FLASHUPDATE WEEK 16 TEAM NOTES/Wednesday, 17 December, 2014
Compiled By FlashUpdate Editor Bob Harris

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ARIZONA CARDINALS
Third-year quarterback Ryan Lindley will get his first start since 2012 on Sunday night against the Seattle Seahawks, head coach Bruce Arians announced.
According to ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss, Arians put all the rumors and reports to bed Monday afternoon by naming Lindley the starter over rookie Logan Thomas. But Arians said Thomas could see the field in packages that Arizona has specifically designed for him.
Lindley, who was released by Arizona on Aug. 25 and re-signed on Nov. 22 in the wake of Carson Palmer's season-ending ACL injury, won the job largely because he has more experience than Thomas, Arians said.
"I think he's a little bit more ready right now having been back in the system for a while," Arians said. "Like I said before, I think Logan's going to be a great player. Sometimes you can put guys in positions to fail. I want him to succeed when he plays.
"I think Ryan gives us a great opportunity."
Arians said Drew Stanton, who left Thursday night's 12-6 win against St. Louis in the third quarter with a right knee injury, could be out two to four weeks.
"Everybody's so different in how they heal," Arians said. "So much of it's your makeup mentally -- how bad do you want to heal? And he wants to heal up fast. We'll see."
Before Thursday, Lindley hadn't thrown a regular-season pass since 2012, when he was 1-3 as a starter for the Cardinals as a rookie. He completed 52 percent of his passes and averaged 4.4 yards per attempt. He didn't throw a touchdown in six games compared to seven interceptions.
After Arians informed Lindley he'd start, he told the former San Diego State star to enjoy it.
"Go sling it, baby," Arians said he told Lindley. "Go have fun. You're here for a reason."
Arians said Thomas' package for Sunday will be the same one that's been in place for about four weeks, and it'll use Thomas' running and passing abilities.
"It's all stuff we've done," Arians said. "Whether we've shown it this year or not, it's been practiced all year."
It took Lindley about two weeks to pick up the Cardinals' offense from where he left off after rejoining them in November, Arians said. Most of what Lindley missed during his time on the San Diego practice squad was changes to verbiage in the offense.
Arians said it was a tough decision back in August to let Lindley go, but this time around, the choice to start Lindley over Thomas was in the best interest of the team.
"I've loved Ryan since we've had him," Arians said. "He's a very bright guy. He understands this offense. He's got more than enough arm. And he knows what to do with the football.
"He knows how to protect himself as far as hots, sights and everything else."
Meanwhile, with Dallas' victory over Philadelphia on Sunday night, the Cardinals (11-3) clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2009. Arizona is the first team in the NFC to qualify for the postseason this season. With a victory Sunday night over Seattle, Arizona would secure the NFC West and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
While this Sunday night was a significant milestone for the Cardinals, they've said they're not satisfied by just clinching a spot in the postseason.
"It's not about just getting to the playoffs; it's putting yourself in the right position once you get there," wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said last week.
The good news?
The Cardinals used last Thursday night's game to lay out the blueprint for how they plan to succeed going forward: They got 143 yards out of their run game in St. Louis.
"The way we ran the ball the last two weeks against two good defenses, if we can continue to do that -- if you can run the ball and play defense in the playoffs, you got a chance," said Lindley. "Hopefully I continue to improve and give us a better chance to improve each Sunday."
Maintaining a dependable run game will reduce the pressure on Lindley moving forward.
It was the second consecutive game the Cardinals set a season high for rushing, following up last week's 141-yard outing against the Kansas City Chiefs.
"You saw it last week with how much better Drew played and how much easier it is to play quarterback when you have a running game," Lindley said. "If we continue to run the ball like that, it's going to be a lot easier to play the quarterback position."
It's a lot easier for everyone on offense.
"We got backs that will hit it in there in timely situations," Fitzgerald said. "It's really nice to see."
The foundation for what Arians is building in the backfield is your typical thunder-and-lightning combination. Stepfan Taylor, a 5-9, 216-pound power back, has paired with Kerwynn Williams, the former practice-squad player who is a 5-8, 198-pound "home run hitter."
The thought of a season needing to be saved for an 11-3 team may seem strange. But after two straight losses, four consecutive games of 64 rushing yards or fewer and the loss of starting running back Andre Ellington (hernia), the Cardinals were teetering in the playoff race when the Chiefs came to town.
Then Williams and his 100-yard game came out of nowhere last week. He proved he wasn't a one-hit wonder Thursday with 75 yards on 15 carries. Taylor chipped in with 61 yards on 14 carries.
"It's even more important that we got to continue running the ball well," Taylor said. "But now we just got to get long touchdowns, explosive plays that way, put points on the board to keep the ball -- to take pressure off of Ryan."
You might consider Kansas City and St. Louis as rehearsals.
The true test of Arizona's revamped running game will come against Seattle. The Seahawks boast the third-best rush defense in the league. If what Arians is building with Taylor and Williams is a playoff-caliber running attack, the Cardinals will have to prove it Sunday night.
"You got to stay balanced," Arians said. "You got to run the football in December and January, just because every defense you're playing is so daggone good.
"You don't want to get one-dimensional."
From a fantasy perspective, you'll have to be in pretty dire straits at running back to roll with either Taylor or Williams in this one. Consider them a pair of warm bodies with opportunities. Given that, consider all options carefully. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Fitzgerald will benefit from having 10 days off. He's played the last two weeks at far less than 100 percent because of a sprained MCL. The hope is that Fitzgerald will be close to 100 percent by the Seattle game.
Of course, one could argue that having Lindley under center will be a continuing impediment. ...
Worth noting. ... Receiver Jaron Brown (toe) did not practice Wednesday; I'll be watching for more. ...
Darren Fells has played more snaps than any other tight end the last two weeks. The Cardinals needed better blocking than they were getting from John Carlson and Rob Housler. Fells is bigger and more physical and he's developed into a solid player.
Chandler Catanzaro made all four field goal attempts, getting back into a groove. Entering the game, he had missed four of his last nine. A week after missing two field goals, one off each upright, the rookie kicker made field goals from 23, 44, 51 and 46 yards.
Catanzaro was name NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts. ...
And finally. ... The Cardinals placed defensive end Ed Stinson (toe) on injured reserve and promoted wideout Brittan Golden from the practice squad, the team announced. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Ryan Lindley, Logan Thomas, Drew Stanton 
RB: Stepfan Taylor, Kerwynn Williams, Marion Grice 
FB: Robert Hughes 
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, John Brown, Jaron Brown, Ted Ginn, Brittan Golden 
TE: Darren Fells, John Carlson, Robert Housler 
PK: Chandler Catanzaro 
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ATLANTA FALCONS
As NFL.com's Conor Orr reported it, in a game that could finally give us some clarity in football's worst division, the Falcons plan to have their best playmaker on the field.
Wideout Julio Jones, who sat against the Steelers after injuring his hip against Green Bay back on Dec. 8, will be available for Sunday's matchup against the Saints.
"We're confident that he'll be ready to go this week," Mike Smith told reporters in Atlanta on Monday, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Smith added that Jones was missed in the red zone during Sunday's loss, the team's ninth.
One could argue the Falcons are desperate, but desperation should have kicked in for one of these teams months ago. Still, Jones has been a bright spot amid an otherwise ho-hum season and should match up well against the Saints' 30th-ranked defense (Atlanta, by the way, is No. 32).
If Jones' last game against Green Bay -- 11 receptions for 259 yards -- is any indication of the groove he's in, Atlanta could have a legitimate chance of putting away New Orleans for good. The Falcons already hold the tiebreaker over the Saints regardless of Sunday's outcome, after all.
Whatever the case, it's hard to argue with ESPN.com's Vaughn McClure's contention the Falcons need Jones back.
For all the headaches a 5-9 campaign has caused for the Falcons' brass and fans alike, the season can be salvaged with a win at New Orleans next week and a victory at home over Carolina in the finale. But in order to pull off that feat, secure the NFC South title with an unprecedented 6-0 division mark as a losing team and host a first-round playoff game, the Falcons need Jones' ailing hip to heal fast.
"It will be important to get him back because he's such a big part of our offense," fellow receiver Roddy White said. "His ability to stretch the field and do the things that he's able to do and just be that explosive guy, just to get him back next week would be great.
"But if we don't get him back, then Harry [Douglas] is going to have to play like he did today. Devin [Hester] is going to have to play like he did today. And I'm going to have to play better."
Before missing Sunday's game, Jones had moved into the NFL's top spot with 1,458 receiving yards and had racked up 448 receiving yards in his previous two games. Jones had Calvin Johnson rooting for him to break the single-season receiving mark which Johnson currently holds (1,964 yards) and had opposing cornerbacks rethinking if they were as good as they claimed themselves to be.
The Falcons definitely could have used Jones' playmaking ability in the red zone against the Steelers. They went 2-for-4 in such situations.
"I knew once we got down there, we had to score touchdowns," White said. "First-and-goal on the 2-yard line, just unacceptable for us not to get into the end zone. And it hurts us at the end. You just can't keep getting down there and putting yourselves in bad situations, man -- kicking field goals from the 5-yard line in. It's just not good football. It's not good football, especially with the players that we have on our team. You've got to find a way to punch it in."
The Falcons pack more of a punch with Jones on the field, so his health will be of the utmost importance the rest of the way. Matt Ryan and the offense still put up 407 total yards without him Sunday, with Ryan completing 26 of 37 passes for 310 yards and touchdown tosses to Hester and White. The offensive line held up well again and didn't allow a sack.
But the Falcons had grown accustomed to seeing Jones beating folks deep in recent weeks. Even at 80 percent, he should be able to do the same against the New Orleans Saints' struggling defense that entered this week ranked 29th out of 32 teams against the pass. Jones had seven catches for 116 yards in the Falcons' 37-34 overtime victory over the Saints in the season opener.
"It's certainly always tough when he's not in," Ryan said of Jones. "He's such a special player and dynamic player for us."
Playing Sunday's game in New Orleans only emphasizes how much the Falcons need to have Jones back in the lineup. The Saints have won three in a row over the Falcons at the Superdome and seven of the past eight there.
"It's a tough situation, man," White said. "We've put ourselves in a tough situation with having to win two games in a row. We've got to go on the road next week and it's going to be tough to win down there. We've got to find a way to get it done."
With or without Jones.
For the record, neither Jones nor White (ankle) practiced Wednesday; I'll have more via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses. ...
Other notes of interest. ... White didn't have a spectacular performance, but he deserves recognition for reaching a milestone. His 4-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter made him the Falcons' all-time touchdown leader with his 62nd career score, surpassing former running backMichael Turner.
White finished Sunday's game with seven catches for 58 yards.
As the Sports Xchange notes, Douglas stepped up in a big way in Jones' absence. Douglas caught 10 passes for 131 yards for his second straight 100-yard game at home. Douglas logged his sixth career 100-yard game and posted his second game with 10-or-more catches.
Douglas continued the practice of resting his previously-injured foot on Wednesday, but there's no reason to believe the issue will keep him from playing this week. ...
Hester caught his second touchdown of the season, hauling in a 17-yard pass from Ryan in the back corner of the end zone. The score was Hester's 16th career receiving touchdown and the 37th TD of his career.
Ryan eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark for the fourth straight season with 310 yards against the Steelers. He is one of four quarterbacks to post 4,000-plus yards in each of the last three seasons (2011-13), joining Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Matthew Stafford.
Steven Jackson surpassed the great John Riggins (11,352) for 16th on the NFL's all-time rushing list with 22 yards on the Falcons opening possession. He finished the game with 46 yards on 11 carries while averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Jackson is the NFL's leading active rusher with 11,379 career rushing yards.
And finally. ... Cornerback Robert Alford, who suffered a broken wrist against the Panthers on Nov 16, will have surgery and was placed on injured reserve. He will miss the final two games of the season.
With Alford out, veteran Robert McClain has been starting opposite Desmond Trufant. Josh Wilson has been playing more nickel back. 

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, Eric Weems, Freddy Martino 
TE: Levine Toilolo, Bear Pascoe 
PK: Matt Bryant 
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BALTIMORE RAVENS
As Associated Press sports writer David Ginsburg noted, during a season filled with unexpected obstacles and aggravating injuries, the Ravens appear to be finally catching a break in their effort to earn a playoff berth.
After squeezing past struggling Jacksonville 20-12 on Sunday, Baltimore (9-5) moved into the AFC's second wild-card slot and remained tied with Pittsburgh in the AFC North, a half-game behind Cincinnati (8-4-1).
It's come down to this: Baltimore will clinch a postseason berth -- its sixth in the past seven years -- with victories in its last two games.
"Two games left, two wins needed," head coach John Harbaugh said Monday. "That's probably what I'll be saying to the guys tomorrow."
The schedule appears favorable. This week's opponent, Houston, lost two quarterbacks to injury in a 17-10 defeat in Indianapolis on Sunday.
Baltimore then wraps up the regular season at home against fading Cleveland, which lost 30-0 to Cincinnati on Sunday.
Even better for the Ravens: Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are looking at a potentially rough home stretch. The Steelers (9-5) host Kansas City (8-6) on Sunday and Cincinnati takes on Denver (11-3). Then, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh square off in the season finale Dec. 28.
Harbaugh is concerned only about Baltimore, and he isn't taking anything for granted -- even though Houston (7-7) will likely start either Thaddeus Lewis or Case Keenum at quarterback. Lewis joined the team last month and Keenum was signed Monday after being cut in the preseason.
The Ravens can't be overconfident, though, not after their uneven performance against the Jaguars (2-12).
"We didn't play as well as we hoped or as we planned for," Harbaugh acknowledged. "We anticipated a tough game. Anybody that would anticipate a blowout in this league is a fool."
The Ravens won the game but lost two more defensive backs. Cornerback Asa Jackson and safety Terrence Brooks sustained season-ending knee injuries and will soon join cornerbacks Jimmy Smith, Danny Gorrer, Aaron Ross and Tramain Jacobs on injured reserve.
Baltimore is also playing without suspended defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, the second player on the team to be suspended by the NFL this season (along with Ray Rice).
In spite of it all, the Ravens are right where they want to be with two weeks to go.
"I'm excited about our team. I like where we're at," Harbaugh said. "I think we're getting stronger and I also think there's room for improvement, which gives me a lot of encouragement and excitement."
There's also something to be said for a team that wins when it doesn't play particularly well. Baltimore's offense produced only one touchdown and trailed at halftime before rallying past the Jaguars.
Harbaugh will be looking for perfection in Houston on Sunday, or at least something close.
"We've yet to play our best game, by far," he said. "Our best game is out there yet. Hopefully it's going to come soon."
Other notes of interest. ... As CBSSports.com's Chris Tower put it, "Justin Forsett failed to take advantage of a prime matchup, as he flopped in Week 15 against the Jaguars."
Going against a Jaguars defense that ranked just 27th against running backs, Forsett came up with his worst performance of the season. He rushed for just 48 yards on 16 carries, his worst yards per carry performance of the season as well.
According to ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley, even though he wasn't on the injury report, Forsett looks like he hasn't fully recovered from a knee injury.
For the record, Forsett cited the Jaguars stacking the box for his disappointing effort.
"Their mindset coming in was to stop the run. ... They were a physical bunch. They've got a great front seven and they did a good job. The box and safeties were down, but it was a good challenge for us."
Apparently so. ...
Bernard Pierce had the game's biggest run with a 28-yarder in the fourth quarter but he failed to stay in bounds, which would've allowed more time to click off the clock. Kyle Juszczyk fumbled for the second time this season, and the Jaguars converted it into a field goal.
Lorenzo Taliaferro missed Sunday's game with a sprained foot; he was placed on season-ending injured reserve on Tuesday.
Taliaferro, a fourth-round pick, ran 68 times for 292 yards and four touchdowns. The Ravens now have Pierce and Fitzgerald Toussaint behind Forsett at running back.
Torrey Smith was able to play after being limited in Week 14 against Miami and missing some practice time with a right knee sprain. After suffering an early drop, Smith caught two passes for 16 yards Week 15 against the Jaguars. Whether it was related to the injury or not, the Ravens didn't try to stretch the field with Smith.
He runs an average of three routes over 20 yards per game. He had only one Sunday against Jacksonville.
"The knee felt great and it feels good to get a team victory," Smith said. On the season, Smith has 40 catches for 625 yards and eight touchdowns.
According to the Sports Xchange, Steve Smith has surpassed 900 receptions, becoming the 18th player in league history to reach that milestone. Smith has 902 receptions for 13,123 yards. He passed Hall of Famer Steve Largent for 15th on the all-time receiving list.
"Every week there's always something you need to improve on, and hey, those guys get paid, too," Smith said. "Nobody's going to come in here and lay down. You don't expect that from anybody."
Joe Flacco played better than his numbers, and his numbers (20 of 30 for 221 yards and one touchdown) weren't that bad. He was consistent and carried the Ravens on the game's only touchdown drive, completing all five of his passes for 64 yards. As Hensley suggested, the key in this type of a game was not making the critical mistake, and Flacco didn't.
Owen Daniels had the two biggest catches of the game. He got free with a well-run route for a 29-yard catch and then scored on a three-yard reception. Marlon Brown came up big with some tough catches, making four receptions on third down.
And finally. ... Justin Tucker missed two 54-yard field goal attempts because of gaffes on special teams. A high snap messed up the timing on the first one, and a delay of game moved the Ravens back on the second. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Joe Flacco, Tyrod Taylor 
RB: Justin Forsett, Bernard Pierce, Fitzgerald Toussaint 
FB: Kyle Juszczyk 
WR: Torrey Smith, Steve Smith, Kamar Aiken, Marlon Brown, Jacoby Jones, Michael Campanaro 
TE: Owen Daniels, Crockett Gillmore, Phillip Supernaw 
PK: Justin Tucker 
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BUFFALO BILLS
The Bills' sputtering offense is prepared to add fresh legs with running back C.J. Spiller returning.
Head coach Doug Marrone announced Monday that Spiller has been cleared to play and will be promoted to the active roster eight weeks after having surgery to repair a broken collarbone. Marrone cautioned he first wants to see how Spiller performs in practice before determining whether he'll play at Oakland (2-12) on Sunday.
The potential of Spiller playing boosts an 8-6 team that remains in the AFC playoff picture following a 21-13 win over Green Bay. And it comes at a time when the Bills offense could use a spark.
Against Green Bay, Buffalo managed 253 yards offense and settled for four field goals. Marcus Thigpen scored the team's lone touchdown on a 75-yard punt return. Defensive end Mario Williams sealed the victory by forcing quarterback Aaron Rodgers to fumble, which was recovered in the end zone for a safety.
When healthy, Spiller and co-starter Fred Jackson provided Buffalo's ground game a formidable one-two punch.
"He's a guy who's made plays in the past," Marrone said of the team's 2010 first-round draft pick. "Any time you can bring back someone who's a potential playmaker obviously helps."
Spiller has been out since landing hard on his left shoulder during a 17-16 win over Minnesota on Oct. 19. He had surgery the following day and placed on the reserve/injured designated to return list.
Spiller began practicing two weeks ago. The Bills had until this week to determine whether to activate Spiller or place him on season-ending injured reserve.
According to Associated Press sports writer John Wawrow, Spiller has been gradually increasing his weightlifting routine over the past six weeks. Spiller doesn't believe the injury will hamper his ability to carry or protect the ball in traffic.
Much like the rest of the offense, the Bills running attack has had difficulty getting consistent traction. It hasn't helped that Jackson has been hampered by a left knee injury, and missed two of three games after hurting his groin against Minnesota.
Buffalo hasn't had a player top 100 yards rushing this season. Overall, the offense hasn't combined for more than 120 yards rushing since a 193-yard outing in a season-opening win at Chicago.
That said, ESPN.com's Mike Rodak notes this is the third consecutive week that Jackson has played at least 70 percent of snaps.
On the whole, his production hasn't been anything spectacular: he had 20 carries for 71 yards and three catches for 27 yards, but it would be a stretch to say Jackson is part of the problem with the Bills' offense. His 13-yard run, his longest since Week 4, was vintage Jackson. Anthony Dixonand Bryce Brown probably have more to worry about with Spiller returning than Jackson does. ...
Whatever the case, Buffalo's 29 touchdowns are tied for 25th in the NFL, and the offense has scored three or more TDs in a game just three times this season.
"We've got to do a better job," Marrone said. "We've got to protect better, got to run routes better, we've got to get a better rhythm."
On the bright side Monday, Marrone earned the backing of team president Russ Brandon, who credited the second-year coach for having "this team on the right path."
With eight wins, Buffalo has assured itself of enjoying its best finish since going 9-7 in 2004.
Brandon said on Monday that Marrone has done "a tremendous job" in leading the Bills through several stretches of adversity this year.
The Bills dealt with the uncertainty of an ownership change after Ralph Wilson died in March. The franchise was eventually sold to NHL Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula.
Brandon reiterated his comments in a text to Wawrow.
"Doug should be a coach of the year candidate," Brandon wrote. "He has been an unbelievable leader."
Other notes of interest. ... Yet another lousy day for Kyle Orton, who just hasn't played well down the stretch.
His two biggest plays were a 28-yarder to Sammy Watkins, who made a fantastic catch (his only one), and a 40-yarder to an uncovered Brown. Orton was sacked three times, and all three were probably his fault because he couldn't move in the pocket.
With Orton struggling, his receivers did very little. Robert Woods had two catches for 22 yards, same as tight end Scott Chandler.
Worth noting: Watkins lone reception enabled him to become the Bills' all-time leader for rookie receiving yards with 850.
Return man Marcus Thigpen had a 75-yard punt return for a TD. It was the second of his career, and the first came when he played for Miami in 2012, against the Bills, in Buffalo.
Dan Carpenter made all four of his field-goal attempts and now has 32 for the season, one shy of tying the club record of 33 he shares with Steve Christie. His 65 field goals are the most ever in a two-year period for a Bills kicker.
Carpenter is second in the NFL with 28 field goals.
And finally. ... The Bills needed to make a roster move to open up a spot for Spiller this week and they did it on Tuesday.
They announced that they have released fullback Frank Summers. The team didn't formally add Spiller to the active roster yet, but they didn't announce a corresponding move with Summers's departure so that's likely just a matter of time. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Kyle Orton, EJ Manuel 
RB: Fred Jackson, Anthony Dixon, Bryce Brown, C.J. Spiller, Marcus Thigpen 
FB: MarQueis Gray 
WR: Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Chris Hogan, Marquise Goodwin, Marcus Easley, Deonte Thompson 
TE: Scott Chandler, MarQueis Gray, Lee Smith, Chris Gragg 
PK: Dan Carpenter 
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CAROLINA PANTHERS
Head coach Ron Rivera said he'll take a wait-and-see approach as to whether or not quarterback Cam Newton will play Sunday against the Browns.
Newton missed the second game of his career on Sunday against Tampa Bay after an automobile wreck last week left him with two fractures in his lower back.
"The biggest factor will be whether or not (team physicians) tell me he can protect himself," Rivera said Monday. "I don't want to put a guy out there if he can't protect himself. By that I mean being able to run out of the way, scramble out of the way to stay alive, keep the play alive, by being able to get out of the way."
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that the Panthers are optimistic Newton will play this week.
Still, Rivera said on Monday that if Newton is unable to do that, Derek Anderson will make his third start of the season.
Newton was on the practice field throwing the ball on Wednesday -- and looking reasonably good doing so.
That said, the Charlotte Observer reports that Anderson still had a more significant role during the portion of practice open to the media.
Anderson threw for 277 yards and a touchdown in Carolina's 19-17 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday. He's 2-0 as Carolina's starter with both wins coming against the Buccaneers (2-11).
Rivera said there is a misconception that Newton's injury is all about the quarterback's pain tolerance moving forward.
"It can get worse if he gets hit there again," Rivera said of Newton's two transverse process fractures in his back.
Players had Tuesday off, but Newton reported to the stadium for rehab -- and to do some throwing.
Rivera said the goal is to get Newton on the field "when he's ready."
"As he gets better (team physicians) will increase his workload until we get to a certain point where he gets back on the field," Rivera said.
The Panthers (5-8-1) are in the midst of a playoff race.
They can take over sole possession of first place in the NFC South if New Orleans loses to Chicago on Monday night.
Newton is 3-8-1 this year as the team's starting quarterback.
He has struggled through an injury-plagued season, undergoing ankle surgery in March and then fracturing his ribs during a preseason game at New England. Those injuries forced Newton to miss the season opener at Tampa Bay.
Rivera said Anderson did some good things filling in for Newton on Sunday, but said there was plenty of room for improvement.
The Panthers reached or started in Tampa Bay territory on all 11 possessions, but came away with just one touchdown and four field goals.
In fact, Carolina's only touchdown came after the defensive ends Charles Johnson and Mario Addison sacked Bucs quarterback Josh McCown and stripped the ball loose, allowing defensive tackle Kawann Short to recover at the Tampa Bay 4. The Panthers scored two plays later on a short pass from Anderson to Jerricho Cotchery.
As Associated Press sports writer Steve Reed notes, Carolina's struggles inside their opponent's 20-yard line are nothing new.
They rank 28th in the league in red zone offense, scoring touchdowns on just 45 percent of their 40 possessions.
On Sunday, many of Carolina's red zone woes were self-inflicted.
The Panthers had a turnover at the Bucs 3, three penalties, a bobbled snap from center, a dropped pass and a few poorly thrown balls by Anderson that wound up being drive killers.
"Until you operate without self-inflicted mistakes you are going to slow yourself down," Rivera said.
Anderson said he was happy with the win, but felt he could have played better.
"I missed some throws, some things I just have to take that are there and make them tackle him," Anderson said after Sunday's game. "Efficiency-wise I feel like I could have been better. ..."
One last note on this one. ... On Monday, Rivera dismissed the notion that the Panthers would shut down Newton if Carolina was eliminated from contention after Week 16.
"We're not giving anything up, win or lose."
I will, of course, be following up on Newton's status via Late-Breaking Update throughout the week. ...
Worth noting. ... Offensive coordinator Mike Shula told reporters that Newton was involved more than people think on Sunday, revealing the first pick of the 2011 draft called the first play of Carolina's drive that began with 3:05 remaining.
Newton didn't actually call the play, but Shula heard over his headset Newton suggesting the play to quarterback coach Ken Dorsey.
So Shula audibled, and Anderson connected with wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin on the right side for a 12-yard gain that moved the chains and helped Carolina run the clock down to 29 seconds before punting.
"I was thinking pass, but not that pass," Shula said.
Other notes of interest. ... Tight end Greg Olsen continued his push to make the Pro Bowl. He caught 10 passes for 110 yards, seven for 76 in the first half. As ESPN.com's David Newton suggests, he was like Anderson's security blanket, although a few times Anderson forced it to Olsen when he shouldn't have.
Olsen surpassed 100 receiving yards for the third time this season and the fourth time in his career. He has 81 catches this year, which breaks the team record he set in 2013 for most receptions by a tight end.
Jonathan Stewart fumbled twice for the first time in his career. He lost one of those, the first fumble he has coughed up since Dec. 19, 2010.
DeAngelo Williams still had a cast on his hand Sunday while he sat out his second straight game. Williams got in some limited work last week, but he still has not caught the ball in practice.
Cotchery, who had a career-high 10 touchdowns last year with the Steelers, scored for the first time this season.
Graham Gano made four field goals for the first time since Dec. 24, 2011. His only miss was from 50 yards. He is 1-of-3 from 50 yards this year after he set a team record last season by nailing all six of his attempts from that distance. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Cam Newton, Derek Anderson, Joe Webb 
RB: Jonathan Stewart, Fozzy Whittaker, DeAngelo Williams 
FB: Mike Tolbert 
WR: Kelvin Benjamin, Jerricho Cotchery, Brenton Bersin, Philly Brown, DeAndre Presley 
TE: Greg Olsen, Ed Dickson, Brandon Williams 
PK: Graham Gano 
=========================

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CHICAGO BEARS
In the aftermath of a third consecutive humiliating defeat, players faced a barrage of questions regarding the future of the coaching staff and front office, a murky subject after the team's record slipped to 5-9.
"I don't worry about that, no," running back Matt Forte told ESPN.com's Jeff Dickerson. "That's not my job to be worried about that stuff. If changes happen, you roll with the punches and all that stuff. I'm here to play football and be coached and be coachable. Whatever happens... happens. I do my best to learn what I need to in the classroom and go out and display that on the field."
Fans are clamoring for the organization to make wholesale changes, not limited to head coach Marc Trestman, general manager Phil Emery, and even team president Ted Phillips. Several, if not all, of the club's coordinators appear to be in serious jeopardy of getting launched at season's end, but ownership has given no indications on how it plans to deal with the mess.
Because of the front office's silence on the topic of job security, veteran players such as offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod will be forced to answer difficult questions until the regular season wraps up on Dec. 28.
"I ain't got anything to do with that," Bushrod said. "The guys we got in here are great guys and we're going to find ways to go back to work. We all have to individually find a way to do something better. We have to. Coming out here and being in these situations, especially the last three weeks, is tough."
If the Bears lose their final two games to Detroit and Minnesota, the team would finish 5-11 for the first time since Lovie Smith's maiden voyage as Bears head coach in 2004. ...
Meanwhile, as ESPN.com's Michael C. Wright noted, it's claimed that Cutler isn't responsible for all of Chicago's problems, but he definitely deserves some blame for a putrid performance against the Saints.
In addition to throwing three interceptions, Cutler finished with a season-low passer rating of 55.8 and showcased the flippant demeanor and body language critics have lambasted him for over the years. Cutler downplayed the notion that offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer's criticism of him last week impacted the quarterback's performance.
But Cutler played a major role in Chicago getting off to a horrid start it could never recover from. Cutler sailed his first pass of the night right past Dante Rosario near the Chicago sideline. Patrick Robinson picked off Cutler's second pass of the night.
By the end of the second quarter, Cutler had thrown two interceptions while generating a passer rating of 14.9 on 6-of-14 for 56 yards.
Cutler told WBBM Radio after the game the 2014 season has been his most difficult as a professional.
Against the Saints, the quarterback extended his NFL lead for turnovers to 24 (18 interceptions, six lost fumbles).
"With all the buildup coming into this year, the expectations, I don't think we imagined it would be like that," Cutler said. It's frustrating. We're trying to say the same thing different ways after games. You get to a point where you don't have an answer. I think that's where we're at. ..."
All that said, Cutler didn't kill fantasy owners who rolled with him. He tossed two touchdowns in the fourth quarter with the Bears mostly out of it, including one with 30 seconds left in the game that put him back in a respectable fantasy showing. ...
All that said, Chicago has now been outscored 251-124 in the first half this season.
Cutler's first-half stat line looked like this: 6-of-14 for 56 yards and two interceptions to go with a passer rating of 14.9. Cutler also absorbed three sacks in the first half, with one coming on a screen pass he should've thrown at the feet of Forte.
It's absolutely true that football is a team game, and the protection failed Cutler pretty routinely. But Cutler's $22.5 million salary for 2014 makes him a little more important than most players on the squad. And the truth is, he's got to perform much better. Cutler suffered a season-high seven sacks and extended his NFL lead for turnovers to 24 with three picks against the Saints, finishing with his worst passer rating (55.8) of the season.
As receiver Brandon Marshall would say: Unacceptable.
Other notes of interest. ... The Bears can never get the ground game going when it matters. They rushed for 51 yards on 12 attempts in the opening 30 minutes. Forte finished with 78 yards on 16 carries. Keep in mind, the New Orleans Saints had one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL heading into Monday evening.
According to CBSSports.com, Martellus Bennett was a victim of Chicago's offensive futility Monday night. He caught four of six targets for 36 yards, marking the fourth time in the past six games he's been held under 50 yards.
Marquess Wilson notched his first career touchdown Monday night against the Saints, catching a 1-yard score in the fourth quarter. He finished with three catches on five targets for 16 yards.
Alshon Jeffery had two catches for 36 yards with less than two minutes left in Monday's game. Jeffery finished with four catches for 78 yards. He drew a team-high nine targets and scored for the fifth straight week.
Next up. ... The Bears planned to take off Tuesday and Wednesday before returning to the practice fields at Halas Hall to prepare to host the Lions on Sunday. The Bears hope to avoid a season sweep at the hands of Detroit for the second consecutive year.
And finally. ... The Trestman experiment reportedly will be ending, soon.
According to Dan Bernstein of WSCR in Chicago, Bears ownership met in the wake of Monday night's loss. Per Bernstein, the team "likely" will fold the tents on the Trestman regime. It's not known whether the Bears also will be parting ways with the man who hired Trestman, G.M. Phil Emery.
As Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio notes, most general managers get two chances to hire a head coach, but Emery's blunder becomes underscored by the fact that one of the other finalists for the job was Bruce Arians, who has compiled a record of 21-9 to date in Arizona. Trestman is 13-17, and it feels even worse than that.
Also working against Emery was the decision to make a real, multi-year commitment to quarterback Jay Cutler. At a time when more teams are using year-to-year deals that protect the franchise against a dramatic downturn in ability, Emery gave Cutler $54 million guaranteed over three years. To get out of the contract after one season, the Bears would have to watch $38 million walk out the door. 

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: Alshon Jeffery, Marquess Wilson, Josh Morgan, Marc Mariani 
TE: Martellus Bennett, Dante Rosario 
PK: Jay Feely, Robbie Gould 
=========================

=========================
CINCINNATI BENGALS
According to ESPN.com's Coley Harvey, while the rest of the NFL spent the past seven days discussing the various ways the Browns might be motivated to beat their bitter rivals to the south, very little was said about what might be driving the Cincinnati Bengals as they sought a key late-season AFC North victory.
Turns out, they had a lot more boiling underneath the surface than was initially apparent.
Playing loose, yet aggressive and with the exact physicality that long has been a hallmark of play in the AFC North, the Bengals exacted revenge, silenced critics and maintained a slim division lead. In their most complete win of the season, a 30-0 road blowout, it was evident how downright dominant they can be.
Credit a meeting in offensive coordinator Hue Jackson's office for making it possible.
A day after they had been informed Jackson's father died, running backs Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill were called into the coach's office Wednesday. He told them he was changing up the running back rotation. Bernard was no longer the starter. The second-year rusher was being replaced by the bigger, slightly more physical Hill.
The rookie didn't disappoint.
"Once Hue let me know what my role was going to be and how much the team was going to depend on me this week, I really took it on myself to really embellish that and really take that in and really just take advantage of it," Hill said. "I knew we were going to have to run the football to be successful."
The Bengals ran 45 times for 244 yards in a performance that mimicked the Brown's 52-carry performance in a 24-3 win against the Bengals on a Thursday night in Cincinnati last month. Hill was the bell cow Sunday, gaining 148 yards on 25 carries. The game's first drive was marked by his six carries, including a 2-yard touchdown run.
"The defense fed off that," offensive guard Kevin Zeitler said.
Cincinnati forced a three-and-out on the Browns' ensuing possession. The one after that, Bengals defensive end Wallace Gilberry got quickly in the backfield and brought down Manziel for the first of many stops on the rookie quarterback behind the line of scrimmage. In his first career start, Manziel had trouble avoiding striped helmets.
"This ain't college. This is the NFL," defensive tackle Domata Peko said. "You don't have college kids chasing you. You've got some grown men that have kids and who are out here trying to feed their families. It's a lot faster than college."
Along with their solid offensive and defensive performance, the Bengals also got a perfect 3-for-3 day from kicker Mike Nugent, who was given the game ball. The 10-year veteran played for the first time since the sudden death of his father, Daniel, last Monday.
As the Bengals prepare for a Monday night matchup with Denver, it's important they hold on to their identity as a truly physical football team. It simply is who they must be.
Other notes of interest. ... According to the Sports Xchange, the dominating run game and dismal starting debut of Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel masked a subpar performance by Andy Dalton, who was 14 of 24 for 117 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.
Browns cornerback Joe Haden dropped another interception before leaving the game with a shoulder injury in the first half. Even with Haden and cornerback Justin Gilbert (concussion) out in the second half, Dalton continued to struggle.
His passer rating of 53.6 was his lowest ever in a victory. Dalton's interception would have been a touchdown pass to wide open tight end Ryan Hewitt had he not underthrown it by five yards.
Hewitt caught three passes for 34 yards, both of which were career highs for the undrafted rookie.
Jermaine Gresham (toe) was a surprise inactive Sunday. He was listed as questionable, but head coach Marvin Lewis said he expected Gresham to play, especially after watching him workout on the field prior to the game.
According to a FOXSports report, Gresham will visit a toe specialist Tuesday to get a second opinion. Lewis, who doesn't often divulge as much information about injuries as he did with Gresham's, seemed to suggest another opinion wasn't necessary.
"He doesn't have anything debilitating. He just has some pain," Lewis said. "It just cropped up too late in the week that they didn't get it calmed down enough. Hopefully he'll be ready to go [Monday]." 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Andy Dalton, Jason Campbell, AJ McCarron 
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 
=========================

=========================
CLEVELAND BROWNS
Along with being sacked, taunted, embarrassed and generally mistreated Sunday by the Bengals, Johnny Manziel got humbled.
The rookie quarterback said Monday that his first NFL start, a 30-0 loss that essentially eliminated Cleveland from the playoffs, was the toughest day he's ever had on a football field.
"It's the first game I've ever not scored a point in and been shut out," Manziel said. "I've played in a lot of games from high school through college, and that one, and I've never been shut out until then. It was definitely tough."
And humbling?
"Absolutely," he said. "Very humbling."
Unable to move Cleveland's offense, Manziel completed just 10 of 18 passes for 80 yards. He was intercepted twice, chased around like a fox trying to escape hungry hounds and looked lost in the Browns' biggest game of the season. This wasn't the debut he, legions of his fans or anyone in Cleveland's organization had in mind when he was promoted to replace Brian Hoyer after 13 games.
"You just don't really envision that in your head when you're good throughout the week and you have a really good week of practice," Manziel said. "You feel really confident and really prepared, and then something like that happens."
The Browns ran just 38 offensive plays, gained 107 total yards, crossed the 50-yard line just once and got only five first downs -- two of them via defensive penalties.
The team was bad, Manziel was bad but head coach Mike Pettine, whose decision to start Manziel is now being debated as aggressively as his choice to bench Hoyer last week, said the performance doesn't cast any doubts on his potential to be a franchise quarterback.
"I think it's too small a sample size," Pettine said. "When you look at how we played around him, I think it's very unfair to judge what somebody's career is going to be like off of their first start. I'm sure you could go back and find a lot of regrettable performances in the first start."
According to Associated Press sports writer Tom Withers, Pettine reiterated the Browns (7-7) will stick with Manziel over the final two games against Carolina and Baltimore. The team isn't viewing it as an audition for Manziel's future. Pettine said there's a chance the team could go into the offseason with its quarterback situation unclear because three games isn't long enough to accurately evaluate any quarterback.
"We'll have a sense (of Manziel), but I still think there will be question marks," Pettine said. "No matter what happens. We'll have a sense, but it's something that I don't think it's going to confirm one way or the other the opinion. He could hit it out of the park the next two and there will still be doubts. He could not play very well the next two, there'd be a ton of doubts."
Manziel said watching film of the game wasn't any better than living through it the first time. The Browns were manhandled by the Bengals from start to finish.
"I don't think there's anything from that game getting beat 30-0 that's going to sit there and make you pump your fist," Manziel said. "But just going through some progressions, I feel like there was just some miscommunications, there were some times we were off, one person was off and it takes all 11 guys to make the whole thing work."
True, but the focus is usually on the one behind center, and Manziel was lambasted by some of his harshest critics.
"I'm not really listening to any outside noise or what anybody else has to say," Manziel said. "I know that I need to play better and if I don't, people are going to continue to say things like that."
Manziel wasn't the only who were fed a helping of humility by the Bengals.
"That type of game humbles all of us," Pettine said. "We had been able to do some things in the past that we weren't able to do. That's something that -- as an organization, coaches, staff and team -- we've got to regroup, and we've got to regroup in a hurry."
Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler offered up some ideas on how Manziel and the Browns might help each other starting Sunday at Carolina.
When someone's open, "let it rip": Create quick, safe throws for Manziel to make so that when he's inside the pocket, he's not treading water. His first interception Sunday, on the throw to the sideline intended for Andrew Hawkins, was a good example. If Manziel reads that a second earlier, that's a nice gain. But he hesitated, then didn't put enough on the throw, and Dre Kirkpatrick undercut it. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan told the media Thursday he hopes Manziel "lets it rip" when someone's open. Manziel should heed that advice against Carolina.
Know when to throw it away: That ugly across-the-body interception in the end zone could have been an easy toss out of bounds to set up a field goal, avoiding the shutout and giving at least some life to the Browns entering halftime.
Clean up the zone read: The Browns didn't run the zone read a bunch, but they had a few opportunities off it and didn't capitalize. On Manziel's first sack, he kept the ball when Isaiah Crowell had an opening to the right side. That left the Browns in another third-and-long, which rookies usually can't overcome.
Clean up mechanics: Manziel was showing good arm strength in pregame warmups but didn't during the game. According to Fowler, it seemed fairly obvious his footwork was not clean for a portion of the Bengals game. Clean that up, step into throws with confidence and maybe the Browns can improve.
Take a few more shots: Manziel throws a decent deep ball, but the Browns didn't take any shots. Yes, Josh Gordon is struggling. But a lofty pass to him, either in the red zone or deeper downfield, allows him to use his size and strength. It's an easy call for him. Run straight and jump. Don't overthink it.
Create bailout options with tight ends and running backs: Terrance West has had his struggles, but he could be a reliable pass catcher in this offense. Give Manziel an easy screen outlet when the pocket collapses.
Have amnesia: Pretend Sunday never happened. Watch the game video, learn from it, then burn it. Burn it to a crisp.
Other notes of interest. ... The Browns used only 17 running plays Sunday. Their longest gain was a 10-yard run by Manziel. Crowell did not run with the authority he has shown in the past; he gained 17 yards on seven carries. The only bright spot was no one fumbled.
Worth noting: Pettine told reporters on Tuesday, "I don't know if Crowell (hip) is 100 percent. Probably a better question for him."
I'll be watching for more on that in coming days. ...
Cornerback Joe Haden was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury and could not continue. He had an MRI on Monday and is day to day, coach Mike Pettine said. Fellow corner Justin Gilbert was knocked out of the game with a head injury but does not have a concussion.
Marlon Moore was knocked out with a knee injury. He has not been ruled out for this week's game against the Panthers. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Johnny Manziel, Brian Hoyer 
RB: Isaiah Crowell, Terrance West, Glenn Winston, Shaun Draughn 
FB: Ray Agnew 
WR: Josh Gordon, Andrew Hawkins, Taylor Gabriel, Travis Benjamin, Rodney Smith, Marlon Moore 
TE: Jordan Cameron, Jim Dray, Gary Barnidge 
PK: Billy Cundiff 
=========================

=========================
DALLAS COWBOYS
DeMarco Murray suffered a broken bone in his hand during Sunday's win over the Eagles and underwent surgery on Monday, head coach Jason Garrett confirmed.
NFL Network's Albert Breer reported that Murray has a good chance to play this week against the Colts, and team owner lent further credence to that notion on Tuesday -- albeit with a caveat: Murray is likely a game-time decision. Jones said the Cowboys are still in the process of evaluating his health for Sunday's game against Indianapolis.
"I think we just want to take a look at it. We don't know," Jones said. "I'm not so sure, when they say the definition of healing, how much can heal between now and Sunday."
Having said that, Jones was optimistic Murray could be ready to go when the Indianapolis Colts visit this weekend.
The Cowboys don't have any more padded practices this season, so the determination of whether Murray can be ready is simply a matter of feedback on the injury.
"I don't think we'd have to see him practice. I think it's more a question of the condition of the hand at game time and what we can do to protect it," Jones said. "I think it's one of those that you'd want to wait and see just how he's feeling before the game."
According to the team's official website, the injury is to Murray's left hand and occurred late in the fourth quarter. He underwent X-rays immediately after the game. A team source told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that Murray broke the fourth metatarsal in his left hand, the bone that runs from his wrist to his fourth finger.
If the Cowboys need to find a running back to have played through a fractured fourth metacarpal then Eddie Lacy is a case study. As ESPN.com's Todd Archer noted on Tuesday, Lacy broke his hand while at Alabama playing against Western Carolina. In the next two games against Auburn in the Iron Bowl and Georgia in the SEC championship game, Lacy carried the ball 38 times for 312 yards and four touchdowns.
He had surgery after the Georgia game before the Crimson Tide played Notre Dame in the BCS Championship.
"For practice that week they put a big Q-shaped thing on it," Lacy told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in 2013. "I really couldn't use the hand but I could run and pretty much pass protect. When I got hit, I couldn't feel it. Then by the time the game came I put my normal glove on and put a little covering over it. Sometimes it hurt, sometimes it was all right.
"I saw the crack in it on the X-ray but I didn't think too much of it. I said, 'I'll play with it.' You pretty much have to do it."
Whatever the case, Murray has been the heart of the Cowboys' offense this season. He had 31 carries against the Eagles on Sunday, one week after getting 41 total touches in a win against the Bears. For the season, Murray has carried the ball 351 times for 1,687 yards and 11 touchdowns.
If Murray can't play against the Colts, Joseph Randle and Lance Dunbar will step into bigger roles for an offense that has relied heavily on the run all season. Jones indicated that Randle will be the primary ball carrier if Murray is sidelined.
"I have a lot of confidence that Joseph Randle would step up and play big for us," he said. "Anytime that he's had a chance to run the ball this year -- which maybe hasn't been enough -- he's been very successful."
The Cowboys have had Ryan Williams on their practice squad all season. He was taken 33 picks ahead of Murray by Arizona in the 2011 draft. The Cardinals released him after three mostly injury-plagued seasons. Randle, a fifth-round pick last year, has 34 carries for 237 yards and two touchdowns, including a 17-yarder on his only carry against Chicago two weeks ago.
Randle's 7.0-yard per carry average is impressive.
Dunbar has 26 carries for 91 yards but has done most of his damage as a receiver with 16 catches for 207 yards. He doesn't have any touchdowns. An undrafted free agent in his third season, Dunbar had a breakout game on Thanksgiving last year with a team-high 82 yards before sustaining a knee injury in that game against Oakland, knocking him out for the rest of the season.
"Lance has done a number of different things for us on third down as a receiver, split out," Garrett said. "Joseph has been a guy that we've brought into games just to give him the ball and he's done a real nice job with that. I have a lot of confidence in both of those guys."
Murray has a league-high 351 carries, so the question of a No. 2 back has never really been an issue for the Cowboys. Murray has yet to make it through a full season without missing at least two games because of injuries that included a broken ankle, a sprained foot and a sprained knee.
Emmitt Smith sustained a similar injury for Dallas in 1999, had surgery and missed one game. He had 127 yards rushing in his first game back.
"We'll take the surgery first," Garrett said. "We'll see how he feels coming out of the surgery and make our next best decisions."
All that said. ... Murray was on the practice field for the Wednesday's practice. I'll have more on his status via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Tony Romo and Dez Bryant were unstoppable in Philadelphia.
Bryant had the first three-touchdown game of his career. Romo had his sixth game with at least three touchdown passes this season. In the first meeting against the Eagles, Romo saw his streak of having at least one touchdown pass end and Bryant caught just four passes for 73 yards.
Romo connected on six of his seven attempts to Bryant for 114 yards. He finished with 265 yards and completed 70 percent of his passes.
In the rematch they showed why they are one of the best quarterback-wide receiver combos in the NFL and as a result the Cowboys' playoff chances.
In addition, Bryant was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his work in Philadelphia. ...
Bryant and Romo were the stars of the Cowboys passing game, but Witten played a major part with a season-high seven catches for 69 yards. When the Cowboys lost to the Eagles on Thanksgiving, Witten caught one pass for 8 yards.
Five of Witten's seven catches went for first downs. He had more yards in the first half than he had in all but nine games. It was Witten's shortest catch -- a 4-yard flip from Romo -- that helped give the Cowboys enough yards for Dan Bailey to kick a 49-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to put the Cowboys up 11 points.
Witten has 53 catches for 564 yards and four touchdowns for the season. His numbers are not the same as he has produced in the past, but Garrett laughs when people suggest that the tight end might be slowing down.
"Fantastic football player and he does it every game," Garrett said. "Outstanding blocker as a run-blocker, as a protector. When given the opportunity in the passing game he's a mismatch player. Hard for them to guard him. Always comes up with the big play. Always there when the quarterback needs him. He's been doing it for a long, long time. He's the best tight end in football." 

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 
=========================

=========================
DENVER BRONCOS
As the Sports Xchange reported, the Broncos' annual trip to San Diego started in a routine manner for quarterback Peyton Manning: flight, bus to the hotel, production meeting with the crew broadcasting the game.
At about 6:30 p.m. Saturday night, as he met with offensive coordinator Adam Gase, that changed.
"He was in his bed and they were saying he was throwing up and all this," said wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. "Everybody knew how sick he was."
Added Manning: "I had a rough night. I'm not going to lie. It was not an enjoyable night. So I don't know what happened, it just came out of nowhere."
Manning took four IVs in the evening and morning that followed, got himself ready and completed 14 of 20 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown as the Broncos lurched past San Diego 22-10 to clinch their fourth consecutive AFC West title.
Thanks to the IVs, he muddled through. But there was no guarantee that he would play.
"If I felt like I was going to hurt the team by being out there, then obviously (I wouldn't have played)," Manning said. "But I was kind of counting on Gase and (coach John) Fox and those guys to kind of look at me and evaluate me and kind of tell me what they thought as well."
Piling on to Manning's discomfort was the thigh injury he suffered as the Broncos drove toward their third field goal of the first half. He suffered the injury on an 8-yard pass to Emmanuel Sanders, two plays before he tried to block linebacker Donald Butler on running back C.J. Anderson'sunsuccessful attempt to score from the San Diego 1-yard-line.
Butler knocked Manning off-balance on the collision, but he paid a price: A dislocated elbow that ended his season. Meanwhile, Manning returned for the second half, completed six of his next eight passes for 96 yards an average of 12.0 yards per attempt and threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Thomas.
"You can't ask for (any) better," Thomas said. "If a man comes out and plays that sick and throwing up and all this other stuff, that's all you can ask for.
Still, Manning said following the game, that he had to think long and hard about playing on Sunday.
"I had a rough night, I'm not gonna lie," Manning said. "It was not an enjoyable night. I don't know what happened, it just kind of came out of nowhere. ... Obviously, you can play just to play, to be out there to start."
Manning said he became dehydrated in the first half and attributed that to the thigh injury. The quarterback felt enough discomfort that he went to the locker room with just under two minutes remaining in the half.
Brock Osweiler played the Broncos' last four snaps of the half. Osweiler said he was told to warm up after halftime as if he would play in the second half, but Manning came jogging out of the tunnel, helmet on, and played the rest of the way.
"Adam was kind of evaluating me this morning, how I looked, how I felt," Manning said. "I kind of thought I would feel better throughout the day. Then my leg injury wasn't really part of the plan. I have to believe it was related to the symptoms last night, being dehydrated, if I had to guess."
Other than the 2011 season, when he missed every game following his fourth neck surgery, Manning has never missed a start. Sunday was his 254th career regular-season start, including his 46th consecutive since signing with the Broncos in 2012. His teammates will tell you that streak looked in jeopardy before kickoff.
"We knew it wasn't just something small," Sanders said. "It wasn't like him, how he was before the game."
Manning still kept his sense of humor when asked if he believed in flu shots.
"I had one this year -- Broncos supply those for no charge, I think," Manning said. "I believe in them."
For what it's worth, Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio, citing league source, reports the Broncos have no lingering concern about said thigh injury.
Also. ... Thomas, who had his right ankle stepped on during practice two weeks ago, was also limping slightly following the game and may be held out of practice in the coming week.
The Broncos will have an additional day off this week since they don't play until Monday night.
The team is not expected to practice Tuesday or Wednesday. With 123 yards on his six catches, Thomas had his eighth 100-yard receiving game of the season. Rod Smith is the only other player in franchise history to have eight 100-yard games in a season.
Other notes of interest. ... Julius Thomas did not start, but played for the first time since injuring his ankle Nov. 16 at St. Louis. Thomas had one catch for 30 yards. According to Pro Football Focus, Thomas played 29-of-66 (43.9 percent) of the offensive snaps against the Chargers.
Expect that number to rise in coming weeks. ...
Anderson played through an ankle injury and carried the ball 29 times for 85 yards. He had a touchdown reversed by instant replay.
Ronnie Hillman missed a fifth consecutive game because of a mid-foot sprain suffered early in the Nov. 9 win over the Raiders. He practiced on a limited basis last week and could be in line for more work this week.
Montee Ball was placed on injured reserve Saturday after aggravating a groin strain against the Rams on Nov. 16. Ball suffered the initial injury Oct. 5 against Arizona, although he later acknowledged he felt some discomfort before then, but kept it to himself.
Cody Latimer has missed the last two games after suffering a concussion in practice prior to the Broncos' Week 14 win over the Bills. He has, however, been cleared to practice this week. ...
A few weeks ago Connor Barth was just another guy hoping for another NFL chance. He has now tied a franchise record -- twice -- with five field goals in the Broncos' Nov. 30 win over the Kansas City Chiefs to go with the five field goals he made Sunday against the Chargers.
The Broncos signed Barth to replace Brandon McManus, who had missed four field goals over the course of the Broncos' first 10 games. Barth has been just what the Broncos hoped he could be and possibly more as they won their fourth consecutive AFC West title Sunday.
He made kicks of 19, 26, 19, 49 and 44 yards against the Chargers, including both of his attempts in the fourth quarter as the Broncos pushed their lead from 16-10 to 22-10.
"Anything I can do the help us," Barth said. "A chance at the playoffs, a division title, a winning streak, all things I've never experienced. Everyone here has embraced me, taken me in."
Brandon Marshall left Qualcomm Stadium in a walking boot after suffering a foot sprain in the first half Sunday. Marshall, the Broncos' leading tackler, is expected to miss one to two weeks. If the Broncos earn a bye, they could opt to rest him three weeks with an eye toward playing in the divisional round.
Ryan Clady left the game in the first quarter with a quadriceps injury. He did not return and is considered "day-to-day" by Fox. Chris Clark, who filled in for him last year, took his place.
Danny Trevathan's season is over after a third injury to the area in and around his left knee: a dislocated kneecap. Trevathan was limited to three games this year because of various injuries. 

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

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DETROIT LIONS
Detroit is within striking distance of its first division title since 1993 and the automatic playoff berth that comes with it.
Still, head coach Jim Caldwell's strict one-game-at-a-time philosophy has served the Lions well thus far, and he doesn't want his players losing sight of that with games at NFC North rivals Chicago and Green Bay to close the regular season.
"They might not go (to the playoffs) if they don't start focusing up on this next game, either," Caldwell said. "That is a point to make. It's like texting and driving. You can't have your focus and attention on two things at one time. ... It's no different. Obviously, I'm not talking about the same dire consequences, but I'm talking about an example of distorted vision."
The Lions have reached this point by toughing out close games all season. Half of their 10 wins have been by seven points or fewer. Just three other teams in the league (Green Bay, Arizona and San Francisco) have won five games by a touchdown or less. Not one has won more close games than Detroit.
"They have grit," Caldwell said. "They are very rarely deterred when a big challenge comes their way. They are able to hang in there and play with poise down the stretch and overcome some difficult circumstances. ... They play as a unit in that way. They just aren't shaken by the moment. They have supreme focus when they need it."
And the Lions have fought through early holes in many of those games, including a 21-0 deficit against Atlanta and 14-point comeback wins over New Orleans and against the Vikings on Sunday.
"It doesn't matter however you get them," safety James Ihedigbo said. "Our mindset is we're going to fight. If we're up in the game, we're going to fight and if we have to come back, I think that's sharpening our character as a team and showing our resilience and the ability to fight through adversity."
Although the offense has closed out games with critical drives, the defense has also played a big part in the Lions' late-game success.
The Vikings racked up 193 yards, nine first downs and two touchdowns in their first four drives on Sunday. After that, the Lions surrendered just 167 yards and 12 first downs the rest of the way.
That resiliency will be tested in the next two weeks as the Lions hit the road. It's hard for everyone not to look ahead to the finale at Lambeau Field with the Packers currently sharing a 10-4 record with Detroit.
But, as Caldwell has stressed all season, the only game that matters is the next one on the schedule: at Chicago on Sunday.
"You have to earn your way into the playoffs," Caldwell said. "You don't talk your way in. We haven't earned it yet. We still have to go to work."
They can start by working on the getting the offense back on track.
As ESPN.com's Michael Rothstein suggested, it wasn't the output the Lions had the past two weeks with 34 points and 400 yards offense in back-to-back weeks.
Actually, the Lions scored less than half that Sunday in their 16-14 win over the Vikings, but Caldwell was not apologizing for his offense sputtering more than it had at any other point in this stretch of home games.
"Make no apologies for it," Caldwell said. "For us to win, I'm not going to apologize for that. That's you guys' job, to talk about all the ills. I'm happy, OK, that these guys were able to get it done, some tough situations.
"I'm not apologizing for wins and most of the people that are here probably shouldn't either, for the most part. This team has been battling, been fighting. I hope none of our guys apologize for it. Sixteen points, I don't care if it was a half-a-point more, as long as they give it to us. Particularly against that team, the way they are playing. I was proud of those guys."
The 233 yards of offense was Detroit's lowest of the season -- although that was offset by two Lions interceptions in Minnesota territory that led to 10 points. It was Detroit's lowest offensive yardage output since Week 14 last season in a blizzard against Philadelphia, when the Lions had 231 yards of offense.
The 16 points were the lowest Detroit has had in a win this year (they've scored less than 16 in all four losses) and Matthew Stafford was among those taking the biggest hits.
After two weeks in which he played like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, Stafford regressed on Sunday. Gone was the 75 percent completion rate and 300-yard day, replaced by a 60.7 percent, 153-yard passing day.
It was the second time this season Detroit has won a game with fewer than 200 yards passing from Stafford -- both against the Vikings.
There's a bunch of good news for Stafford, though. He didn't have a turnover for the third straight game. His season completion percentage of 61.5, if it holds, would be the second-highest of his career. And he's on pace to throw for more than 4,000 yards for the fourth straight season.
Stafford also now gets to face Chicago -- the team he completed 75.6 percent of his passes against for 390 yards on Thanksgiving. The Bears have continued to struggle since then, and are allowing a completion rate of 75 percent or better in seven of their 14 games this season.
In nine career games against Chicago, Stafford has completed 62.4 percent of his passes (214-of-343) for 2,313 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He is 4-5 against the Bears in games in which he was credited with the win or loss.
Fantasy owners heading into their championship games will be hoping Stafford got one last "bad" game out of the way. ...
Other notes of interest. ... As has been the case the past few weeks, the Lions ran the ball better than earlier in the season, but they still have room for improvement. Joique Bell had 15 carries for 62 yards, but nobody else was productive. Reggie Bush had three carries for 7 yards, and Theo Riddick had a 4-yard carry.
The highlight was Bell's four carries for 31 yards on the game-winning field-goal drive.
Stafford and the Lions receivers never got into a rhythm, although he did manage to hit Golden Tate with a seven-yard touchdown set up by an interception. Calvin Johnson led the Lions with 53 yards, Bell had 41 yards and Tate had seven catches but just 38 yards.
Detroit had a kicking problem through the first five games of the season. That's settled down now, as the signing of Prater before the first Minnesota game in Week 6 was a good one. Prater made all three of his field goal attempts and was a big reason the Lions were in the game. 

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, Brandon Pettigrew, Kellen Davis 
PK: Matt Prater 
=========================

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GREEN BAY PACKERS
Despite having their five-game winning ended, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers still control much of their postseason destiny.
Even after the worst statistical performance of Rodgers' career, the Packers (10-4) still have solid playoff prospects -- if they win their final two games.
Doing so would give them the NFC North title.
That would mean winning at Tampa Bay next Sunday and then beating the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field on Dec. 28.
But first, Rodgers and the rest of the Packers offense need to get back on track.
In Sunday's 21-13 loss to the Bills, Rodgers was 17 of 42 -- the 25 incompletions were a career high -- for 185 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 34.3, the lowest mark of his career.
He entered the game as the NFL's highest-rated passer (119.0) with 35 touchdown passes and only three interceptions.
"I know Aaron didn't feel very good the way it panned out," head coach Mike McCarthy said Monday, as the Packers turned their attention to the Buccaneers (2-12) and a trip to Tampa, Fla., where Rodgers is 0-2 as a starter.
"(But) I look for him to have a big game in Tampa."
Rodgers did not speak to reporters during Monday's availability session -- his scheduled day is Wednesday -- but he reiterated McCarthy's stance on the playoff picture and took the blame for the loss after the game.
"It wasn't my best day by any stretch of the imagination," Rodgers said. "I've got to play better for us to win, and I expect more of myself.
"(But) everything is right in front of us. We win out, we still win the North. We're a tough team, a good football team, and we just didn't play very well on offense."
No, they didn't. Against a Bills defense that hasn't allowed a touchdown passing in the past four games, Rodgers didn't get much help from his receivers, who by the coaches' count dropped nine passes.
"We had all sorts of chances and just didn't make them, for whatever reason," said leading receiver Jordy Nelson, who dropped what could have been a 94-yard touchdown when he was wide open late in the third quarter.
"Obviously, my drop could have won the game for us. We've got to make those no matter how easy or hard they are."
A second loss to the Lions, who haven't won a game in Wisconsin since 1991, would give them the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Packers.
Having won all seven of their home games this season, McCarthy, Rodgers and others have acknowledged that the No. 1 overall seed and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs is their goal. But the loss to the Bills made that more difficult for Green Bay.
After entering Sunday's game as the league's highest-scoring offense, the Packers failed to score multiple touchdowns for the first time since their Week 3 loss at Detroit.
Offensive coordinator Tom Clements was brusque in his answers to questions about Rodgers and the offense.
"It just wasn't working," Clements said. "We didn't play as well as we had been playing. You have to give them credit. They won the game, they scored more points than we did, but we certainly weren't at our best."
Other notes of interest. ... As ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky notes, Eddie Lacy was the best thing the Packers had going on offense. Late in the first quarter, he carried on three straight plays to start a drive and ran for 15, 17 and 22 yards. He finished that drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Coming off a hip injury from Monday night's game against the Falcons, Lacy carried 15 times for 97 yards. But he had only five touches in the second half. ...
Worth noting. ... Lacy was limited in practice Wednesday due to an eye problem that McCarthy said is not game-related. Lacy is fully expected to start Sunday against the Buccaneers. ...
Tackle Bryan Bulaga was knocked out of Sunday's loss at Buffalo with concussion symptoms when he took a hard open-field block from defensive end Jerry Hughes on a Bills interception return early in the fourth quarter. JC Tretter filled in at right tackle the rest of the game and allowed a strip-sack by defensive end Mario Williams that resulted in a clinching safety for Buffalo with less than 2 minutes left in its 21-13 win.
McCarthy didn't have an update on Bulaga's status Monday, but Clements expressed optimism the veteran lineman would be OK to play Sunday at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

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, Jarrett Boykin, Jeff Janis 
TE: Richard Rodgers, Andrew Quarless, Brandon Bostick, Justin Perillo 
PK: Mason Crosby 
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HOUSTON TEXANS
The Texans are scrambling to find a quarterback.
Head coach Bill O'Brien confirmed Monday that Ryan Fitzpatrick suffered a broken leg in Sunday's loss to the Colts and will miss the rest of the season. He also said rookie backup Tom Savage suffered an undisclosed injury of his own and will miss at least this Sunday's game against Baltimore.
The Texans have lost all three quarterbacks who were on the opening day roster since Ryan Mallett went down last month with a torn pectoral muscle after his second start replacing Fitzpatrick.
"No, I haven't," O'Brien said when asked if he has been through a situation like this. "That's the NFL. Injuries happen. The next guy has to step up whether the guys in the building at the time or is not in the building. The next guy has to step up and be ready to go."
With Savage ruled out, O'Brien has a choice to make at quarterback between Thaddeus Lewis and Case Keenum, who was signed on Monday.
Lewis was signed last month. As a starter in Buffalo, he was 2-3 in 2013 and at least has that experience to lean on despite learning a new system.
"A lot better than I was when I first got here," Lewis responded when asked about his grasp of the offense after just three weeks. " It's part of the job so you make sure you can understand as much as you can understand and the things you're not comfortable with you just let them know so you can work toward your strengths. I know I can get out there and operate and be efficient."
Keenum re-joins the team after spending the first 14 weeks of the season on the St. Louis Rams' practice squad. He was cut by the Texans in preseason but is now back to bolster their depth chart and possibly start. Keenum took over for Matt Schaub in 2013 but went 0-8 down the stretch.
"I think there's a definite advantage to him having been with us," O'Brien said of Keenum. "He was with us for a good amount of time. He was with us when we installed the offense and was with us in training camp . I think there's a definite advantage there."
O'Brien said the decision on the starter will be made early this week but was clear that regardless of the choice the game plan will have to be altered saying the team "would not overload" the new quarterback.
Fitzpatrick had an up-and-down season after starting the first nine games and leading the team to a 4-5 record. Fitzpatrick underwent surgery on Monday. He will join Mallett on injured reserve. Fitzpatrick was injured when he was tripped at the end of a 2-yard run.
The result leaves the team on the outside looking in at the AFC wild card race and preparing to play with its third starting quarterback of the season.
"It's the nature of the game, nature of the beast. It's something that around here we've been through in the past," center Chris Myers said. "We've just got to move on and its next man up. That's the way it is at every position and unfortunately this year it's been at the quarterback position. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... Andre Johnson missed the Colts game because of a concussion. O'Brien said he expects Johnson to play against Baltimore.
Arian Foster ran for 99 yards on 26 carries. He had a 25-yard touchdown run called back because of a holding penalty on receiver DeVier Posey.
Posey was active for the first time this season and started in place of Johnson. Posey caught one pass for 30 yards.
Garrett Graham missed another week with his injured ankle; his status for this week will bear watching in coming days. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Thad Lewis, Case Keenum, Tom Savage 
RB: Arian Foster, Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes 
FB: Jay Prosch 
WR: DeAndre Hopkins, Andre Johnson, Keshawn Martin, Damaris Johnson, DeVier Posey 
TE: C.J. Fiedorowicz, Ryan Griffin, Garrett Graham 
PK: Randy Bullock 
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INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
According to Associated Press sports writer Jim Johnson head coach Chuck Pagano isn't quite ready to put all of his focus on preparing for the playoffs.
Indianapolis clinched the AFC South with Sunday's win over Houston, but before the Colts look ahead to the postseason, Pagano wants to close out the regular season on a winning note.
"Just because we're sitting where we're sitting doesn't mean we're going to take our foot off the gas," he said.
So the approach is to win each game whether it has any significance to the overall outcome of the season or not, including Sunday's game at Dallas and at Tennessee in the regular-season finale.
"We're going to play 16 games, and we're going to prepare to try to go win this football game," Pagano said. "Forget being in the playoffs or not, that's just our mindset. That's how we roll."
Still, with the playoffs just weeks away, the Colts are well aware of the need to find solutions to problems. Pagano specifically pointed out Monday that penalties and turnovers are issues the Colts continue to face.
Indy committed two turnovers against Houston on Sunday, including an interception the Texans returned for a touchdown early in the game.
The Colts have struggled to get off to a fast start, another issue that Pagano acknowledged as a concern. Against Houston, it was nearly halftime before Indy took a lead and the Colts have trailed in the first quarter in four of the last five games.
"If we're going to get to where we want to get to, take the next step in the playoffs, those type of things, we've still got some things obviously to clean up," Pagano said. "We'll go to work on that."
An MRI came back negative for receiver T.Y. Hilton, who suffered a hamstring injury late in Sunday's game. Pagano said the Colts expect Hilton to return to practice this week -- although he was not on the field Wednesday.
Hilton is just one of several players with nagging injuries.
Guards Hugh Thornton (knee) and Joe Reitz (ankle) missed all last week and Pagano said both continue to take steps in the right direction.
Receiver Reggie Wayne has also recently battled injuries to his elbow and triceps and Pagano said players can sit out to recover, but the Colts won't sit players to keep them healthy for the playoffs.
"If we see a window, not only for Reggie, but anybody else who's got some nagging injuries," Pagano said. "Between our doctors and our trainers and our coaching staff, if we feel like somebody needs some time to mend. If a guy needs some time because he's injured and he needs some time to heal up, then we'll make that decision whatever's best for the player, whatever's best for the team."
The next two games on the road give the Colts an opportunity to fix problems, but also a chance to find ways to win away from home, where they are 4-2. And this week against the Cowboys will give Pagano an idea of where the team is at.
"It will be a great measuring stick to go on the road," Pagano said. "We know what kind of team they have, and what kind of players they have. We've got to go on the road and play a darn good football team."
You can expect Pagano to play his starters against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, but his tune could change after this weekend's game depending on where they are in the playoff race and because they've got several players dealing with injuries.
The Denver Broncos and New England Patriots will have to lose their final two games and the Colts will have to win their final two games in order for Indianapolis to move up to one of the top two spots and earn a bye in the first week of the playoffs. The Colts are also trying to hold off Cincinnati for the No. 3 seed, which is huge in avoiding the Patriots in the second week of the playoffs.
"You never know what's going to happen," Pagano said. "We can control how we're going to play Sunday. I don't know what's going to happen in the rest of the division and conference. We're going to do everything we can to give ourselves the best possible chance in the playoffs."
Other notes of interest. ... According to ESPN.com's Mike Wells, Wayne finished with only four catches for 24 yards, but he moved past Peyton Manning for the most games played (209) in franchise history and most wins in franchise history (142). Wayne, who is dealing with a torn triceps, lost a fumble in the first half.
Luckily for him and the Colts, though, the Texans didn't take advantage of the opportunity because they fumbled on the very next play. Linebacker Bjoern Werner recovered the loose ball.
Andrew Luck's turnover problems continued. He threw an interception that was returned 27 yards for a touchdown by Texans safety Kendrick Lewis. Luck now has 20 turnovers -- 14 interceptions and six fumbles -- this season. He has thrown seven interceptions that have been returned for touchdowns the past three years. Only New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith has thrown more interceptions returned for touchdowns than Luck. Luck finished 18-of-34 for 187 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Hakeem Nicks only caught two passes against the Texans on Sunday but one of them went for a 26-yard touchdown. Nicks caught two passes for 22 yards. He had his most playing time in recent weeks in the win over Houston.
Dwayne Allen also caught touchdown a pass.
According to Pro Football Focus, Donte Moncrief out-snapped Nicks 36-22, but the rookie had nothing to show for it at the end of the game. ...
Running back Daniel "Boom" Herron didn't rush for 100 yards. He didn't even have a touchdown. What he did, though, is prove yet again that he deserves to be the Colts' primary running back over the disappointing Trent Richardson. Herron finished with 11 carries for 60 yards. Richardson had 32 yards on nine carries. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Andrew Luck, Matt Hasselbeck 
RB: Trent Richardson, Dan Herron, Zurlon Tipton 
FB: Mario Harvey 
WR: T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne, Donte Moncrief, Hakeem Nicks, Josh Cribbs 
TE: Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener, Jack Doyle 
PK: Adam Vinatieri 
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JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
As ESPN.com's Michael DiRocco suggested, considering the beating he has taken, it's somewhat of a surprise that it took this long for rookie quarterback Blake Bortles to be in jeopardy of missing a game.
Bortles has been sacked 46 times in 10 ½ games and regardless of how much responsibility he bears for some of those sacks, it's still a pretty good pounding for the 6-5, 230 pounder to have endured. He finally got hurt on the 45th, which came midway through the fourth quarter of the Jaguars' 20-12 loss at Baltimore on Sunday.
Bortles suffered a right mid-foot sprain and the Jaguars said he is questionable for Thursday night's home game against Tennessee, although he reportedly did better than expected in Tuesday's practice.
"Cautiously optimistic," head coach Gus Bradley said after Tuesday's session. "Tomorrow is a bigger day."
Bortles said he felt pretty good after Tuesday's walk-through and that he's confident that he'll be able to play.
"I think every football player kind of plays through injuries," Bortles said. "I broke some stuff in college and played through that. I think it's part of it.
"Unless there's something really, really wrong with you where you can't play or you're hurting the team, you should go play."
"It's part of football," Bortles said of the sacks. "A lot of them are on me. Some are on the offensive line. It's on the whole offense. It's football, so you better be used to getting hit."
Bortles has been sacked a lot. More, in fact, than 29 NFL teams. Only Washington (53) and San Francisco (49) have allowed their quarterbacks to be sacked more. The Jaguars have allowed an NFL-worst 62 sacks -- Chad Henne was sacked 16 times in 10 quarters -- and are just one sack shy of the team record of 63 (2001).
Yet Bortles has been able to avoid injury. He has been on the weekly injury report in the past two weeks for a right shoulder sprain and an ankle sprain but has been a full participant in every practice and listed as nothing worse than probable on the Friday injury report.
That changed when he was chased down by linebackers Pernell McPhee and Terrell Suggs for a 10-yard loss with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. That marked the second time Bortles was sacked on back-to-back plays on Sunday. He limped off the field but remained in the game and was sacked once more on the Jaguars' final drive.
Bortles said he'll do everything he can to play on Thursday night because finishing out the season means a lot to him.
"I think Brett Favre's record of consistent games started I think is one of the most important records," he said. "Your teammates knowing you're going to be there week in and week out is something that means a lot."
Bradley said Bortles' No. 1 improvement in the offseason needs to be quickening his decision-making. Some of the pounding Bortles has endured this season has been because he's holding onto the ball too long instead of making a quick throw or throwing it away when there's nothing available. Bortles admitted the same thing.
Even though he has been battered a lot this season Bortles isn't jittery or bailing out too soon because of the rush. He's not looking down at the rush instead of going through his reads the way former Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert did after he was sacked 40 times as a rookie in 2011.
"You're the quarterback; you're going to get hit. I don't know how else to say it," Henne said. "You either take it or you don't. If you are the one that looks down on the rush, you're not going to last in this league long. I don't think Blake's doing that. I think he's doing some really good things, trying to get outside the pocket, trying to extend plays.
"It is a learning curve to throw the football away."
Other notes of interest. ... Toby Gerhart got the start with Robinson out for the rest of the season with a foot sprain, and looked a lot like the player the Jaguars thought they were getting in March. Nothing fancy, but he averaged 4.2 yards per carry and ran the ball hard (54 yards on 13 carries).
Gerhart has gotten progressively better as he has gotten healthier and recovers from the foot injury he suffered in the season opener. Gerhart ran for 57 yards on 14 carries (4.1 per carry) and caught five passes for 35 yards in the three games before Sunday's game against the Ravens. He averaged just 2.6 yards per carry in his first eight games.
Rookie Storm Johnson added only 19 yards on six carries, most of it coming on a 17-yard run. Jordan Todman had just seven yards on three carries. The running back committee system didn't work. ...
For the record, Robinson was officially placed on injured reserve on Tuesday. With the move, the Jaguars have lost six starters to season-ending injuries. The list also includes linebacker Paul Posluszny (pectoral muscle), cornerback Alan Ball (biceps), cornerback Will Blackmon (finger), right tackle Austin Pasztor (hamstring) and rookie receiver Allen Robinson (foot). 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Blake Bortles, Chad Henne 
RB: Toby Gerhart, Storm Johnson, Jordan Todman 
FB: Will Ta'ufo'ou 
WR: Cecil Shorts, Allen Hurns, Marqise Lee, Ace Sanders 
TE: Marcedes Lewis, Clay Harbor, Mickey Shuler 
PK: Josh Scobee 
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KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Jamaal Charles sprained his ankle against Denver. He had it twisted at a gruesome angle against Arizona. His knee has repeatedly swollen up after games. He took such a blow Sunday against Oakland that he was administered a concussion test on the sideline.
Heck, the star running even hurt himself tripping over a curb while moving out of the dorms when the Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up training camp so many months ago.
In other words, Knile Davis picked a nice time to show up over the weekend.
The backup running back had largely disappeared since early in the season, when he had back-to-back 100-yard rushing games with Charles nursing his ankle. But he was crucial in a 31-13 win over the Raiders, running for a touchdown while Charles was going through the concussion protocol and then catching a 70-yard touchdown pass to help put the game away.
"I'm happy for Knile. Every week he comes to practice and doesn't say a word," Charles said after the game. "He comes to the game, and sometimes he doesn't get any reps and I'll be like, 'Man, let him loose.' But he comes in when I'm down and makes plays for me."
Charles acknowledged that "injuries have been killing me this year," a big reason why he's only carried 184 times for 950 yards. That puts him on pace for his worst season since his rookie year, not counting the 2011 season that he mostly missed recovering from a torn ACL.
Still, it will be hard to keep him out considering what is at stake. By knocking off Oakland, the Chiefs (8-6) maintained control of their own destiny heading to Pittsburgh this weekend. They finish up with San Diego on Dec. 28. Both of those teams are also in the playoff hunt.
"Every game is playoff-mode," Charles said. "Every game, you've got to come with it."
Charles seemed to know what was at stake when he lowered his head near the goal line in the third quarter Sunday, with the outcome still hanging in the balance. He took a shot from two Oakland defenders and appeared to be unsteady as he got to his feet. He was subbed out and Davis went in, and head coach Andy Reid told his top playmaker that he needed to go through the concussion testing.
The blow was reminiscent of a shot delivered by former teammate Brandon Flowers during a game against the Chargers. Charles later admitted on a radio show to seeing stars but avoided going through the concussion protocol because he didn't want to exit the game.
"Really, he was complaining of his knee and his ankle, not his head. But he did take a big hit there, so we kind of went in that direction," Reid said. "He set me straight when I came over there and he wasn't able to score that touchdown and Knile did. He wanted the ball. He wanted back in."
Charles eventually did return, but only briefly. The Chiefs put up three touchdowns in 4 minutes, 44 seconds, including the long TD catch by Davis. That allowed Charles to spend the rest of the game on the sideline, resting his knee and bothersome ankle.
"I feel good," he said. "I just think I need to get off of it and ice it and heal it and get it back right because it is still tender."
Even if Charles is limited against the Steelers, Davis proved Sunday he can help shoulder the load. The bruising running back easily scored on his touchdown run, and then showed off world-class speed when he took a short throw from Alex Smith and ran untouched for his other score.
"Like Jamaal said, every game from here forward is a playoff game. We're taking that mindset into every game," Davis said. "For me, it's just a dream to be in the NFL. To make the big plays and help this team win is just huge all around. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... As ESPN.com's Adam Teicher notes, the Chiefs at long last got their downfield passing game to work. One wide receiver, rookie Albert Wilson, got deep for a 48-yard catch, while another, veteran Dwayne Bowe, hauled in a 37-yard pass in the first half alone.
Davis caught the 70-yard touchdown pass in the second half.
In addition, rookie De'Anthony Thomas gave the Chiefs a boost when their offense was sluggish and needed some help. He returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter to put the Chiefs ahead 7-0. The play was blocked well and Thomas was able to pull away from the Raiders when he got into the open field.
Thomas' performance earned him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. ...
Jason Avant may have taken the slot receiver spot from Junior Hemingway. Avant played 25 snaps, Hemingway just two on offense. This was Hemingway's first game in three weeks after his concussion, but he still played 27 snaps on special teams.
According to the Sports Xchange, the Chiefs tinkered with their starting group on the offensive line, moving Jeff Linkenbach into the left guard spot replacing Mike McGlynn. The move paid dividends, as protection of quarterback Alex Smith improved dramatically; he was sacked once and hit on only one other pass.
Smith completed 60 percent of his throws for an average of 9.9 yards per attempt. He spread the ball around, completing passes to 10 receivers, with a pair of touchdown throws. ...
And finally, with the needing victories in the final two games of the regular season to secure a wild-card playoff spot, it's not a good time for kicker Cairo Santos to be slumping. He missed two of his three field goal attempts in Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders. This snapped Santos' streak of 14 straight made field goals.
This is something the Chiefs need to fix immediately. They figure to need every point they can get in Sunday's game against the high-scoring Steelers in Pittsburgh and in their finale against the San Diego Chargers at Arrowhead.
Perhaps he was trying to deflect some heat from Santos, a rookie. But Reid on Monday talked about a glitch in the process that contributed to the problems.
We've got to get that snap-hold-kick thing working a little smoother than it is right now," Reid said.
"We were off just a tad and we've got to get that back on track. That was yesterday. That's not necessarily the way it's been every kick." 

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, Albert Wilson, Donnie Avery, Jason Avant, Junior Hemingway, Frankie Hammond 
TE: Travis Kelce, Anthony Fasano, Richard Gordon 
PK: Cairo Santos 
=========================

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MIAMI DOLPHINS
According to Associated Press sports writer Steven Wine, Joe Philbin arrived at work at 5:50 a.m. Monday, anxious to get the Miami Dolphins headed in the right direction.
Wine added, "He's running out of time."
Consecutive dismal defeats have left the Dolphins all but eliminated from the playoffs with two games to go, and there's widespread speculation Philbin will be fired after three seasons as coach.
Predictably, Philbin deflected questions about his future and said he's only focused on the upcoming game Sunday against Minnesota.
"Right now what's relevant is getting our team to play up to their potential for 60 minutes against the Minnesota Vikings," Philbin said. "That's really all that is important to me right now."
A second December collapse in as many seasons might have sealed Philbin's fate with team owner Stephen Ross. The Dolphins (7-7) have been outscored 69-26 in losses the past two weeks to Minnesota and New England. The meltdown accelerated when Miami lost 41-13 Sunday after trailing the Patriots 14-13 at halftime.
Philbin said he spoke with Ross after the defeat.
"We just talked in general about the game," Philbin said. "We were both disappointed. Players were disappointed. Coaches are disappointed. Owners are disappointed. I think that's understandable."
Philbin said he expects to talk with Ross several times this week, as per usual.
In July, when Ross was asked if Philbin needed to make the playoffs to keep his job, Ross replied, "Every year you want to see improvement." The Dolphins went 7-9 and 8-8 in Philbin's first two seasons, and haven't been to the playoffs since 2008.
Following Sunday's loss, players were vocal in endorsing Philbin, and said the late-season swoon was their fault. Philbin said he wasn't surprised to receive such support.
"I believe in the players. I have confidence in the players," Philbin said. "We have an outstanding locker room. Our staff has an excellent working relationship with the players. It's a mutual thing."
With games still to be played, Philbin's top assistants said they're not concerned about losing their jobs.
"We've all done this too many times to let those things affect us," first-year offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said. "We have to win the game this weekend."
"I've never really worried about anything beyond the season until the season is over," third-year defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle said. "I've been in different scenarios, both in the collegiate level and in the NFL, where there is uncertainty at the end of the season. You just go about your business to prepare the best you can. That's what your job description is -- to get these players ready to play."
The Dolphins appeared destined to end their playoff drought at midseason, when they were 5-3 and coming off a 37-0 victory over San Diego. But they haven't played well since. The defense is in full retreat, and the offense has sputtered since left tackle Branden Albert suffered a season-ending knee injury in Game 9.
Have the Dolphins underachieved?
"Part of my job is to get the team to play up to their potential each and every week," Philbin said. "So to that degree, certainly I feel like we could do better."
And he's well aware there's a crescendo in criticism of the head coach. Philbin's session with the media included a friendly dispute about a minor fact regarding Sunday's game. Shortly after the session ended and Philbin left the room, it was determined he had been correct.
The coach doubled back to the interview room and stuck his head through the doorway with a smile. He said, "You can write: 'Philbin's right about one thing. Maybe not a lot."'
Other notes of interest. ... According to ESPN.com's James Walker, the Dolphins surprised everyone by going deep on multiple occasions against the Patriots. That has been a major weakness for third-year quarterback Ryan Tannehill, but he actually threw an accurate deep ball in this game.
Tannehill connected with Mike Wallace for a 50-yard bomb and a 32-yard touchdown. Tannehill also threw a pretty deep ball to backup tailback Damien Williams, who dropped the ball in the end zone.
"Obviously one game doesn't put the nail in the coffin or anything," Tannehill said. "But I felt confident all year that we can make the [deep passing] plays."
Despite a tough matchup, Wallace showed off his big-play ability with five catches for 104 receiving yards and a touchdown. His score was a one-handed catch in the corner of the end zone. He also had a 50-yard bomb to start the game.
"Definitely, we have to stretch the defense out," Wallace said. "We have to or they're going to come up and put a lot of guys in the box and it will be hard to run the football. ... We got a couple [deep plays]."
There are still major questions whether Tannehill can consistently and accurately throw the deep pass. But in this one, most of Tannehill's deep passes were accurate and on the money.
Meanwhile, Jarvis Landry (eight receptions, 99 yards) almost had his first career 100-yard receiving games Sunday vs. New England. The Patriots frequently put Darrelle Revis on Landry in third-down situations.
Charles Clay had six receptions for 59 yards against the Patriots and at time showed signs of the athleticism that made him have a breakout season a year ago. Still, mostly due to a right knee injury, it's been a disappointing season for Clay, who has 47 receptions for 446 yards and 2 TDs.
Lamar Miller (829 yards rushing) had 14 carries for 53 yards against New England. Miller had three carries for minus-four yards in the second half as the Dolphins abandoned the run. 

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

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MINNESOTA VIKINGS
As Associated Press sports writer Dave Campbell noted this week, the frustrating losses in head coach Mike Zimmer's first year with Minnesota have piled up higher than the signature wins.
The latest example came on Sunday at Detroit, when the Vikings let a two-touchdown lead in the second quarter slip into a narrow defeat by the Lions.
The Vikings controlled much of the game against the NFC North co-leaders, a stark contrast from the first matchup the Lions dominated two months ago, but they were ultimately done in by a handful of mistakes.
The patchwork offensive line played capably against one of the best fronts in the league, Teddy Bridgewater completed a career-high 31 passes and the defense allowed only 233 total yards. But two interceptions and three missed field goals proved to be more than the Vikings could overcome in the 16-14 loss.
"Bottom line is we want to be a playoff team. We want to be one of those teams in the race or leading the division," defensive end Brian Robison said. "When we play a team like that, we know that's the type of ball that we can play."
After falling to 6-8, their long-shot wild-card bid now mathematically impossible, the Vikings have one tangible motivation left for 2014. They play at Miami this week and finish the year at home against Chicago, with another opportunity for Zimmer's first NFC North victory.
"To be even at .500, that's a good goal," left tackle Matt Kalil said, adding: "It's two games that we can definitely win."
Zimmer was irritated after the Vikings beat the New York Jets in overtime on Dec. 7, believing that game should have been sealed long before the winning score. This time, against a better opponent, the coach sounded more understanding and appreciative even as he was dissatisfied with another defeat.
"I get calls and texts from people and coaches, and they say what a good football team we look like and the things we're doing right and the things that we're doing," Zimmer said on Monday. "And maybe they're just telling me to be nice. I don't think that. But we're doing so many good things."
The interceptions and missed kicks aside, the Vikings still had two late drives to move into position for victory. But a holding penalty and a failure to get out of bounds and stop the clock, and the signs of a still-maturing team were apparent in the clutch.
"My mindset has not changed. As I told the team, we're going to stick with it, keep working on getting better because we've got something to build for the future," Zimmer said.
Bridgewater, fittingly, has been a microcosm of this team's status. For the third straight week, Bridgewater completed more than 70 percent of his passes. He turned in his second straight 300-yard game. But two errant throws in the second quarter were picked off by the Lions, leading to 10 points.
"The good thing is Teddy is getting a lot of these experiences," Zimmer said. "The on-the-job training he's getting I really believe will bode well for him in the future and for us as an organization and as a team."
At this point it can be easy to forget that Bridgewater was supposed to be the backup to Matt Cassel this year. Zimmer said he was nervous early in the season about the rookie getting "beat up" both physically and mentally and becoming "gun shy" after the inevitable struggles.
"He learns from a lot of the experiences he's had. I expect him to continue to improve in those ways. I'm really glad that he's playing. I'm glad that we're keeping him upright," Zimmer said.
Still, as ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert pointed out, we're no longer debating whether Bridgewater, the No. 32 overall pick of the draft, can play.
Instead, we're picking through a handful of marginal mistakes to help explain a two-point loss against the NFC North divisional leader. Indeed. Three throws in 41 attempts largely spelled the difference in Sunday's game.
It's true that Bridgewater contributed to two game-management issues on the Vikings' final two possessions. He took too much time to return to the huddle after a sprintout pass, forcing the Vikings to use a timeout. On another, he didn't hear the entire play call before his coach-quarterback communicator cut out at the league-mandated 15-second mark.
As Seifert suggested, these are the plays you don't expect from an experienced high-end quarterback. But let's take a step back here and recognize that we're nipping on the edges rather than snaking for the gut. In the 15th week of his first NFL season, Bridgewater has dismissed the macro and pushed us into a micro discussion about the few plays he didn't make.
"The more he plays, the better he gets," Zimmer said. "He had couple bad plays today, but for the most part he shows the ability to do what we need to do offensively."
As Seifert summed up, "That's more than progress. In today's NFL, that's ascendance of the highest order. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... As the Sports Xchange suggested, considering the Vikings were playing the league's best run defense, 76 yards on 21 carries (3.6) isn't terrible.
For three quarters, Minnesota was able to maintain balance with a running game that didn't lose yardage on 17 carries. Matt Asiata ran hard and determined, notching 36 yards on 11 carries against a defense that was giving up less than 63 a game. But Ben Tate got three fourth-quarter carries and lost yardage on two of them, including one on first-and-goal from the 7.
Kyle Rudolph had his best game since coming back from sports hernia surgery, catching seven passes for 69 yards to lead the Vikings' receivers. Rudolph caught every pass targeted for him, came back from an injury after Asiata rolled up on his leg and provided a hint of the safety blanket he can be for Bridgewater when he reached up to grab a high throw from the rookie on the Vikings' second touchdown drive. ...
Long-forgotten receiver Cordarrelle Patterson made a sudden splash late in the game, returning a kickoff 51 yards and then catching two passes for 16 yards after replacing the injured Jarius Wright. Bridgewater even targeted him on a fourth-and-4 play, but the ball fell incomplete.
Place-kicker Blair Walsh was wide right on a 53-yard attempt, had a 26-yard attempt blocked and was short on a potential game-winning 68-yard attempt. Walsh, who before last week had never missed two field goals in one game, has now misfired on five of his past six attempts.
"I have not lost any confidence in him," Zimmer said.
To be fair, three of the six attempts have come from beyond 50 yards. Entering Week 15, the NFL average from 50 yards and beyond was 65.4 percent. Walsh said he hit a field goal of about 68 yards during pregame warm-ups. He has hit 70-yard attempts in practice.
And finally. ... A 74-page lawsuit filed Monday by the NFL Players Association seeks the immediate reinstatement of running back Adrian Peterson. But that request means nothing without specific efforts to secure immediate reinstatement.
Citing a source with knowledge of the situation, Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio reports the NFLPA has done nothing -- and will do nothing -- aimed at forcing Peterson back onto the field in Week 16 or Week 17. The effort would require a motion for preliminary injunction and the schedule of a prompt hearing. If that was going to happen, it already would have happened.
It hasn't happened and won't happen because Peterson has decided not to try to force his way back onto the field in 2014. Instead, the goal is to secure reinstatement by the start of the league year, so that he'll have maximum flexibility for 2015. That flexibility could include an effort to get a fresh start with a new team. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Teddy Bridgewater, Christian Ponder 
RB: Matt Asiata, Ben Tate, Joe Banyard, Adrian Peterson 
RB: Jerome Felton 
WR: Charles Johnson, Greg Jennings, Jarius Wright, Cordarrelle Patterson, Adam Thielen 
TE: Kyle Rudolph, Chase Ford, Rhett Ellison 
PK: Blair Walsh 
=========================

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NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
As the Sports Xchange notes, the New England Patriots win over the Dolphins Sunday afternoon in Foxboro, a second-half explosion that led to a 41-13 blowout, clinched the AFC East for New England and extended the team's crazy run of division success.
It's the sixth straight division crown for the Patriots and the 12th in the team's last 14 years.
It's an incredible run of division dominance that Nike's division title T-shirts that players wore postgame accurately portrayed with the phrase, "Patriots Run the East."
Interestingly, the continued run of success came on a day when quarterback Tom Brady ignited a third-quarter flurry of scoring with a 17-yard run that was culminated by taking on Dolphins safety Walt Aikens with his left shoulder rather than sliding or tip-toeing out of bounds.
The third-and-11 scamper from the Miami 20 was followed by LeGarrette Blount's 3-yard touchdown, the first of five straight scores that turned a 14-13 New England halftime advantage into a convincing victory.
"I think it was a play that we needed to make so it was good to make it at that time," Brady said. "I was going to slide but I was pretty pissed off that time so I figured I wouldn't slide. I wish I wouldn't have gotten knocked down, but that's the way it goes.
"I could have slid, but I wasn't in the best mood that time. If he was a bigger guy I would have thought really hard about sliding, but once I was in the secondary ... things happen pretty quick for me out there. I'm not the fastest guy out there so things close down pretty quick."
A day later, in his weekly Monday morning conference call with the media, head coach Bill Belichick supported his quarterback's decision, even if it was one that may have given fans a scare.
"Well, you know, I never. ... I've coached for a long time and I don't question players' decisions on the field when they try to make them to help the team win," Belichick said. "I think that's, that they do the best that they can, they're trying to win, they're trying to win just as much as everybody else on the team is. I'm not saying every decision is a great one. Same thing with a coach, same thing with me. I'm not saying every decision is a great one, but every one is made with the intention of trying to help our team win and do the best that I can or an individual player can for the team. So I don't second-guess those. I think what a player does at the time he does it is what he thinks is best. And I don't second-guess him."
That came after Brady himself expected that he might hear some advice from the coaching staff after his rare running contribution.
"Probably tomorrow," he said in his postgame press conference.
In his own Sunday evening press conference, Belichick described the run as, "alert play on his part and it was a key first down for us. We were able to punch it in after that. That point in the game, it was a big third-down conversion, one that you usually don't expect to get that way, but a heads-up play on his part. He ran well."
That he did. And it's come after a summer in which Brady has worked hard to improve his mobility.
But that didn't stop teammates from having a little fun with their star passer.
Receiver and good friend Julian Edelman led the way. He referred to No. 12 as "Brady Vick" after the game.
"It was the slowest 17 yards I've ever seen in my life," Edelman joked. "It's always fun seeing the Clydesdale run."
"(He) looked like a gazelle out there. I wish he would tuck it and run a bit more. But no, we'll see about that," fullback James Develin joked.
"It's crazy because I actually told him, 'If you break one today, you get down.' And he was like, 'No, I'm going to try and run somebody over.' He always jokes around like that and he actually did it. It was kind of good; it was in slow motion, but it was good," wide receiver Brandon LaFelladded.
Even Brady's offensive linemen supported the quarterback's decision, within reason.
"He led with his left shoulder; he knows what he's doing," right guard Ryan Wendell said.
All the joking aside, Brady's play was one of many big contributions on the day in all three phases of the game. There was linebacker Jamie Collins' blocked punt leading to a Kyle Arrington 62-yard touchdown return. Duron Harmon's 60-yard interception return to set up a short scoring drive. Rob Gronkowski's 34-yard catch on the first play of the second half and subsequent 27-yard touchdown later in the third quarter immediately following a Patrick Chung interception.
The Patriots are cruising toward another postseason, another potential No. 1 seed in the AFC, thanks in part to balance in all three phases of the game that hasn't been seen in New England since, in reality, the team's back-to-back titles in 2003-04.
And, for one day, Brady helped extend New England's run of success with a rare run of his own.
That's how well things are going in Foxboro these days. Even on a day when the team didn't play its best football, on a day when it needed an actual run from its 37-year-old pocket passer, the Patriots end up with a dominant victory on the scoreboard.
There's no doubt the "Patriots Run the East." The only question is whether they're ready for a run to and maybe through another Super Bowl. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Running back Jonas Gray has seen limited action since his 201-yard, four-touchdown effort against the Colts on Nov. 16. That performance earned the third-year practice-squad call-up the cover of Sports Illustrated and the AFC Offensive Player of the Week Award.
But when the young back overslept and arrived late at Gillette Stadium the following Friday, he earned himself a spot on the bench and, apparently, in head coach Bill Belichick's doghouse. Gray was active but did not play the following week against Detroit. He then had one carry in Green Bay and just two in San Diego as Blount handled the bulk of the rushing duties.
But Gray returned to a more prominent role Sunday afternoon in the second half against the Dolphins. With Blount struggling, Gray earned 11 attempts for 62 yards, all after halftime.
"I thought he ran well," Belichick said. "I thought he ran well. He did a good job with his opportunities. We have confidence in all our backs. They've all been productive for us. I think each of our backs has his own unique style. They've all been productive. ..."
As ESPN.com's Mike Reiss suggested this week, Gronkowski continues to make a very strong case to be NFL MVP. Sunday's win over the Dolphins was the latest example, as the Patriots' offense was not in a good place at halftime (14-13 lead) before Gronkowski (0 catches in first half) helped restore order with three catches for 96 yards and one touchdown over the next 15 minutes as the Patriots recorded a franchise-record 24-point third quarter.
The Patriots were 2-2 in the first four games of the season as Gronkowski was working his way into the mix after not playing in the preseason while recovering from a torn ACL sustained in December 2013. Gronkowski was averaging 35 snaps in those games and clearly not yet at 100 percent.
Over the last 10 games, Gronkowski is averaging 63.2 snaps per game, is back to 100 percent and the Patriots are 9-1. Reiss added, "Gronkowski is a true combination tight end -- lethal in the passing and blocking games."
Oh yeah. ... With 76 catches, 1,093 yards and 11 touchdowns aren't bad totals.
As has been the case all season, it was the Edelman-and-LaFell show for the wide receivers. Edelman had a bad drop where he turned to go upfield before hauling in the pass and he was lucky to not lose a fumble. But he did make some big catches, especially early on, and had a nice grab down the sideline. LaFell had a quiet six catches for 66 yards. ...
Kicker Stephen Gostkowski became New England's all-time leader in points in Sunday's win over the Dolphins, passing Patriots legend Adam Vinatieri (1,158 points) for the top spot. Gostkowski now has 1,165 points, while his 142 points through 14 games has him on pace to potentially challenge the NFL single-season points record of 166 points set by the 49ers' David Akers in 2011. ...
The Patriots have added quarterback Garrett Gilbert and tight end Steve Maneri to their roster, according to the Boston Globe.
Gilbert is a rookie who was cut by St. Louis before the regular season. Maneri earned some playing time with Kansas City in 2012 and 2013, as well as Chicago this season. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo, Garrett Gilbert 
RB: Shane Vereen, LeGarrette Blount, Jonas Gray, Brandon Bolden, James Develin, James White 
WR: Brandon LaFell, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Bryan Tims, Matthew Slater 
TE: Rob Gronkowski, Tim Wright, Michael Hoomanawanui, Steve Maneri 
PK: Stephen Gostkowski 
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NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Drew Brees saw a different attitude, noticed a better vibe this time.
Jimmy Graham could sense it, too.
"You should have heard this locker room before the game started," he said. "We need to come out every week just like that."
There was plenty for the Saints to like about their 31-15 victory over the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
Brees threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns, and New Orleans (6-8) moved into first place ahead of Carolina (5-8-1) and Atlanta (5-9) after losing four of its previous five games. The Saints also rebounded from a 41-10 loss to the Panthers.
"I saw a lot of enthusiasm," Brees said. "I saw a lot of guys just ready to play. And I think just ready to go out there and turn it loose, not play with any inhibitions, not play with any caution, paralysis by over-analysis. Just come out and play ball and do it like we normally can do."
He figures the Saints will find out more about themselves the final two weeks, with a home game against Atlanta followed by a trip to Tampa Bay.
Here are some things we learned from the Saints' win over the Bears:
Brees made it look easy after a shaky game last week, completing 29 of 36 passes and reached the 4,000-yard mark for the ninth straight year. He threw two touchdown passes to Josh Hill and another to Marques Colston.
"The focus he prepares with is very consistent," head coach Sean Payton said. "It really became a little bit more about this team playing together and trying to put four good quarters together."
Meanwhile, as the Associated Press suggested, calling this an improvement for the Saints' defense would be a mild understatement.
New Orleans held Chicago (5-9) to 278 yards after giving up more than 400 in four straight games. They also sacked Jay Cutler seven times to go with three interceptions, bringing his NFL-leading turnover total to 24.
"I think it was 11 guys out there executing," said David Hawthorne, who had three sacks. "It was the guys out there covering, giving me time to come up the middle. And it was Rob (Ryan) with perfect timing when to dial it up. Once we found something he stayed with it."
As ESPN.com's Mike Triplett suggested, "It was an impressive display of resilience from a team that had hit rock bottom just a week earlier with a 31-point loss at home to the Carolina Panthers."
But we've seen this act before from these Saints. Now the question is: Will they finally take advantage?
Will they finally build off a performance like this and come back with an even bigger win six days from now at home against the 5-9 Atlanta Falcons?
Triplett went on to advise readers the atmosphere around Saints camp last week was as intense as it's ever been in the Sean Payton regime, according to longtime running back Pierre Thomas. Veteran players demanded more maturity and professionalism out of the team. A couple of guys were demoted, another got cut and an increased sense of urgency was demanded from everyone.
And they delivered.
Other notes of interest. ... The Saints netted just 83 rushing yards and a 3.2 average on 26 carries, but they really didn't have to run it that much because the passing game was so efficient. Mark Ingram had a team-high 59 yards on 17 attempts and ran untouched for a 15-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Thomas had 11 yards on two carries and Khiry Robinson, who was returning from a forearm injury, netted 10 yards on three attempts.
Receiver Robert Meachem, who missed four games with an ankle injury and was a healthy inactive last week, played but had no catches against the Bears. ...
And finally. ... If Shayne Graham was on the hot seat before, it can't have cooled off much after he missed a 51-yard field goal in Monday night's victory.
Graham, who later made a 25-yard field goal attempt, is now 19-of-22 on the season (plus one missed extra point). But the Saints tried out four kickers last week after Graham had missed a 42-yarder at home against the Panthers.
And Payton said it's possible to be "unhappy off the last performance" despite a steady body of work throughout the season. Ultimately, though, New Orleans stuck with Graham and Payton insisted he believed he would respond the right way.
You could also question the decision to attempt that 51-yard kick in the first place on Monday night, especially with some mild weather conditions to deal with. But the Saints appeared to have a light wind at their back. Graham had just nailed a 55-yarder going in the same direction during his last warm-up kick with at least 5 yards to spare. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Drew Brees, Luke McCown 
RB: Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas, Khiry Robinson, Travaris Cadet 
FB: Erik Lorig 
WR: Marques Colston, Kenny Stills, Nick Toon, Robert Meachem 
TE: Jimmy Graham, Ben Watson, Josh Hill 
PK: Shayne Graham 
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NEW YORK GIANTS
Winning two games in a row late in the season has not shed any light on whether Tom Coughlin will be returning as coach of the New York Giants.
The 68-year-old Coughlin said Monday that he has not had talks with management about his future, saying it will be dealt with at the appropriate time.
Coughlin's focus for now is trying to make sure the Giants (5-9) finish the regular season well. They are on the road to face the Rams this weekend and finish at home against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"You always want to be on a positive note," Coughlin said Monday. "You would like everything to be with the arrow going up. We have talked an awful lot about improvement and ascending and it is the time of the year to do those things.
"The number of young people that are getting opportunities and having a chance to play, that all leads to thoughts about the future."
After missing the playoffs the past three seasons and making it once since 2009, Coughlin's future is uncertain despite leading New York to two Super Bowl titles since taking over in 2004. He has a year left on his contract, but the past two seasons have been dismal.
According to Associated Press sports writer Tom Canavan, Coughlin refused to discuss his future after a loss to Jacksonville (2-12) two weeks ago sent the Giants to their seventh straight loss. He gave a little insight Monday when he said he had not spoken with co-owners John Mara andSteve Tisch about his job.
"My concern is with our team getting ready to play the St. Louis Rams, and I am sure that will be dealt with at the right time," Coughlin said.
While the failure to make the postseason in recent years is working against Coughlin, a reason for not making a change might be the job he has done developing rookie receiver Odell Beckham, who is in the running for the NFL's top rookie.
The 12th pick overall in the draft had another monster game on Sunday, catching three touchdowns and 12 passes overall for 143 yards in a 24-13 win over the Redskins on Sunday.
"He wants to be there, he wants to play, he is excited about the opportunity, he is a very competitive young man," Coughlin said of Beckham, who had a fourth TD catch wiped out by a penalty.
Despite missing the first four games of the season with a hamstring injury, Beckham has 71 catches for 972 yards, with the yardage being a team record for a rookie. His nine touchdown catches lead the team and they are the highest total by a Giants' rookie since Bill Swiacki set the record with 10 in 1948.
Coughlin refused to say whether Beckham was the best rookie he has coached.
"He certainly has made a tremendous mark," the coach said. "Again, there are a lot of things that prevail here. You want to finish the season strong, you want to come back and have another one; you have to avoid having all the things that can bring you down. We are very excited to have him."
Whether Coughlin gets the chance to coach him again remains to be seen. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Rashad Jennings re-injured his sprained right ankle on the first play of Sunday's victory against Washington and did not return.
"He did have a reoccurrence of the ankle and was not able to go back in the game," Coughlin said Monday. "Whether or not we are all the way back to Square 1, I don't know yet. I don't have anything on that today yet."
As ESPN.com's Dan Graziano reminded readers, Jennings sprained his ankle in the Week 13 loss in Jacksonville and played a minimal role in the following week's victory in Tennessee. He was slated for a slightly larger workload Sunday, as evidenced by the fact that he got the first carry of the game.
But says he "tweaked" the ankle on that very play, and now his status for the final two games of the season is obviously in doubt. He was not on the practice field Wednesday. ...
Assuming the injury is where it was after the Jacksonville game, it's impossible to count on Jennings for Sunday's game in St. Louis, and it's possible they could just shut him down for the rest of the season and give the starting running back work to rookie Andre Williams.
Jennings is in his first year with the Giants, having signed a free-agent contract in March. Early in the season, when the offense was having success, he looked like a good fit as the all-purpose starter at running back. He had 176 rushing yards in the Week 3 victory against Houston and averaged 4.35 yards per carry during the Giants' first five games. But he injured his knee in Week 5, missed the next four games and wasn't back to full strength until the Jacksonville game, in which he injured the ankle.
So Jennings' first Giants season will turn out to have been about injury and time missed, and his health issues will make him one of their question marks going into 2015.
Meanwhile, as ESPN.com's Kieran Darcy pointed out, while Beckham's season keeps getting better and better, Rueben Randle's keeps getting worse and worse.
Randle was benched for the second time in three weeks Sunday, sitting out the entire first quarter and playing sporadically after that in the New York Giants' 24-13 win over the Washington Redskins.
Two weeks ago, Randle sat out the first quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and revealed afterwards that he had been late to a team meeting two days before. This time around, Randle wasn't as forthcoming.
"Coach said he's gonna answer that, so I'm gonna leave it up to him to answer that," Randle said.
"That's between Rueben and I," Coughlin said.
Preston Parker, Kevin Ogletree and even Corey Washington saw action at wide receiver before Randle did Sunday. Parker was out of the NFL last season, Ogletree was out of the league until the Giants signed him in mid-October, and Washington is an undrafted rookie out of Newberry College.
Once Randle did enter the game Sunday, he dropped the first two passes thrown his way -- the second of which came on a third-and-7 at the Washington 46-yard line, a ball that went right through his hands.
Randle said his benching had nothing to do with the drops. "They're just plays I have to make," Randle said. "That's it. No frustration."
Randle, who wound up getting four targets, two catches, 30 yards, said he's not worried about his relationship with Coughlin or his future with the Giants. "No, everything's fine," he said.
And finally. ... Manning, listed on the injury report with a back problem, came through the game fine, according to Coughlin. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Eli Manning, Ryan Nassib 
RB: Andre Williams, Chris Ogbonnaya, Orleans Darkwa, Rashad Jennings 
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
According to the Sports Xchange, head coach Rex Ryan had a two-word message for the New York Jets fans who were mad that Monday was a "Victory Monday." He doubled it to four, just to avoid upsetting the NFL and/or the FCC.
"Tough you-know-what," Ryan said following the Jets' eventful 16-11 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
The Jets and Titans entered Sunday as two of the five 2-11 teams vying for the worst record in the NFL. By coming back to beat the Titans in the fourth quarter and narrowly avoiding the most "Same ol' Jets" loss in history more on that in a moment the Jets all but ensured Ryan's expected replacement would not get to coach Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, the Heisman Trophy winner who is expected to declare for the draft following the season and go first overall in May.
All four of the other 2-11 teams lost on Sunday, which means the Jets now have a .002 percent chance not two percent, but two-tenths of a percent of "earning" the No. 1 draft pick. With a loss on Sunday, the Jets would have moved up to second in the draft order. That's where the Titans are now, and their 31.4 percent chance of drafting first puts them in a virtual dead heat with the Jacksonville Jaguars (31.6 percent).
Fresh off what might have been his final win with the Jets, Ryan exhibited flashes of his old, no-filter style in hammering those who wanted the Jets to lose out and "Suck for the Duck" in hopes of landing the franchise quarterback they have lacked since Joe Namath's heyday.
"You know what?" Ryan said. "A Jets fan wants to win. Doesn't matter what pick you get or whatever."
Ryan paused.
"If it's Peyton Manning out there, I can understand it," Ryan said. "But I don't think Peyton Manning's out there."
Ouch. But with almost zero hope of returning next season or of having to mend fences with Mariota if he does Ryan could afford to speak his mind and revel in the moment, as he did when he acknowledged feeling a bit selfish in enjoying the victory.
"I wanted (the win) as much for our players more so for our players than I did for myself," Ryan said.
Then, in his next breath ...
"That's a lie, isn't it?" Ryan said, "I wanted it for myself first."
He almost didn't get it in what would have been the most bizarre fashion imaginable. The Titans nearly pulled off the "Music City Miracle II" as time expired, but a lateral-filled play that began at the Tennessee 42-yard-line with one second left ended when tight end Delanie Walker, who briefly appeared to have nothing but open space ahead of him, was pushed out of bounds by safety Dawan Landry at the Jets' 9-yard line.
"I don't know if I could have handled that one," Ryan said Monday.
Especially since he knows he wouldn't have been around to benefit from it. ...
Other notes of interest. ... ESPN.com's Rich Cimini believes Geno Smith has validated the team's controversial decision to put him back in the lineup. It was the right call at the time, regardless of who made it, and it looks even better three weeks later.
Smith hasn't been great, but he also hasn't been terrible – a 78.2 passer rating in three starts since his return. The Jets wouldn't be gaining much with Michael Vick in the lineup; he's not the future. Smith might not be the future, either, but he's showing he belongs somewhere on the 2015 depth chart.
Chris Johnson didn't "tear it up" in his homecoming game, as he had hoped, but he made a big play that helped the defeat his old team.
The former Titans star was bottled up for 55 minutes -- so was the entire Jets' rushing attack -- but he broke free for a 37-yard run, setting up Chris Ivory's go-ahead touchdown at LP Field.
As Cimini suggested, it was a nice wrinkle by the Jets.
They went to the Wildcat formation, allowing Johnson to take the direct snap. It was somewhat risky because center Nick Mangold was injured on the previous play, meaning his replacement, Dalton Freeman, had to deliver a shotgun snap in his first NFL play at center. Previously, Freeman had only one offensive snap at guard.
But everything worked. Johnson even got a nice downfield block from quarterback Geno Smith, who was split wide.
Johnson rushed for a game-high 55 yards on 10 carries. Afterward, he admitted it was an emotional day. He acknowledged he had revenge on his mind.
"It was motivation, but I just tried to block all of that out and focus on the New York Jets needing a win," said Johnson, who was cut by the Titans last April after five 1,000-yard seasons and one 2,000-yard season.
Johnson said the entire experience was "a little weird" and "a little crazy." What was weird was the Jets' struggle in the running game, as they rushed for only 114 yards against the league's lowest-ranked run defense.
In the end, it was just enough. ...
Eric Decker had a killer drop, but he was the entire passing attack. He finished with seven catches for 100 yards, his first 100-yard game as a Jet. Smith targeted 19 passes to wide receivers, with 11 to Decker.
Percy Harvin (ankle) played Sunday, when he was held without a catch, rushed once for 10 yards and had one kickoff return for 33 yards. Harvin wasn't expected to play after suffering a lower ankle injury in the 30-24 overtime loss to the Vikings on Dec. 7, but he returned to a limited practice Friday after sitting out Wednesday and Thursday and was healthy enough to suit up in Tennessee.
Harvin was not on the practice field Wednesday, however. I'll be following up on his status via Late-Breaking Update in coming days. ... 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Geno Smith, Michael Vick, Matt Simms 
RB: Chris Johnson, Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell 
RB: John Conner, Tommy Bohanon 
WR: Eric Decker, Percy Harvin, Jeremy Kerley, Chris Owusu, T.J. Graham, Walter Powell, Saalim Hakim 
TE: Jeff Cumberland, Zach Sudfeld, Jace Amaro 
PK: Nick Folk 
=========================

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OAKLAND RAIDERS
There have been several high-profile names talked about as potential candidates for the Oakland Raiders head coaching job in 2015. Running back Latavius Murray has his own: current interim coach Tony Sparano.
A day after a 31-13 loss to Kansas City that dropped the Raiders to 2-12, Sparano received a vote of confidence from his players to come back next season and have the interim label removed from his title.
That might be a longshot considering some of the candidates being discussed for the job.
Still, Murray believes the Raiders would benefit from having Sparano back.
"Tony's done a great job and everybody in the locker room loves his approach," Murray said Monday. "I feel he's definitely a players' coach and we all love playing for him. We've been coming up short on some games but that definitely doesn't change the mentality we have each week going forward."
Oakland's only two wins this season have come under Sparano's watch and the team has remained fairly competitive despite long ago being eliminated from playoff contention.
Since taking over as interim coach after the firing of Dennis Allen during the team's bye week, Sparano's teams have lost eight games but three have been by seven points or fewer.
Sparano, the 53-year-old coach who previously helped orchestrate a 10-game turnaround with the Miami Dolphins in 2008, has consistently downplayed talk about his future with the Raiders.
"Listen, I am 100 percent a glass half-full guy," Sparano said. "I'm only worried about, honestly, the Buffalo Bills right now. We just met with our players and got that (Chiefs) game out of our system. We'll bounce back. I can only control the things that I can control. I can control what happens in our stadium this weekend and how our team approaches this game."
The Raiders host the Bills on Sunday before closing out the season on the road in Denver.
Speculation on who will coach the Raiders in 2015 has been ongoing since owner Mark Davis fired Allen on Sept. 29.
Numerous names have surfaced as potential candidates for the job, including current San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh was the Raiders' quarterbacks coach from 2002-2003 and has openly expressed his fondness for late team owner Al Davis.
Jon Gruden, the former Oakland coach who had a 38-26 record and two playoff wins with the Raiders from 1998-2001, has also been mentioned as a possibility for the job.
But Harbaugh is still under contract with the 49ers and Gruden has a job working as a color analyst for ESPN.
Murray sees no reason to make a change anyway, saying Sparano has universal support in the Raiders' locker room.
"Everyone that I'm close with, we definitely like Tony," Murray said. "I definitely don't mind playing for him at all. He's a guy that can relate to us players a lot. He's constantly motivating us. He reminds us that even though the season hasn't gone the way we want it to go, just to stay positive and try to look forward to that next week."
That could be tough with only two games left.
They'll be playing without wide receiver Rod Streater, who has not been cleared medically and will be placed on season-ending injured reserve.
Streater underwent surgery after breaking his foot in Week 3. The team's leading receiver in 2013, he had been working out with the team for the past few weeks as a roster exemption but his practice period expired Monday, forcing the Raiders to make a decision on what to do. ...
In addition, Sio Moore, who was inactive with a hip injury and was replaced in the starting lineup by Ray-Ray Armstrong, was also placed on injured reserve. ...
Other notes of interest. ... One of the things about Derek Carr that most sticks out is how he handles himself after tough losses.
As ESPN.com's Bill Williamson suggested, "The kid is going to be a leader for a long time. He never shies away from questions and gives good explanations."
That was, once again, the case Sunday.
He also suffered what appeared to be a significant ankle injury in the second quarter and was hobbling badly. But Carr finished the drive, bounced back and didn't miss a snap for the rest of the game. He ended up throwing 56 passes in the loss.
Williamson added: "Carr fights to the end. He will continue to do so through the rest of his rough rookie season, and he and the Raiders will end up being better for it in the future. ..."
Andre Holmes caught five passes for 70 yards and was the only Raiders receiver to average more than 10 yards per reception.
James Jones had eight catches for 57 yards and his fifth touchdown of the season on a 1-yard pass from Carr.
No reason to apologize for their ability to run, only that they couldn't utilize it enough because o game circumstance. As the Sports Xchange noted, Murray rushed for 59 yards on 12 attempts where the hope would have been twice as many carries and twice as many yards. Darren McFaddenrushed twice for 13 yards. The Raiders averaged 4.6 yards per carry.
Sebastian Janikowski had field goals of 53 and 33 yards to keep the Raiders in the game early. Janikowski has quietly had a solid season. He has made 15 of 17 field goal attempts. He missed nine field goals last season. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Derek Carr, Matt Schaub, Matt McGloin 
RB: Latavius Murray, Darren McFadden, Maurice Jones-Drew 
FB: Marcel Reece, Jamize Olawale 
WR: James Jones, Andre Holmes, Vincent Brown, Brice Butler, Kenbrell Thompkins, Denarius Moore 
TE: Mychal Rivera, Scott Simonson, Brian Leonhardt 
PK: Sebastian Janikowski 
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PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
From the first play of the game to the Philadelphia Eagles' last gasp, turnovers were a major factor in Sunday night's loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
As ESPN.com's Phil Sheridan suggested, that is fitting, because turnovers have been a constant for the Eagles this season. They lead the NFL with 34 giveaways: 19 interceptions, 10 from Nick Foles and nine from Mark Sanchez, and 15 lost fumbles. The Eagles are minus-9 in turnover differential. Last season, they were plus-12 in turnover differential.
"It's the same thing we talk about every week," head coach Chip Kelly said after his team committed four turnovers against the Cowboys. "It sounds like a broken record, but we can't turn the football over and expect to win football games. We are coaching it and we not doing the right thing, so we'll continue to address it."
Kelly was asked if he saw a common thread in Sanchez's interceptions.
"I don't think there's a general theme to them," Kelly said. "That's why I think it's hard to put your finger on it. A couple of them were tips that went through our (receivers') hands first. We didn't catch the ball. Sometimes we're just off a hair."
Sanchez's first interception Sunday night was an example. He threw it to tight end Zach Ertz. The ball was a little off target, bounced off Ertz's hand and was caught by Dallas safety J.J. Wilcox.
"The ball has to be right on the six of Ertz (who wears No. 86)," Sanchez said. "He's running to my left to right so that ball has got to hit him right on the six. It opened up perfect, it was a great call and great execution, except for the throw. It's unacceptable."
"He puts that ball six inches to the inside, it's a catch and run," Kelly said. "We convert on the third down. But tips and overthrows are always going to be part of your deal when you're talking to quarterbacks. But there hasn't been a recurring theme."
On his second interception, Sanchez simply forced a throw into coverage. Linebacker Bruce Carter intercepted that one.
"There is no excuse for missing Ertz over the middle and then trying to force that ball late at the end," Sanchez said.
The Eagles also misplayed a short kick on the opening kickoff. Veteran Brad Smith is the up back, lined up in front of rookie returner Josh Huff.
"The up back should have taken it," Kelly said. "Josh was too deep for him to field the kick. It looked like it came off (kicker Dan Bailey's) foot pretty good, but it looked like it got held up pretty good. Brad's an experienced guy. That's why we have Brad in that situation, in case it's a short kick."
The other turnover Sunday was a fumble lost by tight end Brent Celek. It was not called by the on-field officials. Replay showed that Celek was on top of a Cowboys player when the ball came out. Dallas coach Jason Garrett challenged the call and it was ruled a fumble upon video review.
"Brent Celek, I don't think he has a fumble since I've been here," Kelly said. "This may be his first one. When you go through it, you look at each individual turnover, if it was a fundamental issue. We harp on it. We talk about it. We'll continue to do that. ..."
Meanwhile, the Eagles (9-5) lost control of the NFC East to the Cowboys (10-4) with two weeks left in the regular season. With home losses to Seattle and Dallas, the Eagles fell from 9-3 with a chance for a first-round bye to 9-5 and on the verge of missing the playoffs altogether.
The predictable problems reared up to bite the Eagles in this one: Their secondary was shredded by Dez Bryant -- who caught a career-high three touchdown passes -- and turnovers, including two interceptions by quarterback Mark Sanchez, proved costly.
Dallas, which scored just 10 points on Thanksgiving Day, hung 38 on the Eagles this time. Only Green Bay, with 53, has scored more on the Eagles this season. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Foles will not be available to play in Saturday's game at Washington, Kelly said Monday.
Foles' collarbone was examined early Monday. While it is healing, Foles cannot be subject to football contact until the bone has completely healed.
"The bone is not healed," Kelly said. "He'll start throwing a little bit more, but he's out for right now. He's not cleared and will not play this week. Until he gets fully healed, he's not going to be able to play with it. We think he'll be able to throw a little more this week, but we can't have anyone near him with contact."
According to SportsRadio 94WIP's Howard Eskin, the bone is only 70 percent healed.
Foles fractured the collarbone on his left (non-throwing) side during the Eagles' Nov. 2 game in Houston. At the time, he had completed 186-of-311 passes for 2,163 yards. Foles threw 13 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions in his eight starts. The Eagles were 6-2 in those eight games.
Sanchez replaced Foles early in the second quarter in Houston. Sanchez has completed 138-of-223 passes for 1,752 yards. Sanchez has thrown for 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. In the six games Sanchez has started, the Eagles are 3-3.
Asked if he has gotten consistent enough quarterback play to win the past couple of games, Kelly replied, "I think so. I think overall, the entire team, there's been good and bad at every position. We have to be more consistent overall. Mark will be the first to tell you that. I think everybody will tell you that. When we're not successful, we own it."
Sanchez took responsibility for the loss to Dallas on Sunday night. He threw two interceptions in the second half after the Eagles had fought back from a 21-0 deficit to take a 24-21 lead.
LeSean McCoy, who rushed for a season-high 159 yards against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, was held to 64 yards on 16 carries in Sunday's loss. The Eagles did have three rushing touchdowns -- two by Chris Polk and one by Darren Sproles. ...
Jordan Matthews, who was shut against the Cowboys, was practicing fully Wednesday despite a tender knee. ...
One last note here. ... Kelly told reporters that outside linebacker Trent Cole will have surgery Wednesday to fix a broken bone in his hand and will miss Saturday's game at Washington. Kelly said he had no timetable on Cole's return. Cole ranks third on the team with 6.5 sacks. Brandon Graham will start in his place against the Redskins. 

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 
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PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Ben Roethlisberger wasn't making a prediction, exactly. Yet the Steelers quarterback knows what the energy in a locker room feels like when things start to come together.
As Associated Press sports writer Will Graves reminded readers, it happened in 2005 when the Steelers ripped off nine straight victories at the end of the season and earned the franchise's fifth Super Bowl title. It happened again in 2008, when Pittsburgh won nine of its final 10 to party under the confetti in Tampa.
And maybe -- maybe -- the mojo is returning. A steady 27-20 victory over Atlanta on Sunday lifted Pittsburgh (9-5) within one win of a return to the playoffs following a two-year absence. It was professional, not flashy. Last Roethlisberger checked, it's a formula that tends to work this time of year.
"If you get hot and play your best football at the right time then you are a dangerous football team," Roethlisberger said. "I don't know if we are there yet, but we got a win and are happy about it."
One that traded eye-popping offensive fireworks for something more responsible. The Steelers never trailed, didn't turn the ball over and made all the significant plays that mattered, from William Gay's club-record third interception return for a touchdown to Roethlisberger's aggressive throw toHeath Miller with 2 minutes left that allowed Pittsburgh to run out the clock.
In a season of erratic play from week to week, Sunday looked like four quarters of reassurance. No turnovers. No real sense of danger. Pittsburgh was focused, not frenzied. Call it a moment of growth from a group that rebuilt itself on the fly during consecutive 8-8 seasons. The Steelers are far from perfect, but they were closer than they've been in awhile.
Now they have to find a way to do it again next week against Kansas City (8-6) to lock down a postseason spot and set up a rematch with Cincinnati in the regular season finale, with the winner claiming the AFC North title.
"The job is not done," defensive end Cam Heyward said. "We really want to hit all our goals. That means first getting to the playoffs and then making some noise."
How much racket depends largely on if the defense can continue to find a way to play responsibly if not spectacularly. The Falcons piled up 408 yards of total offense, but Gay's scintillating 52-yard snag and sprint on the first play of the second quarter gave the Steelers a 13-point cushion that was never seriously threatened.
Atlanta had the ball just once with a chance to tie or take the lead and failed to record a single first down. Vince Williams stuffed Harry Douglas for a four-yard gain on third-and-6 with 4:50 remaining. The Falcons punted and Atlanta never regained possession.
"We played our way," Steelers linebacker Jarvis Jones said. "We started off good. We played the whole game and we kept the fire. Our coaches put us in good situations. The Falcons made their plays. We stayed with it and we finished."
And they did it in a way that served as a perfect symbol for the aggressive mindset preached by coach Mike Tomlin on down. Facing third-and-1 at the Atlanta 39 coming out of the 2-minute warning, the Steelers could have run Le'Veon Bell behind the left side of scrimmage and taken their chances.
They did, but in an entirely different way. Roethlisberger faked to Bell then rolled to his right. He spotted Miller running 20 yards downfield. The completion effectively ended the competitive portion of the contest and crystallized Tomlin's approach that the Steelers, as he loves to say, will not "live in our fears."
When Pittsburgh doesn't, the Steelers believe they are every bit as dangerous as top teams of the AFC. They have two more chances in the regular season to earn the right to prove it in January. Entering December, the Steelers knew they needed to be perfect to think about the playoffs. They're halfway there.
"We are who we are and we are not a perfect group by any stretch," Tomlin said. "But we will fight the fight until the end together. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... As ESPN.com's Scott Brown suggested, Roethlisberger showed sublime patience for the second week in a row, taking what the defense gave the Steelers. He didn't miss many throws even with the Falcons blitzing early and often. Roethlisberger again threw for well over 300 yards while completing just over 77 percent of his passes.
Roethlisberger controlled the game from the outset and his 25-yard pass to tight end Heath Miller on third-and-1 with less than two minutes left in the game sealed the Steelers' win.
Antonio Brown caught all 10 passes thrown his way and finished with 123 receiving yards. The two-time Pro Bowler showed tremendous footwork in making a 28-yard sideline grab near the end of the first half, which set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Bell. Markus Wheaton and Miller each made timely grabs and Bell chipped in 72 receiving yards.
Worth noting. ... Brown caught five passes for 76 yards in the first half, giving him at least 110 receptions for the second consecutive season.
Jerry Rice, Cris Carter and Wes Welker are the only players in NFL history to accomplish that feat and Welker is the only one to have done it twice.
Brown's 28-yard catch near the end of the first half set up Bell's 1-yard touchdown run.
Brown's 110 catches for 1,451 yards both lead the NFL.
The Falcons held Bell to 47 yards -- his second-lowest total this season -- and just 2.4 yards per carry. The Falcons were determined to shut down the run and left very few openings for Bell. He did score a 13-yard touchdown on the Steelers' favorite running play, following blocks by pulling right guard David DeCastro and Will Johnson, who had lined up as a tight end, into the end zone. ...
One last note here. ... RB/WR Dri Archer, the third-round rookie who was supposed to give them some pizzazz in their return game and on offense, was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Ben Roethlisberger, Bruce Gradkowski, Landry Jones 
RB: Le'Veon Bell, Dri Archer, Josh Harris 
FB: Will Johnson 
WR: Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, Martavis Bryant, Lance Moore, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Justin Brown 
TE: Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, Michael Palmer 
PK: Shaun Suisham 
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ST. LOUIS RAMS
For most of the season, the St. Louis Rams have struggled to run the ball with any consistency, especially against the better defenses in the league.
But no defense has offered more of a barrier to ground production than the Arizona Cardinals'. That proved true again Thursday night when the Cardinals held St. Louis to 69 yards on 20 carries, an average of just 3.5 yards per attempt. Their running backs had even bigger issues, gaining just 37 yards on 15 carries.
On a night in which the Rams managed little in the way of offense as a whole, the inability to run tipped the first domino.
"They played well up front and we had difficulty getting the run game going," head coach Jeff Fisher said. "Everything we do, most people do, is build it off that run game. Get the run game going then you get your shots, you have your opportunities."
That never happened against the Cardinals, not that the inability to move it on the ground against the Cardinals is a groundbreaking revelation for the Rams. In two meetings this year, the Rams' running backs (not including receivers Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey) are averaging just 48.5 rushing yards per game and 2.9 yards per carry.
Against all other teams, Rams running backs average 92.9 yards and 4.3 yards per carry. Absent a consistent running threat, the Rams' offense is destined to struggle.
The Rams have lost all four games in which they have less than 90 rushing yards and have scored a combined 33 points in those contests. In their three best rushing performances, they've averaged 144.7 yards per game on the ground, won all three and averaged 32.7 points.
It's part of the simple formula that the Rams hoped to replicate more often this year: Run the ball, stop the run and win the turnover battle. They've alternately done each of those three things throughout the season and even done them all at once on occasion. But they haven't done it enough, especially against tough defenses like Arizona.
"They really had a nice scheme on defense," running back Tre Mason said. "They played us well today and kept us in check in our run game, guys like [Cardinals DE] Calais Campbell, their front seven, their DBs. They're pretty good players up front."
Nowhere has the Rams' lack of power running been more evident than their feeble attempts to get the tough yards that keep the chains moving. In the loss to the Cardinals, the Rams had a couple of key third- and fourth-down situations and came up empty on all of them.
On their first drive, the Rams had third-and-goal at Arizona's 1 but running back Benny Cunningham was stopped for no gain, leaving the Rams to settle for a field goal. With that in mind in the fourth quarter, the Rams decided to eschew the run on third-and-goal at the Cardinals' 1, which led to an incompletion and, once again, settling for a field goal.
For the season, the Rams are converting 54.5 percent of their third-and-1 opportunities, tied for last in the NFL. On third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 this season, the Rams are averaging just 1.09 yards per carry, which is the worst output in the league in those situations.
Fisher makes no bones about his team's need to improve when it comes picking up the tough yards, especially on the ground.
"We've got to get better at it," Fisher said. "We need to be able to line up and say, ‘Here we come. This is what we're running. Stop it.' We're not there yet."
Because of the Rams' struggles running in short-yardage situations, they actually haven't been bad throwing it in those spots. On third-and-1 and fourth-and-1, the Rams are averaging 9.33 yards per pass attempt, seventh best in the NFL.
But now that the Rams have enough evidence of struggling in those spots, opposing defenses are looking for the pass more, which explains why the Cardinals were all over the third-down play at the goal line in the fourth quarter and quarterback Shaun Hill essentially had to throw it away.
"They're loading the line of scrimmage as far as the run game's concerned," Fisher said. "We thought our best opportunities were doing just what we did. We didn't make plays. We have to do much better there."
Meanwhile, with last Thursday's loss, the Rams lost more than just a game.
The Rams' minuscule but still existent postseason hopes disappeared, their chance at their first winning season since 2003 evaporated and their opportunity to put together their first three-game winning streak of the season also went by the wayside.
Now sitting at 6-8 and mathematically eliminated from the playoff chase, the Rams have two games remaining with the New York Giants visiting St. Louis on Sunday and yet another season finale in Seattle the following week.
So, with nothing left to play for in the season's final two weeks in terms of meaningful football in 2014, ESPN.com's Nick Wagoner took a look at what the Rams could still gain from the last two games. Among his recommendations:
*  After finishing the first two of Fisher's years in St. Louis with seven wins, the Rams still have a chance to get to eight victories. They do have a winnable game this week against the Giants but beating the Seahawks in Seattle, especially when they could be playing for home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, will be extremely difficult. Still, the possibility exists that the Rams could get to eight wins and that would represent at least some tangible improvement over the first two seasons under Fisher.
*  Should the Rams be able to get to 8-8, it would represent the first time since 2006 they had that many wins and reached .500 for the season. They have only been .500 twice since their last winning season in 2003.
*  Fisher has made it clear he doesn't intend to use the final two weeks to give guys tryouts. The Rams are already playing plenty of young players. It'd be nice to see guys like Barrett Jones or Tim Barnes get some chances on the offensive line but Fisher and the Rams are going to play to win.
Still, considering the amount of young players already playing, the additional game reps will be valuable moving forward. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Hill barely completed 50 percent of his passes (20-for-39), but numerous throws were under duress. His 58.6 passer rating is skewed by an interception on a final-play Hail Mary. He did hook up with Bailey (5-for-74) and Kenny Britt (5-65) for 10 of his completions and 139 of his 229 yards.
However, there were also crucial offensive pass interference penalties on Britt, which wiped out a Jared Cook reception, and on Cook, which also negated a completion. 

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, Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Chris Givens 
TE: Jared Cook, Lance Kendricks, Cory Harkey, Alex Bayer, Justice Cunningham 
PK: Greg Zuerlein 
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SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
Keenan Allen, the San Diego Chargers' leading receiver, has a broken right collarbone, the team said Tuesday.
Allen, who has 77 catches for 783 yards and four touchdowns this season, also injured his right ankle during the Chargers' loss Sunday to the Denver Broncos.
"It says a lot about his toughness and the type of player that he is," head coach Mike McCoy said. "He didn't say a word about it on Sunday."
But on Monday morning, Allen, a second-year pro, knew something was wrong.
"My shoulder was hurt during the game, but I wasn't too worried about it more than I was the ankle," Allen said.
McCoy said the Chargers have no plans to put Allen on injured reserve. Allen wasn't on the practice field Wednesday.
With Allen's status in doubt for Saturday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, the Chargers will lean more on wide receivers Malcom Floyd and Eddie Royal. The same goes for their backups, Seyi Ajirotutu and Dontrelle Inman.
"I do feel like they're going to get the job done," Allen said.
Allen's injury was only the latest blow for the Chargers, who have lost their last two games and have gone from controlling their destiny in the wild-card race to needing to win their final two games and getting help from other teams to return to the playoffs.
"We'll miss him," quarterback Philip Rivers said. "But we do have confidence in Tutu and Dontrelle. It does affect us, no doubt. But we feel good with the four guys we have."
Ajirotutu played 41 snaps with Allen out last week against the Broncos, finishing with one catch for 17 yards on four targets.
"I'm always prepared," Ajirotutu said. "We've only had four active receivers for pretty much the whole season. I've always been prepared to know each position in case someone went down. So it happened to be Keenan, and I'm ready to go this week."
Ajirotutu is valued by Rivers because of his intimate knowledge of San Diego's offense and his versatility -- he can play all three wide receiver positions. The 27-year-old receiver put his skill set on display in spot duty at Kansas City last year with slot receiver Royal out do to a chest injury, hauling in a 26-yard winning touchdown catch in a 41-38 win over the Chiefs.
"You saw him in games when we needed him to step up last year," Rivers said. "Kansas City was obviously the big one. And even in the Rams' game he had a big catch on third down, and he had a catch there the other day when we were driving. So I have great confidence in him. He's as sharp as any guy we have, so he can play any position. And he's just a dependable guy."
Allen said he's hopeful that he can come back from his collarbone injury if the Chargers win on Saturday.
"I think it's possible for sure," Allen said about his return this season. "I kept playing on it last week. We'll see what happens."
Meanwhile, Rivers has been listed on the injury report with a chest issue since Antonio Gates mistakenly revealed his quarterback had been dealing with a rib injury in mid-November. A back ailment was added to the injury report in addition to the chest injury this week.
But Rivers refuses to use the nagging injuries as an excuse for his recent poor play.
"It's not limiting," he said. "The opposing defenses in the last two weeks have been the biggest reason."
Facing an AFC Super Bowl contender for a second straight week, Rivers and San Diego's offense predictably struggled. San Diego also had to deal with the absence of the team's top running back, Ryan Mathews, who had to sit out due to an ankle injury.
Rivers finished 24-of-41 for 232 yards, one touchdown pass to Gates and two interceptions. Rivers was not sacked, so he had good protection most of the game. But even with enough time to find receivers down the field, he posted a 62.2 passer rating.
San Diego's offense scored just two touchdowns in the last eight quarters of work. Put together by McCoy, the Chargers were built from an offensive mindset.
But lately the defense has been shouldering the load. San Diego's defense held two of the highest scoring offense in the league to an average of 22 points a game. But the Chargers still lost.
Rivers acknowledged what most NFL observers already knew: The Chargers cannot compete with the AFC's elite.
"We're not in their company yet," Rivers said. "We're just not. That doesn't mean I don't believe we can be, or don't believe we can beat them. I believe we can. But those are the two teams that beat us in the last two weeks.
"They're first and second in the AFC, so it's not like we've lost to the bottom of the barrel."
McCoy, former offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and current offensive coordinator Frank Reich have been rightly praised for getting Rivers back to playing like an elite quarterback.
However, as ESPN.com's Eric D. Williams pointed out, at times Rivers appears to have regressed back to some of bad habits that got him in trouble in the past.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Rivers was 15-of-24 (62.5 percent) on throws 5 yards downfield or shorter, tied for his lowest completion percentage on short throws in a game this season. He was 9-of-17 with two interceptions on throws deeper than 5 yards downfield, averaging 6.3 yards per attempt -- almost 4 yards shy of his season average (10.1).
Rivers did not complete a pass in the first quarter (0-for-3) -- the first time since Weeks 15 and 16 of 2006.
McCoy said the Rivers is not injured or broken – it's just a matter of the entire offense doing a better job of executing.
"It's everybody," McCoy said. "Everyone's got to look at the film. We'll evaluate it. There's pluses and minuses for every player, every game. As an offense, you always want to look at the quarterback when you win and give him credit.
"When you lose, you take the blame. That's part of the business, and we've got to play better as an offense, not just one player."
The Chargers have to get things turned around quick. San Diego takes to the road for contests against the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. And the offense has to play better for the Chargers to have a chance to make the postseason for a second straight season.
"We just have to continue to fight," Royal said. "It's not always going to be pretty. Playing against a good defense -- good on good -- there's going to be some tough matchups, some tough catches and physical runs.
"We just have to keep fighting."
Also on the injury front. ... Mathews' availability for Saturday isn't clear as he didn't practice last week. He also wasn't on the field Wednesday. Rivers was also held out. I'll be following their progress via Late-Breaking Update in coming days. ...
Ladarius Green (concussion, ankle) didn't play on Sunday. His status is also unclear.
Donald Butler is believed to have suffered a dislocated elbow, is out this week and could be heading to IR.
Other notes of interest. ... Without Mathews the Chargers were without a running game. As the Sports Xchange suggests, it was painful to see them try to establish one as Branden Oliver and Donald Brown had a rough time getting positive yards on a consistent basis.
The run-blocking wasn't a sharp as the pass-blocking. But without Mathews, the running game was nowhere to be found 56 total yards.
Kicker Nick Novak had missed just one field goal all season, but had a 46-yarder tipped and a 37-yard attempt bounce off of the left upright. Although punter Mat McBriar held for Novak for the first time this season, Novak said the holds were fine and he should have made both kicks.
"You're not going to get any excuses out of me," Novak said.
And finally. ... On a more positive note, Gates made history, joining New England's Rob Gronkowski as the only tight ends in NFL history with four or more 10-touchdown seasons. Gates grabbed his 10th touchdown catch of 2014 on a 5-yard in-route from Rivers in the fourth quarter. Gates finished with six receptions for 54 yards. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Philip Rivers, Kellen Clemens 
RB: Branden Oliver, Donald Brown, Ronnie Brown, Ryan Mathews 
WR: Malcom Floyd, Eddie Royal, Seyi Ajirotutu, Dontrelle Inman, Keenan Allen 
TE: Antonio Gates, Ladarius Green, John Phillips, David Johnson 
PK: Nick Novak 
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SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
The San Francisco 49ers, after three straight NFC title game appearances, entered this season as a sexy pick to finally break through and claim the franchise's first Super Bowl title in 20 years.
Instead, the Niners were eliminated from this year's playoff race with Sunday's 17-7 loss to the defending champion Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers fell to 7-7 and have lost three straight games for the first time in the Jim Harbaugh era.
"It sucks," left tackle Joe Staley said. "Like I said, it sucks. This is not what we play for, not what we practice for. I am not going to sit here and say, ‘Oh, we are going to do it next time.'"
While one of Harbaugh's most-used mantras is to not get ahead of his headlights, there are still more far-reaching questions than easily attainable answers for this team with two games remaining.
Indeed, this is unchartered territory for a Harbaugh-coached Niners team as this is the first time the 49ers will play a meaningless game, let alone two. So with so many familiar faces and big names likely candidates to be gone next season -- from Harbaugh to running back Frank Gore to receiver Michael Crabtree to left guard Mike Iupati to defensive lineman Justin Smith to linebacker Ahmad Brooks -- do the Niners play the younger talent these past two games, at home against the San Diego Chargers and Arizona Cardinals, to assess what they have for the future?
As long as Harbaugh is in charge, he is going to coach to win.
"That's what a professional does," Harbaugh said, "focuses every week, every practice, every play, every game, every ounce of energy you have."
Then again, injuries might dictate who is on the field for the 49ers to close out the season.
Gore was lost to a first-half concussion and rookie running back Carlos Hyde, who seems ready to take the baton from the 10th-year veteran, tweaked his back while getting tackled awkwardly.
Brooks had his left thumb heavily bandaged and rookie linebacker Chris Borland missed most of the second half with an ankle injury, as did backup tight end Garrett Celek and inside linebacker Michael Wilhoite.
The backups pressed into action against the Seahawks were simply outplayed, though not outhustled.
"I'm very proud of them," Harbaugh said. "The effort was plus-plus. They fought like champs."
But against the defending champs, the Niners lost both on the scoreboard and the battle of attrition.
Sure, the 49ers played with more passion this week than they had since before Thanksgiving, before these same Seahawks feasted on them and turkey on their midfield logo at Levi's Stadium and the Oakland Raiders knocked them around and upside down, and laughed when they conquered and won.
It was a familiar theme for a .500 team that reared its head in the Emerald City -- it simply was not enough.
So what's the goal these past two weeks?
"To win," quarterback Colin Kaepernick said. "I think, regardless of the situation, we are going out to win. There is no one on this team that is going to step out on the field and say, ‘Hey, our season is over, we are not going out to compete.'
"We are going to compete to the end. ..."
For the record, Kaepernick did not throw a touchdown pass in Sunday's loss at Seattle. He still has not thrown a TD pass in the fourth quarter all season. ...
Other notes of interest. ... As the Sports Xchange notes, Gore scored the 49ers' only touchdown in their loss Sunday to Seattle. It was the 63rd TD of his career. As noted above, Gore left the game with a concussion, and while he said he was fine afterward, he is unlikely to face San Diego this week.
Hyde was the 49ers' leading rusher in Sunday's loss at Seattle with a season-best 55 yards. Hyde's previous best had been 50 in his NFL debut at Dallas in Week 1. The rookie couldn't finish the game after suffering a strained back in the third quarter. He underwent an MRI and his status for this week remains unclear.
Neither Gore nor Hyde practiced Tuesday.
Alfonso Smith had four carries for six yards in his 49ers debut Sunday at Seattle. The third-stringer was pressed into 13 downs of action because of injuries to Gore and Hyde.
He could be pushed into a starting role this week (watch the Late-Breaking Updates section for more on that in coming days). ...
Fullback Bruce Miller equaled career-bests in receptions (four) and receiving yards (56) in the 49ers loss Sunday at Seattle. The 49ers leaned more than usual on their fullback after Gore and Hyde left the game.
Stevie Johnson did not play in Sunday's loss to Seattle because of a knee injury. His spot at third wideout was taken by Brandon Lloyd.
Lloyd caught one pass for 12 yards in Sunday's loss at Seattle. It was just Lloyd's second catch since Week 9. His other catch also came against the Seahawks in the teams' Thanksgiving night matchup.
Receiver Kassim Osgood suffered a broken hand in Sunday's loss to Seattle. The special-teams ace is out for the season.
Vernon Davis was held without a reception in Sunday's loss at Seattle. It was his first game with season without a catch. He was targeted a season-low two times.
Fellow tight end Garrett Celek was forced out of Sunday's loss at Seattle with an ankle injury. The backup tight end was replaced by Asante Cleveland. Celek had a 31-yard catch the longest by a 49ers tight end this season before suffering the injury.
On Wednesday, Celek was placed on season-ending injured reserve to make room for the signing of running back Phillip Tanner.
Tanner's arrival doesn't bode well for the availability of Gore and Hyde. The newcomer could wind up providing depth behind Smith this week. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert, Josh Johnson 
RB: Alfonso Smith, Phillip Tanner, Frank Gore, Carlos Hyde 
FB: Bruce Miller 
WR: Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, Brandon Lloyd, Steve Johnson, Quinton Patton, Bruce Ellington 
TE: Vernon Davis, Derek Carrier, Asante Cleveland 
PK: Phil Dawson 
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SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
As the Sports Xchange suggests, the Seahawks could hardly have asked for things to break better than they did on Sunday.
Not only did the Seahawks rally to beat the San Francisco 49ers 17-7 to improve to 10-4, but they also saw the Buffalo Bills upset Green Bay, dropping the Packers to 10-4 and assuring that Seattle would have the edge in any tiebreakers.
In fact, most scenarios now favor the Seahawks to get home-field throughout the playoffs as long as they win their final two games.
But that won't be easy as the first of that twosome comes Sunday at Arizona against a Cardinals' team that despite a bevy of injuries and underwhelming offensive statistics is tied for the best record in the NFL at 11-3.
Seattle beat Arizona 19-3 last month at home, which started a four-game winning streak, and keyed a stretch that has seen the Seahawks get right back into the Super Bowl hunt by winning seven of their last eight.
It's that win that means that the Seahawks can take any tiebreakers with Arizona by getting another win Sunday.
The Vegas oddsmakers are expecting that to happen, installing the Seahawks as being as much as a seven-point favorite, with the fact that Arizona is having to go with third-team quarterback Ryan Lindley as the starter with Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton injured.
Head coach Pete Carroll said Monday the stakes of the game are so obvious that they don't need to be talked about.
"That's not the stuff to talk about," he said. "We've been preparing for championship games all season long and playing like they are the more we do that, the more comfortable I hope we'll feel with the big setting this one brings; all the hype that people are going to put on it. We're not going to play any different.
"We're going to try to play the same kind of football that we've been playing and that means we're going to give everything we've got. Try to go all out to get a win and take it to the next week."
The Seahawks will earn the NFC West title if they win their last two games, and, thanks to Green Bay's loss Sunday, they have a shot at earning home-field advantage in the NFC.
Meanwhile, as ESPN.com's Terry Blount noted this week, no matter what happens the rest of the way this season, Russell Wilson has done something that no other quarterback has ever done. Wilson now has 34 regular-season victories, the most of any quarterback in NFL history in his first three seasons.
With Sunday's victory, he passed the number that Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino had from 1983-85.
And as usual, Wilson found a way to get it done with the game on the line, throwing a 10-yard TD pass to rookie receiver Paul Richardson that gave Seattle a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.
However, if upcoming opponent Arizona wants to know how to keep Wilson in check, a look at what the 49ers did defensively might be a clue. Wilson completed a season-low 27 percent of his passes against five or more pass rushers, including an interception.
He was 3-for-11 against the 49ers' blitz with an average of only 5.7 yards per throw. Wilson also was 0-for-8 throwing while under duress, the most attempts without a completion by a player in a game this season. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Marshawn Lynch was a beast in the second half of Sunday's 17-7 win, rushing for 76 of his 91 yards in the last two quarters after the Seahawks put the game in his hands.
Lynch rushed for 48 yards after contact in the second half, the second most in a game this season. His second-half yards, and yards after contact, were the most allowed by the San Francisco 49ers defense this season.
Lynch now is one of seven players in NFL history to rush for more than 1,000 yards and have 10 rushing touchdowns in four consecutive seasons. He has rushed for 1,133 yards this season and is on pace to rush for 1,295 yards, which would be the second-highest total of his career to the 1,590 yards he rushed for in 2012.
He also has 34 receptions for 331 yards, which already is the most receiving yards of his career. He needs only 110 total yards rushing and receiving in the last two games to surpass his total last season of 1,573 yards.
A few final notes here. ... Carroll said tight end Cooper Helfet should play Sunday night at Arizona, reports the Seattle Times.
Helfet, who has 10 catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns, has missed three straight games with an ankle injury.
Fellow tight end Tony Moeaki "banged his shoulder," according to Carroll, and it's unclear if he will be able to play Sunday.
Carroll told ESPN 710 offensive lineman Russell Okung is feeling better after suffering a bruised lung during the Seahawks' victory over the 49ers.
When asked how long Okung would miss, Carroll said it would be a week or so before Okung could return to game action. 

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, Chris Matthews, Bryan Walters 
TE: Luke Willson, Cooper Helfet, Tony Moeaki, ReShaun Allen 
PK: Steven Hauschka 
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TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
According to ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas, if you look at the first four possessions of Sunday's second half, they tell the story of the season.
After taking a 10-9 lead into halftime, the Bucs came out firing blanks in the third quarter. They went three-and-out on four straight possessions.
"I think that's what tilted the game was the third quarter, the slow start," quarterback Josh McCown said. "The third quarter killed us."
Tampa Bay's offense went cold when it mattered most and it cost the Bucs dearly in a 19-17 loss to the Carolina Panthers. That should come as no surprise. It has been happening all season.
Yasinskas went on to suggest, "The only good thing you can say about Tampa Bay's offense is that we only have to watch it for two more games."
After that, Yasinskas believes the Bucs need to blow it up and start from scratch next year. The offense just hasn't worked and it's time for an overhaul. New offensive coordinator. New scheme. New quarterback.
"We started Day 1 in the offseason talking about being balanced and being able to do both," McCown said of running and passing. "It feels like we've done both effectively at times. But we've got to be able to do it in the same game. We just have not done that."
Early in the year, you could cut the Bucs some slack because they were without offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford. He had heart surgery at the end of the preseason and took a leave of absence that eventually turned into a permanent departure from the team.
Quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo was thrust into a tough spot as the new play caller.
But this season is 14 games old and the offense hasn't shown any signs of improvement. Arroyo might be fine as a quarterbacks coach, but the Bucs need a new coordinator for next year. A new scheme also would help. Arroyo still is using the outline of what Tedford put in, but that's not working. That's largely because the plays aren't being called properly.
The Bucs ran the ball well in the first half against Carolina; Doug Martin ran for 92 of his 96 yards before halftime. But they went away from the running game in the second half. The passing game didn't come to the rescue: McCown completed less than 50 percent of his passes, going 13-for-28 for 154 yards with one touchdown, one interception, three sacks and two fumbles lost.
Those aren't the type of numbers you would expect from a guy who was brought in to deliver a savvy, veteran presence. But McCown, 35, hasn't been playing like a savvy veteran. He has been turning the ball over way too much, with 11 interceptions in the nine games in which he has played.
No turnover was more costly than the sack/fumble of McCown early in the third quarter. It gave Carolina the ball on Tampa Bay's 4-yard line. Two plays later, the Panthers punched in a touchdown to take the lead for good.
"It was unfortunate," McCown said. "It hurt us bad."
The Bucs (2-12) have put themselves in position to have a very early draft pick. Yasinskas believes they need to use it on a quarterback, such as Marcus Mariota. This season has shown McCown isn't the long-term answer and the coaching staff already has given up on Mike Glennon.
McCown can stick around as a veteran mentor and backup. But this offense needs a fresh start all the way around, and that includes a new quarterback. ...
Other notes of interest. ... If you thought Martin was washed up, think again. With one run, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back showed that he still can be dangerous. Martin, who has been quiet all season, broke off a 63-yard run that set up Tampa Bay's first touchdown. As noted above, Martin finished the day with a season-high 96 yards on 14 carries.
There might be a reason Martin looked a little bit like the player he was as a rookie in 2012, when he ran for more than 1,400 yards. It might be because Martin is fully healthy for the first time this season.
"Starting with the first game of the season, I've been battling with the knee," Martin said. "After that, it was my ankle. But now I'm feeling the healthiest I've felt."
That's why Tampa Bay's running game looked better than it has all year in the first half. In the first two quarters, Martin gained 92 yards on eight carries.
"That's what we wanted to do coming out was pick up the running game," Martin said.
With Demar Dotson moving from right to left tackle, the Bucs came out running the ball effectively. They averaged 9.5 yards per carry in the first half.
But the weird thing is the running game went silent in the second half. Martin got only six carries after halftime. Part of the reason for that was because the Bucs fell behind and had to start passing.
But maybe the Bucs should have stuck with the running game more because it looked like Martin finally was playing up to his potential. ...
Mike Evans caught only two passes for 13 yards, but one was an 8-yard touchdown pass. He leads all rookies with 11 touchdown catches and is third with 948 yards on 59 catches. ..
Head coach Lovie Smith said Monday the defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (knee) will be joined on I.R. by rookie tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who was unable to return from a back injury at Chicago last month, and receiver Louis Murphy, who suffered a high ankle sprain in Sunday's game.
Seferian-Jenkins showed flashes of being what the Bucs hoped when they drafted him in the second round out of Washington. He caught 21 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. But his most memorable plays may have been two rookie mistakes. He fumbled on the first play of overtime in a loss to Minnesota and drew a 15-yard penalty for his Captain Morgan-like pose in the end zone following a go-ahead touchdown in a 27-17 loss to Atlanta two weeks later.
Seferian-Jenkins said he didn't think he played up to his potential.
"Honestly, I don't think I made enough plays out there," Seferian-Jenkins said. "I don't think I was even close to what my potential is and what I can be. This year, personally, has been a disappointment for myself. I'm looking forward to getting out there next year and showing everybody what I can do, showing my teammates what I can do."
Smith said Seferian-Jenkins, who started nine games, will benefit from the experience he got as a rookie.
"I think he got from it, all the way back from training camp coming in, making us take notice right away, he's done enough around here for the people who have seen him to know he has a bright future ahead of him," Smith said.
Murphy was originally cut the day before the season opener and returned in Week 4 and had six catches for 99-yards in leading the Bucs to a come-from-behind 27-24 upset at Pittsburgh. Murphy will become a free agent but Smith said the Bucs would like to have him back next season. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Josh McCown, Mike Glennon 
RB: Doug Martin, Charles Sims, Bobby Rainey, Mike James 
WR: Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans, Robert Herron, Russell Shephard, Trindon Holliday 
TE: Brandon Myers, Luke Stocker, Cameron Brate 
PK: Patrick Murray 
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TENNESSEE TITANS
As Associated Press sports writer Terry McCormick suggested, it's only fitting that Charlie Whitehurst is the Titans starting quarterback again. They haven't won since he started against Jacksonville on Oct. 12, and that's the opponent again coming up Thursday night.
So for this game between a pair of 2-12 teams fighting for draft position, head coach Ken Whitehurst believes he has a simple formula to help the Titans to victory.
Relax and have fun.
"We don't really have a lot to lose," Whitehurst said Tuesday. "That's kind of our mindset. We're going to go out there, be confident, let it all hang out and try and get a win."
The career backup who signed with the Titans this offseason already has set career highs by completing 69 of 122 for 967 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. He has played in five games and will make his fourth start Thursday night in a big turnaround for a quarterback who had gone two years without throwing a regular-season pass heading into this season.
"The game is really fun for me, and it's become more fun," Whitehurst said. "Earlier in my career, I was probably more stressed out about stuff. 'Oh, gosh, I've got to do this, do that.' But I try to have fun, because there's times in my career in college and in the pros that it wasn't as fun as it should be. Now, I prepare myself. I go out there and I try to have fun."
Whitehurst went from his last start against the Washington Redskins on Oct. 19 to being inactive until Zach Mettenberger sprained his right shoulder Dec. 7. Jake Locker was placed on injured reserve Monday after separating his left, non-throwing shoulder. Whitehurst relishes the chance to play whenever the opportunity arises, even as the Titans' season has come apart.
He said the circumstances aren't great, and he knew he was coming to Tennessee as a backup.
"There's no substitute for playing," Whitehurst said. "You get to play, you get to play in the NFL. It's been pretty awesome for me personally, but there's been a lot of anguish and a lot of heartache. I've been a part of some of these losses, and that's been tough. You definitely feel more a part of the team and I hope to go out and help us get a win."
He has the trust of Whisenhunt, who helped to bring Whitehurst to Tennessee when hired in January.
"I feel good about Charlie and what he's done. He's played well for us when he's had to go in there," Whisenhunt said. "He made some plays for us and made some good throws. He started against Jacksonville the last time and played a pretty good game, so I certainly feel comfortable with him."
For what it's worth, Locker's season is over and it's likely so is his time in Tennessee.
Locker's contract is up at the end of the season. Injuries kept him out of 14 of 32 starts the last two seasons, and he started five games this season limited by injuries and being benched for Mettenberger. Whisenhunt said he couldn't answer whether that injury history affects Locker's future in the NFL.
"He's a talented player," Whisenhunt said.
The Titans (2-12) agreed to terms with Jordan Palmer, giving themselves a health quarterback to back up Whitehurst. The 6-5 Palmer has played five seasons with Washington, Cincinnati, Jacksonville Chicago and Buffalo. He was with the Bears last season before being waived after training camp this year.
Should something happen to Whitehurst, Palmer has had two days to learn something about the Titans' system. ...
Meanwhile, the team also have placed tight end Brett Brackett on injured reserve after he hurt his knee in their loss to the Jets and replaced him by adding tight end Matthew Mulligan.
Mulligan has played in 67 games over five seasons in the NFL, including two with Chicago this season. He spent last season with New England and has played with St. Louis and the Jets and a stint on the Titans' practice squad in 2008. ...
The Titans were without Dexter McCluster (knee) and left tackle Taylor Lewan (left ankle) in practice Tuesday.
McCluster was ruled out against the Jaguars on Wednesday and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Delanie Walker (knee), Kendall Wright (right hand), linebacker Kamerion Wimbley (left hamstring), linebacker Zaviar Gooden (hamstring) and right tackle Byron Stingily (ankle) all were limited. Safety Daimion Stafford (concussion) practiced fully.
Wright said he would know by Wednesday if he could return to the lineup after missing two games.
"My feeling is I want to play, and if it feels like I felt today, then I'll be a go," Wright said. "But if it hurts or gets worse, I wouldn't go out there. ...s I want to be able to catch, block, and be a complete receiver when I am out there. That's the main thing."
If Wright experiences a setback and is unable to play, the Titans will have to lean on Nate Washington, Derek Hagan and Kris Durham in the passing game.
Walker said he is a go for Thursday's game despite a knee injury.
Walker and Wright are both officially listed as questionable.
Worth noting, Walker had the ball in his hands as the Tennessee Titans' loss to the New York Jets came to its conclusion on Sunday.
Walker had run 33 yards with the ball at the conclusion of a 49-yard play composed of a short pass and three laterals, but got knocked out of bounds at the New York 9-yard line by safety Dawan Landry after time had expired.
Lost in the play and the team's eighth consecutive loss was Walker's big accomplishment. Through 14 games, he has 793 receiving yards, the most for a tight end in Oilers-Titans history.
He passed Frank Wycheck, who caught 70 balls for 768 yards for the 1998 Tennessee Oilers.
Wycheck managed 11 yards per catch that season. Walker's yardage has come on just 52 catches, with a 15.3 average.
While Wycheck's best year wasn't that long ago, the game and the role of tight ends has changed a great deal.
Walker amassed the 768 yards in 12.5 games. He suffered a concussion on a big hit in the second quarter in Baltimore and missed the next game against the Steelers.
"I think if we had a better record, he would have gotten more attention for what he's done this year," Whisenhunt said. "He's been a consistent player for us and made a lot of big plays ...
"In this season, which has been very difficult, the way he's played has been a tremendous benefit."
In the Titans' final two games, Walker will have a good chance to boost his numbers.
Walker's average per catch is highest -- 17.87 yards per catch -- with Whitehurst throwing.
The Titans had a good play ready for a desperate situation, it just came up 9 yards short.
Leon Washington fielded the Jets' free kick after a safety rather than McCluster, who fields punts, because it's a kick-return situation, Whisenhunt said. Washington wound up averaging 29 yards on his four other kick returns and had a 46-yarder.
He muffed Ryan Quigley's short free kick early in the second quarter, but the Jets didn't wind up getting any points off the takeaway. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Charlie Whitehurst, Jordan Palmer, Zach Mettenberger 
RB: Bishop Sankey, Shonn Greene, Leon Washington, Dexter McCluster, Antonio Andrews 
FB: Jackie Battle 
WR: Kendall Wright, Nate Washington, Derek Hagan, Kris Durham 
TE: Delanie Walker, Chase Coffman, Matthew Mulligan 
PK: Ryan Succop 
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WASHINGTON REDSKINS
As Associated Press sports writer Joseph White reported, Robert Griffin III isn't saying much these days, even though he is again the starting quarterback for the Redskins.
His coach continues to speak volumes.
Griffin used to be good for at least one good laugh-out-loud quip per week when he wasn't stirring things up on social media, but his news conference Tuesday was again stocked with rote answers and cliches such as: "We've got to make sure that as a team we go out there ready to play."
He hasn't written a Facebook or Twitter post since a round of Happy Thanksgiving wishes last month, and he said he'll stay away from both until the season's over.
"For me, anything that I was saying, whether it was positive or negative, it was getting twisted and turned against me and against this team," Griffin said. "I felt like I shouldn't say very much."
Griffin has been given the starting job for the third time this season, each time under different circumstances. He was the undisputed franchise QB coming out of training camp, but he dislocated his ankle in Week 2. When he returned, he played poorly and was benched after three games.
Now's he back once again, getting the call for Saturday's game as the Redskins (3-11) host the Eagles because Colt McCoy has a sprained neck. McCoy was placed on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday.
Gruden said he just wants someone to "take the position and run with it." Griffin wouldn't take the bait when asked about that statement.
"My goal is always to go out there and be the guy," Griffin said. "And that's my only focus. I'm not really worried about anything else."
Gruden has been candid about Griffin's play all season, but that's been the standard mode of operation for the first-year coach. On Tuesday, when the coach was asked why Griffin has struggled to grasp some of the fundamentals of drop-back passing, Gruden blamed it on inexperience, pointing out the lengthy careers of accomplished quarterbacks Eli Manning, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees as compared to third-year QB Griffin.
"This position is very difficult, especially when you're learning new concepts with a new system," Gruden said. "It takes time."
If Gruden appears to single out Griffin, it's because that's the player he's asked about the most. Here, for example, is what the coach told Philadelphia reporters Tuesday when asked about ex-Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson, whose production has tailed off in recent weeks.
"I'm a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately kind of guy," Gruden said, "and lately we haven't seen the DeSean we need to see."
If there is animosity between Gruden and Griffin, it's not persistently evident when the two interact. The two talked, laughed and joked off the side during the special teams portion of Tuesday's practice. The chat ended with Gruden playfully miming a punch to Griffin's face, with Griffin laughing.
"I don't expect perfection from him," Gruden said. "But we want to see improvement from a weekly basis."
Remember, McCoy's status was in doubt throughout practice last week because of a sprained neck suffered late in the 24-0 loss to the St. Louis Rams. He was cleared by a doctor on Friday, but he lasted only one series Sunday against the New York Giants before taking a hit that aggravated the nerve.
Griffin, therefore, came on in relief for the second straight game. He completed 18 of 27 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown, and he had an 8-yard scoring run at the end of the first half overturned on an obscure rule after a replay review. The play turned the tide in the 24-13 loss.
Gruden offered faint praise for Griffin immediately after the game. The coach's words were slightly more positive Monday.
"I thought he played with good energy," Gruden said. "I thought he took the ball down and ran it when he had to a few times, and was pretty efficient with the passing game. For whatever reason, in the second half we couldn't get it going. We got in some third downs and weren't able to convert again, and that was unfortunate. He's just got to continue to go through the same progressions and see the concepts, but something to build off of, hopefully."
With McCoy injured, Cousins will move up to the No. 2 spot. The way things are going, he might get another start.
"Kirk's a heck of a guy, he's worked extremely hard, and he's dying for another chance," Gruden said. "Whether he gets it or not this year is to be determined, but I know he'll get a chance another time somewhere soon."
Griffin was sacked seven times last Sunday, the sixth game in a row in which the Redskins have allowed five or more. Their 53 sacks allowed this season are second-most in the league. Gruden said some of Sunday's sacks were the fault of the offensive line; some resulted from a poor play by Griffin.
"It's important for us to try and have some success on first and second down," Gruden said, "so we don't have to drop back and throw it 30 times a game and have a lead so we don't have to worry about it.
"But, eventually, like I said, when you get behind, you get in third down, you get behind the chains, those have to be accomplished -- the dropback reads and progressions have to be accomplished and that's something we're fighting through right now. ..."
Nobody should expect great improvement from Griffin -- or the Redskins -- over the final two games.
But it sounds like Gruden will get a chance to build on his debut season.
Gruden was told he'll be back to lead the team in 2015, according to NBC Washington.
Redskins owner Daniel Snyder gave Gruden a guaranteed five-year contract when he hired him last January to replace Mike Shanahan. Based on everything we've seen so to date, one of Gruden's first tasks for next season will be choosing a quarterback. ...
Other notes of interest. ... If you weren't impressed with the passing attack last weekend, the rushing attack couldn't have thrilled you either.
Alfred Morris carried eight times for 43 yards during the first 13-plus minutes, but the 2013 Pro Bowl back gained just six yards on his remaining six carries, a week after producing just six yards on eight attempts against the Rams.
Griffin ran five times for 46 yards, including a 23-yard jaunt, but had a controversial 8-yard touchdown run reversed. McCoy scrambled twice for 24 yards. Jackson went nine yards on an end-around.
Fullback Darrel Young picked up a first down on his only carry.
Chris Thompson and Redd combined for just 13 yards on four carries. The blocking was mediocre, at best.
Thompson, a fifth-round selection in the 2013 draft, had been inactive, on injured reserve or the practice squad beginning with Week 5 of his rookie year. However, with usual third-down back Roy Helu out with a toe injury last week, Thompson was promoted from the practice squad and scored Washington's only touchdown Sunday on a 9-yard pass from Griffin.
Thompson played 20 snaps and wound up with three catches for 22 yards and three carries for 12. The 5-7 Florida State product needs plenty of work in pass production.
"I was impressed with Chris," Gruden said. "He earned the right to get more chances as a third-down back."
For the record, Helu practiced Wednesday on a limited basis; I'll have more via Late-Breaking Update in coming days. ...
As noted above, Jackson returned against the Giants after being inactive against St. Louis with a right shin injury. He'll be active again this week (barring the unforeseen), but Jackson hasn't had a 100-yard game since Nov. 2 at Minnesota and hasn't had an outdoor 100-yard game in December since 2009.
Jackson is 64th in the NFL in catches, 18th in yards and 35th in touchdown catches. ...
And finally. ... Receiver Santana Moss was ejected from Sunday's game against the Giants after arguing over a controversial call at the end of the first half.
Moss shouted at official Jeff Triplette as the Redskins walked to their locker room after a ruling cost them a touchdown.
A number of Redskins players and coaches were around the officials; receiver Pierre Garcon had to be pulled away as well.
The play that started the issue was an apparent touchdown run by Griffin to end the half. But after the replay, officials ruled that Griffin had lost possession of the ball right before crossing the goal line. Griffin regained it, but lost the ball as he hit the ground, resulting in a touchback.
That led to angry protests from the Redskins, including Moss, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and ultimately an ejection. Moss had caught one pass for 18 yards in the first half. 

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