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Tuesday NFL preview: Packers, Panthers receive good news regarding injuries

NFL, Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers

NFL Nation reporters look ahead to what Tuesday has in store for each team.

AFC EAST

Buffalo Bills: The Bills might have lost their toughest game of the season at New England on Monday night, but their most important game lies ahead. They travel this weekend to Kansas City for their third consecutive road game and face the Chiefs, who share the Bills' 5-5 record. This meeting will have significant playoff implications for the AFC wild card picture. -- Mike Rodak

Miami Dolphins: Various Dolphins players and interim coach Dan Campbell expressed frustration with the nine costly penalties for 74 yards they had last weekend against the Cowboys. Campbell said coaches had an in-depth meeting with the players on Monday to go over the mistakes, and a big focus this week will be on playing smarter Sunday against the Jets. -- James Walker

New England Patriots: Wide receiver Danny Amendola left Monday night's game with a knee injury late in the third quarter, and his status becomes critical for the Patriots, who already are without No. 1 receiver Julian Edelman. Amendola had a big game prior to the injury, recording his seventh career 100-yard game. Amendola watched the remainder of the game from the bench area. -- Mike Reiss

New York Jets: The biggest challenge this week is finding a solution to the slow-starting offense. Over the past five games, the Jets have scored only one first-quarter touchdown. Maybe they should change it up by using a hurry-up offense to begin the game. -- Rich Cimini

AFC NORTH

Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens believe there is a chance that quarterback Joe Flacco will be ready for the start of training camp after tearing his anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments on Sunday. That would alleviate concerns about him missing the start of the 2016 season. "I have every expectation that he'll bounce back 100 percent and be stronger than ever and be ready to roll next year," coach John Harbaugh said Monday. -- Jamison Hensley

Cincinnati Bengals: With news Monday that backup Bengals cornerback Darqueze Dennard would be lost for the year due to a shoulder injury he sustained on Sunday night, Cincinnati will be forced into adjusting its rotation at the position this week. Tuesday typically is a day the Bengals will try out players and possibly sign them when they need to make roster moves for injury-related reasons. Healthy the majority of the season, the Bengals haven't had to do that at all this year. Dennard's injury leaves the Bengals hopeful to get starter Adam Jones (foot) back quickly. -- Coley Harvey

Cleveland Browns: The Browns return to the practice field Tuesday for the first time in six days. Safety Donte Whitner (concussion) was back on the field last week, but the status of Joe Haden (concussion) for the Monday night game against the Ravens won't be known until this week. -- Pat McManamon

Pittsburgh Steelers: After the Steelers returned to the practice field Monday, they appeared ready to maximize their offensive potential for the stretch run. As wide receiver Markus Wheaton said, now is the time to do that, with everybody finally healthy and the team coming off the bye. The Steelers rank 12th in points with 23.6 per game; they had aimed for 30 entering the season. Wheaton says all the goals are still in front of Pittsburgh for the final six games. -- Jeremy Fowler

AFC SOUTH

Houston Texans: During the first seven weeks of the season, the Texans committed 53 penalties, one of the highest totals in the NFL for a rank of 25th. During their three-game winning streak, that number has dropped to 15, a reduction of 2.5 penalties per game. Why has it improved? "They're sick of running laps," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. That's the punishment for those mistakes. -- Tania Ganguli

Indianapolis Colts: The Colts are optimistic that safety Mike Adams will be back at practice on Wednesday or Thursday, coach Chuck Pagano said. Adams has been out two weeks with an ankle injury. Rookie Clayton Geathers started in Adams' place against Atlanta and delivered a number of hard hits and impressed the coaching staff. "Had a heck of a ball game," Pagano said. "He was all over the place, big hits, tipped balls." -- Mike Wells

Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jaguars had a light day on Monday and are altering their schedule this week, working on Tuesday and taking Thursday off for Thanksgiving. The biggest injury question revolves around left guard Zane Beadles, who suffered a concussion during last Thursday's victory over Tennessee. He is in the NFL's concussion protocol. -- Mike DiRocco

Tennessee Titans: The Titans are expecting wide receiver Kendall Wright to return to action Sunday when they host the Raiders. Wright missed the last three games after suffering a sprained left knee at Houston on a hit that resulted from a missed block by rookie receiver Dorial Green-Beckham. Interim coach Mike Mularkey and new playcaller Jason Michael haven't had access to Wright since they were promoted. -- Paul Kuharsky

AFC WEST

Denver Broncos: After he went 20-of-27 passing for 250 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start in the win over the Bears, Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler earned rave reviews all around. However, the Broncos will certainly need to protect him better when he makes his second career start on Sunday against the Patriots. He was sacked five times by the Bears, and coach Gary Kubiak said there were "a couple" of the sacks when Osweiler had to be more aware of the pressure. -- Jeff Legwold

Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs are third in the NFL in turnover differential at plus-10. But they'll be meeting their match in this regard on Sunday when they play against the Bills. Buffalo entered its game on Monday night against the Patriots tied for sixth at plus-5. The Chiefs have committed eight turnovers, third in the league, but none during their four-game winning streak. -- Adam Teicher

Oakland Raiders: Wide receiver Amari Cooper had two more drops in Week 11. He is among the league leaders in that area. It has been a consistent problem all season. It hasn't been a big issue, however, because Cooper, the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, has been so productive this season. But in the loss to the Lions, Cooper had two drops compared to one catch. It's an issue that he needs to work through. Cooper is self-aware and a hard worker. I think this will be a manageable problem for him to overcome. -- Bill Williamson

San Diego Chargers: The Chargers have failed to get the ground game on track this season with rookie first-round selection Melvin Gordon as the centerpiece of the running game. San Diego averages just rushing 82 yards a contest, third worst in the NFL. Coach Mike McCoy said the Chargers will continue to work on having better balance on offense. "We're not running the football the way we want to," McCoy said. "That's obvious, right? We've been talking about that for a long time here. We haven't run the ball efficiently or effectively the way we want to here. And we've got to get better at it. There's no denying that one bit at all." -- Eric D. Williams

NFC EAST

Dallas Cowboys: Cowboys cornerbacks have gone 443 pass attempts without an interception, dating back to Week 14 of last season, when Orlando Scandrick recorded a fourth-quarter pick against the Bears. Brandon Carr's last interception came in the Thanksgiving game versus the Raiders two years ago. Cam Newton is coming off the best game of his career (five touchdown passes) and has gone two straight games without an interception. He has not gone three straight games without an interception since Weeks 1 to 3 of last season. Morris Claiborne is questionable at best to play on Thursday with hamstring and ankle injuries, which would put rookie Byron Jones at cornerback for the second straight week. At some point a Cowboys corner has to come up with a pick, right? Maybe it will be this week. -- Todd Archer

New York Giants: The Giants have reason to worry about 40 percent of their starting offensive line being ready for Sunday's game in Washington. Center Weston Richburg is dealing with a high ankle sprain and hasn't been able to run since suffering the injury two Sundays ago against New England. And left guard Justin Pugh, who missed that game with concussion symptoms, is in the concussion protocol and not yet cleared to practice. The Giants are off Tuesday before returning to practice on Wednesday to prep for a first-place showdown with Washington, against whom they're 5-0 over the past three seasons. -- Dan Graziano

Philadelphia Eagles: If quarterback Sam Bradford can practice today, there's a chance he could return to the lineup for Thursday's game in Detroit. As of Monday, when Bradford was limited, it appeared likely that Mark Sanchez would make his second start. Sanchez was 4-4 as the Eagles' starter last season. He is 0-1 this year with four interceptions in six quarters of play. -- Phil Sheridan

Washington Redskins: The Redskins called left tackle Trent Williams (knee patella contusion) and running back Alfred Morris (ribs) day-to-day after the injuries they sustained on Sunday. But the expectation is that Williams will play Sunday versus the Giants, and there's optimism about Morris, as well. Morris, though, has had the same injury in two different games. With ball security issues surrounding Matt Jones (four fumbles in 114 times with the ball), they need Morris to at least split carries. -- John Keim

NFC NORTH

Chicago Bears: The Bears' condensed week of practice begins on Tuesday with the only full workout before Thursday's game at Green Bay. Tight end Martellus Bennett's status is up in the air after he injured his ribs in the loss to Denver. The Bears also need to keep an eye on running back Matt Forte (knee) and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (groin). Both are questionable to play against the Packers. Quarterback Jay Cutler could use all the help he can get on Thanksgiving. Cutler is still looking for his first career win at Lambeau Field. -- Jeff Dickerson

Detroit Lions: The Lions have to cram two days of work into Tuesday as the Thanksgiving day game against Philadelphia approaches. The good thing for the Lions is they don't have any major injury holes to fill on the short week -- something that hasn't always been the case this season. Detroit came through Sunday's game against Oakland relatively healthy. This is critical, especially on defense, since Philadelphia's offensive pace is something a lot of the Lions have not yet faced. -- Michael Rothstein

Green Bay Packers: Quarterback Aaron Rodgers' stint in the Packers' injury report lasted all of one week. With the quick turnaround for Thursday's Thanksgiving night game against the Bears at Lambeau Field, the Packers had to issue their first injury report of the week on Monday, and Rodgers was not among the 15 players listed. Last week, he was added to the report for the first time this season because of a right shoulder injury. After Sunday's win over the Vikings, Rodgers said his throwing shoulder loosed up as the game went on and added, "I'll be fine from here on out." -- Rob Demovsky

Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings' pass-protection issues stemmed largely from their offensive line's struggles on Sunday against Green Bay, but quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was complicit in some of the problems, coach Mike Zimmer said. "There's some times where we're going to take seven (steps in his dropback) and a hitch and get it out, but he's got to get it out. He can't take seven and two hitches; he's got to go seven and a hitch." -- Ben Goessling

NFC SOUTH

Atlanta Falcons: Falcons coach Dan Quinn was frank on Monday in saying quarterback Matt Ryan made a very poor decision on a game-changing, fourth-quarter pick-six to Colts linebacker D'Qwell Jackson in a loss to the Colts. But it's not like Quinn is going to bench Ryan in favor of Sean Renfree. The Falcons firmly believe in their franchise quarterback, but he just has to make better decisions. In this case, Ryan should have checked that throw down into the flat, Quinn said. "Those are the decisions we count on him like crazy for us," Quinn said. "Although there's some things in the game he did really well, that's one I know -- he probably told you the same -- that he'd like to have back for us to be at our best." -- Vaughn McClure

Carolina Panthers: Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson will be activated from injured reserve on Tuesday in preparation for Thursday's game at Dallas. How the defensive end rotation between Johnson, Jared Allen, Kony Ealy and Mario Addison will be divided remains to be seen. Odds are Johnson and Allen will start. The Panthers also are anxious to see if Andrew Norwell (hamstring) is ready to return as the starting left guard after Amini Silatolu suffered a season-ending knee injury on Sunday. -- David Newton

New Orleans Saints: Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer will return from a concussion this week to face the Saints in Houston. Hoyer would have hated to miss this matchup. The Saints are allowing the highest opponents' passer rating in NFL history this year (116.5). They have yielded 28 TD passes with only four interceptions. Two weeks ago, before the Saints' bye, they allowed Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins to have a perfect passer rating with four scoring strikes and zero interceptions. The Saints have since fired defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and replaced him with Dennis Allen. But their problems clearly run deeper than just one coaching fix. -- Mike Triplett

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Coach Lovie Smith made it known on Monday that he hopes this isn't Doug Martin's final season with the Bucs. Smith said re-signing Martin will be a priority, despite the team declining the running back's fifth-year option in May. It's easy to understand why the Bucs would want Martin back. He has 941 yards rushing this season, already 447 more than he posted in 11 games last season. Time will show if Martin will remain in Tampa, but the Bucs apparently want him back. -- Andrew Astleford

NFC WEST

Arizona Cardinals: Coach Bruce Arians is taking Michael Floyd's return to the field from a hamstring injury seriously. He won't push him to come back until he's ready  -- and there's no need after watching rookie J.J. Nelson catch four passes for 142 yards on Sunday night. "Until he can open up and go, there's no need to press it," Arians said of Floyd. -- Josh Weinfuss

St. Louis Rams: After addressing quarterback Case Keenum's concussion situation on Monday, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Keenum is feeling better and could practice and play this week against Cincinnati. In the meantime, though, there are more questions than answers about the league's game-day concussion protocol, and it's something the Rams and the rest of the league will be taking a longer look at this week and moving forward. -- Nick Wagoner

San Francisco 49ers: In giving up a franchise-record 209 rushing yards to Seattle's undrafted rookie Thomas Rawls, the 49ers showed a shocking inability to tackle, especially for as late in the season as Week 11. Niners coach Jim Tomsula said it looked as though his players were afraid to miss the tackle rather than simply attacking the ball carrier. It's just another strange development for a rebuilding team in its 10th game. -- Paul Gutierrez

Seattle Seahawks: Quarterback Russell Wilson completed 82.4 percent of his passes in Sunday's win against the 49ers. It was the best mark of his career and the highest number of any QB in Week 11. The key to his big day, according to coach Pete Carroll, was the run game working. The Seahawks could need a repeat performance from Wilson on Sunday against the high-scoring Steelers. -- Sheil Kapadia

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