That was the case Sunday for the Cardinals, whose performance in a 58-0 loss to the Seahawks won't be easy to forget because there were a lot of "evers" involved.

It was the worst loss ever in franchise history. It was the most points ever scored by an opponent. It extended their losing streak to nine, the longest since 1944 when they combined with the Steelers franchise to go 0-10.

Somers added on to note that in 2012, they have no one to blame but themselves.

"Let me just start off by saying, I apologize to our fans, everybody associated with our organization," head coach Ken Whisenhunt said to open his postgame news conference. "That was embarrassing today. We owe it to them, our fans, our supporters, to give them a better product, a better job than what we did today."

The Cardinals committed six turnovers and Seattle scored 38 points. That was just the first half.

They had two more turnovers in the second half and showed little interest in the less-nuanced portions of the sport -- blocking, tackling and such.

"Ass kicking, that's the only thing you can say," John Skelton said. "For them to come out and dominate the way they did in every phase of the game, it's embarrassing."

Sunday's loss was unique in that the Cardinals broke down in every phase. The defense played like it was doing forced labor, and Patrick Peterson muffed a punt and fumbled on another.

Both led to Seahawks touchdowns.

"Things turned on us early," receiver Andre Roberts said. "I don't know how it got to 58 points, whatever it was."

It's hard to believe that before the nine-game losing streak, the Cardinals had won 11 of their previous 13. But after the first month, this season went south faster than a fleeing felon, and the biggest question now is if Whisenhunt, who is under contract through 2013, will keep his job.

"There's not anything I could do about that," Whisenhunt said when asked if was concerned about his job. "We all know what this business is. I've been in it a long time as a player and a coach. I'm not worried about it."

For now, he will.

According to team president Michael Bidwill, the son of owner Bill Bidwill, Whisenhunt will coach the Cardinals' final three games of 2012, and a decision about his future will be made after that.

"I know there is a lot of emotion around yesterday but I don't intend to make any decision based on emotion. I have been evaluating things all along and expect to continue to do that, and want to have a complete set of facts as I evaluate what went wrong," he said.

Bidwill acknowledged that sitting through Sunday's loss to the Seahawks was a painful experience.

"We are living and dying with each of these losses and it's extremely hard to watch," Bidwill said.

Three weeks is likely all that Whisenhunt has left.

As Profootballtalk.com's Michael David Smith notes, the Cardinals started 4-0 and are now 4-9, and Whisenhunt has been completely incapable of getting his team's quarterback situation straightened out. Bidwill may want to see a complete set of facts before he evaluates what went wrong, but he already has enough facts to know that this team is in need of a major change.

Quarterback is clearly the biggest issue.

Kevin Kolb was placed on season-ending injured reserve Wednesday morning; Skelton and Ryan Lindley have failed as replacements.

On Monday the team claimed quarterback Brian Hoyer off waivers.

Skelton started on Sunday and completed 11 of 22 with four interceptions. Lindley replaced him, and while the Seahawks didn't catch any of his passes, neither did many Cardinals.

Who starts this week against Detroit?

"Do you play?" Whisenhunt asked a reporter early this week. "Part of our struggles have been tied into the inconsistency at that position. You've got to have something there that can cover up some other areas, and we're not getting that. It seems like we're getting the other direction, sometimes."

Oddly enough, the Cardinals moved the ball on the opening possession, with Skelton completing his first three passes for 35 yards. But his fourth attempt, which came on third-and-2, hit receiver Larry Fitzgerald's hands. Linebacker K.J. Wright knocked the ball loose and it hit cornerback Walter Thurmond. It ended up in the hands of linebacker Bobby Wagner.

That play, Whisenhunt said, was an example of "how our season has gone the last nine weeks. The ball comes out, doesn't hit the ground and they pick it up and move it down the field."

Of course, Whisenhunt wouldn't have had a decision to make if Kolb was healthy. Kolb was productive in his six games, throwing for eight touchdowns with only three interceptions.

AZCardinals.com's Darren Urban advised readers it was pretty clear last week Kolb would not be able to come back from his ribs problem. Kolb proved he was the best quarterback on the team. But the reality is stark: The man acquired to be the team’s long-term QB last season played in just 15 of a possible 32 games because of injuries.

The injuries were serious – we’re not talking about skipping to nurse a sore hamstring or something, but instead torn ligaments in his toe and damaged foot, a serious concussion and now, ribs ripped from the sternum – but it’s tough to make an impression on the sideline.

It leaves much in the air for Kolb’s future in Arizona. No one has officially addressed it, but there is no way the Cardinals pay Kolb a $9 million salary in 2013 and a $2 million roster bonus in March. If he is going to stick around, the two sides will have to renegotiate, or Kolb will have to be released and test his wares on the open market.

For now, the Cardinals will go with Lindley, who looked lost in his last start, against the Jets on Dec. 2.

Why not Hoyer?

According to Urban, Hoyer, just released by the Steelers after spending the past three seasons with the Patriots, probably wouldn't be ready to play against the Lions. But the Cards could try to get him ready to play in the final two games of the season and give him a test drive going into 2013.

A this point, it seems like grasping at straws might be the best plan possible. ...

Speaking of that. ... Watching the Cardinals' loss to the Seahawks led Fitzgerald's father to take to Twitter to say that the team's performance was "pathetic" and that they quit on the game.

The elder Fitzgerald wasn't the only person looking to Twitter while the Cardinals were being humiliated by the Seahawks. Vince Young took note of the league's worst quarterback situation and decided to send a message to the younger Fitzgerald offering his services as an alternate to Skelton, Lindley, Kolb and now Hoyer.

"@LarryFitzgerald you know I can help tell coach," Young tweeted to the wideout.

As unlikely as such a development seems, we are talking about a coach who asked a reporter if he could play the position. ...

Fitzgerald caught one pass against the Seahawks. It's the fourth game this year in which he's had one catch. From 2005 through 2011, he caught at least two passes in every game he played except one.

Worth noting. ... During his weekly Monday night football pregame show appearance with Jim Gray of Dial Global Sports, Fitzgerald responded to the frustrations expressed by his father the night before.

"I'm in a unique situation with my father being a media member," Fitzgerald said. "He's making an observation based on what he sees and what he feels and that's his opinion. I don't share in those same feelings and that's where I stand on that."

Fitzgerald dismissed any notion that he's wasting away playing for the moribund Cardinals.

"I enjoy playing for the Arizona Cardinals and I want to continue to play here and try to win," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said he didn't understand why Whisenhunt felt the need to apologize for the team's performance against the Seahawks. Fitzgerald said his coach wasn't playing in the game, it was the players that didn't get the job done. He also shot down the thought the Cardinals have quit.

"Never. We're professionals. That will never happen," Fitzgerald said. "We're going to continue to play. We're going to continue to practice. We're going to continue to prepare every week like we would if we had won nine games in a row. That's not going to change. We're not going to quit."

Other notes of interest. ... Beanie Wells said he was healthy when he returned from the injury list three games ago. But he gained just 18 yards on six carries against the Seahawks. In his last three games he has 88 yards on 38 carries.

Rob Housler caught seven passes for 36 yards. He's emerged as one of the team's main targets.

And finally. ... Receiver Early Doucet suffered a concussion against the Seahawks. He will go through the usual protocol during the week. Roberts played through an injured ankle and was limited Wednesday; his status is worth watching, too. I'll be following up on their status via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses.

"They don't want it to become a habit. ..."

Mindful of how important it is to go into the playoffs with momentum, the Falcons reported to their training complex Monday to begin assessing what went wrong in their worst performance of the season.

Atlanta (11-2) lost to division rival Carolina 30-20 in a game that wasn't really that close. The Panthers raced to a 23-0 lead and were never seriously challenged.

"We let one get away from us," Falcons wide receiver Roddy White said of the loss to Carolina. "These are games that we are supposed to win and we needed to win."

Now, after taking 24 hours to review their shoddy performance, the Falcons must get set to host the defending Super Bowl champs on Sunday. The New York Giants (8-5) are clinging to first in the NFC East and desperate for a win to stay in front of Washington and Dallas.

"We have to come out against a real tough football team in the Giants and get this thing rolling," tight end Tony Gonzalez said. "It's only three games left to try to go out there and hit our stride. We can and we will."

As the Sports Xchange reminded readers, the Falcons stormed out of the gates this season. They were 8-0 before dropping their first game to New Orleans on Nov. 11. They then won three more games before facing the Panthers.

The Falcons know that good teams play well in December and January. In the December standings, they are 0-1.

"That's something that [head coach Mike Smith] always talks about; you want to play your best football in December," center Todd McClure said. "Nobody remembers how you played in September and October. It's how you play in December and January that people remember."

The Falcons can even up their December mark with a win over the Giants, who beat them 24-2 in MetLife Stadium on their way to the Super Bowl last season.

"It's the next one on the schedule," McClure said. "The last time we played them, it didn't turn out the way we wanted. They are coming into our place."

They wanted to start the fourth quarter of the regular season by building some momentum and hopefully carry it into the playoffs.

With the Giants up next, they could end up stumbling into the playoffs.

"I can hear them (fans) right now," Gonzalez said. "They are getting off the band wagon. They are jumping off. That's how it goes."

The Falcons had to be the most disrespected 11-1 team in the history of the league.

"From looking at our history, a lot of people are going to say, 'See I told you,'" Gonzalez said. "But we are a good football. There is no doubt about it. We are going to play better. Because we have to. We are going to be back to playing the way we have been playing. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Matt Ryan had won six straight games against the Panthers before Sunday.

In the previous four meetings, Ryan had a passer rating of 100 or more. This time he had a passer rating of 94.1.

From a Fantasy perspective, the numbers don't look bad, but most of the action came after the offense contributed to digging the 23-0 hole by doing much of nothing on their first three possessions. He completed 34 of 49 passes for 342 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

The Falcons were 2 of 8 (25 percent) on third-down conversions.

White caught nine passes for 117 yards and one touchdown. He had 169 yards receiving in the first game against the Panthers.

Julio Jones finished with five catches for 66 yards. He has 997 yards receiving on the season. ...

Michael Turner was active after being listed as questionable for the game. He was held to 14 yards rushing on seven carries. He now has 5,970 rushing since joining the Falcons.

He trails Gerald Riggs (6,631), William Andrews (5,986) and Warrick Dunn (5,981) on the team's all-time rushing list.

Turner's one-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter gave him a rushing touchdown in each of the last four games and now he has eight rushing scores on the season. Additionally, he has now recorded 13 touchdowns in 11 games against the Panthers in his career. Turner's 58 rushing touchdowns and 59 total touchdowns are both club records.

Jacquizz Rodgers was on the field for 30 offensive snaps, which came out to 46 percent of the total offensive snaps taken. Turner took 20 snaps for 31 percent. Jason Snelling had 15 snaps for 23 percent and Antone Smith had one for two percent.

It's safe to say Rodgers did not make the most of his opportunities. He had four carries for 21 yards rushing and caught six passes for 43 yards. ...

One late development. ... Ledbetter reported via Twitter that White underwent an MRI on his knee Wednesday. I'll have more on his status when Late-Breaking Updates commence early Thursday, but Smith told reporters he expects the veteran wideout to return to practice Thursday.

The team officially announced the news Monday afternoon following a 31-28 loss to the Redskins, handing the Ravens a second straight loss.

"It's not about fair or unfair, right or wrong," head coach John Harbaugh said.

"My responsibility is to the whole team and what's best for them right now. We need a change. Our plan and our goals are to win games, win our division and get to the playoffs."

Caldwell mentored quarterback Peyton Manning in Indianapolis and was the Colts' head coach for three years. However, he has never been an offensive play caller during his 12 NFL seasons or in college.

"I had an opportunity to talk with (the offense) and really, in a nutshell, I just tried to make them understand that what we're trying to do is get that much better," Caldwell said, holding his index finger and thumb about an inch apart. "That's about it. That's a difficult task, obviously, trying to get that done in this league. But that's what we're shooting for. It's not a system change.

"Obviously the Ravens' offense is the Ravens' offense. It's not a philosophical change. John sets the philosophy here of this team and we follow suit."

As BaltimoreRavens.com's Ryan Mink noted, Cameron had been the Ravens' offensive coordinator since 2008, the start of the Harbaugh era.

During that time, the highest the Ravens offense has ranked in terms of yards per game is 13th in 2009, when Baltimore posted 351.2 yards per game.

Baltimore's offense has added weapons over the past several years, but has not made much overall improvement. It currently ranks 18th in the league with 344.4 yards per game.

Cameron has largely been in charge of overseeing quarterback Joe Flacco's development. He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach last year before Caldwell was brought in this season to work with Flacco.

But Flacco also hasn't seen a dramatic improvement in his statistics during his five seasons, and is in the final year of his rookie contract with an extension expected.

After Sunday's 182-passing yard performance with three touchdowns, one interception and one fumble, Flacco is on pace for 3,963 yards, 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. That's a career high in passing yards, but short of his 2010 touchdowns (25) and about on pace in interceptions.

Flacco told the Baltimore Sun last week that he's "frustrated" with the offense's lack of improvement this year. Flacco said it "comes back to the quarterback," but he also said it's a little frustrating that the Ravens aren't using more no-huddle.

Cameron has been under fire in Baltimore for the past couple years, criticized by fans and media for not giving running back Ray Rice the ball enough and for his play calling.

Baltimore has three games remaining in the regular season and is once again on the cusp of a playoff berth.

"My charge – our responsibility as a coaching staff – is to maximize the opportunities for our team to win, and we can still reach all of our goals for this season," Harbaugh said.

"With our coaches and players, the solution is in the building. We are going to make the most of our opportunities going forward, and this change gives us a better possibility to achieve our goals."

Caldwell's first game will be against his former quarterback and the Denver Broncos this Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.

As Sun staffer Aaron Wilson notes, since joining the Ravens as quarterbacks coach in February, Caldwell has worked quietly behind the scenes to help install a no-huddle offense that was used prominently at the start of the season only to be scrapped in recent weeks.

Now that Cameron has been fired, the veteran NFL assistant will put his stamp on the Ravens' offense.

And the look of that offense is expected to take on a hurry-up approach given Caldwell's background with the Colts' offense and his role working with Flacco.

"You saw they focused on the no-huddle a lot in the offseason, started out using it effectively and then waned a bit as the season progressed," NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell told Wilson. "I think it's something they would like to go back to with Jim. I think he's highly thought of. He's very good with the subtle details of quarterback play."

According to Mink, the laid-back Caldwell and Flacco seem to have built a good relationship during their time together in Baltimore, and the coach speaks highly of his quarterback.

"We're getting a feel for one another," Caldwell said in June. "We get along and those kinds of things. It's a great working relationship at this point."

Harbaugh said the decision to let go of Cameron is the "hardest thing I've ever had to do as a coach."

"There is a very human side to this," Harbaugh said. "Cam is my friend, he taught me a lot about coaching, and he is an outstanding coach.

"Cam has been a significant contributor to all of our successes over the past four, almost five, seasons. Deservedly, he is highly-regarded, and we owe thanks to him for what he did for the Ravens."

Profootballtalk.com's Darin Gantt believes installing Caldwell as Cameron's replacement seems like a simple case of the guy in the next chair moving up one.

He is widely regarded as good and decent human being and a valued position coach. But it's not as if he was a rising star in the business. He wasn't a superstar coach in college either, leading a pretty forgettable era of Wake Forest football, which is saying something.

Gantt summed up: "This move either points to internal problems, or simple desperation. Neither would be a good sign for a team which looked like a heavyweight not all that long ago. ..."

Yahoo! Sports columnist Jason Coles believes internal problems were the issue. Specifically, Cameron's need to control all aspects of the offense.

"In short," Cole wrote. "Cameron is a control freak. He has been for years. ..."

Given the fact that between Flacco, Rice and wide receivers Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin, the Ravens have still managed to be a top-10 scoring offense at 25.5 points per game -- and still felt the need to get rid of Cameron, Cole's take doesn't seem like a huge reach. ...

Meanwhile, the Ravens' running game was resurgent during the loss to Washington, rushing for a season-high 186 yards on 35 carries, including a season-high 121 rushing yards for Rice and a career-high 53 rushing yards for rookie backup Bernard Pierce.

Going forward, averaging six yards per carry against the Redskins' fourth-ranked defense could pay dividends for a team battling for a playoff spot.

Rice had a 46-yard run and a seven-yard touchdown run.

"We just stuck with it," fullback Vonta Leach said. "We came into the game wanting to run the ball, and that's what we did. That's December football."

For the season, now Rice has gained 993 yards and scored nine touchdowns.

"I am definitely proud of the run game today," Rice said. "Myself and Bernard had a great day running the ball. It felt really good to run the ball today. The running game is something that we will continue to improve on as we get ready for the Broncos next week."

Let's hope Caldwell was paying attention. ...

In a related note. ... Rice has a minor hip pointer. The Sun reports the veteran halfback seemed to be moving fine in the locker room after the game and Rice claims it won't be an issue going forward -- at least not an issue that will keep him off the field.

I'll obviously be watching for more anyhow; keep an eye out for Late-Breaking Updates. ...

Other notes of interest. ... It was a sterling first half for Boldin, catching a pair of touchdown passes and eclipsing the 10,000 receiving yardage milestone.

After catching two passes for 50 yards by halftime, Boldin caught just one more pass the remainder of the game and finished with three catches for 78 yards.

"Nothing changed," Boldin said. "We just didn't execute like we were supposed to. We had the same exact drives in the second half. We just didn't finish them off. ..."

Dennis Pitta caught a team-high five passes for 46 yards, including a touchdown. He was targeted a team-high six times. Smith caught only one pass for 21 yards despite being targeted three times. ...

The Ravens deactivated tight end Ed Dickson (hyperextended right knee). His status for this week's game remains uncertain.

Gailey was forthright in assessing the state of his team and his own job security on Monday. His comments came in the face of mounting criticism leveled at him now that the Bills (5-8) are all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for a 13th straight season.

Gailey understands the reasons why fans are unhappy, particularly coming on the heels of a 15-12 loss against St. Louis on Sunday in which Buffalo lost the game in the final minute.

And yet, Gailey maintains confidence in his approach and in his players moving forward.

But not all of them will be going forward -- at least not in terms of the immediate future.

Fred Jackson will miss the remainder of the season with a sprained ligament in his right knee.

Gailey provided the update on Monday saying Jackson was expected to miss between three and five weeks. And that won't be enough time to recover considering the Bills (5-8) have only three games left and have all but mathematically been eliminated from playoff contention.

"No, he's not going to make it," Gailey said, a day after Jackson was hurt in the fourth quarter of a 15-12 loss to St. Louis.

Jackson, who was officially placed on injured reserve Tuesday, won't require surgery after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain to his MCL.

His injury leaves Buffalo with just two running backs, C.J. Spiller and Tashard Choice. Gailey said he's not sure whether to add a running back because fullback Corey McIntyre could fill the third spot if necessary.

The Bills are preparing to "host" Seattle (8-5) at Toronto on Sunday.

The injury is the latest setback for Jackson this year, and is to the same knee he sprained in a season-opening 48-28 loss at the New York Jets. Jackson missed the next two games. He also missed a 19-14 win over Miami on Nov. 15 after sustaining a concussion a week earlier.

Jackson, who's led the team in rushing in each of the previous three years, has 437 yards rushing this season -- his fewest in five seasons. He has scored three touchdowns rushing, and also has 217 yards receiving and a touchdown.

The Bills have a capable player to lean on in co-starter Spiller, who has 944 yards rushing and five touchdowns. The 2010 first-round draft pick is averaging 6.55 yards per carry, which is the NFL's second-best total through 13 games since 1960 for a player with a minimum of 130 attempts. Jim Brown averaged 6.61 yards per carry for the Cleveland Browns in 1963.

In fact, Spiller's relatively light workload continues to be an issue for Spiller -- and his owners.

"I really can't control how many times I touch the ball, guys," Spiller told reporters in the locker room following Sunday's game. "I keep saying it over and over, but I don't know what else y'all want me to say. The only thing I can do, when my number's called, is do the best I can. Even when it's not, just try to do the best I can."

Spiller rushed seven times for 37 yards and caught the only pass thrown to him for a gain of 15 yards. As Buffalo News staffer Jay Skurski noted, Gailey's response when asked why Spiller touched the ball so few times Sunday was bewildering.

"It was not happening there after that first drive of the second half. We were trying to run the football and when it was [Jackson's] turn, it was Fred's turn to be in there. Trying to keep them both fresh," the coach said. ...

If you believe Gailey, that's going to change.

The coach said in confirming the season-ending nature of Jackson's injury that Spiller is going to get as much as he can handle because the Bills no longer have two "great" running backs in the mix.

"We're going to get the opportunity here in the next few weeks for him to get it a lot and we won't have what I term two great backs," Gailey told the team's web site. "I think [Choice] is a very good back, but to me he's not in Fred's category. So there won't be a lot of sharing of duties. C.J. will have to take a big part of the load now."

We've heard similar comments before; let's hope Gaily realizes it's really time. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Ryan Fitzpatrick threw his 77th career touchdown pass as a Bill in Sunday's loss, tying him with Jack Kemp for third on the team's all-time list. He has 21 touchdown passes on the year, his third consecutive season of topping the 20 mark.

Donald Jones finished with three catches for 33 yards in his return following a one-game absence because of a calf injury.

"It's always frustrating when you can't get your playmakers the ball," he said after the game. "We've got a lot of playmakers on this team and it hurts when you know you have so many playmakers and we can't get the ball and do what we do.

"It's definitely frustrating to be out there, and it's frustrating to come in here every week and go through this."

Jones said the Bills missed several opportunities to put points on the board, a common theme among players in the locker room after the game.

"Whatever's called, we've got to make the plays," he said. "We all have certain drives that stick in our head the most. I'm not going to comment on those, I'll keep them to myself. … Like I said, from an offensive standpoint, we know we've got a lot of playmakers on this offense. So to go through this year after year, I've only been here three years, but we play to win and play to make the playoffs. To being going through this every year, it really hurts."

Jones said he had no doubt the Bills were talented enough as a team.

"We haven't gotten it done this year, and hopefully it starts getting done soon."

Scott Chandler tied a season-high with five catches against the Rams, good for a season-high 71 yards. Four of his catches resulted in first downs, giving him 31 such catches this year.

Fellow tight end Lee Smith caught his second career TD pass, and his second in the last three games. ...

Stevie Johnson also racked up 71 yards despite a tender hamstring. ...

According to Skurski, Rian Lindell was diplomatic in addressing Gailey's decision to forgo a 52-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss.

"Dang it, I guess," Lindell said in describing his reaction, although his response on the field looked far less family friendly. "I want to kick them all, you know what I mean?"

Gailey passed up a chance at a field goal of 50-plus yards for the third time this season, following a Week 6 win in Arizona and a Week 12 loss at Indianapolis.

The field goal, which could have given the Bills a 15-7 lead, was toward the scoreboard end of Ralph Wilson Stadium. Lindell had hit from 55 yards in that direction during pregame warm-ups, although it was not raining at that time.

But as Associated Press sports writer Steve Reed notes, too bad for Carolina it's a case of too little, too late.

At 4-9, Carolina's playoff aspirations evaporated several weeks ago, but Newton's vastly improved play in recent weeks gives promise that his stellar rookie season in 2011 was far from a fluke and better times are ahead.

After a rough start this season, Newton has tallied 1,363 yards from scrimmage with 11 combined touchdowns and, here's the really impressive part, no turnovers in the past four games. Carolina piled up 365 yards of offense in 2 1/2 quarters Sunday against NFC South champion Atlanta and built a 23-0 lead and held on to upset the Falcons 30-20.

Newton finished with stellar numbers, completing 23 of 35 passes for 287 yards with two touchdowns. He also ran for 116 yards, completing a jaw-dropping 72-yard touchdown jaunt along the left sidelines by somersaulting into the end zone before getting to his feet and pretending to rip open his shirt like Superman.

"Spectacular," head coach Ron Rivera said of Newton's performance.

"The way he played and the things that he did, that shows you what potentially he is going to become. We just have to keep working and he has to keep growing as a football player. These last five weeks now have been pretty doggone solid. I'm very pleased with his development," Rivera said.

After ranking near the bottom of the league on offense most of the year and struggling to close out close games, the Panthers are averaging 397 yards and 23 points per game over the last four weeks entering Sunday's game at San Diego.

That's a bittersweet stat for Rivera to swallow.

"The disappointing thing is that's what we can be," Rivera said. "We know that. Based on what we did, how we did it and who we did it with, that's the disappointing thing. ... We've found balance, we have. Unfortunately we didn't do it sooner."

After Sunday's win over Atlanta, Newton downplayed talk of being "in the zone."

"I just think this whole offense is clicking," Newton said. "We just have to connect the dots. When the offense is on, the defense has to step up, and when the defense is on, the offense has to pick it up also, and special teams."

Rivera said Newton has handled himself more professionally in recent weeks, particularly after losses.

Rivera also said Newton has also been more accepting of what offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski and quarterbacks coach Mike Shula have been teaching him after a disappointing start to the season in which Newton only threw five TD passes in his first seven games and turned it over 12 times.

"I think his football acumen has improved," Rivera said. "I think his footwork has gotten better, his technique, his style, things that he does. It's like all of a sudden the light bulb has gone off and I think that has been big."

Still, for Newton, the effort was good, but not good enough.

After the game Sunday he stopped briefly in his postgame press conference to berate himself over the plays he didn't make.

Even after Carolina piled up 475 total yards in offense against the Falcons, Newton was thinking about a throw that got away. He had receiver Louis Murphy open down the left sideline on a long pass play but threw it too far to the left and out of bounds where Murphy had no chance to make a play on it.

"Some plays I wish I could have back," Newton said.

However, the one play Newton left everyone talking about was his highlight reel touchdown run where he got a downfield block from Steve Smith to spring him to the end zone. For all the grief the Panthers have taken about their zone read option not being effective, this play worked like a charm.

Tight end Greg Olsen said it was a play similar to what they'd been running all season but with a little wrinkle.

"We did a nice job dressing it up, starting out a receiver at the back and they really keyed in on DeAngelo Williams," Olsen said. "I came around, they blitzed the safety and we just had a great call there at the right time for that look. They blitzed that safety and that's my guy. It's like you drew it up on paper."

Then he added with a smile, "but you need a 6-5 quarterback to run 80 yards. We were fortunate to have that. ..."

Fantasy owner are coming around to that same belief. ...

Worth noting. ... Newton became the Panthers' first 100-yard rusher since Week 5 of 2011, gaining 116 yards against the Falcons. Newton's 72-yard touchdown was the fourth-longest rush in team history.

One last Cam-related item. ... According to Charlotte Observer staffer Jonathan Jones, Newton's somersault into the end zone on his touchdown run had his offensive coordinator holding his breath.

Newton flipped into the end zone while absorbing a hit from an Atlanta defender.

"That's part of one of the unique things about Cam is how much fun he has playing the game and enjoying playing the game," Chudzinski said. "I'd prefer he's not doing flips in the end zone when guys are flying around him but that's part of him and that's part of what makes him tick and what drives him.

"That enjoyment playing the game creates an excitement. You have to try to temper some of those things but you don't want to take away some of that excitement."

Other items of interest. ... With running back Jonathan Stewart out again with a high ankle sprain, Williams saw his most carries under Chudzinski, but Williams only gained 56 yards on 17 carries.

Williams also caught his first touchdown pass since Oct. 19, 2008. ...

Greg Olsen caught his team-leading fifth touchdown pass. Steve Smith, who caught seven passes for 109 yards, has 999 receiving yards this season.

David Gettis played just two snaps.

Gettis, who started this year on the PUP list after missing all of last season with a torn ACL, hasn't made a catch in his two games this season. ...

Graham Gano, who was 1-for-1 in his two games since joining the Panthers, made all three of his field goals.

Stewart missed his second straight game with a high ankle sprain. Brandon LaFell missed the Falcons game with turf toe, but the Panthers are hopeful he may be able to return this week. Stewart is unlikely to return this week.

Neither man practiced Wednesday; nor did Murphy, who has a tender hamstring.

I'll be following up on all three via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses. ...

And finally. ... The Panthers won their first coin toss of the season Sunday, improving to 1-13 on the year.

"I've never heard a crowd cheer so loud for winning a coin toss," tackle and captain Jordan Gross said. "It was hilarious. I was pumping my fist. It was awesome."

The Panthers' coin toss troubles had become a running joke over the past few weeks. The organization even asked fans to vote for whether the team should call heads or tails during their Week 13 trip to Kansas City, but the fans lost that one.

Sunday's pre-game win was actually beneficial to the Panthers. They took the opening kickoff 77 yards in 11 plays, finishing off the drive with a 25-yard touchdown toss from Cam Newton to Greg Olsen. That set the tone for what was their most impressive performance of the year.

That's something Smith emphasized Monday on the heels of an ugly loss at Minnesota that knocked the Bears (8-5) out of first place in the division. They've dropped four of five and are free falling for the second straight year with Green Bay coming to Soldier Field this weekend.

If the Packers (9-4) win, they clinch the division and a wild card is no sure thing for Chicago.

The Bears were sixth in the NFC after Sunday's loss, with Washington, Dallas and Minnesota a game behind them.

"We need a little bit of help as far as the division is concerned," Smith said. "But we do control our playoff hopes. That's what we have to lay everything we do right now on, to just play better football."

That's something the Bears haven't done since they racked up 51 points in a win at Tennessee on Nov. 4. They were 7-1 after that game, but the schedule took a tougher turn with back-to-back losses against Houston and San Francisco that started this slide.

It lightens up after this week with games against Arizona and Detroit to close the season, although both are on the road. The Bears could get into the playoffs with fewer than 11 wins, but it might come down to tiebreakers.

"The pressure we're feeling right now is on our performances," Smith said. "Improving, it's on us. We talked about someone else controlling the division, but what happens to us, it doesn't really matter about the teams ahead of us or the teams behind us right now. It's just what we do. We're not looking at that at all. ... We have the Packers coming in and that's enough right there for all of our thoughts to just go on them."

The recent skid has only fueled the notion that the early run had as much to do with who the Bears were playing as it did with how good they are.

It's also sparked memories of last year's collapse and renewed speculation about Smith's future. He was spared at the end of last season while then-general manager Jerry Angelo got the ax, after the Bears went from 7-3 to finishing at 8-8.

New general manager Phil Emery had a mandate to keep the coach for this season, but beyond that?

"I think every day I've been here, each day I think all of us come to work we're going to do the best job we possibly can," said Smith, who's signed through 2013. "All of our futures are tied. It's all based on wins and losses, really, and I'm OK with that."

The Bears have lost all the momentum they had in the early going, just as they did after Jay Cutler broke his right thumb last season.

He was unable to finish the game against Houston because of a concussion and missed the next game at San Francisco. Against Minnesota, Cutler had to leave in the fourth quarter because of a sore neck.

Cutler took a hit to the head by Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen that drew a penalty, but he said afterward his neck was bothering him all afternoon and worsened as the game went on. Cutler finished that drive before Jason Campbell took over, but he doesn't expect to miss any more time.

Cutler said he received treatment for his sore neck Monday morning and expects to be ready for the Packers on Sunday.

"Unless something drastic happens, absolutely," Cutler said before adding: "Just tight. Got some treatment this morning, so should be ready to go later in the week."

Smith did not want to get specific about Cutler's condition.

"Without going into detail, which I don't really know, I think it's normal soreness that you would have from a stiff neck," Smith said. "But again, I try not to jump too far on that side, to try to play doctor too much.

"I just know yesterday -- I'm just basing it on what he has right now -- he has a sore neck."

I'll be following up on Cutler's status via Late-Breaking Updates in coming days; that won't be the case with kicker Robbie Gould.

The Bears placed Gould on the injured reserve list with a season-ending calf muscle injury Tuesday and signed veteran kicker Olindo Mare.

Mare won a tryout Tuesday morning, which included Billy Cundiff and Neil Rackers. All three kickers performed well, according to Chicago Tribune staffer Brad Biggs.

Mare, 39, kicked for the Carolina Panthers last season. He also has played for the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints and spent 10 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Mare has made 81.2 percent of his field goal attempts in his career and was 22-for-28 last season, when he also kicked 53 touchbacks for the Panthers.

Gould injured his left calf muscle in pregame warmups on Sunday at Minnesota. He was limited to kicking two extra points and one unsuccessful onside kick in the game. The Bears had punter Adam Podlesh handle kickoff duties and the team elected to pass on what would have been a 53-yard field goal attempt.

Gould wasn't the only player to land on injured reserve. Safety Craig Steltz (chest) and cornerback Sherrick McManis (knee) were also placed on IR, dealing a blow to special teams depth. The Bears promoted wide receiver Joe Anderson from the practice squad to the 53-man roster and signed linebacker Jerry Franklin off the practice squad of the Dallas Cowboys.

The Bears also announced that guard/center Andre Gurode has been waived, freeing up one more roster spot.

It's worth noting the Bears could point to a long list of injuries in recent weeks, with Brian Urlacher (hamstring) possibly out for the remainder of the season and cornerback Tim Jennings (shoulder) sidelined against Minnesota. But that only partially explains the poor execution on both sides of the ball, the lack of big plays on defense.

They were supposed to be built to weather them, anyway. And at the moment, the Packers are rolling despite a run of injuries that would have derailed most teams.

"Right now we just have to win out," receiver Brandon Marshall said after the loss at Minnesota. "It doesn't matter. Forget the Xs and Os, forget the first 11, 12 games of the season. All of that doesn't matter at this point. We have the guys in this locker room that can get it done and we have to get it done."

Dropped passes have been a serious issue.

According to Chicago Sun-Times staffer Sean Jensen, Devin Hester struggled to articulate his emotions beyond making no excuses for his dropped pass that likely would have resulted in a fourth-quarter touchdown against the Vikings.

‘‘I don't know, man," Hester told Jensen. ‘‘I don't know what to say right now. It's just frustrating. We just can't keep digging ourselves in a deeper hole. We've got to close this hole before it's too late."

Rookie Alshon Jeffery dropped what would have been a 39-yard touchdown pass with just more than a minute left in the third quarter.

Tight end Kellen Davis dropped what would have been at least a 15-yard gain midway through the fourth.

Hester dropped what would have been a 23-yard touchdown pass on third-and-six.

On the next play, Marshall dropped a fourth-down pass that would have kept the Bears' faint comeback hopes alive.

‘‘Nobody is perfect out here, but we have to pick each other up," Davis said. ‘‘We can't count on one guy to make all the plays all the time. Everybody has to step up and make the plays when they can. We've just got to get more consistent because we have the guys with the talent to do that."

Accountability isn't an issue. Jeffery (‘‘I just flat-out dropped it," he said), Hester (‘‘I just dropped it," he said), Davis (‘‘I should have had that one," he said) and Marshall accepted responsibility for their mistakes. Cutler even shifted the blame to himself when asked about the drops.

‘‘There were a lot of problems," he said. ‘‘I didn't play well."

But three games remain, and as Jensen notes, accountability must give way to consistency and reliability. Those qualities are what championship-caliber teams are made of.

The Bears entered the game Sunday tied for 20th in the NFL with 20 drops, according to STATS, well behind the league-leading Detroit Lions (36 drops). But the beleaguered Bears offense can't afford to squander scoring opportunities, such as Earl Bennett's drop against the Seattle Seahawks or Marshall's against the Houston Texans.

In a related item. ... Cutler got off to a slow start against the Vikings, completing 22 of 44 attempts for 260 yards to finish with a passer rating of 57.0 with two interceptions. Prior to Sunday's loss, Cutler hadn't thrown the ball 40 times or more in a game since Sept. 18, 2011 -- a loss at New Orleans.

Since Cutler became a Bear in 2009, the team has lost all six of its contests in which he finished with 40 or more attempts.

Cutler said the Bears "got the coverage we wanted on both" of his interceptions.

Other notes of interest. ... Marshall became the Bears' single-season reception record holder by grabbing 10 passes for 160 yards, giving him 101 catches, one more than Marty Booker had in 2001.

Campbell, in relief of Cutler, completed 6 of 9 passes for 64 yards and a 16-yard TD to Brandon Marshall for a 124.3 passer rating.

Jeffery caught three passes for 57 yards in his first game back after missing two with a knee injury. ...

A few final injury-related notes. ... Michael Bush reinjured his ribs and was limited to one carry for six yards while Bennett (concussion) could be back this week. I'll obviously be following up as needed in coming days.

For the second straight year, the Bengals find themselves 7-6 and just outside of a playoff berth in the AFC.

It didn't have to be that way though. They had a 19-10 lead going into the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against Dallas but the Cowboys scored the final 10 points and won 20-19 on a Dan Bailey 40-yard field goal with no time remaining.

When asked if this game reminded him of last year, when the Bengals had the same lead in a Week 14 game against Houston and lost by the same score, head coach Marvin Lewis said: "Yes, unfortunately I thought about that.

"It's a disappointing game to lose. We had too many opportunities to put more points on the board, make stops and we had too many dropped balls. We didn't do well defensively on third down and we left them on the field too often."

Green didn't catch a quick slant pass from Dalton in the third quarter Sunday, from the opponent's 7-yard line.

According to Cincinnati Enquirer staffer Paul Daugherty, "it was a catch so easy, a TD so sure; you could have yawned at its simplicity and begun making fun of the perpetually overhyped Cowboys."

Had the Bengals won, they would have sole possession of the sixth and final spot after Pittsburgh lost to San Diego 34-24. Instead, Cincinnati goes into Thursday night's game against Philadelphia needing to win. They also would have been within a game of Baltimore for the lead in the division.

Even if the Bengals do beat the Eagles, it is still going to come down to the final two games. They go to Pittsburgh on Dec. 23 and host Baltimore on Dec. 30. Considering division and conference tiebreakers, they would need to win both.

Unlike last year though, the Bengals are tied with three games left. They were one game behind the Jets last year and needed New York to lose its final three games, which happened.

In their latest misadventure, the Bengals flat-out flubbed a chance to put themselves in better shape for a playoff berth.

Penalties. Dropped passes. A game-turning interception. A defensive letdown at the end.

According to Associated Press sports writer Joe Kay, the Bengals reviewed all of those on Monday as they did a fast-forward to their next game, one that they now feel an urgency to win in order to stay in the race.

Lewis had his team report for an afternoon meeting, then held a light practice at Paul Brown Stadium in the evening, getting ready for the night game in Philadelphia. Having to move onto the next opponent so quickly seemed to be a benefit.

"I'm not the biggest fan of Thursday games, but I think it does (help)," Hall said. "You don't have Monday, Tuesday to sit around and think about it, the would-of, could-of, should-of type of things. We're already onto the Philly game plan. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... After having a nine-game touchdown streak earlier this year, Green hasn't scored in the last three games.

Against Dallas, he had one of his worst games as a Bengal with two drops, including the above-mentioned swish in the third quarter that would have led to a touchdown.

"I've had plenty of drops but not in critical games like that," Green said. "You get all of the glory or they get you down if you don't make the play. It comes with the territory and I'm comfortable with that. I make that catch nine out of 10 times."

The Bengals signed Josh Brown off the street after Mike Nugent suffered a right calf injury on Wednesday and got 13 points from him Sunday.

Brown made all four of his field goal attempts, including a 52-yarder, and an extra-point attempt. Five of his six kickoffs also resulted in touchbacks.

"Josh did a good job," Lewis said. "Every kick he had were ones we needed."

Brown had been out of the NFL since the Jets released him in late August. He made 21 of 28 field goal attempts with the Rams last season and entered Sunday with an 80.9 success rate on 272 career attempts.

"Mike Nugent could be completely healed by tomorrow or the next day and I'd be gone," said Brown, who spent five seasons with the Seahawks and then four with the Rams. "That's OK. I'm OK with that. My job here is to help this team win and take this opportunity no matter how long or how short it is and make it a really big impacting thing for me so other teams know that I'm not done.

"Other teams have got to see that I'm still capable of playing at a very high level and last year was just a fluke. I had an off year and now we're moving forward."

On Sunday, he made a pair of field goals from 25 yards and one from 33.

The 52-yard field goal that put the Bengals up 19-10 with 6:45 remaining in the third quarter was the 29th that he's made from 50 yards or longer in his career.

"The first one, you try to act like it's as normal as possible, but it's hard," Brown said. "This is the first time this has ever been the situation for me. These guys really made me feel comfortable this week and we worked hard and got in groove real quick with these guys. It's been a pretty easy transition."

Nugent is all but certain to miss Thursday's game. ...

BenJarvus Green-Ellis' streak of consecutive 100-yard games ended at three. He had 89 yards on 12 carries and is 26 yards away from his second 1,000-yard season.

Dan Herron played in his first NFL game. He played on special teams and got a piece of a punt during the first half. Herron might get another shot this week with Cedric Peerman (ankle) is still unable to practice and will be listed as doubtful for Thursday. ...

Andrew Hawkins had six receptions, which is the second most of his career. He also has scored touchdowns in two of the last three games he has played.

Armon Binns, who was waived on Saturday, was claimed by the Dolphins. The Bengals were hoping he would clear waivers and return to Cincinnati. Ryan Whalen could see increased snaps with the team down to just five receivers. Whalen has six receptions on the season and saw eight snaps against Dallas.

On Sunday, Weeden and Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III will be on center stage in Cleveland Browns Stadium if a knee injury Griffin suffered Sunday does not prevent him from playing. This match has added significance because the Browns were outbid by the Redskins when both teams tried to acquire the second pick of the draft from the Rams.

The Redskins won the derby. The Browns were happy to get running back Trent Richardson, Weeden and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz with their first three picks.

Griffin has already established himself as the quarterback of the future in Washington and Weeden is hoping he does enough so the Browns don't go quarterback hunting again in April. The Browns have had 17 starting quarterbacks since 1999 and none since Charlie Frye in 2006 and '07 has started back to back openers.

"I knew the names of the guys that came through (before being drafted) but I didn't know the history and what happened," Weeden said. "I knew they took Brady [Quinn] in the first round and I knew they took Colt [McCoy] and Jake Delhomme was here and all those guys. I knew what was going on but I didn't get wrapped up in it until I got here.

"I want to be the guy for the long term. If I can take care of what I can control -- that means playing well, winning games, taking care of this locker room and being the guy everybody looks to lead this team -- then hopefully I'll be around for a while and help this organization win some games."

The Browns and Weeden are 5-8 after beating the Chiefs, 30-7, giving him the record for wins by a Browns rookie. He has three 300-plus yards passing games. One more would put him on a plane with Brian Sipe as the only Browns quarterbacks with at least four 300-yard games in a season.

Offensive coordinator Brad Childress said Weeden knows his receivers better than even a month ago. That is a byproduct of Josh Gordon and Greg Little establishing themselves as the No. 1 and No. 2 receivers.

"He's had steady improvement with his receivers because he understands conceptually where everybody will be," Childress said. "You have to know what everybody's skill set is, how they're going to go about getting to a spot. They're all kind of different. You have to take that and transfer that into your scheme to know how it's going to come out. ...

Meanwhile, as Cleveland Plain Dealer staff writer Tom Reed notes, head coach Pat Shurmur has been second-guessed about game-management decisions in many a news conference. It's one of the occupational hazards facing every NFL coach no matter the record.

But in his meeting with the press following the win over the Chiefs on Sunday the first person to second guess Shurmur was, well, Shurmur.

In his opening remarks the coach said he made a mistake by removing halfback Montario Hardesty as the Browns were about to score their final touchdown. The reserve back ran the ball five times on the fourth-quarter drive for 35 yards before fumbling at the goal line. While Hardesty recovered the ball, the Browns inserted Richardson who scored on a 1-yard run.

Hardesty was visibly upset with Shurmur's decision. The coach put his arm around the running back and later talked to him again on the sidelines. Hardesty had fumbled twice in preseason and the coaching staff appeared hesitant to play him for weeks.

"I am so upset with myself though for not giving Hardesty that opportunity to score there," Shurmur said in his opening remarks. "I'm [mad] at myself for doing that. There was nothing to it, it just happened. Montario, as you could see, earned the right to carry the football, which he did.

"He did a good job for us. I trust him in every situation. The people that write about him and follow him ought to be proud of his efforts this year. He's done an outstanding job. I just wanted to get that out there."

Shurmur's wasn't finished. He walked into the locker room and interrupted Hardesty's chat with several reporters to say he didn't think the halfback lost possession on the play – "he extended the ball to score, that's not a fumble" – before adding, "this guy has done great."

Hardesty finished as the team's leading rusher with 52 yards on 10 carries. He also dropped a pass. Richardson scored two touchdowns, but managed just 42 yards on 18 attempts.

In the past three weeks, the Browns have given Hardesty more carries and he's proven to be an effective change-of-pace runner. He certainly has demonstrated a quicker burst than Richardson, who continues to play through a rib injury.

Hardesty had a 25-yard run late in the third quarter to help set up the final touchdown. The halfback was asked what he told Shurmur as he came to the sidelines after being replaced on the goal line.

"'I'm ready to go, coach, let me stay in and get the ball into the end zone,'" Hardesty said. "It's all good. I just want to get a touchdown for this team, that's all."

For the record, Richardson's two touchdowns give him nine for the season and tying the franchise rookie mark of Jim Brown set in 1957.

"Something like that is an honor," Richardson said. "Jim Brown is an icon, always will be. He's one of those guys you want to follow in his footsteps any which way you (can)."

Other notes of interest. ... Phil Dawson admitted he was nervous about converting his 300th field goal on Sunday. He hit the milestone with a 23-yarder in the first quarter before adding two others of 24 and 34 yards.

"(I've) worked a long time to have a chance to get there and to be right on the doorstep sometimes is worse than being 50 away," Dawson said in explaining the butterflies. ...

Weeden said he razzed Little after he was tackled at the 1 following his 17-yard run. Little lined up in the slot, motioned in to the backfield and took a pitch from Weeden.

"I like how that one was schemed up," said Weeden. "We ran the empty set. I'm under center which doesn't happen very often, and they really didn't know how to line up to it. I told Greg probably 10 times I'm disappointed he didn't get into the end zone. I was joking with him, but I think he wanted to get in the end zone."

Shurmur entered Little into the "tackled at the one club" that included Josh Cribbs.

Still, as the Sports Xchange notes, Little has played well since the bye week. Little had four catches for 69 yards and a 17-yard run on an end-around. His improvement combined with the play of Josh Gordon is bringing to fruition the Browns dream of two big, fast and strong wideouts helping each other.

Worth noting: Gordon was tackled once at the 2 after an 18-yard catch.

Nonetheless, Gordon caught a team-high eight passes for 86 yards against the Chiefs to take over second place among Browns receivers with 42 catches. Richardson leads the team with 45 receptions.

As the Xchange suggests, Gordon's progress has been amazing, given he came to training camp having not played in two years. ...

And finally. ... The Browns promoted tight end/fullback Brad Smelley from their practice squad on Tuesday.

The 20-19 comeback victory was the second straight win for the Cowboys and fourth in their last five games as they upped their record to 7-6.

They remain tied with the Redskins, one behind the Giants (8-5) in the race for the NFC East title. They still have an outside chance at a wild-card spot.

The Cowboys know they must win their final three games against the Steelers (7-6) next Sunday, the Saints (5-8) Dec. 23 and at Washington Dec. 12 to have legitimate playoff hopes.

But none of that really mattered on Sunday, a day that capped a horrific and tragic weekend after practice-squad linebacker Jerry Brown was killed in a car accident. Nose tackle Josh Brent was arrested for vehicular manslaughter for allegedly causing the wreck by driving under the influence.

Quarterback Tony Romo said it was something he and his teammates had never experienced before and they didn't quite know how to react after the huge emotional win.

"You think everything," Romo said. "In a 10-second span you think about those guys, you think about the situations of all the guys who battled out there on the field to win, you think about their families, you think about the team and keeping our playoff chances alive. It's a roller coaster of emotion. I don't know what's right. I don't know what's wrong. I don't know what you're supposed to do or feel or whatever. I just know there is a lot of things that go in and out of your thought process of this last 24 to 36 hours. It consumes your thoughts."

The Cowboys had a memorial service for Brown on Tuesday. Head coach Jason Garrett called Brown's mother after the game and will present the family with the game ball. Garrett said this was unchartered territory and that everyone was just numb.

"This was a life situation, a real tragedy," Garrett said with tears welling up in his eyes. "I think everybody had a flood of emotions over the last couple of days. I keep using the word numb cause that is how we all feel. When it goes through and you think about how everybody fought, how everybody battled. You think about the young man we lost. You almost want to drop to your knees. There were a lot hugs in the locker room. There was a lot of real emotion, raw emotion in the locker room. I thought we honored him as well as he could be honored. This is a day I'm never going to forget. It's a tragic day for all of us. I'm never going to forget how this football team came together and honored Jerry Brown and his family. We'll continue to mourn his loss. We'll continue to miss him and we'll never forget about him."

Owner Jerry Jones said he was proud of the team as well as the coaching staff for getting them through it all.

"The game was a respite to take their minds off something a lot more important and that's the gone life of Jerry Brown," owner Jones said. "Josh, all of our team is concerned for Josh and support him in every way that we can. I am proud of them, knowing that everyone had their mind on the tragedy and where the important things are and they do and this team did, knowing they had that and to stick in there and come back and get a win against a well-coached, fine Cincinnati team ..."

But there are other issues.

Dez Bryant met with a hand specialist Monday afternoon to determine whether he needs season-ending surgery on his index finger.

Bryant suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 20-19 victory against the Bengals. He caught a slant route and was tackled by cornerback Adam Jones. Bryant went to the sideline after the play to get it checked out. He missed five plays before returning to the game and eventually catching a 27-yard touchdown pass to help spark the comeback victory

After the game, Bryant said called the injury a sprain.

But further tests on Monday revealed the injury may be more serious. The Cowboys are trying to determine if he can play with the injury the rest of the way without risking further damage, delaying surgery until after the season.

There is no question that Bryant would continue to play if at all possible.

In fact, Bryant has decided to play Sunday against the Steelers unless he's told he can't, a source close to the receiver told ESPN Tuesday morning.

"Unless the doctors say he medically can't do it, Dez is going to play," the source said.

Bryant subsequently confirmed that notion to FOXSports Southwest's Mike Fisher.

"It would take more than this to take me out," Dez said, in a sense angry at being given an initial no-go by team doctors. "No way. They'd have to break my leg to keep me out."

Garrett said the decision will be made the doctors.

"Well, it's a medical decision first and foremost," Garrett said. "The doctors are going to say, ‘Hey, this is what it is, and this is what we feel like you need to do,' and then we're going to say, ‘OK, well what are the other options,' like you do with any injury, and you go forward and you make your best decision, not only for now, but for the future. Dez is very passionate about playing. Anyone who's been around him knows that. He actually hurt his finger prior to catching that touchdown pass that was such a difference-making play in the game. He's just one of those guys. He loves to play. He's very emotional about the game, very passionate about the game, so we're going to do everything we can to give him a chance to play. At the same time, there's a medical decision as well that we have to factor into this thing, and we'll do the right thing."

Jerry Jones had a slightly different take during his weekly radio show on Tuesday.

"I know he wants to play," Jones said. "Dez will be the ultimate decision-maker on surgery or playing with some kind of padding."

Bryant was scheduled to visit team doctors on Wednesday for a follow-up exam. Bryant is trying to determine how he feels with his finger taped while also wearing a splint. He did not practice Wednesday as a result.

If he plays, the Cowboys also must still determine how the fracture can be protected and whether Bryant will be able to catch the football with protection on his finger.

The protection will be important. As ESPN.com's Calvin Watkins noted, Bryant is one of the more physical players on the Cowboys offensive unit, after he gets tackled, he continues to fight through defenders until the last possible moment.

If he needs surgery now, then Bryant will be sidelined for the final three games, ending his season on injured reserve for the second time in his career.

He missed the final four games of the 2010 season with a broken ankle.

The loss of Bryant would be a huge blow for the Cowboys. They will be hard pressed to make the push necessary to reach the playoffs without Bryant who is in the midst of a breakout season with 75 catches for 1,028 yards and nine touchdowns. He has had a touchdown in each of the last five games.

If Bryant needs surgery, he would be seventh starter to go in injured reserve, including safety Barry Church, linebacker Sean Lee, linebacker Bruce Carter, cornerback Orlando Scandrick, defensive end Kenyon Coleman and punter Chris Jones. ...

Stay tuned. I'll obviously be following up. ...

Other notes of interest. ... When Bailey connected on the game-winning kick in Cincinnati, it was his second game-winning field goal of the season (vs. Cleveland, Nov. 18, 38-yarder in overtime) and the sixth of his career. Bailey's six game-winning kicks are second in franchise history behind Rafael Septien's seven.

Romo opened the Bengals game completing his first five passes. Along with his 12 straight completed from last week against the Eagles (last two of the second quarter and all 10 in the second half), Romo established a new club record for consecutive completions (17).

The Cowboys rushed for 49 yards on 24 carries in Cincy. DeMarco Murray had just 53 yards on 24 carries as the Bengals' defensive line dominated up front. But the Cowboys stuck with the run and Murray made three first downs rushing on the game-winning field-goal drive. ...

Murray did not practice Wednesday, but Watkins reports the absence is a precautionary measure more than anything else, and Murray is expected to play Sunday. ...

And finally. ... The Sports Xchange reports that Dwayne Harris has emerged as the third receiver, surpassing Kevin Ogletree on merit, according to Garrett.

But with the 10-3 Broncos now in front of Baltimore by one game, their situation remains virtually unchanged: they still need to win to take a lead and gain the upper hand in the tiebreaker, and they still need a New England loss in order to have a chance of a playoff bye.

The Broncos appear to be catching the Ravens at the right time; Baltimore has lost two straight and is a modest 4-3 since a 5-1 start, while the Broncos' eight-game winning streak is their longest since 1998 even though it includes just one win over a team that currently has a winning record.

The moment appears to favor the Broncos even if their history doesn't. Denver is 0-5 all-time against the Ravens in Baltimore, with all of the losses coming by double digits. Denver hasn't won a game in Baltimore since 1983, when John Elway, then a rookie, led the Broncos to a 14-10 win over the Colts, who he spurned after they took him first overall in the draft, forcing a trade to Denver and altering the destiny of both franchises.

But Peyton Manning might tip the scale in Denver's favor. While the Broncos were stumbling in Baltimore, their quarterback, then with the Indianapolis Colts, flourished, winning four games in Baltimore since losing in 2001 and eight in a row regardless of venue.

"When I was in Baltimore, we just called him 'The Baltimore Killer,'" Broncos defensive tackle Justin Bannan said earlier this year.

Manning's arrival outweighs the expected return of Baltimore's Ray Lewis from recallable injured reserve. The notion that Lewis can solve all of Baltimore's defensive issues is shortsighted; they've allowed 38.6 more yards per game in the six weeks Lewis played than the seven without him.

Earlier this season, the Broncos caught the Falcons and Texans at the wrong time. Heading into this weekend, it appears the opposite in the case with the Ravens. ...

John Fox and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy were fully conscious of the ground game's recent deficiencies and the need to improve it in time for potentially foul-weather playoff games, so they emphasized it in practice last week.

They followed through in the win at Oakland on Thursday, giving Knowshon Moreno more work than any Broncos running back has had in more than eight years. Moreno finished with 119 yards on 32 carries good for his first 100-yard game since Dec. 5, 2010 and at one point carried the football on seven of eight plays during the Broncos' final drive. ...

Moreno's 32 carries Thursday were a career high, the second-most for any running back in the league this year and the most for any Bronco in eight years.

As impressive as Moreno and the rushing attack were, it's still the passing game that generates the excitement.

And Demaryius Thomas is the most exciting of all Manning's targets.

As Associated Press sports writer Arnie Stapleton notes, Thomas is the biggest wide receiver Manning has ever played with and he's coming up bigger and bigger by the week.

"Every time I play with him, I feel like we improve," Manning said.

After injuries limited him to seven starts in his first two seasons in Denver, Thomas has had a breakout season with Manning delivering sharp passes and pointers alike.

With 74 catches for 1,197 yards and eight touchdowns, the 6-5, 225-pound receiver is a big reason the Broncos haven't lost in more than two months and are making a charge for one of the two AFC playoff byes.

Last week, Thomas caught two head-turning touchdown passes that even had Manning amazed at the chemistry these two have formed in just 13 games together.

On one, Manning and Thomas recognized a mismatch and changed the play on the fly, and Thomas reached high between a Tampa Bay safety and linebacker in tight coverage to snare the TD throw. On the other score, Thomas curled around a cornerback in the end zone and just as he turned, the pass from Manning was in the crick of his right elbow.

"I was like, man, how did you get that through there?" Thomas said. "He was on me like a blanket."

It was an example of the rapport Thomas and Manning have quickly developed in their short time together.

"An old coach would call that an anticipatory throw," Manning said. "I threw that ball super early and Demaryius kind of came right around the DB and made a heck of a catch. That was really a special play."

It reinforced everything everybody told Thomas when Manning signed with the Broncos back in March: Get open and he'll get you the ball where no one else can touch it.

"That was an amazing throw. I never saw anything like that in my life," Thomas said. "This guy just does things every week that it's like, gosh, this guy amazes me."

That's precisely what so many are now saying about Thomas, who is tied with Detroit's Calvin Johnson with 17 receptions of 25 or more yards and ranks second to Carolina's Steve Smith with 16.2 yards per catch among receivers with at least 60 receptions.

While others marvel at his size and speed or even his great hands, teammate Brandon Stokley said it's the big man's footwork that's so impressive.

"For a guy that big, it's unbelievable," Stokley said.

Against San Diego last month, for instance, the officials ruled Thomas had only gotten one foot inbounds on a full sprint through the left corner of the end zone, but in slow motion replay they saw him drag his right foot ever so slightly as his momentum carried him out of bounds.

Touchdown, Thomas.

"He's got the total package and he's worked extremely hard on the details of things," Stokley told Stapleton. "And that's gotten him a lot better, and I think that's come from having Peyton here and from working with Peyton."

It also helped to have a full training camp.

Thomas was dogged by a broken foot, sprained ankle, concussion, torn Achilles and fractured finger in his first two seasons after leaving Georgia Tech following his junior season. He missed training camp his rookie year after aggravating a foot injury and he missed camp last year after tearing an Achilles tendon in offseason workouts.

He was coming off yet another surgery, to remove pins in his left pinkie, when Manning signed with the Broncos in the spring. So, he got a late start working with his new quarterback while fellow starting wide receiver Eric Decker became Manning's shadow and workout partner.

Thomas quickly caught up, though.

"I thought it would be a concern at first but I knew whenever I got back on the field I just had to work and work and just listen and pay attention and do everything that he wanted me to do," Thomas said.

His head was swimming so much at first that Thomas said he felt like he was in kindergarten with Manning the teacher. Now, he feels like he's at least working on a college degree with his quarterback.

"I feel that I've stepped up and I just think the chemistry is going to build higher and higher," Thomas said. ...

In a related note. ... Manning's first-quarter touchdown pass Thursday gave him 30 for the year and clinched his seventh season with at least 30 touchdown passes. Only Brett Favre has more 30-touchdown campaigns, with nine.

Other notes of interest. ... Decker led the Broncos with 88 yards on eight catches Thursday after averaging just 2.5 receptions for 29.8 yards in the previous four games.

Joel Dreessen caught his fifth touchdown pass of the season Thursday. Broncos tight ends have seven touchdowns this year one more than the team's tight ends amassed in the three previous seasons combined.

According to Profootballfocus.com, Jacob Tamme played just 29-of-84 plays (34.5 percent) with Stokley back in the lineup.

On the injury front. ... Thomas left Thursday's game after injuring his AC joint at the end of the first quarter. He returned after halftime and had 52 yards on three catches in the second half, but was seen icing down the shoulder in the locker room after the game. The injury is not considered serious.

Stokley returned to the lineup after missing last Sunday's game against Tampa Bay because of a hip injury, but did not catch a pass and wasn't even targeted.

These last three games, starting at Arizona next Sunday, are essentially an open audition for 2013 roster spots.

"We've been in every single game we've played this year," quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "But being in games doesn't mean (crap) in this league. It's about getting wins. We understand that as a team, it's just tough when the ball isn't going your way and we aren't helping it go our way."

The Lions won't flip the depth chart and start playing rookies and developmental players over veterans and starters. Riley Reiff, for example isn't going to start over a healthy Jeff Backus.

"I know a lot of people look to the future," head coach Jim Schwartz said. "We're not. We're looking game-by-game what we think will give us a good chance."

No, they will play to win the games. But make no mistake, jobs are on the line in this final quarter -- for established veterans and younger players alike.

"That's just the NFL in general," Schwartz said. "We talked in training camp a little bit about Calvin Johnson diving for some balls and us jokingly saying, 'Hey, you keep practicing like that you might make the team this year.' But the best players have that attitude all the time and we're certainly looking for those kinds of guys.

"There are tremendous opportunities still. There are opportunities for this franchise. There are opportunities for individual players. Most of all there's opportunity for the team and the guys that do the best for the team are the guys that are going to be rewarded."

Twenty-nine players on the 53-man roster are headed to free agency after this season, 22 of those are unrestricted. Ten of those are starters and key rotation players on defense -- cornerback Chris Houston, safety Louis Delmas, linebackers Justin Durant and DeAndre Levy, defensive linemen Cliff Avril, Corey Williams, Lawrence Jackson, Sammie Hill and Willie Young (restricted) and cornerback Jacob Lacey.

General manager Martin Mayhew will have his hands full, and the evaluation process has already begun. ...

Meanwhile, the Lions' offense was masterful early in the game Sunday, and then it stagnated.

They rushed for a season-high 117 yards in the first half, and Stafford was able to complement that by hitting 13 of 16 passes for 114 yards, to six different receivers. It was all working, and then it stopped. They mustered just 18 yards in the second half. Stafford went cold, 14 for 29.

What happened? The Packers changed their defense. They dialed up more run blitzes and stuffed the box. The Lions never completely adjusted, which points out the next step Stafford needs to take in his evolution. He is still slow at times to adapt to changing defenses. There were times when Johnson was getting single coverage and Stafford never looked at him.

Right now, Stafford is like a streak shooter in basketball. If he's hot, he's unstoppable. When he's not, he hasn't figured out how to re-ignite quickly. ...

By the way. ... The Lions extended their NFL record for consecutive road losses to 22 games, including the playoffs, with Sunday's 27-20 loss to the Packers at Lambeau Field.

They haven't won a game in Wisconsin since 1991, and kicker Jason Hanson, who's been a part of the entire streak, has seen it wear on his psyche.

"I hate it," Hanson said. "I don't know what to say. I feel like I have to answer for it. Maybe I'm the one common denominator."

A second-round pick in 1992, Hanson made two of three field goals Sunday, missing a 51-yarder short early in the fourth quarter. He made kicks of 46 and 34 yards.

"I've said this before, there were years there where we just weren't good enough, it's hard to come in here and win," Hanson said. "But there were years when we were, in the ‘90s and last year, and this year, really. We're just not getting it done. So it's an ugly streak. Even though most of the guys here aren't part of (all of) it, it's a bad one. We've got to get rid of it."

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said the streak crept into his mind after the Lions took a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The Lions also own the second-longest road losing streak in NFL history, 21 games to the Redskins. They play at both Green Bay and Washington next year. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Signed off the practice squad last Tuesday, Kris Durham started in his first career game with the Lions, caught four passes for 54 yards -- more than he had in three games as a rookie with the Seahawks last year -- and played 78 of 84 offensive snaps in Sunday night's loss to the Green Bay Packers.

According to Detroit Free Press beat man David Birkett, Durham, who played three years with Stafford at Georgia, was on the field more than every Lion but Stafford, Johnson and the starting offensive line.

With three of their top four pass catchers out for the season -- Nate Burleson broke his leg in October, Ryan Broyles tore his ACL last week, and Titus Young was sent to injured reserve after repeated discipline problems -- Durham should continue to play a big role at receiver over the final three weeks and have a chance to earn a roster spot next year.

While Durham hardly came off the field Sunday, Mike Thomas barely got on it. Acquired in an October trade with Jacksonville, Thomas played just 17 snaps, or 20 percent of the Lions' offensive plays. He wasn't targeted on a single pass but did have two carries for 25 yards.

Brandon Pettigrew played just 16 plays before leaving with a sprained ankle.

Pettigrew was hurt on Stafford's first-quarter touchdown run and returned briefly to the game before leaving for good. But even in his absence, the Lions stuck with their two tight-end package. Will Heller played a season-high 64 snaps, and Tony Scheffler played 61, with Scheffler catching a 3-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and Heller hauling in four catches for 21 yards, his biggest day since Week 10 of the 2009 season.

"It always hurts to lose a guy that's a really good tight end in this league," Stafford said. "I thought Will came in and did a heck of a job, made some catches for us in those two-minute drives. That's one of the great luxuries of having a guy like Will Heller is he can step in and play all those tight-end positions when you need him to."

Pettigrew had tests Monday on the ankle he injured Sunday. He didn't practice Wednesday. Johnson (knee) was limited. I'll have more on their status via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses (although there's no real concern Johnson's knee will keep him from playing). ...

Johnson had his streak of 125-yard receiving games end at five. He had 10 catches for 118 yards and he has gone over 1,500 yards for the second straight year. He joins Andre Johnson and Marvin Harrison as the only receivers in NFL history to have consecutive 1,500-yard seasons. ...

Stafford has passed the 4,000-yard mark (4,006) in 13 games. No other Lions quarterback has ever got to 4,000 yards in 13 games. He and Jon Kitna are the only two quarterbacks in team history to throw for 4,000 yards in more than one season.

Stafford also committed two turnovers that helped swing the momentum to Green Bay. He had the ball slip out of his hands on a pass attempt in the second quarter. DE Mike Daniels picked it up and ran it 43 yards for a score. Stafford was also intercepted in the first half. ...

And finally. ... The rushing attack enjoyed a productive first half (117 yards) and nothing in the second (18). Mikel Leshoure and Joique Bell each had 49 yards.

Armour added: "Heck, even the folks in Green Bay could have been forgiven for feeling a little pessimistic. The injuries were already starting to pile up, and the Packers had been the victims of the Inaccurate Reception.

"With a losing record five weeks in and the Chicago Bears off to a blazing start, a wild card seemed about the best the Packers could do.

"Now look at them. ..."

One of the NFL's hottest teams over the past two months with seven victories in eight games, Green Bay (9-4) can clinch the division title with a win Sunday in Chicago.

"I'm focused on going to Chicago and winning the division," head coach Mike McCarthy said.

Green Bay weathered one more week without having defensive leaders Clay Matthews (hamstring) and Charles Woodson (collarbone) as well as playmaking receiver Jordy Nelson (hamstring) in the big comeback against the Lions at wintry Lambeau Field.

The Packers spotted Detroit a 14-0 lead in its first two series before rookie defensive end Mike Daniels made one of the biggest plays in possibly another memorable season for Green Bay. His return of a Matthew Stafford fumble 43 yards for a touchdown as the snow fell pulled the Packers within 14-10 in the second quarter.

Green Bay last had a rookie defensive lineman score a touchdown on a fumble return in 1941.

"We'll need that type of play down the stretch," said cornerback Tramon Williams, pointing to the contributions by a number of young players on the injury-riddled defense this season.

"We've had to earn everything we have this year," Pickett said. "It's been a learning experience. A lot of young guys are getting involved, which I think is going to help us down the road.

The Packers will take a five-game winning streak against the Bears into Sunday's game.

The common denominator in the string of victories, which started in the 2010 regular-season finale, is Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers hasn't thrown for 300 yards in any of those games. His highest passing output was 297 yards in a 27-17 victory at Chicago early last season.

In Week 2 this season, Rodgers passed for 219 yards and a touchdown in the Packers' 23-10 win at Lambeau.

And if the Packers keep running the ball as well as they did against the Lions, Rodgers might be a role player again in this one.

The Packers rushed for 140 yards in beating Green Bay. Alex Green (69 yards on 13 attempts) and DuJuan Harris (31 yards on seven carries) chipped away at Detroit for four quarters.

And in their last five games, the Packers are averaging 136 rushing yards per contest.

As Milwaukee Journal Sentinel staffer Tyler Dunne noted, veteran Ryan Grant has been around for four playoff runs here. That's a good omen, he says.

"Weather-wise, of course with what goes on here," Grant said, "that helps if you can get some games here in the postseason. You want to be playing your best football going into the end of the year and be as balanced as possible. I think the more diverse you are, the better you are as a team."

So when a 17-17 game entered the fourth quarter, McCarthy made a statement. The Packers ran the ball on seven straight plays covering 59 yards to take the lead for good on Harris' 14-yard touchdown. All three running backs on the roster -Green, Harris and Grant -- touched the ball on the drive.

Neither Grant nor left tackle Marshall Newhouse could recall the last time the Packers reeled off seven straight running plays. Maybe, Grant guessed, one time against the Lions in 2009. That's not the norm in Green Bay, where McCarthy would much rather spread a defense out with multiple receivers. But for now, it's necessary and effective.

"We were just doing what we were allowed to do and forced the issue a little bit," Newhouse said. "We had Ryan, DuJuan and Alex for a change of pace. It was an important drive in the flow of the game.

"At that point in time, running the ball seemed like the best answer, and we have the offensive line and running backs capable to do it."

Green, who had 27 of the 59 yards on the fourth-quarter drive, labeled it a "Packer drive." Nothing was said before that fourth-quarter possession.

"We all know what needs to be done," Green said. "Not many words need to be said. Just some eye contact. We kind of all feel it. We knew we had to run the ball and pound these guys a little bit."

Again, the Lions welcomed the run against Green Bay, sitting back in their two-safety shell. So the Packers took it. Rodgers scrambled for a 27-yard score and the Packers used multiple backs against the Lions. In the teams' first meeting, McCarthy expressed regret over leaning on James Starks too much.

This time, five players carried the ball. Green continues to hit his stride, slicing up field with better timing. Grant popped loose for 13 yards on his lone carry. And maybe the Packers have themselves a wild card in Harris, a second-year back.

Signed to the practice squad in late October, Harris has been on the 53-man roster for a week. Teammates noticed him immediately.

"The first day of practice. He jumped out at practice," Newhouse said. "He was the guy -- even all the vets -- that you noticed. Definitely."

On his first carry since Dec. 5, 2011, as a rookie in Jacksonville, Harris lowered his shoulder into a Detroit defender. There was some frustration released. Contact was needed, he said. It took a full year, but he's getting a shot.

Rodgers and the Packers would probably love for defenses to change it up. Until then, they'll take these games. Through these last five games -- even as the rushing game comes to life -- Green Bay is still facing Cover 2 defenses.

Green was a bit irritated about the early criticism the Packers' rushing game received, citing the common "2 yards per carry" reference to his first three games as the main ball carrier. That's been changing in a hurry. His season average is up to 3.5.

On Sunday, the Packers' 2-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust running game was a foggy memory.

"We're going to keep working," Green said, "Keep fighting. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... Rodgers completed just 14 of 24 passes for a season-low 173 yards Sunday night. Rodgers didn't have a touchdown pass for the first time in his last 36 home games at Lambeau Field (snapping his NFL record at the same venue) but had a career-best TD run of 27 yards early in the third quarter to help Green Bay overcome a 14-0 deficit.

Randall Cobb had team highs of seven catches and 102 receiving yards in the 27-20 comeback victory over Detroit on Sunday night. It was the second 100-yard receiving game for Cobb this season. He also had seven receptions for 102 yards in the Packers' Sunday night rout of Houston on Oct. 14. ...

A few final notes. ... It's too soon to know whether Nelson, a starter who ranks third on the team with six touchdown catches, will be healthy enough to play at Chicago this week, but McCarthy on Wednesday suggested the wideout is a longshot.

This after Nelson didn't practice Wednesday. ...

Starks didn't play on Sunday night because of a knee injury he sustained in the previous game. Starks is expected to be out at least a few more weeks.

The Texans hardly resembled the team with the best record in the NFL on a night the Patriots showcased why they have been one of the best teams this millennium.

The Texans arrived in Foxboro with a perfect road record this season as the NFL's only one-loss team. Showing why the Patriots have won three Super Bowls and 10 AFC titles over the last 12 seasons, New England took a 28-0 lead before Arian Foster got the Texans on the board in the third quarter.

"How you respond to defeat, or how you respond to not playing well, says a lot about your team," head coach Gary Kubiak said.

"They just taught us how to play championship football," linebacker Bradie James said.

The Texans' offensive line, which had entered the game tied with the New York Giants for first in the NFL in sacks allowed with 15, allowed two more sacks on Monday, but it was more than that.

Schaub was on the receiving end of pressure often throughout the game as he completed just 19 of 32 passes for a 59.4 completion percentage, his lowest since a 13-6 win over the Bears in early November.

And the incompletes often came when the Texans desperately needed to move the chains.

They converted four of 14 third-down attempts in addition to a pair of failed fourth-down conversions.

"Their whole defense as a team was prepared for this game and it showed," said tackle Ryan Harris.

According to ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky, down four touchdowns at the start of the fourth quarter, Kubiak surrendered. His offense didn't hurry, huddling at its regular pace. Schaub handed the ball off to third-string running back Ben Tate until it was time to punt.

Players stopped short of calling it a white flag, but receiver Andre Johnson and left tackle Duane Brown didn't love it. They shouldn't have. It sends a team a bad message to give up at that point. At least go down slinging it.

"I have no control over that," Johnson said.

"I just line up and do my job," Brown said.

Schaub pointed to the short week ahead and a crucial game against Indianapolis as a reason for letting up.

According to Houston Chronicle staffer Jason Mastrodonato, one by one, Texans players lined up to talk about how they left too many plays on the field.

This was a test. A test against a team they might very well see again in the playoffs.

"You just remember the feeling that we're feeling in this locker room right now," said cornerback Jonathan Joseph.

And with an offense that's thrived off of balance, this line will have to figure out how to stop deceiving ones like the Patriots, especially in the postseason.

"We have to make blocks up front," Brown said. "Against good teams like this that you have to play in the postseason, you're in a fight like that and you have to make plays." The Texans now return home to face the Colts at noon Sunday at Reliant Stadium.

"Gotta refocus on the Colts," Schaub said. "We didn't play well across the board. Learn from this one, move on. In this business you have to have short-term memory."

Meanwhile, Nick Wright of 610 SportsRadio in Houston noted via Twitter that Schaub has had five performances this year that generated a passer rating of less than 80.

And all five came during nationally-televised games.

The first was on an early October Monday night against the Jets. Schaub completed 14 of 28 passes with a touchdown and a pick and a passer rating of 71.9.

Six days later, during a home-field hammering by the Packers, Schaub threw two picks and no touchdowns en route to a 56.6 passer rating.

Against the Bears on Sunday Night Football in November, Schaub had fewer than 100 yards passing and a rating lower than 43.

And that Thanksgiving Day epic in Detroit didn't result in an epic passer rating for Schaub; he was still south of 80.

Monday night in Foxboro, during the so-called biggest game in franchise history, Schaub finished with a 68.8 passer rating.

According to Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio, the message is that, for whatever reason, Schaub isn't stepping up when the Texans step on to the big stage. That doesn't bode well for the Texans come January, especially since Schaub has no playoff experience of his own.

Last year, Schaub was injured when T.J. Yates beat the Bengals at home before giving the Ravens all they could handle in Baltimore. ...

The good news?

Despite Monday's loss to the Patriots, the Texans could still wrap up a first-round bye this week but they can't clinch the No. 1 seed yet.

Here's what can happen:

Texans can clinch the division title with a win over Indianapolis on Sunday at Reliant Stadium.

Texans can clinch a first-round bye with a win over Indianapolis and either a New England loss or tie (the Patriots host San Francisco on Sunday night) or a Denver loss (the Broncos are at Baltimore).

The Colts also have something to play for this week. They can clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Texans. They can also back in with a loss to the Texans and several other teams losing.

The only other key AFC playoff spot that can be clinched is the Ravens getting the AFC North with a win against Denver.

The top seed won't be able to be determined this week. Houston (11-2), New England (10-3) and Denver (10-3) and even the Colts (9-4) and Ravens (9-4) are in the running for that.

A quirk in the schedule has the Texans and Colts playing two times in the last three weeks.

The Texans host the Colts, host Minnesota and visit Indianapolis. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Because the Texans fell behind so far so fast at New England, they couldn’t run as much as they wanted.

Foster carried 15 times for 46 yards. Tate gained 46 yards on eight carries.

“We were throwing it trying to get back in the game, so it wouldn’t have mattered who was back there,” Kubiak said. “There weren’t a lot of carries to go around for what we were trying to do.

“I reached a point, too, where I wanted to take another look at Ben and see how he was performing after his second week back.

“Arian is fine. If we’re playing in the type of game we want to play in, I think he carries the ball 25 to 28 times, but it just didn’t happen that way. ...”

Kubiak also suggested that Tate has moved back ahead of Justin Forsett to reclaim the No. 2 spot. ...

Johnson caught eight passes, but for only 11.9 yards a clip. Arian Foster managed only 85 total yards. ...

And finally. ... The coaches are hoping to get back two key players who missed the New England game because of injuries.

Kubiak said Tuesday he hopes right tackle Derek Newton (knee) and tight end Garrett Graham (concussion) can play against Indianapolis.

Ryan Harris had a tough game against New England as the starter in place of Newton.

“He’s doing good,” Kubiak said about Newton. “Until he’s back on the field, I’m not ready to tell you he will be ready to play. I think there’s a process that he’s got to go through this week. But he did work today and worked well.

“Garrett is expected to be on the (practice) field (Wednesday). He’s got one more test to pass. He’s making progress.

“He might be as improved a player as we have on this team. He gives us a lot of flexibility in what we do with two tight (ends) and three tight (ends).”

With the Colts' 27-23 come-from-behind win over Tennessee, Indianapolis is now 9-4 on the season and improved to 3-1 in AFC South play.

Indianapolis somehow managed to register its eighth one-possession win of the season. And the rookies continue to play a large role in the victories.

"I can't say enough. We wouldn't be where we are today without them, especially offensively. They continue to make plays. (Wide receiver) LaVon [Brazill] made a big catch again to set up (our) last field goal (against the Titans). It looked meaningless, it was an eight-yard pass. But it put us right back into field goal makeable range," interim coach/offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said.

"(Wide receiver) T.Y. [Hilton] is getting more electric every week. (Tight end) Dwayne's [Allen] big catch at the end (of the Tennessee game). You can't say enough about the whole crew. A.Q. Shipley jumps back in and plays another great half at center. It's every time the next man is called on, he answers."

Coupled with losses by Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, the Colts' chances of being the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs keep getting better. One win over the team's final three games of the regular season would pretty much clinch a wild-card spot.

"It feels good. As everybody knows, it was a long year for us (in 2011)," safety Antoine Bethea said.

"For us to come in here and do the things that we've done so far, we still have three games left and still can possibly get a 12-win season. That means a lot to the vets and even to the newcomers."

The Colts have two straight road games, facing AFC South leader Houston this week at Reliant Stadium and then going to Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 23. The Colts will close out the regular season at Lucas Oil Stadium on Dec. 30.

Indianapolis will take a beat-up team to face the Texans. The Colts ended the Tennessee game with only one running back and were also down to their final offensive lineman.

"(Tennessee) was a great team win again. Like I've said earlier, there won't be any blowouts with this team. This team is too young," Arians said. "We just try to figure out a way to win every week and so far we've been able to do that."

It took them awhile against the Titans.

As Indianapolis Star beat man Phil Richards reported, it was enough to make left tackle Anthony Castonzo wonder.

"Second half was the Indianapolis Colts," Castonzo said Sunday. "I don't know who that was who came out in the first half."

How bad was it?

Luck threw an interception that was returned 40 yards for a touchdown by Titans linebacker Will Witherspoon. Running back Delone Carter fumbled. Luck was sacked. Tight end Coby Fleener caught a pass but injured his knee. Luck was sacked again.

It all happened during a five-snap stretch of the second quarter. The Colts were fortunate to get to halftime trailing only 20-7.

Luck had been sacked three times. He was throwing high and wide even when he wasn't under pressure. The Colts had rushed 10 times for 12 yards.

So they made their adjustments, set their protections to pick up the Titans' blitzes, and made up their minds.

"We realized there are no 14-point scores," Luck said. "Just one play at a time and go out that first drive and make sure we got a touchdown. Get the crowd back into it."

The Colts took the kickoff and maneuvered 80 yards in 14 stubborn plays to make it 20-14 on Carter's 1-yard touchdown run.

The second half wasn't a case of outstanding offensive execution, but the Colts made the key plays and they were opportune.

Luck was sacked only once during the second half. He finished 16-for-34 for 196 yards and one touchdown. His passer rating was a season-low 50.6. So was the Colts' 269 net yards. But the line cracked open some creases and Ballard slashed 12 times for 77 yards during the second half to finish with a season-high 94 yards and a plump 4.9-yard average.

The 19 carries he finished with were Ballard's second-most of the season. He was the only healthy running back remaining at the end of the game.

Rushing performances like the one in the second half will help Luck.

Ballard, a rookie, leads the Colts with 562 yards rushing. He has stepped in because Donald Brown is out with an ankle injury.

Arians likes what Ballard has brought to the team.

"He's powerful. He's a poor man's [Edgerrin James]," Arians said. "He's bowlegged like Edge and he's about the same size and tough to bring down. He's quick, he's elusive, doesn't have the great, great speed but he can make the first guy miss and he's going to make a lot of yards because he makes people miss. He's got a great future."

Ballard hopes to be a part of the solution.

"Coming into rookie mini-camps, I was just focused on trying to learn the plays and learn the offense," he said. "A couple injuries happened to the backs ahead of me and that bumped me up. I just try and take advantage of my opportunities. ..."

Meanwhile, obvious and indisputable footage showed that Luck's knee was on the ground before he released a ball that Witherspoon ran in for a touchdown.

So why wasn't the touchdown overturned via replay review? According to various reports, the CBS feed that best showed that fact didn't make it to the officials within the one-minute window required by the league.

Whatever the case, Luck set a franchise rookie season record as he now has 3,792 passing yards, surpassing the mark set by former Colt Peyton Manning (3,739). Panthers quarterback Cam Newton holds the NFL rookie record with 4,051 yards. Luck got credit for his sixth fourth quarter/overtime game-winning drive for the Colts, which is the most by a rookie since the AFL/NFL merger. He surpassed Vince Young (2006 Titans) and Ben Roethlisberger (2004 Steelers) who each had five.

Also worth noting, Reggie Wayne hauled in six passes for 64 yards and a TD.

Wayne had a 4-yard scoring catch in the first quarter. He now has a team-leading 94 receptions this season for 1,220 yards and four TDs. He (956) moved past Andre Reed for 10th place on the league's all-time receptions list. With his touchdown reception, Wayne (77) also moved into a tie for 24th place on the league's all-time touchdowns list with Joey Galloway and Larry Fitzgerald. He became one of eight NFL receivers to total 100-plus career catches against three-or-more teams (Jacksonville -- 133, Houston -- 117 and Tennessee -- 103).

Wayne surpassed the 1,200-yard receiving plateau (1,220) this season and tied Marvin Harrison and Torry Holt for the third-most seasons with at least 1,200 yards (six). Jerry Rice holds the record with 11 seasons followed by Randy Moss with eight.

Other notes of interest. ... Adam Vinatieri tied his season-long field goal with a 53-yard kick in the fourth quarter. The field goal moved him into third place in franchise history in 50-plus-yard field goals (8), passing Raul Allegre and Cary Blanchard.

As noted above, Fleener left game in the second quarter with an apparent knee injury. He returned in the third quarter. Carter left the game in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. He did not return and Arians told reporters on Wednesday that Carter could return in two to three week weeks.

Fullback Robert Hughes left in the fourth quarter with a knee injury. Hughes did not return.

Brown and Hughes were placed on season-ending injured reserve on Tuesday and the team re-signed veteran Mewelde Moore and Deji Karim.

Moore is a nine-year veteran who was with the Colts the first 11 weeks of the season. He rushed nine times for 14 yards and caught four passes for 36 yards and a touchdown while working primarily as a third-down back.

Karim (5-8, 209) is a three-year veteran who appeared in 23 games with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2010 and ’11. He rushed 98 times for 290 yards and caught 17 passes for 130 yards.

The Colts claimed Karim on waivers Jan. 19 and released him Aug. 31.

Injuries have kept Brown from being the "bell cow" back the Colts envisioned, limiting him to 417 yards on 108 carries this year.

The Jaguars said Mularkey was released Monday afternoon after a brief stay that included tests. Mularkey showed up at the facility a day after his team's 17-10 loss to the New York Jets and started feeling ill. He went to a team trainer, who took him to a nearby hospital.

The team offered few other details about his illness.

But Mularkey was back at work Tuesday.

"He seemed to be doing pretty good," said defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, who informed players about Mularkey's absence at a team meeting Monday afternoon.

Jacksonville, which has lost nine of its last 10, plays at Miami (5-8) on Sunday. The Jaguars will be looking to avoid a third consecutive meltdown in the second half.

The Jags led the New York Jets 3-0 on Sunday before 17 unanswered points.

The same thing happened the previous week at Buffalo, where the Bills scored 17 straight in the second half to turn a close game into a rout.

As Associated Press sports writer Mark Long noted, the biggest problem the last two weeks has been Jacksonville's run defense.

The Jets ran for 116 yards in the second half, including a seven-play, touchdown drive that included seven consecutive runs by Bilal Powell.

The Bills ran for 158 yards in the second half the previous week, gouging the Jaguars inside and out.

But there's plenty of blame to go around -- and that certainly extends to the offense.

Chad Henne had a pass tipped and intercepted near the goal line. Guard Eben Britton, playing in place of Mike Brewster, was manhandled inside, giving up three sacks.

Josh Scobee missed a 55-yard field goal attempt to close out the first half. And the Jaguars just missed blocking two punts. Especially gut-wrenching for Jacksonville was Dwight Lowery's touchdown return that was overturned in the second quarter.

Rookie receiver Kevin Elliott, starting in place of Cecil Shorts, caught only three of 10 passes thrown to him, dropped at least two and stepped out of bounds before a catch on the Jaguars' last drive, nullifying a 16-yard completion.

"I didn't think about that when I saw the flag," Elliott said of being out of bounds. "That was the last thing on my mind. But the refs have a job, too, and they obviously spotted it."

As for the drops, he said he was thinking about running before he caught the ball.

Elliott's problems were one of the reasons the Jaguars struggled in the passing game in a 17-10 loss.

Dropped passes have plagued the Jaguars all season, and Mularkey couldn't help noticing that trend continuing against the Jets.

"We are averaging four to five drops a game," Mularkey told Florida Times-Union staff writer Vito Stellino. "That's not acceptable no matter who it is. Kevin has had too many drops. He hasn't had as many opportunities as some of these other guys, but he has had drops. Those are uncontested plays that he should make and I know he knows he should make. You're talking about not a lot of playing time. He's a rookie. The experience is invaluable."

The Jaguars have played six games without Laurent Robinson, who was placed on injured reserve last month. This was their first game without Shorts, their big-play receiver who is averaging 19.2 yards per catch with seven touchdowns.

"Obviously Cecil has been in there all year but guys have to step in," Henne said. "Guys have to prepare well and do a good job when you're in there. Just like anytime you have a backup quarterback, you've got to be prepared."

Mularkey said coaches had to limit the offense this week because of injuries.

Asked how much it was limited, Mularkey said, "I don't know. I'm not going to use that as a crutch. We are like most teams with finding guys who will step out and make a play for you."

The Jaguars tried several different receivers in the game, including Guy Whimper, who caught a 10-yard pass as a tackle eligible.

Henne, who completed less than 50 percent of his passes (21 of 43), said he often didn't have open receivers to throw to.

"They did a good job covering us," Henne said. "There wasn't a lot open. We were trying to make some things happen down the field and they did a good job in their scheme and covering our routes."

Justin Blackmon caught six of 12 passes thrown to him for 57 yards. ...

Meanwhile, as Times-Union staffer Ryan O'Halloran wrote on Monday: "The Jaguars remain 0-for-2012 in slowly working their running backs into a role."

The trend continued against the Jets when Montell Owens -- the fourth different starter -- missed time with cramps, forcing rookies Richard Murphy and Jordan Todman into the game.

Signed on Nov. 27, Todman made his NFL debut by rushing three times for eight yards.

Promoted from the practice squad on Dec. 1, Murphy played special teams last week but saw his first regular season offensive snaps against the Jets, totaling 19 yards on four rushes. "[Running backs] coach [Sylvester] Croom does a good job coaching them," veteran fullback Greg Jones said. "Once they got their feet wet, they were good to go. They did all right for the first time out."

Owens made his second career start, but left late in the first half. He missed most of the third quarter before returning to score a 32-yard touchdown run with 7:06 remaining.

"It was [frustrating]," Owens said. "You're going to have things that come up in a game, but you need to roll with the punches. We look forward to having those young guys with us the rest of the season."

The Jaguars' 123 rushing yards (on 24 attempts) was their second-highest total of the year and the first time they had more than 100 since winning at Indianapolis in late September. Murphy was second in the rotation, subbing for Owens on first-half third downs.

"It was a lot of pressure," he said. "It was a big step but I felt really good. I had an adrenaline rush but after that, things calmed down and slowed down for me. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... Second-to-last entering the game in third-down conversion percentage (29.2 percent), the Jaguars were horrific against the Jets, converting only two of 16 chances.

How bad was it? The Jaguars were far better on fourth down (3 for 3).

The last two games, the Jaguars are 3-of-26 on third down, sinking them to 27.6 percent for the year.

"We have to do a better job on third down and finishing some of those drives," center Brad Meester said. "Especially early on, you have to come away with more than three points. We have to be better than that."

It wasn't the worst third-down performance of the year -- the Jaguars were 0-for-9 against Houston in Week 2 and also have games of 2-for-11 (Cincinnati), 1-of-15 (at Oakland) and 1-of-10 (Indianapolis).

Tight end Marcedes Lewis (neck) was injured in the second half but returned to the game. …

Rashad Jennings didn't play against the Jets because he has a concussion. Shorts didn't play against the Jets because he has a concussion.

Maurice Jones-Drew didn't play against the Jets because of a foot injury. He has missed six games.

Jennings still has not passed his concussion test and didn't practice Wednesday; Jones-Drew was also absent Wednesday.

According to Long, Shorts is symptom free from concussion and cleared to practice and play. ...

On Tuesday, the Jaguars placed Brewster on injured reserve and signed running back Keith Toston.

Toston spent the preseason with the Jaguars before being waived in final cuts. He re-signed with the team in October and played against Green Bay in Week 8, returning two kickoffs for 49 yards.

Given Toston's return, it's worth noting that Todman suffered a calf injury against the Jets.

Stay tuned. ... I'll obviously have more on Shorts, Jennings and the rest via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses.

When the Chiefs and Raiders face off this coming Sunday in Oakland they will have a combined record of 5-21 in a division where Denver wrapped up first place with a month remaining in the regular season. With San Diego stumbling around as well, it's a division that badly needs an improved level of talent.

That's especially true of the Chiefs, based on their 2-11 record on the season and their poor play on offense, defense and special teams throughout the season. An emotional Week 13 victory over Carolina the day after linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend and then shot himself was something the locker room hoped would provide a catalyst to move forward with a bang in the last month of the year.

But that did not happen, as the Chiefs traveled to Cleveland and got blasted by the Browns, losing by 23 points in a game where K.C. scored first but then watched everything fall apart over the rest of the game in a comedy of errors and mistakes.

They were down just 10-7 at halftime to the Browns and head coach Romeo Crennel was convinced his group had turned the corner. But over the second half, the Chiefs reverted to old habits and customs and that produced only another loss.

"We let them drive down and score to start the second half," Crennel said. "We turn the ball over and they get great field position and another score. It's hard to win when you do those kinds of things

"We will still fight together to finish the season," he added. "We have to go to Oakland next week, so we need to be ready."

It doesn't sound like all of them will be, however.

The latest in a long series of injuries this season may prove to be the most crippling: Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe has been ruled out for Sunday's game against Oakland with hurt ribs, and Crennel said Bowe could miss the rest of the year.

He was undergoing an MRI exam and other tests Monday to detail the extent of the injury. Profootballtalk.com reported Monday night that Bowe will be placed on season-ending injured reserve.

"He represents some dependability to our offense, playmaking ability," Crennel said. "Now with him being out, we have to rely on other guys to step up and make plays for us, so we can generate some offense."

The offense struggled mightily when Bowe went out after the first quarter. The Chiefs didn't manage to score again the rest of the game, despite Jamaal Charles having another big game on the ground. Kansas City's wide receiver corps failed to get open and quarterback Brady Quinn, who was at his best against Carolina, couldn't get anybody the ball.

"We had a lack of consistency in all our drives," said right tackle Eric Winston, pointing out that penalties and missed assignments contributed to several ending prematurely. "We weren't able to consistently keep drives going."

Bowe is once again leading the Chiefs with 59 catches for 801 yards and three touchdown catches, and remains the only viable deep threat with former first-round pick Jonathan Baldwin struggling to contribute on offense.

And as Associated Press sports writer Dave Skretta reminded readers, Bowe is also playing this season on a $9.5 million, one-year deal after getting the franchise tag last season. He decided to skip most of training camp before signing his tender, and there are some who believe the Chiefs won't put the tag on him again -- perhaps instead using it on left tackle Branden Albert.

That means, depending on the severity of Bowe's injury, he may have played his final game in a Chiefs uniform.

"We've lost one of the top receivers in the league," tight end Tony Moeaki said. "We have to step up at the skill positions to make up for his production."

The Chiefs have several other injury woes heading into Sunday's game at Oakland.

Albert remains hampered by a back injury that flared up in Cleveland, and Crennel said he's not sure whether the big left tackle will be able to play. Safeties Abe Elam (hamstring) and Kendrick Lewis (shoulder) are also trying to recover from injuries and running back Cyrus Gray sustained a stinger against the Browns and never returned to the game.

Gray was put in a neck collar and returned to the sideline, but he did not get back into the action on the field.

Crennel said he's focused on picking up wins down the stretch, even though the Chiefs are in position for the first overall pick in the NFL draft. And even though he'd never acknowledge it, Crennel knows that his job could be on the line -- along with that of general manager Scott Pioli -- once the season comes to an end.

After playing the Raiders, Kansas City finishes up at home against Indianapolis and at Denver.

"We've just got to keep finding ways to get better," safety Tysyn Hartman said. "I mean, that's what today's all about, getting in and watching film and watching the game, and then getting on to next week. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... Charles had another game of 100-plus yards, his third straight and fourth in the last five games. Charles scored an 80-yard touchdown on the game's first play from scrimmage and finished with 165 yards.

That was his second most productive game of the season. Charles rushed for 233 yards in a September game against New Orleans.

The Browns have one of the league's best rushing defenses. They hadn't allowed an opponent to rush for more than 100 yards as a team in their three previous games. ...

With 1,220 rushing yards on the season, Charles is now just 248 yards from a career best season; that was in 2010 when he ran for 1,467 yards. ...

Quinn returned to the inconsistent form that he's displayed throughout his career when he returned to Cleveland. Coming off a game where he earned a 132.1 passer rating, Quinn managed only a 53.5 rating against the Browns, completing 10 of 21 passes (47.6 percent) for 159 yards, no touchdown passes and an interception. ...

When Ryan Succop missed a 27-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, the Chiefs lost the chance to extend their 7-0 lead. They never scored again, so the moment could have been a turning point for the Chiefs.

"Anytime you're not able to put points on the board after you get into position, that always hurts," Crennel said "But it was still a ballgame at that point."

With Succop's miss, the Chiefs lost any momentum they had built when they took the lead on Charles' 80-yard touchdown run on the game's first play from scrimmage.

"Not every field goal kicked is a given," Quinn said. "We don't put that on (Succop)."

Looking for positives?

The Chiefs started the season like they were prepared to establish new NFL single-season records for giveaways, as they racked up 15 in the first four games.

But lately, they've gotten their turnover habits under control. Quinn's interception against Cleveland was only the Chiefs' second in four games and they lost only one fumble in those four games as well. Their 33 giveaways are still the most in the league.

What makes things so difficult for the Chiefs in the turnover ratio is the dearth of takeaways from their defense. They did not get one against Cleveland, the third time in the last four games in which they did not have a fumble recovery or interception. ...

A few final notes. ... Steve Breaston may get the chance to get back on the field and into the Chiefs offense with Bowe out of action against Oakland and possibly the rest of the season. Breaston has been a game-day inactive in four of the last five games for the Chiefs. In each of those games, he was a healthy scratch.

Dexter McCluster has just 418 offensive yards on 52 touches through 13 games, totals that are far below what he produced last year. In Todd Haley's offense during the 2011 season, McCluster produced 844 yards on 160 touches. This season, McCluster has produced just one offensive play of more than 20 yards.

They hung tight all game with the 49ers, one of the NFL's elite teams, and had the ball at the 49ers' 35-yard line with more than four minutes left and trailing by only a touchdown.

Then Ryan Tannehill overthrew Davone Bess and Marlon Moore on third and fourth down to waste an opportunity to tie the game. Two minutes later, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick practically walked into the end zone 50 yards untouched after faking out the defense on an option run.

And another promising performance by the Dolphins ended in bitter defeat, 27-13.

Sunday's game was also the sixth time that the Dolphins came up small in the fourth quarter and overtime. Against the Jets, Cardinals, Bills, Colts, Patriots and 49ers, the Dolphins had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter, but couldn't get it done. Only once did they come through with a big drive, two weeks ago against Seattle.

"We didn't make the plays in the fourth quarter, they did, they deserve to win," head coach Joe Philbin said. "It's not a complicated game. It's just a lack of playmaking at critical times, and that's evident."

The Dolphins had a chance to make big plays in the fourth quarter and tie the game, but couldn't execute on offense, and couldn't keep the 49ers from icing the game with Kaepernick's big touchdown run.

The loss dropped the Dolphins to 5-8, last place in the AFC East, and clinched their sixth non-winning season in seven years. It's the first time since the franchise's first four expansion years (1966-69) that they've gone four straight years without a winning record.

Tannehill was still kicking himself for missing the deep throw to Bess down the middle of the field with 4:22 left. The Dolphins managed just 227 total yards -- their eighth game of the season under 300 yards -- and scored only one offensive touchdown for the second week in a row. Tannehill finished with just 150 passing yards, but was mostly ineffective in the second half, completing 7-of-19 passes for 46 yards and a touchdown to tight end Anthony Fasano. He used the word "frustrating" four times in his post-game press conference.

"It was tight coverage, but you have to find a way to get that ball in there in that situation," Tannehill said of his missed throw to Bess. "I don't know exactly what the answer is, but we need to make plays. You can't win in this league scoring as few points as we are."

Nor can you help Fantasy owners.

The Dolphins fired Tony Sparano and hired Philbin, formerly the Packers offensive coordinator, in part to reinvigorate the offense and bring exciting football back to Miami. But the Dolphins entered Sunday's game ranked 27th in points scored, and after Sunday's loss they are averaging just 18.5 points per game.

Last year they were 20th in the NFL at 20.6 points per game.

Getting better from week to week has been a Philbin mantra, but the Dolphins aren't doing it.

The absence of a deep threat remains Miami's glaring weakness. Top receivers Brian Hartline and Bess have combined to make 123 catches, but they've totaled only two touchdowns.

Miami wide receivers have only three touchdown receptions this season.

Looking for some assistance in that regard, receiver Armon Binns was claimed off waivers from Cincinnati.

Binns, an undrafted free agent in 2011, had 18 catches for 210 yards and one touchdown with the Bengals this season. He was with Jacksonville last season.

The Dolphins moved the ball between the 20s but continued their habit of bogging down in the red zone. Big plays continue to elude this unit -- Fasano's diving touchdown catch was the exception. Moore dropped a long pass from Tannehill along the sideline; he needs to make that catch.

Searching for answers on offense, rookie Lamar Miller was given more opportunity as an alternative to Daniel Thomas, with little consequence. And Reggie Bush lined up as a wide receiver on several occasions. Offensive coordinator Mike Sherman keeps shuffling the deck but can't draw ace.

Marcus Thigpen lost his first fumble of the year on a punt return in the third quarter.

Reason for optimism?

The Dolphins actually ran the ball pretty effectively against the 49ers' stout run defense. Overall they rushed for 94 yards on 4.3 yards per carry. Bush was effective with 65 yards on 14 carries, and Tannehill added 25 yards on three scrambles. Thomas (2 carries, 3 yards) and Miller (3 carries, 1 yard) were disappointing. ...

Given that modicum of success, it's worth noting the Jaguars' run defense has become a major problem. They gave up 232 rushing yards to the Bills a week ago and allowed the Jets 166 rushing yards. ...

A few final notes. ... Tight end Charles Clay has not missed any playing time despite sore ribs. The same goes for Fasano, who's been limited by a sore hip in practices but playing as usual on Sundays.

Jorvorskie Lane (knee) only played eight snaps against the 49ers but it is unclear if it is because of an injury.

The Pro Bowl running back entered the game with a franchise-record streak of six consecutive games with more than 100 yards rushing. That included a 210-yard performance in last weekend's loss at Green Bay.

On the Vikings' first play from scrimmage Sunday, Peterson took a handoff from Christian Ponder, cut to his right and raced 51 yards to the Chicago 29-yard line. Five plays later, Peterson scored on a 1-yard run.

He had 69 yards on five carries on that drive. By the end of the first quarter, Peterson had broken his own team mark for the most rushing yards in a first quarter by gaining 104 yards on 12 attempts. He also had a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs as the Vikings opened up a 14-0 lead en route to a 21-14 victory.

"That's the definition of starting fast," Ponder said. "That's was very important to starting this game off right. (Peterson) is unbelievable and I don't know if he is human or not but he has another game over 150 yards. It's important to start fast."

Peterson finished the day with 154 yards on a career-high 31 carries. In the past seven games, he has 1,101 rushing yards, an average of 157.3 yards per game.

Less than a year since having reconstructive surgery on his left knee, Peterson has put himself in the middle of the NFL's MVP race and leads the league with 1,600 rushing yards. He needs 400 yards in the Vikings' remaining three games to become the seventh player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

That means he must average 133.3 yards against St. Louis, Houston and Green Bay. Considering Peterson's play of late, that seems very realistic.

Eric Dickerson set the single-season rushing mark of 2,105 yards in 1984 with the Los Angeles Rams. The other 2,000-yard rushers were Baltimore's Jamal Lewis (2,066 in 2003), Detroit's Barry Sanders (2,053 in 1997), Denver's Terrell Davis (2,008 in 1998), Tennessee's Chris Johnson (2,006 in 2009) and Buffalo's O.J. Simpson (2,003 in 1973).

Peterson's best rushing season came in 2008 when he led the NFL and set a franchise record with 1,760 yards on the ground. He is now only 160 yards away from that total.

So what would 2,000 yards mean to him?

"I think about it," Peterson said. "I don't try to think about it too much. I feel like it will happen. Like I said, it's obvious we're going to continue to run the ball so I feel the chips will fall where they may."

The chips clearly fell his -- and the Vikings' -- way.

"We won the way we're designed to win," head coach Leslie Frazier said. "We talk all the time to our team about what Viking ball is, and today was a perfect example of it."

Viking ball is getting an early lead and letting Peterson and the defense do their thing.

As Associated Press sports writer Dave Campbell notes, the Vikings have led from start to finish in six of their seven wins this season. Only the opener against Jacksonville required a late rally.

Without much proof they can move the ball in a hurry with long passes, comebacks are a lot harder to make happen. So this is the way it has to be for now, as long as Ponder is unable to get comfortable in the pocket and regularly connect with his downfield receivers, open or not.

The Vikings sure aren't shying away from this old-fashioned methodology, either.

"We're probably not going to win a lot of games when we throw the ball 40 times. That's not who we are. We're not going to overcome two or three turnovers in a game. That's not the way we're built right now," Frazier said.

Minimizing turnovers, of course, is the other prerequisite for this strategy. While the Vikings netted 100 yards passing or less for the fourth time this season on Sunday, they posted their third win in those situations.

These days in the NFL, winning while throwing so little is almost unfathomable, but that's what the Vikings have been doing. Ponder was picked off once, another bad ball off his back foot that fell well short of intended target Jarius Wright, but that came with 32 seconds left in the first half at the Chicago 20.

It wasn't in the end zone, like last week at Green Bay, and it wasn't in Minnesota's territory to give the Bears good field position.

Frazier said again Monday he believes a championship can be had with this blueprint, but Ponder's performance since the first month of the season has provided plenty of evidence that it won't work without improvement in the second-year quarterback's footwork, throwing mechanics and decision making.

"Whether it be moving around in the pocket, stepping up or moving to the left or to the right, all these things are part of him being successful," Frazier said. "We're always working on his fundamentals and his technique at the position, and we'll continue to do that."

Ponder finished 11 for 17 for just 91 yards. He's averaging exactly the same amount of yards per passing attempt -- six -- as Peterson is per rush. Frazier went out of his way to praise Ponder for what he did against the Bears, but without Percy Harvin the Vikings only appeared comfortable with Ponder rolling out on bootlegs or throwing short passes underneath the coverage on play-action fakes to Peterson.

"He has to be comfortable in the pocket. He has to be sure of himself, and he has to make certain throws in order for us to be successful," Frazier said, acknowledging the impossibility of victory without at least some contribution from Ponder.

He did that against the Bears, completing six of his seven passes on third downs, with four of those completions moving the chains. Ponder also zipped a perfect pass to Devin Aromashodu on a post route in the second quarter that Aromashodu let bounce off his shoulder in the end zone.

"I thought we executed a lot better," Ponder said. "Obviously there are a few things we have to get better at and improve upon, but we're excited," Ponder said. ...

As long as Peterson is getting the job done, we're all excited. ...

Along those lines. ... Peterson caught two passes for 16 yards to go with his 154 yards rushing. As the Sports Xchange suggests, Peterson needs to be used more in the passing game. He has 38 catches for 211 yards on the season. His career high for receptions is 43, set in 2009. ...

Also. ... It should come as no surprise to learn Peterson was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his Week 14 effort. ...

Other notes of interest. ... After catching 18 passes in the past three games, tight end Kyle Rudolph did not have a reception on Sunday and was the target of only two passes from Ponder.

It's been an odd season for Rudolph, who is second on the Vikings with 45 catches and leads the team with eight touchdown receptions, but has now gone three games this year with no catches.

Asked about being shut out Sunday, Rudolph said: "That's something you have to ask Coach Musgrave about."

That would be offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave.

Rudolph, who clearly was frustrated, said, "I definitely want to contribute. I practice all week to contribute. I love to do everything I can to contribute."

Frazier said the Vikings wanted to get the ball in Rudolph's hands, although it did not happen.

"It wasn't like we weren't looking for him," Frazier said. "They did a good job of covering him. Kyle's been a big part of our pass offense throughout the season and we won today without him having any catches. If you had told me that would be the case, I would have said, 'That's not going to happen because we're going to target him and he's going to have catches.'"

Fellow tight end John Carlson wasn't even targeted and has just five catches for the season. He's been a major disappointment considering he was the team's No. 1 priority in free agency. But he did throw a key block on Peterson's 51-yard run on the first play from scrimmage.

Lined up in a three-tight end set, Carlson executed the difficult inside hook block that created the outside wall of the lane that Peterson ran through. ...

Also worth noting: Toby Gerhart had three carries for 17 yards. It was the most carries for the backup since he had six against the Titans on Oct. 7. In the seven games prior to the Bears game, Gerhart had five carries total. ...

And finally. ... Vikings owner Zygi Wilf addressed the team on Friday, according to Frazier.

So, what was Wilf's message?

"He just came in and expressed his desire and his passion that he has for this team," Peterson said. "Just, 'I'm here to back you guys up through thick and thin. We've been through a lot, taking a shot with [Harvin] going down (because of a sprained ankle) and not being with this team for the remainder of the season.' The guys responded in a positive way."

Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune spoke to Zygi Wilf and team president Mark Wilf after Sunday's win and they both commended the job done by the coaching staff with a young team. Mark Wilf said he saw no reason Frazier wouldn't return and Zygi Wilf made things even clearer when asked about who would be the coach next season.

"He is our coach," the owner said.

Frazier would be coaching in the final year of his contract if he doesn't get an extension before next season, a topic the Wilfs weren't as ready to discuss as Frazier's implied return for another year as coach. His chances of getting one would improve quite a bit if he can figure out a way to get Ponder pointed in the right direction before ownership makes a decision on that front.

They made one -- loud and clear -- nevertheless.

Tom Brady and company let the dwindling group of doubters know that they can dominate even their best opponents and are still improving as they head toward the playoffs.

"It needs to come together now," Brady said after New England's 42-14 win over Houston on Monday night. "This is the perfect time for it. We can't wait any longer."

There was plenty of pregame focus on the Texans' big playmakers -- J.J. Watt with an AFC-high 16 1/2 sacks, Arian Foster with an NFL-leading 15 touchdowns, Andre Johnson with 74 receptions. And Houston was the only NFL team with a perfect road record at 6-0.

Not anymore.

Brady did his part on offense with 296 passing yards and four touchdown passes. He picked apart Houston's secondary, and the Patriots' fast tempo kept the Texans' vaunted pass rush at bay. Houston had no answer for Brady, who shined once again in a big game.

As ESPN.com's James Walker suggested, this is the type of performance that should catapult Brady to the very top of the MVP race, especially considering he holds a head-to-head win over Peyton Manning, his closest competitor.

"It was a big game because they were 11-1, leading the AFC and we had to see where we're at, see where we match up against the better teams in the league," Brady said.

The Patriots (10-3) took command quickly, scoring on passes in their first three possessions. Whether or not they wanted to deliver a message that the hype about Houston (11-2) was overblown, it couldn't be missed.

"Any competitive person is going to use whatever motivation best motivates himself," defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said Tuesday. "In the end, our motivation is going to be to go out there to try to play the best we can, get better and do our job to the best of our ability."

But "statement" game?

"Not at all," defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said. "I'm not big on that."

As Ulman suggested, that's the real message coach Bill Belichick tries to deliver -- treat every game as a difficult challenge, no matter how well or poorly the opponent has been playing. That emphasis has helped them win their past seven games.

"We don't really worry too much about records around here," he said.

Just as he professes not to think much about making a statement with a lopsided victory over an opponent that had won six consecutive games.

"I don't think we put a whole lot of relevance or spend any time talking about that type of thing," Belichick said. "We talk more about what we need to do to win each week." Still, the Patriots often contribute to the hype. They make each opponent sound like a huge obstacle, no matter how poorly it's been playing.

The New York Jets had lost five of seven games, but Brady still called them "a very good team" before a Thanksgiving night matchup. Then the Patriots went out and rolled to a 35-0 lead in the second quarter and a 49-19 victory.

But when the lavish praise of an opponent comes from the media and other outsiders, the Patriots say they try not to listen. Sometimes, though, all the chatter comes through. And that gives some players extra incentive -- like when plenty of pre-game talk centered around Watt and the Texans defense.

'The Patriots have clinched the AFC East and, with three games left, have a chance for home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs. They still must overtake Houston and finish with at least the same record as the Denver Broncos (10-3).

But all that can wait.

Now the Patriots are concentrating on their second straight highly touted opponent, the San Francisco 49ers (9-3-1) on Sunday night.

Only this time, most of the attention could focus on how dominant the Patriots are, especially after the way they handled the Texans.

Might the 49ers use that as motivation as they head into a stadium where the Patriots have won their last 20 games in December?

"We're just getting ready to play them," offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. "Extra this or that, I'm not sure that anybody needs it this time of the year. We're all fighting to win each and every game that we can. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... ESPN Stats & Information offered up some numbers after Monday night's win that will certainly be of interest to Fantasy owners:

Brady had his 14th game of four passing touchdowns and zero interceptions. That's an NFL record.

Brady threw three of his four touchdowns when Houston blitzed five or more defenders.

Brady passed Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas with 18 games with four touchdown passes. Brady tied Drew Brees for fourth all-time.

The Patriots scored 40 points or more for the 26th time since 2001, which is an NFL-high in that span.

The Patriots have won 13 straight December games, which is tied for the second-longest streak in NFL history. They also have won 20 straight home games in December.

The Patriots have at least 10 wins for the 10th straight season. That's second in NFL history.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, New England's 28-point win was the largest margin against a team holding the best record in the NFL. ...

Among the many big plays in Monday night's win, Profootballtalk.com's Michael David Smith noted that a six-yard run by Brady barely registered. But Brady's run on third-and-5 did extend a Patriots drive, and he was fired up and pumping his fist on the field.

Afterward, Brady said he thinks he deserves some credit for his ability to make plays with his feet.

"I don't run too often so I've got to show them I can still do it a little bit," Brady said. "All the people out there, the opposing defenses that say I can't run, at least they saw. I'm not a big threat, I'm not RG3 or anything, but I can make a first down."

The clarification probably wasn't necessary. Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III already has more career rushing yards than Brady: Griffin has 112 carries for 748 yards in 13 career games, while Brady has 399 carries for 737 yards in 174 career games. ...

Wes Welker had a busy game. He replaced the injured Julian Edelman on punt returns and also caught three passes for 52 yards. Welker is five receptions shy of his fifth 100-catch season. ...

Brandon Lloyd hasn't had the huge impact many expected. But Lloyd picked a good time to have a coming-out party. Lloyd caught a team-high seven passes for 89 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Lloyd easily ran past Texans No. 1 corner Jonathan Joseph for the score.

The Patriots could use more plays like that from Lloyd down the stretch.

Recent free-agent pickup Donte' Stallworth also caught a 63-yard touchdown pass from Brady in the third quarter.

According to ESPN.com's Mike Reiss, Stallworth helped fill out the team's three-receiver package, playing exclusively in that grouping. Fellow receiver Matthew Slater also chipped in and played a season-high 11 snaps on offense, but the offense leaned heavier on its top two targets in Lloyd and Welker. ...

But there's a reason Slater played: Stallworth suffered an ankle injury late in the game.

Turns out the injury is serious enough to end his season. Stallworth was placed on season-ending injured reserve and Boston Globe staffer Shalise Manza Young reports that Deion Branch will re-join the team.

The Patriots also released Visanthe Shiancoe on Tuesday. Shiancoe spent eight weeks on injured reserve and played in four games after being activated without catching a pass. New England hopes to get Rob Gronkowski back at tight end before too much longer as he heals from his broken forearm, but Globe staffer Greg Bedard pointed out that Schiancoe doesn't play the same spot as Gronk, so the move appears to be unrelated. ...

That said, Gronkowski, sidelined since Nov. 18, will try to practice this week, Manza Young, citing a league source, reported Wednesday morning.

Gronkowski had surgery Nov. 19 and hasn't been on the field since.

In a related note. ... Michael Hoomanawanui leaped over Daniel Fells on the depth chart as the No. 2 option this week (43 snaps to Fells' 9).

And finally. ... Lead running back Stevan Ridley went a 19-snap stretch without being on the field between the second and third quarters, but it seemed like it was more game-plan related than anything. Ridley had played nine snaps after his first-quarter fumble. Ridley was in for 31 snaps, Shane Vereen 24 and Danny Woodhead got 16 snaps.

Although the 5-8 Saints aren't officially eliminated from the playoff race after falling 52-27 to the New York Giants on Sunday, Associated Press sports writer Guerry Smith report they know it would take a miracle for them to have a postseason future. Four turnovers and horrendous kickoff coverage against the Giants essentially ended their final chance as they ran their turnover total to 11 in their last three games.

"In the National Football League you have to first keep from losing before you can ever win," assistant head coach Joe Vitt said Monday. "Right now we're not playing very smart and we're not playing very disciplined, and it starts with me. I have to do a better job of making sure our team understands the critical factors that go into winning, and then we have to execute them on Sunday."

The Saints missed the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, too, but this is the first time in seven years they won't be at least 7-7 after 14 games. Ten NFC teams have a better record than they do entering next Sunday's game with Tampa Bay in the Superdome. Instead of worrying about playoff seeding in the final three weeks, their only motivation is finishing .500 and ending on a positive note.

"We have a prideful group in this locker room," said running back Mark Ingram, the only player available for interviews on Monday. "Our focus going forward is just getting better every single day and improving individually. We've had three straight losses. It would be nice to close the season with three straight wins."

While Brees threw two more interceptions in the second half against the Giants -- he had been picked off seven times in defeats to Atlanta and San Francisco the two previous weeks -- the Saints also found two new ways to lose.

Their kickoff coverage, which had been among the NFL's best, allowed a franchise-worst 287 yards on six returns.

Saints wide receiver Marques Colston and fullback Jed Collins fumbled after catches on consecutive first quarter possessions. Until then, New Orleans had not lost fumble on the road all year.

"We're pressing," Vitt said. "We have to let it go and let it flow. Play hard, play smart and play together and do the things we do in practice every day."

The litany of mistakes on offense and special teams gave the New Orleans defense almost no chance. The Giants started seven series inside Saints territory, including four from the 35 or closer.

Still, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said his group took a step back after playing better in the previous four weeks. He was particularly unhappy about a 2-minute drill at the end of the first half, when quarterback Eli Manning led a 69-yard touchdown drive that gave New York a 21-13 lead.

The Giants scored touchdowns four of the five times they got inside the New Orleans 20.

'After starting 0-4 without suspended coach Sean Payton, the Saints thought they had recovered from their bounty-related distractions when they climbed to 5-5. Three consecutive ugly losses to division-leading teams have proven them wrong.

"We knew we had a tough stretch ahead of us, but we knew we controlled our own (playoff) destiny at that point," Brees said Sunday. "The most disappointing thing is just losing the way we have and doing some uncharacteristic things, doing all the things that get you beat."

Notes: Vitt dismissed the idea of giving backups more playing time in the final three weeks, saying his goal was to win every game and he would put the most deserving players on the field. ...

A year after setting the NFL offensive record for yards in a season, the Saints are still on pace to give up the most yards in NFL history, although the 394 yards they gave up to the Giants lowered their average to 436.9.

The Saints also have 11 turnovers in their last three games after they committed just 12 in their first 10 outings of the season. The three-game total includes nine interceptions for Brees, seven of which have come in the last two games, going into Sunday's matchup with the Tampa Bay Bucs. The Bucs got him once in their first meeting on Oct. 21. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Receiver Joe Morgan, a second-year pro, was one of his team's bright spots on a dreary Sunday.

As Baton Rouge Advocate staff writer Sheldon Mickles notes, Morgan, an undrafted free agent who missed the entire 2011 season with a knee injury, caught passes of 62 and 44 yards in the Saints' loss.

With his two receptions for 106 yards, Morgan topped the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career and this season has 310 yards and a 44.3-yard average on just seven catches.

His receptions have gone for 80, 62, 48, 44, 38, 33 and 5 yards with touchdowns of 80 and 48. ...

Brees threw for 354 yards in a losing effort Sunday, giving him 4,028 yards for the season.

It marked the seventh straight season that Brees has topped the 4,000-yard mark, setting an NFL record. He and Peyton Manning (1999-2004) shared the mark with six consecutive seasons.

Before Brees arrived in 2006, the Saints never had a quarterback throw for 4,000 yards in the first 39 years of the franchise's existence.

Brees would be the first to tell you that it didn't matter because they lost, but he passed Hall of Famer Dan Marino for second place on the all-time list for career 300-yard games.

Brees now has topped the 300-yard mark 64 times in his 12-year career -- just five behind Manning's 69.

Also, with 26 completions, Brees pushed his NFL-record streak with at least 20 to 49 games. ...

The Saints were able to run the ball effectively against the Giants as they finished with 142 yards and a 5.9 average on 24 attempts. Mark Ingram netted a team-high 68 yards on 13 carries with most of it coming on runs up the middle, including a 19-yarder, while Darren Sproles, who had a 34-yard run, exploited the edge for 56 yards with a 9-yard touchdown.

Pierre Thomas added 19 yards on five carries before the Saints had to abandon the running game after falling behind by 22 points midway through the third quarter.

The Saints inactives included RB Chris Ivory, who was added to the injury list Saturday with a hamstring problem. His return is not known but he did not practice Wednesday.

And finally. ... For those interested, the suspensions of the four players -- Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith, Scott Fujita and Anthony Hargrove -- involved in the New Orleans Saints bounty program have been vacated.

Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who was appointed by his successor, commissioner Roger Goodell, to handle a second round of player appeals to the league, found that three of the players engaged in conduct that was detrimental to the league. He says they participated in a performance pool that rewarded key plays -- including hard tackles -- that could justify fines.

"Unlike Saints' broad organizational misconduct, player appeals involve sharply focused issues of alleged individual player misconduct in several different aspects," Tagliabue said in a statement released by the league. "My affirmation of Commissioner Goodell's findings could certainly justify the issuance of fines. However, this entire case has been contaminated by the coaches and others in the Saints' organization."

Vilma had been given a full-season suspension, while Smith, Fujita and Hargrove each received shorter suspensions.

Fujita was the only player cleared of conduct detrimental to the league by Tagliabue.

Unlike recent years, and despite the rollercoaster ride, New York controls its own destiny.

With three games left, the Giants (8-5) have a one-game lead in the NFC East on Washington (7-6) and Dallas (7-6). They win their final three games, they'll win the division title for a second straight year.

That hasn't been the situation often here at the Meadowlands -- a smooth ride ahead, a cut-and-dried path the postseason. This time around, there is no help needed. Just win out and get ready for the playoffs.

"It's a much better feeling this way," defensive tackle Chris Canty said Monday, a day after the Giants defeated New Orleans, 52-27. "We don't have to look over our shoulders and worry about anyone else. We have a three-game season left and if we win those three games, then we can control things.

"We'll take it one game at a time, but I like being in this position much better."

Not that it will be easy, of course. New York closes with Atlanta (11-2), Baltimore (9-4), and Philadelphia (4-9). Two of those clubs are headed to the postseason.

At one point Sunday, it appeared as if the Giants were going to get some help in their quest for the division title, as both Washington and Dallas trailed late to Baltimore and Cincinnati, respectively. But the Redskins and Cowboys rallied, forcing the Giants to be emphatic vs. the Saints if they were to maintain the edge.

Consider the message sent. Eli Manning threw for four scores and five Giants had at least two catches in the win.

"We have to take care of our own business," head coach Tom Coughlin said. "We've determined our own future and we do know what's at stake. After yesterday, nothing has changed in terms of the divisional standings. We understand everything. We have to keep concentrating at a higher level and hopefully we can build from the win yesterday. The facts are the facts."

The quest continues Sunday in Atlanta, against a team that has already clinched the NFL South and is undefeated at home (6-0).

"We're prepping to play a very good Atlanta team that has only lost two times," Coughlin said.

That said, Atlanta lost to Carolina, 30-20, on Sunday, and may well ease off the pedal now that the Falcons have a division crown. The Giants defeated Atlanta, 24-2, in the playoffs last season, New York's first of four postseason victories en route to the title.

"We have to see how we match up, and realize where our strengths and weaknesses are," Coughlin said. "Knowing the obvious, what we have to do over the next three weeks, is plain and obvious. It has to be part of our approach."

It would obviously help if the Giants continue to score at a high rate. They have topped 40 points three times this season, and have surpassed 35 points five times.

Another standout performance from David Wilson would also help. He became the first player in NFL history to rush for more than 100 yards and have more than 200 yards in return yards in a single game. Wilson's 327 all-purpose yards set a new team record.

"David has given us an added playmaker," Coughlin said. "The timing is great for David to come to the front. He's gained experience all year, but he gained valuable experience last night as well. People now have to worry about defending him. ..."

Wilson's 100-yard rushing performance was the fifth 100-yard or better showing by the 8-5 Giants this season.

The Giants are 5-3 in games this season in which they rush for 100-plus yards. They have also rushed for 100 or more yards in four straight games

Worth watching will be the matchup between the Giants' running game and the Falcons' run defense. The Falcons have allowed opponents an average of 86.9 rushing yards per game while New York has averaged 116.4 yards per game on the ground.

But there are concerns.

Ahmad Bradshaw (knee), Hakeem Nicks (knee) and Victor Cruz (shoulder) all came out of Sunday's games worse for the wear -- to varying degrees.

First for the bad news: Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com reports Bradshaw has a sprained knee and Coughlin wouldn't speculate Wednesday on how long he won't practice.

Bradshaw left in the first quarter to have his left knee evaluated in the locker room. He returned in the second half, but didn't carry his usual rushing load. Bradshaw had just 11 carries for 33 yards.

If Bradshaw is unavailable for Sunday's game or limited, Wilson is expected to carry the bulk of the load. We'll continue to follow up on his status as the week progresses.

Bradshaw's dealt with a neck injury this season and is an infrequent participant in practice because of long-term foot issues. As noted above, he wasn't the only Giant banged up in Sunday's game.

Cruz scored a touchdown on a 10-yard scoring grab in the fourth quarter against the Saints, giving him 1,001 receiving yards on the year. He's now topped the 1,000-yard mark in two straight seasons, an impressive feat for a wideout who was simply trying to hang on to a roster spot at the beginning of last season.

His shoulder shouldn't be an issue.

Nicks is officially Manning's favorite target. It's a fact. The wideout caught four Manning passes for 67 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, and he's now hauled in 247 of Manning's throws. That broke the mark of 244, held by Plaxico Burress.

"I didn't know that," Nicks said. "That's a good thing. Got to keep building on it."

The oft-injured wideout also had X-rays after the game. He said he "came down a little bit on my knee" during the game, but added that "everything is good" and there was "nothing to worry about."

Coughlin said Nicks "wore down," but Nicks said he's continuing to progress physically.

Nicks said he didn't have any doubt he would play, despite being listed as questionable with a knee injury. He said he just needed a day off practice last week because of the short turnaround following "Monday Night Football."

"I feel like I'm definitely getting a lot better as far as creating separation now," Nicks said. "I can feel myself coming out of my routes a lot better, which I knew it would. … I initiated a little bit more run after the catch, trusted a little bit more, stuff like that, and I see it just getting better from here."

I'll obviously have a close eye on Bradshaw, Nicks and Cruz in coming days; those interested will want to watch for more via Late-Breaking Update. ...

Other notes of interest. ... According to the Sports Xchange, Wilson became the fourth player in NFL history to record two rushing touchdowns and a kickoff return for a touchdown in the same game, and the first player to do so since Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jaguars in 2006.

Wilson was also named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. ...

Receiver Domenik Hixon, who had missed the last two games with a high ankle sprain, returned to active duty after practicing all week, taking over the punt return duties for Rueben Randle. Hixon finished with two returns for 19 yards as the punt returner.

Ryan's swagger made for plenty of headlines during his first three seasons in New York. Now, it's what the coach doesn't say that raises some eyebrows.

"I'm not going to guarantee a playoff spot," a toned-down Ryan said Monday. "I think part of that is, look, the fact that we're one game under .500, I think you're probably not in the playoff conversation."

The only thing is, the Jets suddenly very much are. New York (6-7) is a game behind Pittsburgh and Cincinnati -- both 7-6 -- for the final playoff spot in the AFC with three games remaining. Not that they're talking about it.

The Jets have won two straight since being routed 49-19 by New England on Thanksgiving night, a loss that appeared to have the potential to derail the season and send New York into an offseason of uncertainty.

Instead, things are looking up for the Jets, who have put themselves right in the playoff mix despite having a sluggish offense and a struggling starting quarterback in Mark Sanchez. They must win each of their remaining games, a scenario that isn't so unrealistic, given that Tennessee (4-9), San Diego (5-8) and Buffalo (5-8) all have losing records.

"We just need to keep our head down and keep winning games," Ryan said. "We know the only way we can affect it is to win our games and then we'll see what somebody tells us."

That's a far cry from the guy who once declared that the Jets would meet President Barack Obama after winning the Super Bowl or writing "Soon To Be Champs!" on the outside of an ESPN bus during training camp.

As Waszak suggested, this is the new and maybe more realistic Ryan, who earlier this season acknowledged that his previous declarations put more pressure on his players than he imagined. He's also aware that his team has not looked much like a playoff team in their two most recent victories: Pulling out a 7-6 win over Arizona last week after pulling Sanchez in favor of third-stringer Greg McElroy, and then making just enough plays Sunday to beat Jacksonville 17-10 despite the Jaguars being ranked second-to-last in the league in offense and defense.

The Jets don't control their own destiny, either.

Even if they win out and finish 9-7, they'll need help elsewhere to get into the postseason. The Steelers are basically two games up because of a 27-10 win in Week 2, which means New York likely needs Pittsburgh to lose two of their last three against Dallas (7-6), Cincinnati (7-6) and Cleveland (5-8). The Bengals have Philadelphia (4-9), the Steelers and Baltimore (9-4) left.

In what would appear to be an unrealistic scenario, New York could also surpass Indianapolis (9-4) for a playoff spot if the Colts lose their last three, including two games against Houston sandwiched around one against Kansas City. The Jets beat the Colts 35-9 earlier this season.

The Jets certainly haven't made it easy on themselves the past two weeks. Despite facing a third-string quarterback in Ryan Lindley on a slumping Cardinals offense last week, the Jets needed McElroy to come in and save the season with the game's only touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

That set off a few days of debates about whether Sanchez should remain on the sideline in favor of McElroy. Ryan, however, decided to stick with Sanchez against Jacksonville.

Sanchez did little to quiet the critics Sunday, going 12 of 19 for 111 yards and losing a fumble. Still, there's no question who the quarterback will be this week.

"I think it's Al Woodall this week," Ryan joked, referring to the former Jets quarterback in the early 1970s. "Nah, we'll go with Mark."

But a name from the past has resurfaced.

And MRI exam revealed that rookie receiver Stephen Hill has a sprained lateral collateral ligament in his right knee. The team will know more about his availability later in the week, but it is believed he will not need surgery. That doesn't mean he'll play.

So the Jets are bringing back wide receiver Braylon Edwards, less than a week after he bashed the organization in support of Sanchez.

New York was awarded Edwards off waivers from Seattle on Tuesday. Kahlil Bell was released to clear a roster spot for Edwards.

Edwards, who played for New York from 2009-10, was waived by Seattle on Monday. He had two productive seasons with the Jets, developing a good rapport with Sanchez in helping New York to consecutive trips to the AFC title game.

With Ryan contemplating last week whether Sanchez would remain the starting quarterback or be replaced by McElroy, Edwards wrote on Twitter that people shouldn't blame Sanchez, but should "blame the idiots calling shots.'

He tweeted an apology the next day, and was reunited with the Jets less than a week later.

The Jets, who already lost wide receiver Santonio Holmes to a season-ending injury, are down to only two healthy receivers that began the season on their roster -- Chaz Schilens and Jeremy Kerley. Clyde Gates is also still recovering from a concussion. They also have Mardy Gilyard, whom they recently signed off the street.

Ryan was asked Monday if they might consider Edwards.

"You guys know what I've always said about Braylon in the past, so you know how I feel about him," Ryan said. "But right now, I think we'll just focus on the guys we have."

That didn't last long. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Against the Jaguars, the Jets leaned on Shonn Greene and Bilal Powell, who combined for 155 rushing yards on 39 carries and two touchdowns.

As the New York Daily News noted, offensive coordinator Tony Sparano dialed up a safe, low-risk game plan that paid off.

"Our offensive line really took the game over," said Ryan, whose team rushed for 116 of its 166 yards in the second half.

Greene's 1-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter gave the Jets a 7-3 lead and snapped Sanchez's personal 16-drive scoreless stretch.

Nick Folk's 44-yard field goal put the Jets up by a touchdown later in the quarter before Powell (19 carries for 78 yards, TD) ran it every time on a seven-play scoring drive capped off by his four-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to make it 17-3.

The Jets' run-to-pass ratio in the second half Sunday was 26/8. Sanchez threw the ball just twice on the Jets' two touchdown drives, when running backs Greene and Powell combined for 87 yards and both scores. ...

Don't be surprised if that run-heavy approach isn't duplicated going forward. ...

Ryan further explained out the scenario that led to the Jets only keeping two quarterbacks active. Joe McKnight was fine on the bus ride over to the stadium but suffered three migraines that forced Ryan to activate Bell and de-activate McElroy.

Ryan did not say when McKnight suffered the migraines but intimated that it was a last second decision that led to the roster changes. To play it safe, the Jets had four running backs active.

"You don't know when it's going to pop up," Ryan said of McKnight's migraines. "That's why I had to cover us."

With that, McElroy went from hero to inactive in only a week. He had been considered for the starting job during the week but now had to watch from the sidelines without even the chance at playing.

"I was comfortable with Tim as our backup quarterback," Ryan said. "When he was healthy, when I thought he was healthy – obviously he was cleared medically – as I saw the way the week progressed, I felt good about having Tim in that spot. I said if he's healthy where I think he's healthy he would have that role."

Ryan told 98.7 ESPN in New York that he would have played Tebow in front of his hometown fans in Jacksonville if the game had been a blowout, but would have had him only hand off the ball.

Ryan was also asked if he thought Tebow might be disappointed he came to the Jets given the circumstances.

"That's probably a true statement," he said. "As a competitor, you want to have success, you want to have probably more opportunities and the fact that we're one game below .500, so we haven't had success as a team I'm sure he was anticipating. But, again, I think he's happy to be a Jet. I truly believe that."

Tight end Jeff Cumberland sustained a hamstring injury but returned to the field. Kerley also had his hamstring worked on but remained in the game.

As the Sports Xchange noted, Cumberland made his only catch of the game Sunday count when he got wide open for a 37-yard gain on 3rd-and-8 from the Jets' 13-yard-line late in the fourth quarter of their 17-10 win over the Jaguars. The catch was the second-longest of Cumberland's career. He had a 39-yard grab against the Patriots on Thanksgiving night.

Dustin Keller (ankle) missed Sunday's game, but Ryan said Monday he is confident Keller will be able to play next Monday. Keller, who was hurt making a catch against the Cardinals Dec. 2, missed four games earlier this season with a hamstring injury.

Ryan said Monday he hopes Gates can play against the Titans next Monday. Gates was hurt when he took a hard hit from the Patriots' Kyle Arrington on Thanksgiving night.

McKnight, whose migraines forced the pregame roster change, was in on all the kickoff returns, though he did not take a ball out of the end zone.

With an offense ravaged by injury, Antonio Cromartie took three snaps at wide receiver by an unofficial count. He had one catch for a loss of two yards.

Gilyard caught two of Sanchez's first three passes but didn't appear to be targeted the rest of the game. Gilyard's first catch was his first reception in a regular-season game since Oct. 17, 2010, when he had a 21-yard catch for the Rams against the Chargers.

While the Raiders do what they can to improve a 3-10 record with Kansas City, Carolina and San Diego left to play, Allen and general manager Reggie McKenzie also will be evaluating the roster to make sure the losing doesn't happen again.

"We want to win. That's what it's all about," Allen said Friday, the day after a 26-13 loss to the Denver Broncos. "But I've got a big-picture view of what I want this team to look like. Reggie and I have talked about it. We knew what we were dealing with when we came here.

"We knew we had some depth issues on the roster and couldn't sustain a lot of injuries. We've sustained a few injuries in some spots. ... We all want to win, but I'm looking at the long-term future of this team."

Allen signed a four-year contract, he's been publicly backed by McKenzie. Owner Mark Davis, although frustrated, has made good on his promise to leave football matters to the general manager and the head coach.

Davis didn't see much improvement in the loss to the Broncos, the Raiders' sixth straight defeat. Whether Davis would intervene if the Raiders lose out is something only he can determine.

Allen declined to specify how long he thinks it will take the Raiders to turn things around.

"It's going to take time. It doesn't happen with one decision," Allen said. "It's an accumulation of decisions over time that gets everything how you want it."

Worth noting, the Raiders have worked undrafted rookie free agent Rod Streater into the mix more extensively at wide receiver over the past two weeks, as well as fifth-round pick Juron Criner.

Streater, who never had more than 88 yards receiving in a game in college at Temple, had three catches for 96 yards against the Browns and four catches for 100 yards against Denver.

"Experience is definitely valuable," Streater said. "A lot of things you can't just teach. You got to kind of go out there and experience the good and the bad. Getting that experience will be good for me next year."

"I think as we go along, these last three games, we really need to evaluate some of these young guys and see what we have going forward into next year," Allen said.

Allen said the high right ankle sprain re-injury to Darren McFadden did not appear serious.

"I don't think it's an injury that's going to keep him out any time," Allen said.

Indeed, McFadden was back at practice on Monday.

McFadden had missed four games with a high ankle sprain before returning to the Raiders lineup against Denver. McFadden carried 11 times for 52 yards and caught two passes for 12 yards in a touchdown before re-injuring his ankle late in the game.

McFadden's 6-yard touchdown catch against Denver was his first touchdown receiving since Oct. 16, 2011 against Cleveland.

According to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle, McFadden was able to practice Monday.

"It made my nerves kind of jittery," McFadden said. "(But) it was more of a scare than anything. It was cool today. ... I was moving good, making all my cuts. I'm not concerned."

The return of McFadden to practice so quickly should alleviate any concerns the Raiders had of him being unavailable against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. ...

That said, I'll be following up via Late-Breaking Update as the week progresses. ...

Other notes of interest. ... For the second straight game, the Raiders had some plays available for No. 3 quarterback Terrelle Pryor, but he didn't get into the game. The Raiders ran only 47 offensive plays against Denver.

Quarterback Carson Palmer had a crucial interception deep in Denver territory, a mistake similar to one he made the previous week against Cleveland.

"I'm not displeased with Carson," Allen said. "I think he'd be the first to admit when he makes a mistake, and he understands the repercussions. He continues to work on a day-to-day basis to try and lead this team, and he's one of the guys we have to lean on going forward."

Pryor's last action was in the preseason, including a spectacular running-passing performance against the Detroit Lions that included touchdown passes of 39 and 76 yards to Criner and an 18-yard scoring run.

But according to the Sports Xchange, the truth is Pryor's passing skills remain suspect. He has worked hard on fundamentals and footwork and expresses confidence that he has improved.

"I think the biggest thing is to start getting him into the game a little bit and let him see a little game action," Allen said. "I'm not ready to say that he'd be a starter. I think Carson's made a couple of mistakes the last couple weeks, but he's been one of the reasons, particularly earlier in the year, that we've had a chance in certain games.

Meanwhile, Allen was adamant that he hasn't seen a change in Palmer's demeanor or dedication as the losses have mounted. Palmer arrived via trade to an Oakland team hoping to make the playoffs last season but has disintegrated with most of the troubles having to do with substandard play and too much youth elsewhere.

If Pryor get a few series to show off his skills so the club can determine where he fits in, there will be no complain from Palmer.

"You get to the point in this league it's part of the game, part of the business," Palmer said. "You've got to start figuring out if some of the younger guys can play. And there's no other way to figure out if they can play other than putting them in the game. I know that. ..."

Brandon Myers has caught 70 passes this year. It's the most by any Raiders tight end since Todd Christensen had 95 catches in 1986, and the most since wide receiver Jerry Porter had 76 receptions in 2005. ...

Denarius Moore, who had four catches in his previous three games, had four catches against Denver -- the eighth time this season he's had four or more receptions.

Sebastian Janikowski has converted 123 consecutive extra points.

Making his fourth straight start Sunday, Foles brought the Eagles back from an 11-point deficit in the final seven minutes to help them snap an eight-game losing streak with a 23-21 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Foles engineered back-to-back scoring drives after the Bucs took a 21-10 lead. He took the Eagles 72 yards on eight plays, hitting tight end Clay Harbor with an 11-yard touchdown pass. Then he took them 64 yards in 13 plays, winning the game with no time left when he connected on a one-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin.

"You guys are seeing Nick Foles grow into a phenomenal quarterback right in front of your eyes," Maclin said after the Eagles snapped an eight-game losing streak and won for the first time in more than two months. "I think the sky is the limit for him."

Foles, a rookie third-round pick, completed 32 of 51 passes for 381 yards and the first two-touchdown game of his career. He was 10-for-15 for 170 yards on third down. Foles has thrown 142 consecutive passes without an interception.

That's no interceptions in 14 quarters.

His receivers' excitement is understandable.

Maclin caught nine passes for 104 yards and eclipsed the century mark for the first time since the Lions game on Oct. 14. Jason Avant finished with a season-high seven receptions for 133 yards.

As Philadelphia Inquirer staffer Jeff McLane notes, they were Foles' first 100-yard receivers of his career. For several reasons, he hasn't had many opportunities to throw downfield in his first three starts. The offensive line's struggles were one. His inexperience was another, and the ascension of Bryce Brown and the running game was yet another.

"Obviously, we ran the ball pretty well against Dallas and Carolina, so that was in the flow of the game," Maclin said. "But today we saw opportunities. ... To make plays down the field, and that's what we took advantage of."

Brown could do very little in the first half (10 carries for five yards) and had only two rushes after the break.

Head coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg hadn't put too much on Foles' plate in his first three starts. But with the running game nil, they had no other choice.

"Early in the game we weren't running, and we weren't passing, and we weren't protecting. It was just awful, really," Mornhinweg said. "It was just very simple. We'll open it up, and most of it is going to be on Nick."

Foles relied in his receivers, though. When he got in trouble in the second quarter and spotted Avant with single coverage, he tossed one up for grabs, and the veteran made a one-handed circus catch.

A series later, Foles was forced from the pocket. But he kept his eyes downfield and floated a 39-yard pass to a wide-open Avant, who somehow managed to keep his feet inbounds.

When the Eagles fell behind, 21-10, with seven minutes to play, Mornhinweg went back to the wide receiver screen that had worked off and on for much of the game. On the first play, Maclin took the short pass, zoomed 24 yards, and the Birds were off and running.

According to McLane, "This was how the Eagles' offense was supposed to look in 2012, with Michael Vick, [DeSean] Jackson, Maclin and company zipping up and down the field with a multi-faceted aerial attack."

There still weren't many deep throws, and when Foles did chuck the ball downfield he was off target. That's something he must improve if he's to become a complete quarterback.

But he has the intangibles. So says guard Jake Scott, who once spent four seasons blocking for Peyton Manning.

"We had some third and longs, some fourth and longs, some fourth and shorts, and he was composed through all of it," Scott said of Foles on the game-winning drive. "He made good decisions on all of them. That's what you need, somebody who can make a good decision under pressure."

And a quarterback with the confidence to throw to his receivers, even if the windows are tight.

"I'm certain that it gives other people around him, which is as important, great confidence, as well," Mornhinweg said.

And he'll get a chance to gain more. Foles was named the starter for the remainder of the season last week even as Vick continues to recover from a concussion.

"How important is something like this for a young guy like Nick?" Reid said, repeating a question. "I'll tell you, it's a big step forward. He's coming off, I thought, a positive game against Dallas. He put together a good game here against a defense that's tough, and he had to battle. It just wasn't a smooth event. We had our ups and downs, the ebbs and flows of the game, and he hung with it. It looked like he made people around him better, and himself, he got better."

Foles will make his next start Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.

As the Xchange notes, if the rookie continues to play well, it may convince the Eagles that they don't need to look for another quarterback in the draft or free agency.

Given all that, LeSean McCoy expects to step right into his starting role. Vick has no choice but to stand on the sideline.

Vick and McCoy returned to practice Tuesday after missing several weeks with concussions, and both players could be active when the Eagles host Cincinnati on Thursday night.

In McCoy's case, he's still the No. 1 running back. "If I was back, I'd be playing," McCoy said after practice.

Vick and McCoy still must be cleared by an independent neurologist and the team doctor before playing in a game. Vick, who was injured on Nov. 11, has missed four straight games. McCoy got hurt the following week at Washington.

The Eagles have been eliminated from playoff contention and are reduced to playing spoiler. Their record factored into Reid's decision to go with Foles.

"This will be another challenge for him doing it on a short week," Reid said. "I know he was here late last night going over stuff and I'm sure it'll be the same tonight. It's one more step. Let's see how he does with it."

Brown, a seventh-round pick, filled in nicely for McCoy. He had 347 yards rushing in his first two starts before getting held to just 6 yards on 12 carries against Tampa Bay's top-ranked run defense.

Tight end Brent Celek won't play against the Bengals because of a concussion he sustained on the first play in a 23-21 win over Tampa Bay. Burkholder said Celek already has passed his ImPACT test, but won't be able to complete the team's five-stage recovery process in time. ...

Harbor will make his first start of the season Thursday night in place of injured Celek. Harbor had six catches Sunday after Celek got hurt.

The Eagles have yet to make a roster move regarding the tight end position since Harbor is currently the only one who will play. Reid indicated on Tuesday that Emil Igwenagu could be promoted from the practice squad.

Maclin is nursing a sore groin, but the issue isn't expected to keep him from playing against the Bengals. He's officially listed as probable.

The Steelers take a 7-6 record into the game, same as the Cowboys, and both are fighting for playoff spots in their respect conferences. The Steelers usually play well against the NFC, including this season with a 3-0 record against the East Division of that conference. They have won 29 of their past 35 games against NFC teams since 2003.

What they cannot seem to do is beat the bad teams from their own conference. San Diego became the fourth AFC team with a losing record to beat the Steelers, although the first to do so in Pittsburgh. The others are Oakland, Tennessee and Cleveland and it has left the Steelers wondering about themselves.

As Associated Press sports writer Will Graves suggested, maybe it's a good thing the next three weeks hardly look like gimmes.

Pittsburgh has done its best work this season when backed into a corner, and a road trip to Dallas (7-6) followed by home games against AFC North rivals Cincinnati (7-6) and quickly improving Cleveland (5-8) to wrap up the regular season is sure to get the Steelers' attention.

If not, a season that looked promising a month ago will end before the calendar flips to 2013.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can't quite put a finger on why the Steelers play so well against good teams and so poorly against also-rans.

And unlike the losses to the Browns, Raiders and Titans, Sunday's loss wasn't even close.

The Chargers, finishing out the string under likely lame-duck coach Norv Turner, dominated the first 40 minutes and built a 27-3 lead en route to winning in Pittsburgh during the regular season for the first time in franchise history.

Pittsburgh's high points this fall have come in an inspiring 24-20 win over the Giants Nov. 4, and an invigorating 23-20 comeback triumph in Baltimore last week.

They cruised past the Washington Redskins with ease, crushed the New York Jets and handled the Philadelphia Eagles when it looked like their cross-state rivals had a pulse.

The key to those victories, however, came in lights-out defense and a hint of a running game. The Steelers had neither against the Chargers. Jonathan Dwyer managed all of 32 yards rushing, or one more than Roethlisberger gained on five last-option scrambles.

Though Roethlisberger passed for 285 yards and three scores, most of the yards and all of the touchdowns came after San Diego had the game firmly in hand.

Roethlisberger, as he tends to do, took responsibility for the lack of production though he was hardly helped out by his wide receivers or his short-handed offensive line.

Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown both watched deep balls that could have changed the game bounce harmlessly away in the first half and Roethlisberger spent long portions of the afternoon under significant duress.

Pittsburgh will continue to shuffle the line next week after left guard Willie Colon went down with a knee injury in the first half. Center Maurkice Pouncey moved from center to guard, with Doug Legursky taking over for Pouncey. Putting a line together on the fly is nothing new for the Steelers, who did it with great aplomb two years ago en route to the Super Bowl.

At this point, nobody is thinking that far down the road. And after getting plenty of help on Sunday, Pittsburgh knows it's time to start helping itself if it wants to play into January. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Running back Rashard Mendenhall -- a healthy scratch the past two games -- was suspended by the team Tuesday for one game for "conduct detrimental to the team" according to a release. Mendenhall will miss Sunday's game at Dallas.

Mendenhall has played in just four games this year and has 113 yards rushing on 34 carries with no touchdowns. He missed the first three games of this year with a knee injury and then missed four consecutive games with an Achilles injury. He was then inactive the past two games (Weeks 13-14).

Baron Batch has been signed from the practice squad to the 53-man roster in Mendenhall's place.

According to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Mendenhall was a no-show for last week's game, failing to arrive after being told he wouldn’t be on the active game-day roster.

“What’s happened, happened,” agent Mike McCartney told Bouchette. “When I spoke to Rashard, I know he is very excited next Monday to rejoin his teammates. He’s going to come back with great energy to do everything he can to help the Pittsburgh Steelers win football games.”

The one-game ban will cost Mendenhall more than $41,000. And as Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio suggests, the move further confirms that Mendenhall won't be back with the team in 2013. He arrived in Pittsburgh in 2008, as a first-round draft pick. ...

According to Beaver County Times staffer Andrew Chiappazzi, with one throw, Roethlisberger erased all questions about his arm strength and overall health.

Roethlisberger's deep pass to Wallace in the second quarter showed that the quarterback had recovered enough from the shoulder and rib injuries that kept him out the past three games. But Wallace's drop on the receiving end of that pass was emblematic of Pittsburgh's struggles.

Head coach Mike Tomlin encapsulated the issue perfectly.

"I didn't have any problem with (Roethlisberger's) ability to throw the ball vertically or horizontally or any of those physical things," the coach said. "We just didn't perform very well today collectively."

Wallace caught seven passes for 112 yards. But dig deeper, and the underlying issues become clear. Roethlisberger missed on four passes to Wallace, four to Heath Miller and five to Brown, while Pittsburgh was just 5 of 13 on third down and had eight drives start inside their own 20-yard line.

Throughout the game, Roethlisberger, his receivers and the line appeared out of sync. Roethlisberger missed throws, his line forced him to scramble more than he anticipated and the running game never was established.

"We felt like we left a lot of plays out there," Roethlisberger said. "I missed a lot of throws, threw to them once. We all have to play better."

"I think sometimes we don't play up to our effort and up to our skill set," Wallace added. "We have a great team, and we know it. We just have to get out of our own way."

Wallace was the only receiver to touch the ball before Plaxico Burress caught an 18-yard pass -- his first catch with the Steelers since the 2004 AFC Championship Game -- late in the first quarter.

Roethlisberger became the 25th player in NFL history to throw for 29,000 yards and run for 1,000.

Wallace had his first multiple-TD game of the season, catching two to give him eight, matching his total from last season and giving him the team lead.

Shaun Suisham made his only try from 49 yards and now has made 25 of 26 attempts this year, missing only from 54 yards.

Head coach Jeff Fisher said Monday he's less concerned about how his team wins than actually getting the victory. The Rams are coming off a 15-12 victory at Buffalo on Sunday in which the defense held the fourth-ranked rushing offense to just 61 yards and special teams stymied one of the best return teams in the league.

Fisher said the Rams can't continue to rely on their defense and special teams to overcome the league's 29th-ranked offense.

In their three-game winning streak, the Rams have allowed 17, 13 and 12 points

And even though most everyone wants to hear Fisher and his players talk about the playoffs, mum's the word when it comes to any such discussion.

Sunday's win evened their record at 6-6-1, while providing a third straight win for the first time since the 2006 season and it was also the team's second consecutive win on the road.

It's understood that any hope of qualifying for the post-season is dependent on the Rams finishing with three straight wins, and that will be a significant challenge first with a home game this week against the Vikings and two road games to follow at Tampa Bay and Seattle.

And while it's only human nature for the team to consider its playoff possibilities, Fisher has kept them focused all season on the cliches of constantly improving and concentrating on one game at a time.

"We will focus on our next opponent, our next game, period," Fisher said when asked about the playoffs. "Right now, we are just playing hard and trying to find a way to win."

Quarterback Sam Bradford, who engineered the game-winning 86-yard drive against the Bills, also refused to be drawn into a playoff discussion.

Said Bradford, "We are at .500 right now, obviously that wasn't our goal at the beginning of the year, we want to be above .500, we're taking it one game at a time, we've got a good Minnesota team coming to our place next week, and we are looking forward to that challenge."

When it was mentioned that the team is in "the playoff hunt." Bradford said, "Like I said, we are going to take it one game at a time, we got Minnesota this week, and look to make it four in a row."

The Rams were able to make it three in a row with a run defense that limited running backs C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson to 51 yards on 16 attempts, and an offense that sputtered most of the day, but was able to score two second-half touchdowns, including the game-winner with 48 seconds to play.

Bradford completed five passes on the final drive for 68 yards, including the game-winning 13-yard scoring play to wide receiver Brandon Gibson. He then hit receiver Chris Givens for a two-point conversion.

"Sam's a clutch guy," Fisher said. "He never panicked, and he had help; he had guys that made some tough catches. Sam's not a guy who gets flustered. He understands what's going on, he has respect for the defense, respect for their cover ability. We even talked about it last night, there's gonna be some balls knocked down, there's gonna be times where we get off the field on third down without converting, but if we just hang in there, someone needs to make a play, and he did. ..."

The Rams had 71 yards on 26 plays in the first half, Bradford was 5-for-13 for 37 yards with a passer rating of 14.6 and Brandon Gibson had one reception for 10 yards. In the second half, they had 214 yards on 41 plays, Bradford was 14-for-26 for 172 yards and Gibson had five catches for 90 yards. ...

In the second half, Bradford passed for 172 yards, with 68 on five completions coming in the winning drive.

Coming off an 11-catch outing against the 49ers, Givens was held to three catches on 10 targets with Bradford's lack of accuracy an issue on a number of them.

Austin Pettis had a huge catch on fourth-and-1 in the winning drive, and an earlier big play was a 22-yard completion to Lance Kendricks. Bradford's passer rating for the day was just 62.9, but his touchdown pass was the seventh he has thrown in the fourth quarter this season.

Meanwhile, like against San Francisco, the yards were hard to come by, but they stuck with it, giving the ball to Steven Jackson 19 times for 64 yards. Once again, Jackson got the lion's share of the carries with 19 compared to three by Daryl Richardson.

Jackson now needs 71 yards to reach 10,000 for his career and 164 yards to rush for 1,000 yards for the eighth consecutive season. ...

Also of interest. ... Danny Amendola (heel) has a chance to play in Sunday's game against Minnesota. Said Fisher, "Danny tried to go. He was much better than he was last week, but we just felt it would make sense that we waited another week. I think he's got a much better chance this week. It's a foot injury that still needs to heal. Danny needs to be close to 100 percent to be effective to be able to protect himself, particularly."

Amendola did some running in pregame warmups, but the decision was made to have him inactive for another game.

I'll have more on Amendola's status throughout the week via Late-Breaking Update.

Norv Turner outcoached Mike Tomlin. General manager A.J. Smith's young defenders, directed by John Pagano and supported by several veterans, took the play to Pittsburgh from the start.

The Chargers were inspired and well-prepared. Are both Turner and Smith certain to be fired after the season, as reported by the Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee last week?

According to Associated Press sports writer Bernie Wilson, Spanos presented Turner with a game ball after San Diego stunned the Steelers, its first regular-season victory in Pittsburgh in 15 tries.

That's the same Spanos who is expected to fire Turner, most likely along with Smith, shortly after this dismal season ends.

Wilson went on to note the victory Sunday isn't expected to change anything, other than keep the Chargers mathematically, if not realistically, alive for a wild-card playoff berth at 5-8.

Turner tried to deflect talk of his future Monday, trying to keep the focus on the next opponent, Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers (4-9), who beat Atlanta 30-20 on Sunday.

"That's not the thing that's on my mind," Turner said about his job status. "We're trying to get ready for Carolina and trying to build on what we did last week. That's where I'm at."

Turner did say that Spanos has not yet told him he's going to be fired.

But Turner, discussing his job status with CBS broadcasters Jim Nantz and Phil Simms leading up to the game, said "we all know in the end what the final outcome will be."

Turner and Smith got a reprieve last year when the Chargers ended the year 4-1 to finish 8-8. But Spanos said then that they'd need to win this year to save their jobs. Turner said then he expected the Chargers would have to make the playoffs this year to save their jobs.

With the Chargers apparently headed toward a third straight year out of the playoffs, Spanos isn't expected to grant another reprieve.

The best the Chargers can do this year is 8-8, which still requires them to win out. One more loss will guarantee their first losing season since 2003.

After Carolina, the Chargers travel to face the New York Jets and finish at home with the Oakland Raiders.

Indianapolis leads the wild-card race at 9-4. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are next at 7-6, followed by the Jets at 6-7 and the Chargers, Buffalo, Miami and Cleveland at 5-8.

After the Chargers lost seven of their previous eight games, the victory over the Steelers left many fans wondering: "Where has that been all season?"

"I mean, it's been there, it's just about execution," running back Ronnie Brown said Monday. "You know, like we've been saying all season, when we execute, when we do it the way we're capable of doing it, the results are usually good. But unfortunately, we haven't been able to be consistent and do it for four quarters throughout the whole season."

It was San Diego's first victory against a winning team this year.

"I don't think our effort has been an issue in the games we played," Turner said. "We haven't been as efficient as we were yesterday."

One of the biggest factors was that Philip Rivers didn't commit any turnovers and was sacked only once. The Chargers converted 12 of 22 third downs and came up with a game-changing play on a turnover. Backed up deep in his own territory, Ben Roethlisberger tried to throw a screen pass but it caromed off tight end David Paulson's rear and rolled into the end zone, where Quentin Jammer fell on it for a TD that gave the Chargers a 27-3 lead in the third quarter.

"We've been in that game a number of times, and that one play has gone against us," Turner said. "Their lateral that we ended up falling on for a touchdown gave us a lead that they were not able to get back in terms of after that play. We've had some of those plays go against us."

According to the Sports Xchange, with the four-game losing streak behind them, the Chargers suddenly have a little more pep in their step. Some momentum will accompany the Chargers, and it's been some time since they've said that.

Turner is certain his team will continue to focus on the task at hand, regardless of reports that have him being fired at season's end.

"I think going in with our guys every day is that we've learned to be a little bit oblivious to the outside world," said Turner, who is signed through 2013. "Our guys have done a great job to continue to work, to continue to prepare for games. And that is why we have been in games."

Turner is correct in that while the Chargers have struggled, they've seldom been dominated. Of the team's eight losses, only one was a rout, when they were dominated by the Falcons, 27-3.

But after gaining their first win over a. 500 team, the Chargers want to show it wasn't a fluke. The Panthers are coming off a big over the Falcons, but the Chargers will greet them no longer in a losing rut. ...

Other notes of interest. ... As Krasovic suggested Monday: "Danario Alexander cannot be stopped."

Alexander, getting open over the middle and on sideline routes, had another strong game. Signed off the street this season, he has made big plays in every game he's played. The Steelers, who were without their lead cornerback, Ike Taylor, brought in the NFL's top-ranked pass defense.

Still, Alexander had two touchdowns Sunday against the Steelers and, for the sixth straight game, led the team in receiving.

Meanwhile, receiver Micheal Spurlock is in his second stint as a Charger this season. If he keeps playing like Sunday, he won't be leaving soon.

Spurlock caught all seven passes targeted for him 64 yards, and six of them resulted in first downs. Spurlock also provided sure hands in field punts. With Eddie Royal unable to shake his hamstring injury, Spurlock could have additional chances on the horizon.

The Chargers pass offense has had to adapt this season.

In March, it planned for Robert Meachem to be a featured downfield threat. That has yet to materialize, but Alexander, a midseason signing, has embraced the role.

It planned for Royal to be the primary slot receiver, someone who'd particularly improve the team on third down. Royal (hamstring) missed his fifth game to injury, but Spurlock's first five catches Sunday were third-down conversions. ...

Rivers wore gloves in a game for the first time in his career. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger often wears them.

"He said, 'What are you doing? I have never seen you with gloves on.'" Rivers said. "I just said I would give it a try. I'm 1-0 with gloves on."

Rivers went 21-for-41 with 200 yards and three touchdowns.

According to the Xchange, Ryan Mathews' day was much like Rivers' -- a winning effort if not necessarily gigantic numbers. He gained 65 yards on 25 carries, but many of those rushes ate up valuable time even if they didn't produce the yards they were supposed to. Brown was exceptional, but more so in picking up blitzes.

The Chargers didn't crack the 95-yard rushing mark, but their rushing game was among the reasons they won the game. ...

The Chargers re-signed running back Curtis Brinkley on Tuesday. Brinkley got a start for the Chargers in Week 2 with Mathews still healing from a broken collarbone.

On the injury front. ... Royal and Dante Rosario (hamstring) are considered day-to-day.

"He kept me fresh," Gore said. "It's great."

Anthony Dixon is doing his part for San Francisco, too. Gore and Dixon each ran for 1-yard touchdowns, and the 49ers' versatile running game showed its depth in Sunday's 27-13 victory against the Miami Dolphins. Gore led the way en route to his sixth career 1,000-yard rushing season and 50th touchdown on the ground.

"I said the first week of the year I feel like we have the best backfield in the league," Dixon said. "We have a lot of talent, we are super deep. I know coach has a hard time trying to figure out what to do with all of us. It's a good problem. We just try to feed off each other."

James, a second-round draft pick this year out of Oregon, was active for the first time all season Sunday and took advantage with eight carries for 30 yards. James' performance helps the Niners (9-3-1) cope with the devastating, season-ending loss of backup Kendall Hunter to an ankle injury suffered at New Orleans on Nov. 25.

Both Dixon and James play key roles on special teams as well.

But James' production and ability to spell Gore down the stretch is what will be important for the 49ers as they look to make another run at the Super Bowl after falling short in overtime of the NFC championship game against the Giants last January.

"Kendall was a big part of our team, and LaMichael can do similar stuff as Kendall, and that's good," Gore said. "Happy for him. I saw LaMichael when he first got here. The offense was kind of tough for him. Camp was going kind of tough. He wasn't used to playing in small spaces, but he did a (heckuva) job."

One potential distraction for this close-knit group is gone.

Brandon Jacobs' short time with San Francisco is all but over after he was suspended Monday for the final three regular-season games. It's doubtful he would rejoin the team for the playoffs.

While the 49ers didn't provide a reason for the suspension, Jacobs had become increasingly vocal via social media during the weekend about his frustration over a lack of playing time. He referenced being "on this team rotting away."

He has only played in two games this season, managing 7 yards on five carries. Jacobs spent his first seven NFL seasons with the New York Giants, winning two Super Bowl rings.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh declined to address Jacobs' comments on Monday, even when asked whether Jacobs is still on the team.

"I'll go with the fifth amendment," Harbaugh said. "Just at this time, at this hour I choose to have no comment on that."

Now, Harbaugh and his players can move on without having to deal with the disgruntled Jacobs in the locker room -- or the sight of the 6-4, 264-pound tailback pounding his fists into the padding of the goal post on game day as his quirky pregame ritual.

After the way he played Sunday, James could get more chances Sunday at New England.

"LaMichael got those touches. Thought he made a real, real good contribution, both in the kick-off return game and offensively," Harbaugh said.

Gore certainly likes San Francisco's variety of offensive options as the 49ers head out to face the AFC East-leading Patriots (9-3) in a game that should provide quite the measuring stick for both teams in mid-December.

Not that Gore needs much to go on: His numbers tell the story of his eighth NFL season at age 29. He has 1,035 yards on 211 carries for seven touchdowns, and averages 4.9 yards per carry.

"I always knew Frank was a great running back," said quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who led a winning effort in his fourth straight start and fourth ever. "Being out there on the field and seeing some of the cuts he makes and how he protects in pass protection, I don't think there's another back like him in this league. ..."

According to Sacramento Bee staffer Matthew Barrows, James also continued the nice rapport he began with Kaepernick in the preseason.

The two played in wide-open college offenses, and that common background made them an easy fit on and off the field when James joined the 49ers in the spring. James even lived in Kaepernick's spare bedroom until the start of the season.

For the second straight week, the opposing defense took away Kaepernick's primary passing options, forcing him to go through his progressions. As a result, Kaepernick was sacked four times, three coming in the first half.

But as Harbaugh noted afterward, the quarterback again was accurate, completing 18 of 23 passes for 185 yards. And unlike last week in St. Louis, Kaepernick didn't make any crucial mistakes.

As San Francisco Chronicle staffer Scott Ostler noted, of the five incompletes, one bounced off Vernon Davis' hands, one was thrown purposely out of bounds to stop the clock for a field goal ("Kaepernick did a great job of throwing the ball away," Harbaugh said), one was a long bomb -- about 70 yards in the air -- to Randy Moss that was dead on the money, a beautiful TD, but Moss had a defensive hanging on his forearm.

Harbaugh also made a point to compliment offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who was criticized heavily for calling the disastrous pitch-option play last week that contributed to the loss to the Rams.

"I thought Greg called a great game," Harbaugh said. "He always does. And we had a good plan. Our guys believed in the plan, and they executed it well."

Roman, in fact, called a read-option play three straight times as the 49ers tried to run out the clock at the end of the game. On first down, Gore gained three yards. On second down, Kaepernick ran for two. On third down, Kaepernick kept the ball again, this time bursting through the Dolphins' defense for a 50-yard touchdown.

Though the 49ers' offense is operating below peak efficiency, Ostler asked readers to imagine the challenge facing opponents. Moss is stretching defenses, Michael Crabtree is working well underneath, defenses have to respect Kaepernick's legs, and all this creates daylight for Gore.

Kaepernick is bringing out the best in Crabtree, who caught nine balls for 93 yards while running precise routes and handling Kaepernick's fastball without difficulty

Kaepernick's (and Roman's) next challenge is to incorporate Davis into the offense, as other than a decoy/blocker.

After the game, James was asked whether an offense that features as many option plays as the 49ers' can have success in the NFL.

Said James: "It worked today. ..."

It'll have to work better this weekend if the Niners hope to keep up with the Patriots' fast-break offense. ...

In a semi-related note. ... First-round draft pick WR A.J. Jenkins also made his NFL debut Sunday. While he didn't have a catch, Harbaugh saw plenty of positives.

"A.J. probably was in there eight or nine snaps and had a real nice block on Frank's draw play that nearly scored," Harbaugh said. "Ran a route, didn't get the ball, but ran right past his man."

Other notes of interest. ... Gore tied Joe Perry and Roger Craig for the franchise record for rushing touchdowns with the 50th of his career. Gore also passed the 1,000-yard mark for the sixth time in his career.

Kaepernick's 50-yard touchdown run was the longest by a 49ers quarterback in franchise history. His five rushing touchdowns are the second-most by a QB in team history. Jeff Garcia set the record (7) in 2003. ...

David Akers connected on both field-goal attempts against Miami. Coming into the game, he had made only three of his previous six attempts. ...

And finally. ... The 49ers placed DE Demarcus Dobbs (knee) on injured reserve, ending his season.

Carroll said Monday that the goal in the second half of Seattle's 58-0 victory over the Cardinals was to continue to play well and make progress while also getting some younger players some work.

Now the challenge for Seattle (8-5) is not letting the victory become a lingering hangover going to Toronto on Sunday to face the Buffalo Bills.

It's a possible trap game for the Seahawks coming off such a huge home victory and with a showdown waiting at home the following Sunday against San Francisco. With a little help from New England, that game could be for the lead in the NFC West.

And Seattle is clearly playing well. If nothing else, the Seahawks put together their most complete victory in pounding the Arizona Cardinals 58-0.

The win was Seattle's largest margin of victory in franchise history. The Seahawks' last shutout victory was a 41-0 win over Jacksonville on Oct. 11, 2009.

Seattle's 58 points also was the most points scored in a game in franchise history, eclipsing the 56 points the Seahawks scored in a 56-17 victory against Buffalo on Oct. 30, 1977.

Seattle's average margin of victory this season heading into Sunday's contest had been nine points a game.

The Seahawks improved to 8-5 on the year, earning the team's first divisional win after losing their first three NFC West contests away from home. Seattle now travels to Toronto on Sunday to face a Buffalo team that fell to 5-8 on the year after St. Louis came from behind to defeat the Bills on the road, 15-12.

The Seahawks remain 11/2 games behind NFC West division leader San Francisco (9-3-1). The 49ers handled visiting Miami 27-13, but travel to New England to face the Patriots this week.

Carroll said the easy victory served as payment to his players for all of the hard work put into making this season worthy of reaching the postseason.

"It's a nice reward," Carroll said. "Sometimes you get a chance to win big like that, and we haven't had many since we've been here. It's just fun for the guys; everybody got to play."

The Seahawks forced eight Arizona turnovers -- four interceptions, two fumbles on punt returns -- including one recovered for a touchdown by Malcolm Smith -- and two fumbles on strip sacks by defensive end Chris Clemons and safety Jeron Johnson.

Sherman and rookie linebacker Bobby Wagner finished with two interceptions each -- Sherman returned one for a 19-yard touchdown.

Even Seattle reserve quarterback Matt Flynn made his regular-season debut midway through the third quarter, finishing 5 of 9 for 68 yards.

"It shows us when we finish a game, and when we finish plays and we work all the way through the whistle, good things happen -- for whatever reason," Seattle fullback Michael Robinson said. "And we have to keep it up. We're in finish mode right now -- fourth quarter. ...

Among the key offensive factors: Marshawn Lynch rushed for 128 yards on just 11 carries, setting a career high for rushing yards with 1,266 and eclipsing his previous best of 1,204 set last season.

Lynch also set a franchise mark of 11.68 yards per carry for a single game. That mark was previously held by Lynch's position coach, Sherman Smith, of 8.86 yards, set against Atlanta on Nov. 7, 1976.

In addition, Lynch posted a career-best seventh 100-yard rushing game in a season. His previous best was six in 2011.

Meanwhile, as Tacoma News Tribune staff writer Eric D. Williams noted, rookie running back Robert Turbin finished with 20 carries for 108 yards, the first time he topped the 100-yard mark in his pro career.

"It really helped a lot," Turbin said. "To finally not just get flashes of carries here and there, but to just get consecutive carries and get a feel for the defense for my own self.

"That's a lot of what Marshawn does. You guys talk about that all time -- he doesn't break a lot of his big runs until the second half. Well, that's a part of him feeling the game. And I was able to kind of feel the game myself."

Added Robinson: "Marshawn has been through this before. But to see Turbin's face, knowing that he had 100 yards, man -- his first 100-yard game -- it was definitely gratifying to see that."

The last time Seattle had two players rush for 100 yards or more was against Houston on Oct. 16, 2005, with Shaun Alexander (141 yards) and Maurice Morris (104).

Seattle's 284 rushing yards was the fourth-best total in team history. The team record is 320, set against Houston in 2005. ...

Other notes of interest. ... As Williams reported it; "The play was scary. The hit was vicious. And the result was a penalty."

But in the end Sidney Rice was fine. At least his head was.

Late in the game on a pass over the middle, Rice made a fantastic reaching grab, but was leveled by Arizona safety Rashad Johnson. The hit drew gasp from the stands and a penalty from the back judge.

Rice popped back up in defiance and spun the ball on its top to show Johnson he wasn't affected.

So did it hurt?

"My feelings were hurt a little bit," he said. "But it was cool to get back up."

Replays show that Johnson led with his shoulder and hit Rice squarely in the chest. Johnson was flagged for unnecessary roughness on a defenseless player, but even Rice admitted it wasn't really a penalty.

"It was a clean hit," Rice said. "Everybody said it was a clean hit."

Up 51-0, Rice was done for the day after the big hit. No reason to risk any further injury. He finished with two catches for 35 yards. ...

But the problem on Wednesday was Rice's foot.

According to Everett Herald staffer John Boyle, the veteran receiver was in a boot and didn't practice leaving his status for Sunday in question.

So, I'll be following up on his status as the week progresses; watch the Late-Breaking Updates section for more. ...

After totaling 133 yards receiving in the first 12 games, tight end Anthony McCoy amassed 105 Sunday, including a 67-yard reception that was Seattle's longest this season. It was also the highest game receiving total for any Seahawk this season, surpassing Rice's 99 yards last week in Chicago.

"He's really, really improving every week, every game," Russell Wilson said of McCoy. "As I throw to him more and more, we're really clicking."

Zach Miller, Seattle's starting tight end, caught a 24-yard pass in the final minute of the second quarter. Wilson completed seven passes, three of them to his tight ends.

And finally. ... The NFL suspended cornerback Richard Sherman along with cornerback Brandon Browner four games for violating the league's policy on performance enhancing drugs.

Browner dropped his appeal and Sherman's was scheduled to be heard Friday December 14th.

According to Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports, a source familiar with the case said Sherman's appeal is expected to be delayed even further. Sherman, who claims he did nothing wrong, will be able to play pending the resolution of his appeal. "It's gonna get solved and I think at the end of the day it'll get worked out fine," Sherman insisted.

Tampa Bay (6-7) is two games behind Seattle (8-5) and also trails the Cowboys, Redskins and Vikings at 7-6.

Even more disconcerting, quarterback Josh Freeman has not played well for three weeks and the 32nd-ranked pass defense can't even stop a rookie quarterback like the Eagles' Nick Foles from throwing for 381 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, joining the Colts' Andrew Luck as the only post-Super Bowl rookie quarterbacks to accomplish that.

Tampa Bay has lost three in a row by a combined 11 points and all of their seven losses have been by one score.

On Sunday, head coach Greg Schiano did what defensive-minded head coaches do -- put the game in the hands of their defense.

Leading 21-16 and facing third-and-8 at the Tampa Bay 33-yard line with 2:55 left and the Eagles with one timeout remaining, Schiano took the game out of the hands of Freeman and put it into those of his pass defense. He called a running play that netted no yards.

"There's two ways to play it," Schiano said. "You can try to throw the ball. We decided to run the ball and make them use their timeout or let it tick. My thinking was if we can punt the ball away and we get a stop, the game is over and they've got no timeouts."

As the Sports Xchange suggested, if the Bucs are going to go anywhere, they can't play around their quarterback. Freeman has shown improvement, throwing 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. But Schiano didn't trust him to make a play with the game on the line.

"As a competitor, I think everybody on the team wants it in their hands," Freeman said.

The Bucs are not a complete product. They have 11 players on injured reserve, including guards Davin Joseph and Carl Nicks. The offensive line has not opened holes for running back Doug Martin lately or protected Freeman very well. All things considered, Schiano and the Bucs stayed alive longer than expected.

Still, it would have been nice to see Freeman get a chance to make plays.

Instead, Freeman had one of his worst days of the season – at least statistically – against an Eagles team that had given up 28 points or more in six consecutive games. Freeman completed just 14 of 34 passes (41.1 percent) for 189 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 79.2 passer rating.

As Tampa Tribune staffer Erik Erlendsson noted, it was the first time Freeman failed to throw for at least 200 yards since Week 3 in Dallas, where he completed 35 percent of his passes for 110 yards.

"I felt pretty sharp, pretty locked in," Freeman told Erlendsson. "There were a couple of balls… It's frustrating because I felt like we had a really great plan, we just didn't have the execution."

In the first half, especially, Freeman looked out of sync with his receivers and missed his target on several pass attempts, completing just 5 of 16 for 61 yards and a quarterback rating of 44.0.

"We were just a little off," Freeman said. "We were taking shots, trying to throw it down field. …You hit a couple of those, then you really have something going, but you definitely have to come out better in the first half and score some points."

Freeman looked better to start the second half. He threw some strikes – including zipping in a 1-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams and a 13-yard scoring pass to Vincent Jackson to put Tampa Bay in front early in the fourth quarter.

Freeman appeared to be on track, completing 9 of 18 throws for 128 yards in the second half, including a 40-yard pass to Jackson deep down the middle.

"I'll have to watch the tape to see exactly what the problems were," Schiano said. "It just seemed like he wasn't himself, he wasn't in sync. Then he made some throws that make you say, 'Oh, there he is.'

"We, as an offensive football team, didn't play the way we are capable of. We made some critical mistakes. At the end of the day you can't do that in the National Football League. It doesn't work."

Meanwhile, with his 128 yards rushing Sunday, Martin became the Bucs' all-time single season rushing leader with 1,234 yards, passing Cadillac Williams, who had 1,178 in 2005. His 10 rushing touchdowns this season are the most by a rookie and third most in team history, trailing James Wilder (13 in 1984) and Errict Rhett (11 in 1995)

Three weeks ago, Martin led the NFL in total yards from scrimmage. But with the Falcons and Broncos gearing their defenses to stop him, the first-round pick out of Boise State was limited to 106 yards in 39 carries the previous two games.

Against the Eagles, Martin was back in form -- bursting through holes and breaking tackles.

"We knew that if we got Doug going, we'd have a good chance to win," right tackle Demar Dotson said. "And Vincent stepped up big for us, too."

Jackson caught four passes for 87 yards in the second half, including a 13-yard TD slant that put the Bucs ahead 14-10 early in the fourth quarter.

Seven minutes later, Martin scored from 4 yards out for his 10th rushing touchdown of the season.

Targeted 10 times by Freeman, Jackson finished with six receptions for 131 yards, giving him 1,145 receiving yards on the year since signing as a free agent from the Chargers.

Jackson had his fourth 100-yard receiving performance of the season, catching six passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. His eight receiving TDs rank eighth in the NFL.

According to Tampa Bay Times staffer Ira Kaufman, Jackson is only 278 yards away from breaking Mark Carrier's single-season franchise record, set in 1989.

"He's a different guy than the one I saw in San Diego," said former Bucs wideout Keyshawn Johnson, on hand for Sunday's 10-year reunion of the 2002 championship club. "It seems like Vincent's more mature. He really seems like he wants to be a good player, as opposed to being happy just to be in the NFL. ..."

Also worth noting. ... Williams' 1-yard TD catch Sunday against the Eagles was his seventh of the season. ...

Bottom line?

The Bucs might be out of the playoff hunt, but Fantasy owners can rest assured that Schiano will go all out over the final three game. And with a pass defense as porous as Tampa Bay's, the onus will be on the offense to keep up. ...

Munchak said Monday he hasn't talked in a couple weeks with owner Bud Adams, who put everyone in the franchise on notice a month ago that he wanted improvement.

Munchak said the key will be the team's performance in the final three games. He believes Jake Locker and the other young players are starting to develop as they hoped, while receiver Kenny Britt just turned in his best performance since tearing his right ACL in September 2011.

The coach said they'll keep working hard and not worry about any consequences.

They have an extra day to prepare before hosting the Jets (6-7) on Monday night.

Will it help?

Well, if a day is enough to improve their red-zone offense, they maybe. ...

On his first red-zone play in Indianapolis, Locker dropped back quickly and lofted a perfect 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jared Cook.

From that point on, however, the red zone became the dead zone in a 27-23 loss to the Colts on Sunday.

The Titans couldn't score touchdowns on either of their final two red-zone possessions, and they also failed to score one on a drive that reached the Indianapolis 22.

According to Nashville Tennessean beat writer John Glennon, it's become a familiar pattern for the Titans, who've managed only one offensive touchdown in each of their last three games -- going 2-for-7 in the red zone.

"We just couldn't finish," tackle Michael Roos said. "We should have had 35 points. Our goal is to get seven points every time down there. We should have and we just didn't. It's the tale of our season. We just couldn't finish."

The Titans went into the game ranked 20th in the NFL in red-zone scoring. Their 1-for-3 showing against the Colts dropped them below 50 percent in that department.

It's a far different situation than last season, when the Titans finished with the NFL's fifth-best red-zone offense, scoring touchdowns at a nearly 60 percent clip from inside the opponent's 20.

Why the drastic drop from 2011 to 2012?

According to Glennon, the biggest reason is likely the change in quarterbacks, as veteran Matt Hasselbeck was a wizard in the red zone. He completed more than 60 percent of his passes in the red zone, threw for 13 touchdowns and no interceptions, and posted a passer rating of 109.6.

Locker, in his first season as a starter, had a good touchdown-to-interception ratio in the red zone -- four TDs, no picks -- but he's also only 10-of-26 passing.

Quick decision-making and accurate passing become even more important in the red zone, when the field shrinks and opposing defenses tend to ramp up the pressure.

"Obviously you get less space to deal with down there," Roos said. "However you do things, it just becomes a little more compact and guys have to be more precise in what they're doing -- whether it's route running or us blocking, especially if a team is sending a blitz. You have a little less time and you don't have that space."

One of the red-zone failures against the Colts came just before halftime, when the Titans -- by scoring a touchdown -- could have taken a three-possession lead. But after they drove to the Indianapolis 13, their next three plays were an incompletion to Kendall Wright, a three-yard pass to Cook and a Locker sack.

The Titans settled for a field goal and a 20-7 lead at halftime.

"That's been one of the problems we've been having, getting down in the red zone and then getting just three points," running back Chris Johnson said. "Anytime a defense can stop you from getting seven points, they're holding on."

A poor Johnson run was a big part of the problem on the final red-zone possession for the Titans. They had marched 75 yards in 12 plays, arriving at the Indianapolis 5 early in the fourth quarter.

But on first down, Johnson was tackled in the backfield for a five-yard loss. Locker got two yards back on a scramble, but Fernando Velasco was then called for a false start and Locker couldn't connect with Nate Washington on third-and-goal from the 7.

Again, the Titans settled for the field goal, taking a 23-21 lead that would last only as long as the Colts' next drive.

"We had the ball for 15, 16 plays," Munchak said. "It's a great drive and we got the lead back … but again, we had to settle for a field goal. Getting a touchdown there would have made a big difference."

As Glennon pointed out, if those kinds of comments sound familiar, they should.

Two weeks ago against the Jaguars, the Titans drove inside the 20 early in the fourth quarter with a chance to take the lead. They settled for a field goal and never regained the advantage.

Last week against the Texans, the Titans -- trailing by two scores -- drove to the Houston 7 early in the fourth quarter. They fumbled the ball away on fourth down.

"We get so close -- even last week when we were trying to come back -- and we just can't get in the end zone," Roos said. "I'm sure it's some of those tiny little things here and there. But guys have to figure it out and play better. ..."

Getting better in the red zone won't get any easier without Cook.

The athletic tight end has a torn right rotator cuff and Munchak says Cook will be placed on injured reserve for the final three games.

Cook ranks second on the team with 44 catches and has 523 yards receiving. He will become the 15th player on injured reserve, and Munchak called it unfortunate.

Cook says the season-ending injury is a tough blow. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Locker was 15 of 20 for 213 yards and a touchdown in the first half, but was just 7 of 15 for 49 yards and two interceptions in the second half.

Johnson went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season Sunday, but had just 44 yards on 19 carries. ...

Britt had his best game of the season with eight catches for 143 yards Sunday, and according to the Sports Xchange, he finally appears to be coming back from three knee procedures in the offseason. ...

With Damian Williams sidelined by a hamstring injury, receiver Lavelle Hawkins figured he'd be back in the lineup against the Colts.

So it came as a surprise to him when Michael Preston was moved up from the practice squad. Hawkins was deactivated for the ninth game this season.

"I thought I was going to be dressed and ready to go, but they had other plans," Hawkins said Tuesday. "I don't know (why). All I know is I got a tap on my shoulder saying I'm down, so I've got to respect the call."

On Monday, Munchak said Preston got the nod because he played well on the practice squad and the 6-3, 205-pounder provided depth at the "X" position behind Britt.

That's probably not much consolation for Hawkins, who's had a frustrating season.

He caught a career-best 47 passes in 2011 and signed a three-year, $7.2 million contract during the offseason. But Hawkins has just four catches this year.

"As a competitor, you always want to play," Hawkins said. "There's a lot of things you can't control. You never know what's going on, so you just got to go with it, put a smile on your face."

Is there anything he can do better to get back in the lineup?

"There's always something you can do better, whatever you do in life," Hawkins said. "I'll just continue to work hard, maybe show them something different, I don't know."

Williams could miss another week with his hamstring injury that kept him out of Sunday's game.

Beyond that, there are still some very important unknowns.

The NFL's top-rated quarterback might or might not play Sunday when the Redskins visit the Cleveland Browns. Head coach Mike Shanahan, knowing full well that it makes the other team work extra to prepare for two quarterbacks, will no doubt wait as long as possible to publicly commit one way or the other to Griffin or fellow rookie Kirk Cousins.

"Both of them will have a game plan," Shanahan said Monday.

The interior of Griffin's right knee was the subject of intense scrutiny during Shanahan's weekly news conference, when it was shown that an injury to a franchise player like RG3 can flummox even a seasoned coach. Shanahan initially said Griffin had a "strain of the ACL" before later correcting the diagnosis to a sprained LCL, with the coach stepping away from the podium to demonstrate the location of the ligament involved.

The upshot: Griffin has a mild, or Grade 1, sprain of the lateral collateral ligament located on the outside of the knee, caused when he was hit by defensive tackle Haloti Ngata at the end of a 13-yard scramble late in regulation of the 31-28 overtime win over the Baltimore Ravens.

"When I looked at it on film," Shanahan said, "I thought it would be worse than it was."

The LCL is one of four ligaments in the knee. A Grade 1 sprain typically means the ligament is stretched or has some minor tears and usually doesn't require surgery. Griffin will get multiple treatments daily and will probably have to wear a brace for several weeks.

"You're hoping with rehab it gets better very quickly," Shanahan said. "But we don't know for sure. ... He's definitely not ruled out for the Cleveland game."

Indeed, Griffin tested the knee Wednesday morning during the short period of practice open to media.

As Washington Times staff writer Rich Campbell stressed, Griffin's attendance Wednesday should not be interpreted as a clear indication of his status for Sunday's game.

But Campbell went on to advise readers that Griffin -- wearing a helmet, cleats and a jersey like the rest of his teammates -- practiced dropping back, planting and throwing short passes, which appeared to have their normal velocity. He even threw one pass from behind his back. He ran in a straight line at a moderate pace and also shuffled his feet laterally in separate portions of the team's stretching session. He moved smoothly at times and gingerly at others.

Griffin wore long pants, so whether he wore a knee brace was not evident.

It was a good start.

Griffin said after the session that he did "enough. I did enough. We'll see how it feels."

He also suggested he would continue to practice Thursday and Friday before seeing where he stands for Sunday.

It's also worth noting that Griffin's father, Robert Griffin Jr., told White via text message that his son was "feeling good" and that "we will know by Thursday" whether Griffin III will be able to suit up against the Browns.

While all the reports on Griffin seem positive enough, Pierre Garcon didn't sound so sure on Tuesday. Talking about their meeting with Cleveland, he said on ESPN's SportsCenter, "We have a little bit tougher of a task with Kirk starting."

"We have to play well around Kirk so Kirk doesn't feel like he has to save the team and help him to be a comfortable as possible," he continued.

According to Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio, it's unclear if Garcon just misspoke or was preparing for something the players are planning on happening.

And Shanahan?

Asked after Wednesday's practice if he might draw out the decision on RG3 longer for competitive advantage, the coach smiled and said, "Probably. ..."

In other words, this is going to be something I follow very closely in coming days. Those interested -- and there will be many of you -- should keep an eye on the Late-Breaking Updates section for what's sure to be a constant stream of info. ...

The No. 2 overall pick, Griffin has become a phenomenon in his debut NFL season, leading the Redskins -- a team that went 5-11 last year -- to four straight victories to put the record at 7-6, one game behind the first-place New York Giants in the NFC East. His performance Sunday put him atop the league with a 104.2 passer rating, better than Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and everyone else.

Fourth-rounder Cousins might not be much of a drop-off, especially after his super-sub performance against the Ravens. When Griffin left for one play, Cousins converted a third-and-6 with a pass to Garcon that drew a pass interference penalty on Chris Johnson.

When Griffin left for good later in the drive, Cousins completed two passes in two plays, and his nice pump fake allowed Garcon to get open for an 11-yard touchdown with 29 seconds left in regulation.

Cousins then did his best RG3 impersonation, running the quarterback draw on the 2-point conversion to tie the game.

"You're running the scout team the majority of the time, and you're expected to go in there and perform," Shanahan said. "So there's a lot of pressure on people. Some people can handle it; other people can't. But when you prepare yourself like he has, it didn't surprise me that he was flawless in what he did."

Shanahan defended the decision to have Griffin return to the game for four plays after the injury, saying he left the decision in the hands of Dr. James Andrews, the renowned sports physician who is on the sidelines for most Redskins games.

"He's the one that gives me that information," Shanahan said. "It's way over my head. ..."

Meanwhile, the Redskins, left for dead after losing at home to lowly Carolina heading into their bye five weeks ago, have won four in a row for the first time in more than four years after tying AFC North leader Baltimore with 29 seconds left in regulation on Sunday and winning 31-28 in overtime. ...

Other notes of interest. ... The Redskins gained 186 yards in the first quarter, the most by any team in the opening quarter this year and their most in the first quarter since they had 189 at Chicago in Week 10 of 1997

Alfred Morris remained on a roll, producing his sixth 100-yard day and going over 1,200 for the season with 122 yards on 23 carries, but he fumbled for the second straight week, this one at the Washington 15 to set up Baltimore's second touchdown.

Morris outworked his blockers at times, but it was still a very good performance.

Morris also set a Redskins rookie record with 253 carries.

Griffin ran seven times for 34 yards, 13 on the scramble on which he was hurt.

Morris (1,228) and Griffin (748) have combined for 1,976 rushing yards, the most by any pair of rookies in NFL history. ...

Josh Morgan's first-quarter touchdown catch against Baltimore was his first for Washington. Fullback Darrel Young's 28-yard catch in the second quarter was the longest gain of his career.

Wide receiver Niles Paul and cornerback Richard Crawford replaced Brandon Banks as Washington's kickoff returner and punt returner, respectively.

And finally. ... Eight weeks ago, Kai Forbath hadn't played in an NFL regular-season game. On Sunday, he kicked the 34-yard field goal that beat Baltimore in overtime and extended Washington's winning streak to four, its longest in more than four years.

The game-winner extended Forbath's streak to 14-of-14, just two shy of Garrett Hartley's record for consecutive field goals made at the start of a career. Perhaps even more impressive, nine of Forbath's kicks have been beyond 42 yards.