FLASHUPDATE WEEK 3 TEAM NOTES/Wednesday, 17 September, 2014
Compiled By FlashUpdate Editor Bob Harris

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ARIZONA CARDINALS
The "Comeback Cardinals" find themselves alone in first place in the NFC West heading into an important game at home against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
Whether Arizona will have quarterback Carson Palmer back for that game remains a big question.
According to AZCardinals.com's Darren Urban, as game day last dawned Sunday, Bruce Arians knew Palmer was nursing a sore right shoulder, knew he hadn't thrown all week.
Still, "I thought for sure he'd pull his cape out and go," the coach said.
Instead, after Palmer realized he could not, Arians ambled up to backup Drew Stanton and said, "Hey baby, you're up." A few hours later, the Cardinals owned a 25-14 win over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, and Stanton was merely the latest example of the growing Arians legend of "Next Man Up."
"Those," Stanton said, "are not just hollow words."
Getting that victory was, as Arians acknowledged, not always pretty.
The Giants (0-2) are not a very good team, and there are issues to address. But the crucial stats all ended up in favor of the Cardinals (2-0). The Cards did not turn the ball over but the Giants did four times. The Cardinals averaged 4.4 yards a carry and gained 128 on the ground, and a supposedly gimpy Andre Ellington had 91 yards on 15 carries. The Cardinals got a punt blocked for a second straight week but Ted Ginn exploded for a 71-yard touchdown on a punt return that changed the game.
It started with the steady play of Stanton, who didn't have spectacular numbers when it was over (14 for 29 for 167 yards) but didn't turn it over in his last-second-but-not-really play.
Stanton's practice with the first unit was plenty to prep him – although his prep was three years in the making, from the time he first joined Arians in Indianapolis in 2012.
"He knows this offense inside and out," Arians said. "It's easier for him sometimes than even Carson."
"The numbers don't give him justice," Arians added.
It was Stanton's first regular-season appearance since he played in Detroit in 2010, "which everyone likes to document," Stanton said. That December was also his last start, of which he only had four in his eight-year career.
Palmer, who said he was "fired up" for his backup, called Stanton the epitome of Arians' philosophy. Stanton's work might not be over, either. Palmer said he wasn't sure how quickly he will be able to return.
The way Palmer describes his injury, there is a nerve in his right shoulder that is in a deep sleep. Palmer and the Cardinals medical staff tried all last week to wake the nerve but it never did.
Palmer said he was never close to playing, though Arians said Palmer improved greatly over the weekend.
Palmer suffered the injury last Monday night when he went down on a running play, and he isn't sure when he will be able to return.
"They said my shoulder was stretched out and I landed on the nerve, shut the nerve down," Palmer said. "It's just one of those things you've just go to wait and hope it wakes up. There's no, 'it needs 48 hours. It needs six days, it needs 12 days. You just don't know."
As FOXSports.com's Craig Morgan suggested, the schedule creates a dilemma for the Cardinals. Obviously, they'd like to have Palmer in the lineup when a bitter division rival comes to town. A win over San Francisco on Sunday would give the Cardinals a two-game lead on the 49ers just three games into the season.
On the flip side, Arizona gets its bye week after the 49ers game so that would allow Palmer ample time to rest while a more mobile Stanton makes his second straight start.
Those interested will want to keep an eye on the Late-Breaking Updates section for more on Palmer in advance of Sunday's game. ...
Other notes of interest. ... After catching one pass in week one, receiver Larry Fitzgerald was a bigger part of the offense. He was targeted 10 times and caught six. In contrast, Michael Floyd caught just one pass for 19 yards.
Arians said during his Monday press conference that Ellington is still dealing with pain in his foot. Arians will give Ellington the day off Wednesday, and hopes he will be able to practice Thursday and Friday. As noted above, taking it easy on Ellington worked last week.
According to the Sports Xchange, Ellington looked quicker and more explosive against the Giants than he did the first game. ...
According to ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss, one of the main reasons Ginn was signed was to improve Arizona's kickoff and punt return games. After an unimpressive Week 1 and a lackluster start against the Giants, Ginn proved there's a method to his madness, returning a fourth-quarter punt 71 yards for a touchdown. He had a couple of head-scratching returns Sunday before the touchdown, including a third-quarter return -- after New York went up 14-10 -- in which he went backwards and the Cardinals started their drive at their own 7.
Ginn was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. ...
And finally. ... Arians said linebacker John Abraham would return to the team this week.
Abraham, who suffered a concussion in Week 1 against the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football, left the team last Tuesday. He saw a neurologist Monday, which is one of the last stages of the NFL's concussion protocol, Arians said. If Abraham is cleared to play, the NFL's active sack leader could be back in the starting lineup Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Arians said Abraham, who suffered his first reported concussion, had been texting him for the last three days. About 30 minutes before Arians met with the media Monday afternoon, Abraham told his coach he could announce his return.
"He's ready to play," Arians said.
When Abraham took his leave of absence last week, he told Arians his desire to play had waned. Reports also surfaced that said Abraham had been suffering from memory loss for more than a year. "A lot of it was to do with the headaches," Arians said. "First real big one he's ever had. There's other things that we're dealing with, and he's fine with those." 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Carson Palmer, Drew Stanton, Logan Thomas 
RB: Andre Ellington, Jonathan Dwyer, Stepfan Taylor 
FB: Robert Hughes 
WR: Michael Floyd, Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown, Ted Ginn, Jaron Brown, Walt Brown 
TE: John Carlson, Darren Fells, Robert Housler, Troy Niklas 
PK: Chandler Catanzaro 
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ATLANTA FALCONS
As the Sports Xchange notes, two games into the season, the concerns about the Falcons' defense appear to have been very valid.
The Falcons rank last in yards allowed per game (472) and per play (6.79). They are also 32nd in yards allowed per passing play (9.62, nearly a yard-and-a-half more than 31st-place Kansas City).
They have other problems, but defense is the biggest issue again.
The lack of an effective pass rush was a big problem in 2013 and now the Falcons are the only team in the league without a sack through two games.
In fact the Falcons have registered just one quarterback hit in 66 opponent dropbacks. Defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux got that hit. He also had a sack against the Saints, but it was nullified by a penalty.
There was some skepticism outside of Flowery Branch when the Falcons didn't add an edge rusher during free agency or the draft.
They could have signed Michael Sam, the reigning co-SEC defensive player of the year, after he was released by the St. Louis Rams, but they see more potential in Tyler Starr, a seventh-round pick from South Dakota.
The Falcons countered that stopping the run on early downs would set up better pass-rushing opportunities. That's why they added some beef in defensive linemen Tyson Jackson and Paul Soliai.
But the formula hasn't worked so far.
The Falcons have allowed an average of 4.65 yards on 40 first-and-10 runs, more than all but two defenses in the league.
But as the Associated Press suggests, this looks like a good week to turn things around.
On Thursday night, the Falcons will face a Buccaneers team that ranks near the bottom of the league in total yards and scoring average after losing its first two games. If the guys up front can do a better job pressuring Tampa Bay quarterback Josh McCown, Atlanta's promising secondary should get more of a chance to shine.
If not, it's going to be a long season.
"We help the D-line. The D-line helps us," cornerback Desmond Trufant said. "If we cover better, maybe they can get to the quarterback better. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... Good news for the Falcons on the injury front: left tackle Jake Matthews is expected to play against the Buccaneers. Matthews was listed as limited following the walkthrough, but head coach Mike Smith expects him to fully participate in Tuesday's practice. "It's the first time in my life I've had to sit out a game with an injury," Matthews said. ...
Gabe Carimi, who started in Matthews' spot, could remain in the lineup even if the rookie returns. Right tackle Lamar Holmes struggled against the Bengals, making it possible that Carimi will shift sides.
Receiver Julio Jones, who is coming back from a broken foot last season, appeared to hurt his foot in the fourth quarter on Sunday.
He stayed down on the field on one knee for a while, but then eventually got up and ran off the field.
"To my knowledge he is," Smith said of Jones being ok after the game. "He went back in and he played. I have not had an opportunity to visit with the trainers. But he did go back in and play."
Jones finished with seven catches for 88 yards and one touchdown.
Turns out the issue is his ankle. Jones was limited in practice Monday but practiced Tuesday and is officially listed as probable for tomorrow.
Although Roddy White missed Tuesday's practice with a hamstring injury and is officially listed as questionable, Smith sounded more concerned with having White rested for Thursday night's quick turnaround game versus Tampa Bay.
White, already dealing with a troublesome left knee, injured his hamstring during Sunday's 24-10 loss at Cincinnati. He indicated he was "good'" following the game.
"It's not important for Roddy to practice," Smith said. "We'd like for Roddy to practice, but it's all about getting Roddy ready on a short week. And some of these guys across the league that have some age with them, on a short week, you've got to get them to Thursday. And that's our intention.
"Right now, our goal is to have Roddy as healthy as he can be for the ball game on Thursday night."
Smith indicated White, 32, would be on a limited schedule moving forward after injuring his left knee in a season-opening win over New Orleans. It is unclear when White injured his hamstring against the Bengals.
White caught five passes for 42 yards, improving his franchise record streak of consecutive games with at least one catch to 114. He has pulled down at least five receptions in seven straight games dating back to last season.
I'll be following up on both starting wideouts when Late-Breaking Updates crank up just after midnight tonight. ...
Matt Ryan and White have combined for 530 completions, which is the most between any quarterback and receiver duo in the NFL since 2008.
The Bengals intercepted Ryan, who passed for a career-high and team-record 448 yards the previous week against the New Orleans Saints, three times. A week after playing his best game as a Falcon, Ryan played one of his worst games in Cincinnati. Ryan was 24 of 44 for 231 yards and had a quarterback rating of 48.6.
It was his lowest rating since he had a 47.2 and threw four interceptions against Arizona last season Oct. 27, 2013. He has only had two other sub-50 passer-rating games. He had a 46.6 against New Orleans on Nov. 2, 2009 (a 35-27 loss) and a 49.8 against St. Louis Dec. 28, 2009 (31-27 win).
The Falcons only used running backs Steven Jackson and Jacquizz Rodgers against the Bengals. Antone Smith and Devonta Freeman did not receive any carries from scrimmage. Jackson had 11 rushes for 46 yards, while Rodgers rushed five times for 23 yards. They ran for a respectable 4.3 yards per carry.
Devin Hester totaled 118 yards on four kickoff returns, including a 36-yard long return. Hester averaged 29.5 yards per return, which is the highest single-game average by a Falcon since Dec. 5, 2010 when wide receiver Eric Weems averaged 40.8 yards on four returns. Hester's yards per return average was the fifth highest single-game average of his career in games where he records at least four kickoff returns. Hester is averaging 27.8 yards per return this season, which is higher than his career return average of 24.8 yards. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Matt Ryan, T.J. Yates, Sean Renfree 
RB: Steven Jackson, Jacquizz Rodgers, Devonta Freeman, Antone Smith, Patrick DiMarco 
WR: Julio Jones, Roddy White, Harry Douglas, Devin Hester, Courtney Roby, Eric Weems 
TE: Levine Toilolo, Bear Pascoe 
PK: Matt Bryant 
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BALTIMORE RAVENS
According to ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley, head coach John Harbaugh said he doesn't believe the team is going to be able to move past the Ray Rice situation anytime soon, even though it cut ties with the Pro Bowl running back a week ago.
"We're probably not going to get away from it, and probably rightfully so," Harbaugh said Monday. "Not just us, the league. Hopefully it impacts society in a good way going forward."
A Ravens spokesman told reporters before Harbaugh's weekly news conference that questions regarding Rice could be asked but the team is trying to move on publicly from the Rice situation because an independent investigation has begun.
Asked whether the investigation will take much of the Ravens' time, Harbaugh said, "I know nothing about that. That's not something that anybody has given me any kind of schedule or timetable on."
The Ravens cut Rice last Monday just hours after TMZ released a video of the star running back punching his then-fiancée in a casino elevator. The team is holding a jersey exchange on Friday and Saturday, when fans can trade in their Rice No. 27 jersey for an available jersey of another Ravens player.
Rice appealed his indefinite suspension from the NFL in advance of the Tuesday midnight deadline.
Unlike most cases, the NFL contends that Rice remains suspended until his appeal is resolved, or until his suspension ends.
"After the suspension was announced, we said: Teams have been notified that any contract between a team and Rice will not be approved or take effect until further direction is provided from the commissioner's office," the league advised Profootballtalk.com by email.
It means, as a practical matter, that Rice will remain suspended until the appeal ends. ...
Despite the media onslaught at the Ravens' facility last week, the Ravens evened their record at 1-1 by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 26-6 last Thursday night.
"The point is to remember that we don't get caught up in the swirl as much as you think," Harbaugh said. "I thought our guys did a great job of handling the situation. They were able to compartmentalize the fact that they had to address a situation going on that was a deep-seated deal and has ramifications beyond sports. It's a bigger issue than sports. It's a societal issue. It's a problem that is all across society and not just in our country."
Harbaugh added, "It's something that needs to be addressed. Historically, sports has been a catalyst for positive change, especially in this country over the years. That's a good thing. If good can come out of that in some way and our players and our organization can be a part of that somehow, I would really embrace that."
And while the case continues, so do the football games.
And the last time they took the field, the Ravens (1-1) breezed to a lopsided victory over the Steelers.
Next on the schedule: A trip to Cleveland to face the surprising Browns (1-1).
According to the Associated Press, Bernard Pierce will start at running back for a third straight week for the Ravens and Justin Forsett will play a reserve role. The duo combined for 152 yards on 30 carries against Pittsburgh.
"Both those guys played well, ran hard and protected the football," Harbaugh said. "The offensive line has played really well in front of them, too."
Pierce was able to put the previous week's dismal performance against the Bengals behind him and play effectively against the Steelers. Pierce had 22 carries for a game-high 96 yards (4.4 yard per carry).
The prior week, he was benched after a second quarter fumble and he finished with just 14 yards on six carries. Pierce likely played well enough to earn the start against at Cleveland.
"Bernard bounced back," Harbaugh said. "That shows you what he's made of, that shows you his mettle a little bit and he finished it off in the fourth quarter pretty good, as did Justin. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... Joe Flacco completed 72.4 percent of his passes (21-of-29) against the Steelers, which is the first time he's eclipsed the 70 percent completion rate since the Ravens' game at Pittsburgh in October.
In fact, Flacco was more efficient earlier in his career. In his first three seasons, Flacco produced 15 games where he completed over 70 percent of his throws. Over the last four seasons, he has only had seven such games.
Why was Flacco so accurate on Thursday? According to Hensley, the reasons are quite simple.
Flacco threw higher percentage passes, which is going to be a staple of Gary Kubiak's new offense. He focused on shorter passes as 21 of his 29 attempts traveled 5 or few yards downfield, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Flacco's average air yards was 5.1, which was 3 yards less than the season-opening loss at the Bengals.
Many of Flacco's problems in recent years were the result of forcing passes downfield. Hensley reminded readers the Ravens were a vertical offense under offensive coordinators Cam Cameron and Jim Caldwell. Under Kubiak, the Ravens want Flacco to throw more in rhythm and get rid of the ball quicker. A good amount of Flacco's throws Thursday were slants to Steve Smith, shorter passes over the middle to his tight ends (Owen Daniels and Dennis Pitta) and safe tosses to Forsett in the flat.
The other factor in Flacco's higher completion rate is pass protection. Flacco was under duress or hit on just one of his 29 dropbacks Thursday night. No quarterback who played an entire game in Week 2 had a safer pocket. ...
Pitta has been one of quarterback Flacco's favorite targets over the past five seasons. Kubiak likes to use a lot of two, tight end sets and this provides more creative ways for Pitta to get involved in the offense. Pitta was solid again against Pittsburgh with three catches for 30 yards, including a crucial 24-yard grab down the middle of the field.
Owen Daniels lined up with Pitta and caught a pair of touchdown passes from Flacco.
"We had good chemistry tonight," Pitta said. "The short passing game was working well. We got bogged down a little bit in the middle of the game, but we wore them down in the second half."
Remember: It was only a few weeks ago when Daniels was getting a reputation for being soft. The Ravens said he needed a couple of weeks to rest his legs, which didn't go over well on local sports talk shows.
After setting the record straight that he was dealing with a hamstring issue, Daniels has proven his toughness in his first two games with the Ravens. He has caught 90 percent of the passes thrown his way (the highest rate for a tight end with at least four catches this season) and has typically paid a price for it.
The easiest catches of the season so far for Daniels were the ones in the end zone. With the defense buying Flacco's play-action fakes, Daniels was free to get open for scores each time.
His first touchdown extended his streak of recording a catch in 90 consecutive games, the longest active one for NFL tight ends. His second one gave him his fifth career game with multiple touchdowns.
"We put great drives together, with a lot of people contributing in those drives to get us down to that goal line," Daniels said. "I just happened to be that guy to score the touchdown. ..."
One last note here. ... Safety Will Hill is currently one game into his six-game suspension for substance abuse. With the NFLPA agreeing to a new drug policy, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Hill could be reinstated before Week 7. According to Rotoworld, Hill should push starterDarian Stewart for snaps whenever he returns. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Joe Flacco, Tyrod Taylor 
RB: Bernard Pierce, Justin Forsett, Lorenzo Taliaferro 
FB: Kyle Juszczyk 
WR: Steve Smith, Torrey Smith, Marlon Brown, Jacoby Jones, Kamar Aiken, Deonte Thompson, LaQuan Williams 
TE: Dennis Pitta, Owen Daniels, Crockett Gillmore 
PK: Justin Tucker 
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BUFFALO BILLS
According to Associated Press sports writer John Wawrow, head coach Doug Marrone figures the unbeaten Buffalo Bills have much to prove before anyone starts paying them respect.
"We know it's a long season," Marrone said Monday, a day after the Bills improved to 2-0 with a 29-10 win over Miami. "To sit here and say, 'Oh, did we expect to have people give us credit?' Not when you haven't done anything for such a long period of time. I think we understand that."
Marrone, of course, was referring to Buffalo's 14-season playoff drought that stands as the NFL's longest active streak.
This is also a team that has previously found ways of turning promising starts into losing finishes. That most recently happened in 2011, when the Bills opened with three consecutive wins and were 5-2 through October, before losing eight of their last nine.
"We've got to get better each week," said Marrone, who was already looking ahead to hosting the Chargers (1-1) on Sunday. "And really, all of our focus right now is the game that's next, San Diego."
The Bills, among seven teams that opened Monday without a loss, still have plenty of room for improvement.
Their red-zone offense is an area of concern.
As ESPN.com's Mike Rodak noted, their one touchdown (and three field goals) in six trips inside the 20-yard-line against Dolphins dragged the Bills' red zone efficiency rate to 30 percent, which ranks 28th in the NFL.
In six red-zone runs Sunday, Fred Jackson gained zero yards. Re-watching each play, Rodak saw breakdowns across the offensive line. The first four runs were out of the shotgun with a zone-read element.
However, left guard Chris Williams couldn't hold his block on two of those Jackson runs, and center Eric Wood and right tackle Seantrel Henderson each had problems on separate plays. The result was Dolphins defenders in the backfield and little space for Jackson to run.
Two of EJ Manuel's passes in the red zone -- incompletions to Robert Woods and Mike Williams -- were off-target passes, a reminder that the Bills likely will need to run better in the red zone if they want to improve their efficiency rate.
"We have to focus on the red zone," said rookie receiver Sammy Watkins, who scored his first career touchdown against Miami on a 12-yard catch. "It's sad to just be kicking field goals. That's something we have to fix."
Added Williams: "How we played yesterday won't win for us later in the season."
Buffalo began Monday tied with New Orleans with an NFL-leading 10 red-zone drives. And yet, Buffalo was tied for 17th with just three red-zone touchdowns.
Marrone said the numbers are a little skewed due to circumstance.
The Bills only needed a field goal in overtime to secure a season-opening 23-20 win over the Bears. Against Miami, they settled on running the ball to take time off the clock on their final two red-zone possessions in the fourth quarter.
Marrone, however, did acknowledge the Bills' struggles during the first half, in which they came away with three field goals on three possessions that stalled inside the Dolphins 13.
"I don't want to say anything negative but we had opportunities, and we weren't able to get it," he said.
At least Buffalo is getting solid play from its defense and special teams.
The Bills gave up 80 yards rushing against Miami, a week after allowing only 86 against Chicago. That's a big step for a defense that allowed less than 90 yards rushing only three times last season.
Buffalo already has six sacks and has forced five turnovers (two fumbles, three interceptions).
Special teams played a significant role against Miami. C.J. Spiller scored on a 102-yard kickoff return, Anthony Dixon blocked a punt, Randell Johnson recovered a muffed punt, and Dan Carpenter hit five of six field-goal attempts.
Whatever the case, Manuel will take the wins, and focus on getting better.
"You're never going to be perfect, but the good thing is we're still coming out with two wins versus two great teams," Manuel said. "As long as we win, I'm happy."
In evening his career record at 6-6, the second-year quarterback has been efficient after an inconsistent and injury-shortened rookie season. He's gone 32 of 48 for 375 yards with two touchdowns, plus one rushing, and one interception. ...
Other notes of interest. ... As CBSSports.com's Chris Tower noted on Monday, Watkins appeared to be favoring his sides at times during his breakout performance over the Dolphins, but the team did not list him on the injury report after the game with anything but general soreness.
Watkins dealt with a rib injury in the preseason and took a few shots that left him slow to get up Sunday. Still, he appeared to get through the game without serious issue, and ended up racking up eight receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown, and should have no problems playing moving forward.
Watkins was targeted 11 times, while all other Bills receivers totaled 15 targets. Watkins' 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter was the Bills' lone passing touchdown of the game and the first career score for the first receiver taken in May's draft.
"I feel great," Watkins said of his health. "We got the win, and that's the ultimate goal. We just have to keep working."
As Rodak suggested, given his apparent discomfort, the Bills will need to be careful how much they work Watkins moving forward. He remains an important part of their offense and a rib injury in September that lingers into November would be a problem.
Worth noting: Watkins was practicing fully on Wednesday but Woods (ankle) was limited. I'll follow up via Late-Breaking Update as needed. ...
The Bills decided to swap out speedster Marquise Goodwin for Spiller on kickoffs this season, leading to questions about risking injury to an offensive weapon like Spiller by using him on special teams. Spiller was banged up on the opening kickoff and left for the locker room, but he returned and made his mark on the above-mentioned 102-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter.
He later broke a 47-yard run, causing Dolphins cornerback Brent Grimes to miss in the open field. Spiller was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week on Wednesday. ...
Tight end Scott Chandler was held without a reception in the opener against Chicago, but his first catch of the season in the Miami game was certainly a beauty. He made a leaping grab of a Manuel throw down the left sideline, and then managed to tap his toes just barely in bounds. Originally the play was called incomplete, but Marrone challenged, and won. It gave the Bills a first-and-goal at the 7, though they ultimately settled for a field goal. ...
As noted above, Carpenter made a career-high five field goals, and it would have been six if he hadn't bounced one off the left upright from 31 yards. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: E.J. Manuel, Kyle Orton 
RB: Fred Jackson, C.J. Spiller, Anthony Dixon, Bryce Brown 
WR: Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Mike Williams, Marquise Goodwin, Marcus Easley, Chris Hogan 
TE: Scott Chandler, Lee Smith, Chris Gragg 
PK: Dan Carpenter 
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CAROLINA PANTHERS
As the Sports Xchange noted, Cam Newton was back where he belonged, playing the way he has to. After cracked ribs forced him to be a spectator in Week 1, Newton totaled 300 yards in Sunday's win over the Lions.
Newton passed for 281 yards, completing 22 of his 34 attempts, including a 14-yard touchdown to receiver Jason Avant in the third quarter. He spread his completions to seven receivers, a group that included three players added this offseason Kelvin Benjamin, Jerricho Cotchery and Avant.
Newton added 19 rushing yards on four carries, and while his ribs and surgically-repaired ankle still are not 100 percent, he proved he is healthy enough to be more than effective.
"(Sunday) was the first time in a long time playing four quarters of football," Newton said. "I didn't know how my body was going to react to it, and with me still feeling a couple of things here and there. But it was fun to go out there and battle for each and every possession, to try to get points up on the board."
Newton was sacked five times and took a few more shots on scrambles and designed runs. But besides improving to 2-0 for the first time since 2008, the best thing coming out of Sunday for the Panthers was Newton's ability to take and absorb hits.
"He is close (to 100 percent)," head coach Ron Rivera said. "He is going to be sore, obviously. He can't help himself; he ran a couple times. The thing that I'm very pleased with is once he got the rust off, once he settled down, he made some really good decisions."
Meanwhile, after the Panthers surprisingly deactivated defensive end Greg Hardy shortly before Sunday's home opener, it opened the door for a guy like defensive end Mario Addison to have a breakout game.
"When I get my chance, I'm going to go all out. When opportunity calls, I need that opportunity to show coach (Rivera) that I can do it," Addison said after his 2 1/2 sack performance. "I've got a role on this team. We all have a role on the team. Everybody's role is important."
Addison had a career day, piling up 2.5-sacks against a Lions line that gave up the second-fewest sacks (23) in the NFL last year. Addison had only 3.5 sacks during his first three seasons, and he matched his total from 2013 in just 60 minutes on Sunday.
And Wednesday afternoon, the Panthers placed Hardy on the exempt/commissioner's permission list (which the Vikings did with Adrian Peterson earlier Wednesday). While Profootballtalk.com is reporting that Hardy hasn't agreed to that move, you might want to consider him out until further notice. ...
Other notes of interest. ... According to ESPN.com's David Newton, the Panthers expected all-time leading rusher DeAngelo Williams to return to practice on Wednesday and be ready for Sunday night's game against Pittsburgh.
But he wasn't on the field Wednesday.
Williams missed the win over Detroit with a thigh injury that flared up after Wednesday's practice.
Without him, the Panthers rushed for only 62 yards, the team's fewest since Week 10 of the 2012 season when it had 52 yards on 21 carries against Denver. Thirty-seven of those came from Jonathan Stewart, and 22 of those came on one run.
"It was a tough day," Rivera said on Monday.
Rivera hopes Williams, who led the team in rushing with 72 yards on 14 carries in the opener, will provide a boost. If anything, he will restore depth to a unit that saw Mike Tolbert suffer a shoulder contusion in the second half and Fozzy Whittaker go down with a quad injury.
Rivera said Whittaker would be listed as week to week. Tolbert appears all right -- although he was also held out of Wednesday's practice.
I'll be following up on both in coming days via Late-Breaking Update. ...
Cam Newton jokingly limped into the locker room when he noticed reporters watching him. Newton underwent offseason ankle surgery in March and fractured his ribs during an Aug. 22 exhibition game that forced him to miss the opener at Tampa Bay.
Rivera said Newton's foot was a little sore, actually calling that a good thing.
"Because it's more sore than his back," Rivera said. "Which is good. At least, I think it's good. He's moving around pretty good and he's feeling pretty good about himself.
"I thought he played a heckuva football game."
Newton completed 22 of 34 pass attempts for 281 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed four times for 19 yards.
Carolina re-signed kicker Graham Gano to a four-year deal during the offseason. He proved his worth in this one with field goals of 29, 53 and 38 yards. That Detroit's Nate Freese missed a pair of 49-yarders in the first half made Gano look even better. Gano also recovered a fumble on a kickoff return. And there was no run-in with a trombone player this week. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Cam Newton, Derek Anderson, Joe Webb 
RB: DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Fozzy Whittaker 
FB: Mike Tolbert, Richie Brockel 
WR: Kelvin Benjamin, Jerricho Cotchery, Jason Avant, Brenton Bersin, Philly Brown 
TE: Greg Olsen, Ed Dickson, Brandon Williams, Richie Brockel 
PK: Graham Gano 
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CHICAGO BEARS
As Associated Press sports writer Andrew Seligman put it: "The Chicago Bears aren't ready to be written off just yet."
A stunning 28-20 victory over San Francisco on Sunday breathed life into the Bears after a dismal overtime loss at home to Buffalo to start the season. Chicago is 1-1 with some major momentum after pulling out a win against a top team on the road.
"It is kind of like when you think your girlfriend is about to break up with you, and then she changes her mind," tight end Martellus Bennett said. "That is what it feels like. These guys worked hard all week. I'm super excited to see guys have the chance to make plays and step up when we needed them to step up. That was a hard fought game."
One sour note for the Bears: Losing cornerback Charles Tillman to a torn right triceps. He was placed on injured reserve on Monday, ending his season.
The Bears will try to make it back-to-back wins when they visit the New York Jets on Monday night. Against San Francisco, the Bears trailed 17-0 in the first half and looked like they were on their way to another loss.
But they turned it around. Jay Cutler threw four touchdown passes -- three to Brandon Marshall -- and the defense came through with four takeaways.
"As I told the team, as you go on this marathon of a football season, you're going to have opportunities to gain some backbone, and I think this really helped us and will help us," coach Marc Trestman said.
One downer for Chicago was the injuries continued to mount.
The defense suffered losses across the board with Tillman and four other key players getting hurt. That added to an already long list, with center Roberto Garza and left guard Matt Slauson sitting out with ankle injuries and Brandon Marshall (ankle) and Alshon Jeffery (hamstring) playing through pain.
Tillman came up clutching his arm in pain in the third quarter of Sunday's win at San Francisco after he got tangled with the 49ers' Michael Crabtree on a run along the sideline by Colin Kaepernick.
He suffered a similar injury against Detroit last November and missed the final seven games.
Whether he has played his final game for the Bears or in the NFL remains to be seen. He's 33, in his 12th season and operating on a one-year contract
"I hated it," linebacker Lance Briggs said. "I told him that I really hope for the best once he gets his tests done. We had a lot of guys go down today, hopefully they are minor and we can move on from there."
It wasn't just Tillman who went down.
A lunging safety Chris Conte picked off a pass by Kaepernick intended for Anquan Boldin, but he banged his left shoulder and left the game. He sat out the offseason program as well as the first two preseason games after having surgery on his right shoulder. Defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff (concussion), Sherrick McManis (quadriceps) and defensive end Trevor Scott (foot) also got banged up.
But along with the injuries, there were some promising developments for the Bears.
There were two late interceptions by rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller. Defensive end Willie Young had two sacks to give him three on the season, and Cutler came through in a huge spot.
He threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to lift Chicago after throwing a big interception down the stretch against Buffalo. That doesn't erase the ill-advised across-the-body pass that got picked off by the Bills, but at least he delivered this time in a big spot.
"It's hard to win every week, especially on the road. We knew they were going to be amped up with opening up the new stadium and all of the Hall-of-Fame guys coming back," Cutler said. "We just kind of had to weather the storm and we have to take a look at this film on Tuesday, break it down, and then we have to move on. We can't really dwell on this. There's a lot of football left, so we just have to kind of keep building on this and get better and better each week."
Brandon Marshall could feel the sense of panic in Chicago Bears fans after their team was upset at home in Week 1.
"It felt like 60 percent of Chicago, of Illinois, started panicking," Marshall said Monday on "The Brandon Marshall Show" on ESPN Chicago 1000. "It felt like that. 'Our season's over.' "
They were panicking because the favored Bears, despite racking up 427 yards of offense, dropped their opener to a Bills team that has struggled on the road. They turned the ball over three times, including a fumble by Marshall, and the defense allowed 193 yards rushing by Buffalo, a season removed from finishing last in the NFL against the run.
And when the Bears trailed the 49ers 17-0 late in the first half on Sunday night, that panic meter likely cranked up even more. But Marshall, playing on a bad ankle, went a long way in easing that anxiety by catching three touchdowns during a Bears comeback that saw them outscore the 49ers 28-3 over the final 30:13 on Monday night.
"If we can continue to get wins like the one [Sunday night], halfway through the season I think that's when we're really going to hit our mark, because right now we're not where we should be but we have the attitude and the work ethic to get there," Marshall said.
Indeed, as ESPN.com suggested, Marshall played like a man possessed in Week 2, with one of his scores coming on a miraculous one-handed grab at the end of the first half that proved to be a turning point for the Bears.
Marshall vowed all week he planned to play against the 49ers, and he backed it up with a performance that will have Bears' fans buzzing all week. Credit wide receiver Alshon Jeffery for fighting through a tight hamstring to contribute three receptions for 47 yards. The Bears were never going to defeat San Francisco with their two Pro Bowl receivers on the sidelines. Both were active, and the Bears pulled out the 28-20 upset.
Coincidence?
"Hardly," ESPN.com's Jeff Dickerson wrote. "Great players who push themselves often inspire their teammates."
Meanwhile, the extra day should help Marshall and Jeffery get ready to face the New York Jets on Monday. ...
Other notes of interest. ... It was an off-night for the run game. The team basically went away from the ground attack after the 49ers jumped out to a 17-0 lead, but yards were hard to come by whenever the Bears put the ball in Matt Forte's hands. Forte carried the ball 12 times for 21 yards (1.8 yards per rush average). Cutler actually had the best run of the night when he scrambled for 25 yards.
It's hard to establish much of a rhythm when the starting tailback is fed the ball only 12 times, but the offense failed to capitalize when the opportunities presented themselves on the ground, no matter how few and far between they were. ...
Bennett caught nothing longer than 10 yards, but as the Sports Xchange notes, his seven catches for 37 yards proved critical in keeping the chains moving with the Bears offense unable to mount a ground game. ...
A few final notes. ... FB Tony Fiammetta was released prior to Sunday's game. He has been out since preseason with a hamstring injury. He was re-signed Monday after Tillman was placed on injured reserve.
QB David Fales was placed on waivers prior to Sunday's game. He could end up back on the roster or the practice squad.
The club also announced Tuesday it had signed third-year pro Isaiah Frey to the active roster. Frey spent all 16 games on the Bears' roster a season ago, notching 47 tackles and making six starts. The 2012 sixth-round pick was waived in the Bears' final cuts in August, then re-signed to the practice squad September 1.
In corresponding roster moves Tuesday, the Bears released tailback Shaun Draughn, tight end Matthew Mulligan and wide receiver Chris Williams. The club now has one open roster spot. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Jay Cutler, Jimmy Clausen 
RB: Matt Forte, Ka'Deem Carey, Senorise Perry 
RB: Tony Fiammetta 
WR: Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Josh Morgan, Santonio Holmes, Micheal Spurlock, Marquess Wilson 
TE: Martellus Bennett, Dante Rosario 
PK: Robbie Gould 
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CINCINNATI BENGALS
As Associated Press sports writer Joe Kay recounted, "Giovani Bernard headed up the field, saw Falcons defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi in his way and did a high-hurdle move to clear him.
"It's hard to catch Bernard in space. And it's going to be tough to keep up with the Bengals' offense if he and running mate Jeremy Hill continue developing as the dual-threat backfield that left Atlanta grasping and gasping. ..."
Bernard was the Bengals' top runner and pass catcher, and Hill scored his first touchdown during a 24-10 victory over the Falcons. The Bengals (2-0) stayed undefeated even though their offense was hit hard by injuries to the receivers and tight ends.
Their two young runners were more than enough to carry on.
Bernard moved into the starting role this season, his second in the NFL, and had his breakout game. He carried a career-high 27 times for 90 yards and caught a team-high five passes for a career-best 79 yards.
"I think he's one of the better backs in the league at catching the ball and getting into the open field," said Hill, a second-round pick who carried 15 times for 74 yards, both career highs.
When Bernard got free, he was tough to grab. The Falcons had trouble getting their hands on him as he twisted and hurdled.
"I just try to make plays, man," the 5-9, 208-pound running back told Kay "At the end of the day, as long as you can make plays whichever way you can -- whether it's with a spin or hurdle or just running through people -- you just have to be able to make plays."
Their opening drive on Sunday showed their versatility. The running backs got the ball on each of the first eight plays -- Bernard ran five times and caught one pass, Hill carried once and caught a pass.
Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green left during the opening drive because he aggravated a tender ligament in his right foot, which limited him in practice during the week. Cincinnati already was missing tight end Tyler Eifert and receiver Marvin Jones because of injuries.
Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson decided to let the runners lead the way. Jackson has been emphasizing the running game more this season to take some pressure off Andy Dalton and become more balanced on offense.
Cincinnati is no longer reliant on Dalton-to-Green to win games.
"I think that is what they envisioned when they drafted me, for Gio and I to be a one-two punch," Hill said. "I think he and I complement each other well. Anytime he got a little tired, I came in and spelled him. And he did the same thing for me.
"I think we are really starting to build some chemistry together. We are going to be a duo to be dealt with this year. I'm excited and really looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, the early signs on Green's injury are positive.
If Green can't go against the Tennessee Titans this week, the Bengals' official website expects him to be ready after the Week 4 bye for the Oct. 5 game in New England.
Green's ligament strain knocked him out of Sunday's bout on the opening series, but did not require crutches after the game.
If Bernard and Mohamed Sanu can carry the offense for one more week, the Bengals will be sitting pretty in the AFC North with Green and perhaps even Jones (foot) returning to add playmaking ability outside the numbers and down the field. ...
Green did not practice Wednesday; I'll be following up on his status via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses. ...
Also: Right guard Kevin Zeitler (calf) left on crutches and it's unclear how long he'll be out, but indications are it's not a season-ender. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth (knee) walked out of the locker room and appears to be ready for next week. Vontaze Burfict was sidelined early for a second straight game.
Burfict's stinger came a week after he was forced out of the season opener in Baltimore with a concussion.
The Bengals placed tight end Alex Smith on injured reserve with a biceps injury, ending his season. ...
Other notes of interest. ... As Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson put it, Sanu got "a battlefield promotion" Sunday to No. 1 receiver with Green's toe injury and was involved in two of the prettiest throws of the day. The first one he threw himself to keep his perfect career passer rating intact and the second one he turned into his 76-yard touchdown catch off a brave throw by Dalton against the blitz.
Sanu, the all-New Jersey quarterback, has thrown three passes each in his three NFL seasons and all three have been perfect. His first one came as a rookie and was a 73-yard touchdown pass to Green out of the Wildcat formation on the first play in Washington. His second one came last season off a pitch on a sweep left and he stopped and threw it across the field the other way to Bernard for a 25-yard strike on the sideline.
And the one Sunday came off an end around to the right, and when he rose up he threw a sweet 50-yard lob job to wide receiver Brandon Tate down the right sideline that he caught over his head just before he went out of bounds.
He is now 3-for-3 for 148 yards with one TD, no picks and a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
"They're all right," he said of the throws, trying not to smile. "I'm just trying to put it up in the area where he could go make a play."
Sanu never warms up tossing the ball and he didn't again Sunday. Even Dalton shakes his head at that and he says he hasn't been giving him tips.
"Absolutely not. He doesn't even warm up," Dalton said. "You just kind of get it to him and let him throw. I think he's three for three now on his career and he throws the ball well."
Then it was Dalton's turn to throw a dart and it was to Sanu for the touchdown that was the true dagger three minutes into the second half because there was no way the Falcons were going to score two touchdowns to tie against this defense Sunday.
Dalton is having the most efficient start of his career at 105.4 with the big numbers no interceptions and 9.1 yards per attempt.
"I think the way that I'm seeing the field and the way that I've kind of been directing this offense, I think I've got a better understanding of when to take a chance and try to fit things in and when to check it down," Dalton said. "It's been good to us so far, we've got to keep that up and not try to turn the ball over. ..."
One week after going 5-for-6 on field goals (one was blocked), kicker Mike Nugent trended in the opposite direction against the Falcons when he made just one of the four field goal attempts he had. Like his first five at Baltimore, all four of Nugent's attempts Sunday came in the first half.
According to ESPN.com's Coley Harvey, the second miss, a 49-yard try, looked the worst. After appearing to be good off Nugent's foot, the ball knuckled at the last second and glided left of the goalposts. His next attempt, a 55-yarder in the final second of the second quarter, fell just short. Nugent's kickoffs weren't any better.
He had never missed three field goals in a game before Sunday's sudden case of the shanks and hooks. Not in the 109 previous NFL games he played had he been that inaccurate. Not in the four years he spent at Ohio State, either.
Still, head coach Marvin Lewis isn't ready to make a change.
"I know he'll be better next time out," Lewis said. "That's the one good thing about Mike. He's such a pro." 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Andy Dalton, Jason Campbell 
RB: Giovani Bernard, Jeremy Hill, Cedric Peerman, Rex Burkhead 
WR: A.J. Green, Mohamed Sanu, Dane Sanzenbacher, James Wright, Brandon Tate, Marvin Jones 
TE: Jermaine Gresham, Ryan Hewitt, Tyler Eifert 
PK: Mike Nugent 
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CLEVELAND BROWNS
Now that the Cleveland Browns are 1-1 after stunning the Saints, 26-24, thanks to a decisive field goal with three seconds left Sunday, they want to keep the momentum going when they host the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 21.
Quarterback Brian Hoyer took another step toward showing his 3-0 record last year was not a fluke with a 14-play, 85-yard drive to set up Billy Cundiff's 29-yard field goal.
Hoyer is 4-1 as a starter for the Browns and has engineered two fourth-quarter comebacks. Last season, in his first start for the Browns, he threw a seven-yard pass to tight end Jordan Cameron with 51 seconds left in a 31-27 victory in Minnesota.
According to the Sports Xchange, the comeback against the Saints after posting 24 points in the second half the first week, albeit in a losing cause, is significant because this summer safety Donte Whitner, a team leader, said the locker room was divided 50-50 between its support of Hoyer and rookie Johnny Manziel.
After head coach Mike Pettine named Hoyer the starter last month, Whitner made it clear Hoyer has the full support of the team, but the way Hoyer performed in the clutch, particularly after the Browns had two earlier leads and lost them, cements his place as a quarterback the team can rely on. The support he is getting goes far beyond the fact he is a Cleveland native.
"The biggest thing for me to win a game like that -- we won like that when I first started in Minnesota last year -- and you see the guys when you get back to the sideline really believing in you -- that's the greatest feeling there is," Hoyer said. "Yeah, winning the game is great, but when the guys in that room respect you, that's what it's all about. It's a great feeling."
Hoyer threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Miles Austin to open the scoring. He threw one touchdown pass in Pittsburgh. His stats are not off the charts and he is not a fantasy team owner's dream quarterback. But Hoyer is 4-1 as a starter largely because he is careful with the ball.
Hoyer has thrown 139 straight passes without being intercepted. The streak goes back to the third quarter of the game against the Vikings and ranks fifth on the Browns all-time list in that category. Next on the list is Brady Quinn, who threw 150 straight passes in 2009 without being picked. The all-time record of 308 was set by Bernie Kosar in 1990-91.
Manziel made his debut in the first series of the third quarter, but it did not amount to much. He handed off to Isaiah Crowell for a three-yard gain on second down.
Manziel replaced Hoyer for two plays in the second series of the third quarter. He handed off to Crowell on a play that lost three yards and then sprinted to his left to avoid trouble before throwing a pass fullback Ray Agnew dropped.
Significantly, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan switched back to Hoyer on third down both times.
"We had that package ready to go," head coach Mike Pettine said. "It's something we'd worked on. We worked on it for Pittsburgh and just wanted to get it out there. I thought we had stalled a little bit on offense and just wanted to see if we could catch them off-guard a little bit and get a spark. To their credit, they defended it well. ..."
To his credit, Pettine, the Browns' third coach in three years, has shown a remarkable steadiness amid difficulty. He's already had his share of major issues: Pro Bowl wide receiver Josh Gordon's suspension; the Manziel media circus; the Hoyer-Manziel quarterback decision; injuries to key players.
As Associated Press sports writer Tom Withers notes, Pettine has handled it all with finesse, strength and leadership.
"His demeanor and his attitude toward everything gives you confidence," said linebacker Paul Kruger. "It gives you an overall view of the way he sees us and the way we should see ourselves. He's done a great job in being the type of leader and the type of head coach that lets players identify their own personalities and lets them be themselves, and at the same time give us a clear vision of what's going on. ..."
So far, it's working. ...
On the injury front, Pettine said running back Ben Tate "probably" won't play Sunday against the Ravens due to his knee injury. Tate was inactive Week 2 and has said he's planning to return after the team's Week 4 bye. The coach also told reporters that Cameron (shoulder) and Barkevious Mingo (shoulder) both made progress over the weekend in their recovery from injuries.
Still, he had no update on either players' potential availability for Week 3 against the Ravens but Cameron was limited in Wednesday's practice.
With Tate still not ready, rookie Terrance West should make his second straight start Week 3.
The Browns did not run through the Saints as they did through the Steelers a week earlier, but they averaged 4.1 yards a carry with West and Crowell sharing the load. West scored a touchdown on a nine-yard run. Crowell rushed 11 times for 54 yards and proved he can make tacklers miss on a 17-yard that helped set up West's touchdown.
West is tied for fourth in the league with 168 yards rushing. ...
Other notes of interest. ... It took Andrew Hawkins only two games to surpass his reception total of 12 he posted last year with the Bengals. Hawkins caught eight against the Steelers in the opener and added six more against the Saints. His 28-yard reception set up Cundiff's game-winner
Cundiff is no stranger to kicking game-winning field goals for the Browns. He played for the Browns in six games in 2009 while Phil Dawson mended from a calf injury and kicked an 18-yard game-winning field goal with 23 seconds left in Buffalo in a 6-3 squeaker.
And finally. ... As we noted last week, the passage of the league's new drug policy will shorten Josh Gordon's suspension from a full season to 10 games.
But he's getting another benefit from the new policy as well.
According to Mike Garafolo of FOXSports, Gordon will be allowed to be around his teammates and coaches at the team facility while he's suspended, as well. This development will provide the kind of structure Gordon obviously needs. He wouldn't be allowed access to games, full practices or to travel with the team, but he'll still have the ability to work out and stay close to the Browns, giving him a chance to be ready when his suspension is up.
Also. ... Gordon has pleaded guilty to driving while impaired on Tuesday. Under the new drug policy, a first offense will trigger a two-game suspension. Under the old drug policy, a first offense results in no suspension and a maximum fine of $50,000. According to Profootballtalk.com, Gordon pleaded guilty now to ensure that he will not receive a two-game suspension for the DUI charges.
The guilty plea was submitted by Gordon's lawyer; he was not required to appear personally in court. In exchange for the plea, Gordon received a 60-day suspended sentence. He also must pay a $100 fine. His driver's license has been suspended.
Gordon is expected to be suspended a total of 10 games under the new substance-abuse policy. Previously, he had been suspended for the entire 2014 season. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel 
RB: Terrance West, Isaiah Crowell, Ben Tate 
WR: Miles Austin, Andrew Hawkins, Travis Benjamin, Taylor Gabriel, LaRon Byrd, Marlon Moore 
TE: Jordan Cameron, Gary Barnidge, Jim Dray 
PK: Billy Cundiff 
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DALLAS COWBOYS
DeMarco Murray reversed field and sprinted around right end for the first down, sliding just before the sideline with the Cowboys running out the clock during their win at Tennessee.
According to Associated Press sports writer Schuyler Dixon, that play in the fourth quarter Sunday said a lot about Murray and the Cowboys' sudden fascination with the running game. It was his career-high 27th carry, which means the Cowboys kept giving him the ball and counted on him to make the smart play after he lost a fumble early for the second straight game.
Murray finished with 29 carries for 167 yards in a 26-10 victory marked by 43 running plays from the Cowboys, their most since a win at Indianapolis in late 2010. He entered Monday leading the NFL with 285 yards.
"I think he is a star on the rise and I think that is something that he is going to continue to have to work on, protecting the football," tight end Jason Witten said. "But when he has that type of game, I hate to even talk about that. That is a big game for us, and just the demeanor that we want to have as a football team."
The Cowboys (1-1), who finish a two-game road swing at St. Louis on Sunday, stuck with the running game in the season-opening loss to San Francisco even after falling behind 28-3 at halftime. Playing from ahead against the Titans, the show of force was more dramatic behind an offensive line with three first-round picks from the past four drafts.
When Dallas decided the lead was safe and sent Murray to the bench, Lance Dunbar got three straight carries for another first down. The 220 yards rushing were the most for the Cowboys in almost two years. Tony Romo's offense suddenly looks like a run-first attack.
"Obviously, we featured the running game," head coach Jason Garrett said. "Tony was more of a complementary player, but I think he played a good game for us."
It's not often that Romo is described that way for a team that has leaned heavily on him through eight years as the starter.
But the Cowboys might also be trying to recapture the Super Bowl-winning formula from the 1990s, when Garrett was a backup quarterback and Emmitt Smith was on his way to becoming the league's all-time rushing leader.
That's the most interesting part of Murray's fast start. He's the first Dallas back since Smith in 1999 to start the season with consecutive 100-yard games. The only other Cowboys player to do it? Tony Dorsett, another Super Bowl winner.
"It's still early and we have a lot of work to do," Murray said. "We are heading in the right way though."
Things aren't likely to change against the Rams. Murray set a franchise record with 253 yards against them in his first game as a featured back his rookie season.
His career high in carries before the Tennessee visit was 26 against St. Louis last season, when he ran for another 175 yards in his only other game against the Rams.
Murray, who's missed 11 games in his first three seasons, has carried the ball 51 times in the Cowboys' first two games.
It's the highest two-game total of his career.
"We've talked about him being a guy who can be a bell cow," Garrett said, "and there's never been any evidence to me from the minute he showed up at the Dallas Cowboys that he couldn't do these kinds of things."
Also worth noting: As ESPN.com pointed out, although he's lost two this season, Murray is not a player with a reputation for fumbling. In his first three seasons, he fumbled seven times, losing three, in 542 carries. ...
Worth noting: Romo still looks like he's trying to regain his old form coming off surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back. The December procedure was the second on his back in eight months. And Wednesday, after Romo was absent from practice, Profootballtalk.com tweeted there were whispers on Monday that Romo is injured again but they couldn't corroborate them. ..
This one bears watching. I'll have more in coming days (watch for Late-Breaking Updates). ...
Other notes of interest. ... As Dez Bryant lined up for the first snap of the game, he looked up and saw two Titans cornerbacks lineup up against him.
As ESPN.com's Todd Archer suggests, there was nothing remotely subtle about this double-team. The Titans were treating Bryant like he was a gunner on the punt team, using two guys to jam him at the line of scrimmage and keep him from getting into his route.
"Sign of respect," Bryant said, smiling. "There's nothing else to that."
Bryant, the Dallas Cowboys' go-to guy, saw that kind of coverage in last season's loss to the New Orleans Saints. He saw it again later Sunday afternoon.
But Bryant had plenty of opportunities against traditional coverage against the Titans, catching 10 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown.
"You've just got to make a play when your number is called," Bryant said. "That's it."
"I'm going to have to go to practice and work on it," Bryant said. "I am. I don't think you really can [beat that coverage], but in my mind, I can beat anything."
The sight of Bryant walking to the locker room with an athletic trainer in the first quarter provided a scare to many a fantasy owners. But the shoulder injury caused Bryant to miss just one series.
Bryant played the rest of the game with extra padding on his right shoulder, which he hurt when he came down hard on it after catching a pass across the middle on the Cowboys' first drive of the game.
"I'll fight through anything," Bryant said. "As you see, I came back and did what I do. It's good, it's good, it's good. It might be sore in the morning, but it's good right now."
That said, Bryant was running sprints on the side while teammates practiced on Wednesday. It seems unlikely Bryant is in danger of missing game time, but I'll have more in the Late-Breaking Updates section as the week progresses. ...
Backup running back Joseph Randle exited early in the third quarter after suffering a concussion covering a kickoff. Randle, who gained 26 yards on three carries and had a tackle on special teams, will have to pass the NFL's concussion protocol before being cleared to practice or play. ...
And finally. ... Dan Bailey made four field goals against the Titans of 48, 44, 51 and 48 yards. He has now made 26 straight kicks, tying Chris Boniol for the second longest streak in team history. He is one shy of Boniol's record of 27 for the longest streak in team history. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Tony Romo, Brandon Weeden, Dustin Vaughan 
RB: DeMarco Murray, Lance Dunbar, Joseph Randle 
FB: Tyler Clutts 
WR: Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley, Dwayne Harris, Devin Street 
TE: Jason Witten, Gavin Escobar, James Hanna 
PK: Dan Bailey 
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DENVER BRONCOS
Peyton Manning didn't take a single second-half snap in the preseason, and he's barely breaking a sweat after halftime in the regular season.
"It's part of football," Manning said. "I've been in games like that where you get excited on third-and-long, start warming up, ready to get out there. The defense out there, they were maybe bending a little, but not breaking."
As Associated Press sports writer Arnie Stapleton notes, Manning has been a machine in the first half so far, driving the Broncos (2-0) to scores on seven of nine possessions, not counting kneel-downs.
All six of his touchdown throws have come before the break, however.
After halftime, he's had just one TD drive and one field goal drive in eight series, excluding two victory formations.
Stapleton notes these Jekyll and Hyde halves are certainly disconcerting, but the Broncos insist it's also just the nature of the NFL.
"As I mentioned last night, there's not a lot of 58-0 games in this league," head coach John Fox said Monday. "It's all a concern but when you look at the first quarter of our season, every team is a 10-win team. One's the defending Super Bowl champs and we trot to their place this week."
Cornerback Chris Harris called Sunday's showdown at Seattle a barometer, although he insisted he knows exactly where the Broncos stand right now.
"Hey, we're 2-0 going on the road trying to be 3-0 and that's the best place you can be: undefeated," Harris said. "And we have lofty goals and all the fans have lofty goals for us. They expect us to kill everybody every week. You all (reporters) probably do, too. But it's the NFL. Teams are coming to play us like it's the Super Bowl every week."
Fox isn't about to grade the quality of the Broncos' wins, both by seven points -- much less than fans and bookmakers expected.
"I don't think anybody's playing their best football of the year after Week 2. And I'd say it's a fair assessment that we aren't, either," Fox said. "That's something that you try to do is improve every day and every week. So, hopefully we're playing our best football well into the playoffs."
A big part of the problem is that Denver's defense is allowing third-down conversions more than half the time.
"We've got to be more consistent on third down and not letting guys run out of the pocket and make plays on us," DeMarcus Ware said. "We have to get better at that because going against Russell Wilson, that's what he does best."
Even when Manning does take the field, he's seeing too many yellow flags and dropped passes sending him and his record-setting offense right back to the bench.
Manning has been on the field for just 21:59 in the second half so far. He's spent the other 38:21 looking on with mixture of anticipation and anxiety.
"That's how teams are going to play us," Harris said. "They want to keep the ball away from Peyton and it's our job to get off the field."
As ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold put it: "The Broncos certainly won't put a frame around this one after a somewhat choppy performance with ill-timed penalties, inconsistency on defense and an off-and-on day on offense when the numbers looked better than the actual output. But the Broncos were able to win without their best fastball in an early AFC West matchup. ..."
Also worth noting. ... Manning's six TD passes, putting him three shy of joining Brett Favre in the 500-TD club, have ultimately stood up, allowing the Broncos to become the first team since the 2009 Atlanta Falcons to open a season with consecutive wins over teams that won 11 or more games the year before.
Now come the Seahawks, who ripped them 43-8 in the Super Bowl. But Fox said it's not like the Broncos are more amped this week than any other.
"Well, hopefully you get jacked up to play every week," Fox said. "Because if you don't, usually you get jacked up. ..."
On the injury front. ... Notes: Fox didn't have an update on LBs Von Miller (strained groin) or Lerentee McCray (knee) but did say McCray's injury isn't season-ending. ... The Broncos blamed a rash of offside penalties on Chiefs C Rodney Hudson: "The squatting and turning of head fairly abruptly is something we'll make sure the league knows about," Fox said. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Wes Welker will return this week in the wake of the NFL and NFLPA agreeing to a new policy. Welker's positive test for amphetamines in the offseason will transfer to the league's substance-abuse program, and since it's his first offense, will result in no suspension, but placement in Stage 1 of the league's substance-abuse testing protocol.
The question then becomes what happens to the pecking order at wideout?
Sure, Demaryius Thomas is going to remain the No. 1. But Emmanuel Sanders opened Sunday's game with a 48-yard reception on a post route and finished with the first 100-yard game of his five-season career. He has 185 yards on 14 receptions so far this season.
It'll be interesting to see what happens to those numbers with Welker coming back. ...
The receiving corps cut its drops from four in Week 1 to one, by Andre Caldwell. ...
As the Sports Xchange notes, Ronnie Hillman was active, but did not play against the Chiefs. Hillman sat out Week 1 after being hospitalized following the preseason finale in Dallas for an undisclosed illness. He practiced leading up to Week 1, but was inactive.
Tight end Jacob Tamme was busy Sunday, playing all but 12 snaps. Tamme saw action in the slot, at tight end and outside as the Broncos moved him around to continue emphasizing two-tight end packages and to replace Welker. His playing time will likely diminish with Welker back.
Worth noting: Five of Manning's six touchdown passes have gone to the team's tight ends so far -- four to Julius Thomas and one to Tamme. And four of those scoring plays have come in the two-tight-end set with Welker out of the lineup. The Broncos have also spent far more time in the two-tight-end set, including all but one snap this past Sunday. And they are consistently creating matchup problems with it all over the field.
If Welker isn't ready for full duty -- he's only practiced once, on a limited basis, since Aug. 23 -- or the Broncos want to limit his snaps since he has had three concussions in 10 months, it's clear they have a viable option that's more than a change of pace. Last season they used a variety of offensive sets early, but down the stretch they were almost exclusively in three wide. 

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

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DETROIT LIONS
According to Associated Press sports writer Noah Trister, it's hard to say what Jim Caldwell's biggest concern should be following his first loss as coach of the Detroit Lions.
Turnovers? After an impressive season opener, the Lions reverted to old habits, losing two fumbles and an interception in last weekend's loss to Carolina.
Missed field goals? Rookie Nate Freese had two, which cost Detroit points in what was for the most part a close game.
Injuries? Rookie Nevin Lawson needed surgery after going down with dislocated toes, leaving an already suspect secondary facing even more challenges. Lawson was placed on IR Tuesday.
"Everything that happened in the game is correctable," said Caldwell, who was hired in the offseason to replace Jim Schwartz as Detroit's coach.
After breezing to a prime-time win over the New York Giants in their opener, the Lions lost 24-7 at Carolina on Sunday. Detroit outgained the Panthers and didn't allow a touchdown until late in the third quarter, but mistakes eventually caught up with the Lions -- and now injuries are already beginning to mount.
Caldwell said Monday he does not expect Lawson to return this year. Detroit entered the season with a number of questions in the secondary after losing cornerback Chris Houston and safety Louis Delmas in the offseason. Now Lawson and cornerback Bill Bentley are dealing with long-term injuries. Bentley hurt his knee in the season opener Sept. 8 and went on injured reserve.
Safety James Ihedigbo also has been out with a neck problem.
"I think any time you can get consistency where injuries don't set you back a little bit -- and every week you have someone new at a spot -- I think it helps you," Caldwell said. "Particularly in a new system, a new way of doing things, the more reps they can get the better they'll become at it and I think it's just a matter of time. Overall I think at every position that's key for us."
Matthew Stafford threw for 291 yards and a touchdown, but his deep pass to Calvin Johnson early in the fourth quarter was tipped by one defender and intercepted by another. Joique Bell and Jeremy Ross lost fumbles.
Freese, who was drafted in the seventh round by the Lions this year, missed twice from 49 yards. He's 0 for 3 so far from 40 yards and out.
"We're still discussing, talking, looking at different options. I still believe that this young man is going to be a fine kicker in this league," Caldwell said. "We'll see how it goes here, but I still believe, you look at him he had three kicks of 50 yards-plus in the preseason, so you know he can get it out there. Sometimes the guys have a bad day but we'll look at that. In terms of whether or not we're going to bring kickers in, we never talk about who we're going to bring in."
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the team had Garrett Hartley, Rob Bironas and Alex Henery in for a look on Tuesday.
Hartley was dropped by the Saints last December after making 22-of-30 field goal tries through that point in the season. Bironas was released in March as a cost-saving move by the Titans while Henery was cut by the Eagles last month in favor of Cody Parkey.
Freese is trying to stay the course.
"I never get too high, never get too low," Freese said. "Even when I'm hitting the ball really well and I make as many kicks in a row, I've still got to approach each game, each week as the same."
Caldwell would like the team in general to take that approach.
"What you have to make certain of is that everybody needs to understand that this only counts as one game. This team is not 0-12, or anything of that nature, so there's some balance to it," Caldwell said. "Just like last week there weren't a bunch of guys hollering about the win, they were level-headed and I believe they will handle the loss the exact same way. We will be level-headed, get our corrections made, focus on our next opponent and move forward."
The Lions play their first division game of the season on Sunday, facing rival Green Bay at Ford Field. ...
Other notes of interest. ... As ESPN.com's Michael Rothstein notes, when the Lions signed Golden Tate as their biggest free-agent acquisition in March, they did so with the plan he would open up the entire offense. He would become a sticky target for Stafford and deflect attention away from Johnson as a pure No. 2 receiver.
Through a game and a quarter, this worked, as Tate was targeted five times in the first quarter against Carolina on Sunday, catching four passes for 51 yards. Then, for the first time this season, a team took away Tate and helped turn the game.
Stafford targeted Tate only three more times the entire game and he caught only one more pass, finishing with five grabs for 57 yards. It isn't a bad stat line, but it also showed what could happen when a team eliminates him from the plan.
"They just paid more attention to me," Tate said. "For the most part, they did a good job of keeping me in front of them, not letting me behind the defense. That's what I noticed the most."
The Panthers didn't exactly shift their coverage to eliminate Tate, but they started to pick up on things they saw in their film study during the week. Based on where Tate was lined up in Detroit's offense, the Panthers predicted the route he would run or the area of the field he would be aiming to end up in. Carolina knew there was a chance Tate and the Lions could adjust, but more often than not, they said they were right.
Johnson said Carolina "mixed up their coverages pretty well." Stafford said it was "the way the reads go" as to why Tate was open in the first quarter and disappeared for the rest of the game.
And that made the Lions dependent on Johnson, which is an all-too-familiar issue for Detroit. It wasn't necessarily the Panthers' strategy entering the game, but it is what happened.
This is exactly what Detroit wanted to escape from -- and for a quarter it did. Then it returned to a past the Lions are trying to distance themselves from. ...
Also according to Rothstein, rookie tight end Eric Ebron had his first career catch in the first half and caught three of his five targets for 38 yards. ...
According to the Sports Xchange, Bell's fumble hurt significantly. The 18 carries for 70 yards was understandable against a tough Carolina front, but the Lions had no balance in the game. Bell led the team with 36 yards on 10 carries while Reggie Bush had 26 yards on six carries.
By the way, Bush may be listed as the starting running back, but the snaps don't lie.
Bell is seeing more action.
According to Rothstein, that's one of the biggest things to pull from the first two weeks of snap counts, particularly Sunday against Carolina, where Bell had 42 plays compared to Bush's 29. The more interesting part is Bush's usage seemed to go down as the game wore on, even as the Lions were shifting from a balanced team to a team needing to pass to score because they fell behind.
And then there's Bell's fumble -- offensive coordinator
said he isn't going to punish a guy for fumbling once or twice as long as it isn't habit-forming. The fumble didn't hurt his usage, either. Last week, Bell had five more snaps than Bush.
It always felt like the Bell/Bush combination would be a time-sharing situation anyway, but the way it has broken down so far certainly is an indication that it might be Bell more than Bush as Detroit's main running back.
Meanwhile, Theo Riddick had just two offensive snaps Sunday as the third back. 

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

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GREEN BAY PACKERS
As the Sports Xchange put it, if quarterback Aaron Rodgers is showing favoritism to receiver Jordy Nelson in the Packers offense at the outset of the season, so be it.
That is the sentiment of head coach Mike McCarthy, who also happens to call the plays for Green Bay's offense.
"There's no issue from our end," McCarthy said Monday.
A day earlier, Rodgers targeted Nelson a game-high 16 times. Nelson caught nine of those passes for a career-high 209 yards. An 80-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Nelson late in the third quarter completed the Packers' stirring 31-24 comeback victory over the visiting New York Jets.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Rodgers had never before thrown that many passes toward a single receiver in one game. The previous week, Rodgers went to Nelson 14 times.
Green Bay (1-1) overcame a 21-3 deficit in the second quarter to mount the biggest rally for a win with Rodgers at quarterback in his seventh season as a starter.
"Jordy gives you those opportunities to really make some special plays," Rodgers said after the game.
Rodgers is giving his top go-to receiver plenty of opportunities to make plays. Nelson has been targeted 30 times in Green Bay's first two games. By comparison, the rest of the Packers' active receiver group Randall Cobb, Jarrett Boykin and rookie Davante Adams -- has been targeted a combined 25 times.
Nelson has turned the excessive exposure into nine receptions in each game. The 18 catches, which tie Nelson with New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham for the league lead, are the most ever by a Packer after two games.
"We're just having a good time," said Nelson, a seventh-year pro who prefers to avoid the limelight.
Coming off a 2013 season in which he had career highs for catches (85) and receiving yards (1,314) along with eight touchdown receptions, Nelson signed a four-year, $39 million contract extension during the first weekend of training camp in late July.
"He's pretty impressive. You take it for granted sometimes," Rodgers said. "He's not a big 'me' guy or pumping himself a lot. So, he kind of gets overlooked at times. But, we know around here what kind of player he is. The people in the league, I think, have a lot of respect for him, too and they will, especially if they watch this film" of Sunday's game.
Rodgers added on Tuesday that he does not see a downside to it.
"If teams are going to start rolling some coverage to Jordy, then we need our other guys to step up and we need to be able to run the ball more effectively," Rodgers said on his show.
"That's a lot of targets," Rodgers said. "We've spread the ball around pretty good over the years because that's the way we run our offense. We throw to the open guy, we go through our progressions and a lot of guys have opportunities to be the No. 1 on various plays. ..."
But so far, Nelson has been it this season. We'll see if that continues this week as the Packers play their first NFC North game next Sunday at the Detroit Lions.
Other notes of interest. ... Rodgers jumped ahead of Pro Football Hall of Famer Bart Starr for second place on the Packers' all-time list for passing yards. Rodgers threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns on 25-for-42 passing as Green Bay overcame an early 18-point deficit on Sunday.
Rodgers has 24,732 career passing yards, eclipsing Starr's total of 24,718. Brett Favre is the club's runaway leader with 61,655 passing yards.
The season is two games old, and Eddie Lacy hasn't reached the century mark for rushing yards combined. In the wake of being knocked out of the opener at Seattle with a fourth-quarter concussion, Lacy was fine for Sunday but again encountered plenty of resistance. He had but 34 yards in 12 carries against the Seahawks, then was left with more mediocre numbers of 13 attempts for 43 yards (average of 3.3 per rush, long of 10) on Sunday.
For a while, a scrambling Rodgers was the team's top rusher against the Jets, finishing with 28 yards (long of 11) in six opportunities, including two kneel-downs that knocked off two yards at the end of the game. But overall, the Packers managed just 80 yards and an average of 3.6 yards per attempt on the ground against New York's formidable front.
RT Bryan Bulaga didn't play in Sunday's win after being listed as questionable for the game. Bulaga practiced on a very limited basis last week after sustaining a torn MCL in his left knee in the Sept. 4 season opener. With Bulaga held out against the Jets, former first-round draft pick Derek Sherrod made his first pro start.
The preliminary reviews on Sherrod were favorable.
"Playing against a good front (for the Jets), overall he performed well," offensive coordinator Tom Clements said of Sherrod on Monday. "He performed, he improved from the week before when he got a lot of playing time in Seattle (as Bulaga's replacement). So, he's progressing, and it's good to see him in there playing. ..."
Adams was on the field for more snaps than Boykin against the Jets, with the rookie getting 37 plays compared to Boykin's 25. Adams also outproduced Boykin, with the youngster getting his first five receptions as a pro, good for 50 yards, highlighted by a pivotal 24-yard catch-and-run on third-and-10 during Green Bay's impressive 10-play, 97-yard touchdown drive in the waning moments of the first half.
Boykin caught one pass for six yards. ...
TE Brandon Bostick made his season debut Sunday after missing the opener because of a fractured fibula. Bostick was relegated to special-teams duties. 

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, Jarrett Boykin, Davante Adams, Jeff Janis 
TE: Richard Rodgers, Andrew Quarless, Ryan Taylor, Brandon Bostick 
PK: Mason Crosby 
=========================

=========================
HOUSTON TEXANS
According to Associated Press sports writer Kristie Rieken, the Houston Texans had the worst turnover margin in the NFL when they went 2-14 last season.
Two games into this year, and Houston is tied for second-best in the league in that category at plus-five. The Texans forced four turnovers in Sunday's 30-14 win at Oakland, using a couple of big plays by the secondary to improve to 2-0 after dropping their last 14 games in 2013.
"That's something that we ... drive on, even in practice," free safety Kendrick Lewis said. "It showed up in the game. Guys going after the ball, no matter if it's a running back breaking through, if it's a receiver catching the ball and turning up. We're stripping at the ball, trying to cause turnovers any way we can."
Lewis has been a nice addition to Houston's defense, starting both games at free safety. He spent his first four years in the NFL in Kansas City, where he started 15 games last season and finished with 56 tackles and an interception.
Houston grabbed two interceptions and recovered two fumbles against the Raiders
The Texans converted the turnovers into 10 points and improved to 8-0 in franchise history when they are plus-four in turnover margin.
"There's a little bit of luck involved sometimes in it, but I think overall it's a very aggressive game plan and aggressive defense," head coach Bill O'Brien said. "Guys are trying to make plays on the ball."
While the secondary forced the bulk of the turnovers on Sunday, the group noted that Houston's defensive front, led by defensive end J.J. Watt, contributed to its success. Lewis pointed out that pressure on the quarterback makes it easier for the defensive backs to make plays.
Of course, the offense also has contributed to the turnaround in turnover margin, having lost the ball just one time this season. A large part of Houston's undoing last season was Matt Schaub throwing nine interceptions in the first six games before being benched.
"(Games) come down to third-down conversions, they come down to red area percentage and then obviously, probably most importantly, they come down to turnovers," O'Brien said. "So, if you're the team that doesn't turn it over and the other team does turn it over, then you've got a heck of a shot to win and our team is doing a pretty good job of that right now."
Managing the turnovers is part of the equation; relying heavily on the rushing attack is the other.
As ESPN.com's Tania Ganguli pointed out this week, Arian Foster has 55 carries already this season -- the highest total any running back has had since 2006.
O'Brien steadfastly maintains the team will give Foster as many carries as is necessary for the team to win, whether that's 10 carries a game or 35. On Monday he admitted the Texans will probably spread out carries among the rest of the Texans' running backs later in the season.
"Certainly when you look at one player getting a ton of carries, that's something that you have to pay attention to as a staff," O'Brien said. "We do that. But also we do what's necessary to win a game."
If you go back to 2001, LaDainian Tomlinson is the player with the most carries in the first two games with 63. In the past 10 years, running backs have had 50 or more carries in the first two games of the season 21 times. Three of those occurrences were by Foster. In 2010, Foster's first full year as the Texans' featured back, Foster had 52 carries in his first two games. He had 54 in 2012.
In his career, Foster has more than 1,200 carries. He's eclipsed 300 carries (including the playoffs) in three different seasons and had more than 400 carries in 2012.
That's a running back with a lot of mileage.
There's no doubting Foster's talent, which is a big part of why his coaches have used him so much. His patience behind an offensive line, that joined him in getting game balls from O'Brien today, has meant great things for the Texans' offense.
Spreading around the carries, when possible, would likely extend his time during which he'll be able to help the Texans.
Given all that, it's worth noting rookie running back Alfred Blue enjoyed a productive performance on the ground against the Raiders.
Blue worked behind Arian Foster and received the majority of his reps in the fourth quarter when the game was well in hand for the Texans. He took 11 handoffs for 40 yards on the ground, averaging 4.6 yards per attempt. He was not targeted in the passing game. Jonathan Grimes is the other candidate for touches.
Don't expect either of Blue or Grimes to become viable fantasy weapons unless something happens to Foster. ...
At Oakland, the Texans ran 46 times for 188 yards. The running game allowed them to dominate the time of possession with 38 minutes, 36 seconds. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw his last pass with 4:02 left in the third quarter.
Not counting backup quarterback Ryan Mallett taking a knee on the last play of the game, the Texans ran 16 consecutive times in the fourth quarter.
That's unlikely to change when the Texans travel to New York for a Week 3 showdown against the Giants. ...
Other notes of interest. ... For the second consecutive game, Fitzpatrick didn't commit a turnover, and he wasn't sacked. He was remarkably efficient, connecting on 14-of-19 for 139 yards and two touchdowns. He threw an exceptional, back-shoulder, 12-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins.
According to the Sports Xchange, most of his passes in the first two games have been near the middle of the field. So far, he hasn't forced balls into coverage, a problem that plagued him with previous teams. Of his 14 completions, nine went to Andre Johnson and Hopkins.
Fitzpatrick has a 118.4 rating. He ranks second in the NFL to Peyton Manning.
Hopkins has two touchdown catches in two games. Johnson has none -- one fewer than Watt.
As for Watt's touchdown catch against the Raiders?
"That's not a trick play at all," O'Brien said. "I think it's good, sound football. I thought we called that play at the right time. They had stuffed us [on the play before]. ... We ran it on first down and didn't get anything, I think we lost half a yard. And then with that call on second down, it was good. It was good timing of the call and J.J. made a nice play."
It speaks to the creativity of this coaching staff and their willingness to depart from the mundane.
Last year after Watt ran a goal-line offensive play during training camp, former coach Gary Kubiak laughed off the thought of using Watt on offense. Watt lobbied then, and it didn't work. But he still put time in on the Jugs machines, joining receivers after training camp practices, working on his hands just in case.
Watt's long arms and sure hands, combined with his size, make him an easy target for a quarterback.
K Randy Bullock had made 16 consecutive field goals dating back to last season before he had a 27-yard blocked in the fourth quarter against Oakland. 

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

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INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
As Colts.com staffer Kevin Bowen notes, on the verge of a victory on Monday Night Football, the Colts could not hold on to a 14-point second-half lead against the Eagles.
The Colts put together one of their finest rushing outputs in a long time but it wasn't enough to fend off the high-powered attack of the Eagles.
All week long, the talk for the Colts centered on how they would defend one of the league's most innovative offensive attacks.
That was accomplished, for a half. The Indianapolis defense definitely weathered the early storm, holding the Eagles to just six points at halftime.
A 17-6 halftime lead grew to 20-6, midway through the third quarter, before the tide began to turn towards the visiting sideline.
Meanwhile, the plan on Monday night was to chew up yardage via the ground and that's exactly what the Colts accomplished.
Getting off to a faster start was also a priority all week long and the Colts did that behind 69 first quarter rushing yards, the largest opening frame output for the team since 2007.
With the Colts facing an early third-and-one, the running game took off on a 29-yard run from Ahmad Bradshaw.
It was another productive evening for Bradshaw as he finished the game with 13 carries for 70 yards (also chipped in with 5 catches for 26 yards).
"When you've got a player like Ahmad, running hard, catching the ball, doing good on third-down, scoring touchdowns, that's always been AB," Trent Richardson said after the game.
"When you've got a player like Ahmad that is an older guy and still moving like he's moving, you are blessed to have a person on a team like that."
Richardson turned in his best game as a Colt, with 21 carries for 79 yards.
What Richardson couldn't shake though was a late third quarter fumble, which set up the Eagles with a short field to eventually tie the score at 20.
"That last series we shouldn't have been in that situation," Richardson said of his fumble that erased the Colts lead.
"It's on me. My fumble should have never happened. I made a poor decision. I don't fumble. That's not my identity."
The friendly fire of the Colts offense plagued what was otherwise an ideal night for the team's rushing output.
A 38-carry, 169-yard evening for the Colts rushing offense was the team's highest total since their Week Three victory last year in San Francisco.
In the Eagles previous six games, they had held opponents to an average of 72.7 rushing yards per game.
"It felt great," Bradshaw said of the Colts run game. "We all dedicated ourselves this week to run the football."
Given their defensive woes, it's something they should continue doing. And there's reason to expect success as the Colts turn their attention to the AFC South and a trip to Jacksonville on Sunday afternoon with both teams looking for their first win of 2014.
"It stinks. It's not good," Luck said of the Colts 0-2 record.
"We realize it's not the end of the season by any means. Our minds are now, 'Hey, onto the next one.' Whoever that is, we know we've got to get in the win column and get moving in the right direction. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... As ESPN.com's Mike Wells notes, so much has been talked about when it comes to how the Colts are doing a poor job with tackling and putting pressure on the quarterback. But Luck and the offense don't get a free pass, either. They've had their fair share of mistakes, too.
They got into Denver's territory eight times in Week 1, only to score on half of those trips. The Colts had two costly turnovers the Eagles turned into 14 points on Monday.
"Yeah, the friendly fire, it will kill you," head coach Chuck Pagano said. "Just like I told them in there, it's so hard to win at this level. It doesn't matter how good you play, all the games come down to one-score games. It doesn't matter. You've got to eliminate friendly fire and you've got to finish games. You've got to put people away.
"We had a chance to put people away and we didn't do anything in the first part of that third quarter. We got off the field on defense, but we couldn't do anything offensively. We had our chances again and we didn't capitalize."
Tight end Dwayne Allen said it best after the game.
"There's no falling back on, 'We're a young team and we're still learning,'" he said. "The whole 'young' title is out the door. We're a football team, and we're an experienced football team."
For what it's worth, the tight end snaps were divided up with Allen playing 58 snaps, Coby Fleener 52 and Jack Doyle 36.
At running back, Bradshaw played 44 snaps and Richardson logged 30.
Reggie Wayne paced the receivers with 58 snaps. T.Y. Hilton had 49 and Hakeem Nicks had 29.
Hilton was non-existent in the first half, catching only two passes for 13 yards because the Colts were focused on running the ball. But he became Lucks' go-to receiver. He had four catches for 52 yards in the second half. ... Worth noting: Hilton was limited in practice Wednesday due to a groin injury. ...
The Colts signed running back Dion Lewis last week to bolster a running back corps left thinner than they'd like by Vick Ballard's season-ending injury, but it looks like another injury may be forcing the team to reallocate their resources.
Indianapolis announced Tuesday that they have waived Lewis and signed defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles off of the Patriots' practice squad. Lewis did not play on Monday night. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Andrew Luck, Matt Hasselbeck, Chandler Harnish 
RB: Trent Richardson, Ahmad Bradshaw, Dan Herron, Dion Lewis 
FB: Mario Harvey 
WR: Reggie Wayne, T.Y. Hilton, Hakeem Nicks, Donte Moncrief, Griff Whalen, Da'Rick Rogers 
TE: Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener, Jack Doyle 
PK: Adam Vinatieri 
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JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
It all started with so much promise. ... But the Jaguars have been outscored 75-10 since jumping out to a surprising 17-0 halftime lead at Philadelphia in the season opener.
As Associated Press sports writer Mark Long suggested, it would be easier for the team to handle their latest double-digit loss had just a few things gone wrong at Washington.
The Jaguars (0-2) allowed a franchise-record 10 sacks, some of them self-induced by quarterback Chad Henne, and managed just 148 total yards. Center Jacques McClendon and right tackle Cam Bradfield were benched, rookie Allen Hurns dropped a sure touchdown pass on the opening drive and tight end Marcedes Lewis was lost for six to eight weeks with a high-ankle sprain.
The defense had major issues, too.
Jacksonville gave up 449 yards, including eight plays of 15 or more yards, and missed a stunning 21 tackles. And most of those came after Washington lost quarterback Robert Griffin III and receiver DeSean Jackson in the first quarter. The Jaguars allowed points on four of five drives in the second half, struggled again to cover opposing tight ends and benched linebacker LaRoy Reynolds and cornerback Dwayne Gratz.
Although it wasn't the most lopsided loss in coach Gus Bradley's two seasons, it may have been the most disappointing.
The Jaguars thought they would be able to compete with Washington, which was coming off a 4-12 season and lost its opener 17-6 at Houston a week ago.
It turned out to be wishful thinking.
"There are going to be some changes taking place," Bradley said.
Bradley won't, however, be making a switch at quarterback when the Jaguars host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Henne completed 14 of 28 passes for 193 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.
"After looking at the tape, I thought he had a tough day," Bradley said. "He had 14 hits, and then on top of it, the missed assignments that we had at other positions. That's the truth right now without evaluating anything, and if you're asking me right now, yeah Chad Henne is our starter."
Asked whether he was leaving open the possibility of making a change later in the week, Bradley said. "We haven't even talked about that part of it."
"It's hard. I know what you're asking, but I can't answer that right now," he added. "Right now, I can just say that was not part of our discussion. We looked at him and said we've got to do something with the protection regardless of who's in there. We've got to get these things right. Those were discussions we've had up until this point."
The Jaguars could get right tackle Austin Pasztor back at practice after he missed a month with a broken hand, and receiver Cecil Shorts said he will practice Wednesday after missing two games with a hamstring injury. Tight end Clay Harbor (calf) continues to progress and the Jaguars are optimistic he'll be able to practice on Wednesday. Toby Gerhart will continue to work through a sore ankle (although he did not practice Wednesday).
Safety Johnathan Cyprien remains in the NFL's concussion program, still not cleared for contact.
Hurns also was in a boot Monday because of a sprained left ankle. He was not practicing Wednesday.
Bradley had no second thoughts about what happened leading up to Hurns' injury.
Instead of running out the clock in a blowout, Henne threw a sideline pass to Hurns for a 3-yard gain on a fourth-and-16 play. Hurns was hurt during the tackle.
"I think that the message to our team is we're going to compete every play," Bradley said. "At the end of the game, in that situation, it was an unfortunate deal that took place, but that's our mindset."
The mindset now is how to bounce back from the team's 20th double-digit loss in its last 34 games -- 12th during Bradley's 18-game tenure.
"It's too early to push the panic button," Gerhart said. "It's Week 2, we're 0-2, two games on the road. Starting off against two good defenses on the road. We're looking forward to playing at home, right the ship and get rolling. ..."
Needless to say I'll be following up on Shorts and Hurns via Late-Breaking Update in coming days.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars waived Bradfield and placed Lewis on short-term injured reserve.
The moves came Tuesday. Bradfield was replaced by veteran Sam Young in the second half. Young or Austin Pasztor, who missed the last month with a broken hand, will start Sunday against Indianapolis.
Lewis sustained a high-ankle sprain against the Redskins and will miss six to eight weeks. He was placed on IR/designated for return, meaning he can't practice for six weeks and can't return to the active roster for eight weeks. With recently signed Mickey Shuler the only other healthy tight end on the roster, the Jaguars are hopeful that Harbor is ready to return to action after missing the preseason and the team's first two games.
The team also signed receiver Tavarres King off Carolina's practice squad and promoted tight end Marcel Jensen from the practice squad to the active roster. ...
Other notes of interest. ... For what it's worth, at least one teammate believes the widespread criticism of Henne is coming "from people who don't know football."
"If you know football, if you get in the film room and understand what's going on, they'll say something else," Shorts told the team's official website. "Now, if you're better than Chad, bring your butt here and play quarterback. You feel me? There's more than what's on TV. It's bigger than that."
Said Shorts: "Chad is my quarterback, period. Done deal. ..."
In fact, Bradley said that the number of mental errors that Marquise Lee, Hurns and Allen Robinson made against the Redskins was in the "double digits." He termed that "far too many" and said that the team has already pared back the playbook to a point where he feels the players should be able to handle what's asked of them.
"Are we asking too much? Is there too much in the game plan? Or, in turn, do they need to be held accountable for what we're asking them to do and they need to feel a stronger sense of accountability?" Bradley told the Florida Times-Union. "It's a young group, but that's no excuse. We're all in the NFL now. The demands we place on them, they have to be able to handle that. We've already cut back quite a bit. I think at times we've got to teach some of the players that the responsibility falls on them."
As Profootballtalk.com suggests, even if Shorts returns this week, his presence won't suddenly turn rookies into savvy veterans who have everything down pat.
Take Hurns for example. After a huge Week 1, he was invisible until the second half, when he caught two balls for 13 yards. As ESPN.com's Michael DiRocco points out, that's what happens with rookie receivers. It's hard to develop consistency, which is why only 42 players have caught 50 or more passes in their rookie season since 1995. ...
Gerhart gained just eight yards in seven carries against Washington. The bottom line is and will continue to be blocking. He'll deliver when given holes to hit, but Gerhart isn't the kind of back who makes yardage on his own.
KR Jordan Todman was one of the few bright spots for the Jaguars in the Washington game, returning five kickoffs an average of 27.4 yards each. 

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

=========================
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
By the time the Kansas City Chiefs failed to get into the end zone on fourth down, trailing by a touchdown in Denver, they weren't just on the brink of another loss.
They were also playing without seven starters -- nearly a third of their offense and defense.
Running back Jamaal Charles and safety Eric Berry, a pair of Pro Bowl players and arguably the most vital pieces on their respective sides of the ball, were the latest to go down. Charles left after just two carries. Berry followed him to the locker room a short while later.
X-rays on both came back negative, but head coach Andy Reid said he's uncertain whether either of them will be available for Sunday's game in Miami.
"We'll see," Reid said. "We'll see."
As Associated Press sports writer Dave Skretta noted, Charles appears to have the more serious issue, a high ankle sprain that tends to take longer to heal. Berry has a more common sprain, though it's to the same area he hurt in training camp.
The loss of Charles and Berry means the hard-luck Chiefs (0-2) are down seven starters to injuries and suspensions. Those seven players have combined to start 355 games, play in 492 games and appear in nine Pro Bowls over 43-plus seasons in the NFL.
"We have a few injuries but we don't slow down on that," Reid said. "We know they're good football players, we've got it. We also know we have some good football players that are behind them. ... It's a joint effort. Football is a joint effort. It's a team sport. Everyone's got to step up and do their job just a little bit better, coaches included. Right?"
The injuries started even before the season, when Joe Mays had surgery on his wrist. He's been given the designation to return, so it's possible he'll be able to contribute later in the season. But his loss left the Chiefs plugging a key hole at middle linebacker.
About the same time, right tackle Donald Stephenson was suspended four games for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances. He'll be back after two more games.
Then the season opener rolled around.
Not only did Kansas City get routed by Tennessee at Arrowhead Stadium, three key players were all lost for the season. Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Johnson and veteran defensive tackle Mike DeVito tore Achilles tendons within six plays of each other, and offensive lineman Jeff Allen hurt his biceps so severely that he required season-ending surgery on Friday.
The injuries to Charles and Berry, while not season-ending, are just as critical.
Charles accounted for nearly 40 percent of the Chiefs' offense last season. He's the biggest home-run hitter on a team mostly devoid of big-play threats. And after touching the ball just 11 times against the Titans, the Chiefs had formulated their game-plan around him on Sunday.
Instead, it was Knile Davis who had to step up. He did so admirably, running for 79 yards and a pair of touchdowns despite having a vastly different skill set.
"When I go in, I know my job has been all week to pay attention to what Jamaal does," Davis said. "I've been doing good film study, watching him and what he does so if unfortunately he went down I would be able to step in and help out."
Now, Davis will have an opportunity to prepare as the starter for the Dolphins.
"I don't think it will change much from what you saw (Sunday)," Reid said of Davis' likely role in Miami. "He was involved in a lot of different areas. I'm not saying number of carries or anything, but you saw him going in and playing a few different ways."
De'Anthony Thomas, the Chiefs' fourth-round draft pick, has yet to suit up for a regular-season game because of a sore hamstring. Reid held out some hope he could play in Miami.
"He should be able to work himself back in this week," Reid said. "We'll just see how he does once we get to Wednesday."
The Chiefs began their practice week on Wednesday and Charles wasn't on the field. Thomas was.
I'll follow up via Late-Breaking Updates as the week progresses. But nobody should be optimistic about his chances of an early return. ...
Other notes of interest. ... According to Kansas City Star staffer Terez A. Paylor, the Chiefs took advantage of second-year tight end Travis Kelce by calling far more two- and three-tight end sets against Denver than they did against the Titans. While Kelce logged only 18 offensive snaps a week before, he logged at least 31 on Sunday, catching four passes on six targets for 81 yards.
"He's young," Reid said. "We've just got to keep him coming, but he sure had some nice plays."
Teammates say they could tell early in the week that Kelce, who caught three passes for 49 yards against the Titans, had a chance to be featured a little more against Denver.
"I knew there would be a chance to get him more involved," quarterback Alex Smith said. "You never know for sure, but you don't know how they are going to play certain things. There is always a little unknown heading in."
But once the game started, it didn't take long to see that Kelce, whose combination of size (6-5, 260 pounds) and athleticism make him a tough matchup for linebackers and defensive backs. Kelce only had four catches, but all four went for first downs, and the last three all came on third down.
"He certainly is a guy that we look forward to, once we get a good matchup to take advantage of," Smith said. "When you can get the tight ends involved, you can open up the rest of your game. ..."
For his part, Smith -- who completed 26 of 42 passes for 255 yards -- certainly seemed more comfortable than he did a week ago. Some of that has to do with players around him stepping up, particularly at receiver and offensive line. But some of that also had to do with a solid bounce-back game for the Chiefs' head coach, whose solid reputation as a play caller wasn't built by allowing the same play calling problems to fester on a week-to-week basis.
"If you stink it up, you want to come back, you want to do better, then you want to be consistently better each week," Reid said. "That's what we all strive to do."
Reid said the Chiefs would stay with struggling rookie kicker Cairo Santos. He missed a 37-yard field-goal attempt in the third quarter to end a 10-minute drive. Santos also missed an attempt in last week's game. The Chiefs released a steady veteran, Ryan Succop, to go with Santos, who wasn't drafted. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Alex Smith, Chase Daniel, Aaron Murray 
RB: Knile Davis, De'Anthony Thomas, Cyrus Gray, Joe McKnight, Jamaal Charles 
RB: Anthony Sherman 
WR: Dwayne Bowe, Donnie Avery, Junior Hemingway, A.J. Jenkins, Albert Wilson, Frankie Hamming 
TE: Anthony Fasano, Travis Kelce, Demetrius Harris, Richard Gordon 
PK: Cairo Santos 
=========================

=========================
MIAMI DOLPHINS
According to Associated Press sports writer Steven Wine, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor believes the problems with the Dolphins' passing attack can be quickly fixed, in part because he knows who to blame: Himself.
Spotty protection, dropped passes and Ryan Tannehill's indecision and inaccuracy have all been issues in the first two games. The same problems plagued Miami last year, but first-year coordinator Lazor was quick to hold himself accountable Monday.
He noted the Dolphins (1-1) are averaging only 5.2 yards per pass attempt, which ranks next to last in the NFL. In Sunday's 29-10 loss at Buffalo, their 53 pass plays netted only 210 yards.
"There's no doubt the blame rests 100 percent on me," Lazor said. "That rests on the coordinator, and getting everyone to do it the right way. You can count the number of throws you think are errant, the number of drops, the protection issues. They're all true. In the end that's on the coordinator."
Wine went on to suggest, jump-starting the offense Sunday against Kansas City will be especially difficult in the absence of running back Knowshon Moreno, who expected to be sidelined for at least a month with a left elbow injury. Moreno led the NFL in rushing in Week 1 and was injured early in Sunday's game.
"It hurts because No. 1, he's a productive player and has proven that," Lazor said. "No. 2, anyone who watches the game can see the emotion Knowshon plays with. There's no doubt losing him at the point we did in the game hurt, but that's the NFL. It really doesn't change who we are. It changes the fact Knowshon isn't there, but he'll be back."
To shore up depth at running back, the Dolphins re-signed Daniel Thomas, who played for them in 2011-13 but was released last month. The Dolphins are averaging 4.6 yards per rush -- almost as much as when they try to throw.
Tannehill has yet to show signs of progress in his third NFL season, and remains maddeningly inconsistent. Tannehill took four sacks Sunday, holding the ball too long on occasion and raising memories of 2013, when he led the NFL with a franchise record 58 sacks.
When he threw, Tannehill's accuracy was again an issue, especially on long passes. He underthrew Mike Wallace and has missed him open deep four times in two games.
"Our passing game is not at the level it needs to be," head coach Joe Philbin said. "Those are the facts. It's a unit issue. It's not one player that is really causing all of the problems with the passing game."
There were other factors in the Dolphins' third consecutive loss to Buffalo. They muffed a punt, gave up a blocked punt and allowed a touchdown on a kickoff return. Big plays also hurt the defense.
"When you play approximately a 60-play game, you can't have 55 solid plays and five that don't go the way you plan," defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle said. "We gave up some explosive plays, which concerns me. We've got to get that fixed."
By contrast, the longest gain when Miami threw was only 18 yards.
Lazor warned of an underperforming passing attack even after the Dolphins beat New England 33-20 in their opener.
"I wasn't lying to you, was I?" he said Monday with a rueful smile. "I told you."
When asked how quickly the problems can be fixed, Lazor said, "Tomorrow." He said he must simply demand more from his players in practice.
"I'm very discouraged about the job I've done in the passing game," he said. "But I'm very encouraged about where we're headed. ..."
On the injury front. ... Lamar Miller (right ankle) left the Buffalo game in a walking boot. His status for Sunday's game against Kansas City isn't yet known -- although he was on the practice field for the Dolphins' Tuesday workout (the team doesn't issue an injury report until Wednesday, however).
Damien Williams, the undrafted rookie from Oklahoma, could be the starter this week vs. Kansas City if Thomas isn't ready to jump right in. Williams played sparingly the previous two games, and mostly on special teams. Orleans Darkwa could also get some action this week. Darkwa had three receptions for 32 yards against Buffalo.
Also, according to Field Yates of ESPN, the Dolphins worked out former San Francisco 49ers running back LaMichael James on Tuesday.
James was released by the 49ers last week after getting two carries in their season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. The former second-round pick went unclaimed via waivers and has yet to find a new team.
James has carried 41 times for 184 yards in three seasons. He's also returned 26 kickoffs and 23 punts in his career. ...
On a positive note. ... Pro Bowl center Mike Pouncey practiced with the team for the first time Tuesday since having major hip surgery in June. Pouncey's status will not be determined until later in the week. But Pouncey believes he is healthy enough and ready to make his season debut Sunday against the Chiefs.
Pouncey said he was a full participant in practice on Tuesday. He moved around well and looked fluid in the portion of practice open to the media.
Other notes of interest. ... Tannehill had career bests in completions (31) and attempts (49) against Buffalo. That was mostly because Miami fell behind and the running game was struggling.
Tight end Charles Clay tied a career best with seven receptions. He also had seven receptions last season against Pittsburgh and the New York Jets. Clay also had a dropped pass Sunday, giving him two on the season.
Wallace's touchdown reception gives him 39 in his career. That's the most of any AFC wide receiver since 2009, Wallace's rookie season. 

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

=========================
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Adrian Peterson was deactivated for Sunday's loss after being indicted last week on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child.
The Vikings announced Monday morning that Peterson would fully practice and was expected to play this week against the New Orleans Saints.
That last less than two days.
The Vikings announced early Wednesday that they have placed Peterson on the Exempt/Commissioner's Permission list until he resolves his legal situation regarding allegations of child abuse. The star running back must "remain away from all team activities while allowing him to take care of his personal situation until the legal proceedings are resolved."
Here is the Vikings statement:
"This has been an ongoing and deliberate process since last Friday's news. In conversations with the NFL over the last two days, the Vikings advised the League of the team's decision to revisit the situation regarding Adrian Peterson. In response, the League informed the team of the option to place Adrian on the Exempt/Commissioner's Permission list, which will require that Adrian remain away from all team activities while allowing him to take care of his personal situation until the legal proceedings are resolved. After giving the situation additional thought, we have decided this is the appropriate course of action for the organization and for Adrian.
"We are always focused on trying to make the right decision as an organization. We embrace our role -- and the responsibilities that go with it -- as a leader in the community, as a business partner and as an organization that can build bridges with our fans and positively impact this great region. We appreciate and value the input we have received from our fans, our partners and the community.
"While we were trying to make a balanced decision yesterday, after further reflection we have concluded that this resolution is best for the Vikings and for Adrian. We want to be clear: we have a strong stance regarding the protection and welfare of children, and we want to be sure we get this right. At the same time we want to express our support for Adrian and acknowledge his seven-plus years of outstanding commitment to this organization and this community. Adrian emphasized his desire to avoid further distraction to his teammates and coaches while focusing on his current situation; this resolution accomplishes these objectives as well.
"We will support Adrian during this legal and personal process, but we firmly believe and realize this is the right decision. We hope that all of our fans can respect the process that we have gone through to reach this final decision."
Peterson's agent Ben Dogra told the Associated Press that he and his client feel that the current arrangement is best for all involved.
"This is the best possible outcome given the circumstances," Dogra said. "Adrian understands the gravity of the situation and this enables him to take care of his personal situation. We fully support Adrian and he looks forward to watching his teammates and coaches being successful during his absence."
Ed Werder of ESPN reported that the NFLPA asked Peterson if he wanted to challenge the team's decision, but, as Dogra's comments make clear, Peterson accepted the move to the exempt list. As Profootballtalk.com notes, the growing number of sponsors expressing dissatisfaction with the Vikings' plan to play Peterson made it clear that Peterson wasn't going to wind up on the field this Sunday and probably not until the case was resolved, which makes settling it as soon as possible the best way for Peterson to return to the football field. His first court date is currently scheduled for October 8 in Houston.
In other words, don't hold your breath awaiting Peterson's return.
From an on-field perspective, Minnesota's offense looked lost on Sunday without Peterson to carry the load. With Peterson inactive, his replacement, Matt Asiata, rushed for only 36 yards on 13 carries as the Patriots demolished the Vikings, 30-7.
Peterson's return might have steadied the offense and allowed Matt Cassel to be a game-manager, as opposed to throwing the ball 36 times as he did Sunday -- heaving four interceptions along the way.
But that won't be the case now. ..
Other notes of interest. ... Head coach Mike Zimmer is sticking with Cassel. Despite the fans' chanting throughout the game for backup Teddy Bridgewater, Zimmer said he never thought of inserting the rookie, and he said Cassel will start Sunday at New Orleans.
"I'm going to hold the quarterback position just like every position here to the same standard, and I also said I wasn't going to have a quick hook," Zimmer told the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. "Matt needs to play better. It's pretty obvious he needs to play better. We all need to play better. I need to coach better."
Inconsistency has plagued Cassel throughout his 10-year career. He went from making the Pro Bowl with Kansas City in 2010 to losing his Chiefs starting job in 2012 and being booed out of town.
With the Vikings last December, he came up big in a 48-30 win over playoff-bound Philadelphia and followed it the next week with that ugly game in a 42-14 loss to the Bengals. Now, after a strong preseason and a solid showing in a 34-6 win at St. Louis in the Sept. 7 opener, Cassel was throwing balls all over the place against the Patriots.
"(Sunday) was a tough day for me," Cassel said.
"You want to put your team in a great position to win and ... I take full responsibility for not taking care of the football. I've got to do a better job."
Cassel completed 19 of 36 passes for 202 yards with a touchdown. The only other time he has thrown four interceptions in a game was for the Chiefs on Dec. 13, 2009, against Buffalo.
Meanwhile, as ESPN.com's Ben Goessling notes, there were more parties responsible for the Vikings' offensive shortcomings on Sunday than just Cassel. Tight end Kyle Rudolph dropped three passes, wide receiver Greg Jennings had a drop, and the Vikings gave up six sacks.
Cordarrelle Patterson didn't carry the ball one week after he had 102 yards rushing and a touchdown on just three carries. But a fake run to Patterson did help clear the way for Asiata to score untouched on his 25-yard reception. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Matt Cassel, Teddy Bridgewater, Christian Ponder 
RB: Matt Asiata, Jerick McKinnon, Joe Banyard, Adrian Peterson 
RB: Jerome Felton 
WR: Cordarrelle Patterson, Greg Jennings, Jarius Wright, Rodney Smith, Adam Thielen, Jerome Simpson 
TE: Kyle Rudolph, Rhett Ellison, MarQueis Gray 
PK: Blair Walsh 
=========================

=========================
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
The New England Patriots host the Oakland Raiders this week hoping to rediscover their normally potent offense.
The Patriots moved to 1-1 with Sunday's 30-7 win at Minnesota. But after the game, which saw the defense pick off four of Matt Cassel's passes and turn a blocked field goal into a touchdown, much of the talk was about the struggles of the offense.
New England won the game with 292 yards of total offense, enough to win -- easily -- but nothing to get excited about.
"Just everything," fullback James Develin said Monday. "There's room for improvement on every aspect of the game: our running game, our detail on our passing game ... everything. Look at the film and there's evidence that you can just improve."
Through two games, the Patriots sit in the lower half of the NFL stats in many offensive categories. Through Sunday, New England was tied for 25th in first downs; 27th in total yards per game and passing net yards per game; 28th in third-down efficiency; and 30th in both yards per play and passing net yards per play.
Tom Brady is 44 for 78 for 398 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, with a quarterback rating of 78.9.
Stevan Ridley did run for 101 yards on 25 carries in the victory.
"It was good to see Rid get out there and get some carries, and do some work," said slot receiver Julian Edelman, who had six catches, one for a touchdown, and has 12 grabs in two games. "The offensive line improving, guys making blocks, but we still left a lot of yards out there, and we feel like we can get better.
"It's two games. ... We're trying to improve, and this is a good week against a hungry team."
That hungry team is the Raiders (0-2), who are 24th in the league in total defense, although second against the pass because teams can run on them so efficiently. They have yielded a league-worst 200 yards per game on the ground.
On paper, this home opener could be a day for the New England offense to fatten up its anemic numbers.
"Just the little things, the small details that we can count on toward the end of the games and coming up with those conversions and coming up with those touchdowns to get us over the edge," said tight end Tim Wright."
Added Develin, "These first couple weeks of the season are really the integral weeks for improving and kind of cleaning things up. Mistakes are going to be made. This is the beginning of the year. You just have to take it and learn from it and improve."
Against the Vikings, Brady completed an efficient 15 of his 22 attempts for 149 yards with one touchdowns and no picks for a 102.9 rating. Edelman was once again Brady's top target, catching six passes for 81 yards and the only aerial touchdown. Rob Gronkowski continues his slow return to effectiveness, hauling in four passes for 32 yards.
But the passing game continues to lack complementary options to the Edelman/Gronkowski duo. Aaron Dobson's one catch for 13 yards in his debut made him the only receiver other than Edelman to catch a pass. Brandon LaFell did not have a ball thrown his way. Danny Amendola had one target and no catches, although a 26-yard play was wiped out by a Dobson offensive pass interference call.
Expectations for the Patriots passing game are always high but right now the unit isn't close to living up to its reputation.
Indeed, according to Boston Globe staffer Ben Volin, in Week 1 against the Dolphins, Brady was 2 for 18 on passes of 15 yards or more. In Week 2 against the Vikings, Brady didn't bother going downfield. He threw exactly four passes of 15 yards or more -- a pick play to Amendola that got called back for a penalty, a wheel route to Edelman that earned a pass interference, a 44-yard pass to Edelman that included 29 yards after the catch, and a deep sideline pass to Amendola that had no chance.
That's it.
A big part of New England's game plan against the Vikings was to come out in run sets -- including a fullback in front of Ridley as well as rookie tackle Cameron Fleming as a blocking tight end -- and establish the ground game. The yards came slowly in the first half, but by the time the visitors had run the clock out on the win the numbers included 37 rushing attempts for 150 yards and one touchdown.
Given how much focus coordinator Josh McDaniels' unit put on the ground game, the performance wasn't as dominant as might be hoped for, especially early on. But it was enough to stay balanced, to create some play-action chances and to control the game on the way to victory.
Fleming was utilized as a blocking tight end on 28 of 67 snaps (including penalties) against the Vikings, which included seven of the first 10 plays of the game.
If ever there was a shining example of how determined the coaching staff was on trying to recapture the line of scrimmage, this was it. They essentially sacrificed a capable pass-catcher in exchange for a sixth offensive lineman.
Call it the triple-tackle-offense, with Fleming alongside Nate Solder (6-8, 320) and Sebastian Vollmer (6-8, 320).
"We put a lot of beef out there," Solder said with a chuckle.
Not surprisingly, however, Brady wasn't laughing.
"I think we have a lot of work to do," Brady said in his postgame news conference. "So, it's good to win, but [we] get back to work tomorrow.
"I'm happy we won. I wish we could go out there and play like we are capable of. Just the way it is."
Brady did not discredit the win but lacked a sense of accomplishment when reflecting on the offense's performance. He clearly views this team as being much better than it has shown to this point in the season.
"It was a quality win, a great team win," Brady said. "A lot of guys contributed. A lot of great plays were made. Hopefully offensively we can do a better job this week."
Brady did give credit to his offensive line's improvement and the establishment of the run game.
"I think we had pretty good control out there," he said of the offensive line. "I thought we did a good job in the run game. Took advantage of some opportunities, but we can do a lot better."
But Brady didn't seem to take much from the win.
"We are going to try and make improvements, so that's why we get back to work tomorrow and see what we can do better," Brady said. "Similar to after last week, try to make some improvements and hopefully we can go out there and do a better job."
Playing the Raiders should help. ...
Other notes of interest. ... The Patriots were guilty of 15 penalties for 163 yards Sunday and lead the league in penalty yardage with 263. "Fifteen penalties accepted and there were several early ones where we had multiple fouls on the same play and 160 yards, or whatever it was, it's way too much," head coach Bill Belichick said Monday. "We can't keep doing that. We had a lot of penalties last week, we had a lot of penalties this week and it's not just the penalties it's the yardage, it's too many personal fouls."
Gronkowski is still working his way back to being a full-time contributor. He played only 28 of 67 snaps in the game (including penalties). Part of that was tied to the game plan, as the Patriots used Fleming as a blocking option at the position. Normally that would be Gronkowski, but he's still knocking off some rust.
According to the Globe, Shane Vereen didn't touch the ball between 1:23 left in the first quarter and 6:46 left in the third quarter, and only had seven touches overall. But that appeared to be more part of the game plan to use Ridley in the power run game than any sort of punishment for Vereen. 

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

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NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
The Saints will try to capture their first victory this Sunday, when they play the Minnesota Vikings in the Superdome, where New Orleans went undefeated a season ago. But while the comforts of home should help, the Saints may be without running back Mark Ingram, who gained 104 yards from scrimmage in Cleveland and scored his third touchdown of the season.
Head coach Sean Payton declined to discuss Ingram's health on Monday, saying he'd follow his usual policy of not releasing any injury information until the next NFL-required injury report, which this week is Wednesday for New Orleans.
"He ran really well yesterday. I thought he played hard," Payton said when asked about Ingram. "We will evaluate where he is at, but nothing today with specifics in regards to any of these guys with injury."
But the picture became clearer Wednesday, when Payton announced that Ingram underwent hand surgery and is week to week. Ingram's hand was fractured and displaced, and he had two screws inserted above his thumb, Payton said.
Ingram won't play Sunday against the Vikings. Reports have indicated he'll be out about a month.
In the meantime, there are myriad matters bothering Payton beyond Ingram's playing status.
Payton said he and his staff are working this week to address an apparent lack of situational awareness that led to avoidable breakdowns on offense, defense and special teams.
He called it "the one thing that is most disappointing."
As examples, he cited not only blown pass coverage assignments by the defense. On offense, mistakes included running back Pierre Thomas' failure to recognize linebacker Karlos Dansby's blitz on a third-down play in the fourth quarter. Dansby sacked Brees, taking New Orleans out of field goal range.
On special teams, Patrick Robinson was offside on a missed field goal. Cleveland got a second chance from closer in and converted.
The Saints made similar mistakes in their Week 1 overtime loss at Atlanta as well, Payton said.
"We've got to look closely at being prepared for those things and being smarter in those situations," Payton said. "That is the one thing that has stood out now -- two weeks in a row."
Payton was also bothered by the fact that many of the mental errors occurred before the snap.
"It's critical that guys know where to be and what to do," Payton said. "Those are things that we need to clean up in a hurry."
As for the backfield situation. ... Ingram has been the most effective running back in Payton's backfield-by-committee approach. The four-year veteran, who had a run of 26 yards on Sunday, has 143 yards and a 6.0 average on 24 carries with three touchdowns.
The hand injury continues a disturbing trend for Ingram, who was being counted on to help the Saints' running game improve after they ranked 25th in the league each of the last two seasons. He missed five games early last season with a turf toe injury and has now been sidelined for 11 regular-season games and two playoff contests.
With Ingram out, the Saints will likely turn to second-year pro Khiry Robinson, who made the team as an undrafted free agent in 2013 and was impressive when he got a chance, and eight-year veteran Pierre Thomas.
Travaris Cadet would be another option, but Robinson and Thomas would still likely get the lion's share of carries when they return to practice on Wednesday to begin preparing for Sunday's home opener with the Minnesota Vikings. ...
Other notes of interest. ... According to ESPN.com's Mike Triplett, Jimmy Graham has had more impressive days. But the New Orleans Saints tight end was never more important than Sunday.
It may seem like a moot point, but Graham was the single biggest reason why the Saints were in a position to win after starting in a 16-3 hole.
Graham didn't have a catch at that point in the game, with less than four minutes remaining in the first half. But he finished with 10 catches (matching a career high) for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
On a day when nothing else seemed to be working for the Saints' passing offense, Graham delivered time and again. No matter who was covering him -- including Cleveland Browns Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden, whom Graham beat twice for big plays in tight man coverage.
"When you're 6-7, 260 and you can run like a deer and jump out of the gym, you're hard to cover," Drew Brees said. "So obviously you saw him make some plays today. I thought he played exceptionally well."
When asked if he ever gets in one of those zones where he feels like no one can stop him, Graham said, "You know, I'm not that cocky. But I'm confident that if Drew throws it up, I'm gonna try to get it for him."
Graham certainly helped to dispel the myth that he can be taken out of games by a top cornerback.
Two of his biggest plays came when he was being blanketed by Haden – a 9-yard TD pass with three seconds left in the first half and a 20-yard pass to the 3-yard line that set up another TD in the fourth quarter.
The notion that Graham doesn't have the same impact when covered by cornerbacks became popular when the New England Patriots' Aqib Talib had success against him last year. And it was oft-mentioned when Graham was trying to be declared a receiver for franchise-tag purposes this summer.
But Graham proved that his size advantage can still prove too much for even top cornerbacks. ...
For the record, Brees was 4 of 8 for 9 yards in the first quarter and the team had just 2 net passing yards when you throw in a sack that almost resulted in a safety. They did play better after the rugged start as Brees was 23 of 32 for 228 yards in the final three quarters to finish 27 of 40 for 237 yards with two TDs and an interception that was returned 68 yards for a score. Their longest pass play was only 23 yards and Brees had an 89.3 passer rating.
Robert Meachem caught three balls for 37 yards, Brandin Cooks caught three passes for 17 yards and Kenny Stills had three receptions for 25 yards, but the Saints did not target Marques Colston on his 41 snaps.
Joe Morgan was a healthy inactive for Sunday's game with the Browns.
Fullback Erik Lorig missed his second game in a row Sunday because of an ankle injury and his return is unknown. 

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

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NEW YORK GIANTS
According to Associated Press sports writer Tom Canavan, Tom Coughlin still believes in the New York Giants.
With the season seemingly slipping away after a second straight 0-2 start, Coughlin didn't hesitate Monday to say that this team can turn things around.
The 68-year-old coach who has led the Giants to two Super Bowl titles but missed the postseason the past two years said the reasons the Giants are losing are obvious. They have turned the ball over six times and failed to record a takeaway. They have committed untimely penalties, made mental errors, and there is no way they are going to win scoring a combined 28 points.
It's like a year ago, except this is a better team and Coughlin hopes it shows up soon. It had better, or another 0-6 start wouldn't be farfetched.
"I believe," Coughlin said when asked about the sense of gloom among Giants fans. "I believe. Put me up at the top. OK? Blame me for the problems. Put me at the top as far as getting this thing done and I think they can go do it."
For many Giants fans it's hard to believe in this team after watching a 35-14 loss to Detroit and a 25-14 setback on Sunday to the Cardinals. Arizona was without starting quarterback Carson Palmer (shoulder). Backup Drew Stanton was solid replacing him and he did not turn over the ball, something the Giants did four times.
"I felt the passion, I felt the want-to that game, it's a huge plus for this team," said safety and defensive captain Antrel Rolle, who refused to draw a comparison to last season. "We have to find a way to win and stop shooting ourselves in the foot."
The Giants really hurt themselves in the fourth quarter. They allowed a go-ahead 71-yard punt return for a touchdown by Ted Ginn, lost two fumbles, and saw Eli Manning throw his second interception of the game in the waning seconds.
The positive was the Giants left points and yards on the field in their second game under new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo. While the line didn't get the running game going, it was much better in pass protection.
There were several negatives, of course. New York dropped five passes. And it lost three points when Manning threw a first-quarter pick in field goal range.
The Giants also squandered a chance to tie late when running back Rashad Jennings fumbled deep in Cardinals territory after slipping with no one around him and having his elbow hit the turf, knocking the ball loose.
"You see the opportunities and you see the plays we made," said Manning, who threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns. "So there are plays out there to be made, we just didn't execute quite well enough and finish some drives well enough."
Defensively, the Giants gave up fewer points in Week 2, but for the second straight week they allowed too many big plays -- and made some bonehead plays.
In the opener, the Lions got their first touchdown when Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Stevie Brown collided, leaving Calvin Johnson alone. This week there was linebacker Jameel McClain's roughing-the-passer call on a play the officials stopped because of a delay of game, plus way too many big plays allowed on third-and-long.
The Giants face another though opponent this week when Houston (2-0) visits.
"I think when you are 0-2, you want to get a win soon," Manning said. "We have the Texans coming in and we have another home game, so hopefully we've got to get better, but we have to do it soon. We don't have a whole lot of time to keep waiting to get better."
Jennings said effort has not been an issue for the Giants. It's mistakes and being on the same page.
"We're going to be fine," Jennings said. "We're headed in the right direction and it needs to start now, obviously. But what else are you going to do? We'll come to work and get ready for Sunday. ..."
They better.
Take away the half dozen drops by the receivers, and the passing game certainly did show improvement from Week 1. Manning made several picture-perfect throws while his pass protection was, for the most part, pristine. The drops by the receivers, including two by Cruz, were troubling and had a direct influence on the game's outcome.
For the second week in a row, the Giants run game had its struggles, averaging 3.0 yards per carry behind run blocking that failed to get any push to allow for blocks to be made beyond the second level.
Adding to the woes. ... The Giants placed cornerback Walter Thurmond and wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday.
They were injured Sunday.
Thurmond had surgery Tuesday to repair a torn pectoral muscle. Jernigan has a mid-foot sprain.
The Giants filled the roster openings by signing wide receiver Julian Talley and linebacker Dan Fox off the practice squad.
They'll need the help at linebacker after Jon Beason re-injured his big toe on his right foot. Beason is out indefinitely.
Other notes of interest. ... According to the Sports Xchange, Odell Beckham is making progress in his recovery from a hamstring strain, but he's still unlikely to be ready for this weekend's game. In fact, when asked about whether Beckham will play Sunday, Coughlin told reporters on Wedneday, "Not to my knowledge. Not with the team." 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Eli Manning, Ryan Nassib 
RB: Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams, Peyton Hillis 
RB: Henry Hynoski 
WR: Victor Cruz, Rueben Randle, Corey Washington, Preston Parker, Odell Beckham 
TE: Larry Donnell, Daniel Fells, Adrien Robinson 
PK: Josh Brown 
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=========================
NEW YORK JETS
As Associated Press sports writer Dennis Waszak Jr. noted, moments after New York's 34-21 loss to Green Bay on Sunday, social media was buzzing about the Jets' timeout call that wiped out a tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter. And thousands of frustrated fans vented through social media.
Head coach Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg were trending topics. So was "Only The Jets," a phrase that many have repeated through the decades when referring to their favorite team.
Not surprisingly, Ryan struck a pair of familiar tones optimistic and defiant as he stepped to the podium Monday afternoon for his usual day after press conference.
"We finally get to put this game behind us," Ryan said. "Right after this press conference, or whatever. Then it will finally be behind us."
Ryan better hope so.
Simply squandering such a big lead against one of the NFL's perennial powers would be bad enough. But there were several additional layers of misery on Sunday for the Jets, who were on the verge of going up by 19 points when quarterback Geno Smith was picked off inside the Green Bay 5-yard line with 1:52 left in the first half.
The Packers marched 97 yards for a touchdown that narrowed the gap to 21-16 and seized from the Jets whatever momentum they had left from their fast start.
Green Bay took the lead for good on a one-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Aaron Rodgers to wide receiver Randall Cobb with 5:45 left in the third quarter. The Jets melted down during the subsequent two-point conversion, when defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson and defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and Wilkerson was ejected following a fracas that reportedly began when a Packers player grabbed Jets safety Dawan Landry by the throat.
But untimely interceptions and ejections were just the warm-up act for the fourth quarter, when the game-tying 36-yard touchdown pass from Smith to wide receiver Jeremy Kerley was nullified when Richardson called timeout from the sideline just before the snap. Only a head coach may call for time from the sideline.
"Timeoutgate" may have reached a conclusion Monday, when Mornhinweg took the blame for the timeout that wasn't. "I want to make it crystal clear everything that goes on offensively is my responsibility, period," Mornhinweg said.
Mornhinweg wanted to use the Jets' final timeout because he didn't like the alignment the Jets had on a fourth-and-4 from the Packers' 36-yard-line. Mornhinweg was barking at Ryan to call a timeout, but Ryan had his headset tuned to the defensive channel. Richardson heard Mornhinweg yelling and asked the nearest official for the timeout.
"Sheldon needs to take no accountability for that," Mornhinweg said Monday. "He was only trying to help."
As the Sports Xchange noted, making things doubly rueful for Mornhinweg and the Jets is that Smith noticed the misalignment running back Bilal Powell was on Smith's left instead of his right and calmly motioned for Powell to switch. Smith then threw the touchdown pass to Kerley that was overturned.
"I've got to do a better job of communicating and trusting 'Big Geno,'" Mornhinweg said. "I've got to trust Geno to get everything fixed before the 40-second clock. That's the scenario. ..."
Bottom line: Ryan will have his hands full not only regrouping the Jets after such an agonizing near-miss but also getting them to play more disciplined football. The Jets have committed 18 penalties in just two games.
Then, of course, there is the issue of the tattered secondary, which was exposed by wide receiver Jordy Nelson to the tune of 209 yards. Up next: The Bears and their 1-2 wide receiver punch of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery.
"We have to figure out why it is not getting done to the way we expected it to, especially when your players are as committed the way ours are," Ryan said. "If you're worth a darn as a coach, you look at yourself first. And that is certainly what we're doing. ..."
On the injury front. ... Eric Decker's hamstring injury is a concern, but Ryan expressed optimism that the wide receiver could be back on the field for next Monday night's game against the Chicago Bears. "We don't know right now, we'll see," Ryan said. "Hopefully he'll be ready to roll on Monday."
Decke was on the field Wednesday stretching with the team. However, he was not dressed for practice (watch the Late-Breaking Updates section for more in coming days).
Decker had four catches for 63 yards and a touchdown Sunday at Green Bay, but was unable to play in a crucial -- and scoreless -- fourth quarter. Decker dealt with a hamstring injury during training camp. Smith said the team had other options if Decker -- the Jets' No. 1 wide receiver -- isn't in the game.
"We've got viable weapons," Smith said. "We've got guys who can go out there and make plays. David Nelson made a clutch catch on fourth down. I think Jeremy Kerley did a phenomenal job at stepping up when Decker went down and we've got Greg Salas who can step in and make plays for us as well. So, we've just got to do a better job at finishing games and we had an opportunity to go in on the road and win the game, but we didn't."
Brian Winters, the Jets' starting left guard, missed a few plays with a dislocated pinkie finger, Ryan said.
Other notes of interest. ... According to ESPN.com's Rich Cimini, Smith played the best 28 minutes of his career to start the game, outplaying Rodgers in every way, but an under-pressure interception before halftime became a 10-point swing. Guard Brian Winters missed a block, resulting in the hit on Smith. After that, Smith (16-of-32, 176 yards) was ineffective. He failed to rally his team despite ample opportunities in the second half. He missed a wide-open Decker for what should've been a long touchdown.
The Jets' running game was a major disappointment, as Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory combined for only 64 yards. Statistically, it was one of the worst games of Johnson's career -- 21 yards on 12 carries. Frankly, he looked a half-step slow to the hole. They should've run all over the Packers, whose run defense was exploited last week by the Seattle Seahawks. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Geno Smith, Michael Vick 
RB: Chris Johnson, Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell 
RB: Tommy Bohanon 
WR: Eric Decker, Jeremy Kerley, David Nelson, Jalen Saunders, Greg Salas, Saalim Hakim, Jalen Saunders, Walter Powell 
TE: Jeff Cumberland, Jace Amaro, Zach Sudfeld 
PK: Nick Folk 
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OAKLAND RAIDERS
As ESPN.com's Bill Williamson kindly put it, "No, after two games, Derek Carr does not look like the savior of the Oakland Raiders. ..."
But, Williamson added, the rookie quarterback also doesn't appear to be one of the Raiders' biggest problems. The Raiders are 0-2. But like last week, they didn't lose to the Houston Texans because of Carr.
The Raiders are simply lacking on both sides of the ball. They look incapable of winning. Yes, it's early, but the Raiders have not been competitive and there are so many issues that it's difficult to pinpoint a quick resolution.
After last week's five-point loss at the New York Jets, the Raiders were fairly positive. Sunday, there seemed to be major concern after a 30-14 loss to Houston, which was the Raiders' eighth straight dating back to November.
Veteran safety Charles Woodson was blunt.
"We suck," Woodson said. "Collectively we look bad. It's frustrating because everything that other people say about you, we're making them right … I'm really embarrassed."
Head coach Dennis Allen was almost as dire.
"That's a recipe for getting your butt kicked," said Allen, in his opening remarks after he stood at the podium silent for a few seconds. "I told the players the only people that can change it are in the locker room -- coaches and players. We've got to make a conscious decision that we want to get this thing changed. ... We need change."
As Profootballtalk.com noted, Allen was already on the hot seat before the season started. That's what happens when you go 4-12 in each of your first two seasons.
But after an 0-2 start, the question is less whether this will be Allen's last season in Oakland and more whether Allen will even make it to the end of the season.
Raiders owner Mark Davis is already privately expressing his displeasure, according to CSNBayArea.com, to the point where Allen's tenure as Raiders coach may come to an end this season. According to the report, the Raiders already have a plan to promote offensive line coach Tony Sparano to head coach if Allen gets fired during the season.
Sparano spent four seasons as head coach of the Dolphins and is a more experienced coach than Allen.
Allen knows his team needs to get better. But he's running out of time to show he's a better football coach than what his team has put on the field in his first two-plus seasons/
Williamson offered some reasons for the team's poor state:
Run defense: The Texans ran for 188 yards. Last week, the Jets ran for 212 yards. Houston jumped on Oakland early by dominating on the ground. It kept the Raiders' offense off the field and it wore down the defense.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Texans gained 151 yards on the ground between the tackles. At one point, the Texans had outgained the Raiders 150 yards to 3. The Texans won the time of possession battle 38:36 to 21:24.
"Everything starts with stopping the run," Oakland defensive lineman LaMarr Woodley, who was not credited with a tackle. "We can't do much without stopping the run."
No pressure: Woodley is right. The Raiders had no pass rush, either. They didn't have any sacks and just one quarterback hurry, by No. 5 overall pick Khalil Mack, who seemed to have another mostly quiet game.
Can't run the ball: The Raiders' final rush numbers don't look bad. They had 101 yards on 17 carries. But Carr had 41 on one run and most of the yardage came in garbage time as Darren McFadden had 37 yards on 12 carries. Last week, the Raiders had 25 yards on 15 carries. The run game was supposed to the strength.
"It's tough to stay committed to the run game when you're down," center Stefen Wisniewski said. "Starting fast is what we have to do to change that offensively."
Sloppy on offense: Carr threw two interceptions and James Jones and Mychal Rivera lost fumbles after catches. This team is not good enough to give up big turnovers.
Terrible on third down: Houston was 9 of 15 on third down. Oakland was 2 of 9. It was a perfect example of the team-wide malaise by Oakland.
"The mistakes are correctable, but we said that last week. So how many weeks in a row are we going to say the mistakes are correctable until we get to a point where we realize they're not correctable?" Woodson said. "I don't know. Are they correctable?"
The one thing we know for sure is the Jets and Texans are considered beatable opponents for Oakland. Now, at 0-2, they start to see the cream of their schedule beginning Sunday at New England. ...
On the injury front. ... Receiver Rod Streater had an MRI taken on a hip flexor injury Monday, Allen announced. Streater suffered the injury at some point during Sunday's loss to the Texans, though it isn't exactly clear when. How this might affect Streater's availability for Sunday's against the Patriots will be clearer as the week progresses. That said, Streater was not on the practice field Wednesday. ...
But we might have got a hint when the Raiders decided to take a flier on Vincent Brown.
The former Chargers wide receiver signed a one-year contract with the Raiders on Monday. Brown, a 2011 third-round pick, was waived-injured by San Diego after missing most of training camp with a calf issue. According to NFL.com, Brown likely put himself on the Raiders' radar with an eight-catch, 117-yard performance in the Chargers' trip to O.co Coliseum in 2013.
Maurice Jones-Drew was inactive against Houston with a hand injury and his status is not known for this week is unclear. He also wasn't on the practice field Wednesday. ...
One last note here. ... Jones was targeted a game-high 14 times and finished with nine catches for 112 yards and a touchdown, averaging 12.4 yards per grab. Through two games, he has 12 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Derek Carr, Matt Schaub, Matt McGloin 
RB: Darren McFadden, Latavius Murray, Maurice Jones-Drew 
FB: Marcel Reece, Jamize Olawale 
WR: Rod Streater, James Jones, Andre Holmes, Denarius Moore, Brice Butler, Vincent Brown 
TE: Mychal Rivera, David Ausberry, Brian Leonhardt 
PK: Sebastian Janikowski 
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PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
As Associated Press sports writer Rob Maaddi noted, slow starts and strong finishes have become a trend for the Eagles.
The Eagles' 30-27 comeback win at Indianapolis on Monday night made them the first team in NFL history to overcome double-digit, halftime deficits in the first two games.
Chip Kelly and his players know this isn't a recipe for long-term success.
"No one should be patting themselves on the back anywhere," Kelly said Tuesday. "We're fortunate to be 2-0. We've done a great job of coming back in both games, but there is a lot of work in every aspect of the game that we need to work on. So that's the great thing about this group, they understand that."
The Eagles trailed Jacksonville 17-0 at halftime in the season opener before rallying for a 34-17 victory.
They were down 17-6 against the Colts at the half and 20-6 in the third quarter before coming back. They haven't scored a touchdown in the first half in six of the past 12 games, but they're 9-1 in their past 10 regular-season games.
"It's good to have that in your arsenal that you know that your team can stick together through adversity," quarterback Nick Foles said. "Do you want to go down like this every single week? I mean, if that's what it takes, we'll do it, but we need to play better football in the first half offensively.
"We really need to get things going. There's a lot of stuff that, even though we won like we did, there's a lot of stuff to improve on. That's the exciting thing for us, we need to improve."
Foles struggled in the first half against the Jaguars and missed a couple of open receivers against the Colts. He's already matched his interceptions total (two) for all of last season. But his overall numbers are solid: 653 yards, three touchdowns, 86.1 passer rating.
"We had a few drops at the wideout spot," Kelly said. "Also had a couple balls that could have been placed a little better, so they've got to come up with the catches and we've got to play some ball a little bit better."
Riley Cooper couldn't hang on for a touchdown catch and Jeremy Maclin and Jordan Matthews each had drops. Foles completed 15 passes for 261 yards to running backs and tight ends. Darren Sproles was the catalyst for the latest comeback. The versatile back had a career-high 152 yards receiving, 26 rushing and one TD.
"He can do so many things, and the thing I love most about him is he's a great teammate," Foles said. "The guys love him. He's great in the locker room. He's a guy you can depend on, and he's been a great addition to our team."
Red-zone issues hurt the Eagles in the first half again. They gained a total of 10 yards on their first 10 plays inside the 20. They settled for a pair of field goals by Cody Parkey and he missed one from 38 yards.
But the running game got going in the second half and Foles made some precision passes, including a 6-yard TD toss to Maclin that tied it at 27 in the fourth. A makeshift offensive line missing two starters and using a third-string right tackle kept Foles clean -- he wasn't sacked.
"I thought both those guys held up really well," Kelly said of left guard Dennis Kelly and right tackle Andrew Gardner. "Both those guys did a pretty good job their first chance in the limelight."
The Washington Redskins (1-1) are next up for Philadelphia in DeSean Jackson's first return since the three-time Pro Bowl receiver was released by the Eagles in March.
Other notes of interest. ... As NFL.com suggested, Sproles sits as the Eagles' undoubted MVP of their come-from-behind 2-0 start to the 2014 season. LeSean McCoy went so far as to say the Eagles "would be in some trouble" without the diminutive Sproles' play through two weeks.
"To be honest, he's helping me out," McCoy said of Sproles, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I need to get my thing together. I feel like I'm not playing to my level that I should be playing it.
"Tonight, I had an average, above average game, where he came in and carried us again. It's good to have that, because when you get that type of attention from the defense, other guys are making plays. And he's doing it."
Reminder: The Eagles traded a measly fifth-round pick to the Saints for Sproles -- who was on the verge of being cut by New Orleans. That trade is already looking like highway robbery by Kelly and company, especially when compared to the first-round pick Monday's opponent gave up for the rights to Trent Richardson.
Asked in the wake of Sproles' career performance against the Colts to elaborate on the "intel" that Kelly had before making the trade, Kelly said the kind of thing that only Kelly does.
"Is this like a spy movie?" Kelly told reporters. "I mean, we watched game film and just studied him. Obviously."
The reporter then clarified, asking about what Kelly knew regarding Sproles' personality and work ethic.
"I knew about his work ethic," Kelly said. "When you talk to coaches that dealt with him, I know Norv Turner raved about him at the Chargers, so you knew the type of work ethic and person he was. You listen to some of the reports about everybody loving him as a teammate and all of that. So, you know, you go back to the background stuff that the scouts did when he was coming out of college at Kansas State and what they had to say about him and you read all of those reports. It's the same general kind of intel that we have for any free agent. You're trying to do your research and find out about them."
As Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio suggested, the Eagles found out plenty last night about Sproles' ability to play. If the Saints knew Sproles had that much left in the tank, they could have gotten a lot more for him in trade.
Or maybe they wouldn't have traded him at all. ...
By the way, Sproles was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts in Indy. ...
One last note here, coming out of Monday night's win over the Colts, Zach Ertz leads all tight ends and wideouts with 23.3 yards per reception among players with at least three catches.
Jimmy Kempski of Philly.com notes that Ertz is tied with Julio Jones for the most grabs of 20-plus yards, with his seven catches covering 26, 25, 26, 27, 14, 21 and 24 yards apiece.
Ertz has as many receptions of 20-plus yards as 20 other NFL teams, and all seven of his receptions triggered first downs or touchdowns.
As NFL.com's Marc Sessler, Kelly's offense thrives on chunk plays while making its money through the air by getting players open in space. After developing down the stretch last season as a matchup-beater, Ertz is emerging as one of the game's bright young playmakers at the tight end position. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Nick Foles, Mark Sanchez, Matt Barkley 
RB: LeSean McCoy, Darren Sproles, Chris Polk 
WR: Riley Cooper, Jeremy Maclin, Jordan Matthews, Brad Smith, Jeff Maehl, Josh Huff 
TE: Zach Ertz, Brent Celek, James Casey, Trey Burton 
PK: Cody Parkey 
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PITTSBURGH STEELERS
According to ESPN.com's Scott Brown, a search for answers after a 20-point loss in Baltimore will lead the Steelers to a familiar place: Turnovers.
And not the three they committed last Thursday, including a lost fumble that snuffed out an opening drive that should have resulted in at least three points.
The Steelers have not forced a turnover in two games, and such a statistic would not mean too much standing on its own since the 2014 season is still in its infancy.
But the Steelers have not fielded an opportunistic defense since 2010, the last time they played in the Super Bowl, and Brett Keisel is at a loss to explain why.
"I wish I knew the answer to that because you guys have been asking that for a while," the veteran defensive end said.
The questions, Keisel would be the first to admit, are justified.
The Steelers forced 35 turnovers in 2010, and they erased a double-digit halftime lead against the Ravens in an AFC divisional playoff game with a couple of game-changing takeaways in the third quarter.
Since 2010, the Steelers have averaged a tick under 20 takeaways per season.
They had 20 last season -- none during a disastrous 0-4 September -- and if the start of 2014 is any indication the Steelers are still trying to figure out how to win the crucial turnover battle.
"They kind of just happen," free safety Mike Mitchell said of takeaways. "You capitalize when you have an opportunity."
The Steelers missed an opportunity early in the fourth quarter last Thursday night when they were still in the game.
A blitzing Ryan Shazier forced Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco to make an ill-advised throw near the goal line that cornerback Cortez Allen had a chance to intercept. Allen made a nice play on the ball but he couldn't pick it off and the Ravens kicked a short field to increase their lead to 20-6.
The catch was a tough one for Allen but the Steelers have to make those plays if they want to start generating turnovers.
"They're going to come," defensive end Cameron Heyward said after the 26-6 loss to the Ravens. "I'm not going to worry about that. We were in position a bunch of times. We just have to finish them."
Keisel agreed.
"We've got to give our offense the ball," he said, "and give them short fields and put points on the board."
Until the Steelers start doing that the question will persist as to why the defense has not been more opportunistic. ...
Meanwhile, Ben Roethlisberger has taken a lot of hits in his career.
But he said Tuesday he's "still very sore" after a shot to the chest from Ravens linebacker Courtney Upshaw last Thursday.
Upshaw was flagged for roughing the passer on the play, after drilling Roethlisberger on a clean run.
"I'm hurting today as much as I was at any point I can think of in the last year," Roethlisberger said on 93.7 The Fan.
Roethlisberger said it was the hardest he's been hit since Bart Scott leveled him in 2006.
"This is easily right there with a close second," Roethlisberger said. "I lost my breath instantly and remember hitting the ground thinking, ‘Boy, that hurt a lot.' I kind of pride myself on not taking those big hits, but I sure as heck didn't see it coming."
He clearly didn't see his own play falling off this way either. He was 22-of-37 for 217 yards and an interception, and the Steelers have scored just three field goals in their last six quarters.
It won't get any easier for him Sunday night, against a Panthers defense which is top-five in both yards and points allowed. ...
On the injury front. ... Antonio Brown missed about a full quarter in the first half when he left because of a possible concussion. He was cleared and returned to again lead them with seven receptions for 90 yards.
But an offense that hasn't scored a touchdown in six consecutive quarters could get a boost Sunday night.
Lance Moore said he practiced Monday, and the veteran wide receiver is optimistic he will be able to play in his first game in more than a month.
"I felt better today than I have in a number of weeks," said Moore, who has been hampered by a nagging groin injury. "That's encouraging and I'm looking forward to continuing getting better. Hopefully I'll feel better throughout the week and hopefully be ready to go on Sunday. That's my goal."
Moore's return would help an offense that has struggled since putting up 27 points in the first half of a season-opening win against the Browns.
Moore gives the Steelers an experienced No. 3 wide receiver, something they haven't had with first-year player Justin Brown the last two games. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound Moore is just two seasons removed from catching 65 passes for 1,041 yards and six touchdowns for the Saints, and he could really help the Steelers as their slot receiver.
Moore has not played in a game since the Steelers' second preseason contest Aug. 16 because of the groin injury that has tested the ninth-year veteran's patience.
"It just takes time, and the days I was thinking it was ready I kind of got out there and did a little bit and it just wasn't ready yet," Moore said. "It was kind of one of those thing where you can continue to do that and make it worse or you can sit out a little bit longer and hopefully it heals up on his own."
Dri Archer is hoping to join Moore in returning to the field, though the rookie running back/wide receiver is probably questionable at best for the 8:30 p.m. ET game against the Panthers.
Archer, who didn't play last week against the Ravens because of a sprained ankle and a knee injury, said he practiced Monday on a limited basis after getting treatment at Steelers headquarters over the weekend.
"I did a little bit, just getting a test of how it feels," Archer said following the Steelers' first practice of the week. "I'm hoping (to play against the Panthers). It's feeling a little better, and I'm just taking it day by day and getting more treatment. ..."
I'll be following up on Moore and Archer via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Brown is within one game of an interesting milestone. He has had at least five receptions and 50 yards in 18 consecutive games, starting in the opener of 2013. Laveranues Coles is the only player who accomplished that for 19 consecutive games since 1960. Coles' streak stretched over the seasons of 2002 and 2003.
Last Thursday was another strong game for Le'Veon Bell, who averaged 5.4 yards per carry and has been the Steelers' best offensive player through the first two weeks of the season. LeGarrette Blount didn't play much and gained just 8 yards on three carries.
Heath Miller had been playing a pretty good game until the 10th-year veteran lost a fumble that all but ended any chance the Steelers had of mounting a comeback. Matt Spaeth played sparingly as the Steelers opted to go with three wide receivers over two tight ends for much of the game. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Ben Roethlisberger, Bruce Gradkowski, Landry Jones 
RB: Le'Veon Bell, LeGarrette Blount, Dri Archer 
FB: Will Johnson 
WR: Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, Lance Moore, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Justin Brown, Martavis Bryant 
TE: Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, Michael Palmer 
PK: Shaun Suisham 
=========================

=========================
ST. LOUIS RAMS
According to ESPN.com's Nick Waggoner, Austin Davis was always going to start Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but he didn't find out for sure until about 90 minutes before the game began.
With veteran Shaun Hill battling a thigh injury that kept him out all week, Davis said he had been preparing as though he was going to make his first NFL start since Monday.
On Sunday, Davis was calmly and efficiently leading the Rams to their first win of the season, a 19-17 victory over the Bucs, throwing for 235 yards on 22-of-29 passing with no interceptions or touchdowns for a rating of 99.1. Head coach Jeff Fisher awarded Davis the game ball in the locker room after the game.
"It's special," Davis said. "I can't really describe it. I felt at peace out there, I felt at home and it had a lot to do with the guys I was around and how well we played and made plays around me."
To be sure, Davis had plenty of help in overcoming a seemingly never-ending pile of challenges in his first NFL start.
There was the mild uncertainty about whether he'd even start, though Fisher said Hill was only going to be available to take shotgun snaps in an emergency. There was the lightning delay which sent the teams back to the locker room for nearly an hour midway through the second quarter.
Every time the Bucs seemed to gain an edge, Davis never flinched and performed under pressure. The performance was a surprise to outside observers but for those in the Rams locker room, it had been gradually building for most of the past three years.
"That's what you need in the NFL, especially coming from your offensive leader, the quarterback," receiver Austin Pettis said. "To show that mental toughness throughout the game, he kept it even keel, we were up sometimes on offense and down a little bit here and there but he kept his head in there and made all the right plays that we needed."
An initial glance at Davis' numbers don't reveal anything too overwhelming and the Rams' total of 19 points against an injury-depleted defense isn't going to be enough to win many games in the rough and tumble NFC West but a closer inspection of Davis' performance revealed a moxie that was hard to deny.
Time and again, Davis stared down extra pressure from the Bucs defense and delivered a key throw, especially on third down. Davis attempted eight third-down passes, completing six for a total of 76 yards. Five of those completions resulted in first downs.
On the fourth quarter drive to set up kicker Greg Zuerlein's game-winning 38-yard field goal, Davis hit tight end Lance Kendricks for 13 yards on third-and-1 as he took a big hit and followed five plays later by firing a strike to Pettis down the seam for 27 yards on third-and-9.
"He was very poised today," Fisher said. "He did a great job ... nothing was overwhelming to him."
After the game, Fisher made it clear that when healthy Hill will reclaim the starting job. But even if Davis' debut wasn't enough to win a permanent job, it was more than enough to earn the trust of his team the next time it needs him.
The Rams return home this weekend to take on the Dallas Cowboys with a chance to head to the bye week with a winning record. ...
On the injury front. ... Receiver Tavon Austin left the game in the second quarter with an apparent knee injury just before a 51-minute lightning delay. When the team returned to begin warming up, Austin gave it a go but ultimately did not return. An MRI revealed a minor MCL sprain. Austin is expected to miss two weeks. ...
Other notes of interest. ... With completion of the new NFL drug policy, receiver Stedman Bailey will be reinstated this week.
According to ESPN, the deal is expected to be finalized by the end of Wednesday. While Fisher isn't yet sure of the specifics, he did confirm Monday night that the team is taking steps to prepare to welcome Bailey back to the fold.
"We have been hearing for four or five days that they're going to vote and they have a list of those who should be reinstated," Fisher said. "There was some talk about it even as late as Friday and Saturday. I haven't heard anything.
"We released (defensive tackle) Matt Conrath to clear the roster spot in the event that it does happen over the next couple of days."
Bailey was originally suspended four games on May 13 for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances. He has served half of that suspension so far but wouldn't actually have been scheduled to return until after Week 5 because the team has a Week 4 bye.
A third-round draft choice out of West Virginia in 2013, Bailey didn't play much early as a rookie but got more opportunities near the end of last season. He finished with 17 catches for 226 yards and had a rushing touchdown.
During the preseason and training camp, Bailey was one of the team's better performing receivers and if he's reinstated soon could factor into the mix quickly. That's especially true given Austin's injury. ...
Brian Quick had his second consecutive seven-catch afternoon and WR Kenny Britt had his first reception of the season.
There weren't any big plays, but Zac Stacy grinded for 71 yards on 19 attempts, although he lost a fumble after getting inadvertently kicked in the head. Stacy's long run of the day was 12 yards, and he scored one touchdown. 

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

=========================
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
Ryan Mathews has a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee and will be out for an undetermined amount of time. Various reports are suggesting a four to five week absence.
As the San Diego Union-Tribune notes. Mathews was taken off the field on a cart Sunday after hurting his knee trying to recover his own fumble in the fourth quarter of a 30-21 victory against the Seattle Seahawks.
The Chargers didn't say to what degree the ligament was injured, which would help narrow down how long Mathews is expected to be out.
"In all fairness to him and the training staff, everyone recovers differently," head coach Mike McCoy said Monday. "I'm not a doctor by any means so I can't look at an X-ray or a picture and say, 'Oh it's going to be this long.' We've had players who were supposed to be done for the season and the next thing you know they come out there Monday or Wednesday and they're practicing with something torn or something broken or this or that. I don't want to put a timetable on anything. It's unfortunate but it's part of the game."
Mathews, who is in the fifth and final year of his contract, was injury-prone in his first three seasons. Last year was the first time he played all 16 regular-season games, rushing for a career-high 1,255 yards. He did sprain an ankle late in the season but played through it until finally being forced to the sideline during the Chargers' divisional-round playoff loss at Denver. Mathews also has had trouble holding onto the ball during his pro career.
The Chargers (1-1) have Danny Woodhead, Donald Brown and rookie Branden Oliver at running back.
This was the kind of situation the Chargers envisioned when they signed Brown in the offseason as an unrestricted free agent from the Colts, who drafted him in the first round in 2009.
McCoy said he expects Brown to step in just as Rich Ohrnberger stepped in at center after Nick Hardwick was lost for the season following the opener due to a recurring neck stinger.
"Donald's played a ton of football," McCoy said. "The number of snaps he got in Indy in a very similar system, when he was with Peyton (Manning), so coming here we knew exactly what he can do. We've got a lot of confidence in him. We've said that we're going to play all our backs, certain rotations, certain number of plays. Some weeks it's going to be more than others and it's the second week in and they'll take a few more snaps. We have confidence in all our players. That's why they're here."
Brown finished with 537 yards and six touchdowns for the Indianapolis Colts in 2013, averaging 5.3 yards a carry. Offensive coordinator Frank Reich is confident in Brown's ability to make plays, and he knows Brown understands the offense. But in two games with the Chargers, Brown has 19 yards on nine carries, averaging 2.1 yards per rush.
McCoy also said that Oliver also will take on a larger role in the offense with Mathews out.
Overall, however, the Chargers say nothing changes in the wake of their big victory over the defending Super Bowl champions. Tight end Antonio Gates caught three touchdown passes from Philip Rivers and the offense controlled the tempo to help keep Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch off the field.
Up next is a trip to Buffalo, which leads the AFC East.
Other notes of interest. ... After making several catches against Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman on Sunday, San Diego Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen wasn't all that impressed with the Pro Bowl player.
"He's just a normal guy," Allen said of Sherman. "We can go at him. We took some shots at him. We are not going to shy away from him. He's not really a shutdown corner. We definitely wanted to come out and show we could go any way we wanted to and that we were in control of the game."
Allen had five receptions for 55 yards in the 30-21 upset victory over the Seahawks at Qualcomm Stadium. Unofficially, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers was 5-for-5 passing for 60 yards while throwing to receivers Sherman was covering.
It was a much different strategy than Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers used in the 36-16 Seattle victory last week when Rodgers didn't throw one pass at Sherman.
"Keenan was lighting up Sherman," said receiver Malcom Floyd, who didn't have a catch Sunday, but was targeted only once. ...
According to the Sports Xchange, Rivers was back to vintage 2013. He was on target, made wise decisions and had the good mind to look for Gates. Rivers threw for 284 yards, but more importantly he looked for Gates, his longtime target. Rivers did get some heat from the Seattle defense, not a shock.
But he was able on a couple of throws to take a body blow and still complete the pass.
One last note here. ... Gates was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his three-touchdown effort against the Seahawks.
As Profootballtalk.com pointed out, it's the first time that Gates has been so honored by the NFL, something that comes as a bit of a surprise given how good Gates has been over the course of his 12 years in the NFL.
Gates was held out of Wednesday's practice to rest the same sore hamstring he's played through the last two weeks. 

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

=========================
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
As ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez notes, Colin Kaepernick likes to tweet that he does not get tired. Fair enough.
"But surely," Gutierrez wrote, "after committing four turnovers in the San Francisco 49ers' 28-20 loss to the Chicago Bears in the Levi's Stadium regular-season debut, the 49ers quarterback had to be weary of giving the ball back to the visitors. ..."
"Terrible," was how he described his performance in the 49ers'meltdown in which they led 20-7 entering the fourth quarter and 17-0 late in the second quarter.
Kaepernick completed 21 of 34 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown. But he was picked off three times, lost a fumble and had a passer rating of 57.0, the third lowest of his 25 career starts.
Plus, he had an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for "inappropriate language" late in the collapse.
"I didn't say anything," Kaepernick said.
Asked if he was shocked at the description of the penalty, Kaepernick said he was. Head coach Jim Harbaugh said he was not given an exact reason for the penalty, which came after Kaepernick's second interception and preceded by one play the Bears' taking a 21-20 lead.
"It stings to lose," Harbaugh said. "We all have our fingerprints on it."
Kaepernick's more than anyone else, though, if for no other reason than his hands were on the ball for every Niners snap. Such is life for a quarterback.
And yet, the game started well for the dual-threat QB. The read-option was again in vogue, and Kaepernick was keeping the Bears off balance early and often.
In fact, his 66 yards rushing were more than the Bears had as a team (46), though, to be fair, Jay Cutler led Chicago's feeble rushing attack with 25 yards.
But it was on a run up the middle in the second quarter, one series after Bears safety Chris Conte made an acrobatic, outstretched interception 19 yards downfield, where Kaepernick's ball security skills as a runner failed him.
After picking up 4 yards, Kaepernick lost possession when Jared Allen stuck his helmet on the ball, popping it out for safety Danny McCray to jump on for the recovery. The 49ers led 10-0 at the time, though.
Kaepernick's final two interceptions came in the fourth quarter, both by rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller, and both picks were followed by Bears touchdowns.
Some have suggested that Kaepernick again fell into that trap of going for the home run ball and staring down his receiver, while his checkdown options were wide open underneath or in the flat.
"As far as my decisions, I saw the coverages, I went where I wanted to with the ball," Kaepernick said. "I just didn't make the plays and I didn't make the throws."
Meanwhile, by many accounts, the 49ers have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.
According to the Sports Xchange, there was no indication of that watching Sunday's loss to the Bears. Even with right guard Alex Boone returning to his starting spot for the first time since a training-camp holdout, the 49ers had problems up front in just about every aspect of the game.
Kaepernick was sacked four times, including twice by Bears backup left end Willie Young, who beat 49ers backup right tackle Jonathan Martin on both occasions. Martin was starting in place of injured Anthony Davis.
The 49ers ran for only 129 yards against a team that allowed the most rushing yards in the league last season (163.4 yards per game). The Bears were trampled for 193 yards in the 2014 season opener by the Buffalo Bills. And the 49ers' total of 129 is a bit deceiving.
Forty-eight of Kaepernick's team-leading 66-yard total came on mad scrambles during attempts to avoid adding to the aforementioned sack total.
The line also failed to come through when given a chance to put the game on their shoulders. Looking to extend a 17-7 lead in the third quarter, the 49ers ran three consecutive times from the Chicago 6, 5 and 7 yards lines, gaining one yard twice to sandwich a two-yard loss on the second-down play. Instead of getting what might have been a clinching touchdown, the 49ers had to settle for a field goal.
"We as an offense need to pick it up," Boone assessed after the game. "We can't leave our defense out to dry like that. We've got to get back in the meeting rooms, look at things and get better."
This week, the 49ers travel to the desert to take on the Cardinals, the only 2-0 team in the NFC West. The 49ers have won nine of the Past 10 meetings between the teams. The Cardinals' victory in that time frame came on Dec. 11, 2011, in Arizona.
On the injury front. ... According to CSNBayArea.com's Matt Maiocco, tight end Vernon Davis avoided a significant ankle injury and could be back on the field Sunday. Davis underwent an MRI examination on Monday that revealed a deep bruise and no structural damage to his left ankle, according to the source.
Davis sustained the injury on a fourth-quarter play in which his foot got caught under Chicago Bears linebacker Jonathan Bostic at the end of Davis' 8-yard reception.
Davis did not return for the final 10 minutes of the game, and was seen on crutches in the 49ers' locker room afterward.
It is not known if Davis will participate in practices this week, as the 49ers prepare for a matchup against the NFC West's only unbeaten team.
The status of 49ers backup tight end Vance McDonald is not known. McDonald sustained a right knee injury on Frank Gore's second-quarter touchdown run that was nullified due to a penalty.
McDonald was blocking defensive end Jared Allen when linebacker Shea McClellin rolled into the back of his leg after missing a tackle on Gore. McDonald returned briefly after the half but did not see any playing time in the fourth quarter.
Derek Carrier is the only healthy tight end on the 49ers' 53-man roster. He had the first three receptions of his NFL career for 41 yards in the 49ers' 28-20 loss to the Bears.
The 49ers also have two tight ends on the practice squad: Asante Cleveland and Xavier Grimble, who was signed on Monday. ...
Other notes of interest. ...As the Sports Xchange notes, Gore rushed for 63 yards on 13 carries in Sunday's loss and scored on an eight-yard run in the second quarter. But Gore was stopped on a key third-and-6 play from the Chicago 7 in the third quarter, setting up a field goal that allowed the Bears to stay within 20-7.
Carlos Hyde got just four carries and produced no net yards. The disappointing effort came on the heels of an encouraging NFL debut in Week 1, when he rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown on seven carries against Dallas. ...
Michael Crabtree was Kaepernick's favorite target Sunday night, catching seven of the nine balls thrown in his direction, including a three-yard touchdown on the 49ers' first possession of the game. Crabtree also was the intended target when Kaepernick went for the score on a fourth-and-9 play from the Chicago 17 with 1:17 to go.
Crabtree was well defended on the play, and the ball fell incomplete.
Brandon Lloyd was inactive for Sunday's game as 49ers coach went with fourth (return man Bruce Ellington) and fifth (special teams ace Kassim Osgood) wideouts who serve other purposes. Lloyd had been active for the season opener at Dallas, but caught no passes. 

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

=========================
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
According to Associated Press sports writer Tim Booth, with Super Bowl rematch hoopla looming, the Seahawks spent Monday trying to regroup after being drained by the heat of San Diego.
The Seahawks haven't been accustomed to dealing with losses much in the past 12 months. That helped explain the mood Monday after Sunday's 30-21 loss to the Chargers.
"They're quiet. They're quiet and serious," head coach Pete Carroll said. "We don't take these easily. There are very high expectations that we live with here and everybody knows that. The main thing is everybody took to heart the changes and adjustments and the things that we can fix. They were ready to do that."
San Diego had offensive success where others had failed. There were many reasons, but it started with the performance of Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, who drew high praise from Carroll.
There was also San Diego's ability to get gains on first and second downs to set up short third-down opportunities and extend those drives that eventually wore out Seattle's defense. San Diego was 10 of 17 on third down and many of the passes were underneath. According to STATS, Inc., Rivers was 12 of 14 for 116 yards and two touchdowns on passes that traveled 1 to 10 yards.
"They have a real good mentality about it. They've been committed to that style it seems to be since the midway point of last year and that's the way they like to play," Carroll said. "Philip does a great job of it. ... That allowed them to play to their strength and we weren't able to knock down enough situations."
Among the notable stats from Sunday:
Seattle lost by more than seven points for the first time since Week 9 of the 2011 season in a 23-13 loss at Dallas.
Rivers' 124.2 passer rating was the highest against Seattle since Eli Manning had a 125.8 in Week 8 of the 2010 season.
San Diego's 42:15 time of possession was the most allowed by the Seahawks since Cleveland had nearly 43 minutes of possession in 2011.
The Chargers' 26 first downs were tied for the second-most allowed by Seattle since the start of the 2011 season.
Most of those numbers are amplified because Seattle's defense had shut down Denver's similar passing attack in the Super Bowl, then limited Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers to just one side of the field in a dominating season opening victory.
The stumble only raised the specter of this Sunday's Super Bowl rematch with the Broncos in Seattle. Denver beat the Seahawks last month in the preseason opener for both teams.
"They wanted to get rid of the feeling and I don't blame them one bit. That's what everybody would do," Carroll said. "I'm sure this is a really important game to them again. As it is to us. I think there was something going on in the preseason. I think it was a big deal for them. I don't blame them one bit."
Seattle ran only 40 offensive plays and could never fully get into its offensive game plan. Marshawn Lynch had only six carries, tied for his fewest carries since joining Seattle early in the 2010 season. After getting 11 offensive touches in the season opener, Percy Harvin had his hands on the ball only three times, including a disputed 51-yard touchdown run.
And when the Seahawks found the most offensive rhythm, they were usually in a hurry-up offense.
"You can't see the game plan. We weren't able to execute the plan that we had gone in with because we just didn't have enough chances," Carroll said. "With four opportunities in the first half and before you know it we're in the two-minute situation. We scored so fast on Percy's run that we just didn't have enough of a chance to develop our plan. ..."
Speaking of Percy's run. ... It was a good and bad day for Harvin, who limped off the field after being tackled for a 6-yard loss on a failed jet sweep near the end of the game. Harvin scored on a 51-yard run around the left end after a pitch when he lined up at tailback, but replays showed he stepped out of bounds heading to the end zone.
The replay officials in New York did not reverse the call. Harvin also fumbled a kickoff return that led to a Chargers touchdown.
For the record, the NFL says league officials erred by not stopping play for a replay review after Harvin's 51-yard run.
Harvin took a pitch from Russell Wilson, got the edge and ran down the left sideline. But Harvin had stepped on the sideline during the run and the NFL said after the game the score was "incorrectly confirmed."
"Had the game been stopped for a replay review, the touchdown would have been reversed because Harvin stepped out of bounds at the San Diego 21-yard line," the league said.
Every scoring play is reviewed by the replay officials, but the crowd at Qualcomm Stadium was stunned when they saw the replay and the TD was not reversed.
The 51-yard score was the longest of Harvin's career on a running play from the line of scrimmage. ...
On the injury front, Carroll said Lynch left the field with doctors before the loss at San Diego ended because his back tightened up, reports 710 ESPN Radio. Carroll said Lynch's back issues are "ongoing" and will be monitored.
Backup running back Robert Turbin didn't play a lot, but he was a one-man show on a scoring drive in the final minute of the first half. Turbin replaced Lynch on the final series of second quarter and had two receptions for 35 yards, including a 32-yard catch-and-run and a 3-yard touchdown catch on the 59-yard drive.
Christine Michael (hamstring), TE Cooper Helfet (knee) and LB Kevin Pierre-Louis (hamstring) are expected to practice Wednesday. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Receiver Bryan Walters was the primary punt returner for the first time in his Seattle career. But the Seahawks forced just three punts and Walters fair caught one with the other two unreturnable.
Receiver Kevin Norwood, a rookie from Alabama, practiced all last week and is healthy after having had foot surgery early in training camp. However, he was not active with Seattle having six other active receivers. So he will have to wait at least another week to make his NFL debut.
Assistant offensive line coach Pat Ruel was released from a San Diego hospital Monday and was on his way back to Seattle. He experienced an irregular heartbeat on Sunday. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Russell Wilson, Tarvaris Jackson 
RB: Marshawn Lynch, Robert Turbin, Christine Michael 
FB: Derrick Coleman 
WR: Percy Harvin, Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Paul Richardson, Ricardo Lockette, Kevin Norwood, Bryan Walters 
TE: Zach Miller, Luke Willson, Cooper Helfet 
PK: Steven Hauschka 
=========================

=========================
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
As Associated Press sports writer Fred Goodall pointed out, the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers don't have time to feel sorry for themselves.
Less than 24 hours after losing to the St. Louis Rams on a late field goal, the Bucs (0-2) were back in meeting rooms on what normally would have been a day off for players -- preparing for Thursday night's game at Atlanta.
Injuries are mounting, with two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and middle linebacker Mason Foster the latest additions to the injury report. Having just three days to get ready for the Falcons won't make the first road test of the season any easier.
McCoy has a broken left hand, suffered on the opening defensive series of Sunday's 19-17 loss. Foster left with a shoulder injury later in the first half, and he and McCoy were among five starters who weren't on the field when the Rams scored field goals on their last three possessions to come from behind and win.
"It's about getting a product good enough to win football games on the field, coach Lovie Smith said Monday, refusing to use injuries as an excuse for the team's third 0-2 start in the past six seasons.
The Bucs lost the first seven games in 2009, and dropped eight straight before winning for the first time a year ago.
"A lot is being said about the offense, and what we're doing in certain situations, but where we're really not performing well enough right now is on the defensive side," Smith added. "From long drives to taking the ball away. Our first goal on the defensive side is to score. We haven't come close to doing any of those things at this stage. ... But we will."
The coach had little to say about injuries other than to say that if the team had practiced Monday, then McCoy, Foster and rookie tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who sat out Sunday's loss because of a sore ankle, would not have been able to participate. Serferian-Jenkins was subsequently ruled out.
Running back Doug Martin (knee) and defensive end Michael Johnson (ankle) also were inactive against the Rams. In addition, the defense played without end Adrian Clayborn and cornerback Mike Jenkins, who were placed on injured reserve after getting hurt during a season-opening loss to Carolina.
"There's no excuse. Whoever's out there we believe in wholeheartedly," cornerback Alterraun Verner said. "Obviously, Gerald going down was a big blow, and some of the other guys from previous weeks. I mean, that's the game. Everybody knows that this game is going to have injuries and people going down. People have to step up."
The Bucs did get a big game out of Martin's backup, Bobby Rainey, who rushed for 144 yards on 22 carries and gained 30 more on three pass receptions.
Smith also said defensive linemen Da'Quan Bowers and William Gholston performed "ok for the first time out" in filling in for Johnson and Clayborn after missing significant time during the preseason, as well as the opener, because of injuries.
Still, the coach stressed the team has not played well enough as a whole to win.
"Our entire game right now, we're not pleased with," Smith said.
Rather than fret about not having much time to make adjustments and corrections before facing the Falcons (1-1), players say they're putting the disappointment of the past two weeks behind them.
"You definitely can't dwell on it. We're not going to feel sorry for ourselves, we didn't get it done," Bowers said. "It's time to move on, and we have to get going and prepare for Atlanta."
Meanwhile, Martin practiced Tuesday and had no trouble with his injured knee that kept him from playing last week against the Rams. But he's officially listed as questionable for tomorrow's game. If he does play, it may be in a timeshare with Rainey. ...
As for tomorrow's game, the Sports Xchange suggests the Bucs have to continue to run the football and try to play field position and keep away from the Falcons' top-ranked offense.
In addition to the ground game, look for Josh McCown to try and get the ball on the perimeter to his 6-5 receivers, Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson. McCown has thrown three interceptions in two games, but Tampa Bay has not made use of either receiver down the field or in the red zone.
In fact, ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas notes that Sunday's loss to the St. Louis Rams revealed some telling numbers about the passing game. Although taking shots downfield is supposed to be a big part of the offense, McCown's longest completion was a 29-yarder to Evans. That was a desperation heave on the last play of the game. Other than that, the only pass of at least 20 yards was a 20-yarder to Jackson.
The Bucs need to start taking advantage of their skills. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Josh McCown, Mike Glennon 
RB: Doug Martin, Bobby Rainey, Mike James, Charles Sims 
RB: Jorvorskie Lane 
WR: Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans, Chris Owusu, Robert Herron, Russell Shephard, Louis Murphy 
TE: Brandon Myers, Luke Stocker, Austin Seferian-Jenkins 
PK: Patrick Murray 
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TENNESSEE TITANS
According to the Sports Xchange, all of the optimism that the Titans had after their Week 1 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs went out the window on Sunday when Tennessee laid an egg at home against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Titans suffered through a horrid first half, trailing 16-0, on their way to a 26-10 loss at LP Field.
Quarterback Jake Locker struggled in the first half, completing just 4 of 12 passes for 26 yards and an interception. And though he bounced back in the second half to finish with semi-respectable numbers (18 of 34 for 234 yards, one touchdown, two picks), it proved too little too late for the Titans to try and rally against a much-maligned Cowboys defense.
The Titans gave up 220 yards rushing and managed only 68 yards in the first half.
"A lot of it was self-inflicted," head coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "They prepared well, they played well. Give Dallas credit. They didn't do anything we didn't anticipate. We just didn't execute very well."
Now Tennessee (1-1) hits the road starting a two-game swing at Cincinnati (2-0) on Sunday expecting the Bengals to follow the Cowboys' lead.
The offense did nothing to give the defense a chance.
The Titans were on the field only three minutes, five seconds in the first quarter with 19 yards and improved that only slightly in the second quarter with 5:14 of time of possession and 49 yards.
Tight end Delanie Walker had a career-day with 10 receptions for 142 yards with a 61-yard touchdown. But he didn't his best individual performance after the ugly loss.
"Looking at the film, you can see from the front end and the back end there were plays that could've been made," Walker said. "Guys not really being on the right assignment, not getting the right depth. That goes for all of us. Some protection problems. When you see things like that after a game we had. ... Things we have to fix."
Whisenhunt didn't shy away from the Titans' poor play. The first-year coach did find one positive in how Tennessee pulled within 16-10 and had a chance at taking the lead only to see safety Bernard Pollard drop a would-be interception he might have taken for a touchdown.
"Those are the kind of plays you have to make," Whisenhunt said. ...
Meanwhile, as ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky suggested that Exhibit A in the case for Locker as a long-term NFL starter came last week in Kansas City. He was efficient, poised under pressure and played with confidence.
Exhibit A in the case against Locker as a long-term NFL starter came against the Cowboys, particularly in the first half.
In that first half, Locker had four completions in 12 attempts for 26 yards, with a long of 10, an interception and a sack. The Titans averaged 3.5 plays per drive on their six first-half possessions. Locker managed to build his first half passer rating of 7.6 to 60.2 at game's end, but outside of building on a great connection with Walker he did little to elevate the offense.
The standard Locker concerns surfaced: He wasn't accurate enough and he wasn't very poised making throws after he held the ball too long under pressure.
"Yeah, Jake didn't play his best in the first half, but we had opportunities to make a couple catches that get us going early and we didn't do it," Whisenhunt said. "And it's obvious to me now that we are an offense that needs to make a play early to get something going."
There is no crime in having to call something early that's intended to get a quarterback some early confidence and rhythm. Kuharsky notes that former Titans play-callers did that often for Steve McNair.
But Locker and the offense should be able to find success and rhythm in whatever Whisenhunt calls even if it's not some basic play aimed at giving them a baby step at the start.
One thing is certain: Life won't get easier for Locker going up against the Bengals this weekend. ...
On the injury front. ... Whisenhunt would only tell reporters that running back Dexter McCluster has a sore foot Monday, and that additional details will be known Wednesday. According to CBSSports.com, McCluster was spotted leaving the locker room with a walking boot on his foot after Sunday's game.
A few final notes here. ... Shonn Greene had 40 yards on eight rushes, but then mysteriously was not used much at all in the second half.
According to Nashville Tennessean staffer Jim Wyatt, Justin Hunter played on 41-of-49 snaps in Sunday's loss. That ranks with Nate Washington (46 snaps) and Kendall Wright (42 snaps). That he was held to two catches for 26 yards despite the high-end playing time is a bit of a disappointment. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Jake Locker, Charlie Whitehurst, Zach Mettenberger 
RB: Shonn Greene, Bishop Sankey, Leon Washington, Dexter McCluster 
FB: Jackie Battle 
WR: Kendall Wright, Nate Washington, Justin Hunter, Derek Hagan, Kris Durham, T.J. Graham 
TE: Delanie Walker, Craig Stevens, Taylor Thompson 
PK: Ryan Succop 
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WASHINGTON REDSKINS
The Redskins are optimistic that Robert Griffin III will return this season. Less clear is how much more Griffin can take before the "injury-prone" label supersedes anything else he accomplishes in his NFL career.
An MRI exam on Monday revealed that Griffin doesn't have any broken bones to go along with his dislocated left ankle, which means he doesn't need season-ending surgery and could theoretically return in a couple of months if all goes well with his rehab. Kirk Cousins will be the starting quarterback for much -- if not all -- of the rest of the year.
"This game, we only get to play it for such a short period of time," safety Ryan Clark said, "so, for me, it's more just being sad for Rob. The football part of it goes on. The game? The NFL ain't never missed a play. They're going to keep playing no matter who's in those jerseys."
As Associated Press sports writer Joseph White recounted, Griffin was hurt when his left ankle planted awkwardly into the turf during the first quarter of the Sunday's 41-10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The scene was familiar: Griffin lying on the turf, the crowd murmuring with concern, teammates offering support. His tears spoke volumes.
Griffin missed all or part of four games during his record-setting rookie season of 2012, yielding the field to Cousins because of a concussion and later due to injuries to a right knee that eventually had to be surgically reconstructed for a second time. In 2013, he missed part of one game with a tweaked left knee and was benched for the final three games by coach Mike Shanahan.
Now the quarterback with the world-class sprinter's body has broken down again.
His MRI results will be sent to a specialist for further analysis, and head coach Jay Gruden said he won't have a timetable for Griffin's return until the leg has been in a cast for a few weeks.
Gruden said there's "no consideration" at this point of putting Griffin on season-ending injured reserve. The coach answered "yes" when asked if he was optimistic about having the franchise player back in 2014.
"You're sick about it," Gruden said, "because you spend a lot of time with Robert, getting him ready and you watch how much passion he has for the game and how seriously he takes his job and what kind of will he has to succeed. And he's such a great kid on and off the field that you hate for something like this to happen to somebody.
"It's just a bump in the road for him. It's another little bit of adversity he's going to have to overcome. And part of being a quarterback is your mental toughness and ability to overcome adversity, and he's done it in the past, he'll do it again and we have total faith that he'll bounce back and be as good as ever soon."
Gruden said he doesn't think the troubling list of injuries should cast doubt on Griffin's durability.
"The more injuries mount on him, it just becomes an issue, I guess, for a lot of people to think that his durability's in question. ... I think they're just fluke injuries, and they happen from time to time to certain players," Gruden said. "And hopefully, when he recovers from this, it'll be the last one he ever has."
Meanwhile, Cousins has a sustained chance to prove he can be a starting NFL quarterback. His various fill-in appearances for Griffin have produced mixed results. He looked sharp Sunday, albeit against a Jaguars defense that left receivers open everywhere.
But he looked very comfortable -- more so than Griffin -- when running new coach Gruden's system during training camp and preseason. Gruden was trying to teach Griffin how to be a pocket-passer; Cousins is already one.
Gruden said he won't have to make any significant changes to the game plan with Cousins calling the signals.
"We were trying not to make this about Robert when Robert was the quarterback," the coach said. "We're going to try not to make this about Kirk now that Kirk's the quarterback. We've got to make this about the Redskins moving forward. ..."
Maybe so. But if Cousins plays well, the Redskins could be tempted to leave him in the lineup as a starter. A report in the Washington Post said that Gruden believes that Cousins is the better fit for his offense.
"I feel like we can win any game with Kirk Cousins," Gruden said after Sunday's win. "Kirk is a special guy. He started four games last year and didn't have great success, but obviously has a skill set that I feel like is very much suited for what we do."
Gruden said Monday that he will make those decisions when they come to it, not making any promises that Griffin keeps his job if healthy.
We're getting ahead of things here because we don't know how long Griffin will be out for, and we don't yet know how Cousins will perform. If we've learned anything during the Griffin era in Washington, however, it's that this promises to get complicated.
Meanwhile, DeSean Jackson‘s return to Philadelphia in Week 3 could be in jeopardy because the wide receiver sprained the AC joint in his left shoulder on Sunday.
Jackson, who signed with Washington as a free agent this past spring, suffered the injury with just less than seven minutes left in the first quarter. He made a diving attempt at a catch and landed on his shoulder. Shortly after, Jackson retreated to the locker room, flanked by trainers.
Gruden said after the game that tests showed a sprain, and that Jackson will be listed as day-to-day.
Jackson said he would like to play at Philadelphia, where he spent the first six seasons of his career. But at the same time, he said he didn't yet have a feel for how things would play out in the coming week.
"I don't plan on missing this game," Jackson said.
We'll see. Jackson missed Wednesday's practice; those interested will want to watch the Late-Breaking Updates section for more in coming days. ...
Meanwhile, teammates Darrel Young, Roy Helu and Shawn Lauvao all had optimism that the injuries they suffered Sunday were less severe.
Young sprained his back when he took a hit at the end of a seven-yard reception. The hit, delivered by safety Winston Guy, left Young stretched out on the field for a couple of minutes. Officials called Guy for unnecessary roughness and a hit to the head, but Young said it was actually a hit to his back and that he didn't believe that the hit was illegal.
Gruden said he believes Young will be listed as day-to-day.
Helu strained his left knee early in the game and played with the injury until it became too sore for him to continue in the fourth quarter. The running back remained hopeful that he could return to action later this week.
Gruden said that Lauvao had some inflammation in his right knee after what was described by the team as a sprain late in the game. Third-year pro Josh LeRibeus took over for Lauvao at left guard and finished the game. But Lauvao said after the game that he didn't believe the injury was serious. ...
When top receiving tight end Jordan Reed went out with a hamstring injury in the first quarter against the Texans, there was some though that the Redskins might be hamstrung at the position. Not exactly. All backup Niles Paul has done since is establish career-highs in catches and yards in each of the two games. The former Nebraska receiver, who former coach Mike Shanahan switched to tight end in 2012, leads Washington with 12 catches for 185 yards. Only three NFC tight ends have more catches and only New Orleans star Jimmy Graham has more yards.
"Jordan Reed's the guy as far as I know," said Paul, who had just 14 catches for 228 yards in his three previous seasons. "When he comes back, I don't know. It could be this week, it could be next week. I just take on the role that comes as the coaches give them to me."
Gruden has said Reed needs to practice at some point this week in order to play. Reed did not practice Wednesday. ...
Also of interest. ... Alfred Morris got off to a slow start, but finished with 85 yards on 22 carries including a pair of 1-yard touchdowns to reach the 3,000-yard mark in just 34 career games, faster than anyone on Redskins history. Rookie Silas Redd had a 14-yard score in garbage time. Helu managed 25 yards on eight carries.
And finally. ... The Redskins had free-agent running back Michael Bush in for a workout on Tuesday. The team hasn't made him an offer at this point. 

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