FLASHUPDATE WEEK 9 TEAM NOTES/Wednesday, 29 October, 2014
Compiled By FlashUpdate Editor Bob Harris

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ARIZONA CARDINALS
The Arizona Cardinals haven't had a record this good in 40 years.
At 6-1, they have a two-game lead in the NFC West and are 4-0 against conference opponents after their wild 24-20 victory over Philadelphia.
The Cardinals have dominated no one. They just win.
"Survivors," head coach Bruce Arians said. "We find a way to win. It's not always pretty."
After watching video of Sunday's win over the Eagles, Arians found much to criticize.
As Associated Press sports writer Bob Baum recounted it, the Cardinals seemed headed for a tough loss, the Eagles a big road victory.
Then rookie John Brown made that over-the-shoulder reception -- "a Willie Mays catch," Arians said -- on a 75-yard touchdown play and the Cardinals stunned the Eagles 24-20 on Sunday.
"He's so young and so raw and so fast and so explosive," Carson Palmer said. "I mean, for him to pull away from everybody like that, I'm not surprised and I expected him to do what he did."
The victory left the Cardinals (6-1) with a two-game lead in the NFC West as one of three one-loss teams left in the NFL. Denver and Dallas are the other two. Arizona plays at the Cowboys next Sunday.
It's the Cardinals' best start since they went 7-0 40 years ago.
"I can't say enough about the resiliency of our football players," Arians said. "It's a family, it's a band of brothers that just will not quit."
Arizona had the ball third-and-five at its 25 when Palmer came to the line of scrimmage and noticed something that made him signal Brown to change his route. The third-round draft pick from little Pittsburgh State raced past safety Nate Allen, gathered the ball in his arms and barely made it across the goal line to put Arizona up 24-20 with 1:21 to play.
"I was kind of thinking that he overthrew me a little bit, but it ended up being a great pass by Palmer," Brown said. "It was right over the head, right in the basket."
Meanwhile, as Arizona Republic staffer Kent Somers notes, Larry Fitzgerald accomplished several things when he took a short pass 80 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.
He gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game against the Eagles. He was not caught from behind, dispelling suggestions that he's lost a step. And he was able to test the upgraded videoboard in the north end zone at University of Phoenix Stadium.
As Fitzgerald ran for the end zone, he glanced at the board to see if any Eagles were close.
"Michael (Bidwill) blessed us this year with a new Jumbotron," Fitzgerald said, referring to the team's president. "It's a lot bigger and it's HD, so I utilized that. Thank you, boss, I appreciate the Jumbotron."
It was the longest touchdown of Fitzgerald's career, surpassing the 78-yarder he had at New England in 2008. Asked if Sunday's touchdown proves he has breakaway speed, Fitzgerald said: "I haven't lost anything. That's all I'm saying. No, I haven't lost anything."
Fitzgerald caught seven passes for 160 yards, the most he's had in a regular-season game since 2007.
Arians said the Eagles defense presented the Cardinals with a game plan they weren't expecting.
Arians declined to provide specifics.
"We play Dallas next week," he said. "I'm not giving them (expletive). ..."
Worth noting: While Brown and Fitzgerald got the job done against the Eagles, Michael Floyd was pretty much the odd man out in this one.
He finished with no catches on four targets. That said, Floyd was just missed on two deep passes early, passes that would have been big plays if completed.
And that's the problem with all the Cardinals wideouts. Palmer isn't going to force the ball to anybody. It's going to make for some hit and miss production for all involved. ...
In a couple related notes. ... Palmer has tried to impart knowledge to Brown, but he apparently hasn't covered everything.
As noted above, Brown told reporters that Palmer signaled him just before the two connected on a 75-yard touchdown pass.
Palmer would have preferred to keep that quiet.
"The rookie," Palmer said in mock disgust. "We have a lot of signals. Some are dummy signals, some are live signals. I guess it's too late to call it a dummy signal. We've got some work to do, some communication. ..."
Appearing on the NFL Insiders Monday, ESPN analyst and former Colts GM Bill Polian said that Arians told him Brown "reminds me of Marvin Harrison." The coach was on Indy's staff in Harrison's prime. ...
Palmer has never been known as a mobile quarterback, but in 2014 he's seemed to excel at Eli Manning-like escapes from the pocket. He made several such evasions against the Eagles.
Palmer's mobility was never quite the same after a serious knee injury suffered in the 2006 playoffs, but seems to have found the fountain of youth this year in Arizona.
"I've been working with (strength and conditioning coach) Buddy Morris a lot on my stride technique and my running technique," he said. "So maybe that's been a bonus for me. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... Running back Stepfan Taylor will miss a "significant" amount of time with a calf injury according to Somers.
According to FOXSports 910's Mike Jurecki, "significant" is two to four weeks.
Taylor was injured in the opening moments of Sunday's win over the Eagles. Rookie Marion Grice will ascend to No. 2 on the depth chart, and could keep the job depending on how he plays in Taylor's absence. The Cardinals might elevate Kerwynn Williams from the practice squad as well. ...
Rookie kicker Chandler Catanzaro made another field goal attempt. He's 16 of 16 this year, the longest streak by a rookie opening his career in NFL history. ...
Cornerback Patrick Peterson left with concussion symptoms in the first half. The odd play occurred when teammate Deonne Bucannon hit Eagles receiver Jeremy Maclin in the helmet, and Maclin in turned slammed his helmet into Peterson's.
Peterson was cleared to practice, however, on Wednesday. ...
Arians expect rookie tight end Troy Niklas (ankle) back on the field this week. ...
As ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss notes, a combined 21 penalties were called Sunday for 198 yards. Coming into Sunday, the Cardinals were averaging 8.8 penalties per game while the Eagles were getting called for 8.5 per game. Arizona topped its average in the first half, while Philadelphia had seven in the first 30 minutes. The Cardinals finished with 10 and the Eagles 11. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Carson Palmer, Drew Stanton, Logan Thomas 
RB: Andre Ellington, Marion Grice, Stepfan Taylor 
FB: Robert Hughes 
WR: Michael Floyd, Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown, Ted Ginn, Jaron Brown, Walt Brown 
TE: John Carlson, Darren Fells, Robert Housler, Troy Niklas 
PK: Chandler Catanzaro 
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ATLANTA FALCONS
As Atlanta Journal-Constitution staffer D. Orlando Ledbetter notes, the Falcons had several blunders, botches and mishaps to help them kick away a 21-point halftime lead on Sunday.
But quarterback Matt Ryan, who threw a bizarre interception late in the third quarter, took the blame for the 22-21 defeat to the Lions.
"In my opinion, that kind of cost us the ball game," Ryan said.
Still, as Ledbetter pointed out, Ryan's blunder was far from the only one.
There was the coaching decision to sit on the 21-0 lead after cornerback Robert Alford's interception with 1:14 left in the second quarter.
Later, the defense was beaten for a 59-yard touchdown pass on third down-and-25 when safety Kemal Ishmael allowed Golden Tate to get behind him.
A holding penalty with 1:50 left stopped the clock when the team was trying to run it out.
Head coach Mike Smith said it was his decision to run out the clock in the second quarter.
"We were up three scores and we did not want to turn the football over," Smith said.
Ryan said he had no objection to the decision.
"I think with where we were at in that game, felt like we had a great first half," Ryan said. "We were in the driver's seat, had a lot of momentum going into the second half. I'm okay with that call."
Wide receiver Julio Jones noted the team has decided to proceed otherwise in the past similar situations.
"We have in the past, with 50 some seconds left on the clock, we'll go down there and get a field goal or possibly score," Jones said. "But we didn't. I think we were just conservative."
And don't tell Smith the team became complacent in the second half.
"I don't think there was any complacency whatsoever," Smith said. "We needed to come out and start fast in the second half of the ballgame and we didn't. We had a three-and-out offensively."
The Lions started to gain momentum after Ishmael's blunder, which was similar to a 74-yard play the Bears had against the Falcons two weeks ago. Ryan tossed his interception on the next possession, a cross-field hurl picked off by cornerback Cassius Vaughn.
The interception led to a field goal early in the fourth and sawed the Falcons' lead down to nine points. They were outscored 12-0 in the fourth quarter.
"Our defense did a great job of holding them to three," Ryan said. "We were moving the ball offensively. Obviously, I moved to left, I was trying to throw the ball and I never saw (Vaughn). And that's just a mistake that you cannot make in order to win football games. That one hurts."
Meanwhile, Ledbetter reports that Ryan tried to remain upbeat when informed that no team has ever made the playoffs after starting 2-6 since the NFL went to 12-team playoff format in 1990. "We've got to be the first one to do it," Ryan said. "I think that's got to be the mindset that we have to have."
Falcons owner Arthur Blank was already wary of his current roster after a 4-12 season in 2013 when Super Bowl expectations were at an all-time high. A few weeks ago, he expressed his disappointment in another losing campaign and now, after blowing a 21-point lead in London, the owner's frustrations have seemingly boiled over.
"You're up 21-0," Blank said, via the Journal-Constitution. "There's no way you lose that game -- just no way. There's nothing else I can say."
Unfortunately, those words don't bode well for Smith, who is arguably the best coach the franchise has ever had.
At this point, it might make sense to focus on a quick rebuild while Ryan and Jones are still in their prime.
Otherwise, Blank will have to wait until the next franchise quarterback comes around to get his hopes up again. ...
The Falcons have the bye week -- and plenty of time to think thinks over -- before playing at Tampa Bay. ...
For what it's worth. ... Smith said Monday he has no concerns about his job security.
"None whatsoever," Smith said Monday, per the Journal-Constitution. "We are going to do what we've done last the six-plus years and prepare each and every week like we know how to do it and I'm going to continue to do that until Mr. Blank tells me otherwise."
Other notes of interest. ... Steven Jackson reached 11,000 career rushing yards in the second quarter of Sunday's game.
Jackson had a tough, 5-yard run on first-and-goal to reach the milestone. He nearly scored but followed with a 1-yard touchdown run two plays later.
He became the 19th player in NFL history to accomplish the feat, joining the likes of Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton and Barry Sanders.
"It's an amazing feat," Jackson said two games ago. "Whenever I do eclipse the 11,000-yard mark, it will mean a lot to me. But like football, I've done it with the success of a lot of my teammates over the years. Good games, bad games, they all compile to this milestone. I relish in it, but at the same time, keep it going. ..."
Ryan completed 5 of 6 passes on Atlanta's opening drive, including five straight after an incompletion of the first play. He hit Devonta Freeman for a 7-yard touchdown (the first of Freeman's NFL career) after driving 80 yards in 10 plays. Since 2008, the Falcons have scored an NFL-best 98 touchdowns on drives lasting 10 or more plays.
According to the Sports Xchange, they have scored on more than 80 percent of their drives that have lasted 10 plays or more. ...
Tight end Bear Pascoe caught a 1-yard touchdown on a play-action pass. Pascoe's first touchdown catch as a Falcon came on his first reception of the season. Pascoe's only other touchdown catch came at Philadelphia on Sept. 30, 2012, as a member of the New York Giants. ...
Harry Douglas had missed the previous four games with a deep bruise in his right foot, but he looked like he never missed a down while making a few important catches throughout the game.
Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Vaughn McClure notes, the week off will give a number of players a chance to heal.
Like rookie left tackle Jake Matthews, who has been battling through an ankle injury since the season opener and then aggravated it again in a Week 5 loss to the New York Giants.
Like explosive running back Antone Smith, who suffered some sort of neck injury in Sunday's loss. An obviously stiff Smith was spotted in the locker room Monday night but could not comment on his status.
Like defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux, who missed the London game due to a foot injury.
Or like rookie linebacker Prince Shembo, who continues to be plagued by knee issues and gave the starting job back to Joplo Bartu. Shembo expects to be back to full strength after the bye.
Not to mention all four of the team's top receivers -- Jones (ankle), Roddy White (knee, hamstring), Douglas and Devin Hester (ankle, hamstring) -- have battled injuries at some point during the season.
And the Falcons, with five offensive linemen already on season-ending injured reserve, saw tackle Gabe Carimi go down with an ankle injury against the Lions.
"It comes at the right time for us to get some players healthy," Smith said of the bye. "We've got a lot of guys who are nicked up and banged up that may not necessarily be on the injury report. But they are nicked and banged up." 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
The Falcons are idle this week due to the NFL bye. 
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BALTIMORE RAVENS
The Ravens will attempt to rebound from their frustrating loss to the Bengals without cornerback Jimmy Smith, who will be sidelined for several weeks with a sprained left foot.
Smith left during the opening drive and did not return. The Ravens subsequently allowed several long passing plays, including a 53-yarder that set up the game-winning touchdown with 57 seconds left.
Now in his fifth season, Smith started all 16 games last year and the first eight this season.
Coach John Harbaugh said Monday that Smith has a "mid-foot sprain" and will "be out a few weeks," beginning with Sunday night's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dominique Franks filled in for Smith against Cincinnati. If the Ravens don't sign or trade for another cornerback this week, they'll just have to make do with what they've got.
"The way this organization is run, and the way that we practice, we're built for things like that to happen," Franks said. "It's sad to see Jimmy go down, but at the same time I had to step up and other guys had to step up."
Meanwhile, as Associated Press sports writer David Ginsburg notes, Sunday's loss was particularly distasteful because Baltimore rallied to take the lead in the fourth quarter before Cincinnati came back. Then, an apparent 80-yard touchdown from Joe Flacco to Steve Smith was wiped out when Smith was called for pushing off defender George Iloka to get open.
Harbaugh bristled on Monday when asked about the play and said he sent a copy of the play to the league office.
After insisting he couldn't comment on the call because of "league policy," Harbaugh said, "It was a great play. I think it shows great heart and talent and effort. It says a lot about Joe and Steve and the offensive line that they could make a play like that. It was one of the greatest plays I've ever seen. That's how I feel about it. What else can I say?"
A week ago, the Ravens were in first place. With a loss to the rival Steelers (5-3) on Sunday night, they could be in third.
That's how important that pass interference call was for Baltimore.
"We've got to find ways to get better, maybe not come down to that play, be so good that a play like that doesn't even to be needed," Harbaugh said. "But if you have to make a play like that, it's good to know you can. I'm pretty confident that we'll be able to make more plays along those lines as the season goes on."
In spite of it all, Harbaugh likes where the Ravens stand at the midpoint of the season.
"We definitely played ourselves into position to compete for the AFC North championship and we find ourselves in position obviously for a playoff berth, which is the ultimate goal," he said. "We want to get into the tournament first, we want to win the division next, we want to win the conference and then we want to win it all. That's what we're shooting for. We're 5-3. We're in position to do that."
The Ravens beat Pittsburgh at home 26-6 on Sept. 11, so a victory would give Baltimore the tie-breaker with the Steelers should the teams finish tied.
Meanwhile, as Baltimore Sun staff writer Aaron Wilson reported Monday, rookie running back Lorenzo Taliaferro bolted into the end zone untouched for a pair of touchdowns Sunday in the second half as he provided the majority of the Ravens' big plays offensively during a losing cause.
If not for Taliaferro's contributions, the Ravens probably wouldn't have even had a shot at winning.
The way that Taliaferro performed justified the Ravens' calculated gamble when they deactivated backup running back Bernard Pierce as a healthy scratch and went with just two active running backs Sunday in addition to fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
"We're just doing what we try to do as far as our personnel and getting guys up that we felt gave us the best chance to win the game," Harbaugh said. "We were jammed up. We did what we thought we had to do, and it worked out because our other backs stayed healthy."
Taliaferro rushed for 27 yards on seven carries, scoring touchdowns from 10 yards and 8 yards in the second half. His last touchdown around the left side gave the Ravens a brief 21-20 lead in the fourth quarter. And the fourth-round draft pick's first touchdown run in the third quarter was set up by his career-long 29-yard reception, which was followed by veteran running back Justin Forsett's two-point conversion run to cut the Bengals' lead down to 17-14.
"All of those are good things, but, at the end of the day, we didn't come out with a win, so those touchdowns didn't mean anything," Taliaferro said. "The offensive line is doing a great job, and Justin comes in week by week and performs well. No matter how many touchdowns we run for, we've got to come out with a win. That's what matters at the end of the day."
The Ravens had a decent game running the football, gaining 107 yards on 26 carries as they averaged 4.1 yards per carry. Led by Forsett's 68 rushing yards on 17 carries, the Ravens played without Pierce for the third time this season.
Projected as the replacement for Ray Rice when the three-time Pro Bowl runner's $35 million contract was terminated in the fallout from his domestic-violence incident, Pierce was benched in the season-opening loss to the Bengals when he lost a fumble. Pierce rushed for a season-high 96 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers the following game before missing the next two games with a strained quadriceps.
Although Pierce scored one touchdown per game over the previous two games, he rushed for only 53 yards on 23 carries during that span when he averaged just 2.35 yards per carry.
"I talked to Bernard, he was helping us on the sidelines," Forsett said. "He was encouraging us, so that was positive. I'm sure it was disappointing to him, but he was a great teammate helping us along. ..."
Based on what we saw in Cincy, it won't be a surprise to see Pierce continue helping from the sidelines. ...
Worth noting: Forsett was not practicing Wednesday due to an unspecified leg injury; I'll follow up via Late-Breaking Update. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Flacco had his worst performance of the season against the Bengals in Week 8. He completed 17 of 34 passes for 195 yards and two interceptions, with a passer rating of 43.1. When Flacco has time to look for his primary or even secondary receivers, he can make teams pay. However, he struggles when teams bring added pressure and is prone to commit costly mistakes.
As ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley notes, the Bengals converted 10 points off Flacco's two interceptions. Flacco made a poor decision in the third quarter, when linebacker Emmanuel Lamur only needed to reach out for the pick.
Then, on the next drive, Flacco was intercepted by Adam Jones when wide receiver Torrey Smith stopped running his route after getting hit on the head. Flacco has thrown 11 interceptions in seven games in Cincinnati.
Tight end Crockett Gillmore got his first NFL start after Owen Daniels underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last week. Gillmore caught two passes for 23 yards. He was also solid with his blocking and could play an increased role against Pittsburgh.
"Crockett played well," Harbaugh said. "Crock did a good job. He made a lot of catches, made a lot of good blocks. He has a lot of potential as a player."
In a bit of a surprise, however, Daniels returned to practice Wednesday. That seems like a very quick turnaround and I'll be following up when Late-Breaking Updates crank up early Thursday. ...
As the Sports Xchange notes, Torrey Smith had to leave the game in the second half against Cincinnati to be evaluated for a potential concussion. However, Smith was cleared to play and went back into the game. He should be available against the Steelers this week.
Harbaugh downplayed the significance of the injuries. "He went through the protocol and he did not have a concussion," Harbaugh said
Smith appeared to have broken out of an early-season slump, but he did not have a reception against the Bengals. Smith is still the Ravens' biggest downfield threat and the offense has struggled when he has not been fully involved.
Rookie wide receiver Michael Campanaro has emerged as a key target for Flacco. However, he left in the first half with a strained hamstring suffered during a punt return. His status is uncertain for Sunday.
The offensive line is also banged up as guards Marshal Yanda (knee) and Kelechi Osemele (eye) each had to leave the game briefly with injuries. Left tackle Eugene Monroe played his first game since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, but he also had to sit out a series. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Joe Flacco, Tyrod Taylor 
RB: Justin Forsett, Lorenzo Taliaferro, Bernard Pierce 
FB: Kyle Juszczyk 
WR: Steve Smith, Torrey Smith, Jacoby Jones, Marlon Brown, Kamar Aiken, Michael Campanaro 
TE: Crockett Gillmore, Ryan Taylor, Owen Daniels
PK: Justin Tucker 
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BUFFALO BILLS
As Associated Press sports writer John Wawrow notes, rookie receiver Sammy Watkins learned a valuable lesson about celebrating too early.
"It was a boneheaded play," Watkins said Monday, a day after he pulled up early and raised his arm before being tackled from behind 5 yards short of the end zone. "Next time, I'll run full speed through the goal and score."
Head coach Doug Marrone wasn't happy about Watkins' premature celebration.
"There's a lot of people that were upset," Marrone said. "We weren't hurt by it because we were able to come back and score, and I don't really expect a guy like Sammy to ever do that again." Marrone pulled aside Watkins after the play. "I said, 'There were people on that sideline' -- meaning his teammates -- 'that were upset. We're playing our butts off, and we don't have time for stuff like that,'" the coach said. "Those are the things we have to work on -- winning and growing up."
The play, in Buffalo's otherwise dominating 43-23 win over the New York Jets, might also serve as a cautionary reminder for the rest of the team entering its bye week off.
This is no time for the Bills (5-3) to let up.
As Wawrow pointed out, recent history has shown that promising starts haven't translated into strong finishes for a franchise whose 14-season playoff drought is the NFL's longest active streak.
It happened in 2011, when Buffalo started 5-3 and then lost seven of its last eight. It was hardly better in 2008, when Buffalo opened 5-3 and finished 7-9.
And it happened in 2002, when Buffalo turned a 5-3 start into an 8-8 finish.
Overall, the Bills haven't had a winning record over their final eight games since closing the 2004 season 6-2. Otherwise, Buffalo's combined second-half season record over the past nine years is 25-47.
The Bills, who are off until hosting Kansas City (4-3) on Nov. 9, have a long way to go before they can start earning anyone's respect. But they still find themselves in the AFC playoff picture because of an attacking-style defense that, through Sunday, was leading the league with 28 sacks and 18 takeaways, including a season-best six (four interceptions, two fumbles) against the Jets.
"The numbers don't lie, (but) we can be a lot better," safety Aaron Williams. "We're still not where we're at."
On offense, Buffalo has found a semblance of consistency and identity since veteran journeyman Kyle Orton took over the starting job after EJ Manuel was benched four weeks ago.
In going 3-1, Orton has provided a spark to what had been a popgun passing attack in four games under Manuel.
Orton has the edge on Manuel in yards passing (1,128-838), completion percentage (67-58) and touchdowns (9-5), while each has thrown three interceptions.
Orton has also had a flare for the dramatics by engineering last minute game-winning drives to beat Detroit 17-14 on Oct. 5, and Minnesota, 17-16 two weeks later.
"I think we've got a lot of faith in his ability," tight end Scott Chandler said of Orton. "Him coming in and taking the reins like he did, there wasn't anybody who doubted that he could get the job done. And we've been pretty happy with it so far."
There's still room for improvement.
As ESPN.com's Mike Rodak notes, consider that the Bills had by far the best starting field position (an average of 51.3 yards to the goal) of any team this season -- along with a plus-29.6 yard field position margin, the NFL's sixth-best since 2001 -- and some of the lost opportunities come to light.
That was the most striking observation from Sunday's game: The Bills scored 43 points yet at times managed to look just as inept offensively as the Jets, who committed six turnovers. And this comes one week after Buffalo's mistake-filled, 17-16 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
"It's not the mark of a playoff team," Rodak wrote. "It has the stench of a weakness that better teams can expose when the season is on the line this winter. ..."
The story is the same for the Bills' running attack. Once the strength of the team, it has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks. Buffalo averaged 2.1 yards per carry Sunday, and only two teams have fared worse than the Bills' 3.15 yards per run over the past month.
With Anthony Dixon and Bryce Brown carrying the load until Fred Jackson returns, it's an area of concern for the Bills.
For the record, C.J. Spiller (collarbone) isn't eligible to return until Week 16, while Jackson is expected to miss three more weeks with a groin injury.
Meanwhile, on defense, Buffalo has suddenly sprung leaks against the run.
After allowing just 405 yards and no touchdowns rushing in their first six games, the Bills have surrendered 333 yards and three scores in their past two.
The Bills enter their bye week looking ahead to a tougher second-half schedule. Of their remaining eight games, only two -- against the Jets (1-7) and Oakland Raiders (0-7) -- involve teams with losing records. ...
Other notes of interest. ... After Orton's fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Chandler, Mike Williams returned to the locker room to find a dime for his quarterback. According to Williams, Orton asked "What's this?" when Williams presented the coin to Orton. "I'm giving it back to you because you just threw one," Williams responded. "I think he was hitting tonight," the veteran receiver added.
Orton completed 10 of 17 passes for four touchdowns and no interceptions against the Jets. His 142.8 quarterback rating is a career high. In his 78 games before Sunday, Orton's best QB rating in a full game was a 134.7 mark for the Broncos in Week 10 of the 2009 season.
Robert Woods caught three passes for 50 yards and a TD, but he sat out much of the game with a back contusion.
As expected, Dixon received the majority of the workload (22 carries playing on 41 of 55 snaps) while Brown (seven carries on 14 snaps) played more of a complementary role. Four of Brown's seven carries came in the first half but gained only six yards. Marrone said Brown would have received more time if the Bills were in a spread look on offense. Instead, they were in more of a ground-and-pound mode, playing with the lead for the entire game.
That led to Dixon, the more bruising back, receiving more carries. He wasn't any more effective than Brown.
Dixon averaged 2.0 yards per carry, and Brown gained 2.1 yards per run. The Bills' running game was a problem area even before injuries to Jackson and Spiller; it's now among their chief concerns. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
The Bills are idle this week due to the NFL bye. 
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CAROLINA PANTHERS
Head coach Ron Rivera said he expects running back DeAngelo Williams to play Thursday night against the New Orleans Saints with first place in the NFC South on the line.
Williams has missed six games this season due to injuries, including Carolina's 13-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
Rivera said Monday the franchise's all-time leading rusher informed him that he's "ready to roll."
Indeed, Williams is listed as probable for the game.
Rivera said he's excited about getting Williams back on the field and pairing him with running mate Jonathan Stewart, another former first-round draft pick.
"It'll be a nice boost," Rivera said. "When he and Jonathan get rolling and doing the things they do that's a huge thing for us. That could be a nice shot in the arm."
As Associated Press sports writer Steve Reed notes, the franchise's all-time leading rusher had 72 yards on 14 carries in the season opener against Tampa Bay, but missed the next two games with a hamstring injury. He returned in Week 4 against Baltimore but suffered a high ankle sprain in the first half and hasn't played since.
Stewart, who missed three games earlier this season with a knee injury, has been starting in Williams' spot and leads the team with 217 yards rushing.
The Panthers don't have a 100-yard rusher in a game this season other than quarterback Cam Newton, who ran for 107 yards against Cincinnati.
Carolina ranks 27th in the league in rushing.
"I think it will help a lot to complement Stew and what we're doing with the running game," offensive coordinator Mike Shula said of Williams' return. "When we're running the ball effectively it's usually those two guys. And then when Mike [Tolbert] gets back and we mix in the quarterback runs, all of that helps with tying in the whole package, including the play-action."
I'll be following up on Williams, Chris Ogbonnaya (groin) and Fozzy Whittaker (quad) via Late-Breaking Update in advance of Thursday night's kickoff. ...
As Reed suggested, the Panthers can use all of the firepower they can get right now on offense. They rank 24th in the league in points scored and total offense.
The red zone offense has been a problem all season, including on Sunday when they made three trips inside the Seattle 20 but came away with only six points against the league's second-worst red zone defense. One drive ended when Newton and Stewart fumbled an exchange on a read option play and the Seahawks recovered.
The Panthers enter Thursday night's game 28th in the league in red zone offense, converting just 12 of 26 possessions into touchdowns.
To put that into perspective, the Broncos entered the week with 15 touchdowns on 19 trips into the red zone.
"We've got to find a way to get a touchdown," Newton said. "When you get that close, it all goes down the drain if you get just three points. The turnovers -- that's just not playing smart football.
"Fumbling in the red zone, throwing an interception, I have to know better."
The Panthers defense, which had allowed an average of 34.8 points the past five games, showed signs of last year's efficiency and played well enough to win, but the offense's woes in the red zone turned that into a wasted effort.
"When you get inside the 5, you have to scratch, crawl, spit, grip, find a way," Newton said. "We didn't do a good job of that, and it's happened a lot since I've been here."
It hasn't been as bad as Newton thinks. From 2011, when he was the first player taken in the draft, through last season, the Panthers scored touchdowns on 58.2 percent of their trips inside the red zone. According to ESPN Stats & Information, that ranks sixth.
The league average during that span was 53.6 percent. The Panthers' percentage was 56.6 percent heading into this week.
Tight end Greg Olsen has been Carolina's top threat near the goal line, but Rivera said the Seahawks rolled a safety over to Olsen giving the Panther some problems. Olsen had one catch for 16 yards and no receptions inside the 20.
"When you get inside the five, you have to scratch, crawl, spit, grip, find a way," Newton said. "And we know that, it just has to settle in when we're in the heat of battle. We didn't do a good job of that and it's happened a lot since I've been here."
Rivera said he doesn't have a problem with Shula's play-calling in the red zone, although the coordinator has been widely criticized by the fan base on local sports talk radio.
He said it's a matter of execution.
Wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin let a pass slip through his hands in the end zone and the offensive line got blown off the ball by the Seahawks on a third-and-goal run from the 1, resulting in Stewart getting tackled in the backfield for a 7-yard loss.
The Panthers (3-4-1) have only won once in their last six games, yet still lead the division by a few percentage points over the Saints because of their tie with the Bengals. The Saints (3-4) enter the game coming off their best performance, a 44-23 home win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.
Other notes of interest. ... Benjamin did not start Sunday's 13-9 loss to Seattle for what he called a coach's decision.
Rivera said he was trying to send the NFL Rookie of the Year candidate a message.
"That you're accountable just like everybody else," Rivera said.
According to ESPN.com's David Newton, the coach did not elaborate.
Benjamin said Rivera did not give him specifics on why he wasn't starting for the first time this season. Asked what he needed to be held accountable for, the 28th pick of the 2014 draft said, "Everything."
"Being a great teammate, knowing my assignments, just being a pro," he said.
Benjamin entered the game during Carolina's first possession and caught a 17-yard pass on the fifth play. He led the team in catches with four for 94 yards, including a spectacular 51-yarder between Pro Bowl corner Richard Sherman and safety Earl Thomas.
On the season, Benjamin has 38 catches for a team-best 571 yards and five touchdowns.
Benjamin said he didn't worry about why he didn't start as much as he focused on "when I got my chance and got in I wanted to leave my mark."
And finally. ... As David Newton put it, "And you thought Philly Brown was an adventure returning kicks." With Brown out (concussion), Brenton Bersin fumbled the first punt and the Panthers were lucky to recover. He then returned the second-half kickoff 49 yards. Different player, same type of results.
And finally. ... The Panthers have signed offensive tackle Mike Remmers and safety Robert Lester to their 53-man roster. To make room, Carolina placed linebacker Chase Blackburn on injured reserve with a knee injury and waived running back Darrin Reaves on Tuesday.
The Panthers had only three offensive tackles on the roster, and starters Byron Bell (elbow) and Nate Chandler (groin) are hurt.
Blackburn played in six games this season, started two and has 11 tackles. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Cam Newton, Derek Anderson, Joe Webb 
RB: DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Chris Ogbonnaya, Fozzy Whittaker 
FB: Mike Tolbert (on short-term IR) 
WR: Kelvin Benjamin, Jerricho Cotchery, Jason Avant, Brenton Bersin, Philly Brown 
TE: Greg Olsen, Ed Dickson, Brandon Williams 
PK: Graham Gano 
=========================

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CHICAGO BEARS
No matter how bleak things look, general manager Phil Emery says the Bears are not ready to give up on this season.
Emery and head coach Marc Trestman insist the Bears have the players and coaches in place to turn things around.
"We will not quit on the season," Emery said Monday. "We will not quit on ourselves. We're not going to quit on each other."
As Associated Press sports writer Andrew Seligman put it: "For a team that entered the season with a rebuilt defense and all 11 starters back from a prolific offense, this was not the plan."
The Bears are 3-5 at their bye week after back-to-back ugly losses to Miami and New England, and facing all sorts of questions as they try to regroup.
Emery said the answers are "with the people in this building." Trestman gave a similar response when asked if there will be any changes to his staff.
"We have everybody in position right here," he said. "We feel, without question, we built a work ethic, a system of doing things in this building is in place to have the consistency we need to win. We're disappointed because we haven't done that."
Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker has come under criticism in two seasons, but the problems extend to every area. An offense that excelled in its first season under Trestman has underachieved even though all 11 starters returned.
Quarterback Jay Cutler continues to commit untimely turnovers.
Trestman's grip on the locker room has come under scrutiny, as has the mindset of the players, and the past two weeks have been particularly ugly.
Receiver Brandon Marshall was overheard yelling in the locker room after the loss to Miami at Soldier Field, and after claiming they pulled together, the Bears got ripped apart by Tom Brady in a 51-23 loss at New England on Sunday in which the score only tells part of the story.
In a game where the Bears were outclassed in every way, defensive end Lamarr Houston decided to celebrate a sack -- his first of the season -- against backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the closing minutes. He ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and will miss the rest of the season.
"We're disappointed for him and in him," said Emery, who added that Houston apologized to the Bears.
It wasn't the first eyebrow-raising incident involving Houston, one of Chicago's major offseason acquisitions. He posted on Twitter after a loss to Carolina that fans who did not give the team their unconditional support can "eat dirt."
Meanwhile, the Bears are searching for answers, trying to dig their way out this ditch. Emery said the Bears have received "two or three interesting" trade proposals but nothing that would help them win now. And he wasn't holding a fire sale before Tuesday's deadline.
The Bears have dropped four of five, and the schedule doesn't offer much relief.
When they return from their break, they'll be staring at a trip to Green Bay to face Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. After that, five of the final seven are at Soldier Field, where the Bears are 0-3 so far.
One four-game stretch has them visiting Detroit before hosting Dallas, New Orleans and the Lions. Two of those teams have six wins and the other has Drew Brees, which means that matchup will hardly be a breeze even if the Saints are 3-4 at the moment.
The Bears responded to a season-opening loss at home to Buffalo by surprising the 49ers in San Francisco and winning on the road against the New York Jets. They beat Atlanta on the road after back-to-back losses to Green Bay and Carolina.
"Coming out of Atlanta, we thought we were headed in the right direction," Trestman said. "I think this team is strong internally, I think they've got great heart."
Other notes of interest. ... Emery said starting G Matt Slauson will miss the rest of the season with a torn right pectoral muscle. The injury will not require surgery. Emery also said LB Darryl Sharpton has a hamstring injury and is likely out for the Green Bay game.
Matt Forte continues to serve as the club's only consistently dependable option on offense. He averaged 6 yards per attempt through the first three quarters, in which he rushed for 96 yards, and caught six passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. Forte put together just his second 100-yard rushing performance (114) of the season. ...
As CBSSports.com noted, Marshall caught three passes for 35 yards against the Patriots, giving him less than 50 yards in six of eight games this season. Despite his size and rapport with Cutler, he's gone four straight games without a touchdown as well. But it's not like Marshall isn't getting his chances; Cutler targeted him 10 times and four of those targets came in the end zone.
One last note here. ... Emery said the team is "optimistic" wide receiver Marquess Wilson will begin practicing in the next two weeks. Wilson has been on short-term injured reserve all season due to a shoulder injury. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
The Bears are idle this week due to the NFL bye. 
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CINCINNATI BENGALS
As Associated Press sports writer Joe Kay noted on Monday, Mohamed Sanu has made the spectacular, game-turning plays with Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green sidelined the last three weeks because of an injured toe.
Soon, the Bengals might have them on the field together.
Sanu had two pivotal catches on Sunday during a 27-24 victory over the Baltimore Ravens that moved Cincinnati (4-2-1) back in first place in the AFC North. He also had a 26-yard run on a reverse.
The third-year receiver has developed into the Bengals' most versatile player, one who can complete a long pass, catch one and turn the corner with his quarterback as a lead blocker.
"Mo's been playing great," Andy Dalton said. "I have a lot of confidence in him, and he has a lot of confidence in himself that he's going to make plays."
With Green hobbled by an injured big right toe since the season opener, Sanu has become the Bengals' big-play threat. He leads the team with 35 catches for 533 yards and three touchdowns. Sanu also has completed two passes for 68 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown to Dalton.
In addition, Sanu has 31 yards on three reverses this season. He ran the ball twice on Sunday, with Dalton among the lead blockers both times. The quarterback got out of the way on the first one, but took down a Ravens defender and got the wind knocked out of him on the other one.
"I saw that, too," Sanu said. "As soon as that happened I looked down and cringed a little bit. The first time (Dalton got out of the way), I was like, 'Good job, good job.' But the second time it was like, 'Hey, you don't have to do that sometimes."'
Green has missed the last three games, but resumed running last week. Head coach Marvin Lewis is optimistic that he could do more this week. It's unclear whether Green could play on Sunday against Jacksonville (1-7) at Paul Brown Stadium.
"He's been doing very well," Lewis said on Monday. "We'll see how things are this week and how he comes through the week."
The offense is looking forward to getting them both on the field at the same time, forcing defenses to decide how to keep up with two deep-threat receivers.
"Now it's going to be that they're going to have to play us straight-up," Sanu said. "They can't double-cover any one of us. They're going to have to play man-to-man. That's what we want."
Sanu made what Kay characterized as "the best catch of his pro career" on the opening drive Sunday. Dalton threw a pass high over the middle, and Sanu pulled it down with his right hand and kept going for a 48-yard gain. The play set up Dalton's 1-yard touchdown sneak.
If Sanu didn't get the high pass, it would have likely been intercepted.
"I just knew I had to go up and try to at least make an attempt to catch the ball," Sanu said.
He also set up Dalton's game-winning sneak in the closing minutes. Trailing 24-20 with 3:48 to go, the Bengals had third-and-10 from their own 20. Lewis was mulling over what to do if that pass was incomplete, too.
"That's a good decision not to make," Lewis said on Monday. "Unfortunately, those are the decisions we get into there. We had three timeouts left and the two-minute warning, so I think you've got to punt the football if that situation arose."
Dalton didn't see anyone open, scrambled away from the pass rush and threw deep to Sanu, whose 53-yard catch set up the quarterbacks' game-winning sneak with 57 seconds left.
The Bengals drafted Sanu in the third round in 2012 because of his versatility. Receiver Marvin Jones -- taken two rounds later in the same draft -- emerged as Green's main complement last season, leaving Sanu with a lesser role.
Jones has missed the entire season with a broken foot and an ankle injury, giving Sanu his chance.
"It's been what we really expected from Mo," Lewis said. "He and Marvin have always jockeyed for position. He's got it back, and he's taking full advantage of the whole thing. It's great."
Meanwhile, Green was more upbeat about his injured right toe after Sunday's win than he had been at any other point the last three weeks.
In an interview in front of his locker with ESPN's Bob Holtzman, the Pro Bowl wideout said he will be back on the field next weekend when the Bengals host the Jacksonville Jaguars in the middle game of a three-game home stretch.
"I'm going to be back," Green said. "I'm going to practice some this week and see how it goes."
He added that his right big toe, injured in the season opener at Baltimore and nagging him since, has been much better in recent days. About a week ago, the injury had him at about 40 percent, Green said. Now, he's up to about 80.
"Like I've said, it's probably not going to be 100 percent like I want it, but as long as I'm 80 percent, I can play at a high level," Green said. "I'm good."
Green has 17 catches for 314 yards and two touchdowns in three-plus games this season.
The good news? Green was on the practice field Wednesday; I'll have more on his status via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses. ...
Other notes of interest. ... After an abysmal offensive performance last week at Indianapolis (12 rushes for 32 yards), offensive coordinator Hue Jackson wanted to ensure his unit would be more physical Sunday against the Ravens. In the days leading up to the game, he raised the pressure on his offensive line.
"Hue called us out all week and said this was going to be up to us," Pro Bowl left tackle Andrew Whitworth told ESPN.com after the game. "He said we were going to win or lose the game based off of how physical we could be up front."
The Bengals rushed for 111 yards on 34 carries and plowed behind the line on Dalton's game-winning 1-yard quarterback sneak.
According to CBSSports.com, the good news is the hip injury Bengals running back Giovani Bernard suffered midway through the fourth quarter against Baltimore didn't appear to be serious. The bad news is he caught only two passes for 2 yards before leaving.
This has been a recurring issue for Bernard, who was regarded so highly on draft day not so much for his ability as a pure rusher but for what he could do as a dual-threat back. And he did it in Weeks 1 and 2, when he had a combined 11 catches for 141 yards. But in five games since then, he has averaged just 2.2 catches for 7.6 yards.
Take away his 89-yard run back in Week 6, and he'd be averaging just 3.3 yards per carry.
CBS summed up: "Bernard is enough of a scoring threat for you to stick with him, but as long as the Bengals use rookie Jeremy Hill as more of their pass catcher out of the backfield, Bernard will continue to fall short of expectations."
For the record, Bernard didn't practice Wednesday; I'll follow up on his status along with Green's in coming days. ..
Linebacker Vontaze Burfict had arthroscopic knee surgery Wednesday morning and is expected to miss two games, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Burfict led the team with 171 tackles last year. In five games this season, he has 29 tackles and a forced fumble. ...
And finally. ... Mike Nugent went 2 for 2 on field goal attempts, his first since missing a 36-yard, game-winning try in overtime against Carolina on Oct. 12. 

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, A.J. Green, Dane Sanzenbacher, Brandon Tate, James Wright, Greg Little 
TE: Jermaine Gresham, Ryan Hewitt, Tyler Eifert 
PK: Mike Nugent 
=========================

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CLEVELAND BROWNS
According to Associated Press sports writer Tom Withers, head coach Mike Pettine knows his team's win over Oakland on Sunday wasn't pretty, but he's not worried about his team looking good.
The Browns needed a big turnover in the fourth quarter to hold off the winless Raiders 23-13. Cleveland had just 39 yards rushing and converted only 2 of 12 third downs. Still, it was a win and Pettine said he'd gladly "sit up here and talk about ugly wins for a lot of Mondays."
Pettine praised quarterback Brian Hoyer for making enough plays to pull out the victory and said that's the bottom line for any QB.
The Browns have already equaled last season's win total, but Pettine flatly said "no" when asked he was pleased with where his team is sitting. Pettine said he can't get caught up in records and that it's critical for his team to "move on to the next one."
Indeed, the Browns are 4-3. The last time they were 4-3 was in 2007.
Their 3-1 record in FirstEnergy Stadium is also their best since they started 2007 with the same record in home games. They were 10-6 that year, their best record since 1994, but failed to make the playoffs.
Andrew Hawkins boosted his team leading receptions total to 36 with seven catches for 88 yards against the Raiders. He now has three times as many catches as he made last season in eight games with the Bengals. The Browns signed Hawkins as a restricted free agent. He scored his first touchdown as a Brown on a four-yard catch from Hoyer.
"There were so many times where I never thought this would be possible," Hawkins said. "I can't reiterate enough that in my own mind I'm nothing special; it's not like I'm some great receiver that no one found.
"I felt that God has blessed me so much to be able to score touchdowns that I never thought would be possible. It's a blessing every time."
But the Browns were stymied in their running game for the second straight week. In their first 16 carries Sunday, the Browns ran for 19 yards. They finished with 39 yards on 25 attempts.
The longest run all day was a seven-yard pickup by rookie Terrance West. The Browns clearly miss Pro Bowl center Alex Mack, who is out for the year recovering from surgery to repair a broken left fibula. Tim McDonald started at center against the Raiders.
It might be too simple to blame the running woes on one line-up change, but in the two games played without Mack the Browns have rushed 55 times for 108 yards.
Still, running back Ben Tate didn't expect Cleveland to average 1.6 yards per carry. Reigniting the rush will be huge for Tampa Bay prep.
"It's frustrating -- I don't know what other word to put it to," said Tate, who finished with 26 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
The Browns might have to play the next two games without tight end Jordan Cameron. Cameron was knocked out of the Oakland game with a concussion in the first half. The Browns host Tampa Bay next Sunday then on Nov. 6 play the Bengals in Cincinnati
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, it marked Cameron's third concussion since December of 2012 -- one in each of the past three seasons.
He sat out the New York Jets game in week 15 last season after suffering a concussion late in the Bears game the week before, and missed the final two games of the 2012 season with a concussion. In the case of last year's brain injury, he didn't realize he had suffered it until the morning after, meaning he may have inadvertently continued playing with it.
Cameron has 13 receptions for 250 yards and a 51-yard TD.
"Jordan is such a great player," Hawkins said after the game. "I think he is one of the best tight ends in the NFL, and so much of what we do is anchored off of what Jordan has the ability to do. When you lose him, I think not just the receiving corps but everyone has to rally together because when you lose a great player, that is what has to happen."
The Browns on Monday claimed tight end Ryan Taylor, a fourth-year player out of North Carolina, via waivers from Baltimore. ...
I'll follow up as needed via Late-Breaking update. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Hoyer ended the first half with 146 yards passing and a 92.6 rating. The Browns had nine points. Hoyer ended the third quarter with 218 yards and a rating of 92.6 and the offense had 16 points. He finished with a rating of 111.5 and the Browns had 23 points.
As ESPN.com's Pat McManamon wrote: "Consider it an effort to perseverance, because the offense went through some serious lulls, and there were murmurs about putting Johnny Manziel in the game to see if he could provide a spark. The coaches never looked to Manziel, though, so Hoyer will keep his job, because in the NFL, style points don't matter. Wins and losses do. ..."
Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan has said often that NFL defenses will quickly take away what a quarterback does best, so the quarterback needs to have another option to rely on. It seems the offense has reached that point as well. Without a rushing attack, they'll have to lean on Hoyer more.
Worth noting: Pettine explained Monday running back Isaiah Crowell was limited to three snaps on offense Sunday against the Raiders because he chose to give Tate more work, especially late in the game, because of fumbling concerns with Crowell.
Crowell put the ball on the ground three times against Pittsburgh and got one carry and three plays against Oakland.
However, Pettine said in hindsight the team wanted to get Crowell more touches. 

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: Jim Dray, Gary Barnidge, Jordan Cameron 
PK: Billy Cundiff 
=========================

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DALLAS COWBOYS
As ESPN.com's Calvin Watkins noted, DeMarco Murray had this blazing season-long 51-yard run with about six minutes to play in the third quarter.
The Cowboys running back had just four more touches the rest of the game.
Murray, the leading rusher in the NFL, turned into a ghost in Scott Linehan's offense. It was quite surprising to see considering the number of touches Murray had in the game, 23, and it marked the first all season he didn't carry the ball more than 20 times.
In the last two weeks, Murray carried the ball 57 times.
Was Murray surprised?
"No, it's hard to run it when they have 10 guys on the line of scrimmage," Murray said after the Cowboys' 20-17 overtime loss to Washington on Monday night. "You can get a negative play or something bad will happen. Scott called a good game and we're behind him."
Sure Murray is because he produced another 100-yard game on Monday night, this time gaining 141 rushing yards to move him to 1,054 on the season. He reached 1,000 yards in just his eighth game of the season, becoming the fastest running back to achieve that in franchise history and fifth-fastest to reached the mark in league history.
In fact, Murray is at 1,054 yards at the halfway point of this season, putting him on pace for 2,108 this year. That would just break Eric Dickerson's all-time record of 2,105 rushing yards in a season, set in 1984.
Murray isn't complaining about a lack of touches, especially in the overtime session when after an 8-yard gain he was dropped for a loss after a short pass in the flat. The Cowboys didn't go back to Murray the next two plays, passes to Jason Witten and Dez Bryant.
"Whatever play is called, that's what we believe in," Murray said. "Scott does a great job at putting us in great position to make plays and they played it well and you have to give those guys credit and we didn't put our best foot forward (Monday night)."
Murray's night also involved another fumble. After catching a short pass from Romo, Murray scooted down to the Redskins 8-yard line until a gaggle of defenders grabbed him. Instead of going down, Murray kept fighting for yards and was stripped by cornerback Bashaud Breeland. It was Murray's fifth fumble of the season.
Murray admitted he needs to just go down when facing multiple tacklers to prevent getting stripped of the ball.
"I'm going to continue to play hard and fight for every inch and I got to lock two hands on it," he said. "And I'm going to continue to fight and run as hard as I can and give us every inch and every yard that I can. But you got to lock it up with two hands. ..."
Meanwhile, the Cowboys -- the loss to Washington notwithstanding -- realize they're in a good place in general.
At 6-2, the Cowboys are in first place in the NFC East by a half game over the Philadelphia Eagles. They have done a lot of things right, but both of the losses have come at AT&T Stadium. And the Cowboys have to hope the Redskins did not expose some flaws on both sides of the ball that other teams will try to emulate.
The good and bad news is the Cowboys will not have a long time to feel bad about the loss with the Arizona Cardinals visiting on Sunday.
Players are off Tuesday and will not have a long review -- if any -- of the Redskins' loss. The focus will be on the Cardinals.
"Regardless of what the outcome of this game is, you've got to get on to the next one," head coach Jason Garrett said.
Said quarterback Tony Romo, "You win, you get 24 hours and you get after it again. You lose, you get 24 hours and you get after it again. That is our philosophy."
The big concern for Dallas -- and fantasy owners is obvious: Redskins linebacker Keenan Robinson blasted Romo in the third quarter Monday night, and sent him careening to the turf.
He expects to return for the next game, but nothing is certain.
If Romo is out for an extended period, the feel-good emotions that have accompanied the Cowboys' surprising 6-2 start will be lost in the reality that teams often can't survive a catastrophic injury to their starting quarterback. But if Romo is ready for the next game, the Cowboys will continue to believe their four-year playoff drought will end.
Romo, who has undergone two back surgeries in the past year, immediately grabbed his lower back at the end of Robinson's sack. He spent several minutes mostly motionless before turning on to his left side. Finally, he stood up and gingerly headed to the sideline, aided by two members of the Dallas training staff.
Whether Romo's back is going to be good enough for him to play Sunday against the Cardinals, or the rest of the season, is a question no one can answer with 100 percent certainty right now.
What we do know is that Romo bruised his back and missed two series while getting X-rays and taking a pain injection.
"I was very concerned, because he laid there as long as he did," owner Jerry Jones said. "After we got him in here, we felt better about it. If he were needed, he told us he wanted to play."
Romo sounded confident he will play against the Cardinals.
Of course, last December when Romo hurt his back also against Washington, he returned to the game and said he expected to play the final game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Five days later, he had season-ending surgery.
Garrett said Tuesday that Dallas was waiting on additional testing for an injury he says is unrelated to the herniated disk Romo sustained in Washington last December.
The coach said Romo "seemed good" when they spoke by phone, but he hadn't seen the quarterback before Romo went for a CT scan.
The Cowboys were off Tuesday, and Romo has skipped the Wednesday practice every week during the regular season as part of his post-surgery routine. He had a procedure to remove a cyst from his back in April 2013 and missed all the offseason workouts last year.
"We've just got to wait and see how he feels, obviously," Garrett said. "Because we played late last night, we'll be more abbreviated anyway, more of a jog through-type mode."
An ESPN Radio report out of Dallas reports that Romo will be questionable at best, however. Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio is reporting the same.
Needless to say, I'll be following up via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Bryant finished with three catches for a season-low 30 yards and one touchdown against Washington. Bryant was targeted just twice in the third quarter, none in the fourth and once in overtime.
There were two plays Bryant should have made that appeared to be drops, including one in the end zone yet Washington doubled him with tight coverage from a cornerback and then used a safety over the top to prevent deep throws for a majority of the game.
"Shading a little bit," Bryant said of the safeties who were near him. "A little bit of [zone] and they did a good job."
Normally when defenses employ tight coverages on Bryant it opens things for receiver Terrance Williams and tight end Jason Witten. Those two combined for 11 catches and 139 yards and one touchdown. According to ESPN's Stats & Information, the Redskins tied a season-high by sending five or more pass rushers on 60 percent of dropbacks against the Cowboys.
That said, Bryant's second-quarter touchdown catch was just amazing. He caught a short pass behind the line of scrimmage with one hand. The tip of the ball landed in the cup of his hand and after shaking a defender he carried safety Ryan Clark into the end zone.
Garrett called the touchdown catch amazing.
"To make the catch that he made and then get in the end zone, it was a pretty special play," Garrett said. "But he gets a lot of attention and he always gets a lot of attention. He's got to fight through it."
Brandon Weeden had not played in such a meaningful game in his short career before Monday.
With Romo ailing, Weeden came in and completed 4 of 6 passes for 69 yards and a touchdown to Witten. He had not taken a snap in the regular season and had not thrown a pass in a game since Dec. 1, 2013 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Cowboys were willing to cut Kyle Orton after the veteran chose to stay away from the Cowboys in the offseason after seeing Weeden perform well in the spring. ...
One last note here. ... Linebacker Justin Durant tore his right bicep in Monday's loss to the Redskins and is out for the year. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Tony Romo, Brandon Weeden, Dustin Vaughan 
RB: DeMarco Murray, Joseph Randle, Lance Dunbar 
FB: Tyler Clutts 
WR: Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley, Dwayne Harris, Devin Street 
TE: Jason Witten, Gavin Escobar, James Hanna 
PK: Dan Bailey 
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DENVER BRONCOS
As the Sports Xchange suggested this week, it would be hard to imagine a better 96-hour period for the Broncos.
They dominated the 49ers and Chargers, winning both games by a combined 39-point margin. They never trailed against either foe. And they won with complete performances that saw a revived running game and an aggressive defense to partner with a Peyton Manning-led passing game that remains as elite and efficient as ever.
The Broncos are 6-1, and have made their statement of intentions.
Only an overtime drive in Seattle separates them from 7-0, and they have a collection of wins that might be the most impressive in the NFL, including 5-1 Arizona, 5-2 Indianapolis, 5-3 San Diego and 4-3 San Francisco.
This week's opponent, the Patriots, are well aware on what side the Broncos' bread is buttered: On the Manning side.
"He's good because he does everything," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said during a conference call Tuesday. "But, really, I don't think there are any bad points in his game."
According to ESPN.com's Lee Schechter, Belichick proceeded to list off everything that makes Manning such a remarkable quarterback and competitor: "He's very smart. He has a great understanding of concepts, timing, game management, clock management, situation football, third down, red area, great utilization of the field from sideline to sideline, attacking the deep part of the field, accurate, great decision-maker, quick release, has very few negative plays."
Belichick and his own future Hall of Fame QB Tom Brady are 10-5 (including playoffs) in their careers against Manning. They have seen Manning with Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark in Indianapolis and now with Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders and the familiar Wes Welker in Denver. No matter who Manning has on his offense, he plays into their skills.
"It doesn't really matter who is out there with him," Belichick said. "Whoever it is, he finds a way to utilize him. He has had different players at different positions in different combinations, and guys have been out and other guys have been in. But no matter who it is out there, he does a good job of finding ways to utilize those skills of the group that is out there relative to the defensive matchup.
"It seems like he causes every defense a problem for the last 15 years or however long it has been."
Belichick knows his defense has a tall task ahead of it to contain Demaryius Thomas and touchdown machine tight end Julius Thomas. And that's before getting to Sanders, Welker, and running backs Ronnie Hillman and Juwan Thompson.
"You have to know who the people are out there," Belichick said. "Everybody has to do their job to defend them. You can't just stop one guy or one thing. But [Manning] does a great job of utilizing his players, his resources relative to what the defense is giving him or what looks best -- a combination of his personnel and where the defense looks soft."
While Belichick will do his best to hide his defenses soft spots from Manning this week, that's a tall order for even the sharpest coaches. ...
Other notes of interest. ... As ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold notes, when Sanders finished with 120 yards receiving Thursday night, it was his fourth 100-yard game for the season.
But what was the really bad news for opposing defenses is the fact Sanders had a career-best three touchdowns in the game and had four touchdown catches in a five-day span in the two Broncos victories.
Not only were those were his first four touchdown receptions of the season, but they served as a rather convincing argument that Manning, much like last season when the Broncos had four players finish with at least 10 touchdown receptions, is again efficient, patient and willing to send the ball anywhere in the formation. ...
Demaryius Thomas had his fourth consecutive 100-yard game, finishing with 105 yards on eight receptions. He finished the month with 626 yards, the fifth-most in October for any player in NFL history. ...
Meanwhile, offensive coordinator Adam Gase continues to work what Legwold calls "some tendency breakers" into his scheme.
The Broncos had not a run a play in a traditional two-back look all season long, at least one with two running backs in the backfield. They've tinkered with tight end Virgil Green in the backfield and Green has two carries this season. But on Thompson's two rushing touchdowns against the Chargers, he was lined up as a fullback with Hillman in the I-formation behind him on both plays with the Broncos in a heavy formation with three tight ends. Manning handed the ball to the up back – Thompson – on both plays for the two scores.
Hillman, now with two 100-yard games in his three starts to go with a 4.9 yards-per-carry average in those three games, has shown plenty of speed and explosiveness. But his ability to keep the job as the primary runner might also be rooted in how he has finished runs.
Though he's 195 pounds or so, over the last three games especially, Hillman has shown finishing power. He has run with more lean and consistently moved things forward after contact in traffic. Right from his first run, when he gained three additional yards after contact through the middle of the formation, Hillman kept himself moving in the pile.
Bottom line? Montee Ball isn't walking back into that starting role uncontested upon his return from the groin injury that's sidelined him since Week 5.
One last note here. ... Hillman was limited Wednesday with a shoulder injury after coach John Fox said he "landed funny" in practice. I'll be following up as further details come to light; watch the Late-Breaking Updates section for more. 

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 
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DETROIT LIONS
Don't look now, but the Lions are suddenly all alone in first place in the NFC North thanks to a pair of improbable victories the last two weekends.
As Associated Press sports writer Noah Trister suggested, Sunday's win in London over the Falcons was particularly remarkable. The Lions prevailed 22-21 on a last-second field goal by Matt Prater -- after a miss by Prater was nullified by a delay-of-game penalty against Detroit.
"We keep finding ways," wide receiver Golden Tate said.
Two weeks ago, the Lions trailed by 13 late in the fourth quarter against New Orleans before scoring two touchdowns in the final 3:38 to win. That comeback was aided by an interception -- and a fourth-down penalty by the Saints that gave Detroit another chance to score the winning touchdown.
On Sunday, the Falcons led 21-0 at halftime, and with the score 21-19, Atlanta had a chance to run down most of the remaining time at the end of the game. But a holding penalty on the Falcons stopped the clock, then a dropped pass by Julio Jones forced Atlanta to punt with 1:38 to go.
The Lions drove into position for a field goal, which Prater missed. But Detroit got a reprieve and Prater made his next attempt from 48 yards as time expired.
According to advancedfootballanalytics.com, the Lions had less than a 5 percent chance to win during the fourth quarter against both New Orleans and Atlanta.
"They don't quit. They're not deterred. They play with poise," head coach Jim Caldwell said. "Down the stretch, you know, the pressure doesn't bother them and they find a way to make plays."
The Lions have certainly benefited from some good fortune in these last two victories, but they've had to deal with plenty of adversity, too. Star receiver Calvin Johnson has been a nonfactor for the last month or so because of an ankle problem. Detroit has also dealt with injuries at the running back and tight end spots -- and all over the defense.
Yet the Lions (6-2) lead Green Bay by a game atop the division, and now they'll have a chance to rest during their open date. Detroit does not play again until Nov. 9 against Miami.
This fast start has helped the Lions move on a bit from their collapse at the end of last year. Detroit started 6-3 under coach Jim Schwartz, but the Lions lost six of their final seven games -- despite having a fourth-quarter lead in all of them.
That 2013 season gave Detroit fans even more reason to be skeptical, hence, the "Same Old Lions" talk that pops up seemingly every time they lose.
But Schwartz was fired and replaced by Caldwell, and now it's Detroit's opponents facing questions about how they let late leads slip away in astounding fashion.
"I'm very excited to be a part of this team," Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said. "We put ourselves in tough situations, but if you watch our psyche and you watch from the sidelines, no long faces, nothing of that sort."
Detroit entered Sunday's game with the No. 1-ranked defense, and in the second half, the Lions shut down Atlanta completely. The offense, playing without Johnson, settled for short field goals on a couple trips to the red zone, but a 59-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Tate put Detroit right back in the game in the third quarter.
Was that good offense by Detroit or inexcusably poor defense by Atlanta? It doesn't matter. The Lions took advantage.
"We just needed to play the way we knew how to play," Caldwell said. "Take care of our responsibilities and take care of our job, and not anyone else's, and I think the guys measured up and got it done. ..."
The Lions are off for a week -- something Detroit needs desperately considering all its injuries -- before facing Miami at home in Week 10.
Other notes of interest. ... It took less than six seasons for Stafford to break the team's record for passing touchdowns.
With his 119th career touchdown pass coming in the third quarter on a 59-yard play to Tate on Sunday, Stafford passed Bobby Layne for the top spot in franchise history.
After the record-breaker, Stafford made sure he was able to claim the ball.
"I was glad to get my hands on it. It's going to mean a lot somewhere down the road," Stafford said. "I think hopefully it's not the last touchdown pass for the Lions. Hopefully got a whole lot more coming, but it's something pretty special and to play for six years, really four-and-a-half healthy, and so it's been nice."
It was a play in which Stafford used the skills that have suited him most during his career. He evaded pressure from the Atlanta Falcons, moved up in the pocket and found a streaking Tate down the right sideline. Then, he used his arm to throw a perfectly placed ball to Tate.
It might have been one of Stafford's best plays of the season.
Stafford already has franchise records for passing yards, completions and attempts.
Tate once again had a massive game with seven catches for 151 yards and a touchdown. He has become a star for the Lions over the past month with his fourth 100-yard game in the last five contests. Theo Riddick is also rising. With Reggie Bush out, Riddick once again became a playmaker with three carries for five yards and eight catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. Caldwell told reporters on Tuesday the plan is to use both Bush and Riddick moving forward.
As ESPN.com's Michael Rothstein suggested, if Detroit ever gets to full health, it could have one of the most potent offenses in the league. Remember, they were also without their top three tight ends, Brandon Pettigrew (foot), Eric Ebron (hamstring) and Joseph Fauria (ankle) in London.
Fortunately, Stafford and Tate were enough to keep the offense from sinking and they are a major reason the Lions are 6-2 heading into the bye.
One last note here. ... Defensive tackle Nick Fairley suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury in the second quarter Sunday and did not return. Although he denied a stretcher and limped off with the assistance of trainers, Fairley took a cart to the locker room with a towel on his head.
Caldwell said after the game he didn't know whether Fairley's injury would be a season-ender, but Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that Fairley suffered a sprained MCL and PCL and could miss only a month. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
The Lion are idle this week due to the NFL bye. 
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GREEN BAY PACKERS
According to ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky, when Aaron Rodgers left the Superdome Sunday night following a 44-23 loss to the New Orleans Saints, he wasn't sure whether his hamstring injury was severe enough that he would have to cancel his bye week plans and report to Lambeau Field for daily treatments.
"We'll see," Rodgers said at the time.
Head coach Mike McCarthy said Monday that he does not expect Rodgers to have any lingering issues by the time the Packers return to action on Nov. 9 against the Chicago Bears.
"So far, so good I would say is how we're looking at it," McCarthy said.
Rodgers did not come out of the game following the injury in the third quarter, but his mobility was limited. McCarthy put Rodgers in the shotgun almost exclusively to lessen the amount of movement his quarterback had to make. Rodgers finally came out of the game, not because of injury, but because of the nature of the blowout loss.
Still, he threw for 418 yards, the second-highest total of his career.
"Our medical policy [for remaining in Green Bay during the bye] is really based off of evaluation, finishing the game," McCarthy said. "So they're very confident where Aaron is today."
The Packers (5-3) have several key players nursing injuries heading into the bye. Before Rodgers' injury on Sunday, they lost right guard T.J. Lang to a sprained ankle after the first drive. They also were missing three starters on defense -- safety Morgan Burnett (calf), cornerback Sam Shields (knee) and defensive end Datone Jones (ankle).
"This is a great time for a bye for Aaron and T.J. and Morgan and Sam," McCarthy said. "So it will be good for us to get healthy."
Meanwhile, Demovsky pointed out the Packers couldn't keep up in a shootout mostly because one of the most reliable aspects of their offense this season -- their red zone efficiency -- was terrible. They failed to score a touchdown on their first three trips inside the 20. Coming into the game, they ranked third in the league with a 70.4 percent conversion rate.
On their first three red zone possessions, they came away with just six points on a pair of field goals.
After what was a solid first seven games, the Packers limped into the bye week at 5-3, one game behind the first-place Detroit Lions in the NFC North.
The Packers return to action on Nov. 9 against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field in another Sunday night game.
Other notes of interest. ... You can blame receivers for all three of Rodgers' interceptions this season. Like the one he threw in the opener against the Seahawks, both of the interceptions he threw on Sunday night bounced off the hands of his own players.
The first, on a third-and-goal play from the 5, came off the hands of tight end Andrew Quarless, and Saints linebacker David Hawthorne picked it. The second, early in the fourth quarter, bounced off the outstretched hand of receiver Davante Adams, and Saints cornerback Corey Whitepicked it off.
Rodgers had gone 212 straight passes without an interception, a career-best streak. ...
Running back Eddie Lacy always runs hard, but he seemed to have some extra drive in his legs on Sunday night. And he did more damage catching the ball than rushing with it. He caught eight passes for 123 yards, including 67 on a screen pass in the first quarter.
On that play, he gained 42 of those yards after he was first contacted by a Saints' defender. With 59 yards rushing on 13 carries, Lacy finished with 182 yards from scrimmage.
Green Bay's offense finished with 491 yards, led by Lacy's 182 yards of total offense on 21 total touches. McCarthy bristled at a question Monday about why Lacy, who was averaging 17 touches per game before Sunday night.
"I don't understand what you don't like about our offense the last couple weeks. I'm very comfortable," said McCarthy, whose team ranked 19th in total offense, 24th in rushing offense, 12th in passing offense and seventh in scoring following Sunday's games. "I don't know the number of touches that Eddie has, but I'm very comfortable with the number."
According to Pro Football Focus, Davante Adams played on 68-of-71 snaps at New Orleans. It's safe to say that Jarrett Boykin's chances of returning to that WR3 role are pretty slim at this point. ...
Julius Peppers is a remarkable athlete, having played basketball in college at North Carolina, but it turns out he's not much of a tight end. McCarthy used the outside linebacker on offense for the first time on a second-and-goal play from the 3-yard line in the first quarter, and Rodgers went to him.
But Peppers bobbled and dropped what would have been a touchdown pass. Rodgers was sacked on the next play, and the Packers had to settle for a field goal. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
The Packers are idle this week due to the NFL bye. 
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HOUSTON TEXANS
As Houston Chronicle staffer Brian T. Smith noted Tuesday, "Arian Foster entered the season as the best running back in Texans history. Eight games into his comeback season, No. 23 is again one of the premier rushers in the NFL. ..."
Fantasy owners won't argue.
Foster's terrific total Sunday: 20 carries, 151 yards, two touchdowns, 7.6 average, four receptions, another TD.
Prior to the Texans' 30-16 victory against the Titans at LP Field, former Kansas City star Priest Holmes held the NFL record for most 100-yard rushing games by an undrafted athlete. Following the Texans' blowout, Foster shared the honor with 31.
Entering Sunday, Foster had never run for 100 yards in four consecutive games. Exiting Nashville, he had 157 yards, 109, 102 and 151 during Weeks 5-8.
Few, if anyone, could touch Foster from 2010-12, when he ignited the Texans' offense and became one of the most dynamic offensive athletes in the league. Few have been able to contain Foster this year. Two games were lost: inactive Week 3 against the New York Giants due to a hamstring injury; eight rushes for six yards against Buffalo the following game. In the other six contests, Foster has averaged 23 carries, 126.6 yards and a TD.
Overall, Foster has 766 yards and 5.2 a carry. He's scored nine touchdowns, including seven rushing. He averages 109.4 yards rushing. Take out the 6 yards and the Bills game, too, and he averages 126.6. He's also an effective receiver.
Bottom line?
Foster is back to being himself. According to Smith, "He's again a beautiful, special, elite runner on a weekly national stage."
"I had an opportunity from my doctor (who) said, ‘This is not a career-ending injury. ... And once I heard that from his lips, it was on again," said Foster, who was limited to eight games in 2013 and underwent season-ending back surgery. "I put a lot into this season, training with my brother and hopefully it shows.
"But the doubt – I never doubted myself. It was like if my body can do it, I'm going to do it."
Fantasy owners who invested what turns out to be very reasonable draft-day capital to secure his services are clearly the among the winners here.
In terms of rushing, through eight games, it's Dallas' DeMarco Murray, Foster, then all the rest. Running backs are supposed to be a dying breed in the NFL. Foster has been keeping his artform alive since 2010. After the toughest year of his career, he's back to being No. 23.
"He's a heck of a running back," head coach Bill O'Brien said. "He makes a lot of yards because of his vision. He sets up blocks well. He has great instincts. He's good in the passing game. It's all the things I've said from day one with him.
"He's tough. He's a big back. He's hard to tackle. So he had a whale of a football game."
Sunday's game was the third three-touchdown game of Foster's career. It was also the fourth consecutive game in which he had at least one run of 30 yards or longer. On Sunday, he had two.
Expect more to come. ...
Meanwhile, the Texans are focused on building on a win by correcting their mistakes as they prepare for the Eagles.
"There's a lot of things we can improve on," Ryan Fitzpatrick said.
The quarterback had a solid game in the 30-16 win, throwing for 227 yards and a touchdown and not turning the ball over for the first time since Week 2.
He still thinks the offense needs to be more consistent and is working on accuracy and getting the ball to the right players.
Fitzpatrick was sacked five times against the Titans, which tied a season high. The offensive line believes better communication is the key to getting that number down this week, but Fitzpatrick shouldered the blame for those hits, saying he needs to be smarter and get rid of the ball quicker.
"Everybody just has to continue to look at themselves and figure out what they can do," he said. "I've got a long list of things every week that I know I can get better at."
The Texans are 4-4 at the halfway point and are looking for a victory against Philadelphia on Sunday to enter their bye week with a winning record.
The defense that got another big game from defensive end J.J. Watt, who had two sacks, swatted down a pass and forced a fumble on Sunday. The unit also got a boost from the return of top overall pick Jadeveon Clowney. The outside linebacker finished with one tackle in limited action in his first game since having arthroscopic surgery after injuring his knee in the season opener.
O'Brien said Clowney did a good job, but that his conditioning will need to improve as his workload increases.
"I don't think he's ready to play 80 plays in a game, but we'll continue to work him in there more," O'Brien said.
The defense was without middle linebacker Brian Cushing, who is dealing with a problem with his left knee. Cushing tore a ligament in that knee in Week 7 last year and had season-ending surgery. He hopes to return this week, but doesn't know if he'll be able to.
"The first four games I felt like I was progressing," he said. "Then there has obviously been a little bit of an issue."
O'Brien said Cushing will be listed day to day this week and that they'll know more about his status when they return to practice on Wednesday.
"He's going to do everything he can to try to play on Sunday," O'Brien said.
Other notes of interest. ... As CBSSports.com notes, DeAndre Hopkins led the team in receiving for the second straight game. Hopkins was targeted a season-high 11 times in the game, bringing his two-week total to 20. He hauled in just five of those passes but still finished the game with 95 yards, his second game in a row with at least 90 yards.
CBS's Chris Towers noting that Hopkins' production has been inconsistent this season as he continues to lag behind Andre Johnson in targets, 53 to 75. Still, Hopkins has made the most of his chances, catching 67.9 percent of passes thrown his way for a team-high 569 yards through eight games.
Johnson is on a pace for 92 catches and 1,102 yards but only two touchdowns. The Texans have done a poor job of throwing to him when they're in the red zone.
Randy Bullock connected on three field goals against the Titans, giving him 15-of-17 and putting him on a pace for 130 points. 

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 
=========================

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INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
According to Associated Press sports writer Michael Marot, Andrew Luck didn't take his big mistake sitting down Monday.
One day after perhaps the most embarrassing moment of his short NFL career, Luck blamed himself for giving away at least nine points in Sunday's debacle at Pittsburgh -- two on what some have dubbed the butt safety.
"Take it as a learning situation. What can you do differently? Try to inch forward and take a sack on the half-yard line or spin around, try and get up and get the ball in the vicinity of a receiver to throw it away," he said. "But yeah, bonehead play by me."
Nobody has been more critical of the Colts quarterback than Luck.
During the offseason, he repeatedly brought up the seven interceptions he threw in two playoff games last January.
After a Week 1 loss at Denver, he described a fourth-down play call at the goal line as a stupid decision that "will remain so for perpetuity." And after throwing a late interception in the red zone in Week 2, a miscue that allowed Philadelphia to rally for a win at Lucas Oil Stadium, Luck said he was disappointed in himself.
But Sunday's poorly timed stumble will be tough to live down.
Two plays after linebacker Andy Studebaker recovered a Steelers fumble at the Colts 5-yard line, Luck tripped over the feet of center Jonotthan Harrison, fell to the ground at his own goal line and then tried to throw the ball into the flat from the seat of his pants. With no receiver close to the ball, Luck was called for intentional grounding in the end zone. After pleading with officials to rescind the penalty, and the safety, on the sideline, Luck acknowledged Monday he didn't have a case.
"It was probably the right call," he said.
Teammates and coaches insisted there was a lot more blame to go around.
Indy's surging defense disappeared. The Colts (5-3) couldn't get off the field, allowed a season-high 51 points and didn't even force a punt. It was a complete reversal from the previous four weeks.
What had looked like an improved offensive line allowed two sacks and seven quarterback hits, putting Luck under constant duress.
The ground game that allowed Indy to play keep away during much of its five-game winning streak finished with only 10 carries.
Following the safety, Pittsburgh gave Luck another kick in the pants by driving for a touchdown that turned a 42-34 game into a 51-34 kick blowout.
"You don't convert on third down, you can't get off the field on third down. You line up on special teams to block a field goal and they get you to jump and you give them a fresh set of downs and then it costs you a touchdown," head coach Chuck Pagano said. "It's bad football. It's not intentional, but it's bad football and you're not going to win games playing like that."
Now the AFC South-leading Colts must cope with more uncertainty heading into next Monday's matchup against the Giants (3-4).
It appears running back Trent Richardson (hamstring) and veteran receiver Reggie Wayne (left elbow) may return this week after sitting out Sunday. Starting outside linebacker Erik Walden is listed as week to week with a hip flexor injury and the Colts' No. 1 cornerback, Vontae Davis, is listed as day to day after missing most of Sunday's game with a knee injury. Pagano said an MRI on Davis was negative.
The strangest part of Monday may have been the case of safety LaRon Landry. He was eligible to come off the suspended list Monday after serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy but apparently was nowhere to be found.
"I have not seen him yet," Pagano said when he spoke to reporters at about 4 p.m.
The good news is that Indy has an extra day to get healthy and figure out corrections. But there's even a downside to that.
"We've got a big game coming up that we're all excited for and probably can't get to fast enough so we can get this taste out of our mouth," Pagano said.
Whatever the case there, I'll have more on Wayne and Richardson via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses. ...
Other notes of interest. ... According to ESPN.com's Mike Wells, the Colts are about to have to make a decision on who will be their No. 3 receiver behind T.Y. Hilton and Reggie Wayne.
The veteran Hakeem Nicks or the rookie Donte Moncrief?
If Sunday's game was any indication it should be an easy decision for Pagano.
With Wayne out, Moncrief stepped up and complemented Hilton by catching seven passes on a team-high 12 targets for 113 yards and a touchdown -- all career highs -- in the loss.
Nicks, who started the game as the No. 2 receiver, finished with only reception for 27 yards in the six times he was targeted.
"Donte was running great routes, playing fast and he certainly doesn't play like a rookie," Luck said. "He's solid, he's steady and I'm happy for how well he played."
The original thought was that the Colts would ease Moncrief, the team's third-round draft pick, into a larger role because of their depth at receiver this season. But his speed, athleticism and ability to make plays has accelerated the process.
Moncrief showed off his skills when he made a leaping catch over Steelers cornerback Cortez Allen for a 31-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
"It was just a great throw by Andrew Luck," Moncrief said. "He just made a big play for the team. It was a great feeling (to score his first touchdown), many more to come. I have to stay humble."
Hilton continues his career season. The third-year receiver had six receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown. With 2,810, Hilton passed Bill Brooks for the most receiving yards through a player's first three seasons in Colts history. ...
Luck registered his sixth consecutive 300-yard passing game (400 yards total), which set a franchise record. The streak ranks tied for fourth in NFL history and is the only active streak of six games or more. The game also marked Luck's seventh 300-yard passing outing of the season, which set a new single-season career-high (six in 2012). ...
Adam Vinatieri improved his streak of consecutive field goals made to 22. His streak currently ranks third in franchise history and dates back to Dec. 22, 2013. He has also converted every field goal (16-of-16) and extra point (28-of-28) attempt this season. ... 

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

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JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
As Associated Press sports writer Mark Long notes, the Jaguars were reluctant to name Denard Robinson their starting running back after his first 100-yard game and touchdown a week ago.
Robinson ran 18 times for 108 yards in Sunday's 27-13 loss to Miami, becoming the team's first player to top the century mark in consecutive weeks since Maurice Jones-Drew in 2011.
"Whenever I get the opportunity, I think I'm capable of getting 100 yards in a game," Robinson said Monday. "The offense is coming together and we're working more efficiently as a unit. If I can get around 20 carries a game, I feel I can be over 100 yards."
Robinson had 11 carries for 90 yards at halftime against the Dolphins, but once Blake Bortles threw a second interception that was returned for a touchdown, the Jaguars (1-7) were chasing 14 points and unable to stick with the running game.
Still, the former Michigan quarterback did enough to warrant a third consecutive start Sunday against Cincinnati.
"You can see how we've improved," Robinson said. "I'm getting use to their blocking and they're getting use to my style. ... It's a matter of having good communication with your guys up front. We'll continue to work together and know each other's tendencies."
Head coach Gus Bradley started feeling sick Sunday night and was unable to make it into the facility Monday. Offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch filled in and said Robinson is "getting more and more comfortable playing the position."
"He understands what it requires, the commitment, both on the field and off the field," Fisch said. "And his vision has improved."
Robinson has been a work in progress since the Jaguars selected him in the fifth round of the 2013 draft.
They initially wanted to make him a returner and a receiver -- as well as line him up in wildcat formations -- but ball security was an issue during his rookie season.
Part of the problem was that Robinson was still trying to regain feeling in his right hand that stemmed from an injury at Michigan during his senior year. Robinson was stepped on just about his elbow, and the nerve went dead due to the bruise and caused a loss of feeling in his pinkie and ring finger.
Making matters worse after he got to Jacksonville, he sliced open his right hand while cutting potatoes and needed 10 stitches. That made getting a grip on the football even tougher.
All of that eventually healed, and Robinson's ball security issues disappeared.
Maybe more important to his success was settling in at one position, running back.
"Last year, he was still learning the position from square one," Fisch said. "For the most part, I think he's learning the position as he goes. We've been seeing him get better and better at it."
With Jacksonville starting as many as six rookies on offense, the offensive growing pains have been evident on a weekly basis. But an offensive line that has two rookies and two second-year players is starting to jell, and Robinson is learning the nuances of running in a zone-blocking scheme.
"It's nice to see the running game getting better," guard Brandon Linder said. "He's a talented athlete and a great team player. He brings it on every play and is very confident in the way he runs. That's Denard. He makes things happen. He's a very talented player. It's nice to be able to block for him and see the outcome he gets on a play and the success that he's had the past couple of games.
"Hopefully we can keep those types of results going the rest of the season. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... As ESPN.com's Michael DiRocco noted on Monday, Bortles has made a lot of mistakes this season. That's not a surprise. That's what rookie quarterbacks generally do.
The hope is that those mistakes, which are necessary on-the-job training, don't come at critical times and don't cost you a game.
Until Sunday, they hadn't. The Jaguars hadn't been losing games because of Bortles' mistakes -- there were far too many other reasons -- but that changed against the Miami Dolphins. He committed three turnovers, including throwing two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns, and played poorly for the second consecutive week.
"I'm killing us," Bortles said. "I've got to try to eliminate different things and get better."
Expectations were raised by his solid play in his first four games, but Bortles hasn't played well the past two weeks: five interceptions and a fumble.
This isn't necessarily a setback in his development, but it is an indication that he probably wasn't as ready to play immediately as many thought.
However, when the Jaguars switched from Chad Henne to Bortles at halftime in Week 3, there was no turning back, and the Jaguars' rookie-loaded offense must grow with him. That means fighting through the kind of game Bortles had on Sunday: 18-for-34, 221 yards, 2 INTs, one TD, one fumble.
"Blake's a fighter. He'll be fine," Cecil Shorts said. "There's going to be adversity. If you're Peyton Manning, you're going to have days like these. If you're Tom Brady, you're going to have days like these. It's just adversity and like I said to somebody else, to have success you're going to go through adversity. There's going to be tough times. Blake will do a great job of bouncing back."
Why is what Shorts said believable?
According to DiRocco, because Bortles is angry and frustrated with himself and he's as confident in his arm and abilities as he was the day he was drafted No. 3 overall. He says he's not going to quit taking chances, either.
He's also not accepting any excuses, either.
"It's not like this is the first time I've done it," Bortles said. "It's not like you're throwing these routes and this stuff for the first time. I've done it for a while now and I think it's not really an excuse to say, 'You're a rookie. You're going to make rookie mistakes.' I've been doing it for almost my whole life."
For the record, Bortles has tossed 12 INTs in six games played. With eight games left and at his current rate of two per game, Bortles is on pace to throw 28.
And 28 would match the number of interceptions thrown by Manning as a rookie with the Colts in 1998.
Because he's a veteran, Shorts said he should shoulder much of the blame for the offense's poor performance in the first half.
"You could put the offense on me," Shorts said. "I need to find ways to make plays. There's no reason we should be down there four times in their territory and not get points. Defense is playing lights out. They can only help us so much without us helping, so we've got to do our part."
Kicker Josh Scobee had a rough day against the Dolphins. He had a 47-yard field goal attempt blocked at the end of the Jaguars' first drive. He had a 46-yard field goal nullified by a holding penalty by Abry Jones. He also missed a 45-yard attempt but had that wiped out by an offside penalty on Miami's Dion Jordan. ...
The Jaguars announced Monday tight end Marcedes Lewis will return to practice Wednesday for the first time since suffering a high left ankle sprain Week 2, according to DiRocco. Lewis is still on short-term injured reserve and isn't eligible to return until Week 12 against the Colts. ...
Defensive back Will Blackmon, who plays the slot in nickel and dime situations, is out indefinitely because of a broken index finger on his left hand.
Blackmon broke his finger on the first play of Sunday's loss but still played 39 snaps. He has started three games this season, including against the Dolphins, and 11 in two years in Jacksonville. The eighth-year pro has 28 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery this season. Without him, safety Sherrod Martin is likely to assume that role.
It's the latest setback for a defense that has been solid the last four weeks. The Jaguars played without linebacker Paul Posluszny, cornerback Alan Ball and defensive end Andre Branch against Miami. ...
The Jaguars also placed cornerback Alan Ball on the season-ending injured reserve list Wednesday because of a bicep injury sustained in the Week 7 win over Cleveland, Ryan O'Halloran of the Florida Times-Union reports.
Cornerback Tommie Campbell was signed to take Ball's roster spot.
And finally. ... Bradley was will with the flu Monday and stayed home. The two coordinators, Fisch on offense and Bob Babich on defense, handled the usual Monday press conferences.
A major issue for the team to deal with this week is that they will go to Cincinnati Saturday and then fly directly to London after the game. They have to have their bags at the stadium for London this Thursday.
This is creating quite a distraction since they are preparing for London even before they go to Cincinnati. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Blake Bortles, Chad Henne 
RB: Denard Robinson, Toby Gerhart, Storm Johnson, Jordan Todman 
FB: Will Ta'ufo'ou 
WR: Allen Robinson, Cecil Shorts, Allen Hurns, Marqise Lee, Ace Sanders, Mike Brown 
TE: Clay Harbor, Mickey Shuler, Marcedes Lewis 
PK: Josh Scobee 
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KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
As Associated Press sports writer Dave Skretta suggested, Alex Smith's efficient performance for the Kansas City Chiefs became even more impressive on Monday.
The quarterback sprained his throwing shoulder late in the first half of Sunday's game against the St. Louis Rams. Not only did Smith never miss a snap, he went on to complete 24 of 28 passes for 226 yards in what turned into a 34-7 rout at Arrowhead Stadium.
Smith never mentioned the injury in his postgame remarks. It wasn't until head coach Andy Reid brought it up Monday that anybody learned of it outside the Kansas City locker room.
"He was able to obviously go through the game and everything worked out OK, but a bit sore today," Reid said. "I believe it was right before halftime actually where it happened. He just kind of landed on it. Probably more of a bruise than anything, but it was tender."
While the game turned into a lopsided affair, it was nip-and-tuck at the time. The teams were tied 7-all before the Chiefs' Cairo Santos kicked a career-best 53-yarder with 1 second left before the break. Kansas City went on to score 24 unanswered points in the second half.
Reid said Smith went through a series of examinations on Monday and there was no substantial damage to the shoulder. The coach declined to say whether Smith will practice as usual this week, but he did say his quarterback was "upbeat about it."
"Just need a little time to get the soreness out of there," Reid said.
After the game, Smith did not indicate he was in any pain and he did not stay in the training room for any extra treatment. That's good news for a Chiefs offense that continues to grow and establish an identity with Smith at the controls. Against the Rams, Smith averaged 8.1 yards an attempt.
Also good news: Smith practiced Wednesday.
As the Sports Xchange notes, the offense is relying on balance, as they are getting production on the ground and through the air as Reid has split the play calls at almost 50-50 run-pass. When they do throw, the Chiefs are not taking the ball down the field in their pass scheme; in the past five games, Smith has thrown only one pass that traveled more than 20 yards. He has thrown 21 of his 214 passes more than 10 yards away from the line of scrimmage.
The Chiefs play the struggling New York Jets on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. If Smith is limited in any way, backup quarterback Chase Daniel would be under center.
Reid did not have any update on the hamstring injuries sustained by cornerback Jamell Fleming and linebacker Josh Martin during the game. He did say that cornerback Chris Owens remains sidelined by a sprained knee and that safety Eric Berry continues to progress from a sprained ankle.
Berry practiced last week but was inactive for the fifth straight game on Sunday.
The Chiefs, after beginning the season 0-2, are over .500 for the first time this season at 4-3. They'll be 5-3 if they can beat the forlorn Jets at Arrowhead. After what they've been through this season -- including the slow start, a difficult schedule and a bunch of injuries -- the Chiefs would gladly take 5-3 at the season's midpoint.
Other notes of interest. ... The Chiefs did not have great individual productivity in the run game against St. Louis; the only thing that came close was a 36-yard touchdown run in the second half by Jamaal Charles that was part of a 73-yard performance. That was the team's longest scoring run of the season and the longest run of any kind for Charles in 2014.
Knile Davis returned the second-half kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to break open what had been a close game. It was the first special-teams touchdown of the season for the Chiefs. Davis returned a kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown last season against the Denver Broncos.
Davis was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts. ...
Donnie Avery is "making progress" coming back from his sports hernia injury and surgery according to Reid. Avery underwent the surgery on October 3 and is likely still three to four weeks away from returning to the field.
Rookie kicker Cairo Santos made a pair of field goal attempts, including a 53-yarder late in the first half, to put the Chiefs ahead 10-7. Santos has now made eight straight field goal tries. Linebacker Justin Houston had three sacks, giving him 10 this season. Running back Jamaal Charles had a slow start but wound up rushing for 73 yards and two touchdowns. Left tackle Eric Fisher hasn't played well this season, but he had one of his worst games. 

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 
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MIAMI DOLPHINS
According to ESPN.com's James Walker, on a day when the Dolphins finally won two games in a row and took a step in the right direction, their offense continued its season-long trend of inconsistent play.
Miami's offense was outscored by its defense in Sunday's 27-13 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7). The Dolphins (4-3) rode the momentum of two defensive touchdowns, while the offense settled for one touchdown and two field goals. This came one week after the Dolphins and quarterback Ryan Tannehill lit up the Chicago Bears in Week 7.
The Dolphins were outgained by the Jaguars 377-326. But perhaps the ugliest stat was Miami had just 56 yards and three first downs in the first half.
"We have to play better. We have to perform better," head coach Joe Philbin said of the offense. "I don't have the halftime stats in front of me. But let's face it – offensively, we didn't do a whole lot in the first half."
The Dolphins also continued their trend of inconsistent quarterback play. Tannehill started the game against Chicago with 14 consecutive completions. Against the Jags, he only completed 5-of-12 passes in the first half and finished with 196 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
In typical Tannehill fashion, his passer rating went from 123.6 in Chicago to 73.3 in Jacksonville. Most of his production came in the second half, when the defense scored two touchdowns and gave Miami the lead. Tannehill was sacked three times.
"We're not happy about how we played offensively," Tannehill said. "We have to be better. We have to get this corrected Monday, Tuesday. But I'm proud of the way the defense played. They made big plays, scored 14 points for us and I don't know how often that happens."
As Associated Press sports writer Steven Wine pointed out, the Dolphins did flash some big-play ability for a change. Tannehill threw a season-long completion of 50 yards to Mike Wallace, and three other plays gained at least 30 yards.
"I'm happy with those, and we would like more," offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said. "That's where you would like to take the next step offensively -- making some of the more explosive plays."
Miami's defense scored two touchdowns for just the fifth time in team history. The last time the Dolphins had two interception returns for touchdowns in a game was during the 1998 season.
"That what teams are for," said Dolphins safety Louis Delmas, who had one of the two pick-sixes. "One day the defense is going to play bad and the offense has to pull us out the hole, or special teams sometimes. That's the definition of team."
They have only six interceptions this year but lead the NFL with 259 return yards, an average of 43.2 per interception.
Meanwhile, Miami is allowing only 10.2 yards per pass, lowest in the league. That ranking will be tested in the next month by San Diego's Philip Rivers, Detroit's Matthew Stafford and Denver's Peyton Manning.
The Dolphins were good enough to beat Jacksonville comfortably with just one side of the football playing well. But that won't be the case going forward.
Miami's upcoming schedule in November includes games against four teams currently with winning records. The Dolphins will play the San Diego Chargers (5-3), Detroit Lions (6-2), Buffalo Bills (5-3) and Denver Broncos (6-1).
"The challenges get bigger every week, and the games become more important as we get here in the middle of the season and beyond," defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle said. "I'm confident that there's nobody we face where we don't feel we can go out and if we execute, we'll have an opportunity to win."
This week, for the first time all year, the Dolphins have a shot at a three-game winning streak. That sounds good to Philbin.
"The measure of excellent teams in this league," he said, "are the ones that can do it on a consistent basis."
For the record, Miami is averaging 24.9 points per game, which is 12th in the NFL. But take away the three defensive touchdowns and the safety and the Dolphins' offense is averaging 22 points, which would rank 22nd.
Other notes of interest. ... Wallace didn't talk to reporters after Sunday's win but he was candid Monday. Although Miami won the game by 14 points, Wallace said "the defense scored the points."
"We ain't do nothing," Wallace told the Palm Beach Post. "Our offense was [expletive deleted]. We've got to do better."
When asked about his 50-yard catch -- a rare deep ball for Wallace this season, who has turned into a possession receiver -- he wasn't impressed.
"That's what I do," Wallace said. "I'm built for that. I'm not really excited about it. That's what I do."
When asked about a lack of deep balls in the offense this year, Wallace said, "I run the plays they call."
On the slow offensive starts, which has plagued the Dolphins in all but two games this year, Wallace said it's happened "too many times."
"It's frustrating," he said. "We've got to change it."
When asked if the Dolphins can match the Chargers offensively this week, Wallace smiled and said "yeah I think so."
How can they do it? Wallace said it's not a talent issue for Miami.
"Make plays. It's not that hard," he said. "We've got to make plays. ..."
As the Sports Xchange noted, Brian Hartline struggled against Jacksonville. He had one reception for 19 yards, but he also had three drops. Hartline, who is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, has 20 receptions for 215 yards and one touchdown.
Lamar Miller (95 carries, 469 yards, four touchdowns) continues to be one of the most impressive stories on the team. Miller is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and seems poised to be one of the team's breakout players.
Tannehill is 25th in the NFL with an 86.1 passer rating. He's completing 63.4 percent of his passes, which ranks 19th, and he has 11 TDs and 6 INTs. All in all, there's improvement, but more work is needed. Tannehill now has 39 career starts and a 19-20 record.
Miami has allowed 17 sacks, seven in the last two games. Philbin thinks the reasons for the leaky pass protection are multiple, starting with offensive linemen and including running backs and tight ends at times.
"There have been some shortcomings in that area," Philbin said. "That has to get better. One or two times, I think we could have gotten the ball out faster. Sometimes that's a function of the wide receiver getting open being at the right place at the right time. Sometimes it's the quarterback pulling the trigger and getting the ball out. I think those three things really would stand out to me." 

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 
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MINNESOTA VIKINGS
As he returned to his home state on Saturday preparing to play in front of friends and family who had traveled from South Florida to watch him face the Tamp Bay Buccaneers, Teddy Bridgewater was nearly a month removed from his first -- and to that point only -- win as a NFL starting quarterback.
As ESPN.com's Ben Goessling noted, the four games since that day -- a 41-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons in which Bridgewater threw for 316 yards -- had served as an indoctrination into all ways his life would be harder in the NFL than it was at Louisville.
Bridgewater missed his prime-time debut at Lambeau Field because of a sprained ankle, got sacked 13 times in back-to-back losses, threw five interceptions in those games and watched the Vikings give up a game-winning touchdown in Buffalo after his offense fell short of a decisive touchdown. So Bridgewater told the supporters who came to the game that he'd have to wait until afterward to see them, following an edict handed down by head coach Mike Zimmer.
Bridgewater feathered a throw behind two defenders to Greg Jennings in the back of the end zone, heeding the receiver's advice to feel, not see, targets getting open. He threw a 15-yard pass to Cordarrelle Patterson on the first play of the game, beginning a day in which he'd look for the receiver 12 times and hit him on half of those throws, and he coolly marched the Vikings 61 yards in the game's final two minutes, setting up a game-tying field goal with a 12-yard pass to Chase Ford on his final throw.
Bridgewater came out on the other side with his second NFL victory, and an effort that showed some steps forward, albeit against the worst defense in the NFL. He completed 24 of 42 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown, directing the Vikings to a game-tying score that set up Anthony Barr's decisive fumble return for a TD in overtime. In the process, Bridgewater benefited from a supporting cast that did more to help him out than he has had in weeks; he was pressured on only 23.3 percent of his dropbacks, according to ESPN Stats & Information, and his receivers had more success getting open than they have in recent weeks.
Despite some stretches of inaccuracy in the first half, Bridgewater left Florida with his second win.
"I think his composure was very good," Zimmer said. "He took some shots down the field, which we have to do. ... I told Cordarrelle this was his best week of practice. The throw to Jennings was a great catch and an unbelievable throw; he had a guy in his face. Those are the kind of throws you can make, and you've just got to keep the pocket clean."
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Bridgewater hit 6 of 13 throws that traveled at least 10 yards, for 101 yards and one touchdown. He had gone 5-for-17 on downfield throws, including three interceptions, and while his effort on Sunday included a bad miss on an underthrown deep ball to Charles Johnson that could have been a touchdown if Bridgewater had driven the ball farther downfield, he benefited from better protection and connected on more of the intermediate throws that make Norv Turner's offense work.
It was, as a whole, an uneven performance from the rookie. But as he emerged with fewer bruises, better chemistry with his receivers and a successful comeback, Bridgewater had a day he could build on.
"We've been making improvements each and every week," Bridgewater said. "It was a tough game last week to lose the way we did. We fought hard, we made our improvements and we were able to finish today."
The Vikings return home Sunday to play the Redskins before getting their bye week. Then it's on to Chicago and a three game homestand against the Packers, Panthers and Jets. Only the Packers have a winning record among the next five opponents. Seems like an ideal situation for a young offense looking to find its stride with a rookie QB at the helm. ...
Other notes of interest. ...Zimmer said Patterson was no longer in a walking boot Monday after wearing one on his right foot/leg following Sunday's game against the Buccaneers. Zimmer said Patterson has just a bruise and the second-year man will practice all week.
Patterson, who apparently suffered the injury on a kickoff return, said Sunday that he was "fine."
Patterson had one of his best games of the season in Tampa, totaling six catches for 86 yards in the 19-13 overtime win. Bridgewater looked for Patterson on the first three plays of the Vikings' two-minute drill and finished the day with 12 targets.
According to Goessling, the Vikings' introduction of four-receiver sets meant more playing time for Johnson, who has surpassed Adam Thielen as the Vikings' No. 4 receiver and was targeted five times on Sunday.
Turner even showed a willingness to use Johnson as the lone receiver in "22" personnel, and Bridgewater's underthrown deep ball to the former Packers and Browns receiver came out of a play-action pass when Johnson was the only wideout on the field.
He has the size (6-2) to be a good over-the-top receiver, and might bring back some of the downfield presence the Vikings lost when they cut the troubled Jerome Simpson.
Jerick McKinnon averaged more than five yards a carry (5.2) for the third time this season. He also had a 28-yard run, giving him three runs of that distance or longer this season.
Patterson also ran once for 10 yards. Former starter Matt Asiata had only one yard on four carries. 

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, Charles Johnson, Adam Thielen 
TE: Rhett Ellison, MarQueis Gray, Chase Ford, Kyle Rudolph 
PK: Blair Walsh 
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NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
A month ago, coming off an embarrassing blowout loss in Kansas City on Monday Night Football, the 2-2 New England Patriots were a team at an early-season crossroads. Questions were flying about New England's talent on both sides of the ball, even going as far as doubt regarding the possible declining skills of 37-year-old quarterback Tom Brady.
Well, what a different a month makes.
As the Sports Xchange pointed out, in the last four games, a four-game winning streak put the Patriots at 6-2 at the midpoint of the season following Sunday afternoon's 51-23 blowout of the Chicago Bears at Gillette Stadium. A Brady-led passing attack has returned to its high-scoring, high-octane aerial ways.
In the last four games, Brady has thrown for 14 touchdowns and no interceptions. He topped 100 for a passer rating in all four games. New England is averaged 39.5 points a game in that span, including three over 37 points. And this is coming after averaging only 20 points a game over the first four weeks, and reaching 30 points just once.
In Sunday's big win Brady, was ridiculously efficient. His top three receiving targets combined to catch all 27 passes thrown their way. In completing 30 of 35 passes, Brady fell victim to three clear drops that would have made his 354-yard, five-touchdown performance even that more eye-opening.
Not surprisingly, the New England offensive outburst coincided with tight end Rob Gronkowski rounding into form returning from the torn ACL he suffered last December. Gronk, as his super hero-like on-field persona is known, had nine catches for 149 yards and three touchdowns against Chicago, including a tackle-breaking 46-yard rumble on his final play of the day in the third quarter.
Gronkowski left the game due to dehydration, the only thing that's slowed him of late. Big No. 87 has notched a reception of at least 24 yards or longer in four straight games, and topped 94 yards receiving or better in three of those four contests.
While Brady and Gronkowski are rounding into their tradition roles pacing the Patriots offense, they're not the only weapons getting it done in the passing game.
Offseason free agent addition Brandon LaFell has seen is role growing dramatically. Sunday afternoon that included a game-high 11 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. He was Brady's first target on each of the game's first three drives for New England. LaFell topped 97 yards or better in three of the last five games, rounding into the complementary role that the Patriots probably envisioned when they signed the former Panther this spring.
"He made a bunch of plays. He has great catch-and-run ability. He's such a strong runner and when you get the ball in his hands good things happen, so we've got to keep finding ways to get him the ball," Brady said of LaFell before going on to praise the depth of the passing game. "Gronk did a great job. The backs did a great job. Danny (Amendola) made some plays, Jules (Julian Edelman) did, Tim Wright did. It was great to kind of get everybody in the flow and to score a lot of points like that. We need that. That's what it's going to take."
That last part is true not just because the Patriots defense, particularly the front seven, is still a work in progress as it deals with injury. It's also true because New England begins a formidable five-game stretch this week that will see the team face some of the best quarterbacks and offenses that the NFL has to offer.
In dealing with a murder's row of passers named Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers and Philip Rivers Brady and Co. are must continue to put up points with regularity for the Patriots to emerge from this stretch successfully heading toward the postseason.
While Brady admitted he is looking forward to this week's challenge in Foxboro against the high-powered Broncos and his 16th career battle with Manning, the one thing he's not doing is looking back on his team's early season struggles.
His mentality, much like his offense right now, is full speed ahead.
"I'm not sure. I haven't tried to evaluate that," Brady responded when asked for the difference now from the team's 2-2 start. "I just think we're playing better. I think we have a lot of confidence in what we're doing and we have to keep doing it. ..."
In a related note. ... In case there was any question in the back of your mind, Gronkowski loves scoring touchdowns.
"I like scoring touchdowns for sure," Gronkowski said. "That's why when I get in the red zone my eyes light up."
Gronkowski told ESPN.com what allows him to make big plays with consistency in the receiving game.
"Being a big guy, obviously I'm not as fast as the DBs and the safeties and stuff and some of the linebackers are really fast too," Gronkowski said. "I have to use my body as leverage to outflank the guy to use it as a basketball move, like to box out."
But on his 46-yard touchdown, Gronkowski used his speed as well as his size.
"I mean, maybe I was the fastest that play," Gronkowski said. "But, just have to go out and go full speed and things happen."
As for the dehydration, Gronkowski doesn't expect it to be an issue going forward.
"I have to make sure I don't get dehydrated, you know, got to keep on drinking," Gronkowski said.
As ESPN.com's Lee Schechter notes, the Patriots will continue to turn to Gronkowski to lead the attack in the receiving game.
"He's big, fast, strong and when he plays like beast mode, he's tough to stop," Brady said.
And he likes touchdowns. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Also according to the Xchange, the Patriots are without a true lead back since Stevan Ridley landed on IR, but practice-squad call-up Jonas Gray was productive in his second game. The inexperienced young back rambled for 19 yards on his first carry of the day on the second play from scrimmage and then took advantage of the opportunities offered by the passing production to churn out a career-high 86 yards on 17 attempts for a 5.1-yard average.
Shane Vereen pitched in a few carries and 22 yards, but Gray going from a practice squad player to a team leader in carries says a lot about his work ethic and ability. It also suggests a continuing role going forward.
Aaron Dobson was a healthy scratch against the Bears, the fifth time the 2013 second-round pick has been inactive this fall. ...
And finally. ... The Patriots acquired special-teamer/linebacker Jonathan Casillas from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before Tuesday's trade deadline.
The Patriots shipped their fifth-round draft choice to Tampa Bay in exchange for Casillas and a sixth-rounder. Considering that the Buccaneers will likely be picking early in the round, and the Patriots late, it will likely just be a drop of 10 to 20 spots in the draft for the Patriots. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo 
RB: Shane Vereen, Jonas Gray, Brandon Bolden, James Develin, James White 
WR: Brandon LaFell, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Bryan Tims, Aaron Dobson, Matthew Slater 
TE: Rob Gronkowski, Tim Wright, Michael Hoomanawanui 
PK: Stephen Gostkowski 
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NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Head coach Sean Payton has spent much of his team's erratic season trying to build his players up.
As Associated Press sports writer Brett Martel notes, Payton purposefully culled examples of what the Saints did well in their first four losses, hoping they would see how close they were to turning around a campaign that got off to a disappointing start.
Now the Saints are coming off their most impressive performance of the season, a 44-23 rout of Green Bay, and Payton wants to minimize any potential for complacency.
"It is a challenge -- having that balance of not allowing the lows to affect your practice week and your confidence and also not allowing your big wins to move you in another direction," Payton said Monday. "It's very important that you're looking closely at things that need to be cleaned up even if it's a big win."
One of New Orleans' offensive captains, right tackle Zach Strief, put it another way.
"The important thing to understand and realize is that winning a game is not arriving," he said.
Yet, after all the consternation in New Orleans stemming from the Saints' 2-4 start, the club has arrived at a high-stakes juncture. New Orleans can enter the second half of its season atop the NFC South if it can win at Carolina on Thursday night.
Strief said the Saints know they are fortunate to be in such a position, having essentially gotten help in the form of sub-.500 play by all of their divisional foes.
"It's better than the alternative of we've got a team in the division that hasn't lost yet," Strief said. "It certainly puts us in a better situation and makes us feel better about the whole deal. You know, winning your division is going to get you a home game in the playoffs."
For now, the Saints once again look like a favorite to win the NFC South. New Orleans' offense ranked second in the NFL after Sunday night's action, and has been productive without forcing Drew Brees to carry a disproportionate load.
Brees is throwing for about 318 yards per game, placing him among the league leaders in that category, but the Saints also have a top-10 running game.
Against Green Bay, New Orleans gained nearly 200 yards rushing, led by Mark Ingram's career-high 172 yards on 24 carries.
While New Orleans' defense gave up nearly 500 yards, the unit also produced three turnovers, got another stop on fourth-and-short and forced the Packers to settle for field goals on three other promising drives.
"We've got a pretty good defense," linebacker Curtis Lofton said. "When you face an elite offense like Green Bay. ... They're going to get their yards. They're going to get their big plays. But at the same time you've got to keep them out of the end zone and I thought as a defense we did that."
On Thursday, the Saints (3-4) will have to prove they can win on the road, something they have yet to do in four tries this season, though three of their road losses were decided by a field goal or less.
"You look at how we've lost three of those four road games and you say, 'We made some critical errors at the end,"' Strief said. "It's not that we were getting dominated on the road."
As far as Payton is concerned, the Saints would be better off diverting their attention from the divisional race and their road losing streak, and keeping their focus more on nailing down their assignments and technique in practice.
"Certainly there's all sorts of goals and there's big picture, small picture and I think what we've tried to do is really focus on the smallest picture, and that's our own team getting better," Payton said. "As much is said and written week to week about how the league's doing, who's playing well, who's not, if you can really focus on how to improve yourself, I think that handles itself. ..."
Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Mike Triplett reports that Jimmy Graham is clearly on the road to recovery, but he'll be fighting through at least one more tough week with his ailing shoulder as he and the Saints have to quickly turn around and travel to Carolina Thursday night.
"(Monday's) gonna be pretty rough for me, I already know. But I'll take the next 48 hours, that's really what's most important, trying to get the swelling and what-not down and try to get ready on Thursday," Graham said after Sunday's game. "I'll pretty much live in the treatment room, and I'll be hooked up to all kinds of stuff while I sleep."
When asked if the recovery is all that's bothering him now instead of the actual game play, Graham smiled.
"It all bothers me, but I'm gonna do whatever it takes to be out there on the field for this team, and do whatever I can to help us win," Graham said.
According to Triplett, it's unclear when Graham will be back to "100 percent" with the unspecified shoulder injury he suffered three weeks ago. But on Sunday night he showed he can still produce in a big way even if he's not 100 percent.
After not catching a pass in the first half, stretching his shutout streak to six quarters, Graham busted out with five catches for 59 yards and a touchdown in the third quarter.
Graham played 42 snaps in the game -- up from 30 a week earlier at Detroit. And Payton described him as "full" after saying he was limited to certain packages the week before.
For the record, Graham practiced on a limited basis Tuesday in advance of Thursday's game while running backs Khiry Robinson (forearm) and Pierre Thomas (shoulder) missed practice for the second straight day Tuesday.
It appears both backs will miss another game this week leaving Ingram and Travaris Cadet to handle backfield duties. ...
Center Jonathan Goodwin, who has knee and ankle injuries, was inactive against the Green Bay Packers and his availability for Thursday night is unknown. The same goes for fullback Austin Johnson, who came out of Sunday's game with a knee injury.
Fullback Erik Lorig, who missed all four exhibition games and first six regular-season games, played Sunday against the Packers.
Other notes of interest. ... The Saints announced Tuesday that receiver Joseph Morgan was placed on the reserve/suspended list and replaced by tight on Tom Crabtree on the 53-man roster. Payton declined to elaborate on the reason, and none has been revealed yet.
It appears as though it may have been a team suspension and not a league suspension, though that has not been confirmed. The move did not appear on the NFL's transaction wire as of Tuesday.
Morgan, 26, has not played in a game since Week 1 (he's been inactive five times this season). But when asked why during the course of the season, Morgan always insisted that there wasn't any disciplinary reason for it. As Morgan has said, the Saints typically only use four receivers on game days, and the Saints had him below Marques Colston, Brandin Cooks, Kenny Stills and Robert Meachem in the pecking order. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Drew Brees, Luke McCown 
RB: Mark Ingram, Travaris Cadet, Pierre Thomas, Khiry Robinson 
FB: Erik Lorig, Austin Johnson 
WR: Marques Colston, Brandin Cooks, Kenny Stills, Robert Meachem, Nick Toon 
TE: Jimmy Graham, Ben Watson, Josh Hill, Tom Crabtree 
PK: Shayne Graham 
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=========================
NEW YORK GIANTS
General manager Jerry Reese likes what he's seen from quarterback Eli Manning and the Giants new offense this season, with one caveat. Reese would like to see both be more aggressive.
As Newark Star-Ledger staffer Jordan Raanan notes, the Giants have just three completions where the ball has travelled 20 or more yards in the air this year. They're 27th in the NFL with 18 pass plays that have gone for a gain of 20 or more yards.
Reese wants to see that change.
"As an offense, we need to be more aggressive. I think at times, we're a little bit almost too cautious what we do offensively," Reese said on Monday following the team's bye week. "You know, this is the National Football League. You have to go out there, man, you have to win the game.
"You can't think something is going to fall in your lap. You have to go out and take the games. I think we have to be more aggressive offensively."
As one former NFL head coach explained: You play to win the game.
According to Raanan, it's a fine line to walk. One might suggest that the Giants threw away more than a few games last year. Manning finished with a career-worst 27 interceptions, and the Giants were a minus-15 in turnover margin.
They're currently even in turnover differential this season, but Manning's thrown just five interceptions. He also hasn't hit many downfield passes. There might be a solid middle ground between the two.
"I appreciate Eli taking care of the ball and not turning it over," Reese said. "Of course, that correlates to wins a lot of the time. But you can't be too cautious. You have to throw the ball downfield and you have to score points in this game to win."
Reese conceded the new offense has contributed to some of the lack of aggression. It's part of the natural process when installing a new system.
But head coach Tom Coughlin views it as better than the alternative, especially in certain situations, like when Manning spiked a few busted screen passes in the dirt against the Cowboys. Coughlin views this as progress.
"It is a lot better than what happened last year in the screen game down in Dallas," he said last week. "It is not being cautious. If it is not there, what are you going to do? Get rid of the ball."
Being more aggressive isn't a topic that coach and general manager have avoided. It's been discussed before.
Reese and Coughlin meet every Monday to discuss the team's personnel and how they can beat that week's opponent. Reese isn't shy about sharing his opinions.
"We don't sugarcoat anything," he said. "We go in there and talk real; how do we win the next game? So, yes, we've talked about this."
There are different forms of aggression. What Reese is talking about doesn't mean trying to force a screen pass. He seems to be referring to taking a chance against 1-on-1 coverage deep downfield, especially with his top draft pick Odell Beckham back on the field.
"If you turn the ball over, you're going to lose in this league. But you still can't be too careful," Reese said. "You have to throw the ball downfield, you have to be more aggressive, you have to give your receivers a chance to make plays, you've got to trust in your receivers, you've got to have trust in your running back.
"You have to score points. If you don't score points, it's hard to win."
And as Raanan summed up, "It's hard to score points without being aggressive. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... After missing practice on Monday, running back Rashad Jennings' status against the Colts remains up in the air.
"He's not ready to go," Coughlin told reporters.
Coughlin added that Jennings, who has missed the previous two games due to a knee injury, is listed as day to day moving forward, per the New York Daily News.
Jennings, working his way back from a sprained MCL, said Monday that there's some work to do before he's ready to go. "You gotta deal with the reality," Jennings said. "The reality is it ain't ready."
Jennings missed the last two games after getting hurt in Week 5 against the Falcons. The Giants ran for 190 yards in those two games, which they lost to the Eagles and Cowboys, down a good bit from where they were during their three-game winning streak with Jennings in the lineup. It's understandable, then, that they would like to have Jennings back on the field when they face the Colts on Monday.
Jennings ran for the first time since his injury on Monday and hopes to progress to more activity at Wednesday's practice, but the Giants may be looking at another week with Andre Williams and Peyton Hillis running the ball.
Hillis came back from the bye sick and was limited Monday. ...
Linebacker Jon Beason will have surgery on his toe and miss the rest of the season. "Hopefully we're not going to lose anything in terms of his presence," Coughlin said. "I think he's probably going to have to be away a little bit, but then he'll return and we'll have him in meetings, etc. I'm looking forward to that part, anyway." 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Eli Manning, Ryan Nassib 
RB: Andre Williams, Peyton Hillis, Michael Cox, Rashad Jennings 
RB: Henry Hynoski 
WR: Rueben Randle, Odell Beckham, Preston Parker, Corey Washington, Kevin Ogletree 
TE: Larry Donnell, Daniel Fells, Adrien Robinson 
PK: Josh Brown 
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NEW YORK JETS
As Associated Press sports writer Dennis Waszak Jr. framed it: "It's Michael Vick's turn. Even though it's probably too late to save the New York Jets' season. ..."
Rex Ryan announced Monday that Vick will start at quarterback over Geno Smith in the Jets' road game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
"I think this is the right decision at this time," Ryan said, adding that it isn't "any long-term deal or whatever."
The Jets are mired in a seven-game skid that has them at 1-7 after a 43-23 loss in which both Smith and Vick turned the ball over three times against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
"I think it's a great opportunity," the 34-year-old Vick said. "Any time you get named to be the starter, in any profession, in professional sports, it's a great thing. You have to relish it, but also at the same time take it extremely serious and understand what's at stake and what needs to be done."
Smith, in his second season, was benched in the first quarter Sunday after throwing interceptions on three consecutive possessions. Vick took over and provided a spark, leading the Jets to a touchdown on his first drive, but also committed three turnovers of his own.
"My focus is just on Kansas City and trying to find a way to get a win," Ryan said. "That's why this decision was made."
Vick was 18 of 36 for 153 yards against the Bills, and also ran for a team-leading 69 yards on eight carries. But he threw one interception -- and nearly had another that was ruled incomplete after being overturned by video review -- and lost two fumbles.
His first start with the Jets will come against Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who helped revive the quarterback's career in Philadelphia after he served nearly two years in prison for his role in a dogfighting ring. Vick called it "kind of ironic" and added that it isn't exactly what he wanted, but is happy to be starting -- regardless of the opponent.
"I love Andy Reid for the man that he is," Vick said. "As far as the football game, football is football. I just want to go out there and do what's best for the team and hopefully try to get a win."
Smith injured his right shoulder during the game when he made a touchdown-saving tackle on his final interception, but both he and Ryan said it isn't serious. Ryan did acknowledge Smith's shoulder isn't 100 percent, and Matt Simms could be activated from the practice squad if Smith isn't available.
"They said it was minor soreness," Smith said.
Waszak went on to remind readers the Jets have been searching for a franchise-type quarterback since the days of Broadway Joe Namath. Vick will become the 27th quarterback to start a game for New York since Namath's last game with the team in 1976. A few have had some good moments -- Vinny Testaverde, Chad Pennington, Brett Favre and even Mark Sanchez -- but none was able to sustain any level of dominance or postseason success.
Smith was given every opportunity to prove he could be that type of player after being thrust into the job when Sanchez was lost for the year during the 2013 preseason. He finished his shaky rookie season with 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions, but had a solid final month to give the Jets some hope.
New York signed Vick in the offseason to provide some competition for Smith, but it was clear early that it was the second-year quarterback's job all along. Still, Smith did little to reward the Jets' faith in him as he had seven touchdown passes and 10 interceptions in eight games.
"Have there been guys that took a step back and then took a leap forward? There have been guys like that," Ryan said. "Hopefully that's what happens to Geno, but I don't think anybody in this organization is looking at him differently right now."
Smith believes he "without a doubt" can still be a franchise quarterback.
General manager John Idzik isn't so sure.
"That's still to be determined," Idzik said. "You don't want to try to answer that question too prematurely, especially when you're dealing with a younger quarterback in Geno. ... We will continue with the development curve and we will continue searching."
Whatever the case, the quarterbacks found out about the decision from Ryan after the team meeting Monday. Smith said he initially had no reaction when he was told, but added that he was frustrated and a little surprised to not be the starter this week. He also said he needed no explanation from the coach.
"That's something that you have to expect, especially with the way I performed in the previous game," Smith said. "It was definitely not (a performance) fitting of what I believe is the caliber of a starting quarterback. It's something that I've got to work on. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... As ESPN.com's Rich Cimini noted, the Jets made a concerted effort to feature Percy Harvin, but the speedy, all-purpose player made little impact Sunday in the loss to the Bills.
Harvin started the game and played 42 snaps on offense, unofficially, touching the ball seven times for 50 yards. He ran four times for 28 yards and caught three passes for 22 yards. As expected, he was the primary kickoff returner, finishing with six returns for a 24.0 average.
After nine days of hype, it turned out to be a pedestrian debut for Harvin, who had only four practices since being traded by the Seattle Seahawks.
Ryan saw it differently.
"All things considered, I thought Percy played really well," the coach said. "That's not an easy task. We were going to let him play more than we let on. It was a huge challenge for a guy coming into a new team, but I thought he did a great job. This guy is a big-time playmaker. I'm happy he's on our team."
Ryan's boss, Idzik, had called the trade a "potential coup." The coaches used Harvin as if they were trying to make Idzik look smart -- or keep Harvin happy. The mercurial receiver didn't like his role in Seattle, saying he wanted an expanded role.
So the Jets obliged.
They tried to re-invent Harvin in a week, giving him a new role. Instead of a "gadget" receiver, lining up in the slot and in the backfield, they used him primarily as a conventional wideout on the outside of the formation. He lined up in the slot only four times, plus another eight times in the backfield, cutting into Chris Johnson's playing time. Afterward, Johnson made a couple of cryptic comments about his lack of playing time.
He was targeted nine times, including Smith's second interception, resulting in only three catches.
Harvin said it was the most outside-receiver he has played since high school.
"Just being on the outside, I welcome that, just to expand my game," said Harvin, who left the game briefly in the first quarter for a concussion test in the locker room. "I can play the slot and the running-back things, but playing on the outside is something I want to add to my game. It's something I did fairly well."
Harvin's presence was felt on the Jets' first touchdown, starting with the play that set it up. Vick faked to Harvin on a read-option and gained 8 yards to the Bills' 2-yard line; Harvin's presence froze the Bills. On the next play, Harvin came in motion as if he were going to get the ball on a jet sweep, softening the middle for Chris Ivory, who busted through the line for a 2-yard touchdown.
According to Cimini, it was one of the few well-executed plays by the Jets.
Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Jane McManus reported that after gaining seven yards on three carries, Chris Johnson was asked to comment on the team's QB situation.
"I don't even be in the game, so I don't know," he replied.
Good point. Johnson has a total 261 yards on 64 carries. He has never had a season during which he's gained fewer than 1,000 yards, but this could easily be his first.
Would he like to be more involved in the offense?
"I just know we just need to win some games," Johnson said.
Johnson has been bypassed for Ivory, who has gotten the bulk of the carries in recent weeks. But even the starting Ivory finished with 43 yards on 13 carries. The bulk of the Jets' 175 rushing yards was gained by Vick, with 69 yards on eight carries.
Asked if the Bills' defensive front kept the Jets from running more consistently, Johnson said, "I really didn't run the ball so I don't know." 

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

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OAKLAND RAIDERS
As Associated Press sports writer Josh Dubow framed it, "Every week there's a new problem and the same result for the Oakland Raiders. ..."
It's true. One week it could be run defense or an inability to get off the field on third down. Another it could be penalties or lack of a running game. The most recent games it was three costly turnovers that did in Oakland in a 23-13 loss at Cleveland.
The one constant has been the losses whether it was under former coach Dennis Allen or his interim replacement Tony Sparano, who fell to 0-3 since Allen was fired after an 0-4 start.
"The one thing that has to stop happening for us is we can't patch one hole up and then find another one," Sparano said Monday. "I think we've given ourselves a chance to win three football games right now. I mean, listen, there were a lot of games played this weekend where people didn't have a chance to win the games, and we've given ourselves a chance to win these three football games."
Oakland (0-7) is off to its worst start since 1962 and has dropped 13 straight games overall following Sunday's loss in Cleveland and the schedule only gets tougher from here on out.
The Raiders play last year's Super Bowl participants the next two weeks with a road game in Seattle following by a home game against Denver. That will be followed by division games against tough San Diego and Kansas City as the Raiders try to snap a skid that dates back almost a full year now.
Oakland has not won a game since beating Houston 28-23 last Nov. 17 in the first career start by Matt McGloin.
"Right now what we can't get caught doing is letting anybody else define who we are at this point, or what our goals are at this point," Sparano said. "We need to concern ourselves with our own goals for right now, and there should only be one and it should be Seattle at this point. We shouldn't be looking down the road at anything right now. We shouldn't be looking any place other than with what's directly in front of us, and that would be this challenge this week."
The Raiders have been competitive in all three games under Sparano, having led late in a loss to San Diego in the first game under the new regime and being within a score at the start of the fourth quarter the past two weeks.
But they have failed to come through at the end with the most costly play Sunday coming when Darren McFadden lost a fumble deep in Cleveland territory in the third quarter of a 9-6 game.
The Browns turned that miscue into a touchdown and added another late TD after rookie quarterback Derek Carr lost a fumble deep in his own territory.
"I feel at times it's Oakland beating Oakland at the wrong times," receiver Andre Holmes said. "Whether it's converting third downs or turning the ball over, those types of thing are happening and we just have to put it all together."
The Raiders solved a couple of problems against the Browns.
They held Cleveland to 2 for 12 on third-down conversions after allowing a league worst 52.9 percent conversion rate the first six games and Oakland allowed just 39 yards rushing on 25 carries.
But the turnovers and a lack of commitment to the running game did in Oakland in its latest loss.
Sparano is a firm believer in the running game and said as much upon being hired as interim head coach. As head coach of the Miami Dolphins, his teams consistently had a high percent of running plays to passing plays.
With the Raiders, however, Sparano's team has passed the ball two-thirds of the time. The loss to the Browns on Sunday was the most perplexing, given Cleveland's standing as the 32nd-ranked rushing defense in the NFL.
As the Sports Xchange notes, the Raiders passed the ball 56 times and rushed it 22, getting 71 yards on the ground. McFadden was running well, gaining 59 yards on 14 carries, but a key fumble in the third quarter led to a 16-6 Cleveland lead that meant Carr and the Raiders had to play catch-up.
"Early in the game 10 of our first 22 plays were runs and we mixed it up pretty well," Sparano said. "We have not done a good enough job winning some of those battles up front, whether it be the line, tight ends, the running backs. We need to continue to work it and stay committed. Sometimes that's easier said than done."
Sparano said the Raiders had "efficient" running plays on 57 percent of their runs, with the standard being a 4-yard gain. He said a decent mark is in the 60 percent range, and that the Browns were loading the box with eight players and at times forcing the Raiders to the air.
"Part of our identity has got to be to run the football, but part of our identity is to get some explosive plays," Sparano said.
Center Stefen Wisniewski said the Raiders' lack of consistency led to ditching the running game.
"We started off running well and then stalled a little bit," Wisniewski said. "Any time you're stalling in the run game, you're going to go to some passes. That's the way it works. Then at the end of the game, we're down, so we've got to throw. That's kind of the way it goes."
Not sure I like the odds of getting that rushing attack on track against the Seahawks. ...
Other notes of interest. ...Sparano took responsibility for an ill-fated bit of trickery that resulted in Matt Schaub's first pass as a Raider winding as an interception by Tashaun Gipson.
On Oakland's first possession, Sebastian Janikowski took the field for an apparent 56-yard field-goal attempt. Instead, Schaub, the place kick holder, fell into a deep shotgun formation and couldn't handle a low snap from Jon Condo.
Schaub picked it up, tried to hit Mychael Rivera down the same, and Gipson broke on the play perfectly, intercepting the ball and returning it 34 yards to set up a 52-yard field goal by Billy Cundiff.
"It was my call," Sparano said. "It was something we saw on tape and I think if the play was executed properly -- we didn't have a great exchange -- the ball would have gotten out earlier and we would have had a good chance at converting it.
"I thought we needed to take a chance. You don't go on the road to lose. I understand those calls are going to be second-guessed. I got it."
Earlier in that drive, McFadden threw a pass to Carr out of the wild cat formation and it fell incomplete. It helped stifle momentum of a promising drive. ...
Carr was 34 of 54 for 328 yards but got the Raiders inside the red zone only once. He threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Holmes, but only seven seconds remained in the game. Rivera caught seven passes for 83 yards. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Derek Carr, Matt Schaub, Matt McGloin 
RB: Darren McFadden, Maurice Jones-Drew, Latavius Murray 
FB: Marcel Reece, Jamize Olawale 
WR: James Jones, Andre Holmes, Brice Butler, Denarius Moore, Kenbrell Thompkins, Vincent Brown 
TE: Mychal Rivera, David Ausberry, Brian Leonhardt 
PK: Sebastian Janikowski 
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PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
As Associated Press sports writer Rob Maaddi noted, Nick Foles isn't close statistically to where he was last season. He's near the bottom in several passing categories and some are wondering if Mark Sanchez should get a chance to start for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Not head coach Chip Kelly.
"I think you rate your quarterback in terms of, 'Are you winning, are you losing?"' Kelly said. "Nick is 5-2."
Foles surpassed all expectations in 2013 when he came off the bench in Week 5 and put together one of the best seasons by any quarterback in history. He threw 27 touchdown passes and only two interceptions, setting an NFL record for best TD/interception ratio. He completed 64 percent of his regular-season passes for 2,891 yards and his passer rating of 119.2 was the third-highest ever. He tied an NFL record with seven TD passes in his ninth career start at Oakland on Nov. 3.
Overall, including the playoffs, Foles tossed 29 TDs and only two picks in 350 attempts and finished off as the offensive MVP of the Pro Bowl.
Things aren't going quite so smoothly for the third-year pro.
Foles already has nine interceptions and he's lost three fumbles. His completion percentage (59.2) and his passer rating (80.7) both are sixth-worst in the NFL.
"I have to do a better job," Foles said. "Words can't describe it. I have to keep working on fundamentals, footwork and decision-making. I'm going to keep studying film and keep working. It's all correctable and I can fix it. My words don't mean anything. I have to go out there and prove it."
Foles threw two picks in a 24-20 loss at Arizona on Sunday and misfired on three straight passes from the Cardinals 16.
"It's a concern when we turn the ball over," offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. "We've got to correct the errors that we make in terms of turning the ball over, and again there's a reason for it. And we're just going to have to just continue to try to improve it, and I think that's really it."
Kelly wouldn't put all the blame on Foles.
"I know we've thrown nine interceptions, but there's not a consistent (thing)," he said. "Sometimes it's the rush, sometimes we weren't running the proper route, and sometimes it's the quarterback."
Foles threw one interception against Arizona off his back foot instead of getting set in the pocket. He's only been sacked twice in the past six games, but he's made risky throws to avoid the rush at times.
"What I'm finding with Nick is when he sets his feet and steps into the throws, he's awesome," Shurmur said. "What we're also finding is there are times when he gets flushed or he flushes himself and he doesn't have his feet underneath him and he's not as good as he could be if they were, and I think that can be said for all quarterbacks. When we do flush, we've got to remain a passer.
"There are times when an incomplete pass is really the right thing to do," Shurmur said. "But as a passer, if you can stay in the pocket, trust the pocket, there's no reason to flush, go through your progression, as the down gets late, then you start to use your feet and do the right thing with the football."
The defending NFC East champion Eagles are only a half-game behind Dallas (6-2) in the division and still have two games remaining against the Cowboys. As Maaddi summed up, "Though Sanchez, the former New York Jets star, excelled in the preseason, he won't get a chance unless Foles is injured. ..."
The Eagles travel to Houston this week for a game against J.J. Watt and the Texans. They are 2-0 against the AFC South this season, with wins against Jacksonville and Indianapolis.
There's a chance the Eagles will get center Jason Kelce back from his sports hernia injury for this game. Kelce practiced with the starters, just one month after having surgery for a sports hernia. Kelce has missed the last four games. ...
Darren Sproles also practiced after missing one game because of a sprained knee. Sproles told reporters Tuesday that he expects to play against the Texans.
"I'm good," Sproles said, according to the Newark Star-Ledger. "Today I felt good. I'll come out here and get another practice."
Sproles reiterated that after working fully again Wednesday.
Sproles sprained his left medial collateral ligament during the Eagles' 27-0 victory over the New York Giants on Oct. 12. He had the bye week to rest it, then spent last week seeing limited action in practice. Sproles was inactive for the Eagles' loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Kelly said it was a game-time decision to rest Sproles for Sunday's loss in Arizona.
"[I feel] better than I did last week," Sproles said. "I did my first full practice, but I feel good. ..."
On a less positive note, starting guard Todd Herremans has been diagnosed with a torn left biceps, but will attempt to continue playing.
Other notes of interest. ... As CBSSports.com notes, Jeremy Maclin was the star of the Eagles receiving corps at Arizona, catching 12 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns. But on a day when Foles threw for a season-high 411 yards on a career-high 62 attempts, it wasn't just a one-man show.
Riley Cooper and Jordan Matthews both stood out in the box score, with Cooper going for a season-high 88 yards on five catches, and Matthews getting double-digit targets for the second time this season. Matthews' actual production wasn't so impressive -- he caught six passes for 47 yards -- but he nearly scored a touchdown on the final play of the game, getting shoved out of bounds before he could land with what would have been a 16-yard catch.
As CBS's Scott White suggested, however, the problem for Cooper and Matthews is that Foles won't throw for 411 yards on 62 attempts every week. In all likelihood, he won't achieve either of those high marks again this season.
Maclin left the game briefly Sunday after a helmet-to-helmet hit with the Cardinals Dione Bucannon. He was bleeding from the ear and was given a test for a concussion, which he passed. He returned to the game on the next Eagles possession.
According to ESPN.com's Phil Sheridan, Kelly's value took a little bit of a hit in this peculiar game. Although the Cardinals' defense was ranked first in the NFL against the run, LeSean McCoy averaged 5.1 yards per carry entering the game. Nevertheless, McCoy carried the ball just seven times in the first half.
The lack of use prevented McCoy from getting into a rhythm and the Eagles' offense from controlling the tempo of the game. With time running down in the first half, Kelly punted from the Arizona 44 rather than have Foles take a shot into the end zone.
"Timid" is not usually a word associated with Kelly. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Nick Foles, Mark Sanchez, Matt Barkley 
RB: LeSean McCoy, Darren Sproles, Chris Polk 
WR: Jeremy Maclin, Riley Cooper, Jordan Matthews, Brad Smith, Jeff Maehl, Josh Huff 
TE: Zach Ertz, Brent Celek, James Casey, Trey Burton 
PK: Cody Parkey 
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PITTSBURGH STEELERS
According to Associated Press sports writer Will Graves, Mike Tomlin isn't interested in progress reports. The final grade is all that matters to the head coach. So forgive Tomlin if he's not ready to assess his team or the division it plays in as the season reaches its midway point.
"It's easy to write and tell stories at the turn, I'm not going to," he said.
The way Tomlin figures it, if the AFC North is the toughest division in the NFL it'll play out over the next two months. By then the fact Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Baltimore and Cleveland are all over .500 heading into November may be long forgotten.
"I think if we are (the best) it's going to be revealed in the second half of the season," he said.
One thing is for certain, however. After a sluggish start the Steelers are in the mix. Pittsburgh (5-3) finally has momentum heading into Sunday's rematch with the rival Ravens (5-3). The Steelers have won two straight for the first time all season and looked every bit the role of contender while dismantling Indianapolis 51-34 last weekend.
Tomlin praised the offensive line, particularly right tackle Mike Adams, for giving quarterback Ben Roethlisberger all the time necessary to pass for a club record 522 yards passing and six touchdowns. Adams filled in capably with starter Marcus Gilbert out with a concussion, helping Roethlisberger get off 49 attempts without getting sacked once.
Though Gilbert will be back in the lineup barring a setback this week, Tomlin's assessment of Adams' play against the Colts might as well double as a status report on a team that spent the first half of the year searching for consistency as it flip-flopped wins and losses regardless of who was on the other side of the field.
"I thought he was a finisher," Tomlin said of Adams. "I just liked his performance. A big arrow pointed up relative to some of his other performances."
Yet the Steelers are wary of how quickly the arrow can change direction. They felt pretty good about themselves after a road victory at Carolina in Week 3 then followed it up with a still hard to fathom home loss to Tampa Bay.
Roethlisberger believes he leads one of the most talented offenses in the league. The tricky part is trying to get it to perform that way on a weekly basis. After some troubling growing pains, the Steelers appear ready to hit their stride.
While Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell give Pittsburgh one of the best quarterback/wide receiver/running back combinations in the NFL, it's the development of the players around them that has keyed the recent surge.
Rookie receiver Martavis Bryant needed six weeks to earn a spot on the active roster. The 6-4 fourth-round pick has quickly emerged as a valuable target, catching three touchdowns in his first two games. Veteran Lance Moore languished on the depth chart behind Justin Brown but has flourished since moving into the slot position he felt he deserved to hold all along. Second-year wideout Markus Wheaton emerged from a lengthy slump to catch an 18-yard scoring pass from Roethlisberger against Indianapolis that jolted the Steelers to life
Out of the entire group, Graves believes Bell might be the best pass catcher on the team not named Brown. He already has 42 receptions at the midway point
"We know what we're capable of," Bell said. "We showed everybody. Now we have to go out there and put performance on top of performance."
It's what Tomlin calls "stacking wins."
How high the pile becomes will depend on if the offense can finish drives the way it did against Indianapolis -- when five of six red zone possessions ended in touchdowns -- and if the defense can create even a little bit of chaos. ...
Worth noting. ... Roethlisberger enjoyed a career day on the way to joining an exclusive fraternity. He set team records in touchdown passes, passing yards and completions.
The 522 yards tied for the fourth-most in single-game NFL history. The record is held by Norm Van Brocklin's 554, followed by Warren Moon and Matt Schaub with games of 527.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Roethlisberger completed eight of 11 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns on throws that covered at least 15 yards and he became the first quarterback in NFL history with multiple 500-yard passing games.
Roethlisberger not only eclipsed his previous single-game high of 503 passing yards in beating the Colts, the 11th-year veteran also won his 100th game in his 150th career start.
Roethlisberger joins Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to win 100 games in 150 or fewer starts. ...
In addition, Big Ben was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the performance. ...
Brown, the second-leading receiver in the NFL, extended his NFL-record streak with at least five receptions and 50 yards per game to 24 games. He caught 10 passes Sunday for 133 yards and two touchdowns. ...
Other notes of interest. ... Bell left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury but returned after a brief absence.
Rookie Dri Archer, a third-round draft pick, lost his job returning kickoffs to LeGarrette Blount and also dropped the only pass thrown to him Sunday -- and never saw the field again.
Blount lost a fumble at the Colts' 5-yard line but that led to a safety two plays later. 

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, Martavis Bryant, Lance Moore, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Justin Brown 
TE: Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, Michael Palmer 
PK: Shaun Suisham 
=========================

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ST. LOUIS RAMS
According to the Sports Xchange, after the Rams scored on a 65-yard, six-play drive to begin the game against Kansas City, the offense ground to a halt.
In the next eight possessions, the offense ran 33 plays for 51 yards, and the game turned late in the first half after the Rams gained possession at the Kansas City 8-yard line after a Jamaal Charles fumble.
Two plays advanced the ball only two yards, and on third-and-goal, quarterback Austin Davis found no one open as he rolled to his right. Instead of throwing the ball out of bounds, Davis reversed field and was sacked for a 14-yard loss.
Kicker Greg Zuerlein then pushed a 38-yard field-goal attempt to the right. The Chiefs subsequently drove into Rams territory, and although defensive end Robert Quinn sacked quarterback Alex Smith on successive plays, Kansas City took a 10-7 halftime lead when Cairo Santos connected on a 53-yard field goal.
Zuerlein added to the misery when he mis-hit the second-half kickoff, and Knile Davis promptly raced 99 yards for a touchdown. The rout was on.
Said head coach Jeff Fisher of the kickoff, "It was a bad kick. We were trying to get a deep left kick and he shanked it."
While Fisher noted that Zuerlein missed practice Friday because of the flu, Zuerlein said, "It really doesn't matter. You've still got to come out here and perform and do your job. There's no excuses for mis-hits or missing field goals, or anything like that. So really how sick I was is irrelevant."
As for the late sequence in the first half, Davis said, "That was a big point in the game. You get the big turnover. Minimum, you gotta come away with three. But really, you've gotta score a touchdown, right? ... I was just trying to make a play. I thought that maybe I could move around -- you see a lot of plays happen that way. ... That's just me trying to do too much."
Said Fisher, "Throw the ball, just throw it away. He wanted to make the play, but he should have just thrown it out of the back of the end zone. But still, that's a makeable kick, that well into field-goal range."
In the second half, the Rams didn't do much at all, and it continues a trend that began against the 49ers.
In their last three games, the Rams have been outscored 65-10 in the final two quarters.
Said Fisher, "We clearly got out-played the second half of this game, in all three phases. It probably started before half when we had the turnover, got sacked, got no points, and then gave up points, so this team is going to have to learn to play consistent through 60 minutes. We started fast but we didn't finish."
Some key injuries won't make things easier this week, when the team heads to San Francisco to take on the 49ers for the second time in four weeks.
The worst fears were realized Monday when Fisher confirmed that left tackle Jake Long and wide receiver Brian Quick will miss the remainder of the season.
Long suffered a torn ACL in the second half, the same injury he experienced in the 15th game last season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Quick, who had made a quantum leap this season after struggling in his first two years after being the first pick of the second round in 2012, suffered significant damage to his shoulder and will undergo surgery.
"He was very productive," Fisher said of Quick. "He took advantage of all the opportunities. He made tough plays, tough catches, and we're going to miss him. As is the case when you have injured players, people step up. So we've got to have people step up."
Receivers remaining on the roster are Kenny Britt, Tavon Austin, Chris Givens and Stedman Bailey. There's a possibility Austin Pettis, who was released last week, could be re-signed.
As for Long, rookie Greg Robinson will be the left tackle going forward, the position he played at Auburn. Robinson started the last two games at left guard, but slid over to tackle when Long was injured.
Long and Quick weren't the only injury issues coming out of the game against the Chiefs. Four other starters left and didn't return: right guard Rodger Saffold (shoulder), center Scott Wells (elbow), free safety Rodney McLeod (knee) and defensive end William Hayes (foot). In addition, free safety Cody Davis left the game with a concussion after replacing McLeod, and will go through the concussion protocol. Hayes' injury wasn't announced during the game, but he left the locker room after game on crutches.
Fisher said more tests are being done on those players and added, "We're going to have a number of players that will not be available for practice in the middle of the week, so we'll just go kind of day-to-day with them."
Other notes of interest. ... The Rams used their three-headed running back tandem with Tre Mason getting seven carries, Zac Stacy five and Benny Cunningham four. Mason rushed for 32 yards with a long of 14, Cunningham 27 with a long of 18 and Stacy 17 with a long of nine.
Aside from those runs, the trio totaled 35 yards on 13 runs. Once again, Tavon Austin had two rushing attempts up the middle for seven yards.
Stacy played 15 snaps; the previous week, he had no attempts and was on the field for just one play. ...
Fantasy owners hoping to get a weekly feel for the division of workload in this backfield might require some attrition to get there. ...
The Rams acquired safety Mark Barron from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tuesday for fourth- and sixth-round picks in the 2015 draft for Barron, who was a first-round pick in 2012.
Barron was second on the team in tackles this season with 49 in seven games for the Buccaneers (1-6). The 25 year old started 37 games in three seasons for Tampa Bay and had three interceptions.
Since Barron arrived in the NFL as the No. 7 overall pick out of Alabama in 2012, he has eight tackles for loss, which is tied for fourth among NFL safeties during that period, and shares eighth among players in his position for passes defensed and is tied for eighth in total tackles by safeties.
The Rams will waive quarterback Case Keenum to make room for Barron, reports ESPN's Adam Caplan. 

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

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SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
According to the Associated Press, no one's pushing any panic button in San Diego just yet.
The Chargers have lost two straight after a five-game winning streak and linebacker Dwight Freeney acknowledges the last few weeks have been rough. But he has put it all in perspective as the team prepares for this Sunday's game at Miami.
"The biggest thing for us is just to get back on track," Freeney said Monday. "You have to be able to understand that it's not all bad when you lose and it's not all good when you win. It's about the team that is standing at the end. We are going to play a Dolphins team that does a lot of things. It's going to take some focus and attention so we can get to 6-3."
After a season-opening loss to Arizona, the Chargers were on a roll until losing back-to-back games to the Kansas City Chiefs and then last Thursday to the Denver Broncos.
"It's been a rough last few weeks," Freeney said. "It hasn't been our best ball. I know we are kind of banged up. I know the healthier we are we'll play better, but that's not the only reason why.
"But this is the National Football League and the other team doesn't care. So we have to find a way to somehow put our best product out there. We got to hem some things up, and personally, I have to do more however I am."
Freeney is nursing a sore knee and is on a long list of ailing Chargers players.
Cornerback Jason Verrett (shoulder) and safety Jahleel Addae (concussion) both left last Thursday's game and their availability on Sunday in Miami isn't clear.
But according to ESPN.com's Eric D. Williams, after six weeks of standing on the sidelines as a spectator, running back Ryan Mathews is nearing a return to the field.
Mathews suffered an MCL knee sprain in a Sept. 14 contest against Seattle. San Diego's running game has not been as consistent with the team's every-down back out. The Chargers are averaging a league-worst 3.1 yards per carry.
Mathews buoyed San Diego's rushing game last season, finishing with a career-high 1,255 yards in 2013. Mathews worked on agility drills with San Diego's training staff last week and ran wind sprints during pre-game workouts last Thursday at Denver, both indications he's getting close to being healthy enough to play.
"I'm just taking it day by day," Mathews said. "I'm just waiting for them to give me the go ahead so I can let it loose. I'm working out as much as I can, trying to keep my body in shape and getting strong again."
Despite all that, early reports out of San Diego indicate Mathews wasn't practicing Wednesday, perhaps an indication his return will be pushed out beyond next week's bye.
Meanwhile, Donald Brown, who's missed three straight games with a concussion, returned to a padded practice Wednesday, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
I'll obviously be following up on Mathews and Brown via Late-Breaking Update in coming days. ...
For what it's worth, San Diego's last victory in Miami -- a dramatic overtime playoff win at the end of the 1981 season -- also marked the debut of the song "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins. San Diego receiver Malcom Floyd said the eerie song is a staple at Sun Life Stadium during pregame warm-ups.
"I like that song, I'm not going to lie," Floyd said, laughing.
The Chargers hope to end the 32-year drought in Miami -- and stop their first two-game losing streak this season -- when they travel back east to take on the Dolphins on Sunday.
"We're on a little losing streak down there," Floyd said. "It's a great place to play. They always play Phil Collins before the game, one of the best songs ever, and it kind of gets you riled up. But it would be great to get a win down there. They have a great team."
Including the playoffs, the Chargers have lost seven straight in Miami. ...
Other notes of interest. ... According to the Sports Xchange, Tight end Antonio Gates passed Lance Alworth to become the team's all-time leading in receiving yards. He had five catches for 56 yards and two touchdowns. Gates now has 9,610 career receiving yards.
"He is a special player, a Hall of Fame player," head coach Mike McCoy said. "He's been one of the best in the league for a long time, if not the best. He only knows how to do it one way and he is a true pro. We are very fortunate to have him."
Gates is tied for the league lead along with Denver tight end Julius Thomas with nine touchdown catches. ...
Philip Rivers had two interceptions in the game after having that many through six games. But that speaks more to Rivers knowing he had to match points with Peyton Manning, which forced him into at least one of the picks. Despite some real pressure, especially off the edges, Rivers was able to hit Gates for the two scores and Keenan Allen for his first touchdown of the year.
Floyd was a great threat downfield and Rivers wasn't shy about stretching the field. But Rivers had too big of a hill to climb and too much heat in the pocket from the Broncos' pass rush.
Allen was targeted a season-high 13 times last Thursday, finishing with nine catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. ... Allen now has five touchdown catches in four games against the Broncos.
The Chargers ended up with 61 rushing yards but many came in some garbage minutes toward the end. Branden Oliver had too many negative runs early in the game which nearly removed the threat of a running game. Oliver didn't have much room to roam as the run-blocking wasn't anything special. Rivers had a 17-yard scramble, his longest rush of the year. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Philip Rivers, Kellen Clemens 
RB: Branden Oliver, Donald Brown, Ronnie Brown, Shaun Draughn, 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 
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SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
As the Sports Xchange notes, the San Francisco 49ers returned to the practice field Monday on a mission. Even though they were on a bye, it was as if they'd lost something over the weekend.
In fact, they had.
The idle 49ers not only lost ground to the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, but they also surrendered sole possession of second place in the division because of the Seattle Seahawks' victory.
So, the 49ers (4-3) now not only are out of playoff position in the NFC, but they must share the view of the outside looking in with the rival Seahawks.
With nine weeks to go, head coach Jim Harbaugh insisted Monday his team is in a one-game-at-a-time mode, starting with Sunday's home rematch with the St. Louis Rams.
Harbaugh said while the players were given bye week off, he and his coaches met with two agendas.
"(We) looked at what we'd done up to this point through seven games and what we've done well, what we can improve," he said. "And also game-planning our next opponent."
After already playing the Rams, the 49ers can use part of the week getting formerly injured players back into their practice routine.
On Monday, that list included:
Nose tackle Glenn Dorsey for the first time since early August on Monday. Dorsey underwent biceps surgery on Aug. 4.
Linebacker Patrick Willis (toe).
Guard Mike Iupati (concussion).
And on Wednesday, running back Marcus Lattimore (knee surgery in college).
However, despite rumors that his nine-game suspension would be shortened by a game or two, linebacker Aldon Smith was not cleared to return to the 49ers on Monday. The club has no idea when he will return, so they must assume it won't be until the full nine-game penalty is served.
That would make Smith eligible to practice on the week of their Nov. 16 meeting with the New York Giants.
Fellow linebacker NaVorro Bowman also remained absent from practice. He hasn't practice at all this season following knee surgery.
The 49ers had estimated a "midseason" return for Bowman, with hopes of maybe getting him back during the bye week. The season reaches its midpoint Sunday with a game against the St. Louis Rams
Plus, tight end Vernon Davis does not appear to be fully healed after suffering knee, ankle and back injuries, cornerback Tramaine Brock was playing for the first time since the season opener on Sept. 7, when he sprained a toe at the Dallas Cowboys, and right tackle Anthony Davis was also playing in just his second game due to injury.
"I think it's rough, as far as injuries this year," Davis said. "It's been tough for us, but we can't blame it on the injuries. We still have to play. We have guys that can back certain guys up and we believe in them. We just have to take it one game at a time and put it all together."
Meanwhile, the 49ers' inconsistency in the passing game in their first seven games is represented by these two stats: They have been good at avoiding interceptions (only five) but poor at avoiding sacks (19). Colin Kaepernick has done a good job spreading the ball around to the best corps of weapons he's ever had in Davis and wideouts Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree, Stevie Johnson and Brandon Lloyd.
But when your team has more field goals (13) than touchdown passes (12), something's not clicking.
But the best thing that can be said about the 49ers' rushing attack in their first seven games is that Frank Gore is well rested.
He was handed the ball just 102 times (14.5 per game) and was almost never targeted through the air (just four total receptions). Nonetheless, the 49ers still managed to reside in the top 10 of rushing teams at 125.1 yards per game.
With Gore and backup Carlos Hyde, the potential is there for an improved final nine games. Certainly, the club's three rushing touchdowns should be a weekly goal, not a seven-week total.
The good news?
As ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez noted last week, the schedule figures to lend the Niners a helping hand after the bye as their first seven opponents -- Dallas, Chicago, Arizona, Philadelphia, Kansas City, St. Louis and Denver – have a combined record of 30-15 (.667) after the Broncos' victory Thursday night against San Diego.
None of their next seven opponents -- St. Louis, New Orleans, the New York Giants, Washington, Seattle, Oakland and Seattle again -- currently has a winning record and they are a cumulative 15-29 (.385), before the Niners close with home games against San Diego (5-3) and Arizona (5-1).
So while the bye could not have come at a better time for the Niners, who have given up touchdowns on opening drives in each of their past three games and are 1 Eagles yard away from being 3-4 rather than 4-3, they no doubt are looking forward to getting things rolling again next week with a home game against the Rams.
"I expect us," Davis said, "with the group of guys that we have, with so much talent, I expect us to win every week." 

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

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SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
As Associated Press sports writer Tim Booth framed it, "For a moment, the stress that enveloped the Seattle Seahawks the past few weeks eased up.
"That doesn't mean the problems faced by the Super Bowl champs are resolved. ..."
But winning heals a lot of wounds.
Given that, the Seahawks' 13-9 win over Carolina on Sunday was vitally important. It snapped a two-game losing streak and with upcoming home games against struggling Oakland and the New York Giants, it made getting to 6-3 appear likely in a division where Arizona already holds a two-game lead.
But head coach Pete Carroll was still answering questions Monday about division in the locker room, this time after reports surfaced over the weekend of a strained relationship with running back Marshawn Lynch. Carroll appeared annoyed to be dealing with more inquires about locker room dynamics.
"I have nothing to say about that because there is nothing to that," Carroll said. "I have no idea where that came from. We have nothing to say about that. At this point, I don't think it behooves us to try and respond to all these things in the locker room. Our players have told you how they feel. Our coaches have told you how we feel about it. And we're in a really good place right now. It's just not worth it. There is nothing to that at all."
Stories about locker room issues are just another item the Seahawks have been dealing with on top of trying to get the on-field product back into form. Carroll said he took time to address the reports both with the team as a whole and individually.
"We did talk about it a bit. More than anything talked to guys individually and worked the plane, and the locker room and chow hall and just to make sure everyone feels comfortable," Carroll said. "And everybody has expressed if they've had any concerns. ... They're fine. Our locker room is solid, they're together, they're really determined. I don't think you can get any other thought than that and they're surprised as we are as coaches that you guys have these questions about it. But we understand. It's part of it."
On the field, Seattle needed another fourth-quarter rally Sunday from Russell Wilson to avoid its first three-game losing streak since the middle of the 2011 season.
Seattle's recent swoon isn't that different from a similar slump in the middle of last season. The difference? The Seahawks were able to pull out wins last season at St. Louis and at home against Tampa Bay. This time, losses to Dallas and at St. Louis, coupled with the surprising trade of Percy Harvin, led to the issues becoming exposed.
Another stellar moment from Wilson on Sunday helped quiet things down some. Having blown two chances earlier to take the lead thanks to turnovers, Wilson led Seattle 80 yards and found Luke Willson on a 23-yard TD pass with 47 seconds left.
"It was carried out very similar as we've seen other drives in that situation," Carroll said.
There are other issues. Injuries and slow starts have been problems.
For the second straight week, Seattle played without four key starters. Cornerback Byron Maxwell, center Max Unger, linebacker Bobby Wagner and tight end Zach Miller were all out against the Panthers. Carroll said Maxwell and Unger have a chance of playing this week against Oakland. Wagner (toe) and Miller (ankle) were both seen by a specialist but neither has a firm timeline for his return.
Seattle fell behind St. Louis 21-3 and should have trailed Carolina more than 6-0. In their first loss this season, the Seahawks fell behind San Diego 20-7. While Carroll preaches that how you finish is the most important aspect, getting off to better starts is necessary.
But getting back to the issues getting the most attention, Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio believes the answer apparently will come from within, via the emergence of new leadership in the locker room.
Former Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson, who continues to juggle his on-air duties at NFL Network with his friendships and loyalties in Seattle, explained during GameDay First that the team is undergoing a transition from strong voices like defensive linemen Red Bryant and Chris Clemons (both of whom were cut after the 2013 season) to players who have not yet fully embraced the role of leader.
At the center of the current change is Wilson. Dogged by reports of resentment that may be rooted in matters of race (as in whether he's "black enough"), the deeper issue could be (in Florio's view) that Wilson needs to take charge of the team in the way Peyton Manning would. To get in guy's faces. To tell them not what you think they want to hear but what they need to hear.
While Robinson said "nothing's going on" in the locker room, he at one point acknowledged that the team is "working through issues." The biggest issue seems to be whether Wilson will be able to lead the locker room as currently constituted and, if not, whether the Seahawks will retool after the season with players who will more inclined to follow him. ...
Other notes of interest. ... The rushing attack was feeble early in Carolina. Seattle had just 22 yards on six carries in the first half as the Seahawks ran just 23 plays compared to 31. But the running game picked up in the second half as Seattle finished with 119 on 26 carries.
The offensive line again struggled at times to get a push, and Lynch had 62 yards on 14 carries, 25 coming on one play. Wilson also got loose late a few times and finished with 35 on six attempts.
Lynch got four targets but dropped two, including letting a pass go off his hands near the end zone that was picked off by the Panthers, killing Seattle's best drive of the first half.
Willson also dropped a potential touchdown pass in the third quarter but came back in the fourth quarter to make the winning TD grab.
According to CBSSports.com, wide receiver Jermaine Kearse took a backseat in the offense against the Panthers, after appearing to work his way into a larger role.
Kearse, who looked like the team's No. 2 receiver after the Harvin trade, was largely a non-factor Sunday. He was targeted just twice in the passing game, a total six players on the team bested.
As CBS's Chris Towers noted, Kearse was targeted 13 times between Weeks 6 and 7, but has topped three targets in just one other game. He will be in the mix behind Doug Baldwin, but simply doesn't look like someone who is going to get a reliable workload.
With returner Bryan Walters out with a concussion, rookie Paul Richardson handled kickoff returns and turned in a 47-yarder. Walters had taken over return duties, but with Harvin gone, Richardson a second-round pick out of Colorado is seeing an increase in duties across the board and he could become the full-time kickoff returner.
Cornerback Richard Sherman handled punts and had one return for no yards and a fair catch.
Kicker Steven Hauschka tied a franchise-record with a 58-yard field goal in the second quarter. Hauschka made the kick with a fairly good wind at his back. Josh Brown had set the record at Green Bay in 2003.
And finally. ... The Seahawks waived wideout Phil Bates and tight end Brett Brackett. 

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

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TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
According to Tampa Bay Times staffer Rick Stroud, following their lowest point total of the season, the Bucs are planning no significant changes to boost the league's worst offense. No change at quarterback. No consultants will be hired. Nothing.
Bucs coach Lovie Smith said veteran Josh McCown is healthy, but Mike Glennon is not the reason for the 1-6 record.
"We stand exactly where we stood last week. We have two quarterbacks we feel good about playing," Smith said. "Josh was able to go through practice last week. We start practice again Wednesday like we normally do. I never go over starting lineups or anything like that until the end of the week. If we were going to make a change, I wouldn't talk about it an awful lot but the plan isn't for that.
‘I thought Mike did some good things yesterday. You'd always like to have a couple plays back. But the first thing I thought about as far as improving our ball club wasn't "Gosh, we've got to make a change at quarterback."
Glennon, who is 1-3 as a starter since taking over from McCown, went 19 of 28 passing for 171 yards with one touchdown and one interception in Sunday's 19-13 overtime loss to the Vikings. His 7-yard scoring pass to rookie Austin Seferian-Jenkins gave the Bucs a three-point lead with 2:02 left in the game Sunday against the Vikings. But rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater drove his team 61 yards for a game-tying field goal.
The Vikings won in overtime when on the first play from scrimmage, Seferian Jenkins caught a 10-yard pass from Glennon and was stripped of the football by linebacker Anthony Barr, who returned the fumble 27-yards for a game-ending TD.
"Being able to run the ball will help our offense," said Smith, whose team rushed for 66 yards Sunday. "The one game that we won, we had the same guy back in the pocket, for the most part, the same offensive line, and I'm going to go back: we were one play away yesterday, one defensive stop late, one interception, one play earlier, and we have a win. We're close is what that is saying to me. To make drastic changes, we're not."
Running back Doug Martin was the subject of reports involving players who could be on the block before Tuesday's deadline, but that deal never materialized
"Doug is a part of it and we'd like to have more, but in order for Doug to get more yards, he's got to get a lot more touches and we've got to convert third downs," Smith said.
The Bucs offense may get a boost from Charles Sims, the third-round pick from West Virginia who was designated for return from injured reserve after a foot injury sidelined him in the preseason.
"As I talk about not being to get more from our running game, it's just not all on the front," Smith said. "We say it starts up front but a lot the big plays you see in the league in the running game is based on yards after contact, making someone miss in the open field. That's all a part of it also."
But ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas noted one reason Martin is considered expendable is that Sims to return.
Martin is averaging just 2.9 yards per carry this season, rushing for 166 yards and a touchdown on 58 carries after carrying the ball 10 times for 27 yards in the loss to the Vikings. He rushed for 1,454 and 11 touchdowns in his rookie season in 2012 but was limited to just six games last season due to injuries when he rushed for 456 yards and a touchdown.
Still, as CBSSports.com's Chris Towers suggested, Sims has an uncertain road ahead of him if he is going to climb up the depth chart, especially with Bobby Rainey doing a solid job when getting the chance.
Sims might have the highest upside here, and the Bucs don't really have much of a reason not to give him a chance with their record sitting at 1-6. But there is no guarantee Sims will even have a role waiting for him, but there is a reason the team invested a third-round pick in him and designated him to return from the IR.
If you have an open roster spot and are looking for a high-upside flier, Sims might be worth a look on waivers. ...
Worth noting: Martin, who was forced out of Sunday's game with an ankle injury, was wearing a walking boot and did not practice Wednesday. ...
Otherwise. ... Smith also said he would not be bringing in outside help to assist quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo, who became the Bucs' primary play-calller when offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford agreed to an indefinite medical leave of absence following a heart procedure in the preseason.
"Zero thought," Smith said when asked if he considered hiring an offensive consultant. "It won't be happening with me here."
Other notes of interest. ... Vincent Jackson had a season-low one catch for 13 yards Sunday against the Vikings and was targeted only five times.
Seferian-Jenkins had his first career TD pass which gave the Bucs the lead over the Vikings with 2:20 remaining in the game. But he lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown on the first play of OT. ...
In the latest sign that McCown's right thumb is fully healthy, the Buccaneers released backup quarterback Mike Kafka.
Kafka began the season on Tampa Bay's practice squad but was promoted after McCown's injury. If Kafka clears waivers, there's a good chance the Bucs will bring him back to the practice squad. ...
And finally. ... The Buccaneers dealt safety Mark Barron to the St. Louis Rams and reserve linebacker Jonathan Casillas to the New England Patriots before Tuesday's trade deadline.
The Rams gave up fourth- and sixth-round picks in the 2015 draft for Barron, who was a first-round pick in 2012. The Patriots sent a fifth-round pick in 2015 to the Buccaneers and also received a sixth-round pick from Tampa Bay.
Barron was second on the team in tackles this season with 49 in seven games for the Buccaneers (1-6). The 25 year old started 37 games in three seasons for Tampa Bay and had three interceptions.
The 27-year-old Casillas has spent six NFL seasons with Tampa Bay (2013-14) and New Orleans (2009-12). He has played in 55 games and started 15, accounting for 138 tackles, three sacks, five passes defensed, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and 26 special teams tackles. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
QB: Mike Glennon, Josh McCown, 
RB: Bobby Rainey, Charles Sims, Doug Martin, Mike James 
RB: Jorvorskie Lane 
WR: Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans, Louis Murphy, Robert Herron, Russell Shephard, Trindon Holliday 
TE: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Brandon Myers, Luke Stocker 
PK: Patrick Murray 
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TENNESSEE TITANS
As Associated Press sports writer Teresa M. Walker framed it, "The skidding Tennessee Titans now have cost themselves a full week of rest at their bye. ..."
Walker added that head coach Ken Whisenhunt had offered his Titans seven days off if they got to Monday with a 4-4 record. Instead, the Titans lost two straight to slide to 2-6, so he is keeping them around for practices Tuesday and Wednesday before letting them take off for the four-day break mandated by the labor agreement.
"To be honest with you, I think most of the guys are going to want to practice so that's a positive," Whisenhunt said Monday.
The Titans have lost six of their last seven. They didn't give much help to rookie Zach Mettenberger, the third different quarterback to start this season, as they piled up three-and-outs and penalties that bogged down drives even as the rookie threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-16 loss to Houston on Sunday.
Even the run game had its worst performance yet.
The Titans currently are 30th in the NFL in points scored per game, dead last on third-down efficiency, 30th in first downs per game and 27th in total yards.
Penalties also are another area that the Titans will be addressing. Three teams have more than Tennessee's 63 penalties, while only New England has more yards off penalties (628) than the Titans (580). Whisenhunt said he had a shorter play call sheet against Houston because the offense struggled so much, limiting what he could call even with the rookie quarterback.
"Nine of our last 22 drives have involved a penalty that have stalled a drive, and that's very difficult," Whisenhunt said. "So we've got a plan going into this bye week that we're going to try to implement with that that involves a couple different things, and hopefully we'll have success with that."
That's why third downs and red zone are the top priorities in these practices, including Nov. 3 when the Titans return before preparing to visit Baltimore on Nov. 9.
Some coaches make players run extra as punishment for penalties, and Whisenhunt said they might try that. Rules prevent coaches from fining players for penalties.
"We would have quite a kitty if we did that," Whisenhunt said.
The Titans have been using a committee approach to their backfield, averaging 4.4 yards per carry overall. Against Houston, they ran just 13 times for 36 yards.
This franchise invested heavily in its offensive line with two first-round draft picks in right guard Chance Warmack last year and left tackle Taylor Lewan this year, and left guard Andy Levitre and right tackle Michael Oher were free agent signees. Center Brian Schwenke was a draft pick last year.
What counts as progress is that while the Titans were flagged six times Sunday, they weren't penalized once in the second half. Three penalties were on offensive linemen leading to third downs with at least 18 yards to pick up the first down, which they didn't. Only cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson has been flagged more often so far this season.
"It's very frustrating, and we all take turns doing it," Schwenke said after the game. "We all just have to hold ourselves accountable and eliminate it. There's no other way around it.
Whisenhunt said the challenge for the offensive line is consistency with players taking turns making mistakes.
"There has been some improved play at times," Whisenhunt said. "It's just not enough to say that we're doing it consistently. ..."
Other notes of interest. ... Named the starting quarterback last Tuesday, Mettenberger offered one-liners to reporters and served up selfies on his social media outlets – photos making light of the pressure that goes with stepping into the spotlight as an NFL starter for the first time.
While Mettenberger's social-media fun made some headlines last week, at least one Texan said the sixth-round pick needs to grow up, Jim Wyatt of the Nashville Tennessean reports.
Two-time All-Pro defensive lineman J.J. Watt – who had two sacks, forced a fumble and batted one of Mettenberger's passes – said he found the rookie's selfies irritating. After his second sack, Watt imitated Mettenberger by pretending to take a photo of himself.
"It's just kind of a reminder this is the National Football League, not high school," Watt said. "Welcome to the show."
Mettenberger even posted a selfie from the locker room a few hours before kickoff.
"I take my job very seriously," Watt said. "If I was a rookie quarterback being named the starter for the first time in the league, I feel like I'd be a little bit more focused than that. Maybe he'll learn from it, maybe not. We won the game, so that's all that matters. ..."
Whisenhunt said that he only recently learned what a selfie is and didn't object to Watt's objection to Mettenberger's decision to chronicle his week and his haircut on social media. Whisenhunt also said that Mettenberger's dedication to the job has never been in doubt this season, although he added that the team had a hand in getting Mettenberger to trim his hair before Sunday's start.
The coach explained that players can do whatever they want "once you have had success," but that it was important for Mettenberger to get off on "the right foot."
"The face of the franchise, that is yet to be determined. That will be determined by his play," Whisenhunt told the Tennessean. "The one thing we have had discussions about is the understanding if you are the starting quarterback, there will be people. ... That see you and you have to represent yourself and the organization the right way."
Jake Locker, who lost his starting job, was the backup and appears to be back from his thumb injury.
As the Sports Xchange noted, Shonn Greene, who was arrested on Friday night on charges stemming from his illegally parking in a handicapped spot, had just one carry and played only sparingly on Sunday. Rookie Bishop Sankey had 35 of the Titans paltry 36 yards rushing on Sunday on nine carries. ...
Tight end Richard Gordon, signed just this week as a street free agent, was active on Sunday as a blocking tight end.
And finally. ... Whisenhunt said Monday wide receiver Nate Washington will be held out of practice this week after suffering a shoulder injury Sunday against the Texans. However, he should be OK to return after the bye in time for Tennessee's next game Week 10 against the Ravens.
Safety Coty Sensabaugh (knee) and tight end Taylor Thompson (knee) should return to practice during the team's bye week. Both players missed Sunday's game against the Texans. 

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 CT  
The Titans are idle this week due to the NFL bye. 
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WASHINGTON REDSKINS
According to Associated Press sports writer Joseph White, the magnitude of Jay Gruden's first big win as the Redskins coach is nearly impossible to gauge.
His team was down to its third quarterback and was being mocked nationwide. A prime-time visit to its first-place division rival would only validate all the struggles from the first seven weeks and make everyone even more ansty to see Robert Griffin III return.
"I read somewhere that after we lost our fifth game that we're playing meaningless games from here on out, which is pretty far from the truth," Gruden said Tuesday. "We wanted to come out against Tennessee and get a win and obviously come out and compete against Dallas on Monday Night Football and prove that we aren't dead.
"We still have a pulse. Our heart is still beating, and we have a lot to play for still -- and that's what that game meant for us."
The Redskins' 20-17 overtime victory gave them their first NFC East win since beating Dallas in last week of the 2012 regular season. They now have back-to-back wins for the first time since then. They also played with a passion not seen since -- you guessed it -- the last week of the 2012 regular season.
"Success can really do wonders for players' psyches," Gruden said. "They come in with a little bit of a bounce in their step and ready to roll."
As outlandish as it seemed 48 hours ago, a .500 mark could be on the horizon for Washington (3-5). Its next two games are against the Minnesota Vikings (3-5) and, after a bye, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-6).
"For us to look past the Vikings at 3-5 would kind of be pretty stupid," Gruden said. "This is a huge game for us -- they all are -- because we dug ourselves into this hole. We were 1-5, and we've got to pretty much win, win and win often to have a chance."
But as White notes, Gruden's big dilemma continues to be his quarterbacks. Griffin is eager to return from the dislocated left ankle suffered in Week 2 -- he said Monday he'd been targeting the Cowboys game -- but Colt McCoy is completing 86 percent (36 for 42) of his passes and recovered from Monday's shaky start with a strong second half and overtime.
Gruden reiterated Tuesday that Griffin will be the starter when at "100 percent," but that it's very much a judgment call among the doctors and coaches as to when the third-year QB reaches that benchmark.
"I think Robert is very, very, very close," Gruden said. "We just have to decide if he's ready. Physically I think he'll be ready to go. The doctors are feeling pretty good about it. They still want to see him run around this week until they make a final determination as far as clearing him, but I just want to make sure he feels good in the pocking moving forward with everything."
In fact, Griffin is close enough to be able to practice fully on Wednesday. It's a start.
It's safe to say I'll be watching the quarterback situation closely as the Redskins play at Minnesota on Sunday, their last game before the bye. Those interested will want to watch the Late-Breaking Updates section for more in coming days. ...
Other notes of interest. ... According to CBSSports.com's Chris Towers, Alfred Morris bounced back from a string of subpar efforts and showed he can still be a productive fantasy option even in the face of a tough matchup.
Entering Monday's game, the Cowboys were allowing opposing running backs to score 14.6 fantasy points per game, with just three backs in seven games reaching double figures in scoring. Morris became the fourth, as he racked up 14 points, with 73 yards on the ground and just the fourth rushing touchdown allowed by the Cowboys. ...
Also according to Towers, Pierre Garcon has settled into a consistent role in the team's offense recently, but that hasn't led to good results, as he struggled yet again in Dallas.
Garcon was held to below 50 yards receiving for the fourth time in five games Monday, as he hauled in just four passes for 47 yards. And, while he had been able to salvage his previous two games with touchdowns, Garcon was held out of the end zone, giving him his sixth single-digit fantasy scoring effort in eight games.
Garcon has just one 100-yard game this season, and has five or fewer receptions in each of his last five games. At this point, he is clearly not the primary option in the passing game, and has become extremely touchdown dependent as a result, averaging 43.2 yards per game over the last five.
McCoy's two long completions both went to big-play receiver DeSean Jackson, who had six catches for 136 yards.
After a quiet start, tight end Jordan Reed finished with a team-high seven catches. ...
Kicker Kai Forbath hit a 40-yard field goal to cap Washington's first possession in overtime, giving them the 20-17 lead that the defense made stand up by stopping the Cowboys on their first possession of the extra session. Forbath also hit a 44-yard field goal in the first half and he has been named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in recognition of his accomplishments.
Monday's performance continued what's been a good season for Forbath. He's made 13-of-14 field goals, although the one miss was a costly one as it came in a game the Eagles won 37-34 in September.
It's the first time Forbath, who has been kicking for the Redskins for the past three seasons, has won weekly special teams honors. 

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