Share
ARLINGTON, Texas Injuries keep mounting for the Washington Redskins.
After running back Clinton Portis was ruled out for at least one more game, backup Ladell Betts suffered knee ligament damage Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
Coach Jim Zorn said Portis, out since Nov.8 because of a concussion, will not play next week against Philadelphia. Betts, Portis' backup, sustained damage to the MCL in his left knee midway through the first quarter of Washington's 7-6 loss to Dallas.
Zorn said Betts will have an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.
Right guard Chad Rinehart fractured his right leg early in the third period. Rinehart was taken off the field on a motorized cart with his lower leg in a brace after it was rolled on by Dallas linebacker Anthony Spencer.
Washington has shuffled its lineup throughout the season because of multiple injuries to key players.
Left tackle Chris Samuels, right guard Randy Thomas and safety Chris Horton are on injured reserve.
Tight end Chris Cooley (right ankle surgery) missed his third straight game and defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was inactive because of a sprained left ankle.
Portis visited a specialist in Pittsburgh on Friday and has not practiced since he was injured in a helmet-to-helmet hit.
Betts has been filling in for Portis and apparently got hurt on a hard tackle by Bradie James at the end of a 2-yard gain. He finished with 5 yards on four carries.
Without their top two runners, the Redskins' Rock Cartwright rushed for 67 yards and caught seven passes for 73 yards.
Cartwright, who had only 17 carries coming into the game, sounded like he was going to get more action in the coming weeks.
"I have an opportunity," Cartwright said. "All I can do is take advantage of the workload and play on Sundays."
Short stuff
Tennessee owner Bud Adams, 86, is making a friendlier gesture to the Buffalo Bills one week after his obscene hand sign to fans of the team earned him a hefty fine.
A full-page ad on the back of Sunday's Buffalo News says, "We wish the Bills and their fans good luck today and for the remainder of the season." Adams' name is printed below.
The NFL fined Adams $250,000 last Monday for obscene gestures he made at Buffalo fans a day earlier while celebrating the Titans' 41-17 win.
The NFL soon will have its teams work with independent neurologists on concussion issues. Commissioner Roger Goodell will implement the policy as soon as details can be worked out. The neurologists will work with the teams' medical staffs.
On two plays that could turn the Packers' potentially promising season on its ear, linebacker Aaron Kampman and cornerback Al Harris suffered torn anterior cruciate ligaments in their left knees. Both are out for the rest of the season.
Indianapolis has won seven straight against Baltimore, including a playoff game in which the Colts failed to score a touchdown.
Indianapolis has won its last four games by a combined 10 points.
The balance of power in the AFC West couldn't have shifted in a more dramatic fashion. Quarterback Philip Rivers led San Diego to scores on seven of 10 drives in the Chargers' 32-3 win in Denver. Nate Kaeding kicked four field goals and the Chargers also recovered an onside kick, had three sacks and forced three turnovers. The Broncos were flagged nine times to San Diego's one.
Minnesota's Brett Favre had his 22nd game with at least four touchdown passes, surpassing Dan Marino.
Dallas' only other regular-season win with seven points or fewer was in 1970.
Buffalo has now been outscored 109-40 in the fourth quarter.
Washington hasn't shut out Dallas in 99 meetings.
Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-Drew has 13 TDs, including at least one in five straight games.
Steven Jackson became the first Rams player to post five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Eric Dickerson had four straight 1,000-yard seasons for the Rams from 1983-86.
Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, a former Ram, is 26-4 at St. Louis' Edward Jones Dome, including 4-0 in the playoffs, with 67 touchdown passes and 34 interceptions.
Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez now has 10 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He also fumbled Sunday against New England.
Jaguars receiver Mike Sims-Walker asked Buffalo's Terrell Owens for his jersey after Jacksonville's 18-15 win. Owens obliged, pulling it off and graciously handing it over with a smile near midfield.
"Might show I'm washed up," Owens joked. "I take it as a compliment that I can still play this game."
Observer News Services
What they're writing
We have to be honest here. You don't see many "Cable again in 2010" banners or T-shirts at Raiders home games. Mostly that's because Tom Cable's future as Raiders head coach is uncertain, unless you're certain the team should try someone new.
Gary Peterson
Contra Costa Times
For the Jets and their emotional coach, Rex Ryan, this was their benchmark game.
As in, bench Mark Sanchez.
Because if you don't pull a struggling rookie quarterback early in the fourth quarter of a game like Sunday's, with only 10 points separating the two teams and the hopes, however dim, for an entire season hanging in the balance, when exactly do you pull him?
The answer, apparently, is never.
Wallace Matthews
Newsday
Let there be no questioning that Matthew Stafford has made this team his own. On a day that the Lions honored Stafford's Dallas high school compatriot, Bobby Layne, Stafford displayed some of Old Whiskey's toughness and resilience sans the Sunday morning hangover.
Drew Sharpe
Detroit Free Press
