The Cardinals may have lost half of their offense Thursday when kicker Neil Rackers tore the calf muscle on his plant foot, which should keep him out of Sunday's game against the 49ers and could put his season in jeopardy. Rackers has made 32 of 33 field goals and has scored 110 of the Cardinals 222 points. Dennis Green may try to sign Todd France of the Bucs practice squad for this week and give him a chance to play. Rackers was expected to have an MRI on Thursday to determine the severity of the injury. The Bucs have France on the practice squad because Matt Bryant was bothered by a right hamstring injury last week that affected him in his game-tying field-goal attempt against the Bears. Bryant missed practice this week and the Bucs might be forced to sign France as an insurance policy.

Meanwhile, the 49ers still don't know if they'll have their offense. Joe Nedney missed last Sunday's game because of hip and groin problems. The 49ers have Jose Cortez on the roster and may have to go with him for a second week. Nedney has 18 field goals. The 49ers have scored only 13 touchdowns.

Not a good week for kickers: The Vikings' Paul Edinger will sit out Friday's practice as a precaution because of a sore foot. He's listed as probable and should be able to play. Mike Vanderjagt of the Colts rested Thursday because of calf and groin problems. He's expected to kick against the Titans on Sunday.

Steelers enjoy improved health: The quarterback situation for the Steelers was cleared up Thursday. Ben Roethlisberger will wear a little protection on a right thumb injury, but he will start Sunday against the Bengals. He's practiced the past two days. Jerome Bettis returned to practice Thursday, but no one knows the running back rotation for certain. Willie Parker will start. Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley were on the active roster Monday night against the Colts but didn't get much action. The Steelers' running game has hit the wall and they are going to need it against the Bengals on Sunday.

Not all offense: Defenses have bounced back in the NFL after being hit hard by rule changes in 2004 that made it tougher for cornerbacks to be aggressive. Through Week 12, scoring is down slightly -- from 42.2 to 41.8 -- but yardage dropped to the 2003 level after improving 17 yards a game in 2004. Teams are averaging 319.25 yards a game in 2005, a drop from the 326.2 in 2004. Rushing averages are 111.85 yards a game, the worst since 2000 (it was 115.9 in 2004). Passing yardage per team is down three yards from 210.3 to 207.4 a game.

One of the advantages of calling more contact penalties against defensive backs was that yards per completion had fallen to 11.2 in 2002 and 11.3 in 2003. Big plays weren't happening as often in passing games. Last year's rules adjustment opened things up. The average completion was 11.7 per catch. This year it is down to 11.5 per completion and 6.2 per attempt. Big plays are still happening, so the rules are working.

Colts dominate Pro Bowl voting: If the Pro Bowl would go with just fan votes, the Colts would have eight Pro Bowlers, which isn't too far off for an 11-0 team. On offense, the Colts would have quarterback Peyton Manning, halfback Edgerrin James, wide receiver Marvin Harrison and center Jeff Saturday. On defense, they would have defensive end Dwight Freeney, linebacker Cato June and defensive tackle Montae Reagor. Defensive end Robert Mathis is the leading vote-getter for special teams. Reagor is probably the surprise name of the group because he's ahead of Warren Sapp, John Henderson and Richard Seymour.

Patriots could get shut out: Based on fan voting, the Patriots are paying the price for their 6-5 season. Tom Brady is fourth for quarterbacks, which could leave him out of the Pro Bowl top three. Richard Seymour is fourth among defensive tackles. He could be out. It's not out of the question for the Patriots to be shutout of the Pro Bowl unless the coaches and players vote them in.

Meanwhile, the big news from the Patriots is they could have their entire running game back. Corey Dillon has practiced the past two days, and Kevin Faulk has recovered enough from his broken foot that he's practicing. Having Dillon on early downs and Faulk on passing downs can be a big boost for Brady and the offense.

Raiders get Badger back: Brad Badger was back at left guard for the Raiders after resting Wednesday because of a sore knee. Badger is expected to start, but don't be surprise if Jake Groove gets some playing time. Groove lost his center job because of injury and he's too valuable a young player not to play.