Even though Seahawks halfback Shaun Alexander rushed for 165 yards against the Rams on Sunday, Rams coach Joe Vitt thought his team did a decent job stopping the run except for a couple of long runs. The primary Seahawks running play is a weakside lead play out of two-back sets. Vitt said the Seahawks ran that play 16 times, and the Rams held Alexander to 54 yards. Rams linebackers Chris Claiborne and Dexter Coakley each played particularly strong games, according to Vitt.

The Seahawks may have lost linebacker Jamie Sharper for a month. He had to be hospitalized because of an infection in his right knee. A surgeon had to clean out the infection and Sharper is on antibiotics. Mike Holmgren said a staph infection like that sometimes can take as long as a month to heal. For the next month, the Seahawks defense will feature two rookie linebackers -- Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill -- and D.D. Lewis.

Hurting Jets: It looks as though it's going to be another two weeks of Brooks Bollinger at quarterback for the Jets. Jay Fiedler is still two weeks away from playing coming off his shoulder injury. The Jets placed Jason Fabini, who tore a pectoral muscle, on injured reserve Monday and moved Adrian Jones to left tackle. Scott Gragg takes over at right tackle.

The play is under review: Joe Gibbs clearly believes he was robbed Sunday in Tampa Bay. He said Monday he sent a tape of a clear angle of Mike Alstott's two-point conversion, in which Gibbs claims the Bucs running back should have been marked down 6 inches shy of the end zone. Gibbs also said his tape shows the Redskins might have been on time instead of being offsides from an angle in which the center was getting the ball snapped as the Redskin defender was moving to the line of scrimmage.

In case you were wondering, the NFL did notify the Raiders the tripping penalty called against them during the final seconds of the loss to Kansas City more than a week ago was a wrong call. They also told the Chiefs that a roughing the quarterback call on defensive end Jared Allen, in which he received an additional performance foul penalty for protesting, wasn't right. Both calls cost each team a touchdown drive.

Roy returns: Lions receiver Roy Williams played 38 snaps and did wear down against the Cardinals after missing almost a month with his quad injury. Williams made the most of his snaps. He caught seven passes for 117 yards and scored three touchdowns.

No disrespect: Panthers coach John Fox called Jets coach Herm Edwards to apologize for comments made by Panthers cornerback Ken Lucas. Fox wanted to make sure Edwards understood that Lucas didn't mean that the Jets quit during their 30-3 loss to the Panthers Sunday. The Jets are missing 10 players who have been put on injured reserve. Fox wanted Edwards to know the Panthers thought the Jets played hard and were well-coached.

Benson's knee: The sprained medial collateral ligament injury to halfback Cedric Benson's right knee could knock him out for about a month. Surgery isn't needed, but this isn't a knee injury a running back can heal from quickly. Plus, the Bears backfield is in good shape with Thomas Jones and Adrian Peterson, giving Benson extra time to heal. Lovie Smith didn't set any official timetable on Benson's return, only to say he should be back before the end of the year. An MCL sprain like that can take between four and six weeks to heal.

On the run: Packers coach Mike Sherman stressed how important the running game is for Green Bay's offense. Even though the West Coast offense is known more for its passing, Sherman stresses the run for balance. Sam Gado could have gained 135 yards had he made all the right reads Sunday against the Falcons. Instead, Gado ended up with 103 yards and scored two touchdowns. Sherman said the Packers' running game has been pretty good the past two weeks.

Losman, for starters: Mike Mularkey didn't name a starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the Chargers, but it would be a major upset if it's not J.P. Losman. Kelly Holcomb is coming off a concussion, and Mularkey needs to get Losman some playing time. Losman's two-touchdown performance against the Chiefs is the most positive thing that's happened to him since being drafted by the Bills. The Bills will decide in the next two days whether or not Holcomb can play. Whether he can or not, Losman should get the start against San Diego.

Rusty Rams: One of the reasons for the Rams' slow start against the Seahawks in the passing game was because their starting receivers were a little rusty. Isaac Bruce was still fighting through the pain of a turf toe injury. Torry Holt was wearing a brace and dragging his leg from the knee injury that sidelined him two weeks. Holt got more into the rhythm of the offense in the second half.

Don't look back: Even though the Bears have a two-game lead over the Vikings in the NFC North, the Bears better watch out. The Vikings have a good chance of catching them. The Vikings lost three of four games to NFC South team, and the Bears have to play three NFC South teams -- Carolina, Atlanta and Tampa Bay -- during the final seven weeks of the season. Meanwhile, the Vikings have three games against the AFC North, including winnable games against the Browns and Ravens. The next five Bears games are against the Panthers, Bucs, Packers, Steelers and Falcons. It's not out of the question for the 6-3 Bears to go 2-3 or 1-4 in those five games.