Head coach Ken Whisenhunt found much not to like after reviewing the video of the 22-21 loss, yet he also came away with the knowledge, as he put it, that "there's a good team in there somewhere."

The game ended when a defender stripped the wall away from wide receiver Chansi Stuckey after a completion from Kevin Kolb.

"We didn't play our best yesterday and still found a way to make enough plays to stay in the game and give ourselves a chance to win," Whisenhunt said Monday.

The defense had another tough day statistically, giving up 455 yards. And the Cardinals were penalized 10 times for 97 yards compared with Washington's three for 15 yards.

Offensive penalties were costly but could at least be attributed to the noise at FedEx Field.

"We didn't have a tremendous amount of offensive penalties yesterday but when they hit us they hit us a couple of times when we were deep in our territory. We had a grounding, we had a false start and it makes it tough for us to convert third downs which is something that you have to be able to do to sustain long drives. But in general we had too many penalties yesterday, period, and the defense had some dumb ones.

Beanie Wells flirted with a 100-yard rushing game for the second week in a row, gaining 93 yards on 14 carries, an average of 6.6 per attempt.

Kolb got the first of what he expects to be many big-play connections with Larry Fitzgerald, a 73-yarder for a touchdown that put the Cardinals ahead 21-13 with 10:58 to play. Kolb didn't see it as he was flattened on the play. No matter, he said.

"I hope they understand how much this means to me," Kolb said at his locker on Monday. "It's worth it for me to take that hit for that kind of play."

He will have more noise to contend with this Sunday, when the Cardinals play at winless Seattle in one of the noisiest venues in the NFL. ...

Other notes of interest. ... As Arizona Republic staffer Bob McManaman noted, he ultimately will own every tangible receiving record in Cardinals history and last Sunday, Fitzgerald reached his latest milestone: The 73-yard TD pass from Kolb was his 66th touchdown reception, tying him with Roy Green at the top of the club's all-time list.

"It's an honor for me because I have had a great personal relationship with Roy over the years," Fitzgerald said. "He took me under his wing and taught me so much about the nuances of the game and I'm very appreciative of that relationship.

"Just to be mentioned with him, it's really an honor."

Kolb, who completed seven passes to Fitzgerald totaling 133 yards, expects bigger and better things from his star receiver.

"He's a special guy," Kolb said. "His eye-hand coordination is ridiculous, and I'm learning more about him every day. I can't wait to get out there and throw some more to him."

Fitzgerald needs 160 more receiving yards to tie Green for the most in Cardinals history with 8,497. ...

After two games, the Cardinals don't appear to have any problems scoring points. They've scored 49. But surprisingly, the offense hasn't been running very many plays.

They had 54 in a Week 1 victory over Carolina and ran just 48 plays at Washington.

"That's tough because it wears down your defense," Whisenhunt said. "That's what we saw last year. But the difference this year and the reason we have a better chance is because our average on our offensive plays is much higher.

"We've had three long scoring plays this year. Listen, I'm not ever going to complain about having a two-play, 60-yard scoring drive or a one-play, 73-yard scoring drive. Would we like to have more plays? Obviously, we would. But I don't want to get panicky because our yards-per-play is pretty high. ..."

Kolb has taken his share of hits already this season, including a big one Sunday right after throwing the long touchdown pass to Fitzgerald. He got shoved to the ground and fell into the legs of lineman Brandon Keith, which caused Kolb's helmet to come off.

"But he popped up and seemed OK. He's a tough kid," Whisenhunt said.

Tight end Jeff King was even more complimentary, saying Kolb had proved his toughness.

"He'll stand there and make plays no matter what the situation is," King said. "It means a lot. You can follow a guy into battle with someone like that as your leader. He's doing everything you can ask for from a quarterback. ..."

King caught his second touchdown pass in as many weeks, and he's only one short of his career high for a season (2009). In 2010, Cardinals tight ends did not catch a touchdown pass. King's superior blocking skills have him on the field more than Todd Heap.

One last note here. ... Running back LaRod Stephens-Howling was inactive because of a hand/wrist injury. He could miss this week's game, too.

Smith says that toughness helps make his quarterback a fourth-quarter winner.

Ryan was pounded by Philadelphia's pass rush for three quarters, but he was at his best at the end. He led two touchdown drives in a near-perfect final quarter to rally the Falcons to a crucial 35-31 victory over the Eagles on Sunday night.

"He's a tough Irishman," Smith said. "I've said that before. He gets hit and he takes that hit and he keeps going. He is a guy that will never give up. When you have a guy like that leading your football team, it's going to pay dividends in the long run."

Ryan was sacked four times -- all in the first three quarters -- struggling after one to rise from his knees. He was also hit six times, usually landing hard on the turf.

Despite the beating, the fourth quarter belonged to Ryan.

As Odum suggested, his No. 2 jersey commanded the respect of a Georgia Dome sellout crowd packed with Michael Vick's No. 7 -- in Falcons' red and Eagles' green. Ryan completed 8 of 10 passes with a touchdown to rally the Falcons from a 31-21 deficit.

Vick, the former Falcons star, left with a third-quarter concussion, spitting blood on his way off the field.

Ryan won the battle of endurance before winning the game.

A victory the Falcons needed. They were coming off a 13-3 season that ended with a disappointing home playoff loss to Green Bay and opened with an ugly loss at Chicago following a winless preseason.

Another setback would have left an opening for doubts to enter the Falcons' locker room before this week's game at Tampa Bay.

Ryan, in his fourth season, has led 14 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime. Smith said this may have been Ryan's top showing with the game on the line.

"Matt was at his best in the fourth quarter," Smith said. "It would be hard to think of him in those two drives playing any better since we've been here."

Ryan passed for 76 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter while leading two touchdown drives. He had a 1-yard scoring pass to Ovie Mughelli to cap a 12-play drive that covered 80 yards and then led another 80-play drive which ended with Michael Turner scoring from the 3 with less than 5 minutes remaining.

"That is probably as well as I've seen Matt play in those circumstances," Smith said.

Overall, Ryan completed 17 of 28 passes for 195 yards with a career-high four touchdowns and two interceptions.

The sacks are a growing concern, however. Ryan was sacked five times and hit 11 more times in the 30-12 loss at Chicago.

Ryan already is almost halfway to his career-high total of being sacked 23 times last season.

It's a pace the Falcons can't afford to see continue.

Not surprisingly, Ryan defended his line stressing the unit played especially well in the fourth quarter.

But the Falcons ran a no-huddle offense in the final quarter, limiting the ability of the Eagles' defense to have time for substitutions and adjustments.

It didn't take long for Ryan to look ahead to this week's game at Tampa Bay.

"I think anytime you get the first win of the year, it feels really good," Ryan said. "But we've got a long way to go. One of the things I say every week is that you can't get too high and you can't get too low. We've got a good Tampa Bay team that we're going to be going against down there. … We need to move on. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... Atlanta Journal-Constitution staffer D. Orlando Ledbetter notes the offense sputtered for most of the evening and couldn't sustain any long drives until the Falcons jumped into their no-huddle attack late in the game.

With Ryan pulling from more than 30 plays at the line of scrimmage, the offense came to life.

With the Falcons down 31-21, Ryan converted on a 13-yard pass to Tony Gonzalez on third-and-12 and a 14-yard pass to Julio Jones on third-and-2. Ryan tossed the 1-yard touchdown pass to Mughelli to cap the 12-play drive.

After a defensive stop, the Falcons' offense went back on the attack with 10:45 left in the game. The unit overcame a holding call on center Joe Hawley when Ryan called a trap play that sprung Turner for a 61-yard gain.

Five plays later, Turner scooted around right end for a 3-yard touchdown run with 4:48 left. ...

Gonzalez caught two touchdown passes, including a highlight-worthy, one-handed grab at the back of the end zone, against the Eagles. The All-Pro also continued his climb up the charts in the NFL record books.

While Gonzalez was much more impressed with the victory, individual accolades will continue to come his way as his Canton-bound career continues. With his fourth-quarter catch, his sixth of the game, Gonzalez passed Terrell Owens for fifth place on the NFL's all-time reception list. He stands at 1,081 career catches, trailing only Jerry Rice (1,549), Marvin Harrison (1,102), Cris Carter (1,101) and Tim Brown (1,094).

There will be more. Gonzalez will move up a spot in another all-time category with his next touchdown catch. His 90 career touchdowns receptions rank 10th in NFL history, one shy of Isaac Bruce for ninth place. ...

Smith said the coaching staff, through film studies, saw an opening to exploit Gonzalez against the Philadelphia defense: "That's what we try to do. We try to look and see what kind of matchups we're going to get and if we get those matchups we're going to get positive plays. ..."

Turner delivered a second straight 100-yard performance, rushing for 114 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. He added one catch for 32 yards. And while the majority of his yardage game on the above-mentioned 61-yard carry, Turner will go up against a Buccaneers defense that gave up 120 yards and two touchdowns to Adrian Peterson last Sunday.

Worth noting: Turner's 214 rushing yards this season are third in the NFC.

Rookie running back Jacquizz Rodgers averaged 5.7 yards on three carries and had a key 10-yard run on the game-winning drive.

But after two weeks and one discouraging loss, the Ravens are already facing familiar questions about their downfield passing attack.

In a disappointing 26-13 loss to the Titans, Flacco threw for 197 yards and a touchdown, but he never got much going down the field. Anquan Boldin and Evans combined for five catches and 91 yards and Smith remained without a catch in his rookie season.

"We have to get everybody involved early, especially those guys that are going to be our playmakers," Flacco said. "When they get involved in the game, the flow gets going. You put a defense on their heels a little bit and those guys really feel like they can get themselves going like that.

"We were just never really able to do that."

Indeed, of Boldin and Evans' five combined catches, three of them came on back-to-back drives spanning the third and fourth quarters. Other than that, the Titans defense helped control the game.

"You got to give them credit," said Evans who was shut out in Week 1 in the Ravens' 35-7 victory over the Steelers, and was held to two catches for 45 yards on Sunday. "They came out with a good plan and they were able to get around Joe a little bit to disrupt our passing game. We just didn't play that well. We didn't execute well. You couple those things together and you don't have the type of offensive day that you came in thinking you were going to have."

There were no complaints about the Ravens' passing attack when Flacco threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns in the season-opening blowout of the Steelers.

But of his 17 completions, only four of them -- all to Boldin -- were caught by wide receivers. Instead, young tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta combined to make seven catches, and running back Ray Rice hauled in four balls.

That trend mostly continued against the Titans with 10 of Flacco's 15 completions going to running backs or tight ends. That means in two weeks, Ravens wide receivers have caught just nine balls and seven of them are by Boldin.

"Obviously, that's important," said Evans when asked about the wide receivers getting more involved. "But more than anything, it's about developing some type of rhythm offensively overall. Whether its receivers making plays, tight ends making plays, running backs, whoever it might be. I think that's the key. Today we just didn't. We never got in a good rhythm offensively and this is what happens."

As he spoke to reporters, Evans had his left ankle in a bucket of ice. The former Buffalo Bills standout has missed some practice time with ankle issues. He also was on the sidelines for a couple of stretches in today's game as Smith and David Reed got snaps.

Several players cited the wide receiving group's relative inexperience with Flacco and the offense as reasons not to fret. Smith, Laquan Williams and Tandon Doss, who has been inactive the first two weeks, are rookies. Reed is in his second year, but he still doesn't have an NFL catch. Evans was acquired from the Bills a little more than a month ago, while Boldin is in his second season with the team.

Dickson and Pitta, who have shown the ability to get down the field, are also second-year players who didn't have major roles in the passing game last year.

"Anquan has been here for two years now. Lee has only been here for one. It's just one game at a time, building that chemistry with Joe," said Dickson who caught two balls Sunday for 25 yards. "We've seen a glimpse of how we can look in Week 1. If we maintain that, do that every week, we're going to be dangerous. ..."

In a couple of related notes. ... Evans' injured left ankle could force the team to sideline for a few games, according to head coach John Harbaugh. Evans did not practice Wednesday. His absence could pave the way for Smith, the club's second-round pick in April, to start opposite Boldin.

It remains to be seen if that will be a positive.

According to Sun staffer Mike Preston, Smith is supposed to be one of the fastest, if not the fastest, player on the roster, yet some in the pressbox repeatedly watched him jog through plays.

Preston advised readers it's hard to see this on the TV screen because the cameras don't show the entire field. But there were at least two occasions when he came soft off the line of scrimmage and ran without a purpose.

Per Preston: "We were unsure if he was a primary or secondary target, but there is no reason for him not to run hard. It's just strange watching the Ravens invest a second-round pick on a player who reportedly has so much speed, but aren't able to use it to their advantage. ..."

Meanwhile, Reed could miss three weeks with a left shoulder strain, according to Harbaugh. CB Lardarius Webb, who is already a starting cornerback and the primary punt returner, is listed as Reed's backup on kick returns.

Reed led the NFL with a 29.3 kickoff return average as a rookie and set a franchise record with a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in an overtime win over the Houston Texans.

Other notes of interest. ... Ray Rice gained just 43 yards on 13 carries, but the running game was almost an afterthought as the Ravens fell behind the Titans. Ricky Williams fumbled for the second time in his last three regular-season contests and Tennessee turned the gaffe into a Rob Bironas 25-yard field goal.

Fullback Vonta Leach was limping in the first half due to a foot issue, but said it isn't serious.

"I feel fine," he said. "I'm good. ..."

One last note here: Nearing a deadline to accomplish one of their stated priorities, the Ravens on Tuesday reached agreement on a five-year deal with Haloti Ngata, ensuring that one of the game's most dominant interior lineman will be a fixture on their defense for the foreseeable future. Terms of the deal are unknown at this point, but the pact expected to make Ngata one of the highest paid defensive lineman in the NFL.

"If we want to change things around here, this is where we've got to start," Johnson told the Associated Press on Monday, a day after Buffalo's thrilling 38-35 comeback win over the Oakland Raiders. "We know that they're the team above, but we feel like we can go out there and beat these guys."

Saying they think they can beat the Patriots and actually doing it, though, have been two totally different items, as Tom Brady and Co. have strung together 15 consecutive wins over the Bills. But No. 16 may not come easy, as Buffalo (2-0) enters armed with the seventh-ranked offense thanks in large part to the inspired play of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and running back Fred Jackson.

Fitzpatrick has thrown for seven touchdowns already, joining Hall of Famer Jim Kelly as the only two quarterbacks in team history to toss for seven or more scores in the first two games. Jackson, meanwhile, leads the league in rushing with 229 yards, and his 43-yard scamper to the end zone Sunday in the third quarter ignited Buffalo's rally from an 18-point halftime deficit.

The Bills are also tops in the NFL in red-zone efficiency, registering eight scores in 10 trips inside the opponent's 20-yard line, and their 79 points are the most in the league.

"In terms of the points, it's a tough pace to keep up," Fitzpatrick said. "We know we're not going to go out and score 39, 40 points a game. It starts with the guys up front, and I think that's what is getting us going and allowing plays to happen."

As good as the Bills offense has been early on, the Patriots have been that much better. They have the top-ranked offensive attack, with Brady being as good as ever. In Sunday's win over San Diego, he became the first player in NFL history to follow a 500-yard passing performance with a 400-yard game.

It won't help Buffalo that Fitzpatrick will be short a weapon against New England, with Roscoe Parrish will miss the remainder of the season with an ankle injury suffered against the Raiders. He was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday.

"He's a big part of what we do and what we wanted to do," Fitzpatrick said. "That's going to be hard for us."

Parrish is a key part of Buffalo's multiple-receiver sets and he's the team's No. 1 punt return man. C.J. Spiller would likely take over his punt duties. The second-year halfback might also be asked to do more as a receiver.

As far as wide receiver goes, Ruvell Martin would move up the depth chart and Naaman Roosevelt has been promoted off the practice squad.

Roosevelt caught nine passes for 139 yards in six games as an undrafted rookie last season.

Also worth noting, Johnson is nursing a tender groin that forced him to miss playing time towards the end of the Raiders' game. He said he's fine and will play against the Patriots but he's not 100 percent.

In fact, the Sporting News reports that Johnson rated the pain a "seven" on a 1 to 10 scale. He did not practice Wednesday and his status is worth watching as the week progresses (I will have more when Late-Breaking Updates commence on Thursday). ...

Starting right guard Kraig Urbik will also be out at least two weeks because of a left knee injury.

Without those two, the Bills are still ready to see how they measure up against a team they haven't beaten since a 31-0 blowout win at home to open the 2003 season.

"It'll be a great test for us," Jackson said. "They're a great team and they've established themselves as a great team, but we feel like we're a good team, too. It will be a good way for us to establish ourselves as one of the best teams in the league if we can go out and get this win this weekend. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... . David Nelson had a huge day against Oakland with 10 catches; the last being a 6-yard TD reception with 14 seconds left that won the game. Johnson had eight catches for 96 yards and gave the Raider corners fits before cramps slowed him down. ...

Jackson publicly voiced his concerns about potentially losing his starting job in the preseason; all Jackson has done since is rush for a league-best 229 yards through two games.

"I thought that this was the way it would work out," Gailey said of Jackson remaining his No. 1 RB ahead of Spiller.

Jackson is becoming one of the reliable and most complete backs in the league. He gained 117 yards against Oakland, his second straight 100-yard game and ninth of this career, and he scored two TDs. Spiller broke a 26-yard run and had 63 yards on just four carries, a career-high.

The Bills 217 ground yards was their highest output since gaining 218 in the 2009 home opener against Tampa Bay. ...

While Fitzpatrick and Jackson will get most of the attention this week, Pro Football Weekly believes it's the offensive line that deserves some love for the Bills' early success.

Coming into the season, we knew that the Bills could have success in Gailey's spread attack, as long as Fitzpatrick had time to throw and there were holes for Jackson and Spiller to run through. Unfortunately for the Bills, that was a giant "if," as no changes were made to the O-line in the offseason, a unit that struggled last season.

Through two games, the Bills have allowed one sack, tied with the Raiders for the second-fewest sacks allowed. The Lions, meanwhile, have yet to surrender a takedown of Matthew Stafford.

On Sunday, Buffalo faced an Oakland defense that was second in the league with 47 sacks last season, but they couldn't get to Fitzpatrick to bring him to the turf.

The offensive line is a big reason that the Bills have the league's best rushing attack through two games. ...

A few final items. ... According to WGR550.com's Joe Buscaglia, the Bills made extension offer to Fitzpatrick before the team's win over the weekend against Oakland. Buscaglia also reports that contract talks are ongoing with Johnson.

Buscaglia added the Bills and Johnson are $2 million per year apart at this point in time.

Johnson entered the season in the final year of his rookie contract. The former seventh-round pick from Kentucky has far outperformed the expectations of a late-round pick, racking up 82 catches for 1,073 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first year of starting with the team. Two games in to the 2011 campaign, Johnson has 12 catches for 162 yards and 2 touchdowns.

But according to Charlotte Observer staffer Joe Person, Newton isn't happy.

Why?

The Panthers, an NFL-worst 2-14 last season, are 0-2 after a pair of 7-point losses. This is new territory for Newton, who lost only one game his final two years in college while leading Blinn Junior College and Auburn to national titles.

As he addressed the media, Newton said he was unaccustomed to stepping to a podium to describe a loss, which he's done five times as a Panthers starter, counting the preseason.

"I'm not the person to sit up here and say, 'Well, we have next time,' " Newton said. "I want to get it right, and I'm going to get it right now."

Admirable enough. ... But from a Fantasy perspective, he already has it right.

Newton completed 28 of 46 passes for 432 yards, which set the marks for single-game yardage for the Panthers (Chris Weinke had 423 in 2006) and NFL rookies (Newton was tied with Matthew Stafford with his 422-yard debut last week at Arizona).

Newton became just the sixth player in league history to post back-to-back 400-yard games, joining Matt Cassel, Billy Volek, Phil Simms, Dan Marino and Dan Fouts.

New England's Tom Brady became the seventh player later in the day.

Newton's combined 854 yards are the most by a quarterback in his first two starts, shattering Kevin Kolb's record of 718 yards in 2007.

Still, Newton was upset with his three interceptions, which helped produce a passer rating of 72 and led to six points for the 2-0 Packers.

"I don't think I followed the No. 1 rule and that's protect the football," Newton said. "Throwing picks is one thing. But constant turnovers, it's not acceptable in this league. You can't expect to win if you turn the football over."

And as Person pointed out, more problematic were three issues that plagued the Panthers in Week 1, as well -- a stagnant running game, an inability to finish drives with touchdowns and a vulnerability to big plays on defense.

With undrafted rookie Byron Bell starting for right tackle Jeff Otah, who was recovering from a concussion, tailbacks DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart combined for 18 yards on 11 carries.

In two games, the "Double Trouble" tandem is averaging 2.5 yards a carry.

"This isn't the John Fox era, but a lot of us are programmed to want to run the ball," Jordan Gross said. "[Offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski] wanted to and we didn't really get the production out of the runs when he called them. So you've got to go to the passing game then. We need to get better at it.

"Cam shouldn't be throwing for 400-some yards every week if we want to win games because that means he's throwing it a lot in the fourth quarter."

It's a good point -- albeit not one that Newton owners would view as a positive.

Of the five previous quarterbacks with consecutive 400-yard games, Fouts is the only one whose team won both games. Simms and Volek went 0-2 for the Giants and Tennessee, respectively. Brady's Patriots have opened the season with two wins.

The lack of a power running game hurt the Panthers near the goal line. Newton knifed in for a 4-yard touchdown run that pulled the Panthers within a touchdown with 37 seconds left.

But on four other drives, the Panthers had a first down at or inside the Green Bay 12, and came away with nine points.

The Panthers have allowed touchdowns of 70, 55, 49 and 84 yards in two games, which does not include the 89-yard punt return for a touchdown by Patrick Peterson last week in Arizona.

The turnovers, goal-line struggles and defensive letdowns took away from another record-setting game from Newton, who said the Packers handled the "small things" that eluded the Panthers.

"When those guys know what they have to do, they do it," Newton said. "You don't see a lot of penalties. You don't see a lot of interceptions. You don't see a lot of mistakes. And that's what we have to learn as a team, starting with myself."

Several teammates said they feel they wasted two great performances by Newton. It's safe to say a number of Fantasy owners can say the same right now.

Our guess is that will end, starting this week. ...

In a related note. ... Newton showed up to the Panthers' practice facility with a boot on his right ankle Monday -- but apparently it's just a precaution after he tweaked his ankle. He wasn't wearing in on Wednesday, however, and the rookie plans to practice all week. ...

Other notes of interest. ... According to Gaston Gazette staffer Steve Reed, head coach Ron Rivera told reporters he's "not concerned" about the team's inability to get its running backs more involved in the ground game.

"It's about the rhythm and flow of the game," Rivera said. "I'd be concerned if we weren't throwing for about 400 yards a game. I really would be, but since we're converting and making plays downfield and throwing the ball it's just a matter of time. It's going to happen and when it does it should pop. When it does the run game will be solid. I just know it's a matter of time."

Worth noting, Stewart, who was held to 5 yards on six carries, was still very much part of the game plan catching eight passes for 100 yards marking the first time in his career he's hit the century mark as a receiver. Williams was less effective with 13 yards on five carries and four catches for 23 yards.

Williams has just 43 yards rushing in two games and is averaging just 2.5 yards per carry. He set a franchise record in 2008 running for 1,515 yards, but it appears Williams will have no shot at coming close to that mark year. ...

As the Sports Xchange notes, the biggest beneficiary of Newton's early success is 11-year veteran wideout Steve Smith, who is off to the best start of his NFL career at age 32. Smith has 14 catches for 334 yards and two touchdowns in his first two games this season, putting on pace for 112 catches for 2,672 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Not bad for a guy who last year caught 46 passes for 554 yards and had only two touchdowns in the league's worst offense.

In fact, Smith is currently first in the NFL in receiving yards with 334 and has shown that he's still an electrifying presence for the Panthers with outstanding speed and big-play ability.

Clearly, he likes what the Panthers are doing on offense and likes the focus on the passing game.

When he was asked if he's worried about the team's lack of a running game, he said, "You're barking up the wrong tree."

Brandon LaFell is emerging into a valuable weapon in Carolina's pass game, recording four catches for 49 yards on Sunday, including a touchdown reception. LaFell remains the No. 3 receiver but has outperformed Legedu Naanee.

Heading into a Week 3 battle against the Packers, the Bears may be starting a whole new right side of the offensive line from the one that took the field in the season opener. Frank Omiyale is likely to fill in for Carimi at right tackle and Chris Spencer could get his second straight start at right guard if Lance Louis is still sidelined by an ankle sprain.

It's not quite clear how the starting O-line will shake out against the Packers due to the injuries, but Pro Football Weekly's Dan Parr believes there's a very good chance defensive coordinator Dom Capers will come after the Bears with blitzes, much as Gregg Williams of the Saints did on Sunday.

Mike Martz might be tempted to air the ball out, considering the Packers have allowed more than 400 yards passing in each of their first two games.

So, will it be the Martz of the second half of last season who shows up on Sunday?

The one who stopped trying to make the Bears into something they weren't -- a pass-first team -- and maintained a balance in his play-calling between the pass and the run.

Or, will it be the other guy?

The one who gave Forte 10 carries against the Saints Sunday, with only three of them coming after the first quarter, and similarly underutilized the running game in the first half of last season.

According to Chicago Sun-Times staffer Mark Potash, after the Bears had 12 rushes and 51 pass plays in New Orleans, head coach Lovie Smith sounded like he was going to nip that problem in the bud. It took eight games last year.

‘‘I know the balance as far as run/pass wasn't there," Smith said Monday. ‘‘All I can say is we'll get it better. We can't win football games with that kind of balance."

The Bears were down by only six at halftime Sunday and didn't trail by more than 10 until early in the fourth quarter -- it's not as if they had to throw their way back into the game. The size of the deficit didn't call for an air show until the final quarter. There was plenty of time to stay patient and use the formula that has worked so well for the Bears, but they ran the ball only twice in the second half.

It's true that aside from one big run, a 42-yarder by Forte, the Bears couldn't get anything going on the ground in the first quarter against the Saints. Running the ball isn't a cure-all. But why so quickly abandon a mix between the pass and run that has become a key to success for the Bears' offense?

As Parr suggested, there doesn't have to be an obsession with the ground game, but there does need to be more patience with it.

Since the start of the 2010 season, Martz's first with the Bears, they are 10-2 when Forte has 14 carries or more, including the playoffs. They are 3-5 when he has 13 carries or fewer, and they're 1-4 when he has 10 carries or fewer.

It's pretty clear what works for the Bears. Martz needs to game-plan for the Packers accordingly, and Smith needs to make sure Martz sticks to that plan during games, even if it doesn't produce the kind of result the team is looking for right off the bat. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Jay Cutler played well enough in the first half before the Bears decided to abandon the run game and he wound up running for his life, getting sacked six times and completing just 19 of 45 passes.

Many of his passes were hurried, even when he wasn't sacked.

Johnny Knox wasn't bad (two catches, 45 yards), but he didn't play well enough to take his starting job back from injured Roy Williams, who was out. Earl Bennett suffered a chest injury during the game.

With Bennett out, undrafted rookie Dane Sanzenbacher stepped in as the third receiver. He responded with three catches for 33 yards, including his first career touchdown on an 8-yard pass from Jay Cutler. Sanzenbacher was targeted seven times.

Sanzenbacher had the Bears' only TD, but he also had a drop, as did Devin Hester, who was mostly invisible.

Forte supplied most of the firepower with 117 yards on 10 receptions.

According to the Sports Xchange, Bennett is expected out this week. He bruised his chest and sustained possible internal injuries when he took a helmet to the midsection in the second quarter and was unable to return.

Williams is expected back at practice this week.

Marion Barber (calf) should practice more this week. He was limited on Wednesday of last week but then suffered a setback and did not practice on Thursday or Friday. He did not play in either of the first two games.

Receiver Sam Hurd made his Bears debuts after being inactive against the Falcons. Hurd committed a 15-yard penalty on special teams for fair catch interference.

The Cincinnati Bengals' rookie combination is starting to click.

As Associated Press sports writer Joe Kay notes, the Dalton-to-Green connection helped the Bengals make a second-half comeback that fell just short in Denver on Sunday. The Broncos' depleted defense held on for a 24-22 win that provided the Bengals a glimpse of where their offense is headed.

"They're showing they've grown quite a bit in the short training camp we had and the last couple of games," running back Cedric Benson said Monday.

Dalton made the biggest impression.

Forced to throw because the Bengals were down, Dalton was on-target with all types of passes under pressure. He finished 27 of 41 with two touchdowns and a passer rating of 107 -- quite impressive under the conditions.

"He didn't force the ball into coverage," head coach Marvin Lewis said Monday. "When he had opportunities down the field, he made the throws.

"He handled it all and that was good and he was decisive with it."

The Bengals did very little in the first half with a conservative, run-based approach. Dalton was limited to short throws and the Bengals had only four first downs.

When they opened up the offense in the second half to try to catch up, Dalton went 19 of 30 for 280 yards with two touchdowns. His 84-yard catch-and-run with Jerome Simpson set up Green's acrobatic 5-yard touchdown catch that cut it to 24-22 early in the fourth quarter.

On the sideline, Kay reports that Dalton acted like a veteran, walking along the bench pumping up his teammates.

"Andy -- you all saw it," Green said. "He is primed to be great. His composure, his confidence and the way he can throw the ball to everybody."

Even though they came up short in the end, the Bengals came away impressed with Dalton.

"He's magnificent," Simpson said. "He didn't play like a rookie. He played with poise and kept us in this game."

Simpson had four catches for 134 yards. Dalton completed passes to seven different receivers.

"We've got a lot of guys that have a lot of talent," Dalton said. "It's what we had to do. We came out and threw the ball around pretty good and made some plays."

In a related note. ... Slot receiver Jordan Shipley has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, ending his season.

The injury was diagnosed on Monday. He was placed on the injured reserve list. Shipley's knee was hit during the Bengals' 24-22 loss in Denver on Sunday. He caught three passes for 15 yards.

Fourth-year veteran Andre Caldwell has been sharing the position with Shipley and will get more chances on Sunday against San Francisco.

Caldwell, who ended up with a 10-yard touchdown catch against Denver, has had a rocky couple years with the Bengals. Drafted in the third round in 2008, he took over as the slot receiver after the departure of T.J. Houshmandzadeh and finished second on the team in receptions (51) and three touchdowns in 2009.

Last year with Shipley's selection and the signing of Terrell Owens, Caldwell went from being a possible second receiver all the way down to fourth. He was used sparingly until the final three games, when he entered the starting lineup. Over that span he had 15 receptions for 270 yards. ...

Given Dalton's performance to date, one thing is certain: Fantasy owners shouldn't let the rookie signal caller keep them from rolling with the team's receiving corps going forward. ...

Other notes of interest. ... The Bengals filled the spot vacated by Shipley by promoting receiver Andrew Hawkins from the practice squad. Hawkins spent two seasons playing in the CFL and showed some flash as a punt returner in the preseason. He will slip in as the backup returner to Brandon Tate. ...

Benson was a major disappointment against the Broncos. He had 59 yards but did not gain a yard on two 3rd-and-1 runs off left and right tackle during the first half. As the Sports Xchange suggested, it also isn't a good sign when the amount of carries for no gain or negative yards (six) is more than the carries for five or more yards (five).

In short, it was a win Cleveland hasn't been accustomed to experiencing lately, and it merits a closer look.

As Wilkening suggests, the Browns' biggest edge on Sunday was on special teams, and they exploited it. Josh Cribbs broke a 52-yard kickoff return and a 43-yard punt return, both of which set up touchdowns. The Browns' return game played a material role in the outcome of this one-score game. The Colts' coverage units really have struggled early this season and were not an asset Sunday.

The Browns were also superior on offense and defense Sunday, which was not assured, as Indianapolis has playmakers on both sides of the ball. The Browns' passing game was better than the running game, but both served their purposes.

Colt McCoy completed 22-of-32 throws and led Cleveland to a pair of second-quarter TD drives to put the Browns on the lead for good after trailing early, 6-0. Eight different receivers had catches as McCoy once again spread the ball around. He was sacked once, a positive against a defense with a good pass rush.

According to the Sports Xchange, McCoy's 97.3 rating reflected his day.

The key: McCoy paid close attention to Colts ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney. He let them come up the field, and when they did, he slid outside the pocket underneath their up-the-field rush.

On other plays, McCoy got rid of the ball so quickly the pair were non-factors.

As shaky as McCoy sometimes looked against the Bengals, he looked that confident and comfortable against the Colts.

Meanwhile, Peyton Hillis returned to the offense and scored two touchdowns in a very productive day. Hillis had 27 of the Browns' 34 rushes, and broke a 24-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that sealed the win.

Hillis averaged just 3.5 yards, but the Browns were persistent with him -- as they should be.

His only blemish was a lost fumble in the third quarter -- a problem he had in 2010 as well.

"You can never lose faith," Hillis said. "You've got to be persistent in everything you do and hope one breaks open."?

Pro Bowl center Alex Mack said the effective run game on Sunday was a byproduct of McCoy's performance. Mack said defenses can't stack the box against Hillis if McCoy is hitting his targets.

The Browns' defense gets high marks for allowing only one touchdown (with 24 seconds left in the game) and for holding Indianapolis to four field goals in the first three quarters.

Also, give credit to head coach Pat Shurmur. Cleveland, which committed 11 penalties in Week 1, was flagged three times Sunday.

The Browns had solid a game plan in all three phases and did not look rattled in their first road game of the season. After a shaky opening loss to Cincinnati, the Browns made some noticeable strides one week later.

Shurmur, who was presented the game ball by McCoy in the locker room, got a little choked up when asked about it.

"It's very special," he said. "But this is a team thing. They'll all get one. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... Running back Montario Hardesty didn't receive a carry until the fourth quarter. He finished with three carries, including two in a goal-line situation, for 1 yard and a fumble, which the Browns recovered.

"This is something I need to do a better job of," Shurmur said. "I wanted to get [Hardesty] in the game at some point, [but] I wish we could have got him in the game sooner because he needs to play. [Hillis] is a bruising-style runner that needs a little bit of relief at times, and I think that's what we'll try to do a better job of next time. ..."

Mohamed Massaquoi had a good game, with three catches for 45 yards. All were for first downs, and one was a strong effort by the receiver, who outfought two Colts defenders for the ball at the 1 to set up a touchdown.

Tight end Evan Moore caught his second touchdown pass in as many games. Like his first, Moore was split wide, taking advantage of his hands and size against smaller defensive backs. Fellow tight end Alex Smith is also starting to contribute as a pass catcher.

"The more teams can use you, the more comfortable they are having you out there," Smith said. "[Opponents] know you can run block, but they have to defend other things."

Smith snagged two key passes against the Colts.

Meanwhile, Greg Little was featured more in the offense, and he had four catches. The rookie bumped Brian Robiskie out of the receiver rotation and produced.

Robiskie has yet to catch a pass through the first two games of the regular season. But Shurmur said, "I'm not down on Brian. I think he competed well, so we'll see how the numbers work out."

One could argue Hawkins understated the case greatly.

Romo finished their 27-24 overtime win at San Francisco with a fractured rib and evidence of having a collapsed lung while helping the Cowboys avoid an 0-2 start. They may have also suffered some heavy losses before their home opener.

Pro Bowl receiver Miles Austin re-aggravated a hamstring injury after three touchdown catches Sunday, running back Felix Jones sustained a shoulder injury and starting center Phil Costa reinjured his right knee.

While head coach Jason Garrett refused Monday to be specific about the extent of the injuries, he is giving his team an extra day off this week.

Part of the reason for that is to give players some extra time to heal before the home opener against Washington next Monday night. They will get their normal day off Tuesday, then won't practice the next day either.

"We're also going to give them Wednesday off and try to catch up a little bit on the rehab and try to get some guys healthy," Garrett said. "The players will be in here lifting and doing their rehab and doing some work on their own for the Redskins game."

Romo took a hit on the opening drive of the game. After leaving before halftime and getting treatment, he returned in the final minute of the third quarter. He threw for 201 yards in the fourth quarter and overtime, including a 77-yard completion to Jesse Holley on the Cowboys' first offensive snap in overtime to set up Dan Bailey's game-winning field goal.

The fact that Romo returned to finish the 49ers game seems to be a good indication, especially with extra time off, that he should be able to play against Washington.

"I would not think there's any reason to think he won't be able to play Monday," Garrett said. "We're certainly hopeful."

Garrett said Romo did an outstanding job, which was "certainly challenging with a cracked rib."

The coach didn't mention any other injury for the quarterback, but the team issued a statement later Monday night that additional testing of the rib had revealed evidence of a collapsed lung.

The team said the condition, known as pneumothorax, wasn't unusual for an injury such as the one Romo sustained against the 49ers. The collection of air in the space around the lungs can put pressure on the lung so it can't expand as much as it normally would when taking a breath.

Team doctors will monitor Romo and conduct more tests later in the week.

That said, ESPN insider Adam Schefter cited a person close to Romo as saying on Wednesday: "He's going. Knowing him they'd have to knock him out cold to keep him out. ..."

Austin was bothered by his hamstring issue throughout training camp, and didn't play in overtime Sunday after a running play that set up the game-tying field goal at the end of regulation. Jones got hurt early in the game, and Costa came out after halftime.

Garrett said they were all day-to-day and wouldn't speculate on whether Austin, Jones or Costa would be ready for the next game.

"We have a number of guys that I don't want to get into each one, but for the most part they're coming in and getting their rehab today and I think they've done a nice job coming back the first day," he said. "We'll just see how they progress day to day as the week goes on. … The fact we have an extra day will certainly help everyone."

The Cowboys went into the 49ers game without receiver Dez Bryant, who didn't practice any last week because of a bruised thigh. His return will be more vital if Austin will be out for a game or more.

"We're hopeful that that thing gets drained out a little bit this week and he can run a little more in practice," Garrett said of Bryant.

As for Austin, Garrett said he preferred to talk about the receiver's performance Sunday rather than the injury that was already bothering him. Austin had nine catches for 143 yards. On his last TD, he leaped over a defender and then was able to keep his body parallel to the ground long enough after diving to get the ball in the end zone, pulling Dallas within 24-21 with 6:55 to play.

"That last one that he makes when he jumps over the guy and comes down and keeps himself up and uses his hand so his knee doesn't hit the ground, that has a lot to do with his athletic ability," Garrett said. `He's a tremendous competitor; he's a guy who you want on his side. He played a great game."

For what it's worth, multiple reports out of Dallas suggest that Austin is not expected to play against the Redskins. While it is possible he could play Oct. 2 against Detroit, the more likely return date is Oct. 16 at New England after the bye week.

Kevin Ogletree is expected to replace Austin in the starting lineup. ...

Jones should be available to play against the Redskins -- perhaps relying on a harness to keep his shoulder in place. Like Romo, Jones will have to manage the pain.

As owner Jerry Jones said of Romo's chances to play Monday: "I understand the nature of the injury as much as you can without being in medicine. It has everything to do with just his ability to handle the pain, and we know he has a bunch of it."

Costa and tight end Jason Witten (ribs) also checked out OK.

I will, of course, be following the progress of all the Cowboys' walking wounded closely in coming days. Those interested will want to watch the Late-Breaking Updates section for more. ...

Teammates, meanwhile said they weren't surprised by Romo's gritty performance, which came a week after he had two turnovers in the final 10 minutes of a 27-24 season-opening loss at the New York Jets.

"We never questioned his grit. We know he wants to win. He's one of the guys that prepare the hardest in this facility," defensive end Marcus Spears said. "Obviously the public perception after the Jets game was that he was the worst quarterback in the history of the Cowboys and then this past week he's the best."

With his two TD passes against the 49ers, Romo became the first Cowboys quarterback to throw touchdowns in 20 consecutive games. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Witten has caught 100 yards in passes in each of his first two games, the first time he's ever opened an NFL season with back-to-back 100s.

It's also just the third time in his nine-year career he has posted consecutive 100-yard games. He also did it in 2007 and 2009. Witten caught seven passes against San Francisco for 102 yards and six passes for 110 yards in the season opener against the Jets. ...

Receiver Laurent Robinson is back with the club after being cut last week. Robinson was signed in Week 1 but a hamstring injury prevented him from playing against the Jets and the Cowboys needed a roster spot last week.

Now, Robinson is back for insurance with Austin ailing. ...

And finally. ... As Dallas Morning News staffer Brandon George notes, the Cowboys had five kickers on their roster late in training camp and ended up as the only team in the NFL to keep two kickers on their active roster by choice.

After the first quarter Sunday, Jerry Jones had to be second-guessing his decision.

The Cowboys ended a 14-play, 77-yard opening drive with Bailey pushing a 21-yard field goal wide right. The attempt was only 1 yard longer than an extra point try. In the end, however, Bailey was all smiles after he made a game-tying field goal in the closing seconds and a game-winning field goal in overtime against San Francisco.

"He makes extra points. That was an extra point," Jones said of Bailey's game-winner. "I'm going to tell you this; it made me look at that last extra point (field goal) to make sure it went through unlike that first one. I'm glad we got that on him and it didn't cost him the ballgame. It just seasoned him up and he'll be better for it."

Bailey said he "felt more rushed than usual" on his 21-yard missed field goal attempt because he got it off just before the play clock was winding down.

That happened in Denver's 24-22 win over the Bengals Sunday, with starting halfback Knowshon Moreno and wide receiver Brandon Lloyd both sitting out leaving reserves to make key contributions.

No backup made a bigger impact than Moreno's replacement, Willis McGahee.

The Broncos handed the veteran back the ball 28 times -- the most carries he has received in a game since 2007 -- and it paid off, with McGahee rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown.

No longer the gamebreaker he once was, Kaberon explained that McGahee used exceptional vision and toughness to grind out his yards, pounding away time after time against the Bengals' front. Though he never gained more than 12 yards on a rush, McGahee proved to be a more-than-capable fill-in and showed why Denver pursued him so strongly in the offseason.

Also helping out on the offense was Eric Decker, who became the team's primary wideout with Lloyd on the sideline and the team's only front-line wideout (other than Matt Willis and third-string QB Tim Tebow) once Eddie Royal left in the second quarter with a groin injury.

Despite the increased attention from the Cincinnati defense, the second-year pro had the best game of his career, making five catches for 113 yards and scoring two touchdowns. That included an athletic 52-yard fourth-quarter touchdown, where Decker boxed out a pair of Bengals defensive backs to haul in the pass, and then showed his breakaway speed to reach the end zone.

The score gave Denver a 24-15 lead.

Decker now has three TDs in two weeks, one via a punt return. Only three of his 14 career receptions have gone for less than 10 yards.

"Eric's one of those guys that you can tell is just ready to take off and take it to the next level," Kyle Orton said.

They might need him to do just that.

As Kaberon notes, the team has road tests against a feisty Titans club this week and big-time matchups with the Packers and Chargers before they reach their bye.

Some of the injured starters should be back for those games, but at the rate the injury bug has infested the team thus far, nothing is guaranteed.

Looking at the injuries of primary concern, Lloyd's outlook is the most optimistic.

Lloyd, who was scratched after pre-game warmups, practiced Friday on a limited basis but the Broncos decided to play the caution card with his injured groin.

"We were just trying to let it heal," Fox said after the Bengals game. "This morning, he woke up and felt better. There's a big difference between just gliding around and going up there and playing on game day, and he wasn't ready for that."

Lloyd was on the practice field Wednesday.

Royal left the locker room on crutches on Sunday. The team called his injury a "strain" but the way Royal went down and the difficulty he had putting weight on his legs were possible signs of something more serious. Julius Thomas suffered a high ankle sprain.

Royal is expected to be out two to four weeks. Thomas will also be out at least two weeks

Meanwhile, Fox made it absolutely clear Monday that Tebow's future lies in throwing passes, not catching them.

A day after using his backup quarterback as an emergency wide receiver, Fox reiterated: "He is a quarterback."

But in a pinch, Tebow makes an interesting decoy. Not that Fox wants to travel down that road again, but it was necessary against the Bengals. Tebow donned his receiver's gloves and ran the routes just like he was supposed to, even if Orton hardly glanced in his direction.

On Monday, Fox joked that Tebow stepped in and "actually graded 100 percent."

But Tebow won't be switching positions anytime soon.

"We'll list him on the program as a quarterback," said Fox, who earned his first win with Denver as the Broncos fended off the Bengals 24-22. "Tim wants to win, like everyone in that locker room. He does have a skill set outside of a lot of quarterbacks."

The Broncos may look at bringing in wideouts from outside the organization or possibly promote someone such as Eron Riley from the practice squad. The wild card could be the health of Demaryius Thomas, who was well on his way back from an Achilles injury before hurting his finger in practice.

Provided his foot is completely healed, Fox said there's a chance Thomas could tape up the finger.

"Again, that's one of the options," Fox said. "He's a guy we think highly of. Unfortunately, he's been injured and not been able to play."

Just in case, Tebow's ready. He was preparing in practice last week for just such a scenario.

"I'm going to do whatever I can do help the team," Tebow said. "If they ask me to go out there and run some routes and block some people, I'll go do it."

And know this: Tebow does have all the patterns committed to memory.

"I have to know all the routes," Tebow explained. "I play quarterback. ..."

The Broncos bolstered their beleaguered wide receiving corps Tuesday by signing free agent Quan Cosby.

The third-year pro from the University of Texas spent the last two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.

He'll also reinforce Denver's return game, which was depleted when Royal went down. ...

And what about Moreno?

According to Denver Post staffer Jeff Legwold, Moreno isn't expected to be full speed this week -- but he was on the practice field Wednesday.

What if he is able to return?

According to Post staffer Mike Klis, if both McGahee and Moreno are healthy, both would play to the point of feeling sore after the game. Fox believes in a two-back system.

But let's say McGahee and Moreno combine for 30 carries this Sunday against Tennessee. The question is: Who would get 18-20 carries and who would get 10-12?

Fox says he goes with the hot hand.

Currently, McGahee is hotter. With Moreno coming off a hamstring strain -- he will be questionable leaning toward hopeful of playing against the Titans -- it would be wise to limit his carries in the first game back.

Klis noted it's a tough call because neither one is a "home-run" back.

McGahee is a straight ahead churner with extremely quick feet. Moreno is more of a slasher. Ideally, Moreno would be the No. 1 back because he's younger and has the fresher body. But Moreno has lacked durability in his first three seasons.

Lance Ball will continue to contribute as needed.

One last reminder here: I will, of course, be following all the injured Broncos closely in coming days. Those interested will want to watch for Late-Breaking Updates as the week progresses.

Now, Schwartz is being asked for his philosophy on end zone celebrations and defending himself against the idea that his Lions -- for so long an NFL laughingstock -- tried to run up the score.

If this is the new normal in Detroit, Schwartz is fine with that.

"We have some good players," Schwartz said. "We don't need to just sneak out onto the field and then sneak away. They're good players. We can embrace that. … When you have good players, they're going to get attention. When you win football games, you're going to get attention."

The Lions beat Kansas City 48-3 in their home opener Sunday for their second straight victory to start the season and sixth in a row dating to 2010. Quarterback Matthew Stafford is looking terrific after two injury-plagued seasons, while Ndamukong Suh anchors an intimidating defense.

But as Trister suggested, the Lions aren't merely showing improvement, they've looked outright dominant at times, and they're having a lot of fun too, plotting touchdown celebrations and enjoying a new buzz in a city that hasn't had a winner on the football field in a while.

"Teams are giving us a little more respect. They're not looking at us as a doormat or the homecoming game, which is good," wide receiver Nate Burleson said. "We still haven't done anything yet. We haven't locked a playoff spot up. We've just got to win the next game we're going to play, and that's all our approach is."

The Lions are trying to find the right balance between humility and playing with an edge.

The 24-year-old Suh has emerged as one of the league's top defensive forces -- amid questions about whether his aggressiveness occasionally crosses the line. Burleson's fun-loving attitude has been a hit in Detroit, but he and his teammates aren't shy about showing off in the end zone when they make it there.

As Oakland Press staffer Paula Pasche notes, tight end Tony Scheffler is now the team leader in touchdown celebrations, he's had one in each of the first two games. At Tampa Bay, he pulled out an imaginary sword (Buccaneers, get it?).

Calvin Johnson has had more touchdown catches with a pair in each game, but his celebrations are more subdued.

"For sure (Scheffler's the leader), 100 percent, I had to take a back seat," said Burleson, who had seven catches for 93 yards against the Chiefs but still no regular season touchdowns. "I think I might of, kind of done too much in the preseason so I have to get back in the end zone, get some momentum rolling."

"Scheffler right now hands down is winning the celebration thing. The smoke signals yesterday, that was classic. Definitely believe I've got some stuff planned," Burleson added.

Scheffler spilled it that the offense actually works on the celebrations during practices.

"We've got to see how it looks, and on top of that we get the response from the guys on the team. Sometimes it's like the Apollo, you get booed off stage and other times people love it," Burleson said.

"We share celebrations during the week and it's basically like potluck -- whoever gets in there first gets to pick whatever they want," Burleson said.

Schwartz and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan don't mind as long as the players keep focused on getting to the end zone in the first place. Both send out the same message -- it's fine as long as they don't get flagged for excessive celebration.

Like Schwartz noted, it's a team game, yet according to NFL rules only one player can celebrate. If anyone joins in, a flag will be thrown.

That keeps the choreography somewhat simple. ...

One of only three NFC teams to start 2-0, Detroit can now look ahead to its first divisional matchup. The Lions opened as a four-point favorite at winless Minnesota. Detroit hasn't beaten the Vikings on the road since 1997.

When Schwartz took over the Lions, they were coming off an 0-16 season. They went 2-14 in his first season at the helm, and then started 2-10 last season. Even while losing all those games, Detroit was beginning to turn things around, and a four-game winning streak to end last season provided some confirmation.

The Lions won all four of their preseason games this year, and although that could be easily dismissed, their performance so far in the regular season can't.

After two injury-plagued seasons, the 23-year-old Stafford may finally be joining the league's elite quarterbacks. Jahvid Best, in his second year as a pro, is contributing as a runner and a receiver. Johnson, himself only 25, is one of the league's best wide receivers.

There have been plenty of growing pains for these Lions, but they're beginning to look like contenders now, and their fans have taken notice.

"There was an excitement about the game that we haven't seen for a while," Schwartz said. "People were out early, and that excitement carried over to the game. It was good to see. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... Detroit News beat writer Tim Twentyman reminded readers this week that the first time Titus Young talked to the Detroit media this spring, he proclaimed himself "Touchdown" Titus.

There haven't been any of those from the Lions rookie -- yet -- but he showed Sunday the Lions might have themselves a legitimate third wide receiver.

Young was targeted seven times and finished with five catches and 89 receiving yards.

His performance was exactly what the Lions hoped they'd get from Young when they drafted him in the second round of April's draft.

Last season, the Lions struggled to find a third receiving option behind Johnson and Burleson. The Lions received a whopping 21 catches, 240 yards and zero touchdowns from their third receiver in 2010.

"It was a great opportunity and I'm glad I was able to capitalize on it," Young said.

A hamstring injury early in training camp derailed the start of his season and threatened to linger into the regular season. He didn't have a catch in the Lions' Week 1 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"This week I was getting a lot of balls thrown to me, and I wanted to build that trust with my quarterback," he said.

Young went a long way to accomplishing that late in the second quarter when he made a terrific catch over the middle for 43 yards from Stafford on a third-and-24 play. As Twentyman suggested, if Young keeps making those kinds of catches and having these types of games, Stafford's trust will come rather quickly. ...

Stafford has thrown seven touchdown passes in two games. The last Lions quarterback to throw seven touchdowns in the first two games of a season was Milt Plum in 1962.

Stafford has three four-touchdown games in his 15 starts. The only other quarterback in history to do that was Fran Tarkenton. ...

According to the Sports Xchange, the Lions will again claim the run game was as good as they needed it to be.

They ran 30 times for 89 yards (3.0), but the Chiefs still honored the play action throughout the game. Best was productive, but mostly catching the ball. He had 57 yards rushing and 66 receiving. ...

Tight end Brandon Pettigrew injured his right shoulder attempting to make a catch in the second quarter and went back to the locker room. He came back in the second half and finished the game. He might miss some practice time this week -- he was held out Wednesday, but Pettigrew is expected to be ready for Sunday. ...

Johnson was also held out Wednesday to rest the same sore ankle that kept him from practicing all last week. The injury is no more likely to keep the star wideout from playing this week than it was last week. ...

And finally. ... It was just another day at the office for kicker Jason Hanson. He hit two field goals, one from 51 yards, which was his 46th from 50-plus. He made a touchdown-saving tackle on a kickoff return.

And set the all-time NFL record by playing in his 297th career game for the same team.

"It's pretty unbelievable, yeah," said Stafford of Hanson. "His rookie year, I was three, four years old -- he's been around."

With an extra point following the Lions' first touchdown, Hanson also became the seventh player in NFL history to record 1,900 career points.

He is also the fourth player to record at least one 50-yard field goal in 17 consecutive seasons.

While the Packers' offense under Mike McCarthy will always be quarterback-driven, Rodgers, who had his second straight 300-yard passing game in Sunday's 30-23 victory over Carolina, admitted that the team's 1-2 running back punch merits more of a role.

Starks had 85 yards on just nine carries, thanks to a 40-yard run, while Grant carried six times for 25 yards. Both players also had three receptions, with Starks gaining 30 more yards and Grant gaining 14.

Rodgers said Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott kept the offense "off-balance" for much of the game and that the running game was "really important" to overcoming that.

"We probably need to give James and Ryan a few more touches. I'm being honest here," Rodgers said. "I thought James ran the ball really well. Ryan had a couple of really nice runs as well. It's nice to have that balance and to rush for over 100 yards again. This is going to be something we're going to need to do moving forward."

In last week's opener, Starks ran 12 times for 57 yards, while Grant had nine carries for 40 yards and one reception for 5 yards, with Starks playing almost 30 more snaps than Grant did.

For the second straight week, Wilde notes there was a large disparity in snaps – unofficially, Starks played 37 while Grant played 16 – so as long as he stays healthy, it appears Starks will see more playing time.

"I really wanted to be balanced. We thought we were going to be able to run the ball against these guys," McCarthy said.

Asked if it was hard for him to admit that the offense needs more running plays, Rodgers chuckled and told Wilde, "I don't know if I mean it 100 percent, but when those guys are running the ball the way they are ...

"I think those guys need more touches. Now, it just depends on the flow of the game. Today, we pretty much got the ball after three plays in the first quarter and we were down 13-0 and we were trying to find a rhythm. … So a lot of those calls were situational calls that don't give us a lot of opportunities to run the ball in normal down and distance situations. I think we need to get those guys a couple more touches when necessary.

"And if we keep throwing the ball effectively, it should give them good opportunities. ..."

Meanwhile, the Sports Xchange notes that McCarthy can tolerate the NFL-high 851 passing yards and NFC-worst 952 total yards the Packers have allowed after two games. That's because Green Bay has a 2-0 record, thanks in part to that same defense that has redeemed itself by making a bevy of what the coaches label "adversity plays."

"We've stepped up two weeks in a row when it counted," McCarthy said. "At the end of the day, keep them out of the end zone. That part has never changed from the defense perspective."

As proud as McCarthy was about the defense for not breaking more often than not with its back against the goal line, he lamented his offense's inability to strike for more points in the Panthers red zone.

Green Bay scored touchdowns in all four of its red-zone opportunities against the Saints, only to regress to a 1-for-4 success rate against Carolina.

"Frustrating," said Rodgers, who offset the in-close malaise by throwing for far-out touchdowns of 49 and 84 yards to Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson, respectively.

The red-zone struggles by the offense, which had one drive stall at the Carolina 1-yard line, don't happen often for the Packers. They have been among the league leaders for scoring touchdowns inside the 20 the last three seasons, highlighted by a No. 6 NFL ranking in 2010 with a touchdown conversion rate of 60.4 percent (32-for-53).

McCarthy cited five enforced penalties on the offense -- two in red-zone situations --- as a contributing factor to the Packers' not winning by a bigger margin.

"Anytime we're on the 50-yard line, we expect to get points, and that was not the case," McCarthy said. "Just like I told the team (Monday), our efficiency needs to improve -- but the adversity football that we've played in the first two weeks has been very good."

If they get the red-zone issues corrected this week, the Bears better look out. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Receiver Donald Driver was 1 yard away from breaking James Lofton's franchise record for receiving yards in front of the home crowd and couldn't do it. So the crowd in Carolina got the pleasure of seeing it.

With 2 minutes, 50 seconds left in the third quarter, Driver caught a 10-yard pass from Rodgers, pushing him past Lofton to 9,666 yards. ...

According to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, tight end Jermichael Finley has a beef with the NFL about the so-called Calvin Johnson rule.

The rule cost Finley a possible touchdown catch and the Packers four points in the third quarter Sunday.

The rule stipulates a receiver must complete a catch by maintaining possession of the ball in the end zone after he hits the ground even if both feet already had touched the ground.

"Once you get in the (end) zone, you do the same thing you do in the (rest of the) field, it's incomplete and no touchdown," Finley said. "The league is going to have to look at that rule and change something, because that's taking away points and putting us down the board in the rankings in the red zone. That's not a good call."

On the play, which was third-and-goal from the 9, Finley ran a fade pattern and jumped over cornerback Captain Munnerlyn for the ball. But after Finley's feet touched the ground he landed on his stomach and the ball squirted out of his hands.

Immediately after the play, Finley motioned to McCarthy to challenge the call, but McCarthy didn't and instead had kicker Mason Crosby attempt a 37-yard field goal, which Crosby made to give the Packers a 17-13 lead. ...

After playing just 19 of 64 snaps (29.7 percent) and getting only one ball thrown his way in the opener, receiver James Jones had a slightly more prominent role in the game plan against Carolina.

He played about the same percentage of snaps (31 percent or 18 of 58 plays), but was in more obvious passing situations than the previous week. He had two balls thrown his way and had one catch for 15 yards. Against the Saints, he had just one ball throw his way, a catch for 1 yard.

Nelson had only two balls throw his way, but his one catch was the 84-yard touchdown. ...

According to Profootballfocus.com, Nelson played 33-of-58 snaps; Driver was on the field for 29 and Randall Cobb go 11 snaps. ...

On the injury front. ... Rookie running back Alex Green is on the mend from an Achilles' injury he aggravated in practice Friday. The rookie didn't play against the Panthers. His status for this week is unclear. ...

McCarthy announced Monday afternoon that three-time Pro Bowl safety Nick Collins will miss the remainder of the season because of a neck injury he sustained on Sunday. "It's tough," McCarthy said. "We've been through the injury stuff before (last year), but it's something you never get used to as a head coach."

According to HoustonTexans.com staff writer Nick Scurfield, Foster did not run with the team on Monday after totaling 10 carries for 33 yards in Week 2 at Sun Life Stadium. It was his first game action since Aug. 27 in the preseason.

"I think we took the step that we were kind of expecting to take," Kubiak said. "Arian's missed a lot of time. He's coming off the hamstring. We knew going into the game we weren't going to play Arian 40, 50 plays. I talked about that last week. We were hoping to get him 10-15 carries. He ended up getting 10."

Kubiak said Foster told running backs coach Chick Harris at halftime on Sunday that his hamstring was "tightening up a little bit." That's when the Texans decided to roll with Ben Tate and Steve Slaton. Tate finished with 23 carries for 103 yards, including 82 yards in the second half.

Foster will be day-to-day this week as the 2-0 Texans prepare for a road game at New Orleans.

"He is a little sore today," Kubiak said. "We'll see where he's at Wednesday, but we're going to stay positive here. I think we took a step forward. I think it is going to be a process with Arian working himself back to full speed and carrying a full load. But we're going to keep a positive attitude moving forward and keep the process going. I think it was a step in the process."

For the record, Foster did not practice Wednesday.

Tate, a 2010 second-round pick from Auburn, has run for more than 100 yards in back-to-back games. After missing his rookie season with an ankle injury, he is now one of 11 players in NFL history with 100-plus rushing yards in the first two games of his career.

"He's playing really well," Kubiak said. "As we work Arian back into what we're doing and get him back to full speed, Ben's going to probably carry most of the load right now as we work forward with Arian. But he responded very well. He's getting better every time out, and yesterday I tell you what was most encouraging, he played his best football with about 10 minutes left in the game. So it's nice to see that. He's coming along."

According to Scurfield, the Texans view Foster as one of the best running backs in the league in terms of pass protection, an area in which Kubiak said Tate is improving.

Matt Schaub was sacked three times at Miami. Kubiak knows the Texans will face even more pressure from blitz-happy Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams in Week 3.

"In the game yesterday, (Tate) had a couple of protection issues that he's got to get better at, but yet there were many that he was excellent at," Kubiak said. "I make the comment to him all the time, I've got to get the film to look the same throughout the whole game and then he's on his way. But he has made improvement in pass protection, and yes, we do trust him back there. The only way you're going to get better at that is to be on the field in crunch time, blitz time, those type of things.

"As of right now, he's going to be out there a great deal."

Running back Derrick Ward did not make the trip to Miami because of a sprained ankle. Kubiak said he would know more about Ward's status as the week progresses but initial reports are not optimistic. He did not practice Wednesday. ...

For now?

This isn't going to make a majority of Fantasy owners happy, but assume Tate is the man until Foster is able to prove otherwise. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Overall there were big returns, big defensive stops and big offensive plays in Sunday's win over the Dolphins.

When Kubiak put the game in Schaub's hands at the end, Schaub delivered with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson.

Schaub was under duress much of the game (see the above-mentioned three sacks), but he responded by going 21-of-29 for 230 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He and Johnson collaborated six times for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Johnson put on a show for family members and friends. He purchased 150 tickets to the game, costing him $12,000.

In case you haven't noticed, Johnson is off to an exceptional start with 14 catches for 188 yards and two touchdowns.

Jacoby Jones replaced the injured Kevin Walter (sprained shoulder) in the lineup at Miami and may have to again at New Orleans. Jones had three catches for 48 yards, giving him six for 91 in two games. He also averaged 18 yards on two punt returns.

Walter worked out before the game and said he could have played, but the coaches wanted to be extra careful with his injury. There's a good chance he could start against the Saints.

"There's a good chance that Kevin will be back this week," Kubiak said on Monday.

Jones, meanwhile, injured a knee late in Sunday's game and was held out of practice Wednesday.

Those interested in Jones and Walter -- and more importantly, those interested in Foster and the running back situation -- should keep an eye on the Late-Breaking Updates section. I will have more as the week progresses.

The Colts were trying to spin Monday as just another normal work day.

As Marot suggested, "Good luck with that."

One day after losing a second straight game, panicked Colts fans were already pining for changes, even at quarterback, in an effort to save a season some already consider lost.

"That's not how we operate," said Saturday. "We're not a big change type of team. You know, I hope we don't go through a lot of change because I'm in my 13th year and I might be the first one out."

The way these first two games have gone, nobody is safe.

The most obvious explanation for the sudden collapse of one of the NFL's most successful franchise is the absence of Peyton Manning, who is expected to miss at least two months and possibly the entire season after having neck surgery Sept. 8. It was the third surgical procedure he's had in 19 months.

Without him, one of the NFL's most stable franchises has become one of its most disappointing.

Indy's high-scoring offense has sputtered. The maligned defense has struggled against the run and had trouble getting off the field. The special teams have been, well, anything but special.

And the result is Indy's first 0-2 start since 1998, Manning's rookie season.

"Our record is not pretty right now, obviously. But it's not the end, either," head coach Jim Caldwell said. "We've got a lot of work to do, and we've just got to keep pounding at it."

There's no time to waste.

On Sunday night, they face defending AFC champion Pittsburgh. Then comes a trip to Tampa Bay, a team that nearly made the playoffs. After that, they play AFC West champ Kansas City at home, a team struggling just as badly as the Colts; before a three-game road trip that takes them to Cincinnati, New Orleans and Tennessee.

By then, the playoffs, really could be out of reach.

"We don't have much time left," Reggie Wayne said after Sunday's 27-19 loss to Cleveland. "We've got to figure it out fast, even though it's just the second game. We have to figure out a way to win the close ones. I feel like that's what it's going to be from here on out."

Players and coaches insist the problems are all "correctable," but it's not going to get any easier.

And the local media isn't demonstrating much patience.

Indeed, respected columnist Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star, actually wrote the following on Monday -- and it wasn't in jest: "The next time Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay tweets about visiting Hattiesburg, Miss., here's hoping he's not joking around.

"Seriously, what's there to lose at this point with the Indianapolis Colts' season swirling -- having swirled -- hopelessly down the drain with Sunday's 27-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns?

"Why not try something a little crazy and see if Brett Favre is interested in dismounting his tractor and taking over the Colts offense?

"What was once a Twitter joke now looks like a semi-reasonable option, at least if the Colts can figure out some way to make it work with the salary cap. Sure, it would be a Hail Mary, a desperate move in desperate times, but what do the Colts have to lose?

"Unless the master plan is to keep losing and get in a position to draft Andrew Luck -- the 'Suck for Luck' campaign is well under way in this town -- there's nothing to lose except for some more of Irsay's pocket change. ..."

The Colts, it's safe to say, aren't interested in such suggestions -- any more than they're listening to Jeff George's comments suggesting he could learn the team's offense in a matter of days.

Ain't gonna happen.

Is Collins still the best option at quarterback that the Colts has while Manning recovers from neck surgery?

The Colts -- namely Caldwell and vice chairman Bill Polian -- say yes.

Collins was added to the roster three weeks ago and is still trying to get a handle on the team's complicated offensive system. As evidenced by the fact that the Colts came out against Cleveland last week in a hurry-up offense, he's gaining a better grasp of the offense.

The rub is that Collins is trying to learn in a few short weeks what it's taken Manning to master in 13 full seasons.

Not an easy assignment.

"Kerry did improve and he will get better and he will get better in time. There are no magic formulas," Polian stressed.

As the Sports Xchange notes, Caldwell has been asked after each of the team's two losses this season if he ever considered putting backup Curtis Painter into either game. His response was a succinct, "No."

The team's management, though, still has high hopes for Painter.

"We think Curtis has a chance to be a pretty good quarterback in this league," Polian said.

"Kerry, we thought, could handle the load in some pretty tough sledding and that's a pretty tough thing to put on a young guy like Curtis. I think Curtis will get a chance to play here this season."

Sooner rather than later if things don't turn around in fairly short order. ...

For two weeks, they've been saying that they can win games without Manning on the field. What they must do now is back it up and show they can bring some normalcy back to the locker room and the fan base.

"There's really not a lot of time to have patience," Collins said. "But at the same time, we have to take the mentality of just trying to get better. That gives us the best chance of turning this thing around."

We shall see. ...

Other notes of interest. ... The Colts averaged 4.2 yards per carry on 26 total rushing attempts against the Browns. Joseph Addai had 64 yards in 14 carries while rookie Delone Carter added 46 yards in 11 rushing attempts.

Indianapolis is getting better at running the football. The problem is that the Colts have fallen behind in the first two games and haven't been able to fully utilize its running attack.

Addai has, when given the opportunity through the first two games of the season, been running like a rookie. Addai has displayed more moves and quickness out of those moves than at any time since his rookie season. The key is that he is finally healthy after battling a batch of nagging injuries the last couple of seasons.

Carter, the Colts' fourth-round draft pick last spring, has supplanted veteran (and former first-round draft pick) Donald Brown as the primary backup to Addai.

Thought to be primarily a short-yardage and goal-line specialist, Carter has shown the ability to be a big play running back in the Indianapolis offense. ...

In a semi-related note. ... The team waived running back Darren Evans earlier this week. ...

Wayne still needs two catches to become the 24th player in league history with 800 career receptions. Wayne hauled in four passes in last week's home loss to Cleveland.

Austin Collie says that confidence in Collins and the Colts' offensive capabilities remain high despite the team's shaky 0-2 start. "I definitely think that everybody in the huddle has confidence that we can do it, it's just not clicking. We just got to put it together," Collie said.

Collie was the target of 10 Collins passes. He caught only three. ...

Dallas Clark saw his playing time reduced a bit in last week's loss to the Browns.

With the Colts having pass protection issues along the offensive line, second-year tight end Brody Eldridge -- a former offensive tackle at Oklahoma who is thought to be a better pass blocker -- was used more often against Cleveland.

Clark still finished with four receptions for 32 yards and a TD. ...

After hitting all four of his field-goal attempts against the Browns, Adam Vinatieri now has converted 23 consecutive regular-season field goals at Lucas Oil Stadium, 26 straight including the playoffs. ...

And finally. ... Manning was back at the team complex Monday, watching practice.

"(He's) walking it off," Wayne joked when he walked past the reporters.

Manning also was in good spirits.

"Save a copy for me for my scrapbook," Manning said to the television cameramen who were taping his arrival.

In case you missed it, Jay Glazer of FOXSports reported on Sunday's pregame show that Manning traveled to Europe prior to his Sept. 8 cervical fusion surgery to undergo stem cell therapy on his neck injury. Glazer reported the procedure Manning had is not yet approved in the United States.

Head coach Jack Del Rio named Gabbert the starter Wednesday, switching quarterbacks three days after Luke McCown threw four interceptions against the New York Jets.

Del Rio met with Gabbert and McCown Wednesday morning, then told other players about the switch at a team meeting. Gabbert will start Sunday at Carolina.

The transition was inevitable since the Jaguars selected Gabbert with the 10th pick in April's draft. Del Rio had hoped to take it slow with the former Missouri standout, even planning to give him a year to watch and learn behind David Garrard. But Garrard had his worst preseason as a starter and was outplayed by McCown, a career backup.

Del Rio named McCown the starter five days before the season opener. But his ninth career start was a debacle. He was picked off four times, and could have thrown a couple more, and was sacked for a safety -- in just three quarters.

Gabbert replaced McCown to start the fourth, and completed 5 of 6 passes for 52 yards in relief.

Gabbert threw 40 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions as a two-year starter at Missouri. Because of the NFL lockout, he missed mini-camp, organized team activities and dozens of meetings with offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. Nonetheless, he impressed coaches and teammates with his arm strength, pocket presence, situational awareness and speed.

But Gabbert struggled at times in the preseason, essentially confirming to Del Rio that he needed more time to learn the offense and read NFL defenses.

McCown's performance -- 6 of 19 passing for 59 yards -- against the Jets changed everything. Jacksonville ran the ball well and kept McCown from getting hit much, so there were few excuses for the interceptions.

The Jets won 32-3, the second-worst loss in Del Rio's nine-year tenure. And because he's widely considered to be coaching for his future -- team owner Wayne Weaver said the Jaguars need to make the playoffs for Del Rio to stick around another year -- it was reasonable to wonder whether he would put his fate in the hands of a rookie quarterback.

Del Rio took several days to evaluate the situation before turning things over the Gabbert.

And now Sunday's game will match two quarterbacks drafted in the top 10 in April -- Cam Newton and Gabbert.

"That thought hasn't crossed my mind one bit," Gabbert said. ...

Worth noting: Del Rio insists he has no regrets about parting ways with Garrard, who was released after throwing three interceptions in practice.

"You could go to last year's Week 2, Week 3 games and see some real eggs there, too," Del Rio said. "It's not like keeping David was going to be a guarantee that we wouldn't have substandard quarterback play. We had a bad day yesterday throwing the football. We've seen bad days here in the past. That's why the question comes, ‘When is this talented rookie going to get his shot?'"

We now have the answer to that question. ...

In a related note. ... After his media obligations were finished on Sunday, McCown walked to Maurice Jones-Drew shook his hand and assured him he would continue working. Jones-Drew told him he wasn't worried about that.

Later, Jones-Drew was asked if the quarterback situation might be awkward.

"What was more awkward, today or last week?" the star halfback told Florida Times-Union staffer Tania Ganguli. "It's all the same. It's a business. It's a production-based business. At the same time, it was just one game. I don't know what decision they're going to make but as players. ... We have to react to it and run with whatever [decision] they make. ..."

Meanwhile, Ganguli reports that Jones-Drew deferred credit for his strong start. His 185 rushing yards through two games is his career high in the first two games of the season.

Jones-Drew said running backs coach Earnest Byner has placed more emphasis on a zone blocking scheme this year.

"Offensive line's been doing a great job blocking," Jones-Drew said. "We're going against nine-, sometimes 10-man boxes on Sunday. We were able to get some big runs and they've been doing a great job. Receivers been blocking down field a bunch.

"It's all kind of a team effort. We still run downhill, we just do some more zone this year."

Kassim Osgood suffered a hamstring strain against the Jets while diving for a low pass from McCown on a third-and-13 in the third quarter. It was the only time in the game Osgood was targeted.

Osgood said he doesn't know what's wrong with his hamstring, but is icing it.

Del Rio said he hopes tight end Marcedes Lewis and receiver Jason Hill return this week, but didn't know with certainty yet. Lewis was able to practice on a limited basis Wednesday.

New York Jets Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis couldn't help but notice that Hill was sidelined with a hip flexor Sunday. Hill said last week the Jets were overhyped because they play in New York, which led Revis to joke about the comments after the Jets' victory.

"I was in tears that he didn't play. If you're going to talk trash, at least show up and play so you can prove yourself," Revis said. "And he didn't today. So I'm going to give him some advice for the future. When you do call people out, make sure you suit up and play."

In a related note. ... The Jaguars have signed receiver Chastin West off Green Bay's practice squad and waived rookie receiver Jamar Newsome.

West might play Sunday at Carolina.

That was the point where Jamaal Charles was pushed out of bounds by a Detroit defender and his left knee twisted awkwardly on the Ford Field turf, ending Charles' season.

Charles suffered a torn ACL on the play; he was placed on injured reserve Monday.

The Chiefs hung in for a time without their star running back but eventually couldn't keep up with the high-scoring Lions. They absorbed another brutal wallop, this time 48-3.

SI.com's Peter King wrote: "The roof is caving in on the Chiefs. Has there been a playoff team in recent history (ever?) that's had the kind of player losses (tight end Tony Moeaki, safety Eric Berry, and now Charles) and the on-field losses of these Chiefs?

"In two games, they've been outscored 89-10. Yes, 89-10.

"I don't see any way they come back from this, particularly this week, with a game at San Diego."

Well, there still plenty of time for them to rally. But prospects of that happening are bleak at best.

The Chiefs are last in the NFL in scoring with 10 points. The No. 1 team is Buffalo (79), thanks to the 41 points scored against the Chiefs in the opener. The No. 2 team is Detroit (75), thanks to the 48 points from last Sunday.

"You either feel sorry for yourself and it's going to be a long season or you're going to muster the collective will of the guys you have in the building and figure out a way to make positive changes," head coach Todd Haley said.

"It's the collective willpower of your entire roster that has to make up for some of these losses and do some things to change games, change the outcome of games."

The Chiefs got a peek at the post-Charles world against the Lions and it was decidedly hideous. On the play after Charles was taken from the field on a motorized cart -- he didn't return -- the Chiefs kicked a field goal to cut their deficit to 7-3.

From there, the Lions went on an uninterrupted 41-point run. The Chiefs committed six turnovers, four by quarterback Matt Cassel, and took four more snaps in Detroit's end of the field.

"We can't sit there and dwell on ‘What if?' Nothing is easy," said Dexter McCluster, who with Thomas Jones will replace Charles as the featured back. "Once we find that key element that will turn this around, we're going to take it and run with it and hold on to it.

"(Losing Charles) was definitely tough. He is a great player, a great runner. He was one of the keys to our offense. ... We just have to find a way to pull together, pick up the slack and get this thing moving pretty quick."

For what it's worth, Haley said Wednesday that McCluster should expect 10-14 touches per game on offense with Charles out.

Now down two important elements of their offense, the Chiefs are leaning on players like Cassel, McCluster and wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. On Sunday, none were up to the task.

Cassel threw three interceptions and lost a fumble. All three interceptions led to scores for the Lions. He averaged just 6.1 yards per attempt. That's better than Week 1, but not nearly good enough. His protection was shaky at times; he was sacked twice in 24 passing plays.

Cassel did not have a touchdown pass -- never came close.

According to the Sports Xchange, Bowe played hard the entire game and ended up catching five passes for 101 yards.

Bowe, who led the NFL in touchdown catches last year, delivered the Chiefs' biggest play with a 45-yard pass reception. But in the second quarter he dropped a pass that was then intercepted by the Lions to end Kansas City's last possession in Detroit's side of the field.

McCluster led the Chiefs with 51 rushing yards but for the second straight week lost a fumble. He also had a net of negative-two yards on his four pass receptions.

"It starts with us taking better care of the ball," Cassel said. "That will immediately help this team.

"We're going to have to figure out a way. Somebody else is going to have to step up. We have to re-evaluate what we are and make adjustments and do whatever we need to do because obviously the last two weeks are not satisfactory to any of us."

"We have to make. ... A bunch of changes here in what we're doing in order to have a chance to be ready to play this week against San Diego on the road," Haley said.

He said the Chiefs wouldn't have to scrap their playbook and start over fresh.

But the Chiefs made plans for the season centered around the abilities of Moeaki and Charles. With both gone, what the Chiefs are doing at tight end and halfback will be done with others.

Two games into the season, that's a blow almost as heavy as the one dealt by the Lions.

Jones, a close friend of Charles', was speaking about his teammate for himself but could have been talking for the whole group.

"Devastation," Jones said. "Jamaal is like a little brother to me. It's tough. I'll just have to be there for him. He's a fighter. He's a strong-minded and determined guy. Whatever his injury is, I know he'll bounce back from it. ..."

Let's hope Fantasy owners who burned an early draft pick to secure Charles' services this year can do the same. ...

Other notes of interest. ... According to King, given the current circumstances it's only a matter of time before questions start piling up about the jobs of president and GM Scott Pioli and Haley. King believes owner Clark Hunt will give Pioli at least one more coach to hire; Hunt and Pioli are close.

Implicit in King's comment would be his belief that Haley is on much shakier ground. ...

In a semi-related note. ... Lions general manager Martin Mayhew refused to shake the hand of Pioli after the game, according to the Detroit News.

Last year, the Chiefs accused the Lions of tampering with a player under contract. The incident was believed to have involved Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham and former Chiefs safety Jarrad Page.

The Lions wound up forfeiting a seventh-round pick in next year's draft and swapping fifth-round picks with the Chiefs in this year's draft over the incident, and all didn't seem forgiven on Sunday.

As the two general managers approached the same Ford Field elevator at the end of the game, Pioli called out to Mayhew and reached out his hand. Mayhew shook his head and turned away. ...

Fullback Le'Ron McClain got a piece of the offense against Detroit, touching the ball six times after getting shut out in the season opener. McClain ran four times for 15 yards and caught two passes for 12 yards. ...

Ryan Succop was one for two on field-goal attempts Sunday, and the missed 44-yarder dropped him to one for three this season. He missed a 49-yarder a week against the Bills.

Succop missed only four field goals during his rookie season after the Chiefs selected him with the draft's final pick in 2009. He missed six last year, and he missed three in the 2011 preseason.

Jonathan Baldwin was inactive Sunday and still wore a protective covering on his right hand last week after a training-camp fight with Jones. He hasn't played since the Chiefs' first preseason game. ...

On last note here. ... The Chiefs activated wide receiver Jeremy Horne from their practice squad Wednesday.

So far there's no sign of improvement over 2010, when Miami was awful at home and missed the playoffs for the eighth time in nine years.

Instead, the Dolphins have regressed. A 23-13 loss Sunday to Houston left them at 0-2, just like in 2006, `07, `08 and `09.

With two defeats at home in seven days, the Dolphins have lost 11 of the past 12 games in their stadium.

"Baffling," head coach Tony Sparano said.

"It's not a good feeling," running back Reggie Bush said. "I always believed that you have to defend home at all cost, no matter what. I look at as an intruder coming into your home to rob you. You have to defend home at all cost."

Otherwise you could wind up in the basement. The Dolphins are alone in last place in the AFC East, while the other three teams are 2-0.

A sputtering offense, defensive breakdowns and special teams lapses are just some of the Dolphins' problems. There's renewed speculation about Sparano, who was nearly fired after a late-season fade to 7-9 in 2010.

Seeking reasons for optimism, the Dolphins might have to settle for this: Their next three games are on the road, and they play only once at home in the next seven weeks. They are at Cleveland on Sunday.

Most teams wouldn't view a succession of road games as advantageous, but since Christmas 2009, the Dolphins have lost 11 times at home and only twice on the road. Last year their 6-2 road record included victories against the Jets, who reached the AFC championship game, and the Green Bay Packers, who won the Super Bowl.

"We may be a better road team," receiver Brandon Marshall said. "It hurts when you can't perform in front of your home crowd, because they deserve it. Every day I run into fans telling me they have been season-ticket holders since like `72, 30-something years. You want to play for those people. It's frustrating when you come up short. It's embarrassing."

Sparano conceded he has no explanation for the home-away disparity, but he's not counting on a change of scenery to salvage the season.

"It doesn't matter where we're playing. We could be playing in the middle of the street this week," he said. "We need to find a win. ..."

Meanwhile, the biggest story this week from a Fantasy perspective is at running back.

As Yahoo! Sports columnist Jason Cole framed it: "Did the Dolphins lie to Bush or just to themselves?"

Since late July, when the Dolphins pulled off the trade to get Bush from the New Orleans Saints, the talk had consistently been about Bush getting a chance to prove that he's an every-down back and not just some hybrid specialty player.

That talk was still strong before the Dolphins played the Texans on Sunday. Sparano talked about how Bush, who had 11 carries and nine receptions in the season-opening loss to the New England Patriots, would get about 20 touches a game.

During the loss to Houston, Bush got seven (six carries and one catch), gaining a grand total of 21 yards.

In two games, Bush has 17 carries for 56 yards, which is pretty much in line with his career numbers. Considering rookie Daniel Thomas had 107 yards on 18 carries in his debut Sunday, you can understand why Bush's time as the full-time back is probably over only seconds after it started – even if Bush still wants to hang on to the dream.

"I can be that type of runner. I know I can handle the work," Bush said in a matter-of-fact tone.

As Cole suggested, Bush isn't whining about his plight, he's just firm in his belief.

The problem for Bush is that his game doesn't play well between the tackles. Per Cole, "Bush needs open space more than he needs blockers. Anytime he's in the game, he has a polarizing effect on defensive players."

When Bush was in New Orleans, there were enough other weapons around him that coach Sean Payton could use him sparingly. Coupled with injuries, that's why Bush never had more than 243 touches in a season and that total was during his rookie season.

In Miami, the Dolphins need to find ways to maximize Bush even if Thomas is obviously going to be the bellcow runner.

Bush is the only player on the team who can consistently demand a double team or any type of specialized coverage. Marshall is close, but Marshall is not so much explosive as he is powerful.

In short, Cole wrote, "Bush inspires fear. Marshall inspires concern. The rest of the Dolphins offense? Eh, not so much."

Whatever the case, the team's plans at tailback will be a major storyline this week -- and most likely going forward. And there's just one certainty: The Dolphins had zero 100-yard rushing games from an individual last season when Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams were around.

So Thomas' performance against the Texans prompted Palm Beach Post staffer writer Greg Stoda to suggest, "They should feed him in Cleveland.

"They should feed him well. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... According to South Florida Sun-Sentinel staffer Omar Kelly, this might be a new season for the Dolphins, but it's the same old story when it comes to the offense stalling in the red zone.

For the second straight game -- and second straight season -- the Dolphins managed to put together impressive offensive drives that get the team into what the players call the "money area."

The Dolphins were in the "money area" four times against Houston and converted just one of those red-zone opportunities into seven points. The team missed two field goals on stalled red-zone drives too, but making matters worse considering those six points could have changed the tone of Sunday's loss.

In the first two games of this season, the Dolphins have had 10 drives enter the red zone. The end result has been four touchdowns, two field goals and four instances where the team has come away without points.

One of the biggest criticisms against quarterback Chad Henne is the fact that he struggles in the red zone, which partly explains why Dan Carpenter kicked 41 field goals last season.

In the red zone against the Texans, Henne completed 3-of-9 passes, one of which was a 12-yard touchdown pass to Marshall, which featured the 6-4 receiver bulldozing former Dolphins cornerback Jason Allen for 6 yards, driving him into the end zone.

The Dolphins also ran the ball four times in the red zone, gaining 16 rushing yards, which was a drastic improvement over last week's red-zone rushing issues against the Patriots. But it wasn't enough.

Three players, including Henne, said the team's practice Friday, which is when the players usually do red-zone work, wasn't crisp. There was poor execution and mental mistakes.

Is anyone surprised the same issues surfaced in the game?

"We got to be on the same page. If teams are going to bring pressure we've got to get the ball out. If they are dropping into zone we have to keep working out feet and I need to work my eyes and try to find open guys," Henne said. "We have to work harder down there. ..."

Overall, Henne, who threw for a career-high 416 yards against the Patriots in Week 1, returned to Earth with a 12-for-30, 170-yard performance against the Texans that he said "wasn't my best."

Henne, though, was the victim of drops -- including a pass that Marshall dropped in the end zone.

Still, Marshall is off to a fast start, with 13 catches for 218 yards in the first two games. Marshall and Henne seem to be clicking much better now than they did at any point in the 2010 season.

According to the Sports Xchange, Davone Bess is fitting in nicely into Brian Daboll's new offensive system. Bess is averaging 19.1 yards per catch -- bolstered by a 41-yard reception he had Sunday against the Texans.

Tight end Anthony Fasano struggled to play an active role on Sunday against the Texans. Henne targeted him just twice and Fasano finished the game without a catch.

One last note here. ... The Dolphins released Larry Johnson on Tuesday, just two days after Thomas looked healthy and effective against the Texans. Johnson was signed by Miami before Week 1 because Thomas was banged up. Miami doesn't have to pay the rest of his base salary because he used the one-time termination pay benefit after being cut by Chiefs back in 2009.

Johnson had two yards rushing this season on one carry. That matches his rushing total from a year ago in Washington.

The Dolphins also released tight end Dante Rosario on Tuesday.

Head coach Leslie Frazier had a simple message for them on Monday as he revisited losing a 17-0 lead in a 24-20 defeat.

"My only words to our fans are be patient," Frazier said. "We're going to get there. I have great belief that we will."

Donovan McNabb has already made it clear he can't afford to wait. Even though McNabb insists that he thinks he has plenty of football left in him, the 34-year-old quarterback definitely feels a sense of urgency in his 13th season.

After the offense struggled mightily in the Vikings' season-opening loss to San Diego, McNabb was asked if all it was going to take was a little time for the unit to come together.

"That's something you say when you're young," McNabb said. "Do I have time to sit back and let it grow? No. I want it to happen now, and that's the way that I prepare. We prepare to win now."

And that was before the Vikings dropped their second straight game, digging themselves a daunting hole with the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions off to fast starts in the NFC North.

McNabb, who led the Eagles to five NFC title games and a Super Bowl appearance in 11 years in Philadelphia, came to Minnesota looking to rejuvenate his career after a poor season in Washington.

In his first two games, he's watched the Vikings give away big first-half leads.

"I think it's now the time for everyone to really challenge themselves and find out what they are doing individually wrong and get it corrected so that we won't have these problems later in the season," McNabb said on Sunday.

McNabb passed for just 39 yards in Week 1, but he looked better against the Bucs, completing 18 for 30 for 228 yards. But he bounced a throw in front of Visanthe Shiancoe in the end zone that forced the Vikings to settle for a field goal and said after the game there were several plays he'd like to have back.

Players and coaches lamented the mental mistakes, with penalties on Jared Allen and Brian Robison hurting the defense. Receiver Percy Harvin said the offense lined up in the wrong formation a couple of times to hurt their production in the second half.

For a guy who wants to show everyone that the Eagles and Redskins were wrong for giving up on him, it's not the way he envisioned starting the season.

"We're definitely close," Harvin said. "But at the same time we're far because we keep making the same little mistakes that keep being huge at the end of games."

Now the Vikings host the vastly improved Lions on Sunday, and a loss there could be a backbreaker.

"For me, the attitude is it's a must-win situation," McNabb said. "Obviously playing in conference play, it's very important. We have a tough opponent coming in with a little confidence. This is an opportunity to kind of get back on the horse and put ourselves in position in our division to where we want to be."

Frazier hammered that sense of urgency point home to his players on Monday as they studied their performance in the game against Tampa Bay. He emphasized the good things they did to build such a big lead in their dominant first half and said they had to be smarter in situational football -- recognizing the plays that are there to be made in specific parts of the game.

"The sense of urgency has nothing to do with where our record is now," Frazier said. "But the fact we're playing a divisional opponent at home. We just got to find a way this weekend. ..."

In a related note. ... Pro Football Weekly reports that league evaluators have not been impressed with the job that offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave has done and blame McNabb's very marginal showing the first two weeks on a lack of offensive creativity on Musgrave's part.

Having followed a defensive coaching track to the head-coaching job, Frazier's most important hire was his offensive coordinator, who would be entrusted to run the offense with great autonomy.

There's still time for adjustments to be made, but the Vikings are off to a very rough start.

They definitely need to work on their second-half play.

McNabb is 0-for-5 passing with two sacks in nine second-half third downs. The team is 1-for-9 on second-half third downs, including no conversions in their last eight attempts.

Other notes of interest. ... According to Minneapolis Star Tribune staff writer Kent Youngblood, on another day, it would have been bigger news.

After all, it's not every day that an NFL running back sets a couple of franchise records and passes the 6,000-yard rushing barrier on the same day. If the Vikings hadn't faded down the stretch yet again you can bet Adrian Peterson would have been a lot happier talking about accolades and achievements.

But not Sunday.

"Right now, it doesn't mean anything to me," Peterson said. "We didn't come out with a win."

Peterson ran with his reckless style and -- at least early -- got a lot of help from his line and lead blocker Jim Kleinsasser. For a while it looked like the Vikings game with Tampa Bay was going to be all about A.P.

His 1-yard TD run that gave Minnesota a 7-0 first-quarter lead was the 53rd of his career, giving him the Vikings record, one more than Chuck Foreman and Bill Brown. His explosive 9-yard TD run in the final minute of the second quarter extended that mark.

Peterson's 25 rushes gave him 32 games with 20 or more, another career mark, separating him from Foreman (31) and Robert Smith (30). And his 120 rushing yards gave him an even 6,000 for his career in his 63rd game, easily the fastest in Vikings history.

There's more. He's only the second Vikings back with 6,000 yards, now has 25 career 100-yard games and he's tied with Foreman for second in team history with 36 games scoring a touchdown.

But Peterson didn't feel good.

"Yeah, pretty stunned," he said. "It's the second week in a row we let one get away. We've got a job that we need to finish."

His stats mirror the fate of the team. Peterson averaged 5.5 yards on 15 first-half rushes, with two TDs. In the second, he averaged 3.7 yards on 10 rushes as the Vikings ran Peterson into stacked fronts.

"That's one thing we'll have to talk about going forward, the pros and cons of running into an eight-man front versus trying to come up with a better play out of that," Frazier said.

That's way more important than recording Peterson's inexorable march into the team's record book -- but not to Fantasy owners. Peterson, tied for ninth in league history for most rushing touchdowns in his first five seasons, is also eighth in Vikings history in net yards. ...

Harvin had two touchbacks before getting a chance to return the last kickoff. He fumbled the ball and gained only 2 yards. But 1500ESPN.com's Tom Pelissero noted that Harvin played only 30-of-68 offensive snaps.

Pelissero "calculated it twice because I didn't believe it."

It's a 44.1 snap percentage, which is in fact down from Harvin's 62.8 percent (27-of-43) in Week 1.

Of greatest concern to Fantasy owners, Harvin was not involved in the red-zone package.

The good news?

Harvin has been a target in the passing game a team-high 12 times. He has team highs in catches (nine) and yards (83). He also has six rushes for 33 yards.

Bernard Berrian, the team's deep threat, has been virtually invisible the first two games. He's been targeted five times and has one catch for 17 yards. He's not a guy who fights for receptions, so it could be another long year for him.

Tight end Kyle Rudolph, the team's rookie second-round draft pick, caught his first NFL pass, a 15-yarder against the Bucs. He's been targeted only twice in two games and hasn't blocked well.

Backup running back Toby Gerhart is running with authority in his limited touches behind Peterson. He has 52 yards rushing on only four carries (13.0) and a team-high 42-yard reception on a screen pass.

"After his 31-of-40, 423-yard, three-touchdown, no-interception performance to beat San Diego, check out his two-game numbers:

"Two wins. Seventy three points. He's completed 71.6 percent of his passes (63-88) for 940 yards. His TD/INT ratio is 7-1. His passer rating is 128.0.

"One other thing: In the last 18 regular season games, Brady has thrown 43 touchdowns with five interceptions. ..."

Yeah. It's a pretty good start.

But Brady and the Patriots face a surprising test this weekend.

The Patriots have won three Super Bowls since Buffalo last made the playoffs. They've won their last 15 matchups and 20 of their last 21 against the Bills. Sounds like Sunday's game in Buffalo should be a major mismatch, right?

Wrong.

Both teams are 2-0 and the Bills lead the NFL with 79 points. So the Patriots aren't about to take them lightly.

As Associated Press sports writer Howard Ulman notes, Buffalo followed its season-opening 41-7 rout of the Kansas City Chiefs with a 38-35 win over the Oakland Raiders on Ryan Fitzpatrick's 6-yard touchdown pass to David Nelson with 14 seconds left on Sunday. Fitzpatrick completed 28 of 46 passes for three touchdowns and an interception, and Fred Jackson ran for two scores as Buffalo overcame a 21-3 halftime deficit.

The Patriots beat the San Diego Chargers 35-21 on Sunday.

Brady may have the rich resume, but Fitzpatrick has developed into a dangerous, somewhat elusive quarterback.

And there is at least one injury issue the Patriots will have to deal with: Aaron Hernandez reportedly suffered a sprained MCL.

Head coach Bill Belichick provided no update on their conditions Monday. But after initial reports suggested that Hernandez, who had seven catches for 62 yards and a touchdown against the Chargers, might miss one to two weeks CSNNE.com's Tom Curran reported the second-year man could miss four to six weeks.

If Hernandez is out, Dan Gronkowski will move up to the No. 2 tight end spot behind his brother Rob Gronkowski, who caught two touchdown passes on Sunday. Dan, formerly with the Denver Broncos, signed with the Patriots on Sept. 7, five days before their opener.

He said he's ready if Hernandez isn't.

"Definitely," he said. "They expect me to know everything and I'm at that point. So I'm ready to get in there and just help out the team however I can."

One other issue?

Punter Zoltan Mesko left Sunday's win with a leg injury. He was announced as probable for a return, but never punted again and Belichick said his decision to go for a fourth-and-four in the fourth quarter was indeed related to Mesko's health.

Still, as Ulman pointed out, the punters may not have much work to do Sunday. New England is third in the NFL with 73 points, six behind Buffalo.

That's quite an improvement for the Bills, who had losing records the past six seasons, haven't won a playoff game since 1995, last reached the playoffs in the 1999 season and have just one winning season since then.

On Sunday, though, they can beat the Patriots for the first time since a 31-0 victory in the 2003 opener at Buffalo. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Brady and Deion Branch continue to work well together with Branch pulling in eight catches for 129 yards.

"I've thrown a lot of passes to him over the years," Brady said. "There's nobody that I enjoy playing with more than this guy, and it's always been that way. He's my locker-mate and one of my great friends. He's just everything you look for in a receiver."

"I think the open line of communication is always good for us," Branch said. "That's what you're seeing. It's not so much what we're doing on game day, it's all about the work that we put in on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday."

As the Boston Herald noted that's been the case since Branch returned to the Patriots in a trade with Seattle last October. He has 15 catches for 222 yards in two games and looks plenty comfortable in the place he spent the first four years of his career. ...

BenJarvus Green-Ellis found the end zone for the second straight week, helping close out the game with a 16-yard score in the fourth quarter. After notching 13 rushing scores a year ago, the fourth-year back is on an even better pace to open the new season. ...

As the Sports Xchange notes, Danny Woodhead had one of his more quiet days as a Patriot, rushing just four times for 12 yards while catching two passes for 15 yards.

Gronkowski scored on touchdown receptions from 17 and 10 yards in Sunday's win, giving him three in just two games after finding the end zone 10 times a year ago as a rookie.

Wes Welker had seven receptions for 81 yards in beating the Chargers and is also tied for the team lead with 15 receptions in the first two weeks.

One last note. ... With Hernandez out, the pressure will be on Chad Ochocinco to assimilate into the offense as the team moves into more three-WR sets.

While trying to defend their Super Bowl XLIV title last season, Payton and New Orleans were forced to play without Pierre Thomas, their key running back in most offensive formations, and often without Reggie Bush, who was supposed to provide a spark and some speed to various packages. Thus diminished, the offense struggled.

As Sunday's 30-13 victory over Chicago demonstrated, however, the Saints now have an upgraded running package with Thomas, rookie Mark Ingram and free agent Darren Sproles.

Ingram is able to do many of the same things Thomas does, which means Thomas has less pressure and takes fewer hits, while Sproles has proven even more combustible than Bush, scoring touchdowns in the first two games.

To be sure, the Saints' offense will remain geared to quarterback Drew Brees and the passing attack.

But Sunday's line score on the Saints' rushing productivity illustrated perfectly what Payton meant when he talked in the preseason about running the ball, "efficiently."

New Orleans finished with 118 yards on 29 carries, with Ingram and Thomas combining for 23 of those runs. The team averaged 4.1 yards per carry. That is a statistical package that reflects a team that can get a yard or two on the ground when it must, and that showcases various backs the defense must respect and align against differently.

Still, Payton said Monday the integration of the talented trio is, "a work in progress."

"It's something we think about a lot, too," Payton said. "If you separate Darren's role a little bit, if you start with some nickel packages and a little bit of this 'lighting' term we use where we're wanting him specifically on the field much like with Reggie. I don't want to say that's easy, but that becomes the easy part of the equation.

"So if we can establish that we have a package that involves Sproles both in the nickel and in the base, then I think the bigger trick is coming up with a ways between Pierre and Mark.

"We try to give them some semblance of a rhythm, too, maybe a couple of series at a time. That whole time there are some times and groupings that might trump whatever the rotation might be. But there's a lot of thought given to it. I don't know that there's an exact science to it because at the end of the week, typically, I'm going through (it) with (running backs coach Bret Ingalls).

"I think more than anything they want to be able to see their involvement with the plan and each game kind of unfolds a little differently in regards to what you're in and what you want to be in. It's kind of a work in progress."

The end result will be of great interest to Fantasy owners -- and the sooner it comes the better. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Devery Henderson's 79-yard touchdown run was the spectacular pass play of the season thus far. It got the Saints' offense kick started and led to a resounding win.

And when Henderson was talking about it after the game, he chuckled about the key factor in the play.

The catch.

"The most important thing for me was making the catch," he said, smiling. "As far as the yards after, you make the catch first."

The Saints started out with short passes, mixed with runs before popping that pass.

"Sean did a great job of calling that play at the right time," Henderson said. "With the defense, we took advantage of it."

Brees was solid again in hitting on 26 of 37 passes for 270 yards with three TDs and no interceptions.

Brees, who was protected well for most of the day, was sacked just once and had a passer rating of 118.1. In addition to the big play to Henderson, Brees hit Robert Meachem and Sproles for scores of 4 and 12 yards, respectively.

Henderson now has back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, the first Saints receiver to record them since Marques Colston last season. Henderson hadn't had such consecutive games since 2006, and he now has nine for his career, tying him with Wes Chandler and Donte Stallworth for fifth-most in Saints history.

Adding to the passing attack were big days from Sproles (4-43) and tight end Jimmy Graham (6-79).

Meachem caught four passes for just 10 yards, but his four-yard TD grab gave the Saints a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter. ...

As expected, Lance Moore started at wide receiver in place of Colston. But Moore wasn't a major factor in his first game back from an injured groin. He was on the field for 22 of the team's 67 offensive snaps. ...

According to the Sports Xchange, Sproles has been everything the Saints thought he was with a 4.0 rushing average and a team-leading 15 receptions as well as averages of 23.3 and 33.3 yards, respectively, on punt and kickoff returns.

According to Varney, when Garrett Hartley went down in the team's third preseason game at Oakland, there was some concern. When just-signed veteran John Kasay came in and missed a field-goal attempt and an extra-point attempt in the team's final preseason game against visiting Tennessee, some fans allowed their concern to drift toward panic. Chalk up that situation as calmed.

Kasay has been perfect thus far. He made both of his field-goal attempts at Green Bay in Week 1 and added three more against Chicago, including a 53-yarder just before the two-minute warning at the end of the first half to put New Orleans up 16-7.

With Sunday's field goals, Kasay now has made 438 and passed former Denver kicker Jason Elam for sixth place on the NFL's all-time list. The 53-yard kick was Kasay's 41st of more than 50 yards, which broke a tie with Morten Andersen for second place on that all-time league list. He has made at least one field goal of 50 yards or more in 18 of his 20 NFL seasons. ...

And finally. ... Payton reiterated Wednesday that Colston is "on schedule, if not ahead" of the Saints' initial timetable to return. Times-Picayune staffer Mike Triplett reports that Colston did "a lot of work" off to the side of Wednesday's practice and the Saints continue to hope he'll be back by Week 6.

It took a little while for them to get going, and they had to shake off a terrible start by Eli Manning to do it, but after a summer of waiting, the Giants finally got into a bit of a groove.

They came up with several big plays, including a huge defensive touchdown from linebacker Michael Boley, as they won their home opener Monday night, 28-16, over the St. Louis Rams.

It wasn't pretty and even head coach Tom Coughlin said, "There's much to be improved upon." But with their grudge match in Philly looming just five days from now, at least it was a start.

"It was very important going into this week with Philly," said receiver Hakeem Nicks. "It's a little confidence boost going in with a win under our belt."

While the Giants got a healthy Nicks back, they now have two other receivers to worry about. ... Well. Make that one.

Both Domenik Hixon and Mario Manningham were injured in the win over St. Louis.

Hixon injured himself on a spectacular, 22-yard touchdown catch late in the half when he made a falling grab that required him tipping the ball to himself twice. And the news on Wednesday wasn't good.

Hixon tore his ACL. The same ACL he tore 15 months ago. His season is over.

The loss will be a big one for the Giants, who were counting on Hixon to be a key cog on the offense as well as a jack of all trades on special teams.

As the Giants now prepare to play the Eagles without Hixon, they're probably wishing they hadn't let Steve Smith go to Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, Manningham suffered a concussion a few plays earlier when he stumbled and fell on what should've been a long touchdown catch. Manningham said he only suffered an injury to the right side of his neck.

But according to the Giants, Manningham didn't pass the medical concussion tests in the locker room so he wasn't allowed to come back out to play.

Manningham looked a little better to Coughlin Tuesday morning, but the receiver was still undergoing more concussion "protocol" tests. He wasn't on the practice field Wednesday. I'll be following up as the week progresses. Those interested will want to watch for Late-Breaking Updates. ...

Nicks, meanwhile, said he felt no ill effects from the bruised and hyperextended knee he suffered in the Giants' season opener. He caught three passes against the Rams for 15 yards, including his first touchdown of the year. ...

With Hixon out -- and Manningham possibly out -- the Giants might have to rely more heavily on newcomer Brandon Stokley and Victor Cruz against the Eagles. ...

Also on the health front. ... Tight end Travis Beckum, who has missed the first two games with an injured hamstring, said he'll return to practice this week with no limitations.

Other notes of interest. ... Although the numbers are far from being flashy -- the trio of Ahmad Bradshaw, Brandon Jacobs and DJ Ware combined for 34 carries for 131 yards and one touchdown -- the Giants rushers ran with power and for the most part exploited the cutback lanes that were there for the taking.

Had the blocking been a tad crisper, Bradshaw, the team's leading rusher with 15 carries for 59 yards, might have had larger numbers, while Jacobs ran with power and moved piles seemingly with ease.

Jacobs recorded his third straight game with a rushing touchdown on "Monday Night Football."

It was the 50th rushing touchdown of his career, which moved him into sole possession of second place on the franchise's career list. Tiki Barber is first with 55. Jacobs finished the night with 16 carries for 50 yards (3.1 yards per carry).

"If teams want to line up and play (Santonio Holmes, Derrick Mason and I) like that, then Dustin can just tear them to pieces, and that's what I told him," Burress said after the Jets' 32-3 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. "If they want to come out and play us like that, take away the guys on the edge -- he's going to make a lot of plays."

And so far, teams have.

For the second straight week, Keller finished with a touchdown -- this time grabbing one with four minutes to play in the third quarter, placing the game completely out of reach for Jacksonville. While the Jaguars placed a vice-grip on Burress and Holmes, a double-team on nearly every play as a safety peered over the top, Keller slipped through the cracks. He led all receivers with six receptions, 101 yards and a touchdown.

As Orr suggested, Keller played the kind of game that made head coach Rex Ryan bite his tongue afterward. Ryan didn't want to offer too many compliments, driving Keller's price up like he did with Darrelle Revis when approaching a new contract.

"I don't like talking about Dustin," Ryan said. "Keller's a great player. We all know that. I learned my lesson with the Revis deal. I think Keller's (contract) is up in a few years, so I'm not going to say anything nice about him."

Keller, who recently signed with power-agent Drew Rosenhaus, is signed through 2012.

On his touchdown, he showed why conventional zone coverage may not be enough for certain teams -- a reason his value is so high. Split out wide, he shook an attempted jam from linebacker Paul Posluszny and opened up just enough room to catch the ball inside the 10-yard line.

Including Keller, the Jets started the play with four receivers out wide, effectively handcuffing Jacksonville. Keller was lined up similarly on the first drive and made a 33-yard catch that helped set up the first touchdown to Holmes.

"They pretty much gave us the middle of the field," Keller said. "They were playing a lot of zone and they just left the middle of the field wide open."

After the game, Keller said he knows there will be shifts in the way teams play him and in his numbers, much like there was after the first few weeks of last season when he scored five times in six games. He said he won't be concerned when it's his turn to keep his head down for three quarters without seeing a pass.

He'll get used to it, like the way he'll come to expect no compliments from Ryan.

"That's okay," he said, laughing. "As long as we keep moving the ball. ..."

Although he was limited in Wednesday's practice, Holmes said he was fine after going into Sunday's game against Jacksonville listed as questionable with a sore knee and quad.

"I think I played every snap but about 20, but that was by choice," he said. "I didn't want to overdo it, I felt like I was in good enough shape to play, I wasn't hurt too bad to where I couldn't play."

Holmes looked healthy during the opening drive, where he scored the team's first first-quarter touchdown in 16 games. He called the throw from Mark Sanchez "perfect" and that it was high for a reason.

The concern, beyond injuries, right now is to keep progressing.

Holmes called the Jets offense "on the rise." Holmes said that the offense isn't concerned about pass distribution, and that something like Burress not getting any catches is -- in a way -- expected during the week depending on what coverages the Jets see from opponents on film.

"Veterans know how games play out and depending on the way we practice during the week, we know how things are going to go once game-time comes around," Holmes said. "And putting ourselves in position to beat those guys by (29) points kind of propelled us to know they're not going to allow us to throw as much as we'd want to and just force us to run the ball. But we all knew, as veterans, how to understand that game."

Holmes said that the offense was more happy about scoring on the first drive for Ryan than they were for themselves.

Ryan called out the team the night before and was bent on breaking their first-quarter streak.

"It was more so toward our head coach," Holmes said. "Rex challenged us that we needed to go out and score on the opening drive of the game and we did what we had to do. We had a good week of practice, everyone was on key, we were making the right plays. We made a few penalties that stopped the drive later in the game but to start the game out the way we really wanted to was big for us. ..."

Going up against the Raiders this week, you have to believe the passing attack will continue to be a focus in New York.

After all, the so-called Ground-and-Pound again was a no-show, as the Jets' most consistent ground-gainer was Sanchez, who had 29 yards on three scrambles.

Other than that, the Jets managed 72 yards on 29 carries, an average of 2.5 yards a carry. For the second straight week, the offensive line got very little push up front, and certainly wasn't helped by the absence of injured center Nick Mangold for the last three quarters.

Mangold sustained a high right ankle sprain when he was rolled on by a defender. The Jets haven't yet ruled him out of Sunday's game at Oakland, but Ryan acknowledged he isn't likely to play.

Colin Baxter, who replaced Mangold against the Jaguars, likely would start in his place. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Sanchez had two touchdown passes, but also threw two bad interceptions on which he stared down his intended target. Sanchez has three picks in the first two games this season after having none through the first five games in 2010.

Early in the fourth quarter, Sanchez attempted his final pass of the afternoon -- and on his follow-through, crashed his right arm into defensive lineman Matt Roth's helmet.

Sanchez said that kind of impact is "always scary" but maintained that he was fine and did not need X-Rays. Nonetheless, Ryan took responsibility for the incident, explaining that he had Sanchez pass on that play in an attempt to get Burress his first catch of the day.

"That was my fault," Ryan said. "I was trying to get Plax a catch. [Sanchez] got hit. He's fine, but he took a big hit, that's for sure. That's my responsibility."

Getting back to the rushing attack, Shonn Greene carried the ball 16 times for 49 yards and a touchdown and added two receptions. LaDainian Tomlinson had six carries for eight yards and one reception for seven yards. He ran three yards with a direct snap on one play, the Jets' first and only Wildcat play in their first two contests.

Fullback John Conner's playing time increased somewhat from Week 1. Conner, who had one reception for 9 yards, was somewhat limited on opening night because of lingering effects from an ankle injury, but is healthy now.

The Raiders' fifth-round draft pick out of Tennessee caught five passes for 146 yards, had a 50-yard touchdown catch that he took from defenders Leodis McKelvin and George Wilson and ran 25 yards on a reverse. He also nearly came down with a would-be game-winning 56-yard catch as time expired.

In his debut against Denver, Moore had just one pass thrown in his direction, and it was incomplete.

With starters Darrius Heyward-Bey (knee) and Jacoby Ford (hamstring) unavailable, Moore took center stage, and then shrugged it off afterward.

"It was an OK day for me," Moore said. "I came in and made plays when they called upon me. The overall thing is we took a loss today. We've just got to come back, practice Monday and get better."

Moore also had a leaping catch over McKelvin along the sideline for a 20-yard gain on third-and-3, a key play in a 71-yard first-half drive that resulted in a 1-yard touchdown plunge from Michael Bush.

The receiving yardage was the most for a Raiders receiver since Ford had 148 yards last Nov. 7 against Kansas City.

Quarterback Jason Campbell was hoping Moore would get rewarded for his big day with a victory.

"I was just praying on the sideline that we at least get an opportunity to win this one, because he deserves that respect of going up and catching those balls he made out there today, the plays he was making," Campbell said.

Head coach Hue Jackson, summoned back to the field while officials sorted out the final play, was angry and jawing with some Bills fans as he walked through the tunnel in the end zone. "I just don't like losing," he said. "I get a little emotional sometimes, but it's all good."

Campbell's 323 yards passing are his second-most as a Raider. He threw for 324 last year in a 38-31 loss in Jacksonville.

Though Darren McFadden caught a 12-yard touchdown pass in the second half, the Bills shut the running back down on the ground after the break. He had nine carries for 20 yards and lost a fumble, which led to a 57-yard Buffalo scoring drive. He finished with 72 yards on 20 carries.

Wide receiver Derek Hagan, inactive against Denver, caught five passes for 61 yards in his first action as a Raider. "It felt good to get out there and run around, make some plays and pick up where Jason and I left off in the preseason," Hagan said. "But we lost. If we won, I would be feeling a whole lot better."

Jackson said the Raiders came away from the Bills game without any major injuries. The coach is confident that he will get back even more players for the Jets on Sunday. Logical candidates to play Sunday are tight end Kevin Boss (knee), Ford (although he didn't practice Wednesday) and Heyward-Bey.

Boss felt healthy enough to play against the Bills. However, Jackson erred on the side of caution, and he held him out a second straight game.

Bottom line? It's going to be interesting to see how Jackson handles playing time among his wide receivers once everybody is fully healthy. You have to believe it's going to be difficult to keep Moore off the field.

Remember: Moore became the second Raiders rookie receiver to break 140 yards in a game in two years, a year after Ford had 148 against Kansas City. ...

Worth noting: An old-style AFL shootout with 935 yards of offense and 73 points was missed by owners Ralph Wilson and Al Davis. Wilson is recuperating from a broken hip, and Davis opted to bypass an East Coast trip, the first game he's missed since the 2009 season finale in Tampa. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Campbell has a 97.3 quarterback rating in his last seven games, dating back to when he took over for an injured Bruce Gradkowski last Dec. 5.

McFadden tied his career high with seven receptions (for 71 yards and a touchdown) against Buffalo. Fullback Marcel Reece has caught three passes in each of the Raiders' first two games and carried twice from scrimmage for 15 yards.

Brandon Myers started three games last season when Zach Miller was injured and two this season with Boss injured and has seven catches for 46 yards

Heyward-Bey, out with a knee injury against Buffalo, has never had more than 29 yards receiving in back-to-back games.

Taiwan Jones, a rookie fourth-round pick, had the first carry of his career against Buffalo and gained four yards on a reverse.

Sebastian Janikowski has 11 touchbacks in two games, one shy of his best two-game effort of 12 last season against Denver and Seattle in Weeks 7 and 8.

Vendors hawked Vick jerseys -- No. 7 in both Atlanta colors and in Eagles colors -- in anticipation of his arrival. The Georgia Dome was jumping.

Vick, however, did not leave a conquering hero. He left town aching after suffering a concussion late in the third quarter when, after releasing a pass that was completed to Jeremy Maclin for 9 yards, he was slammed and twisted and his head knocking into Eagles left tackle Todd Herremans.

After being helped off the field, Vick was taken to the bench area as second-year man Mike Kafka took over the offense. A few minutes later, Vick was escorted to the locker room as the crowd half-cheered and half-booed -- Vick pointed to the scoreboard on his way out -- and was gone for the game with a concussion.

After the 35-31 loss to Atlanta, head coach Andy Reid said Vick was "OK now" but would not commit more information until further tests are made.

The good news?

Vick was healthy enough to participate in the Eagles' walkthrough Wednesday morning and does not have a "whole lot of concussion symptoms," the team said.

Eagles trainer Rick Burkholder said Vick's Impact concussion baseline testing Tuesday was "very close to normal." He will have another Impact test either later Wednesday or Thursday.

Burkholder said Vick has a sore neck and jaw, however.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Vick was on the field for the team's afternoon practice, wearing a visor instead of a helmet, unlike the other QBs. Reporters are only permitted to watch the first 10 minutes of the Wednesday practice, which is pretty much a warmup. Vick tossed a ball and conferred with assistant coach Duce Staley.

Vick will see an independent neurologist within the next two days, but the first step is seeing how he does tomorrow after exercise today.

Burkholder said Vick is "right in the middle of this process" and that he is progressing at the expected rate. Burkholder said he is not focused on whether Vick will play Sunday against the Giants, but instead just going through the concussion protocol process. An MRI on Monday was negative.

Reid said if Vick is cleared to play Sunday, he will play. But a detour at any point in the process could change the outlook.

"Every hour is an important hour," Reid said.

If Vick does not practice, Mike Kafka and Vince Young will split the first-team reps.

Reid said he will get all three quarterbacks ready to potentially play Sunday against the Giants. He said the Eagles are "pretty lucky" to have three QBs who can all get in there and play. His message to the QBs was "Get ready accordingly."

Young has missed the first two games because of a hamstring injury. Asked if Young was 100 percent, Reid said, "We'll see how he does this week."

For what it's worth, ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, citing league sources, reported on Tuesday that Vick "desperately wants to get back on the practice field as soon as possible -- that means Wednesday morning, when (offensive coordinator) Marty Mornhinweg installs the game plan against the Giants, whose dizzying array of blitz packages gave Vick fits last season.

"Vick wanted to return to the game on Sunday night, but the team trainers took his helmet and shoulder pads from him."

The Eagles, Paolantonio added, don't want to rush Vick through the process required by the league to allow a player to return from a concussion.

If Vick can't go? Reid is said to be leaning heavily towards starting Kafka over Young.

The coach was impressed by Kafka's play Sunday after replacing Vick. He completed 7 of 9 passes for 72 yards. One of those two incompletions was a fourth-and-four pass to Maclin on the Eagles' final drive that Maclin should have caught. If he had, it would have given the Eagles a first down at the Atlanta 15 yards line with a minute and a half left in the game.

"He played really well," Reid said. "Really, that last series, he did a beautiful job."

The Eagles signed Young to a one-year, $4 million contract. But his comfort level with the offense is nothing like Kafka's. Against the Giants' pass rush, Reid would prefer Kafka because he knows he will get the ball out quickly and will be less prone to turnovers.

Stay tuned. ... It's safe to say Vick's status -- and the practice reps at QB -- will be something I follow closely when Late-Breaking Updates commence early Thursday. ...

In a related note. ... The Sports Xchange reports that Reid took blame for being too conservative with Kafka. Reid was conservative with his play-calling when Kafka was in, having him throw several wide-receiver screens and other "safe" passes.

"I didn't do a very good job in this game," Reid said. "I have a young quarterback that I was way, way too conservative with. I think that sent a message to our football team, and not a positive message. For those first couple series that he was in, I did something that I normally don't do. I'm kicking myself in the tail for that right now.

"It's my responsibility to make sure that we play reckless, aggressive football, and when the head coach doesn't do that, that's not a good sign."

McCoy had 22 touches Sunday against the Falcons -- 18 carries and 4 catches. It was the most touches he's had in a game since last October when he had 25 against the Falcons. McCoy rushed for 111 yards in the first of two games against the Giants last season.

Ronnie Brown, who had just four touches in the Eagles' Week 1 win over the Rams, had just three Sunday.

The big story was Maclin.

He did almost everything: touchdown receptions, short grabs, long ones, and catches for first down. There was more. Maclin had a few key downfield blocks on McCoy carries, and he showed gruff as he continually mixed it up with Falcons defenders.

And then he took a blow to the head on a helmet-to-helmet collision in the third quarter. Maclin had just caught a 16-yard pass from Vick when Atlanta cornerback Dunta Robinson led with his helmet. The collision drew a personal foul penalty.

As Inquirer staffer Jeff McLane noted, if the name "Robinson" and the words "collision with an Eagles receiver" sound familiar it's because last season he knocked Jackson out cold with a legal blow. Unlike Jackson, Maclin got up from this hit, although he looked dazed. He went to the sideline and was administered a concussion test, apparently passed and missed only a play.

Before the collision, however, it was Maclin that took a floundering Eagles offense and injected some life into it.

All told, Maclin had career-highs in both catches (13) and receiving yards (171) Sunday against the Falcons. This Sunday he'll be going up against an injury-ravaged Giants' secondary that allowed 10 pass plays of 17 yards or more Monday night against the Rams. ...

Jackson had a 65-yard game-winning punt return for a touchdown against the Giants last December. He had 8 catches for 102 yards in two games against the Giants last season.

Brent Celek, who was used primarily as a blocker in the Eagles' Week 1 win over the Rams, was target seven times Sunday against the Falcons and finished with four catches for 43 yards.

If Kafka starts in place of Vick, Celek could have a big game, since Kafka is a more conventional West Coast quarterback.

An MRI on Celek's sore lower back was negative and he will practice Wednesday, Reid said.

And finally. ... Reid said wide receiver Steve Smith is pretty close to where he needs to be physically following knee surgery. He said Smith's skill level is the same as it was but he needs to get more comfortable in the offense. Obviously, the Eagles are facing Smith's former team, the Giants, this week.

"I said, ‘Let the game come to you, don't go to it," Roethlisberger said.

Gilbert may have followed Roethlisberger's words of wisdom a little too closely in Pittsburgh's 24-0 romp over the Seahawks. The second-round pick out of Florida found himself on his heels twice while dropping back into pass protection.

The first resulted in a Roethlisberger sack in the first quarter that helped snuff out an early Pittsburgh drive. The other sent a shiver through the entire franchise.

With the ball at the Seattle 20 late in the first half, Gilbert shuffled back as Roethlisberger lined up in the shotgun and looked downfield. Seattle defensive end Raheem Brock spun around Gilbert and dived at the quarterback's legs just after Roethlisberger released the ball, a 16-yard completion to tight end Heath Miller.

The play drew a flag for unnecessary roughness on Brock and sent Roethlisberger crumpling to the ground. He only ended up only missing two plays, but the near-miss was an eye opener for Gilbert.

"It was a miscommunication," Gilbert said. "It was the dude on my side. (Ben) had the ball out but (Brock) came on and hit his knee. You can't really do anything about that."

Still, Gilbert hadn't quite shaken the moment on Monday, telling teammate Ramon Foster how badly he felt.

"I told him, ‘I got (Ben's) nose broken last year,"' said Foster, who started at left guard in place of injured Chris Kemoeatu. "It's just one of those things, don't let it happen again. I think he'll learn from it."

Though Roethlisberger praised Gilbert's play -- saying he felt Gilbert "did a great job" -- and head coach Mike Tomlin was impressed with the production while running to Gilbert's side, the youngster's busy first day on the job was symptomatic of a unit that remains a work in progress.

Roethlisberger was only sacked twice, but too a series of shots, not all of them because of his tendency to hold onto the ball even as the pocket collapses around him.

One of the hits came on a quick screen, a play that requires Roethlisberger to get rid of the ball the instant he gets the snap.

"It was kind of crazy," Roethlisberger said. "I have never thrown a speed screen to a wide receiver and got hit below the knees. I'll be fine and we'll get through it."

And hopefully get through it upright.

The Steelers travel to reeling Indianapolis this week and while the Colts won't have injured quarterback Peyton Manning, they do have elite pass rushers Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.

Running the ball would help take some of the pressure off, but the Steelers haven't exactly lit it up on the ground.

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman wanted more touches, particularly in the passing game. But they conceded that without much of a screen package, Roethlisberger wouldn't look their way against the Seahawks.

They were wrong.

The Steelers running backs amassed 124 hard-earned rushing yards. Yet their combined four receptions kept the Seahawks off-balance.

"Whenever we got the ball in our hands, we wanted to make something happen," said Redman, who finished with 49 yards on 10 attempts. "We didn't get the big numbers, but we kept the ball moving. This was a perfect time for us to work on stuff, especially in the run game."

Roethlisberger's numbers -- 22 of 33 for 298 yards -- weren't dazzling but effective, mostly because the Seahawks were forced to account for Mendenhall and Redman.

Roethlisberger picked apart the Seahawks' defense with a short, control passing game that effectively opened up the boundaries for wide receivers Mike Wallace (eight catches, 126 yards), Antonio Brown (four for 67) and Emmanuel Sanders (two for 44).

While they didn't abandon the run, the Steelers also could not punch it into the end zone on two series, one when they had first down at the one, the other first down at the two.

Still, according to the Sports Xchange, Redman's play is screaming for more opportunities. He ran 10 times for 49 yards, most in short yardage situation, and that included a 20-yard TD run.

Redman is getting more carries as the No. 2 back this season. He already has 13 carries compared to 52 all of last season. His carries in 2010 represented 16 percent of Mendenhall's carries; this year it is 42 percent after two games.

Whatever the case, the Steelers need to get the rushing attack on track against Indianapolis. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Sanders threw and completed his first NFL pass for 15 yards, adding to the long list of players who have completed a pass to Hines Ward.

"I was supposed to check with Wallace, but he was covered, so I checked it down to Hines," said Sanders. ...

Wallace had catches of 23 and 53 yards, but his 2-yard square out in the left corner of the end zone for the touchdown was most memorable from his perspective.

"That was a little chemistry," he said. "We have been working on it. We have some really fast guys, but the short throws like the touchdown is what it's all about. ..."

It's worth noting that Wallace set a goal of 2,000 yards receiving this season, which would set a NFL record. He's on an early pace for 1,864 yards. The NFL record is 1,848, set by Jerry Rice in 1995.

Ward needs 37 receptions to become only the eighth player in history to hit 1,000 in his career. He has nine receptions for 100 yards after two games but is looking for his first TD.

Miller has only four receptions after two games, a trend downward that began last season after Miller set the tight end record in Pittsburgh with 76 receptions in 2009.

Jerricho Cotchery, signed as a free agent, has missed the first two games with a hamstring injury and is questionable for the third game early in the week. He would be their No. 5 wide receiver if healthy.

"We're certainly not where we want to be record-wise or performance-wise," head coach Steve Spagnuolo said Tuesday. "We've always said this, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. You can only say this for so long because then you start running out of games."

Plus, Spagnuolo isn't sure whether running back Steven Jackson will be ready for the Ravens. He missed the 28-16 loss to the New York Giants with a right quad injury after an unsatisfactory pregame warmup.

Wide receiver Danny Amendola, quarterback Sam Bradford's top target, also missed the Giants game.

As Associated Press sports writer R.B. Fallstrom noted, Bradford passed for a career-best 331 yards, although he was only 22 for 46. He was particularly effective in the no-huddle offense, until St. Louis got near the goal line.

The Rams stalled three times inside the 10, once getting thwarted on 1st-and-goal from the 1, settling for chip-shot field goals by Josh Brown.

The Rams were not happy with the Giants' counterattack, apparently feigning injury to disrupt the tempo. Spagnuolo said the team has notified the league office.

"That'll go on the list of things we're going to send in," Spagnuolo said. "I think the league is looking into it. I'll let it run its course from that point of view."

Bradford said it was obvious the Giants were just buying time.

"They couldn't get subbed, they couldn't line up," Bradford said. "Someone said, ‘Someone go down, someone go down,' so someone just went down and grabbed a cramp."

Two turnovers led to Giants touchdowns; rookie Greg Salas' fumbled punt return and a botched swing pass to Cadillac Williams that was returned for a TD. Williams was slow to react and only watched.

Bradford said it was supposed to be a screen pass and in hindsight wished he'd have called a timeout and changed the play.

Players had the day off except for treatment and Spagnuolo said he hadn't spoken to Williams, but said coaches had gone over the play during the practice week.

Meanwhile, the biggest issue remains the red-zone problems.

Twenty-two times in two weeks, the Rams have failed on third-down conversions, while converting only seven.

Similar to the first game, the Rams advanced past midfield six times and ran nearly half their offensive plays in their opponents' territory, but have just 29 points to show for it.

Asked to explain the red-zone failures, Bradford said, "I think it is decision-making, execution, everyone, it takes all 11 guys doing their job on a play to score a touchdown and I think we are starting to understand that. Or at least I hope we are starting to understand that because when one guy doesn't do his job that results in us not scoring a touchdown and leaving with a field goal."

Of course, the absence of Jackson can't be minimized.

The Rams have reached the red zone five times in two games and scored only one touchdown, that a 19-yard pass from Bradford to wide receiver Danario Alexander in the third quarter against the Giants.

As good as it is to have Williams and Jerious Norwood this season, the Sports Xchange kindly suggested they won't be confused with Jackson.

In the first two games, the Rams have run 134 plays for 702 yards, an average of 5.23 per play. Take out the 56 yards Jackson has in two carries, and the average per play for the remainder of the offensive plays falls to 4.89.

Against the Giants, in their three red-zone failures, the Rams gained a total of 14 yards on nine plays and Bradford completed just one of six passes for four yards.

Still, the issues in the red zone are only the beginning of a long list of negative plays that have accumulated in just two games.

The issues won't be easily corrected. The short week and a game against an angry Ravens defense won't help. ...

Other notes of interest. ... The play of Alexander, who caught three passes for 122 yards and a touchdown, was one of the highlights of the setback. Alexander has undergone five operations on his left knee and was inactive for the opener.

Spagnuolo said Alexander's practice time is closely monitored to avoid irritating the knee, and he saw limited action against the Giants for the same reason.

"We do that balancing act every week," Spagnuolo said. "Hopefully we'll do it the right way this week and he'll get in there and make those same kind of plays, because that was nice to see."

As noted above, Jackson remains day-to-day with the quad strain that kept him on the sideline for Monday's game against the Giants. Spagnuolo said he is "hopeful" that Jackson might be available for Sunday's game against the Ravens, but we "just don't know" -- a stance the coach reiterated on Wednesday.

Williams suffered a low-grade hamstring strain against the Giants Monday night and is day-to-day.

Amendola is also considered day-to-day with his dislocated left elbow. Spagnuolo said swelling was down and Amendola already had improved range of motion. Still, it will be a surprise if Amendola practices this week.

Salas was undergoing a CT scan for a rib injury after X-rays did not indicate a break.

I will, of course, be following up on Jackson and the rest of the Rams walking wounded when Late-Breaking Update commence early Thursday. Those interested will want to check back.

The Chargers committed four turnovers in losing 35-21 at Foxboro on Sunday, including two interceptions and a fumble by quarterback Philip Rivers, and a critical fumble by running back Mike Tolbert.

"We didn't play well enough to go into New England and win that football game," head coach Norv Turner said Monday. "That's an outstanding football team. The thing that jumps out at people are the glaring mistakes; obviously, the turnovers, which we have to fix. Yesterday we were four turnovers away from having a chance."

Rivers agreed.

"They handled us enough to cause us to turn it over four times, which wasn't enough."

Rivers tried to force a pass to tight end Antonio Gates and was intercepted by Sergio Brown.

His other pickoff was on an unbelievable play by 325-pound defensive tackle Vince Wilfork on a pass intended for Tolbert. Wilfork batted the ball to himself, and then returned it 28 yards.

"He didn't really drop back; he just took off running, kind of saw Mike release," Rivers said. "It was a great play on his part. I don't know if it was by plan or just him being a veteran player and realizing we had a max protection on. He wasn't going to get there by rushing. It was just a heck of a play."

Rivers said he never saw Wilfork.

"If we went and did it right now, I'd throw it to him again. I mean, I wouldn't intentionally, but I'd throw it again. That sounds kind of crazy. It's a little rough to be reading the corner and the nose tackle at the same time," Rivers cracked.

That set up a field goal for a 20-17 halftime lead.

Rivers also threw two interceptions in a 24-17 home victory against Minnesota.

Asked what he can do about limiting turnovers, Rivers said: "Don't throw it to them. That's it. It's that simple. Don't throw the ball. For the most part, I don't throw it to the other team very often. Here in the first two, they've gotten four of them. Two of them, I can't say were unlucky, but a little unfortunate. The other two, they're poor throws. Both of them are down inside the 30 going in."

The Chargers have six turnovers and only one takeaway. They've trailed by double digits in the first half of each of their two games.

"It's a big concern," Turner said. "It's directly connected to one thing. We have got to do a better job of taking care of the ball. We have to find a way to create turnovers."

Turner said the Chargers are making other errors, with the turnovers being the most glaring.

"You have forced errors, where a guy makes a great play, and you have an unforced errors, where you're trying to do something more than what's asked," the coach said. "Tolbert's fumble was an unforced error. He had a five-yard gain and was trying to break outside and make a big run. We didn't need a big run. I think it was second-and-four.

"Offensively, we're trying to force big plays when they're not there. If we take what the play gives us, we have a lot of guys who can make big plays and will make big plays if they execute the play when it's there," Turner said.

With the Chargers trailing 20-14 with just more than 10 minutes to play, Tolbert fumbled inside the Patriots' 40-yard line. In the second quarter, Tolbert was stuffed on fourth-and-1 from the New England 1.

The Patriots played so effectively against Gates that he didn't have a catch.

But that opened it up for Vincent Jackson, who had 10 catches for 172 yards -- both career highs -- and two touchdowns.

The Chargers are home Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, who've been routed in their first two games.

Last year, the Chiefs split with the Chargers and ended their streak of winning four straight AFC West titles. The Chargers went 3-3 in the division, 9-7 overall and missed the playoffs.

"We know what these kind of games mean," Rivers said. "Like I said, 3-3 last year is not going to get it done. We've got to get off to a great start in the division, and we get a chance to do that this week. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... Ryan Mathews continues to show his game is maturing and the Chargers are continually showing among the best ways to use his talents is as a receiver.

Mathews, who had ball-security issues last year, has shown good hands coming out of the backfield and using his change-of-direction in space. Mathews showed his versatility by gaining 62 yards through the air and 64 yards on the ground, with a score, against the Pats.

Meanwhile, the Sports Xchange notes that Tolbert has a strong will and it's a good thing.

He's set on putting behind his critical fumble, which was just one week removed from his scoring a career-high three touchdowns. He also had 73 yards receiving but his fumble is what is remembered.

Still, Tolbert, who has fumbled six times in his last 17 games, will need to show some progress on the ball-security front if he is to continue to take touches away from the more elusive Mathews.

As San Diego Union-Tribune staffer Tim Sullivan put it: "Tolbert brings a lot to the table, but you can't have him dropping plates all over the place. ..."

As noted above, a week after being thrown to 13 times and catching eight passes, Gates was shut down by the Patriots.

The star tight end was knocked at the line, bracketed beyond it, and for just the second time since his rookie season in 2003, Gates did not catch a pass. For the first time since his rookie season, he was thrown to just once.

Look for that to change this week. ...

After making two crucial and acrobatic catches for 59 yards, Malcom Floyd left the game with what was called a groin strain and in the second quarter and did not return. He suffered the injury trying to make a plant while running a route.

That left first-year players Richard Goodman and Bryan Walters lining up as the Chargers attempted to come back.

The injury could keep Floyd from playing this week.

Floyd's always been a favorite target of Rivers, but staying on the field can be problematic for the lanky pass-catcher. Floyd will likely sit just as another wide out is ready to stand tall.

Patrick Crayton, the team's third wide receiver and punt returner, appears set to play this week. He's missed the past two games after having bone spurs removed around his ankle late in training camp.

Crayton will slide over and start opposite Vincent Jackson, with Walter and Goodman sharing the No. 3 role.

The Chiefs' secondary has been hit by injuries and the Chargers will likely target the back four of their defense. Missing Floyd will hurt, but they are fortunate all indications are Crayton will be able to take up some of the slack.

A few final notes. ... The Chargers have scored on just six of their 10 red zone trips, turning the ball over inside the 20 once in each game and failing on downs once in each game.

With his first completion on Sunday, Rivers surpassed 20,000 yards for his career. With 378 yards Sunday, Rivers moved into 91st place all-time with 20,374 yards. Brady passed for 423 yards and moved past Jim Kelly into 17th place all-time with 35,694 career yards.

New place-kicker Nick Novak made his three point-after attempts but did not get to attempt a field goal. His two touchbacks give him three in 92 career kickoffs. ...

And last but not least. ... According to ESPN.com, it is not a shock that the Chargers and Jackson did not reach a new deal before Tuesday's deadline to sign franchised players passed. San Diego can't discuss a long-term deal with Jackson until after this season. This move was expected.

The Chargers have long planned to let Jackson play for the franchised deal. They want to see how he does this year and they want to see if he can stay out of trouble off the field before making a long-term commitment.

Simply put, San Diego hasn't decided what it will do about Jackson. It could always put the franchise tag on him again in February.

But if Jackson continues to play like he did Sunday at New England, it could sway the Chargers to lock him up for the long term.

According to Associated Press sports writer Antonio Gonzalez, the wardrobe might be the only thing he doesn't want to change.

Harbaugh said Monday he is "trying to forge an identity" with the 49ers and it will take time to turn things around, even making a comparison to the nation's debt challenge. After blowing a two-touchdown lead in a 27-24 overtime loss to an injured Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, San Francisco certainly has some work to do.

"I think we're in the process of finding our identity and having it click on all cylinders," a humbled Harbaugh said a day after his team collapsed. "We're going to stick to our guns in a lot of ways. Disappointed like all fans, all players, all coaches, everybody involved. Disappointed but not discouraged. I feel we're on track."

As Gonzalez further suggested, for a coach known for his offensive ingenuity, Harbaugh's offense has shown little imagination.

The 49ers rank 31st in total offense through two games and have tried to flex their muscles on rare occasions. The only team that ranks worse is Seattle -- which happens to be the team San Francisco beat in the opener -- and also plays in the NFC West, by far the league's worst division last season.

Even worse, the same problems that led to Mike Singletary getting fired started to resurface.

The offensive line created more holes for the defense than anything else. Alex Smith threw a costly second-half interception and was sacked six times against Dallas, and two-time Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore has run for 106 yards and a touchdown on 42 carries through two games.

None of which is the identity Harbaugh wants to bring.

"We want to be a running team. We want to be a throwing team. We want to be darn-near 50-50 and equally good in both," Harbaugh said.

"We are in a process," he added. "I know everybody wants to solve the debt today."

Things will only get tougher when the 49ers play the first of two straight East Coast road games, Cincinnati) on Sunday and Philadelphia the following week. They will stay and practice in Youngstown, Ohio, between games.

Injuries are also beginning to pile up.

Michael Crabtree is still nursing a troublesome left foot and fellow receiver Braylon Edwards injured his right knee on a 21-yard catch in the first quarter.

The bad news? Sacramento Bee staffer Matt Barrows reports that Harbaugh acknowledged Wednesday that Edwards is "gonna be out for a little bit" after "having a little procedure done" on his right knee.

The coach didn't go into much detail -- but it's safe to assume "out for a little bit" means Edwards won't play this Sunday.

The better news? Word out of team headquarters on Tuesday suggested Crabtree would return this week.

Getting some depth back could be crucial. Kyle Williams' 12-yard touchdown catch was only his second reception as a pro; he'll continue to play a greater role with Edwards out. ...

Meanwhile, San Francisco has started fast in the first two games and fizzled late, building leads of 16-0 and 14-0 against Seattle and Dallas, respectively. While Ted Ginn two kick returns in the fourth quarter saved them against the Seahawks, the 49ers had little to count on when it mattered most against Dallas.

Add it to the long list of problems Harbaugh is working to fix, even if he's not ready to reveal exactly how he plans to do that.

"We're trying to solve a lot of issues," Harbaugh said. "I know you're trying to solve them right along with us. I don't have a great answer for you right there. A lot of things we're looking at to improve ourselves. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... Gore rued how the 49ers couldn't close out the Cowboys. "Coaches, players, we've just got to finish it," Gore said. "When it comes to getting first downs, we have to get it."

And it was there for the taking, according to Gore: "I give credit to us. We whupped their (butt) up and down the field all game. Key plays, man. And we didn't finish."

Gore managed just 47 yards on 20 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown run that gave the 49ers a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.

Asked if he's concerned the 49ers couldn't run out the final minutes with a 24-21 lead, Harbaugh said: "We didn't run the ball down anybody's throat, to use your question, but yeah, we need to get better."

Now in his seventh season, Gore insisted the 49ers deserve a better ending than Sunday's: "We aren't the old 49ers hoping to win. We're going out knowing that we can win. We can't let any more get away like this. ..."

As the San Francisco Chronicle suggested, it's never good to surprise your Pro Bowl tight end. But Vernon Davis admitted to being taken aback by his team's conservative offensive philosophy and by being thrown into pass protection against Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware.

"I didn't think I would be up against Ware like that," Davis said. The problem was it didn't help. Ware recorded two sacks. Meanwhile Davis was thrown the ball twice; he caught both passes for 18 yards total.

"I didn't think that was going to happen because their secondary was banged up," Davis said of his limited opportunities.

However, Davis also said he drew plenty of coverage when he did venture out on routes.

"I've been in this position before," Davis said. "In order for us to win we have to get everyone involved."

After converting just 1 of 12 third downs last week against Seattle, the 49ers went 8-for-16 on third downs against Dallas. ...

David Akers' 55-yard field goal in the fourth quarter was the third-longest in 49ers history, behind two 56-yarders by Joe Nedney in 2005 and Mike Cofer in 1990. But those both came on the road, in domes. Akers' kick is the longest by a 49er outdoors and at Candlestick. The longest of his career was a 57-yarder against New England in 2003. ...

Punting on eight of their 10 possessions, Seattle managed a mere 164 yards of total offense, including only 31 on the ground, and crossed midfield only twice. It was the first shutout suffered by Seattle since 1962, and the first time in head coach Pete Carroll's 15-year career as a head coach that his troops were unable to manage a single point.

Scoreless in all but two quarters so far this season, the offense might not find the situation getting better any time soon after the team confirmed a report from FOXSports' Jay Glazer that expensive free-agent addition Sidney Rice has a torn labrum and is doing his best to postpone surgery.

In addition, Carroll revealed in his Monday-afternoon press conference that fellow free-agent addition Robert Gallery, the ex-Raider who was being counted on to provide badly needed experience at left guard for an offensive line that is starting rookies James Carpenter and John Moffitt on the right side, is out 4-6 weeks with a groin injury suffered against the Steelers.

The defense, meanwhile, continues to have its share of problems. After allowing only 1-of-12 third-down conversions in the Week One loss to the Niners, the "D" allowed Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger to convert 8-of-15 third downs, complete 73 percent of his passes and throw for 298 yards Sunday. Through two games, the defense has yet to force a single turnover.

Indeed, with what appear to be significant shortcomings, especially on offense with a very tentative Tarvaris Jackson under center (at least for now), Arkush the Seahawks look more like a top candidate to draft Stanford's Andrew Luck next April than a playoff contender.

The Rice revelation makes a bad situation seem even gloomier, considering the five-year, $41 million contract the ex-Vikings receiver had signed, including $18.5 million guaranteed.

The plan for now apparently is for Rice to play through the injury and postpone surgery, with Carroll indicating Rice's torn labrum is nowhere near as severe as the one that resulted in tight John Carlson being placed on injured reserve. But that plan could be akin to playing with fire, considering Rice's recent injury history.

And then there's Gallery, who tried to come back after missing Week One with a knee injury, only to go down again for an extended period with a different battered body part. Gallery's projected replacement, seventh-year journeyman Paul McQuistan, should be considered a substantial downgrade.

Downers, it appear, could be par for the course for the Seahawks in what is already shaping up as a potentially disastrous 2011 campaign. ...

For the record, Carroll indicated that the strength in Rice's shoulder appears to be improving, which should give him an opportunity to play this week.

But there's no guarantee Rice won't injure the shoulder worse if he plays against Arizona on Sunday.

"We just need to see if he continues to respond," Carroll said. "He's got a sore shoulder now, and we've got to make sure he's right before we put him back.

"He's got some damage in his shoulder. And we're trying to figure out how he can come back. … The labrum issues are all different. And he's responding very well. So we need to see if he's ready to go.

"This will be a big week for us to test him. He was about 80 percent last week, I would think. If you watch practice you would think he could play. We didn't hit him and knock him around, so we won't know until we get more active with him in practice. We'll know more this week. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... Even with his offense being held scoreless in six of eight quarters this season, Carroll said he's not ready to pull the plug on the Jackson experiment, and did not consider pulling him at the end of Sunday's game at Pittsburgh.

"It had nothing to do with the quarterback spot," Carroll said. "I don't feel like that at all. We'll look at everything, but I don't feel like that at all."

Carroll has said that he was impressed with the way reserve quarterback Charlie Whitehurst played during exhibitions. But with instability and inconsistent play on the offensive line, Carroll wants to get things shored up there before fully evaluating Jackson's performance.

Carroll said the line did a better job of protecting Jackson, even though Pittsburgh finished with five sacks.

"This does not feel like it's a one-guy situation," Carroll said, when asked if he's sticking with Jackson next week against Arizona. "It feels like it's a lot of guys contributing, and the coaches are included. And myself. We've got to figure out better ways to move the football with the guy we have at the stage we're at. Regardless of the developmental process, we've got to find our way. We can't live with this. And we've got to do something about it. ..."

For what it's worth, Jackson's longest completion was a 17-yard catch by fullback Eddie Williams. Jackson also was sacked five times, and did not create any explosive plays. He was Seattle's leading rusher with 12 yards.

The Seahawks rushed for just 31 yards on 13 carries for a 2.4 yards-per-carry average. The team is averaging just 2.7 yards a carry so far this season, as the team's young offensive line has yet to get on track.

Marshawn Lynch has rushed for just 44 yards on 19 carries for a 2.3 yards-per-carry average. According to the Sports Xchange, Justin Forsett could be in the mix for more touches. He has just 13 yards on six carries.

Ben Obomanu leads Seattle in receptions with six for 47 yards. Zach Miller's numbers have suffered because of Seattle's struggles in pass blocking. He has just three catches for 32 yards.

The NFL's youngest team rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-20, with its unflappable third-year quarterback leading a winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime for the eighth time in 27 career starts on Sunday.

It's the league-leading sixth comeback win for Freeman since the start of the 2010 season. The eight overall since becoming the Bucs starter midway through his rookie year are the most so early in a career, surpassing Jake Plummer's seven in 25 starts and Peyton Manning's seven in 31 games.

"Josh is the man obviously. He's earned the label comeback kid," said running back LeGarrette Blount, who scored a pair of second-half touchdown against the Vikings, including the winning score in the final minute.

"That's not how we want to win all the time, but at the same time when we need him he's there, and it's not just once, it's over and over again. … He's really consistent with it."

Freeman completed 15 of 21 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown in fourth quarter Sunday.

Although he was unable to rally the Bucs from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit against the Detroit the week before, he managed to make it interesting by a throwing a late TD pass and then marching his team into Lions territory in the closing seconds of a seven-point loss in the season opener.

Through two games, the 23-year-old has a 107.9 fourth-quarter passer rating, going 26 of 37 for 260 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

"He's smart, he takes coaching well," head coach Raheem Morris said Monday. "He's cool, he's calm, he's poised, and that's when he plays his best."

Morris, however, remains baffled by Tampa Bay's tendency to start slowly. The offense has scored 7 or fewer points in the opening quarter for 56 consecutive games.

Sunday's rally from a 17-0 halftime deficit matched the second-largest comeback in team history. Since the start of the 2008 season, the Bucs have overcome double-digit deficits to win a league-high eight times.

Freeman has led five of those comebacks. And while Morris would prefer the team not have to rely so heavily on their emerging star, he conceded Freeman has had so much success late in games that both coaches and players have come to expect it.

"It happened for me last year. … If we were down or if we were up, for me personally in my head, I'm thinking alright, when is Josh going to do it again. The times he didn't do it, I was shocked," Morris said.

"I just think there's a great belief when you've got that kind of confidence in your quarterback to go out there and win those types of games," the coach added. "I hope we don't have to win every game like that. Let's go win some in a convincing fashion, just for the head coach's health. Other than that, though, it's fun."

Blount had a strong second-half Sunday, finishing with 71 yards rushing and Freeman threw a 25-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Arrelious Benn, who had a big drop earlier in the game.

The Bucs also got a boost from a couple of unlikely sources, young receivers Preston Parker and Dezmon Briscoe. Parker had a career-high six receptions for 98 yards, including a 51-yarder that set up a field goal, and Briscoe matched his career-best with four catches for 42 yards.

With third receiver Sammie Stroughter sidelined by a foot injury that required surgery, Parker has taken on a bigger role in the offense.

"That's being a young energized team. We're never going to get down in the dumps and hold our heads because we're down, we're going to do everything we can to make things better and make things work for us," said Blount, whose 27-yard TD run got the Bucs on track early in the third quarter.

"We just came together and collectively said this is not how we play football. We got back to doing what we do best, and that's running the ball and keeping the defense off balance and scoring points," said Freeman, who shrugged off the notion that by avoiding an 0-2 start, the Bucs might have saved their season.

"It means we are 1-1, that's about it," the quarterback said. "Nobody wants to go back home with an 0-2 mark, but at the same time we still have a lot to prove and a lot of improvements to make. ..."

Getting back to Blount. ... As Tampa Tribune staffer Martin Fennelly noted, for six quarters, Blount, former 1,000-yard rookie sensation, "was utterly silent and a little lost. He had five carries for 15 yards in the opening loss to the Lions, watching most of the second half.

"He had five carries against the Minnesota Vikings in the first half Sunday -- for four yards. He was going backward. His team was down 17-0. It was 0-1 and heading for 0-2, abyss enough.

"Then a funny thing happened.

"The Bucs went back to Blount. Morris and his coaches didn't panic this time and go to the hurry-up offense that left Blount on the sideline against Detroit. They stuck to the plan, and the plan was 27, until the end, when Blount powered in from four yards out with 31 seconds left for the winning touchdown. ...:

That's good news for Blount -- and for Fantasy owners hoping that Week 1 was an aberration. Turns out that might be the case. ...

Other items of interest. ... As noted above, Benn dropped a pass from Freeman on second-and-20 in the second quarter Sunday. In the third quarter, he was penalized for an illegal shift, nullifying a 17-yard touchdown reception by Mike Williams that would have narrowed Tampa Bay's deficit to three points. Instead, the Bucs trailed 17-10 after settling for a field goal.

Instead of packing it in, however, Benn stepped up to catch a game-altering touchdown pass late in Tampa Bay's victory.

Benn blew past Minnesota cornerback Cedric Griffin to make the 25-yard, fourth-quarter catch in the end zone, cutting Tampa Bay's deficit to 20-17 with 6:45 remaining.

"[Freeman] told me he was going to throw it to me before the play," Benn said. "I came out and made a play. I started off flat, really, in the game. I know I need to bounce back to get to where I need to get to.

"As the game went on, I got better. I had the dropped ball early and a penalty. It gets better as you go. That's definitely going to happen."

Benn finished with the one reception for 25 yards, but he also snatched the praise of Freeman after Tampa Bay's victory.

"Arrelious knows what it is," Freeman said. "Throughout the game, nobody is going to play perfect, but it's great he comes back and helps us win. Everybody is going to make a mistake, and when he does he might be a little too hard on himself. But at the same time, he's a guy who is huge for us.

"Going back on that touchdown, I told him they were going to be sucking in on [Blount] and so I told him to just run by him, beat him and I will give you a chance. ..."

Kellen Winslow extended his pass-catching streak to 78 consecutive games with four receptions for 44 yards. Entering the game, Winslow's was the third-longest active streak among tight ends and eighth overall.

He earned them, running for more yards than any other back in the league during that stretch.

On Sunday, however, Johnson heard boos for the first time. He had his second straight tough outing since signing a four-year, $53.5 million contract extension.

"It didn't really bother me," said Johnson, who ran for 53 yards on 24 carries. "Just the whole situation going through the offseason, there's things you've got to accept and you just got to play through.

"So you just have to work at it and get better and at the end of the day, you might have a couple of boos now, but when you make a play they are not booing."

Through two games Johnson is averaging 2.3 yards per carry, a far cry from his 5.0 average his first three seasons.

Johnson's backup, Javon Ringer, admitted he was surprised to be on the field when the Titans ran a fourth-and-1 play early in the third quarter. He ran 10 yards for a touchdown to give the Titans a 17-10 lead.

"That's a Chris Johnson play," Ringer said. "I know I'm capable of running it like that, but normally it's a C.J. thing because he's proven he can do it. I was just thankful I was able to make the most of it."

And going forward?

Head coach Mike Munchak plans to give Ringer more carries in the coming weeks, but it's not because he's down on Johnson.

Munchak doesn't want to overwork Johnson like the Titans did in seasons past. He also likes Ringer, who scored the go-ahead touchdown against the Ravens on Sunday.

"We all have confidence that when he is in there, something good can still happen. It is not, ‘C.J. is not in the game, we can't run the ball,' " Munchak said Monday. "I have always been a big Javon Ringer fan. I think he runs hard, he is smart, he can play third down for us and is a good blocker. We are very confident when he is in the game. And he handled it very well. He is a guy who can make plays. I am excited he is healthy."

Ringer missed the last three preseason games and the season opener because of injuries. While Ringer started strong, Johnson struggled for the second week in a row. He rushed for 53 yards on 24 carries, and is averaging 2.3 yards per carry through the first two games.

The problem against the Ravens was similar to the one the Titans had against the Jaguars, Munchak said.

"We got a lot of opportunities at it, enough to be more successful than we were. The good thing is at the end of the game we didn't get frustrated, he didn't get frustrated, and he had some nice 5- and 6-yard runs. … But there's a combination of a lot of things right now where it's not quite where we want it to be. We want to have more success."

As for fans booing Johnson, Munchak said he understands. He just wishes they would be patient.

"You don't want that from anybody, but to me it's part of the game. People pay a lot of money to be in those seats," he said. "Fans are entitled to be frustrated, but the good thing is he's not frustrated. ..."

Of course, the Titans make no secret about the fact they're a running football team.

As Pro Football Weekly's Arthur Arkush noted, the offensive line, which returned all five starters, is big and nasty. The lead blocker, Ahmard Hall, is a fearless former Marine who will meet any linebacker in the hole. And Johnson is the highest-paid running back in the world, a threat to go the distance from anywhere on the field.

Yet, through the first two games, the O-line has struggled to open holes, Hall is currently serving a four-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs, and Johnson is averaging 2.3 yards per clip.

Thanks in large part, though, to Matt Hasselbeck (358 passing yards, 95.1 QB rating), Kenny Britt (9-135-1) and a much improved defensive showing (three sacks, three takeaways), the Titans shook off a terrible loss in Week 1 to the Jaguars and defeated a much stronger opponent, the Ravens, on Sunday. Munchak got his first career win as a head coach and a Gatorade shower from his successful quarterback and O-line afterward.

Arkush went on to note that when Hasselbeck signed a three-year deal with the Titans shortly after the lockout was lifted, the popular belief was that it would take time for him to get acclimated, with Johnson and the rushing attack doing most of the heavy lifting early in the season.

Of course, that was before Johnson's lengthy contract holdout made for some inevitable rust on the Titans' greatest asset early in the season. While there were signs of progress on the ground, the Titans were propelled by Hasselbeck and their suddenly dangerous aerial attack.

Hasselbeck's favorite target, emerging star Britt, is building chemistry with his new QB rapidly after missing most of training camp and the preseason with a nagging hamstring injury. In fact, after two games, Britt has been as dominant as any wideout in football -- with the exception of Panthers wideout Steve Smith, who has been rookie sensation Cam Newton's go-to guy.

With Britt beating both single and double coverage regularly, Titans No. 2 receiver Nate Washington has also started fast, reeling in 13 grabs for 166 yards in the first two weeks. Washington, who has had issues hanging on to the ball throughout his career, has been very steady.

For years Tennessee has lacked the type of dynamic playmaking ability in the receiving corps that has been on display to begin the 2011 campaign.

The best part for the Titans?

According to Arkush, Johnson is on the cusp.

And the more Hasselbeck shows he can beat opponents with his arm, the fewer eight- and nine-man fronts Johnson will have to contend with. The Titans might look back on Johnson's start as a blessing in disguise, as Hasselbeck and the passing game have quickly shown it is capable of beating opponents on its own. ...

For what it's worth, Hasselbeck was on PFT Live Tuesday, and said he's never played with someone like Britt.

"He by far has got the most god given ability. ... I think he is almost 23 years old and this is his third year in the NFL and I don't even know if he is really trying yet, but he is that good," Hasselbeck told Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio.

He explains that Britt is sometimes almost too fast for his own good, but that Britt's energy is unique.

" I just think he's got this energy that he brings the practice field, to the games, to the huddle. You know he is just a competitor and that's the best thing I can say about him. And the god given ability that he has been given is impressive and I have never seen anything like it," Hasselbeck said. ...

In a related note. ... Britt's Hoboken court date to stand trial on charges related to a June incident in which the Bayonne native was suspected by police of being in possession of a marijuana cigar has been postponed by a municipal judge according to Conor Orr of the Newark Star-Ledger.

A clerk at Hoboken municipal court today said the postponement was due to Britt hiring a new attorney and "additional discovery" in the case that needed to be discussed by the prosecutor's office.

The 23-year-old Tennessee Titans wide receiver has pleaded not guilty to three disorderly person charges. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Jared Cook, who is being used as a hybrid receiver -- sometimes at tight end, sometimes in the slot, sometimes as a wideout -- had two catches for 37 yards, including a 33-yard, twisting grab against Ravens safety Ed Reed.

"He was even with me so I was thinking, ‘just make the best play you can on the ball,'" Cook said.

Cook, Britt and Washington all had receptions of 30-plus yards. Cook believes multiple options in the vertical passing game will help loosen up opposing defenses.

"There's talent on this offense -- a lot of talent," he said. "Anybody can step up and make a play on any given play. That's to our advantage. ..."

Rob Bironas made four straight field goals after missing a 34-yard chip shot wide right in the first quarter. ...

And finally. ... Former Pro Bowl running back Clinton Portis is among the players working out for the Titans on Tuesday according to Jason La Canfora of NFL Network, who added that Portis ran well and could be signed in next week or so.

Go for it? Or kick the field goal?

For head coach Mike Shanahan, it was a no-brainer. The offense stayed on the field, and Rex Grossman found Santana Moss in the end zone for a touchdown. The play was a vital moment Sunday in the Washington Redskins' 22-21 comeback win over the Arizona Cardinals.

"That was basic football," Shanahan said. "There wasn't even a question about that."

Basic football. And percentage football. Mathematical studies have always shown that coaches should go for it on fourth down a whole lot more than they do.

But as Associated Press sports writer Joseph White noted, many, if not most, coaches don't play the percentages. They would kick the field goal to cut the lead to five, and then rely on the defense to make a stop and postpone the needed touchdown until later.

For one thing, it keeps the coach from looking bad -- and maybe getting fired -- for making a risky choice.

"I've always leaned to the other side, not very conservative," Shanahan said Monday. "I usually take chances. That's usually my mindset, but sometimes it all depends on the tempo of the game, what type of team you're facing, how good's your defense, how good's your running game going. A lot of ingredients will go into something like that."

According to White, it's that type of attitude that makes Shanahan so popular in the locker room. Offensive players throughout training camp kept saying how much they love the aggressiveness shown by Shanahan and his son, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, when it comes to calling plays and attacking the game.

If anything, that praise has grown now that the Redskins are off to a 2-0 start and alone in first place in the NFC East.

"I love this offense, man. That's one of the reasons I didn't want to go anywhere," said Moss, who opted to re-sign with the Redskins this year when he became a free agent. "It took me this long to be a part of something like this. ... I just love what Kyle does when it comes to his play-calling, and how he prepares us. He prepares us to go out there with that mentality and say. ... Whatever we did on those other downs, just put all that behind us and this is the down that matters."

Grossman certainly played into that mindset on the fourth-down touchdown, which came with the Redskins trailing 21-13.

The first option was a simple pass to Jabar Gaffney in the right flat. Gaffney was open and would have had a short, tidy gain, enough for a first down in front of cornerback A.J. Jefferson.

"The play was designed to go to the flat," Grossman said. "And (the cornerback) just kind of settled his feet and jumped towards the flat. And I'd rather have the touchdown."

So Grossman threw to Moss, who had plenty of space ahead of rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson and safety Adrian Wilson.

"I didn't see nothing -- but the ball," Moss said. "It was one of those situations, we kind of had everybody in a bunch on that side, and it was almost like 'Choose who you want to cover.' We've got so much talent out here, we've got so many weapons, and guys aren't going to be able to cover one guy all day. They chose to come down on Jabar and I was open in the corner."

The 2-point conversion failed, so the score was 21-19.

The Redskins still had to ask their defense to make a stop, but all they needed was a field goal instead of a touchdown when they got the ball back. Graham Gano came through with a 34-yard field goal with 1:45 to play to settle the game.

"Some people kick a field goal, some people go for it," Shanahan said. "Either way, you've got to do what you think gives you the best chance to win. I just felt at that time of the game, we needed to score a touchdown. And the percentages were with us with that down and distance."

Shanahan said he's examined the studies about fourth down percentages, but it's also important to note that cold numbers can't replicate intangibles such as emotion and momentum. When it comes time to make the call, it's usually based on good old coach's instinct.

"You go through all of them. When you're backed up, if you go for it on fourth-and-1, fourth-and-2, on your 2-yard line, on your 1-yard line, what's the percentages after three-and-out of getting a field goal," Shanahan said. "You go through all those stats, but usually it comes down to a gut feel. ..."

Meanwhile, a week after declining Victory Monday, the players accepted the day off this week. For one thing, the team has an extra day to prepare for their Monday game against the Cowboys. ...

Other notes of interest. ... As Washington Post staff writer Jason Reid pointed out, Fred Davis delivered his second impressive performance in as many games during Sunday's win.

Following his strong first act against the New York Giants, Davis led the Redskins with 86 yards on six receptions Sunday. The fourth-year player caught one of Grossman's two touchdown passes. Again, Davis was the biggest force in the passing game, making key plays on third down -- the down on which tight ends really earn their money.

"Man, I'm killing these dudes," Davis said of opposing defenses. "I'm killing these dudes on these routes. Guys [his Redskins teammates] are telling me, ‘Slow down' in the middle of the route. I'm not slowing down. Took me a while to get here."

Cardinals defensive players struggled to keep up with the speedy Davis, who also often ran past the Giants en route to a team-high 105 yards in the opening victory.

As Reid noted, Davis is simply too fast for most linebackers and too big for a lot of defensive backs. In football terms, it's called a bad matchup. Or it's an extremely favorable one, depending on your perspective.

"Fred's like a fast receiver at tight end," Grossman said. "On some of the third downs with Fred, he's just beating guys that bad."

Obviously, the Shanahans know what they have. Judging by their use of Davis, they see what seems so clear now: Davis is on the verge of being one of the best in the game at his position. By the end of this season, he could be second to none.

That said, Mike Shanahan wouldn't say whether Davis has surpassed Chris Cooley as the No. 1 tight end.

Davis leads the team in receiving after two games with 191 yards, while Cooley didn't have a catch Sunday.

"We've got two excellent football players," Shanahan said. "Those are the problems that we want. We will play the best players. If we have four tight ends that are the best players, we won't have wide receivers out on the field. ..."

Cooley needs five catches to tie Mike Ditka for 18th all-time at the position with 427. ...

After averaging just 2.9 yards in his Redskins debut last week, ex-Cardinal Tim Hightower ran over his old teammates for 96 yards on 20 carries (4.8-yard average) with a long of 20.

Roy Helu also displayed speed and power in running for 74 yards on 10 carries. Shanahan was impressed.

"Once you've got to figure out how to teach a running back to run, then you've got the wrong running back," Shanahan said. "When you've got a guy like Helu, you don't know why guys make plays, but the great ones do, and I think Helu has given people the idea that he does have skills. ..."

A few final notes. ... Grossman wasn't nearly as good as he had been in the opener against the Giants although he threw for only 16 fewer yards (291 vs. 305). He ended the first two drives with interceptions and had a couple of other ill-advised passes, but his clutch touchdown to Moss was wonderful. ...

According to the Sports Xchange, Moss' TD against the Cardinals was his 52nd, tying him with Hall of Famer Crazy Legs Hirsch for 84th all-time. ... Gaffney is just 17 catches shy of 400 for his career.

Brandon Banks has 1,865 return yards in 15 career games, leaving him just 135 shy of 2,000 in what would be a full season.