Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles could miss the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs' season after sustaining a serious knee injury in the third quarter of Sunday's 18-17 loss to the Chicago Bears.
The Chiefs were deep in Bears territory when Charles took a handoff and tried to cut left, with his right knee buckling at a gruesome angle. He immediately went to the locker room, and Chiefs Coach Andy Reid said after the game the preliminary diagnosis was a torn ACL.
Charles will have an MRI today to confirm the extent of the injury.
"We'll just see how that goes," Reid said.
Charles tore the ACL in his left knee four years ago in a game in Detroit. Just like Sunday, that injury occurred while he stepped awkwardly without a defender making contact.
"I sat there and I took a knee and said a prayer, just praying for the best," Chiefs wide receiver Jeremy Maclin said. "It's all very unfortunate."
The injury to Charles seemed to deflate the Chiefs, who led 17-3 at that point.
Their drive stalled after he was helped to the sideline, and Kansas City had to try a 26-yard field goal that was blocked by Pernell McPhee. The Bears seized momentum, getting a field goal later in the third quarter to jumpstart their comeback.
Jay Cutler led two scoring drives late in the fourth quarter, hitting Matt Forte with a go-ahead touchdown pass with 18 seconds remaining for the victory.
Reid said the Chiefs were fairly certain that Charles, who had carried 12 times for 58 yards, had torn ligaments in his knee when he was helped off the field.
"People saw what was going on. They had a pretty good idea," Reid said. "I think it was more of a noncontact type of thing. But again, those types of things, you can't come back and have the blocked field goal and have the momentum swing."
Charles had been off to a relatively slow start this season, getting just 11 carries each of the past two weeks. He also had two fumbles in a loss to Denver, including one returned by the Broncos in the final minute for the decisive touchdown in a 31-24 victory.
But the Chiefs also have no bigger playmaker than Charles, who's run for at least 1,000 yards each of the past three seasons. He had 12 touchdowns rushing a couple of years ago, nine last season, and had already reached the end zone four times this season.
The Chiefs will go to third-year player Knile Davis (Arkansas Razorbacks) and Charcandrick West, a former undrafted free agent from Abilene Christian.
Benched
The Detroit Lions' offense continued to struggle Sunday and 2009 top overall pick Matthew Stafford was taken out early in the second half in a 42-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals at Ford Field in Detroit.
Stafford threw three interceptions against the NFC West-leading Cardinals. His third interception, by Patrick Peterson, led Coach Jim Caldwell to bench Stafford for backup Dan Orlovsky.
Caldwell told Stafford at halftime that he'd be pulled if he threw another interception.
Orlovsky came on for Detroit's next possession, with the Lions down 35-7.
"The offense starts with the quarterback, and I didn't play well enough," Stafford said. "We killed ourselves with penalties and turnovers, and I'm supposed to be the leader."
Caldwell said Stafford would remain the starter.
"It's just like a pitcher in a ballgame. He's not having one of the best games going, so we make an adjustment," Caldwell said. "Obviously, going forward, we do think he's our best quarterback."
Orlovsky, who had not attempted a pass since 2012, went 21 of 38 for 191 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Lions attempted 70 passes as a team, tying a league record set by New England in a 1994 game against Minnesota.
Finally, Part One
Charles Woodson and Peyton Manning are two of three active players still playing from the 1998 NFL Draft, along with Matt Hasselbeck.
On Sunday, Woodson finally got a long-awaited interception against Manning.
The Oakland Raiders defensive back picked off the Denver Broncos quarterback in the end zone in the closing seconds of the first half.
Woodson had intercepted passes from 40 quarterbacks in his career before Sunday, but none against Manning, whom he beat out for the Heisman Trophy in 1997.
Woodson became the third player with an interception at age 39 or older. Darrell Green and Clay Matthews Sr. are the others.
Finally, Part Two
Lovie Smith had lost his first 10 games at Raymond James Stadium as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Smith didn't lose his 11th home game in his second season in Tampa on Sunday.
The Buccaneers beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 38-31, overcoming a 303-yard, 4-touchdown performance by Blake Bortles. Tampa Bay went 2-14 in 2014, Smith's first year with the franchise after taking a year off from coaching. He had coached the Chicago Bears in 2004-2012, leading the Bears to a NFC championship in 2006.
Tampa Bay won at home for the first time since its 27-6 victory over Buffalo in December 2013.
Picked off
The Seattle Seahawks did not record an interception in their first four games, but that drought ended Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Safety Earl Thomas intercepted Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton on a pass underthrown for A.J. Green in the end zone. The interception led to a 24-yard field goal by Steven Hauschka that gave Seattle a 10-7 lead before halftime.
Dalton and the Bengals shook off the turnover, though, coming back from a 24-7 deficit to win 27-24 in overtime to improve to 5-0.
Sports on 10/12/2015