FLASHUPDATE WEEK 8 TEAM NOTES/Wednesday, 22 October, 2014 Compiled By FlashUpdate Editor Bob Harris ========================= ARIZONA CARDINALS The Cardinals are 5-1 for the first time in 38 years. After a victory at winless Oakland, the team sits alone atop the NFC West, with a two-game cushion in the loss column over San Francisco and Seattle. As Associated Press sports writer Bob Baum notes, there are three other one-loss teams in the NFL, and Arizona plays two of them the next two weeks. First up is a home game Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. A week later, there's a trip to Dallas to face the steamrolling Cowboys. "We can't talk about Dallas. We don't play them until next week," head coach Bruce Arians said, "But, this week, the Eagles are a big-time challenge." After Sunday's 24-13 win at Oakland, Arians said his team was "nothing special." On Monday, he was asked to expand on that. "I think they know right now that if we don't play hard for 60 minutes," he said, "it's going to be very hard for us to win." He said there isn't a team on Arizona's schedule that the Cardinals can't beat or that can't beat them. Arizona won nine of its last 11 games last season, so that makes them 12-3 over the last 15 games. The Cardinals haven't won 12 in a 15-game span since 1975-76. The 12-3 record is tied with Philadelphia, Denver and New England for the best in the NFL over the last 15 games. But there remains a belief on the team that the Cardinals have yet to put together a complete game. The win in Oakland might have been the closest to it yet. "Defensively, this was our best game as far as mental errors," Arians said, "but offensively, we still continue to run a route short, line up wrong, do some things that are uncalled for. We need to sharpen ourselves up offensively. We had a sack because of a miscommunication on who the 'Mike' linebacker was. Little things like that are hurting us offensively." After the Raiders managed just 56 yards on the ground, the Cardinals rank first in the league in run defense, a fact that will be severely tested by Philadelphia's LeSean McCoy and Dallas' DeMarco Murray. Arizona ranked first against the run last year. Offensively, Arizona was able to move the ball on the ground better than it had all season. Andre Ellington finished with 88 yards rushing in 24 attempts and caught six passes for 72 yards. Stepfan Taylor carried 12 times for 40 yards and a score and caught two for 17 yards and a touchdown. . Still ahead for the Cardinals are five division games. Arizona won at home against San Francisco in its only NFC West game thus far. The Cardinals need to go 5-5 from here on to match last season's 10-6 record. That, though, wasn't good enough to make the playoffs. There's one way to assure a postseason berth. Win the NFC West. ... Other notes of interest. ... According to ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss, Arians didn't think Ellington was coming back out of that locker room. Ellington went in early, with a few seconds left in the second quarter to get his bruised ribs examined. It was going to be, in Arians' mind, another injury to add to the Cardinals' weekly list report that seemingly grows by the day. Ellington didn't quell Arians' concerns when the Cardinals returned to the field for the second half kickoff without him. By then, Arians was rewriting the game plan for Taylor and Robert Hughes to carry Ellington's load in the second half. But several minutes into the third quarter, Ellington jogged back on to the field and stood next to Arians. "Then he tapped me on the back and said he was ready to go," Arians said. "I said, ‘Oh good. I'm glad you made it.'" After Ellington returned, Arians gave his featured back one play that first drive of the second half -- a pass from Carson Palmer, which Ellington dropped. But when Arizona took over following a field goal by Oakland to make the game 14-13 midway through the third quarter, Arians gave the ball back to Ellington. And didn't stop. Ellington was responsible for 76 of the 80 yards on Arizona's next drive -- 40 on the ground, 16 in the air and 20 through a defensive pass interference he drew. After doing all that work, he subbed himself out after getting winded and let Taylor get the glory. Taylor, who had 40 yards on 12 carries -- twice as many as his season total before Oakland -- scored on a four-yard touchdown run, his second score of the game. "He earned it during the week," Ellington said. "When I'm sitting resting, he's out there working. My idea was just to get some fresh legs out there and we got the touchdown." Since he injured his left foot the week before the opener, Ellington hasn't been practicing Wednesdays. It's caused him to struggle with his wind early in games but he eventually catches his breath. The gauntlet of plays that Arians put Ellington through Sunday had been set since OTAs but Ellington hasn't had many opportunities to practice them. Arizona hadn't cracked 100 yards rushing since Week 2 in New York, but if there was a game to do it, it was against the Raiders' 31st-ranked rushing defense. The Cardinals knew they had specific areas to focus on, and Sunday was an example of what happens when their minor corrections are made. "It's something that we always knew we had," said Hughes. "We were there the few past games but it's always one block here, one block there. Today, we seemed to be able to get in more of a rhythm in the run game, but we got to definitely continue to work on it some more cause there's big plays there we need to get out and get those toes big plays. ..." A bit of good news? According to CBSSports.com, Ellington did not practice Wednesday as usual, but he wasn't in a walking boot either. Arians called that "a nice thing for a Wednesday" in his briefing with reporters. ... Palmer has thrown for a touchdown in 16 consecutive games. That's the third longest streak in team history behind Kurt Warner (22) and Neil Lomax (19). Palmer did have a pass intercepted against the Raiders, the first interception this season of a Cardinals pass. Palmer played well in Oakland last week but not because he had extra motivation against his old employer. "I didn't feel a chip on my shoulder," he said. "I've been in this business a long time. I understand the business side of it. They went in a different direction. You just have to roll with the punches and find a new place to go. ..." For the second time in three games, Ted Ginn (5 of 76) played single-digit snaps on offense. Sunday was a season-low for him, while John Brown's 43 was a career-high. Jaron Brown's six snaps tied his season high, while Larry Fitzgerald (73) and Michael Floyd (72) continue to take most of the reps. Also according to Weinfuss, Ginn was signed to relieve Patrick Peterson of his return duties while adding a dynamic punt and kick returner. With the exception of one return for a touchdown against the New York Giants, Ginn hasn't lived up to the hype or expectations, and that continued Sunday. He fielded six punts and returned just two of them -- opting for fair catches or field catches. In his defense, most were not returnable. But the one punt he had room to return came at the end of the third quarter, and he opted for the fair catch instead of trying to gain a few extra yards. When he did return punts, they went for 7 yards. Brown was limited by a sore ankle on Wednesday, but he's expected to play as usual. Rookie tight end Troy Niklas has missed two games with a high ankle sprain. Coaches hope Niklas can practice but the end of the week but it's doubtful he will play Sunday against the Eagles.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Carson Palmer, Drew Stanton, Logan Thomas  RB: Andre Ellington, Stepfan Taylor, Marion Grice  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  ========================= ========================= ATLANTA FALCONS As ESPN.com's Vaughn McClure reminded readers, a while back, wide receiver Roddy White said he believed his Atlanta Falcons had enough firepower to average 30 points per game. McClure added, "White should have put this disclaimer on his statement: Only if Matt Ryan has adequate time to throw and get the offense into a rhythm. ..." Such was far from the case Sunday during the Falcons' 29-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. This Falcons' high-octane offense looked rather pedestrian in scoring 20 points less than their season average. Ryan, who completed 29 of 44 passes for season-low 228 yards and a score, was sacked a season-high five times and was hit nine times. The Falcons were just 4-for-15 on third down. And the third-ranked offense in the league set a season-low with 254 yards. "We've got to play ahead of the sticks, and we're not doing that right now," said White, who has nine catches for a season-high 100 yards in defeat. "It's frustrating because we're going out there and we're digging holes and we're basically putting ourselves in them. We aren't getting out of them. It's hurting our defense. It's hurting our team. "Right now, we're just not that good on offense." The line took its share of the blame for the woes. Losing center Peter Konz was far from the main reason for the protection issues. "We didn't give Matt enough of a chance to make things happen down the field," guard Justin Blalock said. "[The Ravens] played well. They played very, very well. They got after us, were able to exploit some things in protection. And obviously, they are very good players on top of that. They came out and played their asses off today." The Falcons sit at 2-5 and have lost four in a row as they prepare for a weeklong stay in London for Sunday's matchup with the Lions. Any hope of ending the losing skid depends on fixing the sudden issues on offense, particularly if the struggling defense shows the type of improvement it did Sunday. Ryan really had no chance against the Ravens' strong defensive front that swarmed from all directions. "When you go out there and get beat soundly, I think everybody knows we've got to play better across the board," Ryan said. "We've all played football for long enough to know when you're getting your butt kicked, you've got to do something different and something better. "I think across the board -- offense, offensive line, running backs, tight ends, wide receivers -- we've got to do this together. We've got to become better today. Hopefully, we're able to find a way to get that done this week." Twice in the third quarter, the Falcons failed on fourth-down plays as they trailed 20-0. One was a fourth-and-7 play from the Ravens' 37-yard line, which resulted in Ryan getting sacked for a 12-yard loss. The other was a fourth-and-1 play on the very next drive, when Ryan threw a short pass to Devonta Freeman, who was thrown down for no gain. "The first fourth down that we had, we had a little drive going and it was right out of the half," White said. "I felt like if we would have got that and could have just gone down and scored a touchdown, we would have been A-OK. "It's frustrating, especially when your coach is pushing the pedal to the metal. [Head coach Mike Smith] is giving us an opportunity on offense, going for it on fourth down instead of kicking field goals. He's giving us chances that we have to go out there and execute. That's not on the head coach. That's not on the coaching staff. That's on the players." The season continues to look like a lost one as the Falcons play their next three games away from the Georgia Dome. They haven't won a road game since Week 13 of last season against Buffalo in Toronto. The only thing working in their favor is a weak NFC South, with none of the four teams above .500. "It's tough, but nothing is impossible," receiver Julio Jones said. "We just have to keep fighting. We can turn this thing around if we get going. We can be 11-5, you know that though? We can be 11-5. ..." Seems like a mighty tall order at this point. ... Worth noting: Jones says that the team's turnaround has to begin with him because his play has not been up to snuff through the first seven weeks of the season. "It starts with me," Jones said, via the NFL Network. "I got to go out there and make plays when they are presented to me. I got to go out there and catch the ball, be more of a deep threat. … We are out there misreading or dropping balls. We have to fix that. It's nothing that the defense is doing, we have to fix that here. ..." Worth noting. ... Jones worked on a limited on Wednesday with the same ankle issue he's played through all month. Also worth noting, fellow wideout Harry Douglas , who has missed the past four games with a foot injury, didn't practice Wednesday. However, Douglas will go through a rehab workout to determine if he will practice the rest of the week and possibly play against the Lions Sunday. Other notes of interest. ... The Falcons placed Konz on injured reserve Monday and signed veteran offensive lineman Jonathan Scott. Scott, 31, is 6-6 and 318 pounds. He was originally drafted by the Lions in the fifth round in 2006. He has played in 70 games, with 35 starts, as a member of the Lions, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears. Scott has played mostly tackle over his career, a position where the Falcons are struggling. Rookie Jake Matthews is trying to play with an ankle injury and Gabe Carimi, who's on his third team, is trying to survive at right tackle. Scott was with the Chicago Bears in 2012 and 2013. He played for Falcons offensive line coach Mike Tice in 2012, starting seven of 12 games. As the Sports Xchange suggests, the Falcons appear to be in the same boat as last season, when they allowed pressure on 37.6 percent of their dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. The offensive line was given responsibility for allowing 32 of 44 sacks. The quarterback was hit 42 additional times and hurried 190. Ryan rarely had time to throw against the Ravens and had to vacate the pocket to escape the rush at least 10 times. The Falcons will have to consider using more maximum protection moving forward. ... Ryan was pressured on a season-high 32 percent of his dropbacks in this past Sunday, according to ESPN Stats & Information. It's no coincidence he was sacked a season-high five times. The pressure on his dropbacks has steadily climbed over the last five weeks (19 percent in Week 3, 23 percent in Week 4, 24 percent in Week 5, 29 percent in Week 6). As McClure suggested, Ndamukong Suh and the Lions' front is sure to smell blood with a rookie set to start at center for the Falcons in James Stone. Suh and Nick Fairley will bring intense interior pressure, while team sack leader Jason Jones and fast-rising Ezekiel Ansah -- the NFC's Defensive Player of the Week in Week 6 -- could give Matthews and Carimi fits on the edges. ... All that said, Ryan has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 12 straight games dating back to 2013. ... White broke Terance Mathis' franchise record for career touchdown receptions with a 4-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. White has caught 58 touchdowns since being drafted by Atlanta in 2005. He also owns franchise records for receptions (713), receiving yards (9,789), 100-yard receiving games (38) and 10-catch games (11). White's 58 TDs rank second to running back Michael Turner, who scored 61 times (60 rushing and one receiving) in five seasons with the Falcons. White and Jones wanted to atone for a poor showing last week against the Bears, when they both had two dropped passes. White finished with nine catches on 15 targets for 100 yards and a 4-yard touchdown. Jones had five catches on eight targets for 56 yards. Tight end Levine Toilolo caught two of his five targets. ... The Falcons rushed 18 times for 68 yards, but 18 of those yards came on a draw on the last play of the game. According to the Xchange, it's hard to tell whether Steven Jackson is the problem or whether the offensive line can't open any holes. Antone Smith ran three times for 10 yards and caught two passes minus-1 yard. Running behind their two best linemen, Matthews and Blalock, the running backs combined for 22 yards on nine carries on runs to the left.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Matt Ryan, T.J. Yates, Sean Renfree  RB: Steven Jackson, Jacquizz Rodgers, Antone Smith, Devonta Freeman, Patrick DiMarco  WR: Julio Jones, Roddy White, Devin Hester, Freddy Martino, Eric Weems, Harry Douglas  TE: Levine Toilolo, Bear Pascoe  PK: Matt Bryant  ========================= ========================= BALTIMORE RAVENS One week after ringing up 38 points in the first half at Tampa Bay, the Ravens took a shutout deep into the fourth quarter against Atlanta. As Associated Press sports writer David Ginsburg put it, "Offense, defense, special teams -- at this point, it appears as if the first-place Ravens can rely on any of those units to win. ..." Indeed, Baltimore (5-2) ranks second in the AFC in scoring, averaging 28 points a game, and has allowed fewer points than any NFL team. Not only that, but Justin Tucker is 14 for 14 on field goal tries inside 50 yards and punter Sam Koch has 10 kicks inside the 20 compared to just two touchbacks. Not too long ago, the Ravens' identity clearly was defense. Now, it's a tough call. "We're not going to say we want to be one thing or the other. We want to be everything," head coach John Harbaugh said Monday. "We want to be whatever we need to be to win the next game. And you never what's that going to be. Could be offense, could be defense, could be special teams." Baltimore's next game is a big one: at Cincinnati (3-2-1) on Sunday with first place in the AFC North on the line. The Ravens have won four of five since losing at home to the Bengals in the season opener. Should Baltimore drops this one, Cincinnati will own the first tie-breaker if the teams finish tied atop the division. "It's not the last game of the season. It doesn't have that kind of drama to it, but it is important," Harbaugh said. "You are in your division, you're playing a team on the road, a team that's beaten us once at home already." The Ravens, however, look to be improved from that early-September clash. "I would hope we are. We better be," Harbaugh said. "We're seven weeks later down the road." Over the past two weeks, Baltimore has outscored the opposition 77-24. Granted, the Buccaneers and Falcons are both struggling, but before that the Ravens beat Carolina 38-10 and Pittsburgh 26-6. There was also a 20-13 loss at Indianapolis, but that compares favorably to Cincinnati's 27-0 defeat on the road against the Colts on Sunday. Although it's early in the week, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis evidently has already seen the tape of Baltimore's 29-7 rout of Atlanta. In that game, Joe Flacco threw for 258 yards and two scores, Justin Forsett ran for 95 yards and nine different players had at least one reception. On defense, Elvis Dumervil and Pernell McPhee had two sacks each, Terrell Suggs collared quarterback Matt Ryan for a safety and tackle Haloti Ngata anchored a line that limited the Falcons to 68 yards rushing. "Baltimore is playing very well right now," Lewis said. "They're doing a good job both running the ball and throwing the ball, and obviously they're playing good on defense, being very explosive. McPhee's playing his tail off, and Suggs and Dumervil and Ngata, they've got the guys rolling up front. It's a big football game for us." Not everything went well for the Ravens on Sunday. Long snapper Morgan Cox tore his ACL and will be lost for the season. To fill the void, Baltimore signed Kevin McDermott, who played with the San Francisco 49ers last season. McDermott beat out Patrick Scales. ... But in the grand scheme of things -- and from a fantasy perspective -- the Ravens are hitting on all cylinders. ... Other notes of interest. ... As Pro Football Focus suggested, purely looking at the statistics, one could reasonably assume Forsett had a down game. His 95 yards on 23 carries comes out to 4.1 yards per carry, a considerably lower mark than his season average of 5.8. Sunday was the first game all season, though that the Ravens graded out negatively as a team run blocking. The most impressive part of Forsett's game on Sunday was his decisiveness. He consistently made one cut and got upfield even if it meant grinding out a short gain. 51 of Forsett's 95 yards came after contact. ... Owen Daniels has filled the void at tight end after Dennis Pitta went down with a season-ending hip injury and has become a favorite target for Flacco. Daniels caught six passes for 58 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons. He has a reception in 95 consecutive games the longest active streak in the NFL. "Obviously, my role has increased a little bit with Dennis being injured, but I'm just trying to do what I can do to help the team," Daniels said. ... Torrey Smith continues to get more involved in the offense; he caught three passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. ... As ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley noted, Jacoby Jones' nightmare season continued when he muffed his second punt of the season. Jones was lucky that the Falcons failed to convert it into points (missed 57-yard field goal). It could be time for the Ravens to think about a change at returner. ...  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Joe Flacco, Tyrod Taylor  RB: Justin Forsett, Lorenzo Taliaferro, Bernard Pierce  FB: Kyle Juszczyk  WR: Steve Smith, Torrey Smith, Jacoby Jones, Marlon Brown, Michael Campanaro, Kamar Aiken  TE: Owen Daniels, Crockett Gillmore, Ryan Taylor  PK: Justin Tucker  ========================= ========================= BUFFALO BILLS As Associated Press sports writer John Wawrow put it, "The one-two punch in the Buffalo Bills offensive backfield just got knocked out. ..." Running back C.J. Spiller is out indefinitely -- and could miss the rest of the season -- after having surgery Monday to repair an injury to his collarbone. And co-starter Fred Jackson revealed during his weekly radio show on Buffalo's WGR that he could miss up to four weeks with a groin injury. Both players were hurt about 10 minutes apart in the first half of a 17-16 win over Minnesota on Sunday The injuries leave Buffalo (4-3) turning to backups Anthony Dixon and Bryce Brown to carry the load for the near future. The Bills play at the New York Jets (1-6) on Sunday before entering their bye week off. The injuries nearly overshadowed a dramatic victory, in which Kyle Orton capped a 15-play, 80-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins with 1 second left. Head coach Doug Marrone confirmed Spiller had surgery and the team placed him short-term IR with designation to return according to the team's official website. Each team in the NFL has one spot per season on the IR/return list and the Bills were running out of time to use theirs. Many observers still believe Spiller is done for the season after undergoing surgery but theoretically he could return to action in Week 16 if the Bills are still in the playoff hunt. That scenario seems unlikely but there is really no downside to stashing Spiller in the hope that he can return to help at team in the thick of the playoff race with two weeks to go. And those final two games are tasty matchups against the very beatable defenses of the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots. Spiller was hurt after a 53-yard run in the second quarter, when he was tripped up from behind and fell hard on his left shoulder along the left sideline. He was carefully loaded into a cart and was in tears while driven off. The injury has the potential of ending Spiller's tenure in Buffalo. The Bills 2010 first-round draft pick is completing the final year of his contract, making him eligible to become a free agent this offseason. Jackson was already in the locker room when Spiller was carted in. "I didn't say anything to him. I just kind of gave him a big hug, put my arm around him and told him I was there for him," Jackson said. Jackson was hurt in the first quarter, when he felt something pop upon taking a handoff on a third-and-1 play. He took a few steps before falling and then immediately grabbed the inside of his left leg. Jackson said doctors informed him the pop was a muscle being pulled about a centimeter off the bone. "It's typically a four-week injury, but we'll try to do some things to get it sped up," Jackson said. "Hopefully, I can get back a lot sooner than that." Marrone was not pleased with Jackson going public with his injury and wouldn't say whether the four-week prognosis is accurate. Either way, Buffalo's running-back rotation is going to have an altogether new look. Dixon, an offseason free-agent addition, is expected to get additional playing time after he had 13 carries for 51 yards against Minnesota. Brown, acquired in a trade with Philadelphia in May, will finally get a chance to play after being listed as inactive through the first seven games. The Bills also have fullback Frank Summers. For the time-being, Marrone is comfortable with his depth at running back, but didn't rule out adding one to the practice squad. Brown is eager to finally get an opportunity to suit up, though unhappy that it comes because of injuries. "I reached out to both yesterday and told them I'm praying for a speedy recovery," Brown said. "I told them, I'm going to go out there and play for them. I'll do my very best. I don't want to let those guys down." Brown was in a similar position during his rookie season in Philadelphia in 2012, when filled in after injured starter LeSean McCoy. In his first start, Brown set the Eagles' single-game rookie rushing record with 178 yards rushing and two touchdowns. He followed that with 169 yards rushing and two more score in becoming the NFL's fifth rookie since 1960 to rush for 165-plus yards in consecutive games. In Buffalo, Brown has been the odd-man out because Dixon also fills a role on special teams. "I know that I can perform and play on this level," Brown said. "But at the end of the day, I don't control who's active and who's not. And unfortunately it was me. But I don't really want to focus on that because that's not really important." For what it's worth, Jackson expressed his level of confidence in Brown and Dixon on Monday. When asked about Brown specifically, Jackson believes he can be a full-time feature back. "He is an every down back," said Jackson. "He can do it all. He's a guy who can carry the ball 20-25 times. He's a guy who can pass protect his butt off and run routes well out of the backfield. We won't miss a beat with a guy like him. He's a guy who is going to come out and can produce. We know what he's capable of doing. I'm excited to see him get his opportunity. It comes at a time when we've lost a couple of guys who were valuable to the team, but that's why we have Bryce and [Dixon]. They can step in and shoulder that weight and we don't expect to miss a beat." As BuffaloBills.com's Chris Brown suggested, one concern is who will be the chief third down back to handle pass protection, something Jackson did on a full-time basis. As Jackson sees it both Brown and Dixon are more than capable. "They will (be able to handle it)," Jackson said. "It's one of the things that we work on every day and they do a tremendous job working with us. It's something I have a lot of pride in and I consider myself the best running back in the league when it comes to pass blocking. But those guys can do it and they will get the job done. We had a chance to go through it during training camp and I'm extremely excited about what they can do. It will be fun to watch them go out there and compete and make some plays for our team." Jackson intends to be around the team during his rehabilitation to assist Brown and Dixon in their preparations for the Jets this week. "I'm going to be as involved as if I was playing," said Jackson. "I want to be able to talk to those guys on the sideline and what I'm seeing when I watch the Jets and break them down and see what the tendencies are. So I'll be around. ..." Figuring out how the rotation plays out will be something I'll follow closely in coming days; watch the Late-Breaking Updates section for more. ... In a related note. ... The Bills signed free agent running back Philip Tanner to a contract on Tuesday. A fourth-year undrafted free agent who was with the Dallas Cowboys from 2011-2013, Tanner has averaged only 2.7 yards per carry in 56 career carries. As the Redzone.org notes, he will rarely see the field behind Brown and Dixon and may have been a last-ditch alternative. Both the Broncos and the Titans promoted running backs from their practice squads to their active rosters on Tuesday after rumors that a team (presumably the Bills) was trying to sign the players. ... Other notes of interest. ... As Pro Football Focus noted this week, Watkins has had a very up-and-down season so far, but it was an outstanding performance he put up against the Vikings. He had nine receptions (in 14 targets) for 122 yards and two touchdowns, setting personal bests in all three categories. He looked extremely quick in and out of breaks all afternoon. For the record, Watkins (groin) practiced in full Wednesday. With Watkins, Robert Woods (64 of 70 snaps) and Chris Hogan (37) dominating the workload at wideout, ESPN.com's Mike Rodak notes that Mike Williams' five snaps stick out, as he played a minimal role despite being active for the first time since Week 5. It's further evidence that the coaching staff doesn't value Williams as highly as Hogan, who lined up both as an outside and slot receiver Sunday. While Hogan lost a fumble in the red zone early in the game, he finished with five catches for 63 yards, none bigger than the last-second, leaping, 28-yard grab he made to set up the winning touchdown. Hogan played 37 of 70 snaps on offense and, just as important, was in for 16 snaps on special teams. Williams figures to return to being a healthy scratch once Marquise Goodwin (hamstring) is healthy. It's a situation that continues to bear watching as the trade deadline (Oct. 28) nears. Scott Chandler caught three passes for 36 yards, including a huge 24-yarder on fourth-and-20 on the winning drive. That came just a couple plays after he dropped a deep pass. Orton completed 31 of 43 passes for 283 yards, with two TDs and an interception. He also lost fumble on one of the six sacks he was a victim of.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Kyle Orton, E.J. Manuel  RB: Bryce Brown, Anthony Dixon, Philip Tanner, Fred Jackson, C.J. Spiller  FB: Frank Summers  WR: Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Chris Hogan, Marquise Goodwin, Marcus Easley, Mike Williams  TE: Scott Chandler, Lee Smith, Chris Gragg  PK: Dan Carpenter  ========================= ========================= CAROLINA PANTHERS According to ESPN.com's David Newton, one of the interesting moments following Sunday's 38-17 loss at Green Bay came when head coach Ron Rivera was asked if he planned any personnel changes. Rivera stared at the reporter for a second, then said, "I played everybody we had." The snap count reveals just that. Rivera actually played some more than he ever imagined due to injuries on the offensive line. Undrafted rookie David Foucault wound up with 30 snaps (42 percent of the plays) at left tackle after Byron Bell suffered an elbow contusion. The Canadian player is considered a project at 6-foot-8 and 305 pounds. He likely would have been on the practice squad this season to develop, but the Panthers were afraid another team might snatch him up. He had only 11 snaps prior to Sunday. That he had to face one of the league's elite pass-rushers in linebacker Clay Matthews was unfortunate. According to Pro Football Focus, Foucault graded out at a minus-4.3. Bell didn't do all that much better, grading out at minus-2.4 in 41 snaps. "He got beat a few times, one on a bull rush where he got pushed all the way back to the quarterback and then another a guy tried to dip him and he was able to wash," Rivera said. "But you see the potential and growth." Guard Andrew Norwell, an undrafted rookie out of Ohio State, had been inactive the first six games. He played 60 snaps (87 percent) when right guard Trai Turner went down with an ankle and knee injury in the first quarter. Only two players -- right tackle Nate Chandler and left guard Fernando Velasco – played more on offense. If starting left guard Amini Silatolu (calf) doesn't return this week against Seattle, either Norwell or Chris Scott -- currently on the practice squad -- likely will get the start there. If Silatolu is back, Velasco will move from the left to right side. Rivera said Norwell, 6-6, 310 pounds, was "fun to watch." So did offensive coordinator Mike Shula, talking about how physically imposing Norwell is when he uses proper technique. Again, not the players either expected to be protecting quarterback Cam Newton and producing an effective running game. Meanwhile, the Panthers hoped to have DeAngelo Williams back on the practice field Wednesday, Rivera said Monday. Williams, however, was not in pads on Wednesday and was expected to work on the side during practice. Williams has missed the past three games with a high ankle sprain suffered in the first half of a Sept. 28 loss at Baltimore. The team's all-time leading rusher hasn't participated in practice since. Williams walked through the locker room Monday with no visible signs of a limp, but there was tape on his right ankle. I'll be following up via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses. ... Other notes of interest. ... Thanks mostly to its leaky defense, the Panthers never had a chance to try to establish the run against the worst run defense in the league. Running back Jonathan Stewart returned from a three-game absence, but he had room to run for just 55 yards on 14 carries. Newton added seven carries for 41 yards. Looking for positives? Tight end Greg Olsen had another strong showing. He caught eight passes for 105 yards as he continues on a pace for career numbers. Even if the Panthers don't turn things around, Olsen is playing at a Pro Bowl level. But Newton had his worst quarterback rating (72.6) in a defeat since a Week 4 loss to Arizona last year (47.8). Receiver Brenton Bersin, who caught his first career touchdown pass, had a career-best three receptions. Receiver Philly Brown suffered a concussion on a return Sunday, and he is in the league's concussion protocol. And finally. ... The Panthers defense is struggling mightily. Most of the numbers are ugly, and they're getting worse each week. As the Sports Xchange notes, after allowing at least 37 points in four of their last five games, the Panthers have given up 195 points. They allowed just 241 all of last year. The 2013 defense gave up 13.8 points per game, the second fewest in the league. This year they're allowing an average of 27.9, which ranks 29th.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Cam Newton, Derek Anderson, Joe Webb  RB: Jonathan Stewart, DeAngelo Williams, Darrin Reaves, Fozzy Whittaker, Chris Ogbonnaya  FB: Mike Tolbert (on short-term IR)  WR: Kelvin Benjamin, Jerricho Cotchery, Jason Avant, Philly Brown, Brenton Bersin  TE: Greg Olsen, Ed Dickson, Brandon Williams  PK: Graham Gano  ========================= ========================= CHICAGO BEARS According to Associated Press sports writer Gene Chamberlain, if the Bears are coming apart as a team within the locker room, it's news to coach Marc Trestman. An emotional postgame locker room scene following Sunday's 27-14 loss to Miami featured players yelling and wide receiver Brandon Marshall calling the 3-4 start to the season "unacceptable." That had the coach on Monday calling the situation similar to what he's seen in numerous other locker room situations. "I think our team is very much together," Trestman said. Some reports said the relationship between Marshall and quarterback Jay Cutler had been strained, while others said Marshall was yelling at kicker Robbie Gould, among others. "I told our team after the game in the locker room, just as I'm telling you (the media) is that we have to always be accepting of how people express themselves after a game," Trestman said. "They're coming down from a week of working hard and building their emotions and passions for the game. And I'm not reading anymore into it than that, and we have to be accepting and non-judgmental and let it pass. "That's the way I've handled athletes who get into that state. It's not the first time, it's not the first locker room it's ever happened in. I'm not reading any more into it than that." Players backed up Trestman's assessment. Defensive end Willie Young called it common for his former team, the Detroit Lions, to express themselves in a similar way after games. "Some guys handle things different, and that's OK," added tackle Jermon Bushrod. "But at the end of the day, we have to come together for the common cause. "We have to stick together more than ever now because we lost another game. We lost another game at home, which is unfortunate." The Bears are 3-4 at home, but 0-3 at Soldier Field, and two games behind the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions in the NFC North. Trestman sought to sweep the incidents away as the Bears get set for a road game at New England, their last before a bye week. "I think in my experience people get it out of their system, got couple days to get some rest and they're back to work on Wednesday," he said. "And I've heard it in wins as much. I've heard players express themselves dramatically in wins, too, that they were angry that we didn't win the right way or that we weren't as good as we can be. "It goes both ways, I'm not reading anymore into it than that." Following Sunday's game, Marshall seemed anything but angry at Cutler when asked about the team's situation by reporters. "Jay's a gunslinger, Jay's our guy, Jay's our leader," Marshall said. "Listen, we have to do a better job. "This is unacceptable. It's unacceptable. Unacceptable." Cutler went 21 for 34 for 190 yards with a touchdown pass, an interception and a lost fumble. The two turnovers led to Miami points. According to Pro Football Focus, Cutler's passer rating under pressure (77.6) was almost the same as when he wasn't (73.4), largely because he seemed pressured on plays even when the pocket was clean. He did target Marshall 10 times, with six catches for 48 yards. Trestman seemed satisfied there is nothing wrong between his passer and top receiver. "They've been around each other a long time," Trestman said. "I think there's a brotherly love involved in their relationship. That's how I see it." Trestman's assessment of the interception indicated Cutler deserved the blame. "I think Jay said it, he made a high throw," Trestman said. "He didn't see the corner and made a high throw, and the ball wound up being intercepted." If the Bears are moving forward together, they could be doing it without cornerback Kyle Fuller for a while. He suffered a hip pointer and a broken hand Sunday, and Sherrick McManis finished the game at right cornerback. "He went out of the game because of his hip more than his hand, so we'll just see where he is," Trestman said. "He said he felt good today, but it'll be day to day. I don't know that the hand will deter him." Trestman said Fuller's hand injury would not require surgery. The Bears were without starting free safety Chris Conte due to a shoulder injury, and linebacker Lance Briggs with a rib injury on Sunday. Both are day to day and will be assessed Wednesday. According to ESPN.com's Michael C. Wright, the Bears headed to Halas Hall on Monday to do some light weightlifting and recovery work. They began preparation for the New England Patriots Wednesday. Other notes of interest. ... Entering last Sunday's game Matt Forte was leading the league in receptions. Not among running backs – the entire league. According to PFF, if there was one bright spark on offense for the Bears it was Forte, and he scored both of their touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. Forte also caught all six passes thrown his way for 60 yards and a score. But Forte only carried the ball 12 times for 49 yards (4.1 yards per carry). The Bears completely abandoned the run in the first half. Forte had more success early in the third quarter, but the Bears never really established the run. ... Martellus Bennett (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday, but at this point there's no reason to believe he won't be available this week. ... One last note here. ... Wright reported this week that one of the longest running jokes in the NFL is the condition of the Soldier Field playing surface. The Bears have an excellent head groundskeeper who spends most of the week at Halas Hall grooming the practice fields. He cannot be in two places at once. This is one of the many unfortunate byproducts of the Bears not owning their stadium. Wright added: "The players can't stand the grass field. The fans can't stand the grass field. The Bears are built for offense. If you bought a thoroughbred, would you make it run in mud? Make the switch to Field Turf. The situation is beyond embarrassing for everyone involved."  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  ========================= ========================= CINCINNATI BENGALS As the Sports Xchange suggested on Tuesday, offensive coordinator Hue Jackson may not have expected what happened Sunday in Indianapolis when his unit produced a mere 135 yards and no points in a 27-0 loss, but there were no surprises Monday afternoon. "I knew you guys would be coming to see me," Jackson said when a group of reporters knocked on his office door. Jackson spent the next 20 minutes absorbing the blame for everything that happened the day before when his offense, which entered the weekend ranked No. 5 in the NFL, posted some historically low numbers. "At the end of the day I have to go back and take a good look at me," Jackson said. "Make sure you're giving the players a chance to have success. Obviously I didn't do a good enough job. We didn't score any points. Not 'enough,' we didn't score 'any' points. They won in every facet of the game against us. That's not us. It's not who we are. It's not who we've become. It's my job that I make sure that I get that squared away with our offensive unit." The Bengals didn't get a first down until late in the second quarter and didn't cross midfield until their next-to-last possession. They were 1-for-13 on third down and had just 47 yards on 38 plays through three quarters. Their final tally of 135 yards marked the ninth-lowest total in franchise history, as did the 32 rushing yards which came on only 12 attempts. "I'd be the first to tell you I think I've got to call it more," Jackson said of the run. "Sometimes you just have to be stubborn enough to do it. You've got to give guys an opportunity." Jackson even took the heat for a Cincinnati defense that surrendered 506 yards against the league's No. 1-ranked offense. "I looked from where I was, and I was pissed," he said. "I was pissed for our defense because we left them out there quite a bit. We were three-and-out I don't know how many times. It seemed like every time you turned around, it was three-and-out and here comes the defense back out there. That's not how you play as a team. Our job is to protect them and their job is to protect us and we both try to protect special teams. So we didn't do our part yesterday and we understand that." The yardage allowed to yardage gained differential of 371 yards was the third largest in team history (456 in a 34-0 loss to Oakland in 1968 and 376 in a 37-3 defeat at Kansas City in the season finale in 2005 when head coach Marvin Lewis rested his starters). But as disappointed and angry as Jackson is with the performance, he is urging calm and commitment moving forward. "It's not the time for panic," he said "It's not time for anybody to jump off the reservation. We've got some work to do. A lot of it is attitude. It's mindset, it's determination, it's will. It's your foundational belief. I'm sure if you talk to any one of players, they'll say they never thought that was coming. They didn't see that happening. I didn't, either. But it did. So what are you going to do about it now? "We've got to look at it for what it is, understand it, have it not happen again and understand that we have a huge game coming up this week against Baltimore. ... Meanwhile, Lewis told reporters last week that the status of A.J. Green remained "up in the air." While Lewis expressed more optimism on Monday -- saying the receiver had made "significant progress," Green has repeated the same assessment provided previously by Lewis. "It's still up in the air," Green told NFL Network on Tuesday morning, "but it definitely feels better. We'll see about this week." One thing we won't see is a fully healthy Green until 2015, at the earliest. "It's probably not gonna be 100 percent, but I hope it's just manageable," Green said. "I can get through the season and play at a high level." So what about this weekend, against the Ravens? "I hope so, man. It's still up in the air, and we'll see," Green said. ... Before Sunday's game, the Bengals tweeted a short video of Green jogging along their sideline. The video was captioned, "A.J. testing out his toe." Lewis expressed optimism Monday because he and Green have been getting favorable reports from team doctors and specialists the receiver has seen the last two weeks. Green did not practice Wednesday. I'll have more via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses. ... Other notes of interest. ... With Green out the last two games and Marvin Jones now done for the year, the Bengals are increasingly turning to backup receiver Dane Sanzenbacher for help in the passing game. According to Pro Football Focus, his 92 snaps across the last two games -- he had 51 on Sunday -- are more than he played all of last year on offense. In those two games, he has only been targeted five times. ... Of the 41 passes quarterback Andy Dalton attempted, only seven of them traveled in the air more than nine yards. The Bengals were committed to using screens and other short-range passes. Indianapolis sent 12 blitzes, according to PFF. As he has much of the season, Dalton managed them fairly well, completing six passes on the 12 rushes. ... Greg Little was active Sunday, five days after signing with the Bengals. He dropped the first pass thrown his way late in the second quarter, one that would have given the team its first first down of the game. ... Giovani Bernard (ribs) was limited in Wednesday's practice, but the injury shouldn't be an issue this weekend. And finally. ... Bengals trainers confirmed Monday the injury that forced linebacker Vontaze Burfict from Sunday's loss was a neck strain and not concussion-related. "He's fine," Lewis said. Burfict hurt his neck late in the first quarter while tackling Colts quarterback Andrew Luck following a 2-yard gain. It was the third time this season an injury has forced the Pro Bowl linebacker to miss the remainder of a game. Concussions knocked him out of the first two games of the season and forced him to miss the next two.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Andy Dalton, Jason Campbell  RB: Giovani Bernard, Jeremy Hill, Cedric Peerman, Rex Burkhead  WR: Mohamed Sanu, Dane Sanzenbacher, Brandon Tate, James Wright, Greg Little, A.J. Green, Marvin Jones  TE: Jermaine Gresham, Ryan Hewitt, Tyler Eifert  PK: Mike Nugent  ========================= ========================= CLEVELAND BROWNS According to Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter Mary Kay Cabot, with Brian Hoyer coming off his worst game as a Brown, the public drumbeat for Johnny Manziel is growing louder, but head coach Mike Pettine is marching to his own beat. "Brian is still firmly our starter," said Pettine, still admittedly feeling the sting of Sunday's 24-6 loss to the previously winless Jaguars. "Nothing's changed. Each week we make the decision as to if we want to include Johnny in the plan." Pettine said the staff never seriously considered going to Manziel in Jacksonville, even though the Browns managed just two field goals, sputtered twice in the red zone and converted three picks into only three points. "It was discussed briefly, but it was a situation where we still wanted to...at least try to end the game with Brian on a positive note," he said. Of course, Pettine didn't rule out Manziel for some action Sunday against the 0-6 Oakland Raiders. "Each week when the offensive staff gets together -- and I'll jump in with them too -- is that they put the plan together, and it's what gives us the best chance to win," said Pettine. "So if the situation this week maybe calls for him to play some then that will be the case. But we're not going to hit the panic button after one loss. While we know that the quarterback position needed to be more productive, it was more symptomatic of the entire offense." Hoyer, hurrying his throws against the aggressive front, dropped his worst career game on Jaguars, completing a career-low 39 percent of his attempts (16 of 41) for 215 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. He earned a career-low 46.3 rating and slipped to 6-3 as a Brown. As Pro Football Focus noted, when under pressure, Hoyer completed just two of 10 passes for 14 yards and was sacked three times. He was often off-target and missed open receivers on multiple occasions, such as his overthrow to Jordan Cameron in the end zone during the second quarter. Hoyer is not entirely to blame for the team's poor passing performance, though, as his receivers dropped four of his passes. But the bottom line is Hoyer tumbled from No. 8 in the NFL with a 99.5 rating to No. 22 at 88.0 and from No. 27 with a 60.4 completion percentage to No. 34 -- out of 35 -- with a 55.8 percent mark. Over the past two weeks, including last week's 31-10 beatdown of the Steelers, Hoyer has completed 24 of 58 attempts for only 41.3 percent. "I know this (game) severely dropped (the completion percentage)," said Pettine. "If it becomes a couple more games (and it's) still a trend, that's something to look at. (But) there are some times when completion percentage will be affected when you're trying to throw the ball away or take some more shots downfield. That's not something to me is a concern today." Pettine attributed Hoyer's raw outing to the Browns' inability to run and set up their bread-and-butter play-action game. But Hoyer also threw behind receivers a few times and way overthrew Jordan Cameron in the end zone on a play that would've made it 10-0 in the second quarter. "Obviously Brian didn't play that well especially statistically, but a lot of it was because of those circumstances that we were forced to throw it," said Pettine. "He was harassed, he was hit, sacked. That's hard to be successful when you're rushed." Manziel has gotten the thumbs down each of the past three weeks -- and hasn't set foot on the field since his illegal catch from Hoyer in the Browns' bench area against the Ravens Sept. 21 -- a call Pettine pinned on himself last week. But you can bet the Browns will have the Johnny Package ready to go this week if needed. "Sometimes they're up and we never call them, and then there's been some weeks where we haven't had it," said Pettine. "It's all based on the plan." As Cabot summed up, "The plan, which includes not losing to an 0-6 team for the second week in a row, might require a little Johnny Football to keep the volume on high. ..." Other notes of interest. ... According to Akron Beacon Journal staffer Nate Ulrich, the Browns tried to split carries among three running backs, and the rotation might have hurt more than it helped. The Browns entered the game with the NFL's No. 3 rushing attack (146.4 average), but they were held to just 69 yards on 33 carries (2.3 average). "We'll have a discussion this week as to how to best rotate those guys," Pettine said Monday of an upcoming meeting with offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery. "You could make the argument it's a good problem to have, but you're still dealing with the word ‘problem.'" Rookie Terrance West was benched for the rest of the game after he gained just 1 yard on second-and-2 from the Jaguars' 25-yard line and was then stopped for no gain on third-and-1 from the 24 late in the second quarter. West had room to run for a first down on both crucial carries. On second down, he had an opening off the right edge but danced in the hole. On third down, he ran into center John Greco after cutting back. West estimated he would have advanced 7 yards beyond the first-down marker had he not hesitated and collided with Greco. "I missed it," said West, a third-round pick in this year's NFL Draft. "Wish I could get it back. "I was trying to go for the big play. I should've just gotten the first down. I know I've got limited reps. So I know when I'm in a game, I'm trying to get a big play." Therein lies part of the problem. West was made inactive against Pittsburgh the week before because the coaches wanted better effort from him in practices. He earned a shot to bounce back Sunday, but he tried to do too much at a pivotal point and finished with five carries for 8 yards (1.6 average). "He was hard on himself yesterday and today about it, knowing that he shouldn't try to hit the home run there," Pettine said. West was the first running back off the bench to replace starter Ben Tate, who had 16 carries for 36 yards (2.3 average). The choice raised some questions because undrafted rookie Isaiah Crowell had 11 carries for 77 yards (7.0 average) and a touchdown last week against the Steelers. He fumbled once and dropped two pitches but didn't think those plays played a role in him being positioned behind West in the pecking order. "I was surprised a little, but I really didn't let it get to me at all," said Crowell, who had seven carries for 18 yards (2.6 average) on Sunday. West and Crowell agreed it's tough for a running back to get into the flow of a game when he's sharing playing time with two other ball carriers. "It's difficult sometimes because running backs have to feel a defense out and get into a good rhythm," West said. "But at the end of the day, it's about winning." "It's hard to get into rhythm with three guys just because you don't get warm," Crowell said. "You kind of come to the sideline and kind of get kind of cold. But it's been all right. It's been working so far. We've been winning games. So I don't have a problem with it." The bottom line for now? Fantasy owners should avoid Browns running backs not named Tate. ... Of course, the offensive line's struggles without Pro Bowl center Alex Mack played a major role in the running game's sputtering. "I feel like Alex Mack being hurt put a big hindrance on our running game," Crowell said. ... "There weren't as many holes as there were in previous weeks." Mack suffered a season-ending broken left fibula in the second quarter against the Steelers. Greco slid over from right guard and started in Mack's place. Paul McQuistan started in Greco's old spot at right guard. They had trouble against the Jaguars. Pettine said the coaching staff would evaluate both positions. The club also announced Monday it had waived rookie Ray Agnew, who started Sunday's loss to Jacksonville, playing 18 snaps on offense and catching one pass for three yards. An undrafted free agent from Southern Illinois, the 23-year-old Agnew had started all six games for Cleveland, rushing twice for two yards and catching two passes for 15 yards. To replace Agnew, the Browns called up rookie fullback Kiero Small, who was a seventh-round pick of Seattle in May. The Browns added Small (5-8, 244) to their practice squad before the start of the season. The 23-year-old Small played collegiately at Arkansas. And finally. ... Starting nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin has missed the past two games with an injured ankle he suffered during practice two weeks ago. Pettine thinks he might need surgery. "We did get another opinion," Pettine said. "We're just awaiting word back on it. I haven't heard [surgery] brought up yet, but I'm assuming that could be the case." Starting defensive end Phil Taylor (arthroscopic knee surgery on Oct. 8) is expected to miss his third consecutive game Sunday. "I don't think we'll see him this week, but he's progressing," Pettine said.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel  RB: Ben Tate, Isaiah Crowell, Terrance West  FB: Kiero Small  WR: Miles Austin, Andrew Hawkins, Taylor Gabriel, Travis Benjamin, Rodney Smith, Marlon Moore  TE: Jordan Cameron, Jim Dray, Gary Barnidge  PK: Billy Cundiff  ========================= ========================= DALLAS COWBOYS As ESPN.com's Jean-Jacques Taylor suggested this week, "It's blasphemous to think it, let alone say it. But the Dallas Cowboys' offense is so good these days that comparing it to The Triplets' offense led by Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith seems like the right thing to do. "Especially since the Cowboys have the NFL's best record -- proof a higher power exists, right? -- and its best offense. ..." Taylor went on to note it all starts with DeMarco Murray, who broke Jim Brown's 56-year-old record with his seventh straight 100-yard game to start the season and finished with 128 yards on 28 carries. Tony Romo completed 17 of 23 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns and Dez Bryant caught nine passes for 151 yards. Those are the kind of days Aikman, Irvin and Smith seemingly had all of the time during the glory days of the 1990s. Jason Witten and Gavin Escobar, who caught two touchdown passes Sunday, certainly give this offense everything tight end Jay Novacek gave those offenses whether it's converting third downs or attacking the seam. Terrance Williams, who scored his sixth touchdown with a leaping 18-yard catch, is doing a pretty good imitation of Alvin Harper's big-play production. Cole Beasley and Dwayne Harris provide play-making from the slot the way Kelvin Martin did. And they do it behind an offensive line that dominates the line of scrimmage each week. "Obviously, DeMarco is at the highest level of his position and Dez is at the highest level of his position," said Romo, "but I'd be hard-pressed to name a lot more players who are playing better than Jason Witten, Cole, Terrance and the guys up front. "We're just a balanced team that can get the ball to a lot of different people, and it's just hard on teams to figure out what they're going to take away. It's my job to figure out what they're doing and find the guy who's going to be in position." The Cowboys' offense is even good enough to compensate for a scrappy, hard-playing defense that remains suspect because it can't rush the passer. They barely touched Eli Manning in 33 pass attempts. Dallas also kept the ball for 33:49 Sunday, the fourth consecutive time its had the ball for more than 33 minutes, something the Cowboys hadn't accomplished since 1980. All that time of possession keeps the defense rested and of the field, where they can't get exposed. All of this is why the Cowboys have the NFL's best offense. That's right. ... Taylor contends "The Cowboys' offense is better than Peyton Manning's show in Denver. It's better than Andrew Luck's offense in Indianapolis. It's better than Drew Brees' offense in New Orleans or Aaron Rodgers' offense in Green Bay. "It's better because the Cowboys can run the ball, something each of those other teams struggles to do, while still throwing it nearly as well as each of those other clubs." Taylor went on to explain the Cowboys' offense will function on the road and in domes. It works in frigid weather, a monsoon or under a blazing sun. The Cowboys had 400 yards of offense Sunday for the fourth consecutive game, a feat they hadn't accomplished since 1976. Remember: Jason Garrett played for those championship teams in the 90s, and he's built this team in their image. And as Taylor summed up: "A new collection of Triplets has made the Cowboys contenders." This week, the Cowboys make their only appearance on "Monday Night Football" when the Washington Redskins travel to AT&T Stadium. This will be the 15th meeting between the Cowboys and Redskins on "Monday Night Football." The Cowboys have won the past four meetings, with the most recent coming on Sept. 26, 2011, on six Dan Bailey field goals in an 18-16 win. Other notes of interest. ... As noted above, Murray set a record with his seventh straight 100-yard game to open the season, but he is closing in on his career high in rushing yards with the midway point coming next week. Murray ran for 1,121 yards in 2013 and was added to the Pro Bowl. In seven games, Murray has 913 yards, which is the best seven-game start in team history and the sixth-best start in NFL history. Smith had 812 yards in 1995 on his way to a 1,773-yard season, which led the NFL. "We're going to hand him the ball," Garrett said of Murray. "We believe in that and he's certainly capable of handling that." Murray is on pace for 427 carries, which would be a single-season record. As Pro Football Focus notes, Romo's steady improvement since a disastrous Week 1 has coincided with the Cowboys' run, but this performance will be tough to best next week. Romo's two touchdown passes to Escobar were impressive plays, particularly the second one. The first was a nice job by Romo to use the time given him by the offensive line as he broke the pocket away from the rush and zipped one in to Escobar in the back of the end zone. The second TD, at the 6:22 mark of the third quarter, couldn't have been placed better if Romo handed it to Escobar. A play action fake made for a nice window on the post route, but Romo put it right on Escobar's hands 26 yards down the field to put the Cowboys up 21-14. It has taken Escobar time to become a factor in the Cowboys' offense, but he recorded the first two-touchdown game of his career and now has three touchdown catches in the past two games. Meanwhile, Bryant, the Cowboys' top playmaker dominated the second half and finished the game with 151 yards on nine catches. He was a man on the mission in the second half after a slip on a second quarter route caused an interception. In the second half, he caught seven passes for 136 yards. "I think he wanted a couple of plays back in the first half and he mentally locked in," Romo said. "He played an outstanding game. He was tough to handle in the second half. ..." Tight ends coach Mike Pope is the only coach to be part of the New York Giants' four Super Bowl wins. He was with the Giants during Bill Parcells' run to two titles and spent 2000-13 on the Giants staff until he was relieved of his duties last offeason. With Escobar catching a career-high two touchdown passes and Witten catching two passes for 27 yards, Garrett rewarded Pope with a game ball in the locker room. "He spent a lot of time in New York," Witten said. "To be able to come to the other side and get that win, I think it means a lot to him. You try to say it's never personal but I think for him to come on the other side and have success and win that game, I'm sure it meant a lot to him." According to the Sports Xchange, Bailey got leg whipped following a PAT in the third quarter against the Giants. But the most accurate kicker in NFL history proved to be a tough one. Bailey nailed a 49-yard field goal with 59 seconds to play in the game. "I don't necessarily look at it from a make-or-miss standpoint," Bailey said. "Obviously, yeah, you're aware of the situations and what's going on. I think you have to be. But once you get out there you put it on the back burner and just focus on going one for one."  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Tony Romo, Brandon Weeden, Dustin Vaughan  RB: DeMarco Murray, Joseph Randle, Lance Dunbar  FB: Tyler Clutts  WR: Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley, Dwayne Harris, Devin Street  TE: Jason Witten, Gavin Escobar, James Hanna  PK: Dan Bailey  ========================= ========================= DENVER BRONCOS This was one ball Peyton Manning wanted in his grasp. Comically, his teammates initially wouldn't give it to him. And then he agreed to give it away, anyhow. Manning's receivers played keep-away with his milestone memento, and the NFL's new leader in career touchdown passes toyed with the San Francisco 49ers in the Denver Broncos' 42-17 romp Sunday night. Manning went into the showdown two TDs shy of Brett Favre's record of 508 and threw four touchdown passes, giving him 510. He surpassed Favre's mark with an 8-yard strike to Demaryius Thomas late in the second quarter. As he went to retrieve the football, his teammates decided to have some fun. Thomas tossed the historic ball over Manning and to Emmanuel Sanders, who then lobbed it to Wes Welker. From there, Welker dished it back to Sanders, who then flipped it to Julius Thomas -- all of Manning's favorite targets getting into the act. "I heard whispers about something," Manning said. "Those guys are all great athletes, and my vertical leap isn't what it used to be. "I haven't played keep-away since I was 8 years old. That is something I will always remember." Finally, Manning got the ball along with congratulations from his teammates and coaches. The souvenir won't end up on Manning's mantle, however -- it's headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Manning needed just four drives Sunday night to break the record. He threw a 3-yard TD pass to Sanders on Denver's first drive and tied the record when Welker took a pass over the middle for 39 yards. His final TD of the night was a 40-yarder to Thomas, giving him 510. Manning reached the milestone in his 246th regular-season game. Favre needed 302. "I think Brett has always known he is one of my favorite players," Manning said. "He played the position with so much passion, so much toughness and great production as a quarterback. "I am honored to join this club with him." According to Pro Football Focus, it was a record setting and near faultless display from Manning with two of his four incompletions accounted for by drops. The customary fast pace of the Denver offense and a depleted 49ers' pass rush saw him pressured only six times though that didn't stop him putting up two of his four touchdowns on those dropbacks. On Wednesday, Manning was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. ... Meanwhile, bringing in catches against four different 49er defenders in coverage the San Francisco defense struggled to get a handle of Demaryius Thomas. He converted short passes into long gains, intermediate passes into long gains and made a play down the field for Manning's 510th career touchdown in the third quarter; another spectacular display by Thomas. Thomas gained 81 of his 171 yards after the catch; only the third time this season that more his receiving yards have come through the air than after the catch. Thomas has 26 receptions for 521 yards and five touchdowns this month. ... The performance will certainly give the Broncos' opponent this week, the Chargers, something to think about before they head to Denver for the Thursday night game. That said, San Diego handed the Broncos their only home loss of 2013, also on a Thursday night. Other notes of interest. ... Manning, on a historic night in what is a historic career, was the headline, but the Broncos again flaunted an offense that features impact at every skill position. According to ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold, the guy to keep an eye on in the weeks ahead is running back Ronnie Hillman. Hillman, who has battled maturity issues at times in his first two years in the league, has finally shown his vast potential in this, his third season. Since Montee Ball's groin injury against the Arizona Cardinals, Hillman has been explosive and given the Broncos' run game a boost. He had his first career 100-yard game last week against the New York Jets and a career-long run of 37 yards for a touchdown Sunday night. He wanted to make the Broncos' decision a difficult one when Ball returned and he has already done that. Ball continues to recover from a groin strain suffered Oct. 5 against Arizona; he has not practiced since then. But the Broncos' running game has prospered. In the three and a half games with Ball as the primary runner, Broncos running backs gained 211 yards on 63 carries. Since then, they've racked up 331 yards on 70 carries, led by Hillman's 239 in the last two and a half games. Hillman's 37-yard touchdown run in the third quarter turned the game into a rout and was arguably the most impressive run of a three-season career. ... The Broncos signed running back Kapri Bibbs off their practice squad according to the team's official website. Bibbs is an undrafted free agent out of Colorado State, where he ran for 30 touchdowns in 2013. Broncos teammate Ball and Barry Sanders are the only other big-time college backs to achieve that feat. During the preseason Bibb ran for 84 yards and three touchdowns. The move comes amidst reports that Buffalo was showing interest in various teams' practice squads running backs; assume Bibbs was among them. Brock Osweiler saw fourth-quarter action but threw just one pass, which rookie wide receiver Isaiah Burse dropped. Osweiler entered after the Broncos built a 42-10 lead after three quarters. ... And finally. ... The Broncos began their abbreviated practice week with only two new injuries to report as they opened their preparations for Thursday night's game against the Chargers. Cornerback Omar Bolden, who had also lined up as the Broncos' kickoff returner at times Sunday, is not expected to be available for Thursday's game. He suffered a concussion in the closing minutes of the win over the San Francisco 49ers and is now under the guidelines of the league's concussion protocol. Bolden suffered the injury with 1 minute, 19 seconds to play in the game when he collided with 49ers wide receiver Bruce Ellington. Linebacker Steven Johnson, a special teams regular, suffered what Broncos head coach John Fox called a "mild ankle sprain." Brandon McManus missed a second straight workout with a right groin injury on Tuesday, but Fox indicated he should be able to suit up against the Chargers, according to Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post. McManus has hit all 23 extra points and 6-of-7 field goals this season for Denver. He has also forced 28 touchbacks in 37 kickoffs. He has been on the injury report with the groin ailment since Week 3.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Peyton Manning, Brock Osweiler  RB: Ronnie Hillman, Juwan Thompson, C.J. Anderson, Kapri Bibbs, Montee Ball  WR: Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Wes Welker, Andre Caldwell, Cody Latimer, Isaiah Burse  TE: Julius Thomas, Jacob Tamme, Virgil Green  PK: Brandon McManus  ========================= ========================= DETROIT LIONS Golden Tate is finally warming up to the idea of a game in London. "I was not very excited about this trip, up until, like, today," the receiver said Monday. "Just because it's going to throw off our routine that we've had for so long. But you know what? Going on the road and being stuck with these guys for nonstop a week, I wouldn't do it with another group. These guys are a great group of guys, especially coming off that type of passionate win. I think it's definitely good for this team and this organization." As the Associated Press notes, the Lions will have some time to bond overseas before facing the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at Wembley Stadium. And although a trip like this creates a number of logistical issues, Detroit is hoping it won't be too disruptive. The Lions are tied for first in the NFC North after rallying dramatically in the final minutes to beat New Orleans. Head coach Jim Caldwell spoke with reporters Monday, hours before his team was scheduled to travel to London. "We're going to try to keep it as much like a normal week as we possibly can," Caldwell said. "I'm sure where we're staying downtown at one of the locations, we're fairly close to Trafalgar Square, so we may be able to see a few things there. But like I tell them, if you're really looking for a real good time and you want to take a real, true tour of the city in Europe, win a lot more football games, you'll have a little extra money in your pocket and you'll be able to do so." Tate said he would like to check out a soccer game while in England, but he didn't think he'd be able to. Safety Glover Quin said his wife is more of a historian than he is, so she may be in charge of the sightseeing. "I'm always down to see stuff and see a different culture," Quin said. What is less exciting to Quin is talk of the NFL possibly putting a team in a city like London. "It seems complicated. For one, how would that work?" Quin said. "We've got to make those long trips every week? Would we get taxed in London? That's horrible. Would we get paid in pounds? ... I've heard rumors about they'd have a main base here in the States that take care of all the day-to-day stuff, working out players and things of that nature, and then they'd just play over there." The Lions have played without wide receiver Calvin Johnson for the last two weeks, but the door remains open for his return. Megatron made the trip to London with the team. Johnson continues to recover from a high ankle sprain in his right ankle, suffered in Week 3 against Green Bay and then aggravated again in Week 5 against the Bills. Johnson hasn't played since. There have been suggestions that the team would hold the wide receiver out until after their Week 9 bye, but that clearly hasn't been set in stone. As Profootballtalk.com notes, Johnson worked out on the field before the team took on the Saints, but his high ankle sprain wasn't well enough for him to return to action. If he can progress over the next few days and practice with the team later this week, the result may be a different one come Sunday. Caldwell, though, said it'll either be a full Calvin Johnson or no Calvin Johnson when he makes his return. "It's not going to be a thing of degrees," Caldwell said. "When they say he's cleared, he's ready to go and he's feeling great, when they doctors say, OK, that's when it's going to happen. It's not going to be a whole lot of in between." Johnson was, however, on the practice field -- working on a limited basis -- Wednesday. As MLive.com's Kyle Meinke notes, Johnson and Reggie Bush had plenty of time to rest their ailing ankles during the nearly seven-hour flight to England. And it seems safe to assume at least one of them will play Sunday. "I'm fine," Bush said Tuesday. "I mean, I'm not 100 percent. But I haven't been 100 percent since high school. "Got rolled up on a few times and injured in the (Saints) game. But I felt fine after the game, though. Didn't have any setbacks, and that's the most important thing. Looking to just continue to progress every week. I'll be on the field Sunday." Theo Riddick (hamstring) also expects to play in Sunday's game against the Falcons. ... Bush and Riddick were limited Wednesday. The Lions held their first practice in London Wednesday, without their top three tight ends, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports. Brandon Pettigrew (ankle), Eric Ebron (hamstring) and Joseph Fauria (ankle) were among those who missed practice. Caldwell said before practice that Ebron and Fauria were day-to-day but "rapidly improving." It remains unclear whether either will be available Sunday. Fauria has missed four games with a severely sprained ankle, and Ebron did not play against the New Orleans Saints last weekend, after aggravating a hamstring injury in practice. Pettigrew hurt his ankle against the Saints but was able to finish the game. "Obviously, it goes day-to-day with these guys, and both of them are rapidly improving," Caldwell said of Ebron and Fauria. "And I have to sort of wait and see what happens, where the doctors say where they are before we can utilize them. So at this point in time, it's kind of a day-to-day thing, and we'll see how it goes." I'll be following up in coming days; watch the Late-Breaking Updates section for more. ... Other notes of interest. ... For the record, Caldwell said he did not bench Bush, after he played only a handful of snaps in the second half in favor of Joique Bell. Caldwell instead confirmed that Bush was still struggling with the ankle injury that kept him out of last Sunday's game at Minnesota, so he stuck with Bell. After the game, Bush declined to speak with the media. Meanwhile, since Johnson has been hobbled, Tate has continued to show he can be a true No. 1 receiver. He had 154 yards receiving Sunday, including a 73-yard catch-and-run touchdown -- the third time in four games he has gone over 100 yards receiving. Tate is third in the NFL in receptions (48), sixth in receiving yards (649) and first in yards after catch (344). Another byproduct of Johnson's injury has been Stafford gaining trust in other receivers beyond Tate. That includes Corey Fuller, who caught the game-winner Sunday against New Orleans, and Jeremy Ross, who has been part of the passing plan each week. The Saints made it a tough game for Stafford, who was unfortunate for one of his interceptions but he completely misread the coverage on the other play resulting that resulted in a pick. Surprisingly he made some plays under pressure (124.3 QB rating) but struggled with a clean pocket (74.0). The biggest problem area was between the numbers shorter than 10 yards where he recorded just 11 completions on 18 targets with a pick. Still, with two passing touchdowns Sunday, Stafford tied Bobby Layne's franchise record of 118. He'll try to set a new record this Sunday. ... Free agent tight end Kellen Davis was added to the 53-man roster this week due to the injuries to the other tight ends..  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Matthew Stafford, Dan Orlovsky, Kellen Moore  RB: Reggie Bush, Joique Bell, Theo Riddick, George Winn  FB: Jed Collins, Montell Owens  WR: Golden Tate, Jeremy Ross, Corey Fuller, Ryan Broyles, Calvin Johnson,  TE: Brandon Pettigrew, Joseph Fauria, Eric Ebron, Kllen Davis  PK: Matt Prater  ========================= ========================= GREEN BAY PACKERS With time to reflect, Aaron Rodgers may see this stretch of football -- one that has all sorts of historical milestones that we'll get too soon enough – as one of the finest of his career. But late Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers quarterback, who last week insisted the offense he directs still was not humming along as he would like, remained unwilling to concede that much has changed. Who knows what it will take to get Rodgers to acquiesce, but apparently this kind of start to a game -- touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, punt, touchdown, punt, touchdown -- in Sunday's 38-17 victory over the Carolina Panthers apparently did not satisfy his criteria. At least he was willing to give an inch or two this week. "I think we're getting closer," Rodgers said. According to ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky, Rodgers wants more yards (the Packers managed 363 on Sunday) and more opportunity (they ran just 56 offensive plays). But here's why it might be time for Rodgers to admit this offense is rolling: For the first time this season, it resembled days like in 2011, when Rodgers was in the midst of his MVP season and had a smorgasbord of options in the passing game. In Sunday's dismantling of the Panthers, Rodgers' 19 completions were spread amongst nine different players, a season high. That's in contrast to three times this season, including last week's game at Miami, when Rodgers completed passes to just five different players. In 2011, Rodgers had seven games in which he completed passes to at least nine different players. Last season, it happened once, and it came against the Philadelphia Eagles when Rodgers was a spectator because of his collarbone injury. "Back in '11, I feel like we spread it around a little more," said Rodgers, who was 19-of-22 for 255 yards with three touchdowns on Sunday. "We've had a lot of targets for Jordy [Nelson] and Randall [Cobb] this year, so we've tried the last four games to find ways to move those guys around and get them positive matchups." As Demovsky stressed, this wasn't just the Jordy Nelson show, although the NFL's receiving yardage leader entering the week still managed four catches for 80 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown (his fourth straight game with a score). Five different Packers scored touchdowns, including rushing touchdowns by Eddie Lacy and James Starks (who combined for 99 yards on 19 carries). When Rodgers also can include Cobb (six catches for 121 yards and his eighth touchdown of the season) and Davante Adams (who had a 21-yard touchdown catch) plus completions to two different tight ends, it qualifies as offensive diversity. "Everybody got involved," said Cobb, who has matched his career high for touchdown passes in just seven games. "We were able to move the ball really well. Just drive after drive, able to capitalize and put points on the board. At the end of the day, that's the kind of offense we want to be, continue to be. We ran the ball well, we passed the ball well. Everything was open for us." Had Rodgers not sailed a ball over tight end Richard Rodgers' head in the end zone on his final throw of the game late in the third quarter, he would have finished with four touchdown passes and a passer rating of 157.6 (on a scale in which 158.3 is the max). Still, he finished with just two other incompletions, and a harsh grader might consider both of them drops. When he gave way to Matt Flynn in the fourth quarter, Aaron Rodgers' final rating of 154.5 was the second-best mark of his career. For the fourth straight game (all wins for the 5-2 Packers) he threw at least three touchdowns without an interception. Only Tom Brady (in 2007) has done that in a season. He ran his streak of consecutive passes without an interception to 192, his career high and the second-best total in team history behind Bart Starr (294, 1964-65). And as the Sports Xchange notes, the offensive line kept Rodgers pretty clean. The only two hits by a Panther came on sacks allowed by tight ends Andrew Quarless and Richard Rodgers, respectively. The effort was sufficient to earn Rodgers NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors on Wednesday. All of it is starting to feel like 2011, when Rodgers was on the best roll of his career. "I'll say this about Aaron: Aaron is a much better today than he was in 2011," head coach Mike McCarthy said. "His responsibility level has increased a lot since then. So, what he does during the course of the week, during the course of the game, at the line of scrimmage, the communication between Alex Van Pelt and myself, he is, in my opinion, watching him grow throughout his career, he's clearly a better player." Bottom line? As Profootballtalk.com's Josh Alper put it, the Packers have scored 145 points over the last four weeks while winning each game, something that makes "pretty well" a rather understated description of their performance of late. Rodgers may not want to crow about it, but the offense is on a roll in Green Bay and there's not much reason to think it will stop in New Orleans this weekend. Other notes of interest. ... Cobb has been a touchdown machine this season. He caught his eighth one of the season on Sunday but also had explosive plays of 33 and 47 yards on the way to a six-catch, 121-yard performance. As Pro Football Focus notes, Cobb forced three missed tackles and maintained his touchdown lead among wide receivers. He currently leads all wide receivers with 33 catches from the slot. In a related noted, Demovsky suggests that if Cobb keeps catching touchdown passes at this rate who knows what else he'll see on his future Lambeau leaps? But he was quite surprised to come out of the stands with ketchup all over his No. 18 jersey after his 3-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. "I apologize to whoever's hot dog that was," Cobb said. "It was fresh. I know that because I had all of the ketchup on me." Cobb said he likes hot dogs, even ones with ketchup. "I wasn't expecting one to get on my shoulder pads, though," said Cobb, who caught six passes for 121 yards. On the injury front. ... Starks suffered an injury to his left ankle in the third quarter on Sunday and didn't return to the game. Starks' status this week going into the Sunday night game at the New Orleans Saints won't be known until later in the week. He did not practice Wednesday. Starks had seven carries for 36 yards and his first touchdown of the season against the Panthers, splitting time in the backfield with Lacy. Receiver Jarrett Boykin was activated for Sunday's contest after he had missed the previous three games because of a groin injury. Adams appears to have taken control of the No. 3 role in Boykin's absence.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn, Scott Tolzien  RB: Eddie Lacy, James Starks, DuJuan Harris  FB: John Kuhn  WR: Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams, Jeff Janis, Jarrett Boykin  TE: Richard Rodgers, Andrew Quarless, Brandon Bostick  PK: Mason Crosby  ========================= ========================= HOUSTON TEXANS As Chris Baldwin of Houston's Culture Map, put it, "The Houston Texans and Arian Foster are dominating on Monday Night Football, looking like prime time stars. And then they're suddenly left looking like a guy stumbling around with his pants around his ankles. ..." Baldwin went on to explain that three touchdowns in an unbelievable 73 seconds can do that to you. In one of the most dramatic turnarounds you'll ever see in an NFL game, an nearly unfathomable turnaround, the Texans completely blow a 13-3 lead in a flash. Or three flashes, two turnovers and one trick play. A Foster fumble inside at the Texans' 3-yard line (after a start of pure Foster brilliance) and a Ryan Fitzpatrick interception deep in his own territory on back-to-back possessions in the last 90 seconds of the first half doom the Texans. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin rubs it in by having his top wide receiver, Antonio Brown, throw a touchdown pass on play that has Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger blocking and the Texans defense completely befuddled. The game's sudden flip is even more jarring considering how dominant Foster seems early. The Houston Texans' offensive lifeline excels at raising the level of his game even higher in the NFL's prime time moments. Baldwin noted, "The Steelers barely knew what hit them on Monday Night Football early. Just that it was wearing No. 23." Foster has 59 yards on the Texans' first drive, 73 yards by the end of the first quarter. And just like that, Foster makes the Texans' excruciatingly slow starts this season history. A Houston team that scored 14 points total in the first quarter this season (that's 14 points in six first quarters) puts up 10 points in the first 16 and 1/2 minutes of this game. For that, Bill O'Brien can thank Foster. Foster's impact is most felt on a third-and-6 on the Texans first offensive possession. Rather than try a low percentage pass with Fitzpatrick, O'Brien places the ball in Foster's hands. The result? Foster rips off a 33-yard run, completely changing the tenor of the drive and the beginning of the game. Later, Foster bursts free for an 11-yard run on a fourth-and-inches to set up an easy Randy Bullock field goal. Then, the nightmare happens. Then, Foster is fumbling and the Texans are falling apart. Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Tania Ganguli advised readers you don't have to hang around O'Brien long to know he has a fiery, emotional personality. That comes through after losses, but never more clearly than it did after the Texans' 30-23 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday. O'Brien was heated. The tone and volume of his voice showed it. It was an appropriate response to a game that should have upset him, one in which players and coaches alike made mistakes. "We had a terrible second quarter," O'Brien said. "We couldn't come back from it. Just too many turnovers. We had a hard time overcoming all of those things. But at the end of the day, we were one onside kick away from tying it. So we are trying to take some positive out of it, but we have to coach it better. We have to play a lot better." He was asked if he'd ever seen anything like that final two-minute span, during which the Steelers scored three touchdowns in just more than a minute and a half. He said he wasn't sure. He was asked whether it was hard to stop the Steelers from scoring once they started, and that's when O'Brien bristled a little bit more. "It was 30-23. It wasn't 50 to nothing," O'Brien said. "My point is we can't do that." O'Brien went through a list of all his team did wrong: the 12-men-on-the-field penalty, the bobbled kickoff, the turnovers, the big plays. "These questions are like we lost 50 to nothing," he continued. "We lost by a touchdown with all that stuff that we did. We have to improve it. We have to coach better, and we have to play better." Next came a question about turnovers, and, again, O'Brien mentioned his frustration while also noting how close the Texans were to tying the game. Finding positives is not always a bad thing, but focusing too much on those positives after another loss in what should have been a winnable game can be. I wanted to know if O'Brien actually was looking at the closeness of the game as a positive, or if his concern about all that went wrong (and we'll get into all of that in another post) outweighed that. "I think it's a negative! We lost," he said, more visibly upset than he had been earlier. "It's a negative. It's terrible to lose. It's not good to lose." And then the explanation for the search for the positives. "My point is to these players in the locker room, is that with all those things that we did wrong, if we can fix those things that we're doing wrong, especially turning the ball over twice inside the 5-yard line, if we could fix those things, maybe we would have a shot, a better shot to win," O'Brien said. "So no, it's awful to lose. It's not good to come close. There are no moral victories. But we have to fix these things. ..." We all know they need to fix them; the question is, can they? Other notes of interest. ... Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes to Alfred Blue and Foster. He also threw an interception that set up a touchdown. O'Brien was asked at his Wednesday press conference about the circumstances that would lead to Ryan Mallett overtaking the veteran on the depth chart. O'Brien didn't spell them out, but suggested that no move is on the horizon in Houston. "I think that [Mallett] has improved every week. He's getting a better grasp of what we're doing here. I think the things that he's trying to work on -- accuracy, just consistent accuracy, things like that," O'Brien said. "I think he's working hard to get those to a level where they need to be to be able to play a lot of football in this league. Fitzy is our quarterback and when you look at our tape, again, you cannot just point to one position and say that's the position that is at fault. There are a lot of positions that need to play better; we need to coach better, all those different things. It all goes into why sometimes we stall offensively. "It's not one guy. So we're going to continue to work with both of these guys in practice and we'll see how it improves and hopefully it will get better and better and that will help our offense get better." As Profootballtalk.com's Josh Alper notes, Fitzpatrick is what he is as a quarterback at this point in his career and the Texans can't be too unhappy with his solid completion percentage, net yards per attempt or overall play on an offense. Still, 3-4 is 3-4 and a failure to improve that record though the next stretch will leave them with little reason not to see what Mallett can do after trading for him this offseason. ... Foster carried 20 times for 102 yards. He caught a touchdown pass. As noted above, he also lost the fumble at the Texans' 3 that set up a touchdown. DeAndre Hopkins had six catches for 108 yards and lost a fumble. Andre Johnson had five for 77. The tight ends were non-factors. For now, the only guy fantasy owners can bet on for high-level production is Foster. Hopkins and Johnson are viable weekly plays with upside, but beyond that, steer clear. ... One last note here. ... According to CBSSports.com, J.J. Watt recovered Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's fumble in the first quarter Monday, giving him a franchise-record nine fumble recoveries in his four-year career. DeMeco Ryans recovered eight fumbles for Houston from 2006-11. It was Watt's third fumble recovery this year, and he also recorded his fifth sack. Watt has 29 tackles entering Week 8 at Tennessee.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mallett, Tom Savage  RB: Arian Foster, Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes  FB: Jay Prosch  WR: Andre Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins, Damaris Johnson, Keshawn Martin, DeVier Posey  TE: Garrett Graham, C.J. Fiedorowicz, Ryan Griffin  PK: Randy Bullock  ========================= ========================= INDIANAPOLIS COLTS According to RTV6.com's Mike Chappell, the Colts might be without Reggie Wayne at least for Sunday's game at Pittsburgh. If that's the case, ESPN.com's Mike Wells, the Colts might have to decide if they want to hold Wayne out until after the bye week on Nov. 9 because their final game before the bye is at the New York Giants on Nov. 3 if he ends up being out against the Steelers. A source with knowledge of the situation told Chappell that while the injury to Wayne's left elbow doesn't appear to be serious, it could force him to miss a game or two. Head coach Chuck Pagano didn't reveal the results of a magnetic resonance imaging test on Wayne's elbow during his Monday press conference. Wayne suffered the injury in the first quarter of Sunday's 27-0 victory over the Bengals. He went up for a pass from quarterback Andrew Luck and was knocked off balance by Bengals cornerback Adam Jones. Wayne cushioned his fall by using his left arm. Wayne downplayed the injury after the game. "I'm good now," he said. "I just kind of fell on it, fell on my arm. "Go home, have an adult beverage and see how it feels in the morning." That home remedy apparently didn't do the trick. Pagano said on Wednesday the MRI showed nothing significant. Still, Pagano would not commit to Wayne practicing this week and said he is day to day leading up to Sunday's game against the Steelers. Whatever the case, the news comes one year to the day after Wayne suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Denver Broncos. Prior to the Oct. 20, 2013 injury, he had appeared in 189 consecutive games, at the time the longest active streak among receivers. It's uncertain whether the elbow injury impacted Wayne's performance against the Bengals, but it was very un-Wayne-like nonetheless. He finished with four catches for 15 yards, and suffered two uncharacteristic drops. Despite the meager numbers, Wayne became just the ninth player in NFL history with at least 14,000 career yards. He sits at an even 14,000, and needs five yards to pass James Lofton into the No. 8 spot in league history. If Wayne does miss time, Hakeem Nicks might be given a heavier workload. One of the team's off-season acquisitions has provided only moderate contributions through seven games with 17 receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Nicks had just two catches for 18 yards at Houston and had no catches while being targeted once against the Bengals. The Colts also are awaiting MRI results for linebacker Jerrell Freeman (hip) and running back Trent Richardson (hamstring). Pagano wouldn't elaborate on Richardson's injury, but was optimistic Freeman was "going to be OK." Richardson appeared to be on his way to having his first 100-yard game rushing as a Colt until a hamstring injury knocked him out in the fourth quarter. He finished with 77 yards on 14 attempts. Pagano said Wednesday Richardson's hamstring injury isn't as bad as the one he sustained during training camp, which forced him to miss about a week, per the team's official website. Pagano said the plan is for Richardson to practice Thursday and the team will then re-evaluate his status. I'll be following up as needed via Late-Breaking Update in coming days. ... Remember, the Colts are better prepared this time around if Wayne has to miss some time. T.Y. Hilton is third in the league in receiving yards with 711. Unlike last year when Darrius Heyward-Bey was momentarily elevated to the No. 2 receiver before being demoted, Hakeem Nicks will be able to handle the role. Nicks has gotten off to a slow start this season. He didn't have a reception against the Bengals. Quarterback Andrew Luck also has rookie Donte Moncrief and tight ends Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener to throw the ball to. The Colts are coming off a season-high 171 yards rushing and are averaging 123.3 yards a game on the ground. That's why they have the top-ranked offense in the league. The hope for the Colts is that Wayne doesn't have to miss an extended period of time, but if that's the case, they're in a good position to survive without him. In addition, running back Daniel "Boom" Herron impressed during a late appearance in the Cincinnati game. As the Sports Xchange notes, Herron was inserted into the offensive lineup when Richardson left with a hamstring issue. The former Ohio State standout ran for 37 yards in five carries as he helped Indianapolis run time off the clock in the final minutes of the game. Other notes of interest. ... Pagano remained more than a little impressed by the shutout recorded by his defense at the expense of the Bengals. It was just the sixth by the Colts since their relocation to Indy in 1984, and the first since 2008. It also was just the third Pagano has been associated with during an NFL coaching career that spans 13 years and four franchises. He was Baltimore's secondary coach in 2009 when the Ravens stoned the Browns 16-0 in Cleveland and held the same position with Oakland in 2001 when the Raiders shut out Cincinnati 18-0. "Phenomenal," Pagano said. "The way offenses are nowadays, (the Bengals) put up 37 points the week before and they were averaging 400 yards a game. The way kickers are. ... It's next to impossible to be able to play that dominant and play that well for 60 minutes. "It's tremendous. It speaks to the sacrifice and the hard work and the time these guys are putting in." Meanwhile, the Colts have won five straight for the first time since 2009. Their offense is ranked No. 1 in yards per game allowed (452.9) and passing (329.6) and No. 2 in scoring (30.9) while the defense is ranked No. 3 in yards allowed (311.1) and No. 4 in scoring (19.4). The defense continues to lead the league in preventing third-down conversions (20-of-77, 26 percent). Over the past four games, opponents have converted only 4-of-41 times on third down. During that stretch, opposing QBs have been woefully ineffective on third down: 13-of-32 for 134 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 27.3. "The whole defense is feeding off of each other right now," Pagano said. "The energy that they're playing with, the effort that they're playing with right now ... anytime you have success like they're having, the confidence level is at an all-time high. "They're accountable to each other. They don't want to be ‘the guy.' We always talk about don't be ‘that guy,' and that guy is the guy that lets the team down because you haven't prepared or you haven't put enough time in. ..."  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Andrew Luck, Matt Hasselbeck  RB: Trent Richardson, Ahmad Bradshaw, Dan Herron, Dion Lewis  FB: Mario Harvey  WR: T.Y. Hilton, Hakeem Nicks, Donte Moncrief, Griff Whalen, Reggie Wayne  TE: Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener, Jack Doyle  PK: Adam Vinatieri  ========================= ========================= JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS As ESPN.com's Michael DiRocco noted on Monday, in his brief time with the Jaguars, Denard Robinson has been a wide receiver, a Wildcat quarterback, and, finally, a running back. After what he did on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns at EverBank Field, he may have added another role: Building block. The Jaguars are trying to find some young playmakers to grow and develop with rookie quarterback Blake Bortles. They've got pieces at receiver in rookies Allen Robinson, Marqise Lee and Allen Hurns. Robinson's 127-yard, one-touchdown performance in the Jaguars' 24-6 victory over the Browns shows he has the potential to be considered a part of the offense's foundation going forward. Robinson's potential is intriguing because it's hard to put a cap on what he could become because he's still learning to be a running back. He's still somewhat relying on instincts and athleticism as he figures out how to carry the ball from the backfield and how to read blocks and find seams in the offensive line. Robinson starred as a quarterback at Michigan from 2009-12 but the Jaguars, enamored with his speed and open-field ability, drafted him in the fifth round in 2013. Jaguars GM David Caldwell called him an "offensive weapon" and said he'd be used in a variety of ways. That never materialized. Lingering nerve damage in his throwing hand from a hit to his elbow during his senior season at Michigan -- which the Jaguars and Robinson kept mum about -- prevented him from gripping the football. He struggled to throw it, had all kinds of problems trying to catch it, and couldn't keep from fumbling it. By the time his rookie season ended, he had started to regain some of the feeling. That's when he started to really concentrate on becoming a running back. It wasn't an easy transition. Most of his big runs in college came off zone-read plays or scrambles. Robinson didn't know how to read blocks while taking a handoff in the backfield. He didn't know how to pick up blitzing defenders, either. It was the first time Robinson hadn't had success on the field and it was hard to take. "I came in not even knowing what position I was going to play, and they told me I was going to play running back," he said. "I didn't know how to do it -- how to make the right steps to come off, how to block a guy or anything like that. I had to work on how to get the ball in the backfield because I was used to getting the ball from the gun. It's a big difference." He has come a long way since then, thanks to help from Toby Gerhart, Jordan Todman, Will Ta'ufo'ou and even Maurice Jones-Drew, who mentored Robinson last season. Robinson worked with running backs coach Terry Richardson throughout the offseason, too. When the feeling and strength in his hand returned completely, he was a different player. He had one drop during organized team activities and minicamp and hasn't fumbled once in seven games. When Gerhart was forced to sit out his second consecutive game because of a right foot injury, Robinson showed how far he has come in less than a year. His first carry against the Browns went for 14 yards and he ended up averaging 5.8 yards per carry. He had 160 career rushing yards coming into Sunday's game. Robinson sealed the Jaguars' first victory since Dec. 5, 2013, with his 8-yard touchdown run with 5:58 remaining. "I saw the opening and hesitated a little bit and bounced it outside," Robinson said. "I was like, 'I can't get denied.' It was my first touchdown, and it was amazing. It's a great feeling to experience something that you've dreamed about your whole life. "As a little kid, I thought about scoring a touchdown in the NFL, and I did it." Worth noting, Robinson also gained about 15 pounds over the offseason as he improved his skills. As Pro Football Focus, while he only forced one missed tackle, he was able avoid head-on hits to pick up extra yardage after contact on several occasions. Robinson showed he could effectively handle a full workload and certainly performed well enough to earn a bigger role in the offense going forward. Also per PFF, Robinson gained 93 of his 127 rushing yards on 16 carries between the tackles. Now maybe the Jaguars should start thinking about making him a piece of their foundation. The question is, will Robinson remain the feature back? According to the Florida Times-Union, head coach Gus Bradley was somewhat vague when asked about it. "Yeah, I think so. We'll look at the film. He did a good job and we hope to get Toby back," Bradley said. ... Other notes of interest. ... Bortles threw a touchdown pass but he also threw three interceptions. That gives him 10 in four and a half games. The Jaguars love his potential, but he is still struggling with rookie mistakes. He had a 40.3 passer rating. ... The punt return unit gained some momentum in Sunday's victory. Ace Sanders returned four punts for 41 yards and had a long of 19. "We challenged Ace a couple of weeks ago about going North," Bradley said. "He was going too much East and West, so I see him doing it now. Last week he was trying to get North and he had more space this week. He had a 19-yard return so that's a good sign. Good improvement made by him." Gerhart has missed the last two games with an ankle injury. He expected to practice on a limited basis Wednesday, according to the team's official website. It will be the first time he practices in two weeks. Tight end Marcedes Lewis, who is currently on short-term injured reserve, can begin practice Oct. 28. And finally. ... Veteran middle linebacker Paul Posluszny suffered a torn pectoral muscle Sunday and will be out for the year. Posluszny will have surgery this week, and will be placed on injured reserve. J.T. Thomas gets the first shot at replacing Posluszny. ... Bradley also said that defensive end Andre Branch suffered a groin injury, and would miss about six weeks.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Blake Bortles, Chad Henne  RB: Denard Robinson, Storm Johnson, Jordan Todman, Toby Gerhart  FB: Will Ta'ufo'ou  WR: Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, Cecil Shorts, Marqise Lee, Ace Sanders, Mike Brown, Tavarres Kings  TE: Clay Harbor, Mickey Shuler, Marcedes Lewis  PK: Josh Scobee  ========================= ========================= KANSAS CITY CHIEFS As Associated Press sports writer Dave Skretta reminded readers, the Chiefs were such a mess in their season opener against the Titans that they were quickly written off, their dramatic turnaround last season considered a fluke. Turns out that conclusion was premature. After steadily improving over the first few weeks of the season, the Chiefs earned a marquee victory Sunday when they rallied for a 23-20 victory in San Diego -- not only knocking off one of the NFL's hottest teams but taking a big step toward the top of the division. The Denver Broncos remain the team to beat in the AFC West, and the Chiefs are still looking up the standings at the Chargers. But there is suddenly a feeling that the Chiefs can make some noise in the wild-card race, if not for the division title. "I think overall the whole picture is good," head coach Andy Reid said Monday. "Yeah, it came down to the last drive, but there were a lot of people on both sides of the ball and special teams that put you in a position to be able to do that." The Chiefs had chances to steal wins in Denver and San Francisco, but struggled in crunch time. They had no such trouble against the Chargers, marching 62 yards in nine plays in the waning minutes to set up a 48-yard, go-ahead field goal by rookie Cairo Santos. The kick was a little bit wobbly. It looked a little bit funky. But it just managed to skirt inside the upright, helping to end the Chargers' five-game winning streak. "I have 100 percent confidence in Santos," tight end Travis Kelce said. "He has shown he can do it. In practice he barely misses. It's about confidence." Santos might be indicative of the Chiefs' growing confidence. After wrestling the job away from veteran Ryan Succop in training camp, Santos promptly missed field goals in each of his first two games. He hasn't missed since, including all three attempts against San Diego. "That's the game of football," quarterback Alex Smith said. "You have to trust the guy next to you. We talk about it all the time -- offensively, defensively, the guy next to you in the huddle -- you have to trust all those guys to do their job. And you have to trust that you're going to do yours. It's no different with Cairo. The guy went out there and hit a great kick and had a great kickoff right after, so I'm happy for him." Now, a resilient bunch of Chiefs that withstood a series of devastating injuries during the first couple weeks of the season has a relatively weak schedule ahead. First up Sunday is a visit from St. Louis, coming off an emotional high from its victory over Seattle. Then comes a home game against the New York Jets, a team that has lost six straight games. Other notes of interest. ... As the Sports Xchange noted, the record went from Abner Haynes, to Ed Podolak, to Christian Okoye, to Priest Holmes and then on Sunday in San Diego to Jamaal Charles. He became the all-time leading rusher in Chiefs history when he passed Holmes on a 16-yard touchdown run in the first half against the Chargers. Going into Sunday's game Charles needed 53 yards to top Holmes at 6,070 yards. It happened on the first play of the second quarter when Charles ran right, cut back towards the center of the field and blasted into the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown. That run gave him 6,071 career rushing yards and the record. "It was a great feeling," Charles said of the moment. "I thank the man above, because it happened at a special moment for me." Charles finished the game with 95 yards on 22 carries, adding two receptions for 12 yards to his Sunday performance. He now has 6,113 rushing yards on 1,107 carries. Holmes had established the mark of 6,070 yards on 1,321 carries. "I don't want to be known for my individual things, but what my team has done. ... Right now I'm just happy to get it out of my mind," Charles said. Worth noting, Charles, who took a blow to the head on his touchdown run was cleared to participate in practice Wednesday. According to ESPN.com's Adam Teicher, just as they do every week, the Chiefs will need a big game from Dwayne Bowe against the Rams. Bowe is their best wide receiver and the Chiefs received a grisly look at what their passing game looks like without him in their season-opening loss to the Titans. The Chiefs need to make Bowe more of a priority in their passing game. They did that in their win against the Chargers, when Bowe was their leading targeted receiver for the first time this season. Smith threw seven passes in Bowe's direction. Though Bowe dropped a third-down pass that could have been costly, he was the Chiefs' leading receiver with five catches for 84 yards and had a 19-yard gain on the game-winning field goal drive. But the Chiefs can do more with Bowe. What he does best is run after the catch. He's big, runs strong and is hard to tackle. According to Pro Football Focus, 32 of his yards against the Chargers came after the catch. So the Chiefs should get the ball more to Bowe in the open field. They threw a lot of bubble screens to Bowe earlier in his career to get him going that way but have mostly abandoned that. They should get back to that against the Rams and beyond. ... Kelce suffered a rib injury in the Chiefs victory over San Diego. "We've just got to see how he does," said Reid, who indicated the injury was not to a rib, but to cartilage in the rib cage. Kelce remains the club's leading receiver with 24 catches for 307 yards. Kelce played on 40 of the team's 75 snaps. As Rotoworld.com notes, the 53.3 percent rate is actually less than what Kelce had played over the previous three weeks (59.1 percent). Receiver Junior Hemingway suffered a strained hamstring in the first half and did not return to the playing field. Reid called his status "day-to-day" in the preparations for this week's game against St. Louis. Donnie Avery will not practice this week or play against St. Louis Sunday. Avery is still recovering from his sports hernia surgery that took place on October 3 after suffering an injury in the September 29 game against New England.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Alex Smith, Chase Daniel, Aaron Murray  RB: Jamaal Charles, Knile Davis, De'Anthony Thomas, Cyrus Gray  RB: Anthony Sherman  WR: Dwayne Bowe, A.J. Jenkins, Junior Hemingway, Frankie Hammond, Albert Wilson, Donnie Avery  TE: Travis Kelce, Anthony Fasano, Demetrius Harris  PK: Cairo Santos  ========================= ========================= MIAMI DOLPHINS As ESPN.com's James Walker put it: "So this is what Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill looks like at his absolute best. ..." His best ain't bad. Miami's 27-14 victory over the Bears on Sunday finally showed what a consistent, dominant Tannehill looks like under center. Better yet for the Dolphins, it happened over four full quarters -- not the usual one good half or quarter Tannehill has provided this season. How locked in was the third-year quarterback? On his second touchdown pass of the day, the Bears took away his first and second options. So Tannehill went to his third progression -- which he rarely does successfully -- to complete a 10-yard touchdown to Mike Wallace. Wallace said after the game that the Dolphins (3-3) couldn't even hit that play in practice. But with Tannehill in the zone, they made it look easy when it mattered most, giving Miami a lead it never relinquished. "I was the last read on the play," Wallace said. "On that play in practice, I've been working that [route] probably since I was in Pittsburgh and never got the ball, not one time, on that play. That was the first time. "You could fall asleep on that play, but you gotta stay focused. Honestly, I got that same play on Tuesday or Wednesday in practice and he threw it. We didn't connect on it, and I told him I will be better on it the next time. Tonight was our next time, and we were better." There have been games when Tannehill was good, but never the best player on the field. That changed in Chicago. Afterward, backup quarterback Matt Moore got a chuckle out of Tannehill by telling him, "You inspire me." Tannehill's day started with 14 straight completions, and he finished with 277 yards and two touchdown passes. He posted a career-high 123.6 passer rating and didn't have his first incompletion until 54 seconds left in the first half. First-year offensive coordinator Bill Lazor is getting a better grasp of his quarterback's capabilities. The Dolphins used a well-devised game plan that highlighted Tannehill's strengths: Throwing short and intermediate passes. His longest completion was for 26 yards to backup tight end Dion Sims. Tannehill also used his athleticism by rolling out of the pocket on passing plays, rushing for 48 yards on six carries. Tight end Charles Clay said Tannehill's confidence was at an all-time high, especially after getting hot early. "It's hard to pinpoint, but it was just something about him," said Clay, who caught Tannehill's first touchdown pass. "It gave me confidence, and I'm sure it gave everybody else in the huddle confidence." Tannehill said he has never completed 14 straight passes to start a game at any level. He did complete 14 straight between the second and third quarters this season against the Raiders, but this performance was from the start and more dominant. On this day, if you were open, Tannehill easily identified it and made the right decisions. He completed 78.1 percent of his passes, and eight Dolphins players had at least two receptions. "Everyone was getting open," Tannehill said. "It's fun to be able to spread the ball around like that." Tannehill is also running the ball more and it's paying dividends. Head coach Joe Philbin praised Tannehill's wheels after the quarterback rushed for 48 yards on six carries. Tannehill made a long run of 30 yards that gave the Dolphins a lot of momentum. He now has a 30-yard run and a 40-yard run in back-to-back weeks. "He's done a very consistent job in it," Philbin said. "I think it's repetition, repetition, repetition. It paid off today a couple times." The question, of course, is obvious: Was this a one-game performance or a potential career turning point? That remains to be seen. As Pro Football Focus pointed out, opening the game with 14 straight completions is the best mark among QBs in the league this season, but Tannehill threw at least four off-target passes in that sequence that hurt the chance for yards after the catch and in general was far from great in this game. "His raw stats may look elite," PFF opined, "but he was closer to average overall." Walker went on to note one of the biggest critiques of Tannehill is he rarely strings together strong games in back-to-back weeks. This season alone he has struggled from half to half. That is one of the major reasons Tannehill is just 18-20 as a starter and still trying to prove he is Miami's long-term solution. But Sunday's lights-out performance at least provided a one-game snapshot that Tannehill is capable of dominating a game. He has good athleticism and can make most of the throws needed to thrive in the NFL, with the exception of a consistent deep ball. After six games, it's clear the Dolphins will go only as far as Tannehill takes them this season. "We're definitely playoff-caliber, and if he's playing like [Sunday], we could be Super Bowl-caliber, honestly," Wallace said. "But we got to put in the work every day. We know it's not going to just come to us. We have to keep grinding and stay focused. ..." The Dolphins will continue their stretch away from Miami with another road game against the Jaguars (1-6) this week. The Dolphins will play four of their next six games on the road. Other notes of interest. ... As the Sports Xchange notes, Lamar Miller is averaging 4.8 yards per carry (81 carries, 391 yards, 4 TDs) and keeping the running game going. He's also doing much better in the passing game as a blocker and a receiver. He has 17 receptions for 115 yards and one touchdown. Miller practiced Tuesday wearing a brace on his right knee, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Miller has been on the injury report lately with a knee injury, but it's not believed to be serious. He has not missed a game. Daniel Thomas appears to be the No. 2 RB after Miller. Against Chicago, Thomas had seven carries for 25 yards and three receptions for 25 yards. ... Wide receiver Brandon Gibson and right guard Shelley Smith were both inactive against Chicago in something of a surprise move, especially for Gibson. Gibson, who has just seven receptions for 65 yards this season, was inactive against Green Bay due to a hamstring injury, but was listed as probable for the Chicago game and had full participation in Friday's practice. Philbin, who typically doesn't talk about injuries, always says selecting the active roster for games is about picking the 46 guys who give the team the best chance to win that day. He hinted that was the case with Gibson being inactive. "I don't talk about the injuries unless they are on the report, so I'll leave that question separate," he said. "But then as you said, it's really about the 46 guys." Meanwhile, the man who replaced Gibson as the No. 3 receiver, Jarvis Landry, continues to emerge as a favorite target for Tannehill. Landry, the rookie second-round pick from LSU, has 22 receptions for 232 yards and 1 TD. He has three more receptions and 37 more receiving yards than veteran WR Brian Hartline. Clay (21 receptions, 204 yards, 1 TD) is starting to show signs he could have another big season. Clay, who is still battling a right knee problem, had five receptions for 58 yards and 1 TD against Chicago. And his blocking seems to be improved. Caleb Sturgis missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt wide right and had a 37-yard field-goal attempt blocked. He's now 11-for-14 on field-goal attempts for the season. ... And finally. ... Defensive end Dion Jordan was back at practice for the Dolphins on Tuesday, the first time he's been able to take part in work with his teammates since the start of the regular season. Jordan spent the first six games of the season serving a pair of suspensions for violations of the league's drug policy, which added off-field questions to any on-field ones raised by a quiet rookie season for the third overall pick of the 2013 draft. Jordan said he "bettered" himself during his time away from the team and that people should feel confident that he'll remain drug-free, two things he likely shared with Philbin in recent conversations. "We've talked numerous times," Philbin told the Miami Herald. "It's about looking forward and moving forward in all aspects, professionally, personally. I'm excited about having him back." Philbin said that no decision will be made on activating him for Week 8 until later in the week. If Jordan can be a factor defensively upon his return, it should allow Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon to play fewer snaps and remain fresher come the second half of games.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Ryan Tannehill, Matt Moore  RB: Lamar Miller, Daniel Thomas, Damien Williams  WR: Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, Jarvis Landry, Rishard Matthews, Brandon Gibson  TE: Charles Clay, Dion Sims, Gator Hoskins  PK: Caleb Sturgis  ========================= ========================= MINNESOTA VIKINGS As ESPN.com's Ben Goessling noted, it appeared Sunday would be another rough day for Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who had hit just three of his first 11 passes and threw interceptions on back-to-back plays in the second quarter. But the progress Bridgewater made later in Sunday's game, including his first NFL touchdown pass, came after what Goessling believes could be an important realization in the quarterback's development. Bridgewater threw the first of his two interceptions to Leodis McKelvin after he appeared to pass up a deep shot to Jarius Wright down the middle, firing late to Chase Ford on a ball that was tipped and intercepted. McKelvin also undercut an out route to Adam Thielen that Bridgewater appeared to throw late after hitching twice. The problems led the rookie to think back to what he was doing in training camp during a stretch of interceptions in early August, and what he experienced at that point ultimately helped him turn things around on Sunday. "That was just me trying to be perfect," Bridgewater said. "I think I went back to old training camp days of trying to be perfect in every area, instead of just trusting my God-given ability and trusting the offense and trusting the system. I am going to continue to get better; just get a rhythm." After the two interceptions, Bridgewater found one. He hit 12 of his final 15 throws for 136 yards and a touchdown, making arguably his best throws of the day to extend drives on third downs. He hit Greg Jennings up the seam for 38 yards on third-and-7, found Wright on a gorgeous 28-yard back-shoulder throw on third-and-18, and hit Wright on the same drive for 14 yards on third-and-10. After a loss to the Detroit Lions in which he went just 2-for-8 on throws longer than 10 yards, according to ESPN Stats & Information, Bridgewater hit several throws downfield on Sunday, connecting with Jennings, Wright and Cordarrelle Patterson on 12 of his 15 completions. "After the second interception, Greg came up to me and told me, 'Hey, whatever is going on up in that head, up in that computer of yours, just reboot it,'" Bridgewater said. "Hearing that coming from a veteran, that was just telling me to relax and just play football." Bridgewater overshot a deep ball to Patterson that might have sealed the game on the Vikings' final drive, and he was sacked five times on a day where he said he still held the ball too long on several occasions. He also blamed himself for a red zone sack in the fourth quarter where he had a run-pass option and kept the ball instead of handing off to Jerick McKinnon. "I should have left the run on, but that's a play where I was trying to think too much," Bridgewater said. "I need to give my guys a chance [to make a play]." Bridgewater finished just 15 of 26 for 157 yards, with the two interceptions to go along with the touchdown. According to Pro Football Focus, the youngster was actually at his best against the blitz, completing seven of nine passes, but was just 8 of 17 when the Bills sent their standard rush. He was sacked five out of the 11 total times he was under pressure. If the game baked some progress into Bridgewater's game, in a season that increasingly looks like it will be about developing young players for the future, the Vikings will be better for it. On Sunday, there was reason to think Bridgewater made some progress after an ugly start to his day. "I thought he settled down better in the third quarter and end of the second quarter," head coach Mike Zimmer said. "We continue to have high expectations of him, and he needs to keep being put in these situations, as well." Meanwhile, the Vikings went into Sunday's game operating under the belief that any yards they gained on the ground against the league's top rushing defense would have to be earned the hard way. So Zimmer went to his running backs Saturday night with a benchmark he wanted them to hit. "I asked the backs last night to get three yards after contact," Zimmer said Sunday. "I thought we did a lot of good things there." As Goessling suggested, that's an awfully high standard to hit -- the best running back in the league after contact this season (the New York Jets' Chris Ivory) is averaging 2.68 yards after contact per carry -- but McKinnon met it, on the nose. According to ESPN Stats & Information, McKinnon gained 57 yards after contact on 19 carries Sunday, or exactly three yards per carry, and wound up with 103 total yards on a day that required him to bounce off tackles for much of the game. The 5-9 McKinnon joined Ivory as the only backs in the league to gain more yards after contact than before it Sunday. McKinnon now has 143 of his 309 yards this season after contact, and his 2.38 yards-per-carry average is the third-highest rate after contact in the NFL this year. It's still nowhere near what Adrian Peterson did in his otherworldly 2012 season -- when he averaged 3.26 yards after contact -- but McKinnon's proving he can get the hard yards, in addition to running in space. For the second week in a row, he's been the team's primary running back, though Zimmer still wouldn't anoint him the starter. His performance is enough to make one wonder, though, how much more comfortable the Vikings would be with the idea of not bringing Peterson back. He might not play again this season, with his child abuse trial slated for Dec. 1, and if McKinnon proves he can handle the workload -- or at least as much of it as he's asked to handle in Norv Turner's offense -- the Vikings might feel more comfortable about their future. "It's something that's not my decision. Not in my control," McKinnon said of being the starter. "All I can do is, when my number's called, do what I can, whether it's running the ball or pass protection. I don't allow stuff like that to be a distraction. ..." Going up against the Buccaneers this week, both McKinnon and Bridgewater will face a favorable matchup that should aid in their development. ... Other notes of interest. ... Fullback Jerome Felton hadn't carried the ball since he was with the Panthers in 2011, not counting his Pro Bowl two seasons ago, of course. He stunned the Bills with a 21-yard blast in the first half, but was then stopped for no gain on third-and-1. Linebacker Chad Greenway, who had missed the past three games because of a broken hand and broken ribs, played 65 of 70 defensive snaps. He had a game-high 15 tackles and a forced fumble in the red zone. But he also was beaten for a 24-yard completion on fourth-and-20 during the Bills' game-winning drive in the closing moments. And finally. ... Zimmer had his kidney stones removed on Tuesday, Master Tesfatsion of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Zimmer missed practice last Friday due to a minor procedure but still coached with kidney stones on Sunday. It was about as painful as it sounds, but the health issue has finally been resolved. “[Tuesday] wasn’t pleasant at all,” Zimmer said. “[Head Athletic Trainer] Eric Sugarman was talking to the team today, and I told him to get the video of the procedure that I had done to show the team. I think there would’ve been some [players] throwing up or something.”  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Teddy Bridgewater, Christian Ponder  RB: Jerick McKinnon, Matt Asiata, Joe Banyard, Adrian Peterson  RB: Jerome Felton  WR: Cordarrelle Patterson, Greg Jennings, Jarius Wright, Adam Thielen  TE: Rhett Ellison, MarQueis Gray, Chase Ford, Kyle Rudolph  PK: Blair Walsh  ========================= ========================= NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS According to ESPN.com's Lee Schechter, when running back Jonas Gray was promoted from the practice squad prior to Thursday night's 27-25 win against the Jets, it was a move to find answers after Stevan Ridley's season-ending knee injury. Gray earned the opportunity with his hard work and consistent presence on the scout teams during practice. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels attested to Gray's work ethic and desire to be a team contributor. "Jonas works really hard," McDaniels said. "He's been well prepared and done a great job for us on the scout teams here. And certainly made the most of his opportunities in the preseason and just continues to prepare like he is playing each week." Gray said earlier in the week, when asked about the potential of being called up from the practice squad, that he prepares every week like he is playing and that the Patriots' coaching staff doesn't treat practice squad players any differently from roster players. In his first career NFL game, Gray had three carries for 12 yards -- a modest performance. But, he made his impact in blitz pickups and proved he could be a consistent back within the limited work he had. "He had an opportunity to come up last week and help and I thought he did a good job in his role," McDaniels said. "Didn't play -- I think he played a total of 11 plays, if I am correct on it -- but, again, did a great job of running hard, runs behind his pads, stays low, not the easiest guy in the world to bring down because he's a thick guy with the ball." At 5-11 and 230 pounds, Gray packs a lot of power into his running and has the confidence to land blocks on safeties, linebackers and defensive linemen because he has the size to do so. Based on Gray receiving the second-most snaps among Patriots running backs on Thursday night with 12 of 60 -- behind Shane Vereen's 48 snaps and trumping Brandon Bolden's one offensive snap -- Gray could see more action and become the secondary back in the Patriots' offense. McDaniels liked Gray's performance throughout the offseason and in his first NFL game and is looking forward to working with his hard-working running back. "He stepped in there and picked up the blitz a couple of times the other night," McDaniels said. "So just a young guy that is eager to do whatever is asked of him and we will continue to work with him and see if we can't continue to build on what we did the other night with him. ..." Head coach Bill Belichick addressed the decision to move Gray from the practice squad and the opportunity that he has going forward after last week's game. "I think Jonas has been solid for us all the way through preseason," Belichick said. "He's done a good job in practice and got an opportunity last night -- not a lot of opportunities -- but he had some blitz pickup opportunities and a few carries. He works hard and he's a tough kid, a bigger back obviously -- more in the Ridley size range. "And he played for us in the kicking game as well. Keep going with that and this is just an opportunity for him, unfortunately the way it came out, but he's worked hard and he deserves it. We will see what he can do with it." It's difficult to get a read on how many carries Gray will receive in the immediate future. But the opportunity is there for Gray and the other running backs. "We are going to have to build some timing and execution without Stevan back there, whether that's Jonas or more [Vereen], Brandon [Bolden], James White, whoever is carrying the ball," Belichick said. "Obviously there's a lot of reps that we had with Stevan as the back and now we won't have. "Other guys will have to help the line set up their blocks, read the blocking patterns with more frequency than they have done in the past relative to the number of carries and reps in practice that Stevan had," Belichick added. "That will all be part of it going forward for us as well. ..." In other words, fantasy owners shouldn't expect to have a much better feel for the running back rotation with Ridley gone than we had with him on board. ... Other notes of interest. ... With the heavy rains calming down prior to kickoff last Thursday, New England was able to attack a suspect New York secondary. New England ran just five times in the first half as Tom Brady threw 22 passes despite the fact that the Patriots had a pair of three-and-outs. The air game jump started a quick-strike, four-play touchdown drive to open the game as Brady hit Brandon LaFell for 24 yards and then a play later found Vereen wide open for a 46-yard score. Brady would finish the night completing 20 of 37 passes for 261 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 103.5 passer rating. Vereen led the way with five catches for 71 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Danny Amendola made a great, twisting 19-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter that turned out to be the game-winning score. It wasn't the most efficient performance, but it was good enough to key the win. As the Sports Xchange notes, Amendola had easily his best game of the season in helping the Patriots hang on to beat the Jets. Amendola caught the game-winning 19-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal midway through the fourth quarter, his only catch of the day. The receiver also recovered the Jets' onside kick attempt later in the quarter as well as contributing on special teams with his first four kickoff returns of the season for a 26.3-yard average. While there has been a bit of criticism thrown the receiver's way early this season given his mere five catches in seven games a year removed from joining New England on a $31 million contract, Amendola downplayed his personal satisfaction in his own contributions. "We came out on top and that's what I'm most excited about," Amendola said. "I've caught a lot of balls in a game and lost. I've caught a lot of balls in a game and won. I've caught zero balls in a game and won and zero balls in a game and lost. No matter what, to come out on top is most important. That's when everybody is happiest and that's when we grow as a team. We're all excited. Good win for us. According to Pro Football Focus, Brady faced pressure on 16 drop-backs against the Jets and while he did at times look a little rattled in the second half, he made enough plays to keep the chains moving and avoided turning the ball over. PFF added, "The box score will tell you Brady completed 54 percent of passes. Yuck, terrible game. It won't tell you he had four throwaways, one batted pass and four dropped passes. Factor all that magic in and you get an actual adjusted Accuracy Percentage of 77.4 percent. ..." As Rob Gronkowski's playing time has increased upon his return from a torn right ACL, the Patriots have trended more toward multiple-tight-end groupings, which makes sense. Specifically, the Patriots seem to have found something that works for them -- going empty with the 2-WR/2-TE/1-RB grouping with Gronkowski and Tim Wright at tight end, which ESPN.com's Mike Reiss notes could be viewed as a 3-WR package of sorts because of Wright's presence as more of a pass-catching tight end. By the way, Gronkowski played a season-high 93 percent of the team's offensive snaps against the Jets. ... Aaron Dobson was a healthy scratch for the fourth time this fall, the first time the 2013 second-round pick has been inactive in three weeks. Even without Ridley, White was also healthy scratch against the Jets, the sixth time the fourth-round pick has been inactive this season. One last note here. ... The Tennessee Titans have agreed to trade linebacker Akeem Ayers and a seventh-round draft pick to the New England Patriots for a sixth-round pick, according to a team source. The deal is pending a physical, the source said. The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Ayers has been inactive for five of the Titans' seven games this season. After the trade, we found out why it went down: The Pats won't have Chandler Jones for a while. According to Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe, Jones suffered a hip injury against the Jets on Thursday night. He's expected to miss "about a month." A first-round pick in 2012, Jones has 4.5 sacks in his third NFL season. He had 6.0 sacks as a rookie and 11.5 in 2013. The Patriots also lost linebacker Jerod Mayo to a season-ending knee injury in Week 6. Per multiple reports, the Patriots also are expected to sign defensive lineman Alan Branch. He was cut by the Bills after a DUI arrest in the preseason.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo  RB: Shane Vereen, Jonas Gray, Brandon Bolden, James Develin, James White  WR: Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell, Danny Amendola, Bryan Tims, Aaron Dobson, Matthew Slater  TE: Rob Gronkowski, Tim Wright, Michael Hoomanawanui  PK: Stephen Gostkowski  ========================= ========================= NEW ORLEANS SAINTS As ESPN.com's Mike Triplett framed it: "Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints have lost their killer instinct. And it's killing their season. ..." Brees threw his costliest interception to date Sunday while the Saints coughed up a 13-point lead over the final four minutes in a stunning 24-23 loss to the Detroit Lions. It was the third time this season New Orleans (2-4) blew a lead in the final minutes. And though the defense certainly played its part in the meltdown, Triplett believes Brees shouldered the brunt of the blame, being about as hard on himself as he has ever been in his nine years with the Saints. "The worst feeling in professional sports is when you feel like you let your team down. And that's the way I feel right now with that interception," said Brees, who admitted he keyed in on receiver Marques Colston for a beat too long, allowing Lions safety Glover Quin to step in front of the pass with 3:15 remaining and the Saints leading 23-17. It was Brees' first interception of the day and his seventh of the season. "Listen, turnovers are gonna happen at times, especially at the quarterback position," Brees continued. "You've gotta throw with anticipation, you've gotta take chances at times. And I guess on the flip side you've gotta know when to take a chance -- when to try to fit a ball in there, or when to throw it away, take a sack, scramble, whatever it might be, and make sure the ball stays in your hands. "And unfortunately that's a critical time of the game where a turnover cannot happen, and I'm responsible for that. That one's on me." Brees and the Saints' offense got a chance to redeem themselves with 1:48 remaining, but they couldn't deliver. Brees completed just two of seven passes, scrambling for New Orleans' only first down on the ill-fated drive. That failure was almost as disappointing as the interception itself. Brees is the guy the Saints desperately need to lead them out of this year's freefall. They're in big trouble when he's helping to create some of the adversity. Yes, that's demanding more out of Brees than anyone else on the team -- the offensive line also started to falter down the stretch after a terrific start. But that's the standard Brees has set for himself over nine years. Heck, that's the standard he set in this game until the fourth quarter. Brees was outstanding through three quarters Sunday, completing 25 of 31 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns, including the long completion -- a 46-yarder to Kenny Stills -- that had been missing all year. It was Brees' best work of the season, coming on a day when tight end Jimmy Graham was a non-factor while being limited by a shoulder injury and the Saints' run game was a non-factor because of Detroit's dominant defensive front. Then in the fourth, Brees was 3-of-14 for 17 yards and a pick. His passer rating was 131.9 through three quarters and 9.8 in the fourth. "Simply put," Triplett wrote, "Brees isn't allowed to have collapses like that. The Saints can't afford it -- certainly not now, with their season on the brink." Saints coach Sean Payton wasn't as hard on Brees as Brees was on himself, saying there were "too many elements of the game to look specifically at one individual." But Payton certainly pointed to the overall failure to finish. "I felt like most of the game we had good control over it. And we let it slip," he said. The only saving grace for New Orleans is that the entire NFC South has been mediocre this year, with the Carolina Panthers leading the division at 3-3-1. Check that. The Saints' other saving grace is that they still have Brees, who remains defiantly optimistic and confident -- and still offers their best hope at recovery for this season if he can just find that missing mojo. "There's no quit in this football team," Brees said. "I mean, 2-4 is not where we want to be. But I told the guys after -- and this is what I believe -- 'No better way to get back on track than to go home on "Sunday Night Football" against the Green Bay Packers, who are rolling right now, and find a way to win. "That's the only thing we can control at this point, and that's what our focus is gonna be." But on Sunday night, they host Green Bay, winners of four straight. Then New Orleans plays four nights later at Carolina. ... Other notes of interest. ... Running back Pierre Thomas suffered a shoulder injury Sunday that may sideline him. Thomas is expected to miss two or three weeks, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The shoulder injury took place during Sunday's loss to the Lions, a loss that was costly for New Orleans on the injury front: center Jonathan Goodwin suffered a leg injury, defensive end Glenn Foster had a knee injury and nose tackle Brodrick Bunkley had a head injury. The versatile Thomas is third on the team in rushing with 133 yards and third on the team in receiving with 26 catches. The 2-3 week timeframe would put Thomas out for Sunday night's game against the Packers and next Thursday's game against the Panthers, as well as possibly the following week's game against the 49ers. Meanwhile, despite the return of Mark Ingram from a fractured hand, the Saints could not get anything going against one of the league's top run defenses and finished with a season-low 73 yards and 3.5 average on 21 carries. Ingram was held to 16 yards on 10 attempts and the Saints failed to reach the 100-yard mark as a team for the first time this season. Khiry Robinson, who came up big while filling in for Ingram, netted 26 yards on three attempts with a long gain of 17 yards, but lost a fumble to earn some time on the sideline. Ingram and Robinson could both get a bump in playing time with Thomas out, although Travaris Cadet is probably in position to gain the most from the veteran's absence. ... Colston and Stills were major factors. Colston hauled in six receptions for 111 yards, many of them resulting in big hits over the middle. And Stills caught five passes for 103 yards and the 46-yard TD on a day when the Saints absolutely needed their receivers to come through. ... As noted above, Graham didn't catch a pass and was targeted only twice. Graham who played just 30 snaps, mostly in clear passing situations -- including the ill-fated final drive. Payton said "there was a handful of plays tagged for" Graham. But he pointed out that the Saints actually played very few snaps in the red zone, which is where Graham might have been a bigger factor. "He was in the nickel, some of the third down, some of the red zone," Payton said. "We kind of did the same thing a year ago [when Graham returned from a plantar fasciitis injury] against Buffalo. We kind of had a set plan in place for him, and the challenge is just making sure you're ready if you're not playing on a more frequent basis." It's tough to predict how much Graham's role will increase in the coming weeks. He doesn't appear to have any limitations when it comes to catching the ball, but his ability to block and absorb contact will likely be bigger determining factors. Worth noting, however, two days after releasing tight end Tom Crabtree, the Saints brought him back on Monday. The 28-year-old Crabtree gives the Saints a fourth tight end behind Graham, Josh Hill and Ben Watson. Injuries, in general, were an issue against the Lions. Center Jonathan Goodwin (knee), defensive end Glenn Foster (knee) and nose tackle Brodrick Bunkley (concussion) were officially ruled out of the game early. Later, Thomas, receiver Kenny Stills (undisclosed) and cornerback Keenan Lewis were also hobbled. Foster was spotted on crutches and Stills said he was dealing with an illness.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Drew Brees, Luke McCown  RB: Mark Ingram, Khiry Robinson, Travaris Cadet, Pierre Thomas  FB: Austin Johnson, Erik Lorig  WR: Marques Colston, Kenny Stills, Brandin Cooks, Joe Morgan, Robert Meachem, Nick Toon  TE: Jimmy Graham, Ben Watson, Josh Hill, Tom Crabtree  PK: Shayne Graham  ========================= ========================= NEW YORK GIANTS According to Associated Press sports writer Tom Canavan reported, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has a message for anyone ready to give up on the New York Giants as they head into a bye week off disappointing losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. It's simple: Don't write off the Giants (3-4). Pierre-Paul believes the Giants can win their final nine games if they stop making mistakes. The Giants, who have missed the playoffs the past two seasons, made many mistakes in getting blown out by the Eagles 27-0 a week ago and then dropping a 31-21 decision to the Cowboys on Sunday. It's frustrating for a team that thought it was on track after winning three in a row following a 0-2 start. "I think we are fine," Pierre-Paul said Monday as the players left for some time off. "It was a tough loss yesterday. As far as the team, we know what we can do if we all get on the same path. We spoke to some guys and said to do whatever you have to do on your bye week and get away from football. Just focus on something else, but when we come back it is time to turn it on." The schedule certainly won't be in the Giants' favor after the break. They start with a Monday night game at home against Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts (5-2). It is followed by a game in Seattle (3-3) against the defending Super Bowl champions. Then, they have home contests against San Francisco (4-3) and Dallas (6-1). It things don't get turned, the Giants could be out of the playoff picture before Thanksgiving. As Canavan suggested, there are a lot of areas that have to improve in the second half of the season. The running game and the run defense have not been good the past two weeks. The offensive line has not opened holes. The defensive line has not generated much pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Penalties are once again a problem and no one seems to be making big plays. "The effort is there for everybody, so now we've just got to string some things together, eliminate some of the mistakes, some of the mental mistakes that occurred," said quarterback Eli Manning, who has thrown only one interception in the last five games. "They're not huge ones, we're playing smart we've just got to play that much better to be able to get back in that win department." The bye is coming at a good time for the Giants. Rashad Jennings, who has missed the last two games with a sprained knee, might be ready to go after the break and guard Geoff Schwartz, who was hurt in the preseason, hopes to return to practice next week. Head coach Tom Coughlin, however, had reservations whether they would be ready for the Colts. Indeed, Jennings stopped short of saying that he would be a go for that game. Describing his status as "day to day," Jennings said he plans to begin running this week. ... Some players have stepped up. Rookie first-round receiver Odell Beckham is living up to the hype with three touchdown catches in as many games. Cornerback Prince Amukamara has been outstanding and Pierre-Paul has made big plays on defense. The Giants head into the break a game out of the last playoff spot in the NFC. "We have nine games to play," Coughlin said when asked about the big picture. "Hopefully, we'll be able to talk about this team being a lot better than you see it right now." Giants defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins strained a calf muscle and middle linebacker Jon Beason aggravated a toe injury against Dallas and their status is uncertain. Jenkins expects to be out a couple of weeks and Beason will visit a foot specialist for the second time this season. "The feeling around here is that there is a lot of disappointment because we dropped two in a row," Jenkins said. "You know, 3-4, we still have a lot of control over what happens. All we need is another good run. ..." Beason admitted on Tuesday that shutting himself down for the season was an option because of a problematic toe injury. ... Other notes of interest. ... As the Sports Xchange notes, tight end Larry Donnell, who had his share of struggles in run blocking, admitted that part of his game is taking a little longer to develop than he would like. "There are some big men out there; these aren't little guys you're putting out there," he said when asked what the biggest stumbling block has been. Donnell, who is in his first full season as a starter, played sparingly last year. He also fell behind in his pro development because in the spring of 2013, he was sidelined by a broken leg which kept him from learning reps and working on various aspects of his weight training program until he was healed., This past offseason, Donnell enjoyed his first full spring and was a full participant in all team activities, from the weight training to the OTAs and minicamp. However, he still has a way to go as far as refining his technique and playing at a lower pad level to ensure that he is able to drive his man of the mark and create the seals to help running backs get around the edge. "It's a difficult task, but one that has to be done," he said. "I'm trying to get better at that so I can help the team at that besides pass catching. Meanwhile, as they did last season, the team is using the bye week to look at possible additions to the roster. Last year, it was a 20-man workout that included future Giants like wideout Preston Parker, and kicker Brandon McManus (now with the Broncos). This year, a few interesting names have already trickled out. Among them, former Cowboys, Eagles and Steelers running back Felix Jones, a first-round pick back in 2008. Jones was on the Giants' radar heading into training camp this year, but the team opted to go younger behind Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams and Peyton Hillis. The Giants are also working out former Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor as a quarterback. Pryor recently had workouts with the Bengals and Buccaneers. It sounds as though Pryor will be working out as a quarterback, which continues a run of mobile quarterbacks that have been in the team's facility in recent months. The team also took a look at former Clemson standout Tajh Boyd last month. As a member of the Steelers last year (after being dealt from Philadelphia for linebacker Adrian Robinson), Jones had 48 carries for 184 yards. If the Giants end up signing Jones, he'll be reunited with Hillis, a former teammate at Arkansas. Along with Darren McFadden, they were part of arguably the most talented collegiate backfield in the last decade. We're not sure how that will help the Giants get out of a two-game losing streak, though.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   The Giants are idle this week due to the NFL bye.  ========================= ========================= NEW YORK JETS As Associated Press sports writer Dennis Waszak Jr. notes, Percy Harvin has been called lots of things during his NFL career. Talented but injury prone. Explosive on the field and combustible off. A playmaker but a troublemaker. The New York Jets' newest wide receiver doesn't deny he has had some issues. But he also wants to be judged from what he does starting now, not just his checkered past. "I'm definitely not a perfect person," Harvin said after his first practice with his new team Monday. "I have a lot of things that I wish I could have done a little differently. But I'm moving forward. I'm learning from those lessons. "I'm happy to be here right now and looking to make the most out of it," he said. The Jets and Seattle Seahawks completed a deal Saturday in which New York sent a conditional draft pick to Seattle for Harvin. Jets general manager John Idzik thought the potential payoff in acquiring a player with Harvin's type of versatility and game-breaking skills outweighed the risks involved. "I look at it," Idzik said, "as this could be a potential coup for the New York Jets." Harvin was "shocked" by the trade and it came as a surprise to most in NFL circles. After all, the Seahawks parted ways with a player who helped them win a Super Bowl last season. But at 26, Harvin has been traded twice already now, including by Minnesota, the team that took him in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft. The Jets were extremely interested in Harvin during that draft process before trading up to take quarterback Mark Sanchez. Harvin has played in 60 games with only 47 career starts. He was traded to the Seahawks in 2013 for a 2013 first-round and seventh-round draft choice and a 2014 third-rounder, but appeared in just one regular-season game in 2013 because of hip surgery. But Harvin ran back a second-half kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown in Seattle's 43-8 rout of Denver in the Super Bowl. Harvin is also a player who is injury prone and has had some questions about his character and interactions. Harvin acknowledged that he had "incidents" in the locker room with former Seahawks teammates Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin, but declined to give details. "The way I go about my business is by keeping everything in-house, but for whatever reason, they decided to unleash things," Harvin said. "Some things did happen. That's in the past. We've moved forward and I've talked to Golden and Doug. We've all moved forward from it. I'm here now and I'm moving on." Jets right tackle Breno Giacomini, Harvin's teammate in Seattle last season, said the incidents are being "blown up for no reason" and "wasn't like it was this big, huge boxing match." "Almost everybody in this locker room has been in a fight before," Giacomini said. "We play football, you know what I'm saying? Oh, it happened twice? Who cares? He's a good competitor. That's what it is. I know it was squashed right away with Golden because I was there, and I heard the same thing about Doug. I think it's being blown up." Harvin said he was "frustrated" about the way the Seahawks were using him in the offense. "Not that I didn't like what I was doing, I just wanted to do a little bit more," he said. "As a receiver, I wanted to just get downfield just a little bit more than I was doing." Harvin did not approach his coaches about his unhappiness, but also didn't request a trade -- and insisted he harbors no ill will toward the Seahawks. "They brought me a Super Bowl," he said. Idzik said he had thorough discussions with Seahawks general manager John Schneider, a close friend whom Idzik has known before their days working together in Seattle, and was comfortable that Harvin wouldn't become a disruptive force in the Jets' locker room. So was head coach Rex Ryan, who didn't even want to discuss Harvin's past issues. "I don't think I need to," Ryan said. "To me, things happen and every single guy has had something, but to me, it's just all about right now and moving forward." Idzik said he had "substantive talks" with Seattle last week before the Jets' game at New England last Thursday night, but the discussions "crystallized" after the team's 27-25 loss -- its sixth straight. "It became evident that this was a real possibility," Idzik said, "and eventually we pulled the trigger." Idzik insisted the move was to help the 1-6 Jets improve -- not a result of public pressure or criticism. The GM has been highly criticized for not providing second-year quarterback Geno Smith and the rest of the offense enough playmakers in the offseason. "I think it brings an explosive talent to our team," Ryan said. "It should be fun to watch." Ryan said Harvin will serve as the team's kick returner on Sunday against Buffalo, and his involvement in the offense would be based on how quickly he picks up Marty Mornhinweg's system. "It's definitely a place I want to be for a long time," Harvin said. "I'm here, I'm glad I'm here and I'm going to make the most of the opportunity. ..." Meanwhile, the Jets signed wide receiver Jeremy Kerley to a four-year contract extension, the team announced Tuesday. The deal is worth $16 million, with $5.4 million guaranteed, a league source told ESPN's Adam Caplan. "I'm happy it's done, and I'm happy that me and my family are going to be taken care of now. So that is out the way," Kerley told ESPN's Josina Anderson. Kerley said he wasn't worried that Harvin's addition would keep him from getting a new contract. "I think whatever was going to happen between me and the Jets was going to happen," he said. "I've always felt confident in my role. I've always had that approach and mentality that whatever they needed me to do, I would do it. So, I don't feel like my role will lessen or anything like that with the addition of Percy. "So, I just feel like with him, he obviously opens up a lot of things for our offense. There are a lot of things we could do to get the ball in his hands. Like I said, he's a special player, so having him only helps us have a better chance of being successful." Kerley, a fifth-round pick out of TCU in 2011, has 22 receptions for 201 yards and a touchdown this season for the Jets (1-6). He's established a good rapport with second-year quarterback Geno Smith, ranking first on the team in targets with 45. And now, with Harvin, Kerley, Eric Decker and Jace Amaro among his targets, Smith is going to feel a bit more pressure to get the job done. As ESPN.com's Rich Cimini notes, at the very least the addition of Harvin should help with their evaluation of Smith, who has only nine more games to prove he can be the long-term answer at quarterback. In 23 games, he's never had a true speed receiver, a player who can turn a 5-yard pass into a 55-yard gain. Smith had one of those players at West Virginia, Tavon Austin, and they both enjoyed tremendous success. Harvin has been one of the most prolific screen-pass receivers in the NFL. Since 2010, he has 49 receptions on screen passes, behind only Antonio Brown (68) and Pierre Garcon (64), according to ESPN Stats & Information. Look for Mornhinweg to dial up more screens than usual. It's already part of the offensive package, as Smith is fifth in screen-pass attempts (24). The problem is, they're not very productive. His passer rating is 75.5, second worst in the league. The Jets also hope Harvin's presence will alter the way defenses attack them. With no threats on the perimeter, opponents overplay the run, daring Smith to beat them by throwing the ball. ESPN Stats & Information compiles the number of times a team faces a "loaded" defense -- defined as a defense having more players in the box than available offensive blockers. The Jets have rushed a league-high 51 times against a loaded box, averaging an impressive 4.7 yards per carry. So now you're wondering, "How well do they pass the ball against a loaded box?" Good question. The answer is, not well. The Jets are 24th in passer rating (76.5) -- 40-for-74, 375 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. When you're averaging only 5.42 yards per attempt against mostly man-to-man coverage, it's not efficient offense. Other notes of interest. ... Four days after the Jets set a Ryan-era low with 31 yards rushing, they gashed the Patriots for 218 yards on 43 carries and set the tone for an offense that held the ball for an eye-opening 40:54. Chris Ivory (21 carries for 107 yards and one touchdown) set season highs in carries and yards as he finally got the game-long usage everyone else has been waiting to see from him while Chris Johnson (13 carries for 61 yards) proved he still has at least a little bit of juice in his legs. Alas, the 168 combined yards marked just the second time since the season opener that the two have generated more than 80 yards rushing. Smith (seven carries for 37 yards) continued to use his legs as a weapon. Bilal Powell (one carry for seven yards) was injured in the third quarter and did not return. Ryan said Friday that he believed anyone injured Thursday was feeling better Friday. ecker (hamstring) was limited in Wednesday's practice, but he's played all but one game since first sustaining the injury in Green Bay last month. He seems to be getting closer to full health with each passing week. ... In a related note. ... Pro Football Focus suggested that 107 yards on 21 carries would seem like a great day for the offensive line. But in truth it owed an awful lot to Ivory who wasn't bruising through defenders, but making them pay for over committing inside as the Jets misdirection brought the worst out of the Patriots in run defense. In addition, 55 of Ivory's 107 yards came after contact.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Geno Smith, Michael Vick  RB: Chris Ivory, Chris Johnson, Bilal Powell  RB: John Conner, Tommy Bohanon  WR: Eric Decker, Percy Harvin, Jeremy Kerley, Greg Salas, Saalim Hakim, Walter Powell. T.J. Graham, Chris Owusu  TE: Jeff Cumberland, Jace Amaro, Zach Sudfeld  PK: Nick Folk  ========================= ========================= OAKLAND RAIDERS As the Sports Xchange reported this week, the last winless team in the NFL is having a hard time digesting the hard truth. The Raiders' 24-13 loss to the Cardinals was another competitive effort against a potentially playoff-bound team, but they still ended the day 0-6 with their 12th consecutive loss dating back to last season. It's the worst start to a season since 1962, when the Raiders opened with 13 straight losses before winning the regular-season finale. "You can't keep saying, 'We'll get it next week, we'll get it next week,'" interim coach Tony Sparano said. "That's not one of the things that works in this league. You have to get it when the opportunity is out there and we've gotten opportunities the last two weeks and we didn't win the game." In Sparano's first game replacing Dennis Allen, the Raiders fell 31-28 to the San Diego Chargers, who, like the Cardinals, came in to the game with just one loss. While Sparano's mantra has been to disregard the first four games he buried them along with a football in a ceremony at the team's practice complex safety Charles Woodson knows the difference between 0-2 and 0-6. "I think it's pretty much snowballed on us," Woodson said. "You try to pull guys in the same direction as you, but it is something that's inevitable a lot of times. This is as bad as you're going to get through the first part of the season. We haven't won a game. How much worse can it get than that, not winning a game?" Woodson said he felt practices the last two weeks have been good, making the result that much tougher to comprehend. "I felt really, really good about what we were doing coming into the game and we come up short," Woodson said. "I don't know how to take that, feeling that way during the week, and then coming in and not getting it done. I'm not sure to where to go with it at this point." Defensive tackle Antonio Smith voiced similar concerns. "Each week you're going in trying to fix something, an each week you wonder why it ain't working," Smith said. "It's like at this point, what can I do? What's wrong. How do we need to change?' " Rookie quarterback Derek Carr's solution is to block out any and all outside noise. "You're going to be praised a lot in this game, you're going to be criticized a lot," Carr said. "You've got to ignore both because neither matter. You've just got to keep your head down and keep fighting. ..." This week, the Raiders head to Cleveland for their first road game in a month in Week 8. The Browns handed Jacksonville its first win of the season Sunday. Could a Raiders win be on the horizon? As ESPN.com's Bill Williamson suggests, they have a lot to clean up if that is to happen. One example? The Raiders went in to the Arizona game giving up a 51.4 percent conversion rate on third down, worked on it for a week, then saw the Cardinals check in at 60 percent (9 for 15). On the flip side, the Raiders converted only 4 of 12 themselves _ leading to a 23:03 to 36:57 disadvantage in time of possession. "We were around 33 percent (on offense), which quite honestly, is the way we practiced this week," Sparano said. "We need to do a better job on that particular day." Arizona converted three third downs on its first scoring drive and Carson Palmer's 33-yard touchdown pass to Michael Floyd came on third-and-8. "It's killing us," Woodson said. "We were, for the most part, able to play good football on the early downs, but for whatever reason on third downs I don't know if it's lack of focus, but it's definitely our Achilles' heel right now." More? Despite ample time to pass, Carr was 16 of 28 for 173 yards and wasn't as accurate as in the previous week's loss to San Diego. On a crucial third-and-7, Carr settled for a 3-yard gain to Andre Holmes. A 55-yard pass to Brice Butler that set up the Raiders' lone touchdown was the lone highlight. As for the rushing attack, the Raiders had 56 yards on 19 carries, averaging only 2.9 yards per attempt. Darren McFadden had a few nice runs, just not enough of them, finishing with 48 yards on 14 carries. He scored the Raiders lone touchdown on a 1-yard run. Maurice Jones-Drew got in for 15 snaps and carried three times for six yards. ... Other notes of interest. ... A week after Sebastian Janikowski missed a 53-yard field goal attempt just before halftime in what turned out to be a three-point loss to San Diego, he had a new place kick holder against Arizona. Quarterback Matt Schaub, displaced as the starter during training camp by Carr, held for Janikowski, who converted from 53 and 29 yards. Janikowski missed 10 field goal attempts last season with punter Marquette King as the holder. Janikowski conceded there were "trust" issues after having Shane Lechler as his older from 2000 through 2012. Kenbrell Thompkins, a waiver claim from New England the previous week, played 31 snaps against Arizona but was targeted only once on an incomplete pass. ... Fullback Marcel Reece was inactive and didn't play for the first time in 46 games because of a quadriceps injury. And finally. ... Free safety Usama Young left the Arizona game with what appeared to be a serious knee injury and was replaced by Brandian Ross. The Raiders worst fears for Young were subsequently confirmed. He tore his ACL and MCL. The injuries will end his season.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Derek Carr, Matt Schaub, Matt McGloin  RB: Darren McFadden, Maurice Jones-Drew, Latavius Murray  FB: Marcel Reece, Jamize Olawale  WR: James Jones, Andre Holmes, Vincent Brown, Brice Butler, Denarius Moore, Kenbrell Thompkins  TE: Mychal Rivera, David Ausberry, Brian Leonhardt  PK: Sebastian Janikowski  ========================= ========================= PHILADELPHIA EAGLES As the Sports Xchange reminded readers, the most promising thing to come out of the Eagles' 27-0 Week 6 win over the New York Giants was the reemergence of the running game. The Eagles, who led the league in rushing last season, went into the Giants game ranked 23rd in both rushing yards per game (132.0) and yards per carry (3.8). LeSean McCoy, who rushed for a league-best 1,607 yards last season, was averaging 2.9 yards per carry. But against the Giants, the Eagles racked up a season-high 203 rushing yards, including 149 on 22 carries by McCoy. The Eagles rely heavily on the running game. They ran the ball 47 percent of the time last season, the sixth most in the league. So, they need both McCoy and his backup, Darren Sproles, to be productive particularly since it's becoming apparent that the Dallas Cowboys aren't going to go away. The Eagles are 5-1 coming out of their bye week. But they trail the 6-1 Cowboys by half a game. The Eagles and Cowboys meet twice in a 17-day period in late November and mid-December. Before then, the Eagles have a challenging schedule that includes road games against Arizona, Houston and Green Bay, plus a Monday night home battle against Carolina. The Eagles will be getting two of their key offensive line starters All-Pro left guard Evan Mathis and center Jason Kelce back from injury in Week 10 against the Panthers, which should be a big boost to McCoy, Sproles and the running game. "I'm a competitor," McCoy said. "I want to succeed. I want to run well. But being 5-1 is the big thing right now. We're 5-1 with me going over 100 once in the first six games." Said coach Chip Kelly: "Against the Giants, you saw the LeSean everybody knows he can be like. Obviously, we have to get a little more continuity, a little more consistency. Stay on blocks a little longer, run the ball a little harder and block better on the perimeter. But it's coming. Meanwhile, Nick Foles hasn't played nearly as well as he did a year ago when he led the league in passing. He has had problems with his footwork and his decision-making frequently has been questionable. He already has 10 turnovers in six games, including seven interceptions. He hasn't been very effective with the deep ball either. Last year, he had the league's best passer rating on throws of 20 or more yards. ... On the injury front, the Eagles placed Mathis on injured reserve with a designation to return. That means he can begin practicing Wednesday and he can play against the Panthers on Nov. 10. Mathis, who sprained his medial collateral ligament in the season opener, told CSNPhilly.com that he planned to practice this week. Kelce, who had surgery to repair a sports hernia, also will try to practice this week. Kelly declined to speculate on Kelce's return until he saw him on the field. "I hope he ties his shoes right," Kelly said. "I haven't seen Jason Kelce do anything since before the surgery." Sproles, who sprained his MCL in the Giants game, was also taking part in practice Tuesday. Kelly indicated last week that Sproles' injury was not as serious as it looked. Sproles said on Tuesday that his immediate reaction to the injury was not good, Mark Eckel of the Newark Star-Ledger reports. "I thought it was bad," Sproles said after Tuesday's practice, in which he participated. "I guess I got lucky." Sproles was expected to miss at least one game, and maybe two, if not longer. The fact he was on the field Tuesday is a good sign, however. "When I got the MRI done I felt better about it," Sproles said. Having the bye last week certainly helped. Asked how he felt after going through Tuesday's short practice, Sproles said he felt "fine." Fine enough to play, Sunday, when the Eagles play the Cardinals in Arizona? "We'll see how it goes," Sproles said. "But I feel fine. The way I feel right now, I think I can play." The Eagles listed Sproles as a limited participant in Wednesday's practice. Also worth noting, fellow running back Chris Polk (hamstring) practiced fully Wednesda. If Sproles can't play, Polk would back up McCoy. I'll be following up on Sproles via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses.  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  ========================= ========================= PITTSBURGH STEELERS As ESPN.com's Scott Brown noted, the Steelers reached into their bag of trick to score the touchdown that put them ahead for good in a 30-23 win over the Houston Texans. But head coach Mike Tomlin was in no mood to talk about wide receiver Antonio Brown's 3-yard touchdown pass to Lance Moore the day after it happened -- or at least discuss how the play came about with the Steelers trailing the Texans late in the first half. Ben Roethlisberger told 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh on Tuesday morning that Tomlin called the play in which Brown took a pitch in the backfield, pivoted back to his left and hit Moore in the end zone. Tomlin refused to confirm that he had indeed made that play call, though he did not deny it either. "I take responsibility for all calls," Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. "I'm not going to get into the intimate details about how we administer our business on the sidelines during the course of football games. I don't think that's prudent. I don't think that helps us." When asked what the Steelers were thinking as a team when they opted for Brown to throw a pass near the goal-line, Tomlin said, "The idea is to score and Antonio has proven to be a guy who is capable delivering plays for us, whether it's running the ball or throwing the ball. You just want to put the ball in playmakers' hands, and he is that." Brown caught nine passes for 90 yards in addition to his scoring toss, and the two-time Pro Bowler probably should have finished with over 100 receiving yards and a touchdown. Brown made a spectacular 16-yard catch in the corner of the end zone in the fourth quarter and appeared to get both feet in bounds, if only by an inch, for a touchdown that would have likely put the Texans away. But the ruling of a touchdown on the field was reversed after a video review and the Steelers had to settle for a Shaun Suisham field goal that gave them a 27-16 lead. Brown took to social media after the game to voice his displeasure with having a touchdown taken away from the Steelers. The fifth-year veteran posted a picture on his Twitter account that showed both of his feet in bounds and wrote "[bleeping] refs." Tomlin said he did not know anything about what Brown wrote on his Twitter account. "I don't get into the social media stuff," Tomlin said. "I thought it was an extremely close play and usually when plays are that close they stay with the ball on the field. I was of the impression that it was going to remain [a touchdown]." When asked if he has a problem with Brown protesting the call the way he did, Tomlin said, "We're professionals. I expect them to behave that way both on and off the grass. ..." For what it's worth, Roethlisberger completed 23 of 33 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Le'Veon Bell piled up 145 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. The defense forced three turnovers and the Steelers won the special-teams battle. Pittsburgh scored 24 points in a span of 2:54 to completely change the momentum of the game. They had scored 27 points over their previous two games combined. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time an NFL team scored 24 or more points in less than three minutes was in Week 4 of 2002, when the Seattle Seahawks posted 28 points in 1:47 against the Minnesota Vikings. The Steelers are the first team to score 21 points in the final two minutes of a half since the Texans in 2012 Week 1 (21 in first half versus Miami Dolphins). Furthermore, they are the only team in the past decade to score three touchdowns in the final 90 seconds of a half. Up next, the Steelers host the red-hot Indianapolis Colts on Sunday with a short turnaround. The Colts have won five consecutive games after opening the season 0-2. Quarterback Andrew Luck has thrown for more than 300 yards in five consecutive games and has established himself as a legitimate MVP candidate. ... Other notes of interest. ... According to Elias, Brown is the third player in NFL history with at least nine receptions and a touchdown pass in a game, joining James Wilder (1984) and Jerry Rice (1995). He also extended his NFL-record streak of at least five receptions and 50 yards to 23 straight games. With two touchdown passes, Roethlisberger has at least 10 in each of his first 11 seasons. That ties Jim Kelly for the fourth most such seasons to start a career in NFL history. Roethlisberger completed 23 passes, and 17 of them were either to Bell or Brown. He was 8-for-8 for 88 yards and a touchdown targeting Bell, who eclipsed 100 scrimmage yards for the seventh consecutive game this season. Bell joins DeMarco Murray as the only players with at least 100 yards from scrimmage in each of their team's games this season. Martavis Bryant, dressing in his first NFL game, turned in the biggest play and showed that the stage isn't too big for the rookie wide receiver. Bryant caught a 35-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter, turning the game in ways no one could have imagined at the time. Bryant played early and often, shaking up things a bit at wide receiver. The fourth-round draft pick got a 1½ steps on Texans cornerback A.J. Bouye on a go route early in the game, but Roethlisberger overshot him. The two connected late in the second quarter after Bryant again got behind the Texans' secondary. Roethlisberger put enough air under the ball for Bryant to catch it and get two feet in bounds before crashing into the short wall behind the end zone. Otherwise, Darrius Heyward-Bey made a critical third-down catch in traffic. No catches, however, for the disappearing Markus Wheaton and just one for tight end Heath Miller. In fact, Pro Football Focus notes that Wheaton played on a season-low 31-of-67 snaps (46.2 percent) against the Texans.  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, Martavis Bryant, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Justin Brown  TE: Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, Michael Palmer  PK: Shaun Suisham  ========================= ========================= ST. LOUIS RAMS After reviewing the film from last week's loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Austin Davis acknowledged he didn't do a good enough job of taking what the defense gives him. Heading into Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks, Davis vowed to force the ball down the field less and take advantage of whatever the Seahawks were willing to cede. Late in the Rams' surprising 28-26 victory, Davis had done just that, almost to a fault. In the first three quarters, Davis completed 13-of-14 for 77 yards, an average of just 5.9 yards per completion. But as Seattle mounted a late comeback and put itself in position to win the game, Davis suddenly needed to come up big. He hadn't been able to in the past three weeks after leading a late victory in his first start against Tampa Bay. But he found a way to lead an impressive 80-yard drive to give the Rams the winning points. On that drive, Davis completed 4-of-5 passes for 66 yards and a touchdown to tight end Lance Kendricks. None of those throws were bigger than a 30-yarder to receiver Chris Givens on third-and-6 at Seattle's 44. "We thought we'd get man-to-man coverage," Davis said. "When they need a play, they trust their guys to cover man-to-man. Chris, with his speed, just ran across the field. I trusted it and obviously, we worked the play all week, and when we needed it, he made a big play. That's how you win games. You've got to make big plays when the game is on the line. You're going to have a chance to go down and win the game at the end or not. Today, we did it." Minutes later, Davis offered another big play when he evaded Seattle's pass rush on second-and-12 and somehow shoveled a pass to tight end Jared Cook for a 9-yard gain to put the Rams in position for the fake punt that helped seal the victory. For the day, Davis was 18-of-21 for 152 yards and two touchdowns for a rating of 128.6. That completion percentage plus punter Johnny Hekker's completion on one attempt left the Rams converting 86.3 percent of their pass attempts, the highest allowed by the Seahawks in franchise history. The quarterback rating is the highest of Davis' young career. The key to that success? According to ESPN.com's Nick Wagoner, it was effectively using the middle of the field. Davis majored in risk management Sunday, throwing his 21 passes an average of just 5.5 yards down the field with 18 of those attempts coming in the middle of the field. That was a logical move considering Seattle is 20th in the league in completion percentage allowed over the middle the past two seasons and star cornerback Richard Sherman usually lurks on the outside. It also allowed Davis to come up with big plays such as the ones to Givens. He attempted just four passes more than 10 yards down the field Sunday but he completed all of them. Most important, Davis had no turnovers, eliminating the costly plays that have helped beat the Rams in recent weeks. "You can't ask for more out of a guy who went from third string to now starting quarterback and playing great ball," defensive end Robert Quinn said. "We've got to be consistent week in and week out and prepare for teams and finish games. ..." Meanwhile, after discussing a running back by committee situation all week, head coach Jeff Fisher decided that rookie Tre Mason had the hot hand early on and mostly went with him as the workhorse back. Mason built on a solid first outing against San Francisco with 18 carries for 85 yards and his first career touchdown against Seattle. Mason's 18 carries are the second most by a Rams runner this year, trailing only the 19 Zac Stacy had against Tampa Bay in week 2. Tavon Austin had five carries and Benny Cunningham had two but Stacy didn't get a single touch after battling an ankle injury during the week. Things seem to be trending toward Mason become the focal point of the run game though Fisher said after the game that wasn't necessarily the case. Worth noting, Mason's final carry nearly resulted in the Seahawks getting a final chance to win the game. Seattle had no time outs left with 1:14 to play. Mason ran for a first down on third-and-1, but instead of giving himself up, he kept tying for more yards. He fumbled when hit from behind, and Rams tight end Cory Harkey managed to come out of the scrum with the ball. "I will learn from my mistake," Mason said. "There's no excuse for a fumble. At that time I knew that I was getting excited. It's been the first win in kind of a long time. I had the nail and I was trying to put the nail in the coffin." Asked if Mason should have just gone down to the ground, Fisher said, "Get the first down and then kneel down. But young backs like that aren't wired that way. Hopefully, that's a lesson learned." From a fantasy perspective, trying to predict which running back will get the hot hand in advance of any given game is difficult. But when a guy like Stacy doesn't get any touches, he's not going to get a hot hand. ... We'll be watching for more, but it appears Mason and Cunningham are the players of interest here. Remember, the Rams turned over the run game to in Week 5 last year. One year and one game later, it appears another changing of the guard is in the offing. ... Other notes of interest. ... The Rams waived wide receiver Austin Pettis Monday two days after he was late for a team meeting, which was reported by FOXSports. Austin missed practice last Wednesday because of an ankle injury after participating in 39 snaps in the Monday night game against San Francisco. He returned to practice Thursday and Friday with full participation, but was inactive for Sunday's game against Seattle. Fisher said Monday that Pettis' release occurred because the Rams have other needs on their roster, but would not reveal their plans. Fisher also said wide receiver Stedman Bailey, who missed the first two games of the season because of an NFL PED suspension "will get more and more involved." Bailey played just two offensive snaps against Seattle. Givens was active Sunday after being inactive for the previous two games He had just four receptions for 50 yards entering the game. His 30-yard catch was the longest completion of the game for Davis. Before that drive, Davis was 13-for-14, but for just 77 yards. In the touchdown drive, he was 4-for-5 for 66 yards, including the scoring pass to Kendricks. ... As Wagoner notes, entering Sunday's game, the Rams ranked 17th in the league in kick return average (23.42 yards per attempt) and 29th in punt return average (3.91 yards per attempt). In search of a spark, Rams special-teams coach John Fassel pulled out all the stops to get his return units rolling. The Rams took a page from the Chicago Bears circa 2011 and misdirected Seattle and an entire stadium into thinking a first-half punt traveled down the right sideline. Instead, the punt was retrieved by Bailey on the opposite side of the field where he was essentially all alone as he returned it 90 yards for a stunning touchdown and a 21-3 second-quarter lead. Even with Givens available on the game-day roster, Cunningham continued to handle kick return duties and chipped in a 75-yard return to set up the Rams' first touchdown. The Rams finished with 201 return yards. And of course, Fassel and Fisher pressed the button on a fake punt in their own territory to help ice the game. ... As Profootballtalk.com noted on Wednesday, there wasn't much doubt that the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week was going to go to a member of the Rams. The only question was which one. Bailey got the nod. ... One last note. ... Kenny Britt left the game against Seattle with an ankle injury, but returned to the game without missing much time.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Austin Davis, Shaun Hill, Case Keenum  RB: Tre Mason, Benny Cunningham, Zac Stacy, Chase Reynolds, Trey Watts  WR: Brian Quick, Kenny Britt, Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Chris Givens  TE: Jared Cook, Lance Kendricks, Cory Harkey, Alex Bayer, Justice Cunningham  PK: Greg Zuerlein  ========================= ========================= SAN DIEGO CHARGERS A five-game winning streak snapped and a degree of invincibility, too? As the Sports Xchange noted this week, the Chargers' 23-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday came with plenty of heartache. But there's a question if it arrive with a heaping of perspective. There's no discounting the Chargers' bolt from the gate, winning five of six wins in the NFL are wins. But at closer inspection, many of those wins came against teams with inferior talent to that of the Chiefs. And there's plenty more just like that waiting after Kansas City's visit. The Chargers head to Denver on Thursday night with exactly one win over a team playing better than .500. And if you guessed the Buffalo Bills, you probably peaked. But maybe the Broncos and then a trip to Miami comes at a good time for the Chargers. They can't sulk over letting the Chiefs climb back into the AFC West race, not when playing the AFC defending champ so quickly. If the Chargers' minds remain on Sunday's blown tackles, dreadful showing on third downs on both sides of the ball and bonehead penalties, they have no chance in Denver. And that's not lost on head coach Mike McCoy and the players. "We got to push that game aside," McCoy said on Monday. "We got to learn from that game, but this is a short week." If you believe they got fat off the soft underbelly of their schedule, that's legit. If you believe they got fat off the soft underbelly of their schedule, that's legit. But there's no arguing the real part of the Chargers' slate has arrived, with their third game against an AFC West foe in 11 days coming on Thursday. "We've got to play better against a very good team," McCoy said. "A very well-coached team." After the Broncos it's a trip to Miami, which won on the road at Chicago on Sunday. The heat is getting turned up on the Chargers. Are they for real, once mentioned among Super Bowl contenders thanks to a five-game winning streak? Or a fraud which wiped its feet on the NFL doormats? With a Thursday night date in Denver, the answer could come quickly. "I think our players are focused," McCoy said. "And they will be tuned in. But they need to get on track. As ESPN.com's Eric D. Williams notes, after five straight games with at least a 120 passer rating, Philip Rivers played solid, but not spectacular against the Chiefs. Rivers finished 17-of-31 (54.8 percent) for 205 yards, two touchdowns and an interception late in the game. He was sacked twice, and finished with an 83.4 passer rating. "To expect that we're going to go up and down the field and never punt, and just win all the time is unrealistic," Rivers said. "I thought this was an NFL game that we didn't play our very best." After two straight games with over 100 rushing yards, undrafted rookie free agent Branden Oliver finished with just 67 rushing yards on 15 carries. Still, as Pro Football Focus noted, forcing five missed tackles on run plays to bring his total to nine over two games, Oliver turned in 36 yards after contact on 15 attempts. The good news for Oliver owners would be the fact that Ryan Mathews still hasn't started practicing; there is no timetable for his return. ... Donald Brown (concussion) has yet to be cleared to return either and has already been ruled out for Thursday night. ... Also on the injury front. ... Cornerbacks Brandon Flowers (concussion) and Steve Williams (groin) left the game and did not return. With Jason Verrett (shoulder) already inactive, the Chargers finished the game with just three healthy corners. ... Other notes of interest. ... Rivers threw a touchdown pass in his 27th straight game, extending his franchise record. He also connected on a touchdown pass with tight end Antonio Gates for a 67th time, extending the NFL record between a quarterback-tight end tandem. According to PFF, Rivers' nine deep attempts led all QBs this week and his three completions on those trailed only Tony Romo's four. Heading into Sunday's contest against Kansas City, Gates needed 90 receiving yards to pass Lance Alworth's franchise record of 9,584 receiving yards. Gates finished with six catches for 61 yards and now has 9,556 career receiving yards. Run-blocking tight end John Phillips got his first career touchdown as a Charger in the opening quarter, a 1-yard catch on a play-action pass from Rivers. Phillips rebounded from a season-ending knee injury that cut short his 2013 season and has been a key part in San Diego's resurgent running game. Ladarius Green's eight snaps were the fewest he's played since not playing a single snap against Jacksonville due to a hamstring issue. ... Nick Novak hit field goals from 48 and 24 yards in the fourth quarter, breaking the franchise record for consecutive field goals with 31. The previous record of 29 had been held by John Carney, set over the 1992-93 seasons.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Philip Rivers, Kellen Clemens  RB: Branden Oliver, Ronnie Brown, Shaun Draughn, Donald Brown, Ryan Mathews  WR: Keenan Allen, Malcom Floyd, Eddie Royal, Seyi Ajirotutu, Dontrelle Inman  TE: Antonio Gates, Ladarius Green, John Phillips, David Johnson  PK: Nick Novak  ========================= ========================= SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS With a bye this week, the San Francisco 49ers have time to regroup, especially up front. The 49ers' offensive line took another step backward in Denver on Sunday night, a reflection of the direction the unit often been pushed by the opposition and its own injuries this season. On a night when the sometimes seemingly unsackable Colin Kaepernick was put on his back a season-high six times, the worst news came after the 42-17 debacle in Denver when starting center Daniel Kilgore was diagnosed with a broken leg that will require season-ending surgery. The injury came on a night when the 49ers got twice-injured right tackle Anthony Davis back in the lineup. With star guard Mike Iupati expected to return from his concussion for the club's next game Nov. 2 against the St. Louis Rams brighter days for the offensive line appeared to be on the horizon. But now down goes Kilgore, to be replaced apparently by a guy who has never played an NFL regular-season game, Marcus Martin. "Right now the first shot at (replacing Kilgore) is going to be Marcus Martin," head coach Jim Harbaugh announced Monday, a day that began the 49ers' bye week. Martin, the 49ers' third-round draft pick last spring out of USC, suffered a dislocated kneecap against the San Diego Chargers in the preseason. He has yet to be active for an NFL game. Harbaugh disclosed he's seen enough of Martin at practice to be confident he can step right in. "He's excelled at the mental aspects. I've been real impressed with that," the coach praised. "Even when he knew he was hurt, knew he was going to be out multiple weeks, he did not ease off in terms of the classroom and the study. I think that bodes well." As the Sports Xchange reminded readers, it isn't as if Martin should not be expected to do well. He was rated by NFLDraftScout.com as the second best center in the draft and certainly would have seen more playing time for now if it weren't for the kneecap injury The 49ers get their bye at an opportune time this week, and not just because it allows Kaepernick a chance to acquaint himself with his new center. In addition to Iupati, the team hopes standout inside linebacker Patrick Willis (toe) will be fully up to speed by the time the club returns from the bye to take on the St. Louis Rams at home on Nov. 2. ... Other notes of interest. ... According to ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez, the Niners receivers should spend their time off standing in front of a JUGS passing machine, catching ball after ball after ball. Or track down Lester Hayes or Fred Biletnikoff across the bay and borrow some old-school Stickum in time for their next game. Of course, Stickum is now illegal, but the 49ers' pass-catchers were dropping passes nonetheless. Especially receivers Michael Crabtree and Anquan Boldin and tight end Vernon Davis. The trio combined for four drops, per Pro Football Focus, with Crabtree clanging two. Particularly galling was the normally sure-handed Boldin, Kaepernick's Mr. Dependable, dropping one in the end zone that hit him in the hands on third-and-goal from the 4-yard line midway through the second quarter. If Boldin holds on to the ball, the 49ers creep to within 14-7. Instead, they had to settle for a 22-yard Phil Dawson field goal, and the rout was on. Asked specifically about the drops after the game, Harbaugh evaded the question. On a more positive note. ... Not all the receivers are struggling. Last week it was Brandon Lloyd coming up with the big play in the 49ers' receiving corps. This week it was Stevie Johnson who was able to set aside the drops of his teammates and come up with the goods -- despite being on the field for just 25 snaps. As PFF noted, working against Kayvon Webster and Rahim Moore for the most part, Johnson added 33 yards after the catch to earn his highest grade since Week 2 last season. Johnson recorded the 49ers' second longest play from scrimmage early in the second quarter, evading a tackle from T.J. Ward to setup a 31 yard gain. ... Kaepernick had a good first half -- he had more yards passing than Peyton Manning at halftime. After the Broncos turned it into a blowout, Kaepernick became a marked man. Still, he has now thrown a TD pass in 14 straight games, third-longest in franchise history behind Steve Young (17) and Jeff Garcia (15). Kaepernick threw for 263 yards on 24 of 39 passing with a touchdown pass and an interception. He did lead the 49ers on an 80-yard TD drive late in the first half on seven plays to get them within 21-10 at the half. As the Xchange notes, Blaine Gabbert threw his first touchdown pass as a 49er, connecting with Bruce Ellington in the final minute of Sunday's loss. Gabbert had 22 TD passes in three previous seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Gabbert saw his first regular-season action as a 49er in the Denver game. And finally. ... Frank Gore was limited to 20 yards on nine carries Sunday night. The 49ers gave up on their ground game early and finished with just 53 yards on 15 attempts.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   The 49ers are idle this week due to the NFL bye.  ========================= ========================= SEATTLE SEAHAWKS Seahawks general manager John Schneider said things weren't working out with wide receiver Percy Harvin and it was time to move on without him. Harvin was traded to the New York Jets last Friday for a conditional 2015 draft pick. "We made a bold move in acquiring him [from Minnesota in March of 2013]," Schneider said on the 710 ESPN Seattle pre-game radio show. "But it became apparent that things weren't going to work out and it wasn't a good fit. "We have to prepare this team for moving forward all the time, and I'm not just talking about this week or next week. I'm talking about 2015 and 2016. We constantly have to look at how we improve the team. This was the appropriate move at the appropriate time." Schneider was asked what the Seahawks offense will look like without Harvin. "Percy is such a unique talent that he has to be used in a specific manner," Schneider said. "I think you'll see us playing a little bit more like we did last year when Percy wasn't playing. It's an opportunity for guys like [rookie wide receivers] Paul Richardson and Kevin Norwood to step forward." Meanwhile, ESPN insider Chris Mortensen reports the team had reached a point of no return with Harvin. If they had been unable to trade him, they would have released him outright. The Seahawks had until the NFL's trade deadline of Oct. 28 to move Harvin, but the desire to cut him loose was no longer a debate within the organization, sources told Mortensen. Contrary to speculation, quarterback Russell Wilson was not among the players who pushed for Harvin to be jettisoned. According to sources, Wilson wanted to be part of the solution, helping Harvin with the anger management and trust issues that created numerous incidents and tension in the organization. The staff and organization disagreed with Wilson and wanted him to focus on playing quarterback and not be distracted by Harvin's high maintenance. There was no sense that the Seahawks' Super Bowl victory in February justified the investment the team had made when they acquired Harvin from the Vikings -- a deal that cost them first-, third- and seventh-round draft choices and about $19 million of the $25.5 million in guaranteed money they gave the receiver. In the end, team sources say it was a "bad decision" and there is now a sense of relief. ... That said, receiver Doug Baldwin said the shocking Harvin trade Friday had an impact on the team's slow start Sunday that led to the 28-26 loss to the St. Louis Rams. "Obviously the shock of the transaction and what took place there made for a bit of an emotional roller coaster," Baldwin said. "When something that drastic happens, right before we get on the bus [to go to the airport for the trip], there is going to be an emotional impact. I felt we handled it to the best of our ability, but I think it might have been a factor in some way." The Seahawks fell behind, 21-3, and trailed 21-6 at halftime before coming back and making it close in the second half. "There's obviously a lot of things that went on this week that affected the team in numerous ways," Baldwin said in the locker room after the game. "As a competitor, you don't want to admit those things. But as a human, it is human nature. It took us a little while to get on track. I'm just proud we responded the way we did and fought until the very end." Baldwin also admitted that he did have a physical altercation with Harvin during the preseason. "It is true," he said. "However, when you deal with somebody 12-to-14 hours a day, you are going to have issues and conflict, just like any family." He also was asked about Harvin's other reported altercations with former Seahawks receiver Golden Tate at the Super Bowl and one with Wilson last week. "I mean, you guys read the reports," Baldwin said. "I don't think I need to say anything else about it." Baldwin went on a rant after the loss last week, saying, "We need to quit BS-ing ourselves and get serious." Earlier this week, Baldwin said his teammates know he speaks with a purpose and he backs up what he says. He had his best game of the season Sunday with seven receptions for 123 yards, including a 9-yard touchdown catch. "I don't really believe in moral victories, but we got back to who we were as an offense," Baldwin said. "We have a lot of things to clean up, but there are a lot of positives we can take out of this game. "Offensively we got back to what we do. It's completely different than last week [the 30-23 loss to the Dallas Cowboys]. I felt we didn't have any growth. This game we could feel the growth in our offense." The Seahawks couldn't get going until the second half when they outscored the Rams 20-7, but it wasn't enough. Now they'll try to get back on track and start moving forward without Harvin when they hit the road again with an East Coast trip to Charlotte to play the Panthers. ... Other notes of interest. ... Getting back to Baldwin, his seven receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown give a fairly good indication of how well he played, but it was important to see him step up this week and he did just that. According to Pro Football Focus, after dropping three passes in the first four games, Baldwin displayed excellent hands and caught every catchable ball thrown him way again for the second week in a row. Richardson had four catches for 33 yards, and Jermaine Kearse had three receptions for 50 yards. The Seahawks were down to third-string tight end Cooper Helfet on Sunday. Don't call him third-string anymore. Helfet had three receptions for 61 yards, including a brilliant 19-yard touchdown catch when he stretched to make the grab and came down with both feet in bounds in the end zone. According to ESPN.com's Terry Blount, the Seahawks' offensive line was the weak link on a Super Bowl team last season. It still is, but it's worse now. The Rams entered the game with only one sack all season. They had three sacks in the first half and put constant pressure on Wilson. The Seahawks were flagged for holding three times and another false start. The line usually does a decent job in the running game, but not Sunday. Take out Wilson's 106 yards, mostly while scrambling, and Seattle had 65 yards rushing on 22 carries. It wasn't good even when they used Alvin Bailey as an extra tackle on several plays. Fullback Derrick Coleman will be out at least six weeks after breaking a bone in his foot in pre-game warmups. Head coach Carroll said longtime Seahawks fullback and current NFL Network analyst Michael Robinson "is doing a really good job in the media and quite busy and really encouraged by his efforts. Seems to be very well-grooved on the business end of things." Carroll on his radio show said that the team will explore all options to bolster the fullback spot. Coleman was the only true fullback on the roster. Carroll also said starting center Max Unger, who has missed the last two games with a foot injury, could return, but starting tight end Zach Miller (ankle surgery) still is out. "Max is working at it," Carroll said. "He's doing some stuff this week and we'll see as the week goes along. Zach is a little farther away. He's still in a boot right now, so he's not that close yet." Carroll expects back-up tight end Luke Willson to return after suffering a groin strain in practice last Wednesday and missing Sunday's game. "He almost made it back [for the Rams game]," Carroll said. "But we felt like it was better to hold him out with the chance to be back fully this week." Willson practiced on a limited basis Wednesday. ... In a related note. ... The Seahawks claimed tight end Brett Brackett off waivers from Tennessee Tuesday and waived tight end RaShaun Allen. Brackett played two games with the Titans before being waived Monday. One last Harvin-related item here. ... There's not denying the move caught teammates by surprise as they were finding out about the trade while preparing to board buses to head to the airport for their flight to St. Louis Friday afternoon. One player that appeared to take the news heavily was running back Marshawn Lynch. Lynch expressed his surprise at the move on Twitter and reportedly refused to board the team bus upon finding out about the news. However, Lynch's agent, Doug Hendrickson, vehemently refuted that notion Tuesday night. "These reports of (Lynch) going off and not wanting to get on bus are absurd. Please report accurate stories and not bogus ones," Hendrickson wrote via his Twitter account. A league source told Profootballtalk.com's Curtis Crabtree over the weekend that Lynch had boarded the bus and was ready to depart long before several Seahawks staff members and players. The source added that they were not aware of any incident regarding Lynch threatening to not make the trip in the trade aftermath. Lynch appeared to be his normal self on the field against the Rams on Sunday in carrying 18 times for 53 yards. If anything, the trade of Harvin should allow the Seahawks to turn back to Lynch as their primary option on offense without needing to find a way to get Harvin involved in the game. After having just six carries against San Diego and 10 against Dallas, Crabtree thinks Lynch should once again become the focal point for Seattle's attack.  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: Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Ricardo Lockette, Paul Richardson, Kevin Norwood, Bryan Walters  TE: Luke Willson, Cooper Helfet, Zach Miller  PK: Steven Hauschka  ========================= ========================= TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS According to the Sports Xchange, the 1-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers awoke Monday morning following their bye week to discover that despite slumbering through the first half dozen games in head coach Lovie Smith's era, they are only two wins out of first place in their division. That's because the Carolina Panthers (3-3), New Orleans Saints (2-4) and Atlanta Falcons (2-5) all lost on Sunday. "I watched all the games this week," Smith said. "I know what happened in our division. I realize how many games we're out of first place. We're in it as much as anyone with our record. That's what we're focused on. There's life when you take a little time off to not play a game and you end up in better position than when we started the Sunday...we're excited about that." Here's what else the Bucs should be excited about. Starting with Sunday's game against the Vikings (2-5) at Raymond James Stadium, the Bucs don't play a team that currently owns a winning record until visiting the Bengals (3-2-1) Nov. 30. The combined record of Tampa Bay's next five opponents is 12-22. After Sunday's game, the Bucs are at Cleveland (3-3), home against the Falcons (2-5), at the Redskins (2-5) and at the Bears (3-4). It's also worth noting that Smith is no stranger to slow starts. He was a linebackers coach on Tony Dungy's staff in 1996 when the Bucs lost eight of their first nine before winning five of their last seven. And he was the defensive coordinator in St. Louis in 2002 when the Rams, coming off their second Super Bowl appearance in three years, stumbled to an 0-5 start before winning seven of their last 11. "Experience teaches you a lot," Smith said. "And I just believe in what we're going to do. But when you're starting off new, there's a reason why you're starting off new. You do have to crawl before you can walk. We didn't want to do that. The master plan wasn't for us to be in this situation right now. But that's normally what you do when you start something new. "It's not ready right away. You have to build that foundation and that's what we're doing right now. I said last week that we're a better football team. That game didn't say that. But we are doing some good things, some better things behind the scenes. Hopefully, we're going to put it together and we're going to see it eventually in one of the games." Asked last week what the Bucs have done well offensively this year, acting offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo pointed to the team's success on third down and less than 7 yards to go. As Tampa Bay Tribune staffer Roy Cummings noted, with 18 conversions in 26 plays, that is an area the Bucs have excelled in. Their success, though, actually extends for another yard or two. The Bucs have converted 22 of their 35 third-and-9 or less plays, for a 62.9 percent conversion rate. It's third-and-9 or more where the Bucs are struggling. The Bucs have faced 32 such plays so far, but have only converted three, for a 9.3 percent conversion rate. Another area where the Bucs are actually doing rather well this year is in the red zone. The Bucs aren't bad in overall in red-zone touchdown percentage (63.2) after scoring 12 touchdowns in 19 red-zone opportunities. On the downside, their 14 total red-zone scores leaves the Bucs with a 73.7 red-zone scoring percentage that tied for last in the league. ... Other notes of interest. ... The Buccaneers held a workout on Monday to get back in the swing of things after their bye week and one player returned to work after a much longer absence. Quarterback Josh McCown practiced for the first time since injuring his right thumb in Week 3. Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that McCown wore a wrap on his thumb, but didn't seem to have any problem making throws during the part of practice open to the media. McCown went 0-3 as a starter with two touchdowns and four interceptions before suffering a thumb injury in the first half of the Bucs' 56-14 loss to the Falcons Sept. 18. Backup Mike Glennon has played better in his absence, going 1-2 and passing for 986 yards with seven touchdowns and three INTs. His 6.94 yards per attempt average is much higher than McCown's 6.18 average. It would be hard to imagine the Bucs going back to McCown this week against Minnesota, especially if he still is not 100 percent healthy. In any case, the earliest Smith will even tip his hand would be Wednesday. ... The Buccaneers haven't been getting great production from their running backs, but they could get a boost soon. Rookie Charles Sims is eligible to return after the Nov. 2 game with Cleveland. Sims has been out all season with an ankle injury that was suffered in the preseason. He was placed on the injured reserve list, but designated to return. Sims will officially return to practice Wednesday, but won't count against the roster until officially activated, which could come before next week's game against the Cleveland Browns. Whenever Sims returns, ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas expects to see a healthy dose of him. The Bucs used a third-round pick on him even though they didn't appear to have a big need at running back. After drafting Sims, the Bucs seemed infatuated with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. They also liked his ability as a runner. Starter Doug Martin hasn't put up big numbers. Backup Bobby Rainey had a 100-yard game, but has been quiet the rest of the time. Martin rushed for over 1,400 yards as a rookie in 2012, but he doesn't have deep ties to this coaching staff and front office. The Bucs obviously had big plans for Sims when they drafted him. When he returns, look for them to find out what they've got. ... The Buccaneers are signing veteran kick returner Trindon Holliday. Holliday was last with the New York Giants. They released him from injured reserve recently. ... Defensive end Da'Quan Bowers has been suspended two games without pay for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances, the league announced Tuesday. And finally. ... According to various reports, the Bucs declined an offer to trade for Seahawks wideout Percy Harvin, who was dealt to the Jets; and are fielding a lot of calls from teams interested in trading for Vincent Jackson. While Smith won't close the door on any opportunity to improve the Bucs, it doesn't seem as if Jackson will depart by the time the trading deadline expires in a week. "We like our football team that we're going with, that we have here right now," Smith said. "We're not trying to shop any of our players, to answer any questions out there. And it's people -- if they call about some of their players, we take all calls. We don't [say], 'Oh, this area code? We're not going to take this call.' We don't do that. We listen to what everybody has to say, and we go from there. You see who's on our roster today. I would just kind of go with that." Jackson (ribs) was held out of practice Monday and Wednesday to give him extra time to heal. He did catch a few passes during individual drills Wednesday. He is expected to play as usual against the Vikings.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Mike Glennon, Josh McCown,  RB: Doug Martin, Bobby Rainey, Mike James, Charles Sims  RB: Jorvorskie Lane  WR: Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans, Louis Murphy, Robert Herron, Russell Shephard, Trindon Holliday  TE: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Brandon Myers, Luke Stocker  PK: Patrick Murray  ========================= ========================= TENNESSEE TITANS The Titans are off to their worst start since losing the first six games of 2009, and head coach Ken Whisenhunt still is waiting to see if his starting quarterback Jake Locker can return from a bruised thumb. Backup Charlie Whitehurst has started three of the past four games -- winning only one. As Associated Press sports writer Teresa M. Walker noted, fans already are calling to see rookie Zach Mettenberger, eager for some hint of hope for a franchise that has missed the playoffs the past five seasons and mired in a 2-5 start. Whisenhunt finally said Monday that they are trying to get Mettenberger, the sixth-round draft pick out of LSU, ready and that the rookie has taken some snaps in practice with the starting offense the past couple weeks with Locker recovering from his right thumb injury. "We're trying to get him better as we go knowing that with the way it's gone for us at quarterback this year, that's something that could happen at any time," the Titans first-year coach said. Yet Whisenhunt's focus is on getting Locker back on the field and preparing to host Houston on Sunday. Whisenhunt said Locker will test his injured thumb by throwing Tuesday and the coach and QB are hoping for no setbacks. Locker is the starting quarterback when he's healthy enough to play and the Titans hope that if that's Sunday, he can provide a bit of a spark to a struggling offense. "It would be good to have more consistency than we've had offensively at times," Whisenhunt said. "We've been able to move the ball with Jake in there." Locker, who has nine games now remaining on his contract, was having one of his better games when he hurt his thumb against a helmet Oct. 5 in the second quarter. But the fourth-year quarterback has been able to finish only three games this season. He worked on a limited basis in Wednesday's practice. Whisenhunt dodged questions on Locker's future and when the Titans need to see what Mettenberger can do for them. The coach noted the Titans have had three straight games decided at the end that they could have won. They only beat Jacksonville when Sammie Hill blocked a long field goal last week. "We're going to be a good team," Whisenhunt insisted. "We're getting there. Not as quickly as any of us would like, but we're getting there." First, the Titans must clean up the penalties and mistakes that keep pushing them backward. They had 11 penalties for 96 yards, and Whisenhunt counted five 10-yard penalties on nine of their possessions in a 19-17 loss at Washington. Only New England has more penalties (75) or penalty yards (590) than the Titans who are tied with the Bills with 74 penalties. Six of those penalties were on the offensive line with only rookie left tackle Taylor Lewan not drawing a flag. Whisenhunt said they have to cut those penalties out, but injuries that include three starters lost for the season already make in-season changes remote. "It's not like you have a whole lot of options to replace guys," Whisenhunt said. That's something fantasy owners (especially those who invested in Titans skill players prior to the season) can relate to. ... Other notes of interest. ... Receiver Kendall Wright had six catches for 68 yards, including a 14-yard second-quarter touchdown in which he made a nifty move just before the goal line to evade defenders. On an unimpressive offensive day, he did the most in a game most notable for its mistakes. That included a terrible drop by Justin Hunter, a muffed punt that was a giveaway by Dexter McCluster, a wishful and failed challenge by Whisenhunt, an overthrow-turned-interception by Whitehurst. According to ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky, to beat the Texans, the Titans need to keep their offense in situations that need 10 yards or fewer to sustain a drive. In the loss at the Redskins, the Titans ran 13 plays on which they needed 13 yards or more for a new set of downs. That's 13 of 49 offensive plays -- nearly 27 percent of the team's offensive snaps. Six of nine Titans possessions featured such a scenario, and they managed just three points out of those six series. On the three series they did not set themselves back, they came away with 14 points. It's not a particularly good offense out of manageable downs and distances. The odds are low of converting drives that feature especially difficult down and distances. To make things easier on Locker or Whitehurst, the offensive penalties have to be far less frequent. And they need to run the ball better. Bishop Sankey had 56 yards rushing, but the offensive line didn't open a lot of holes. ... The Titans had an extra roster spot, created when tight end Brett Brackett was cut on Monday. So they've apparently decided to fill it by promoting one of their own. According to Jim Wyatt of the Nashville Tennessean, the Titans plan to sign running back Antonio Andrews off their practice squad. Another team had shown interest in signing him, but he sent out word on Twitter Tuesday morning that he was "activated." The Titans are carrying five running backs at the moment, but Shonn Greene has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. Greene was, however, able to practice on a limited basis Wednesday and expects to return to action this week. I'll be watching to see what kind of role he's ready to handle. ... And finally. ... The Titans announced Wednesday they signed tight end Richard Gordon. The 2011 sixth-round pick has played for the Raiders, Chiefs and Steelers, totaling four catches for 14 yards and one touchdown in 29 career games.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Jake Locker, Charlie Whitehurst, Zach Mettenberger  RB: Bishop Sankey, Shonn Greene, Dexter McCluster, Leon Washington, Antonio Andrews  FB: Jackie Battle  WR: Kendall Wright, Justin Hunter, Nate Washington, Derek Hagan, Kris Durham  TE: Delanie Walker, Taylor Thompson, Chase Coffman, Richard Gordon  PK: Ryan Succop  ========================= ========================= WASHINGTON REDSKINS If Robert Griffin III is completely ready, he'll start for the Redskins against the Dallas Cowboys next Monday night. If he's not, Colt McCoy -- rather than Kirk Cousins -- will be Washington's quarterback. "Robert has to, first of all, be honest with himself and how he's feeling," head coach Jay Gruden said Monday. As Associated Press sports writer Howard Fendrich reminded readers, Griffin, the 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, has been sidelined since dislocating his left ankle in Week 2 against Jacksonville. "I wouldn't rule him out. He's got a ways to go to show that he can play, show that that ankle's 100 percent. That's the big thing," Gruden said. "He's got to be 100 percent ready to go. We don't want to put him out there at 85 percent and have it be weak and have him do something else to it. We want to make sure he's ready to go if he's out there." At practice last Wednesday, Griffin threw passes in individual and 1-on-1 drills for the first time since his latest injury. On Sunday, before Washington's 19-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans, Griffin was out on the field, taking snaps and throwing passes. Cousins, who took over as the starter during Griffin's absence, was benched at halftime after his 10th and 11th turnovers of the season, and McCoy led the comeback that ended a four-game losing streak for the Redskins (2-5). A series of decisions will need to be made for Griffin to return. First, the team trainer and doctors will need to give the go-ahead. Then Griffin will need to say OK, after figuring out, according to Gruden, "Can he cut without pain? Can he run without pain? Is he full speed? Is it sturdy enough?" "And if he says, 'Yes,' then I have to feel comfortable about putting Robert out there in the game," Gruden explained. "We'll go through that process." Griffin "looked good" in the team drills he participated in Wednesday, but that he has not yet been medically cleared to play, according to the NFL Network. If, instead, McCoy begins the game against NFC East leader Dallas (6-1), it would be his first NFL start since December 2011, when he was with the Cleveland Browns. "He does have great intangibles, in my mind. He's very poised. He's a great competitor. And I feel like he's going to get us in the right play and make the right throw," Gruden said about McCoy. "He's had some opportunities to succeed in the past as a starter, and had some rough patches. But he's here for a reason. And I've always liked his demeanor." After the Redskins' home crowd booed the team off the field at halftime, with the Titans leading 10-6, McCoy took over at quarterback, and his first pass, a simple curl route, was turned into a 70-yard touchdown by Pierre Garcon. It was McCoy's first NFL pass attempt in nearly a year, his first TD toss since December 2012 with Cleveland, and the longest scoring throw of a career that began as a third-round draft pick out of Texas in 2010. In all, he was 11 for 12 for 128 yards against the Titans. "I like Jay a lot, and when Jay came and told me to be ready to play, I just didn't want to let him down," McCoy said Sunday. "If he goes with you, and you go in and turn the ball over, and don't start fast, or don't win the game, or don't play well, that just doesn't look good. ..." As Profootballtalk.com's Michael David Smith suggested, on one level, that doesn't come as a big surprise: Cousins has been lousy, and McCoy provided the team with a spark when he came in after Cousins was benched on Sunday. It only makes sense to keep McCoy on the job. But on another level, it's a stunner: As recently as a couple weeks ago there was talk that Cousins was the best fit for Gruden's offense and might keep the job over Griffin. Instead, Cousins is now Washington's third-string quarterback. Washington is going nowhere this season, and the most important priority is to get Griffin healthy and see if he can flourish in Gruden's offense. All Cousins has done is show that not only is he not a threat to unseat Griffin as the No. 1 quarterback, but he's not even good enough to be a No. 2 quarterback. ... Worth noting. ... While the Redskins have started the same quarterback for all 16 games in just three of the last 18 seasons Brad Johnson (1999) and Jason Campbell (2008-09) if McCoy starts against the Cowboys, this will be just the second year during that stretch when they've started threeShane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel and Patrick Ramsey (2002). And it's only Week 8 Other notes of interest. ... Garcon turned a short catch into a long run, reminding everyone that he indeed has speed. And DeSean Jackson caught a 37-yard pass and drew a pass-interference penalty late. Both players made plays in a game when Washington needed them. And the special teams was up, thanks to, finally, a huge play turned in by Niles Paul when he recovered a fumble to set up points. Kai Forbath had played in 30 games for the Redskins before Sunday, but he had never kicked four field goals in any of them nor a game-winner on the last snap of regulation. So it was a happy afternoon for Forbath, who has converted 11 of his 12 attempts this season after fending off a summer challenge from seventh-round draft choice Zach Hocker. "I was literally telling myself this is a PAT," Forbath said when asked what he was thinking before his clutch 22-yarder beat the Titans. "I do this every day in practice, every day in games. Nothing needs to change." Brian Orakpo will miss the rest of the season because of a torn right pectoral muscle. "That'll be a big loss," Gruden said. Orakpo, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, had a half-sack this season but Gruden said he's been "very good against the run." Rookie Trent Murphy, who took Orakpo's place against the Titans, figures to assume his starting job beginning next Monday at Dallas.  DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT   QB: Colt McCoy, Robert Griffin, Kirk Cousins  RB: Alfred Morris, Roy Helu, Silas Redd  FB: Darrell Young  WR: DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Andre Roberts, Aldrick Robinson, Ryan Grant, Santana Moss  TE: Jordan Reed, Niles Paul, Logan Paulsen  PK: Kai Forbath  ========================= Copyright© 2014 Fantasy Sports Publications, Inc. Page 3 of 3