Josh Brown 
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NEW YORK JETS
The season hasn't gone the way Rex Ryan and the New York Jets expected. Not even close.
Still, Ryan insists his team is motivated -- even when people outside the facility can't imagine what there might be left to play for.
"We have six one-game seasons," Ryan said Monday. "That's kind of how we look at it."
The running theme for the last two months has been the future for the Jets (2-8), as in who will be here and who won't when the 2015 season kicks off.
According to Associated Press sports writer Dennis Waszak Jr., those questions, as far as this group of Jets is concerned, are for another time. They've got to prepare for the Buffalo Bills, who embarrassed them 43-23 at MetLife Stadium three weeks ago in a game marked by Geno Smiththrowing interceptions on three straight possessions in the first quarter.
"Playing against Buffalo the first time, we knew what we were getting into," said Michael Vick, who had three turnovers of his own in that first meeting. "This time around, hopefully we can come out there and do things differently. We have to protect the football."
The Jets, despite the mistakes, were still in the game at halftime -- trailing 24-17. But Buffalo took over in the second half with four straight scores while taking advantage of more miscues to turn it into a rout.
"We have to play a zillion times better than the last time we played Buffalo," Ryan said. "I think that's safe to say."
Vick will be starting his third straight game Sunday, with Smith having been benched since that debacle against the Bills. The Jets also will be looking to build off the win in their last game against Pittsburgh that snapped an eight-game skid.
There was relief after that victory, which helped the Jets avoid setting a franchise record for consecutive losses. With that dubious distinction no longer a factor, the players appeared loose in their first practice back. Music blared briefly in the locker room and guys were playfully shouting at each other, hardly the sign of a team that seemed on the verge of a total collapse just over a week ago.
"It's not hard to stay motivated," Vick said. "Like I say each and every week, you're going to be evaluated by somebody, even if it's by someone who admires you, one of your fans who like the way you play, who appreciates your game. It's always high expectations. Even though the playoffs are not in the picture, we have to understand that a strong finish is very key.
"It's important for the morale going into the following year or whatever it may be, or just for you yourself. I think you just have to keep the right mindset and keep plugging away."
Ryan switched some things up on his team, looking for better results this time coming off the break. After all, his teams are 1-4 in games following the bye.
Instead of giving the players six days off, as he has done at times in the past, he had them practice last week through Wednesday, and had a practice session Monday.
"Hopefully it works, man, the new schedule here," Ryan said. "I will say this, for sure, our guys were fresh and our guys were flying around. We had as good a practice as we've ever had coming off a bye. We'll see if that means anything, but I think it does."
Four of the Jets' last six games are against AFC East opponents -- one each against Buffalo (5-5) and New England (8-2), and two against Miami (6-4) -- so they'll get a chance to make things a little tougher for their division rivals in the playoff hunt.
"We want to try to win every one of them," Vick said. "We have the opportunity to do some good things."
For what it's worth, ESPN.com's Rich Cimini notes that with Vick at the helm, the turnover machine has been stuck in an "off" position -- none in the last two games for the Vick-led offense.
Vick, 1-1 as the starting quarterback, admits he was embarrassed by his careless performance against the Bills.
"Yeah, you're always embarrassed when you turn the ball over three times," he said Monday. "You feel bad for the home fans and the people that come out there to support. You feel bad for your coaches, who put the time and effort into trying to make you the best player you can be on Sundays. You kind of let them down in that area."
If Vick plays a clean game and the offense manages to avoid self-destruction, it'll serve as reminder the Jets aren't a lost cause when they get competent play from the quarterback position. It can't get worse than six turnovers.
"If we run fullback dive 50 times, we'd have a better chance of winning that way than we would with how we played the last time," Ryan said.
Hard to argue the point. ...
Other notes of interest. ... As the Sports Xchange notes, wide receiver Eric Decker (43 receptions for 450 yards and four touchdowns) is more of a complimentary piece but he has been generally reliable when healthy. Percy Harvin (17 catches for 174 yards) hasn't broken a big play yet but has thus far proven worthy of the opportunity to prove he can be an every-down, downfield receiver.
Will that be enough to save general manager John Idzik's job?
Jeremy Kerley (26 catches for 237 yards and one touchdown) signed a four-year extension Oct. 21, but he has four catches since then. ...
Vick is the Jets' leading rusher the last three games, which underscores how unpredictable RBs Chris Ivory (123 rushes for 548 yards and five touchdowns) and Chris Johnson (85 rushes for 360 yards and one touchdown) have been.
Some of it is game flow the Jets literally went weeks without holding a lead before beating the Steelers prior to the bye but offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg's usage of Ivory remains confounding. More than 20 percent of Ivory's carries and yardage have come on the Jets' first series of a game. ...
Defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson and rookie tight end Jace Amaro weren't on the field Monday during the 30-minute window open to the media, as the New York Jets returned to practice after a four-day break over the bye.
Wilkerson and Amaro didn't practice because of illnesses, according to Ryan.
Amaro should be fine for Sunday. The rookie ranks second on the Jets in receptions (34), receiving yards (291) and touchdowns (two).
And finally. ... Ryan declined to go into detail about what prompted him to shout an expletive as he walked to midfield after the win over the Steelers, resulting in a $100,000 fine from the NFL. He also wouldn't confirm whether it was to an official or someone on the Steelers.
"I burned that bad boy," Ryan jokingly said of the letter from the league announcing the fine. "I was stunned by it, to say the least." 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Michael Vick, Geno Smith, Matt Simms 
RB: Chris Ivory, Chris Johnson, Bilal Powell 
RB: John Conner, Tommy Bohanon 
WR: Eric Decker, Percy Harvin, Jeremy Kerley, Greg Salas, Saalim Hakim, Walter Powell. T.J. Graham, Chris Owusu 
TE: Jeff Cumberland, Jace Amaro, Zach Sudfeld 
PK: Nick Folk 
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OAKLAND RAIDERS
Derek Carr is struggling, but the Raiders appear intent on letting him work his way out of it rather than turn to their $8 million backup Matt Schaub.
Carr was 18 of 34 for 172 yards Sunday, but couldn't get the Raiders into the end zone in a 13-6 road loss to the San Diego Chargers. The Raiders have produced 233 yards or less on offense in four of the last five games and have just 17 first downs in their last two games.
What's wrong? Carr has had the same answer for the last month.
"That's going to be hard to say without seeing the film," Carr said. "I felt at times we were moving the ball well. There may be a missed assignment here or there but there's not just one answer to it."
As the Sports Xchange notes, more than half of the Raiders' drives this season have ended in either a three-and-out or a turnover.
In the last two games against Denver and San Diego, the Raiders went three-and-out 15 times. In each of the last two games, Carr has played a role in an embarrassing turnover.
Against Denver, Carr, under pressure, flipped a short forward pass to guard Khalif Barnes, believing he was running back Darren McFadden. Against the Chargers, the mistake happened on the first play from scrimmage.
From a shotgun formation, Carr stepped forward to change a play, only to be surprised by the snap from center Stefen Wisniewski. It hit his hands, fell to the ground, and San Diego linebacker Donald Butler recovered at the 22-yard line.
Two plays later, Philip Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Malcom Floyd. The game was 53 seconds old, but it was the only touchdown of the game.
"We had a certain play called and I went up to change the play and it just happened to be snapped at that time," Carr said.
"It was a miscommunication, and it shouldn't have happened," Wisniewski said. "If we don't turn that ball over early, maybe we're not even down because of how well (the defense) played."
Carr has set Raiders rookie records for passing yardage and touchdown passes, but has yet to get his first win and his play, as well as of the offense as a whole, has regressed in recent games.
When the Raiders played the Chargers in Oakland on Oct. 12, Carr passed for 282 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. The Raiders led 28-21 in the fourth quarter, only to have the defense give it up to Rivers in Tony Sparano's first game as interim Raiders coach.
Schaub was acquired from the Houston Texans to be the starting quarterback while Carr gained some seasoning. But while Schaub had some elbow issues and Carr struck for three touchdown passes in the preseason finale, head coach Dennis Allen switched to Carr and there was no looking back.
Apparently, there still isn't.
"We never had that conversation on the sideline," Sparano said when asked if there was any thought of going to Schaub against the Chargers.
Asked if he would consider playing Schaub at some point, Sparano said, "I don't see that happening right now. ..."
Worth noting, Carr's name popped up on the Raiders injury report Monday night, but the rookie quarterback doesn't think it's anything that will keep him out of Thursday's game against Kansas City. He was limited both Monday and Tuesday.
Carr suffered a quad injury sometime in the first quarter against the Chargers. Carr stayed in the game and didn't seem too bothered by the injury. As ESPN.com's Michael Wagaman noted, Carr moved around in the pocket and scrambled out of trouble several times without being slowed down.
Though the Raiders have an abbreviated week of practice, Carr says he'll be fine to play.
"I played the whole time with it," Carr said. "It's not a big deal. Coming off a plane trip, sleeping, not moving around, it was just tight. I'll be OK. I'm not worried at all."
Sparano also sounded optimistic that Carr will be able to start against Kansas City and the QB is officially listed as probable. ...
Other notes of interest. ... According to ESPN.com's Jim Trotter, it's time to give second-year running back Latavius Murray more looks.
He was the lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal running game; he gained 14 and 23 yards on back-to-back carries late in the third quarter. Erase his contributions, and the running game managed just 71 yards on 19 carries.
In the first half, Oakland rushed for just 15 yards on 10 carries.
The Raiders began the day averaging 62.1 yards a game, the lowest in the league since 1946. Much of that was on the legs of Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew, veterans near the ends of their careers.
Murray is ready for more time. Asked if he deserves a bigger role, Murray replied: "I hope so. I don't make those decisions. I just make sure I'm ready when my number is called. It's tough for everybody to [sit]. Everybody wants to play. I know I want to play. I just have to be patient and when my number is called, go out there and execute. … I have to make sure I give them a reason to put me back in there."
And why not make some changes?
Oakland has failed to score more than 14 points in three straight games, which isn't completely shocking, considering the offense ranks last in total yards and rushing yards.
One last note here. ... Tight end David Ausberry did not practice with a foot injury. He's been a non-factor in the offense. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Derek Carr, Matt Schaub, Matt McGloin 
RB: Darren McFadden, Maurice Jones-Drew, Latavius Murray 
FB: Marcel Reece, Jamize Olawale 
WR: James Jones, Andre Holmes, Brice Butler, Denarius Moore, Kenbrell Thompkins, Vincent Brown 
TE: Mychal Rivera, David Ausberry, Brian Leonhardt 
PK: Sebastian Janikowski 
=========================

=========================
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
As Associated Press sports writer Rob Maaddi reported it, "From Mark Sanchez and the offense to the defense to the special teams, the Philadelphia Eagles were outplayed and overmatched against the Green Bay Packers.
"Dwelling on a miserable performance won't help."
"It's about coming back and not letting the same game beat you twice," head coach Chip Kelly said Monday. "You can't feel sorry for yourself in this league. I don't know how that's going to make you any better."
Sunday's 53-20 loss to the Packers was the worst defeat in Kelly's two seasons and the third-most points ever scored against the Eagles (7-3). Moreover, it underscored several of the team's problems.
On offense, Sanchez made some poor throws. But the receivers dropped a few passes and the offensive line didn't block well. LeSean McCoy ran better than he did in a blowout win against Carolina last Monday, but the game was out of reach.
On defense, cornerbacks Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams and the rest of the secondary were picked apart by Aaron Rodgers. The front seven couldn't generate pressure and gave Rodgers way too much time to throw.
Even special teams, who were Philadelphia's biggest strength, allowed a 75-yard punt return for a score.
"We lost as a coaching staff, as a special teams team, as an offensive team and as a defensive team," Kelly said. "It's not a finger-pointing operation. We all contribute to our wins and we all contributed to our losses."
Unlike their other two losses, the Eagles never had a chance at Lambeau Field. They trailed 30-6 by halftime on their way to their worst loss since Peyton Manning and the Broncos dismantled them in Week 4 last season 52-20.
In a 26-21 loss at San Francisco on Sept. 28, the Eagles had a chance to score the go-ahead touchdown but failed on two cracks from the 1.
In a 24-20 loss at Arizona on Oct. 26, the Eagles couldn't convert in short-yardage at the goal line and then allowed a long TD pass to blow a 3-point lead.
The Packers gave them a total beatdown from start to finish in all three phases. Green Bay's high-flying offense scored four TDs, defense had two and special teams got one.
"It's a wakeup call," linebacker Trent Cole said. "We need to get this off our minds, put it behind us and move on and win these next games."
The Eagles fell into a first-place tie with Dallas and have two games against the Cowboys in the next four weeks.
"The only way to get that bad taste out of your mouth is to go out and play again," Kelly said.
The Eagles haven't had much success against good opponents under Kelly. They're 7-0 against teams with a combined record of 25-45-1. They're 0-3 against teams with a combined record of 22-8. Overall, they're 15-2 against teams .500 or worse and 2-8 against winning teams since 2013.
The good news? The Eagles have a chance to get well Sunday against the Tennessee Titans at Lincoln Financial Field. It will be the Eagles' last game against AFC South opponents.
As ESPN.com's Phil Sheridan put it, "After that, things get very intense."
Five days after the Titans' game, the Eagles play on Thanksgiving in Dallas. They then host Seattle before getting the Cowboys again at home. That three-game stretch is going to go a long way toward deciding how the Eagles' season turns out. ...
Other notes of interest. ... As Pro Football Focus pointed out, facing pressure on less than a third of his drop-backs, Sanchez made a handful of impressive throws in the game, including at 0:50 of the second quarter, but more often either misread coverage or simply missed open receivers, though he had to deal with some off-target snaps at various points.
He threw a pass to Packers linebacker Julius Peppers, who returned it for a touchdown.
Sanchez failed to hand the ball off securely to McCoy, which led to a fumble that derailed the Eagles' first possession of the second half. Sanchez, who had been 7-for-7 in the red zone in his first two games, went 0-for-2 in his first two opportunities at Lambeau Field.
That said, rookie wide receiver Jordan Matthews stood out. Matthews continued to thrive with Sanchez. A week after he caught 12 passes for 155 yards, Matthews gained 107 and scored a touchdown on five catches. ...
Matthews, who notched his second straight 100-yard receiving game, appeared to hurt his shoulder in the second half when he was driven into the ground after a catch. But he returned to the game. ...
McCoy averaged under 4 yards per carry Sunday for the sixth time this season, notes Philly.com. Still, Kelly stuck up for McCoy on Monday.
"LeSean's our guy," Kelly said. "Right now, I think LeSean's done a good job."
McCoy is averaging 3.7 yards per carry this season after averaging 5.1 last year.
"A lot of runs he made, when you really watch them, I thought he did a good job of being patient, getting up inside, following blocks and doing things on the outside," Kelly said of McCoy's performance against Green Bay. "I don't think LeSean played poorly."
Kelly said he is not considering giving any of McCoy's carries to backup Darren Sproles. ...
Safety Earl Wolff, who has been inactive for the last two games, was placed on injured reserve Tuesday. Wolff was not on the team's injury reports last week.
To replace Wolff on the 53-man roster, the Eagles signed cornerback Roc Carmichael. Carmichael played in 13 games for the Eagles last season, including two starts. He was released at the end of training camp this summer.
In effect, the Eagles replaced Wolff on the field with Chris Prosinski, a safety and special teamer who was signed two weeks ago. Wolff started against the Houston Texans on Nov. 2 in place of injured safety Nate Allen, then was inactive for the games against Carolina and Green Bay. ...
And finally. ... Kelly said Nick Foles hasn't taken a new X-ray since breaking his collarbone two weeks ago. He'll get that test in another week or two and be re-evaluated. Foles has been cleared to run and workout. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Mark Sanchez, Matt Barkley, Nick Foles 
RB: LeSean McCoy, Darren Sproles, Chris Polk 
WR: Jeremy Maclin, Jordan Matthews, Riley Cooper, Brad Smith, Jeff Maehl, Josh Huff 
TE: Zach Ertz, Brent Celek, James Casey, Trey Burton 
PK: Cody Parkey 
=========================

=========================
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
The Steelers wasted little time in getting rid of LeGarrette Blount, releasing the veteran running back less than 24 hours after he left the field before the end of Pittsburgh's victory Monday against the Titans.
"We believe the decision to release LeGarrette is in the best interest of the organization and wish him the best of luck," head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday afternoon in a statement released by the Steelers.
According to media reports, Steelers defensive assistant Joey Porter saw Blount leaving early Monday night for the team bus and called him back into the locker room several times. Blount went back in briefly but left again before his teammates had begun postgame interviews.
"If you don't want to be here, don't be here," Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey told reporters Tuesday. "He had a decision to make as a man, and he made it. You know the consequences."
Safety Mike Mitchell defended Blount's character but said the running back didn't handle the situation properly.
"I actually know him, and a lot of people don't know him. He is not a selfish guy at all," Mitchell said. "He is a competitive guy who wants to be on the field, wants to win games, wants to help us win games. It's a bad perception I think he gets a lot of times, but he has to be smarter in that situation."
Blount, who signed a two-year, $3.85 million contract with the Steelers in March, played only a couple of snaps against the Titans. He did not receive a carry in a game for the first time this season as the Steelers leaned heavily on Le'Veon Bell, who rushed for a career-high 204 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries.
Blount rushed for 266 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games with the Steelers, but his role in the offense decreased as Bell emerged as one of the top running backs in the NFL.
Bell, rookie Dri Archer and Josh Harris -- who was promoted from the practice squad after Blount's release -- are the only running backs on Pittsburgh's 53-man roster.
There are a handful of veteran free-agent running backs eligible to be signed to fill the void left by Blount's release.
But running back Ben Tate, who was waived by the Browns on Tuesday after falling out of favor in Cleveland, has not drawn any interest from the Steelers, a source told ESPN.com's Scott Brown.
Blount had been with his fourth team in five NFL seasons, and he missed most of his senior season at Oregon for punching an opposing player.
Blount and Bell were arrested in August for misdemeanor marijuana possession after they were pulled over on the way to Pittsburgh International Airport for a team flight to Philadelphia for a preseason game.
Bell was also charged with driving under the influence, and Tomlin said the two would be punished internally. The eighth-year coach never disclosed how he punished the two running backs, and neither Bell nor Blount missed any playing time.
Only Blount's $950,000 signing bonus was guaranteed. He will count for only $475,000 against the Steelers' salary cap in 2015.
According to Brown, Tomlin and the Steelers made what was a pretty easy decision. Tomlin had a choice of losing Blount or risk losing the locker room -- or at least having Blount further contaminate it.
Bell, who is second in the NFL with 951 rushing yards, has earned the right for the offense to run through him. His performance is clearly part of this story.
He carried the ball 33 times for 204 yards and a touchdown against the Titans.
In large part due to Bell's efforts, the Steelers go into their bye week with a 7-4 record and in pretty decent position in both the AFC North and AFC playoff picture, despite their maddening propensity to play down to their competition.
They did that again against the Titans, before Bell and the offensive line grabbed control of the game.
The 196 yards he gained between the tackles were the most by any NFL back this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
"I love running the ball, but those guys love running the ball more than me -- that's the craziest part," Bell said of the Steelers' offensive line. "Those guys kept moving guys off the ball and making my job easy."
Rushing yards had not come easy for Bell recently, even during the three-game win streak. He rushed for a combined 169 yards in those games. Add in the 36 yards he managed in a 20-13 loss to the New York Jets, and Bell averaged 51.3 rushing yards in his previous four games.
Meanwhile, as Brown suggested, "If Blount could not see that through his own selfishness and accept a role that would best support Bell -- even if that largely meant cheering for him -- then the Steelers had no choice but to get rid of him. ..."
The Steelers get a week off before hosting the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 30. The Saints (4-6) will be coming off a "Monday Night Football" game against the visiting Baltimore Ravens. ...
Other notes of interest. ... As CBSSports.com notes, wideout Antonio Brown caught nine passes for 91 yards and a touchdown in Monday's 27-24 win at Tennessee, giving him 88 receptions this season. That's 16 more than the second-place receiver, Demaryius Thomas.
Brown also leads the NFL with 1,161 receiving yards and is tied for third with nine receiving touchdowns.
Meanwhile, rookie wideout Martavis Bryant was targeted in the end zone three times Monday night at Tennessee, but he was unable to catch any of them. He finished with two catches for 11 yards.
Bryant broke loose in the first quarter for what could have been an easy touchdown, but Ben Roethlisberger floated the ball too high and too late. The pass was broken up. Roethlisberger then overthrew Bryant on an end-zone fade.
Finally, Bryant had a chance to score on a post route. He couldn't haul in the throw in tight coverage.
Bryant had six touchdowns in his previous four games.
Facing an onslaught of Titans' blitzes, Roethlisberger completed 21 of 32 throws for 207 yards and a touchdown with an interception. Despite absorbing five sacks and several other big hits, Roethlisberger led consecutive second-half touchdown drives to secure the victory. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
The Steelers are idle this week due to the NFL bye. 
=========================

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ST. LOUIS RAMS
As Associated Press sports writer R.B. Fallstrom reminded readers, at times, it looks like an 11th straight losing season for the St. Louis Rams is a done deal.
Then games like Sunday's surprise victory over Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos seem to show the overhaul by head coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead, now deep into Year 3, could really pay off.
"We're building this team and we're on the right track," Fisher said. "I think we've earned a little bit of respect."
Players have never stopped believing that consistent effort would be rewarded.
"It's fun to beat a great ballclub like that," defensive end Robert Quinn said. "Hopefully, the guys realize what we have in this room and keep building."
So far, though, results have been inconsistent to say the least. They've yet to win two straight, and which team shows up this week at San Diego is anybody's guess.
"It's gone win, loss, win, loss, win, loss," Fisher said Monday.
Three of the victories are against elite teams, with wins over the 49ers and Seahawks as well as the Broncos.
"We did everything right," rookie defensive tackle Aaron Donald said after Sunday's 22-7 victory over Denver. "We finished it off."
A week earlier, the Rams (4-6) self-destructed in the fourth quarter at Arizona, going from a four-point lead to a 17-point loss.
They blew double-digit leads in losses to the Cowboys and 49ers, and spotted the Eagles a 27-point cushion in a six-point loss.
Against the Broncos, the sixth straight opponent in a run of seven in a row against winning teams, they kept building.
"It's clearly as good of a game as we've played," Fisher said Monday. "Overall, just really happy that we got out of there with that win.
"You can't relax anytime Peyton's under center and we made enough plays to make the difference."
The offense that's among the NFL's worst had just one touchdown. But the Rams got close enough for Greg Zuerlein, who had a career day going 5 for 5 on field goals, with two beyond 50 yards.
Quarterback Shaun Hill was a difference maker in his first start since the opener, passing for 220 yards and one score. More importantly, he presided over a turnover-free day that was a key against the defending conference champ.
Rookie Tre Mason had a big game, too.
"Him throwing well helped the run game and us running well helped him throw," Mason said. "It all plays together."
The biggest key to a strong finish to the season undoubtedly will be a much-improved defense that never let the Broncos into the red zone and made two key fourth-down stops in the second half. Donald and James Laurinaitis had a sack apiece, and Trumaine Johnson and Alec Ogletree had interceptions.
The last three games, the defense has given up 34 points. Before Sunday, the season low for the Broncos' second-ranked offense was 21 points.
But the big story here, from a fantasy perspective, is Mason.
As ESPN.com's Nick Wagoner put it: "Let there be no lingering doubt: Tre Mason is the St. Louis Rams' starting running back and primary ball carrier."
Against the league's best run defense both in terms of yards allowed per game (67) and yards allowed per carry (3.19), Mason registered the first 100-yard game of his career and the most rushing yards against Denver this season. He finished with 113 yards on 29 carries, a middling but deceptive average of 3.9 yards per attempt.
While that average won't blow anyone away, the fact that Mason even got to 29 carries is a feat in and of itself.
The Broncos had faced the fewest rushing attempts in the league this year, in no small part because they often shut down the run early and jump out to big leads.
While Mason spent plenty of time hammering away between the tackles, he was also able to shake loose for a big gain every once in a while. His 27-yard run was his fourth 20-plus-yard carry of the season; he remains the only Ram to do that this season.
Clearly, the Rams trust Mason enough to turn the game over to him, too. His 29 carries were the most by a Ram this season by 10.
Even if many of those runs didn't get very far, Mason's performance was instrumental in taking the Rams to an unexpected victory.
And it gives fantasy owners with Mason on their rosters hope for more stretch-run production. ...
In a related note. ... Zac Stacy was active, but did not play for the second time in the last three weeks. He has not had a rushing attempt since the Oct. 26 game against Kansas City.
Other notes of interest. ... Hill completed 20-of-29 passes for the above-mentioned 220 yards with a passer rating of 102.7 and most important had no interceptions.
Hill helped extend drives with some key third-down conversions.
One of the biggest was a 10-yard pass to Stedman Bailey on third-and-10 in the fourth quarter that not only led to a 55-yard field goal but enabled another 2 minutes, 47 seconds to go off the clock. Kenny Britt had a 63-yard score to go with a 33-yard play, and ended up with four receptions for 128 yards. ...
And finally. ... Zuerlein was among the stars of the Sunday upset of Denver. As noted above, he slammed through all five field goals he attempted, including a 55-yarder early in the fourth quarter that was his second-longest of the season.
As CBSSports.com noted, Zuerlein successfully booted tries of 37 and 29 yards in the first half and added field goals of 22 and 53 yards after intermission to go along with the massive boot. He also kicked through his lone extra point attempt.
On Wednesday, Zuerlein was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Shaun Hill, Austin Davis 
RB: Tre Mason, Benny Cunningham, Zac Stacy, Chase Reynolds, Trey Watts 
WR: Kenny Britt, Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Chris Givens 
TE: Jared Cook, Lance Kendricks, Cory Harkey, Alex Bayer, Justice Cunningham 
PK: Greg Zuerlein 
=========================

=========================
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
The San Diego Chargers prevailed on Sunday and that was the reminder on Monday.
"The No. 1 thing is to go out and find a way to win," head coach Mike McCoy said.
Check that.
But the Chargers' 13-6 victory over the Oakland Raiders was far from a work of art.
"The only thing I worry about is winning and we won the football game," McCoy stressed.
So let others mention the Chargers have one touchdown in their past two games. Or their inability to convert third downs (7-for-26) is a trend and no longer an aberration.
McCoy is right, of course. A win is a win and after three straight losses, the Chargers will embrace that saying.
"There was lot of positives from the game overall," McCoy said. "Coaches, we always want better, and the players are shooting for a perfect game."
That search continues after the Chargers had trouble moving the ball against the winless Raiders. But regardless of the opponent, the Chargers got the triumph and pulled to within one game of the AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs.
"It was the one we had to have to get back on track," McCoy said. "We are going to learn from this one and move on to the next one."
That's where some concern comes from.
Quarterback Philip Rivers was sacked twice and hit nine times. At one time he barely made it to the sidelines, later saying he had the wind knocked out of him.
McCoy has refuted star tight end Antonio Gates' comment that Rivers has a severe rib injury.
Rivers was injured twice in Sunday's 13-6 victory against winless Oakland but remained in the game.
Afterward, while commenting on Rivers' toughness, Gates said: "For those who don't know, he's been dealing with a rib injury, a very severe rib injury. So he's been toughing it out these last three, four weeks."
Asked Monday about Gates' comment, McCoy said: "Philip's never missed a snap in practice and he hasn't been in treatment with James, so I would not say severe injury." McCoy was referring to trainer James Collins.
Admittedly, Rivers did not play his best against the Raiders. He conceded he missed on some throws that would have kept some drives alive. But he didn't have the greatest protection either, something San Diego's coaching staff has to rectify if the Chargers expect the team's franchise quarterback to make it through the season.
Rivers had his knee rolled up on, and also got the wind knocked out of him on the second sack of the day by rookie Khalil Mack. But Rivers said he made it through the game fine.
"When any player has something, you're always concerned," McCoy said. "But he was good to go. He's a warrior. He's one of the best in the business. He's one of the toughest in the business, if not the toughest at that position. He's a winner."
All that said, something isn't right with Rivers.
The veteran signal caller struggled to get into a rhythm against Oakland. Rivers finished 22-of-34 for 193 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown pass to Malcom Floyd. Rivers did not throw an interception and was sacked twice.
The Chargers have scored one touchdown in their past eight quarters of play. And with the Rams coming to San Diego, there's reason for concern. ...
Meanwhile, after telling the world Sunday that Rivers was playing through a "very severe rib injury," Gates was forced to come up with another line after McCoy sternly said there was nothing wrong with his quarterback.
"I think some things I had said were taken out of context," Gates said, via Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego. "I was just talking in terms of playing the game, just the typical soreness you have from playing in this league. I've been playing in this league a long time. I understand the process, the battles of what you have to put into a game, taking care of yourself physically.
"I'm no doctor, by [any] stretch. My job is to come out here and try to help us win. As far as Philip goes, anything pertaining to him or concerning him and his physical health, that's something maybe a doctor or a trainer or maybe himself can answer. Like I said, it was just me talking about his pure toughness, what I've known about him as a person."
As Profootballtalk.com's Darin Gantt suggested, "that must have been quite a scolding Gates got from McCoy."
The rest of the team apparently heard it too, as McCoy "briefly addressed the topic" in a team meeting, telling players what to say and not to say to the media about injuries.
Obviously the answers to those two questions are "nothing" and "anything," as the Chargers don't want the league breathing down their necks about withholding injury information.
Rivers has played on a torn ACL, so his toughness is well-documented. And watching the shot he took for Mack last week, he's clearly bothered by something, even if it doesn't get logged as an official injury.
"But," Gantt summed up, "Gates might have to go on the report now, after having his butt chewed by his coach. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... As the Sports Xchange suggested, running back Ryan Mathews gave the Chargers' morbid running game a boost, playing for the first time in Sunday's win since spraining his right knee in Week 2. "It was fun," said Mathews, who rushed for a game-high 70 yards on 16 carries, with a long of 20.
"It wasn't just me thought. It was everyone. The linemen, receivers, the quarterback putting us in good position and the tight ends. Everyone contributed."
Mathews finished with 17 touches (16 rushes, 1 catch) on his 31 snaps. ...
Wide receiver Keenan Allen said Sunday's win did more than give the Chargers' record a lift. "It was big for us, not just for the record but for our confidence," said Allen, who had game-highs in receptions (eight) and receiving yards (63). "Getting a win after the bye is big. Now we have our confidence back and are ready to roll."
Floyd found himself matched up with young Raider corners T.J. Carrie and D.J. Hayden for much of the day, notching a pair of first-down catches against Hayden while he saved his two best grabs for time in Carrie's coverage – the game's lone touchdown being one of them.
According to Pro Football Focus, Floyd's fifth game in the green in eight weeks has sent him into the Top 12 in receiving grades among WRs. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Philip Rivers, Kellen Clemens 
RB: Ryan Mathews, Branden Oliver, Donald Brown, Ronnie Brown 
WR: Keenan Allen, Malcom Floyd, Eddie Royal, Seyi Ajirotutu, Dontrelle Inman 
TE: Antonio Gates, Ladarius Green, John Phillips, David Johnson 
PK: Nick Novak 
=========================

=========================
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
The San Francisco 49ers' running game got the team going early and the defense held on late.
As ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez suggested, that's not exactly a formula that screams staying power, but Frank Gore will take it. And he hopes to continue taking, and giving, positive results for the Niners for years to come.
"I feel great and I know it's a contract year for me," Gore said Sunday after rushing for 95 yards on 19 carries in the Niners' 16-10 victory over the New York Giants.
"I still love the game and I feel great and I still want to play the game. I feel like I'm still playing at a high level and, you know, I'm just coming out here week to week. And if I won't be back here, then I'll show the other teams what I can do ... when they watch film.
"But I want to be back here."
Gore, one of just 10 backs in NFL history rush for at least 10,000 yards with one team, moved into 22nd place on the all-time rushing list Sunday, ahead of Thomas Jones and Jamal Lewis. With 10,615 yards, Gore's next target on the list is Ricky Waters, who rushed for 10,643 yards, andWarrick Dunn, who is at No. 20 with 10,967 yards.
He is well aware of his place in NFL history but getting this season's 49ers offense right is foremost on his mind. Especially with the 49ers pulling into a second-place tie in the NFC West with the Seattle Seahawks at 6-4.
Both teams, though, are three games behind the Arizona Cardinals and a game out of the wild-card race.
"We're just worrying about us," Gore said. "As long as we handle our business, at the end, whatever happens is going to happen. So you know we can't worry about Seattle, Arizona, the Rams. We've just got to come out every week and play ball."
There did seem to be a different look to the Niners' run game in the Meadowlands, though head coach Jim Harbaugh disputed it, somewhat. Twenty of their 31 designed rushes went outside of the tackles, with 15 of them going to the right side for 90 yards and five to the left side losing 5 yards, per Pro Football Focus.
"We did both," Harbaugh said. "Both is good."
Obviously the Niners had more success running to the right.
Gore did have a costly fumble at the Giants' 19-yard line to end the Niners' first drive that New York turned into a five-play touchdown drive of its own to take a 7-0 lead.
Entering Sunday, Gore had the second-most rushes among running backs without a fumble, per ESPN Stats & Information. Only Le'Veon Bell had more.
"You know, whatever coach calls, we try to do it. Whatever," Gore said. "So like I said, we'll watch the film and we've just got to clean up some stuff."
This week the 49ers host Washington (3-7), which was blown out by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-7 on Sunday.
The Niners have won the last three meetings with Washington, including last season's 27-6 "Monday Night Football" victory at FedEx Field on Nov. 25. In that game, Colin Kaepernick had three touchdown passes and zero interceptions and the 49ers defense had six sacks of Robert Griffin III. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Michael Crabtree, who was growing increasingly unhappy with his diminished role in the Niners offense -- referring to himself as a third option and third-down receiver last week -- came up big, for him, Sunday.
He caught three passes for 85 yards, including a 48-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown that gave the 49ers a 16-7 lead in the third quarter.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Crabtree gained 36 yards after the catch on the play; he had not gained more than 31 yards after the catch in a single game this season entering Sunday.
Crabtree was targeted a team-high eight times and was on the field for 52 of the team's 68 offensive snaps.
Kaepernick threw only one touchdown pass in Sunday's win over the New York Giants, but it was enough to extend his streak of recording at least one TD to 17 consecutive games. Kaepernick can tie Steve Young's franchise record of 18 in Sunday's game against the Washington Redskins.
Carlos Hyde handled the kickoff returns against the Giants. He attempted just one return, going 26 yards. Hyde was replacing injured receiver Bruce Ellington.
Ellington missed Sunday's win in New York because of a sprained ankle.
Anquan Boldin eclipsed the 12,000-yard mark in career receiving yards during Sunday's win in New York. Boldin had five catches for 53 yards, giving him 12,032 in his career. He became the 24th player in NFL history to surpass the 12,000-yard mark.
A few final notes here. ... Aldon Smith's return meant a significant reduction in the snap count of last week's hero, Ahmad Brooks, who did not seem to take a liking to the development. "We're working through something," Harbaugh said.
Apparently the two sides have "worked out" their differences, and Brooks will return to action Week 12 against Washington. Harbaugh told reporters in Monday's press conference, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.
Brooks played 12 snaps in the first half of Sunday's win over the Giants before pulling himself out of the game due to a disagreement with the linebacker rotation. Brooks leads the team with four sacks this season. Pressed on it a bit, Harbaugh said: "We need Ahmad Brooks to win a championship."
Also. ... The 49ers officially opened the practice window for linebacker NaVorro Bowman and three other players on Tuesday, according to Profootballtalk.com. Bowman, along with tight end Garrett Celek, offensive lineman Brandon Thomas and cornerback Keith Reaser will have three weeks to be added to the 53-man active roster or their seasons will be lost. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert, Josh Johnson 
RB: Frank Gore, Carlos Hyde, Alfonso Smith 
FB: Bruce Miller 
WR: Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, Brandon Lloyd, Steve Johnson, Quinton Patton, Bruce Ellington 
TE: Vernon Davis, Vance McDonald, Derek Carrier 
PK: Phil Dawson 
=========================

=========================
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
As Associated Press sports writer Tim Booth put it, "Less than six feet was all the Seattle Seahawks needed to change the tenor of where they stood compared to the rest of the NFC."
Instead, the Seahawks were turned away on three different fourth-down attempts on Sunday against Kansas City and now sit three games behind division and conference leading Arizona with six games to play.
It's not a comfortable spot for the defending Super Bowl champions even with two games remaining against the Cardinals, the first coming this Sunday at home. Seattle's remaining opponents have the highest combined winning percentage that any team will face over the final six weeks of the season.
So while Pete Carroll didn't view this week as a must-win, the importance of the week wasn't lost on the Seahawks coach.
"It's a one-game shot right now. We have to go get Arizona. These guys are flying high and we have to see if we can find a way to stop them and score on these guys and then we'll take it to the next one," Carroll said on Monday. "I'm really excited about the way this thing sets up and I think most people should be with all of the drama still out there about the division. I don't know if everybody's schedule worked out this way but we're as loaded as you can get down the stretch and it'll be exciting for everyone."
Seattle had its chances to post its most impressive road victory of the season on Sunday in Kansas City and control an opportunity to catch Arizona in the final weeks. The Seahawks outgained the Chiefs by nearly 100 yards. Seattle held a nearly 12 minute advantage in time of possession. The Seahawks gained more first downs, had more rushing yards and forced two turnovers. In the past, since Carroll arrived, that's all added up to a winning recipe.
But twice Seattle failed on fourth-down attempts in the fourth quarter in Kansas City territory. The first, on fourth-and-goal at the 2, was the most damaging when Russell Wilson threw incomplete for Doug Baldwin. A few minutes later, Marshawn Lynch was stopped on fourth-and-1 at the Chiefs' 36 with 3:38 remaining.
Seattle had one final drive end with less than 2 minutes left when Wilson's fourth-down pass for Paul Richardson fell incomplete.
"We had two good shots to win the football game with great field position and unfortunately they did a great job to keep us out of the end zone," Carroll said.
Even before the failed fourth-down attempts, Seattle struggled trying to slow down Jamaal Charles and the Chiefs' run game. Charles' 159 yards rushing were the most by a running back against the Seahawks since Adrian Peterson rushed for 182 yards in 2012.
"You can tell that they weren't out to throw the ball all over the field, they wanted to see if they could run it," Carroll said.
As has been the case for most of the season, Seattle picked up another costly injury coming out of Sunday's loss and just as the Seahawks appeared to be getting healthier. Center Max Unger will likely be out for at least three or four weeks depending on how quickly he responds from a high-ankle sprain and a twisted knee suffered in the fourth quarter.
Seattle already placed backup center Stephen Schilling on injured reserve leaving Patrick Lewis as the lone healthy center. The Seahawks signed defensive tackle Travian Robertson off the Falcons' practice squad and center Lemuel Jeanpierre was also added.
"He's been out there for some time; we know he's out there. ... Everybody is an option," Carroll said. ...
Meanwhile, Lynch was reportedly fined $100,000 on Wednesday for not talking to reporters after the the game. He has not talked regularly to the media this season though he did give a telephone interview to NFL.com's Michael Silver after the game Sunday (perhaps in an apparent effort to avoid the fine that he wound up getting anyhow).
A few minutes into their conversation, Lynch was asked a question about his future with the defending Super Bowl champions.
"Do I think I'll be gone after this season?" Lynch repeated, pausing to consider the question. "I don't know, man. The Seahawks, their front office gets in the media; they talk a lot. I don't talk too much. I just play the game.
"If they have something going on, I don't know about it."
Sometimes, however, actions speak louder than words, and Lynch, one of the sports world's most eccentric stars, seemed to make a statement about the disconnect between him and his bosses midway through Sunday's game.
While the rest of the Seahawks filed through the tunnel and into the visitors' locker room at the conclusion of the second quarter, Lynch remained on the field for the entirety of the 12-minute halftime.
Lynch, who ran for 124 yards on 24 carries, later explained to NFL Network's Michael Robinson -- his former Seahawks teammate -- that fatigue was the impetus for the decision not to go to the locker room. Said Robinson: "He told me he couldn't walk."
Carroll said Lynch merely was searching for the best way to deal with a balky back.
"He had a little episode there where he tightened up," Carroll said during his regular weekly news conference, "So he got worked and stretched the whole time to try to get ready, and came out and played like crazy again in the second half."
But as Silver put it, "The real question: Was Lynch expressing his displeasure in the wake of recent reports, citing anonymous sources, that that the Seahawks plan to give him his walking papers after this season?"
Citing a source close to the 28-year-old running back, Silver notes that such reports have contributed to his deteriorating relationship with Carroll, as Lynch partially blames him for the existence of such stories and for the possibility that his Seahawks tenure might end after the 2014 season.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Lynch "does not communicate" with Carroll. When Silver asked Lynch on Sunday if he and Carroll speak, he replied, "Pete's my head coach. Well, I mean, you know, he's really not in my position meetings. ... It ain't like we get to chop it up like that."
Lynch could be released if the Seahawks decide to go with younger, cheaper options Christine Michael and Robert Turbin, and/or to draft another back.
Asked if he'd be surprised by such a scenario, Lynch said, "I understand the business. At the end of the day, it's just a business."
During a subsequent appearance on 710ESPN Radio in Seattle, Carroll described his "unique" relationship with Lynch and told reporters that his issues stem from a recent contract dispute.
"I think it still goes back to summertime, and talking about the contract and stuff like that," Carroll said, per MyNorthwest.com. "Not everything works out exactly the way you want it."
Lynch worked past injuries to the knee, calf and ribs, rushing for 124 yards in the loss. He has 177 carries for 813 yards and nine touchdowns this season. He is expected to earn approximately $5 million in 2015 before becoming a free agent in 2016.
Again, it's going to be an interesting offseason in Seattle. ...
For what it's worth, Pro Football Focus advised readers that despite being banged-up and not getting a ton of help from his offensive line, Lynch put forth another solid performance against the Chiefs' defense. He forced six missed tackles, gained 61 yards after contact, and picked up seven first downs on the ground.
First contact was made with Lynch at or behind the line of scrimmage on nine of his 24 carries.
Other notes of interest. ... According to the Sports Xchange, it may be time to start really worrying about Seattle's passing game after a fourth straight game in which the Seahawks threw for fewer than 200 yards. The Seahawks had just 178 yards and no gain of longer than 27. Some of that is due to Seattle's emphasis of late on its running game and getting the ball to Marshawn Lynch. But Seattle's passing game has also simply been a slog at times due to shoddy protection, Wilson being off target a few more times than usual, and an inability of the receivers to get consistently open.
All of that showed up against the Chiefs, including a dropped pass by Jermaine Kearse in the end zone on a drive when the Seahawks ended up settling for a field goal. ...
Baldwin replaced rookie Richardson as the kickoff returner after Richardson had a fumble and then a four-yard return on his first two attempts. Carroll said Baldwin could remain as the kickoff returner going forward. ...
Tight end Tony Moeaki, in his first game for the Seahawks, had a 1-yard TD catch against his former teammates in the third quarter. It was his first TD reception since Week 13 of 2012, when he was playing for the Chiefs. ...
Backup wide receiver Ricardo Lockette was ejected in the third quarter for throwing a punch at Kansas City safety Kurt Coleman at the end of a Chiefs punt return. Coleman shoved Lockette on the sideline after the play ended before Lockette threw his haymaker into Coleman's facemask. ...
Linebacker Bobby Wagner (toe) has been out since getting hurt in Week 6 against Dallas could practice later this week and have a chance to play against Arizona. ... Guard James Carpenter (ankle) and linebacker Brock Coyle (glute) both could return this week as well. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Russell Wilson, Tarvaris Jackson 
RB: Marshawn Lynch, Robert Turbin, Christine Michael 
FB: Robert Turbin 
WR: Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Paul Richardson, Ricardo Lockette, Kevin Norwood, Bryan Walters 
TE: Luke Willson, Tony Moeaki, Cooper Helfet, ReShaun Allen 
PK: Steven Hauschka 
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TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
As the Sports Xchange suggested, on a team that doesn't have much star power, receiver Mike Evans may be shining the brightest of any rookie this season.
Evans took over the game in the Bucs 27-7 win over the Washington Redskins Sunday, catching seven passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns.
After watching an ESPN 30 for 30 movie Saturday night on Vikings great Randy Moss, Evans wanted to copy the swagger of one of his favorite receivers. It was appropriate, since Evans became the first rookie since Moss in 1998 to have three consecutive games with at least 100 yards receiving and one touchdown.
In fact, the last rookie to have 200-yards receiving and a pair of touchdowns in a game was the Anquan Boldin for the Arizona Cardinals in 2003.
"I didn't do Cam (Newton), I did the Randy Moss," Evans said. "I did that in college, I did that a couple times here.
"The swagger (Moss) plays with, he has fun with the game and I try to do that and model that. Yeah, I try to. Talk a little smack, whenever I score, have fun. Things like that."
Certainly, his Bucs teammates impressed.
"I played with A.J. (Green), played with Chad (Ochocinco), played with Terrell (Owens)," left tackle Anthony Collins said. "Mike will be the next one. He's really good, and he's learning from a veteran in Vincent Jackson. It's going to be real beautiful."
Evans is learning on the fly while running the fly pattern. Take his first touchdown Sunday.
While going in motion in the third quarter, Evans noticed the Washington Redskins were playing a Cover 2 trap, meaning the cornerback was likely to drop like it's another coverage before settling down and flat since he knew he has help over top with the safety.
"The first touchdown, we were laughing," quarterback Josh McCown said. "He was going in motion and he was asking me about doing something and so I'm telling him while he's in motion, "Yeah, yeah, do that, do that, do that.'
"We had a route called and it was something he was going to add to it. We talked about it possibly on the sideline. So it was truly a last-second adjustment there and he made a great play."
Evans blew past Redskins cornerback Bashaud Breeland and got up on safety Ryan Clark too quick for him to help out. The result was a 36-yard touchdown that gave the Bucs some cushion at 20-7.
"I was motioning over, and I said, "Josh, just throw it up," Evans said. "He said, "Yeah, yeah.' We got the coverage we wanted and he threw a good ball."
McCown was a teammate of Boldin with the Cardinals when he had his 200-yard receiving effort on Opening Day of 2003.
"I was there that day Anquan did that," said McCown. "I think Anquan caught like one ball in the preseason. It was opening day and I'm sitting there thinking, 'Geez, this guy, we've got something special.' Obviously, Mike being the seventh pick, you expect it more I guess. But certainly to take over and do the things he did today, it's special.
As Pro Football Focus suggested, Evans' career may have started slow but the youngster has now produced a career high in receiving yards in each of the past four games. This one will be tough to beat, however, averaging 29.9 yards per catch on his way to the 209-yard, two touchdown performance that earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors on Wednesday. ...
Still, don't be surprised if Evans continues to excel. ...
Meanwhile, another rookie seems to be on the rise. In a game in which the Bucs won with long pass plays, a significant shift came in the backfield, where rookie Charles Sims got the majority of the touches among running backs in Sunday's 27-7 win over the Redskins.
As Tampa Bay Times staffer Greg Auman noted, Sims, who made his NFL debut a week earlier after missing eight games recovering from ankle surgery, did not start, but finished with a team-high 13 carries for 36 yards and three catches for 8 yards.
Bobby Rainey, who started in place of the injured Doug Martin for a third straight game, had just 4 yards on five carries, this after totaling 14 yards the week before.
"He is looking better and better," head coach Lovie Smith said of Sims' progress. "It is tough when you miss everything. If you look at it, this is like his second preseason game, second NFL game for him and he has a high ceiling."
Rainey opened the game with a 1-yard loss, then had 2 yards on another first-down carry before he was replaced by Sims on the second series. The rookie gained 4 yards on his first carry, then 11 and 12 yards on back-to-back carries, then was stopped for a 2-yard loss. Sims got the nod on the opening series of the second half, converting a third-and-1 with a 2-yard gain.
"It felt good to be out there and compete, felt good to get the win," said Sims, a third-round pick from West Virginia. "I just had a good feeling. It's always good to be part of a win. I think we did some great things on offense."
Sims had eight carries for 23 yards and two catches for 17 yards in his debut last week, and the prominent role Sunday is a sign of things to come in the remaining six games.
Even the short-yardage plays were something backup Mike James had handled last week, going 3-for-3 on third-and-1 plays.
ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas added: "The coaching staff and front office are very high on Sims."
Worth noting: For the first time since September, the Bucs won a game. More importantly, they won in impressive fashion, turning in their best overall performance. One impressive victory doesn't erase all the hard times the Bucs have gone through this season, but it may show some light at the end of the tunnel. And believe it or not, the 2-8 Bucs are still in contention in the NFC South as they head into their Week 12 meeting with the Bears in Chicago. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Martin missed his third game with an ankle injury but he was on the practice field Wednesday and could be ready to play Sunday against the Bears.
Based on the rotation outlined above, that doesn't mean he'll actually get any touches. ...
And finally... The Bucs were flagged 11 times for 101 yards against the Redskins.
As Yasinskas reminded readers, penalties have been a persistent problem all season. The Bucs aren't far off the league leaders with 80 penalties for 620 yards. The penalties have come in virtually all areas.
That's surprising from a team coached by Smith, who was known for having disciplined teams in Chicago. But the Bucs haven't been very disciplined so far.
They got away with committing a bunch of penalties against Washington. But that's not going to happen every week. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Mike Glennon, Josh McCown, 
RB: Charles Sims, Bobby Rainey, Doug Martin, Mike James 
RB: Jorvorskie Lane 
WR: Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans, Louis Murphy, Robert Herron, Russell Shephard, Trindon Holliday 
TE: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Brandon Myers, Luke Stocker 
PK: Patrick Murray 
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TENNESSEE TITANS
The result was the same, and for a good share of observers that is all that will matter.
The Tennessee Titans don't deserve any sort of parade for what they did in Monday night's 27-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But for the first time in a long time, they looked like a team that was having fun -- and that's typically a necessary ingredient for better results. They certainly were more fun to watch, and that should count for something.
Ultimately, a young, struggling team found a way to blow an 11-point lead and lose again. Still, Tennessee played with more life and presented one significant reason for hope.
All that said, running back Bishop Sankey is part of the Titans' youth movement, but ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky doesn't believe the youngster is living up to the production standards of the other guys from the 2014 draft class seeing the field.
Zach Mettenberger set a record for rookie passing yardage on Monday Night Football with 263. Left tackle Taylor Lewan helped insure the quarterback didn't get sacked (though he and the line didn't have a big run-blocking night). Inside linebacker Avery Williamson was in on three different sacks.
Sankey had a nifty 9-yard touchdown run where he squeezed through a hole and found the end zone. Even so, he finished with just 38 yards on 11 carries for a 3.5-yard average.
He was the first back taken in the draft, and it seems as if the Titans are sometimes trying to justify drafting him in the second round with the 54th overall pick when they speak about him.
Kuharsky conceded that Sankey is a smart, hard-working player and has plenty of time to prove himself a capable back. He's not had great blocking, and the play calling isn't always great for him or for run-game rhythm.
But head coach Ken Whisenhunt spoke Monday as if Sankey ran well, and if he ran well Kuharsky confessed to being baffled by the gap between the production and the coach's review.
"I thought he was physical, I thought he was decisive, he was better with his reads," Whisenhunt said. "Those are things where you've seen improvement."
Sankey averaged 1.27 yards before contact per rush, a number which often tells us about the blocking. The average in Week 11 was 2.02.
Sankey averaged 2.18 yards after contact per rush, a number that more often speaks to the runner. The average in Week 11 was 2.02.
On the season he's averaging just 3.9 yards per rush, the same average Chris Johnson posted in his final season in Tennessee and a number Kuharsky was very critical of.
Sankey's season-high is just 61 yards, and he also has performances of 58 and 56 yards, respectively.
Whisenhunt said a 100-yard rusher isn't important for the Titans, he just wants the team to rush effectively, collectively.
The Titans have faced a lot of good run defenses, he said, and are trying to run the ball better and improve as a group. He says they haven't gotten there yet.
"On that assessment," Kuharsky wrote, "we agree. ..."'
Meanwhile, only three teams in the NFL have run fewer play-action passes than the Titans' 45. If they want to set up Mettenberger for success in Philadelphia on Sunday, they should do it more.
Monday night against the Steelers, Mettenberger was 4-for-6 for 87 yards on play-action passes, for a 109.7 passer rating. In his previous two starts and two series in a mop-up role, Mettenberger was 5-for-10 for 68 yards and an interception on play-action.
"When you run the ball effectively, that makes it easy to get the play-action going. ... That's something that we need to get going and keep going," Mettenberger said.
But the Titans actually didn't run it very well against Pittsburgh, with only 49 ground yards and 3.3 yards per carry. And the play-action passes still worked.
The Eagles have run a league-high 131 snaps of play-action this season. They will do it more in this matchup for sure. But the Titans should also look to build on a good element of their offense in their loss to the Steelers. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Justin Hunter caught two passes for 48 yards in Monday's loss. He was targeted four times, but failed to get his feet inbounds on one completion and slipped making a cut on another route. This was his fourth straight game with under 50 receiving yards.
Kendall Wright caught four passes for a season-high 70 yards on a game-high eight targets.
Nate Washington blew by Steelers corner William Gay on a double move shortly before halftime Monday and hauled in an 80-yard touchdown from Mettenberger. As CBSSports.com noted, he celebrated en route to the end zone, clearly enjoying burning his former team for his first touchdown this year.
Tight end Chase Coffman, who entered Monday's game with two catches all season, got more receiving chances than normal with starter Delanie Walker sidelined by a concussion. Coffman responded, catching three of four targets for 32 yards and a touchdown in the loss to the Steelers.
Late in the third quarter, Coffman skied for a 4-yard catch in the end zone and held on despite landing hard.
It put him in a better light than video released by Fox on Sunday that showed him hitting a Ravens assistant well out of bounds during the course of a Nov. 9 game in Baltimore.
That hit resulted in a $30,000 fine from the NFL.
Coffman said he has spoken to Tony Coaxum, a season-long intern working as an assistant to the Ravens' special teams coordinator, and that Coaxum accepted Coffman's explanation.
"We've talked about it and we're both past it," Coffman said. "I would never go after someone intentionally to try to hurt them."
Whisenhunt said Coffman came to him the day after the game and told him about what had unfolded.
"He said he had inadvertently run into" Coaxum, Whisenhunt said. "In fact he tried to find the coach after the game to apologize and reached out to them.
"I guess they chose to go ahead, and that's unfortunate. But nobody's approached him about his side of it. If you look at it, if you see the whole play, he was trying to stop and inadvertently ran into him."
Earlier Monday, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he has chosen to believe the explanation that Coffman's hit wasn't on purpose.
"I was told that it wasn't intentional, so I'll take them at their word on that and we'll move forward," Harbaugh said.
One last note here. ... According to Nashville Tennessean staffer John Glennon, Whisenhunt is hopeful Walker will get into practice this week and play against the Eagles. The veteran tight end worked on a limited basis Wednesday. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Zach Mettenberger, Jake Locker, Charlie Whitehurst 
RB: Bishop Sankey, Leon Washington, Shonn Greene, Dexter McCluster, Antonio Andrews 
FB: Jackie Battle 
WR: Kendall Wright, Justin Hunter, Nate Washington, Derek Hagan, Kris Durham 
TE: Delanie Walker, Chase Coffman, Richard Gordon, Brett Brackett 
PK: Ryan Succop 
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WASHINGTON REDSKINS
Robert Griffin III was hard on himself plenty of times when talking about his performance in the Washington Redskins' latest embarrassing loss in an embarrassing season.
And, as Associated Press sports writer Joseph White noted, a couple of times, he lumped his teammates in with him, and that concerns head coach Jay Gruden.
"Robert needs to understand he needs to worry about himself, No. 1, and not everybody else," Gruden said Monday. "It's his job to worry about his position, his footwork, his fundamentals, his reads, his progressions -- his job at the quarterback position. It's my job to worry about everybody else."
Griffin was about as self-critical as he could be in the moments after Sunday's 27-7 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that dropped the Redskins to 3-7. He blamed himself for taking six sacks and admitted he's not seeing the field well. He also challenged his teammates by saying that "great quarterbacks" such as Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning "don't play well if their guys don't play well."
That last comment, and one or two others, might have crossed a line with some people
Receiver DeSean Jackson, who supported Griffin in a team meeting two weeks ago, appeared to strike back Monday morning with an Instagram post that said: "You can't do epic (stuff) with basic people."
As the Sports Xchange suggested, when two of your first three series end in interceptions, you surrender six sacks in 38 drop-backs and the NFL's leader in yards per-catch Jackson hits barely 40 percent of his usual average, it was a dreadful day even though Griffin completed 72 percent of his passes.
Gruden said he addressed the matter with Griffin on Monday.
"It's our job in-house as players and coaches to make sure we say the right things and not let your words get twisted by the media or anybody," Gruden said. "Not give anybody an opportunity to do that. Otherwise it'll be he-said, she-said things and there will be Twitter wars and social media events that will get out of control, and we've got to put a stop to it now."
Nevertheless, Griffin took to Facebook and Twitter on Monday afternoon and gave his own retort.
"It's unfortunate that anyone would take a piece of my press conference and say I threw my teammates under the bus," Griffin posted. "I would never throw my teammates under the bus! I take responsibility for my play & will play better."
White went on to note, however, beyond all the words, there's a much deeper concern with longer-range implications. In his third season, after 32 NFL starts, Griffin is still misfiring on some basics of the quarterback position. While Gruden was critical of everyone's play on Sunday, his review of Griffin was startling.
"Robert had some fundamental flaws," Gruden said. "He did. His footwork was below average. He took three-step drops when he should have taken five. He took a one-step drop when he should have taken three, on a couple occasions, and that can't happen. He stepped up when he didn't have to step up and stepped into pressure. He read the wrong side of the field a couple times. So, from his basic performance, just critiquing Robert, it was not even close to being good enough to what we expect from that quarterback position."
The second of Griffin's two interceptions Sunday came after he locked onto the receiver too long, allowing a linebacker to read the quarterback's eyes and deflect the ball. Gruden said Griffin's problems were symptomatic of someone who needs to play with "a little bit greater poise."
It's been more than 12 months since Griffin won a game in which he both started and finished. Griffin likes to talk about being great. Gruden said it's maybe time to just concentrate on getting the job done.
"Sometimes you don't need great," Gruden said. "You don't need to lead at that position on every snap. And he's obviously very competitive, but we just need him to do what he's supposed to do. You know, just take your drops the right way and throw the five-yard stick route when you're supposed to and do the best you can.
"Sometimes he worries about a little bit too much, but he's a great competitor and we've just got to try to get him better."
It certainly won't get easier any time soon with a trip to San Francisco to play the 49ers followed by a road trip to Indianapolis. ...
Worth noting. ... Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young says he knows the problem with Griffin: He doesn't work hard enough.
Young said on the Michael Kay Show (via Profootballtalk.com) that he has spoken with coaches who have worked with Griffin, and those coaches told him that Griffin simply doesn't spend the long hours studying film that an NFL quarterback needs.
"I've talked to his previous coaches, people I really trust and admire, that know quarterbacks. He doesn't put the time in," Young said.
Young didn't mention any of those "previous coaches" by name, but as PFT's Michael David Smith suggests, it's not a leap to infer that he's referring to Mike Shanahan, who was Washington's head coach for Griffin's first two seasons. Shanahan was the 49ers' offensive coordinator from 1992 to 1994, when Young was having his three best seasons as the 49ers' starting quarterback. Shanahan and Young have been close for years.
According to Young, it's the mental side of the game that makes a good quarterback in the NFL, and Young believes that Griffin needs to spend more time developing the mental side of the game during the offseason.
"Success is really about expertise," Young said. "May, June, July work, and going to school."
In other words, Young isn't expecting a sudden turnaround for RG3...
Other notes of interest. ... Looking for positives? According to ESPN.com's John Keim, you can really stop with Alfred Morris, who rushed for 96 yards on 20 carries and caught two passes for 36 yards.
Morris had a couple plays in which he turned absolutely nothing into a positive gain.
On a 24-yard catch-and-run before halftime, he gained 16 yards after first contact by running through two defenders.
Third-down back Roy Helu scored from 30 yards out on a screen but lost a fumble on a similar play.
None of the wideouts or tight ends had a grab longer than 15 yards as Tampa Bay's Cover-2 defense kept them under control. Griffin only threw two of his 32 passes to receiver Pierre Garcon, the NFL's most targeted player in 2013. Tight end Niles Paul's bobbles on Griffin's first pass caused the interception.
Tight end Jordan Reed is day-to-day with a hamstring injury suffered against the Bucs. He missed Weeks 2-5 with a hamstring. He was not practicing Wednesday and I'll be following up on his status via Late-Breaking Update in coming days. ...
Losing Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams early and left guard Shawn Lauvao late hurt, but the Bucs, who came in with just 14 sacks, had five players share in the takedowns of Griffin so it wasn't just the left side of Washington's protection scheme that failed.
Williams sprained the MCL in his right knee and also sprained his right ankle. Gruden said Williams was day-to-day, but it's still a little early to know about his availability for Sunday's game at San Francisco. If he can't play, then rookie Morgan Moses might get his first career start -- he replaced Williams against Tampa Bay.
Meanwhile, Gruden said Lauvao is questionable because of a concussion he suffered against Tampa Bay. If he can't play, Josh LeRibeus likely would get the start. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Robert Griffin, Colt McCoy, Kirk Cousins 
RB: Alfred Morris, Roy Helu, Silas Redd 
FB: Darrell Young 
WR: DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Andre Roberts, Aldrick Robinson, Ryan Grant, Santana Moss, Leonard Hankerson 
TE: Jordan Reed, Niles Paul, Logan Paulsen 
PK: Kai Forbath 
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