The playoff chase has gotten much more difficult for the Green Bay Packers after they lost two key defensive players to season-ending injuries.
Cornerback Al Harris and linebacker Aaron Kampman will have knee surgery after suffering major injuries Sunday. Both were hurt on separate plays in the second half of a victory over San Francisco, apparently damaging their left knees.
The Packers have a short turnaround before visiting Detroit on Thanksgiving Day. The Lions also have injury concerns with quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Lions coach Jim Schwartz said Monday that the top overall pick in the draft was "extremely sore" after sustaining a separated left shoulder on the next-to-last play of the win over Cleveland, and he won't play against Green Bay unless the pain subsides.
Defensive end Julius Peppers of the Carolina Panthers didn't appear on the official injury list last week, but coach John Fox said the four-time Pro Bowl pick has a "messed up" right hand.
Peppers has played almost exclusively on passing downs in the Panthers' last two games.
The Redskins, already among the league's most injury-ravaged teams, added running back Ladell Betts (torn left knee ligaments), tackle Chad Rinehart (broken leg) and fullback Eddie Williams (broken leg) to their long injured reserve list. Betts is the backup to Clinton Portis, who likely won't return from his concussion for at least one more game. Tight end Chris Cooley will be in a walking boot for another 10 days, and DeAngelo Hall has a sprained knee.
The Steelers not only dropped to 6-4 with a stunning loss at Kansas City, they saw their top two quarterbacks go down. After Ben Roethlisberger left with concussion-like symptoms, backup Charlie Batch injured his left wrist during overtime. Batch could undergo surgery later this week and miss about six weeks. He sat out last season with a broken collarbone.
Arizona's Kurt Warner, the other starting QB in the last Super Bowl, left in the second quarter against the Rams after banging his head against the turf.
St. Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger will be sidelined three to six weeks with a fractured left leg sustained in Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Dolphins nose tackle Jason Ferguson will miss the rest of the season with a quadriceps injury.
Bills rookie guard Eric Wood had surgery Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla., hours after Wood was hurt in an 18-15 loss to the Jaguars.
Fake injuries?: Browns coach Eric Mangini is questioning whether the Detroit Lions faked injuries to slow down his no-huddle offense.
Mangini, who bemoaned the final, chaotic seconds of Cleveland's 38-37 loss Sunday, noted the Lions had several players leave the field injured, only to return. Mangini was asked if he was accusing the Lions and coach Jim Schwartz, whom he worked with previously in Cleveland, of faking injuries.
"I'm just saying there were a lot of them," Mangini said Monday.
