The Latest from the NFL: Big Ben back for Steelers
The latest from NFL games around the league on the eighth Sunday of the season (all times EST):
10:15 p.m.
Shoulder injuries will keep Green Bay cornerback Sam Shields and his backup Quinten Rollins out for the second half against Denver.
Shields hurt his shoulder in the first quarter and Rollins in the second.
-Pat Graham reporting from Denver.
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9:30 p.m.
Green Bay cornerback Sam Shields is questionable to return after suffering a shoulder injury in the first quarter Sunday night against Denver.
In the second quarter, his backup, Quinten Rollins, also left with a shoulder injury. His return is questionable.
Shields made his first Pro Bowl last season. He's a sixth-year player out of Miami.
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7:15 p.m.
New York Jets backup quarterback Geno Smith briefly left the game after being knocked down on a pass in the final minute against the Oakland Raiders.
Smith was hit in the midsection by Raiders linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong after throwing a pass while trying to rally the Jets back from a two-touchdown deficit. He left the game but returned.
Smith, playing for the first time since he broke his jaw in training camp after getting punched by teammate IK Enemkpali, replaced starter Ryan Fitzpatrick on the opening drive. Fitzpatrick was hurt on a scramble.
Smith threw for 265 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the loss to Oakland.
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6:35 p.m.
Seahawks receiver Ricardo Lockette sustained a concussion but had movement in all of his extremities after being taken off the field on a stretcher when knocked down by a vicious hit on a kickoff late in the first half Sunday.
An announcement was made in the press box after halftime updating his condition.
Lockette was running down the field and appeared to be engaged with another Dallas Cowboys player before he turned and then ran into a block by safety Jeff Heath. Lockette immediately slumped to the ground on his side and appeared to be unconscious when trainers and medical officials quickly got there to attend to him.
After Lockette was put on a stretcher and was loaded onto a motorized cart several minutes later, the receiver's facemask had been removed from his helmet and he could be seen talking while moving both hands. He pointed his right hand toward his Seattle teammates on the sideline, and then thrust his index finger high into the air.
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5:57 p.m.
Ryan Fitzpatrick's day is officially over and it might be too for the New York Jets.
Fitzpatrick has been ruled out with an injury to his left hand that knocked him out on the first drive of the game against the Oakland Raiders.
Geno Smith replaced him but has been only able to lead a pair of field goal drives, while the Raiders have picked apart New York's vaunted defense.
Derek Carr has thrown four TD passes, including a 59-yarder to Taiwan Jones that included several missed tackles and Oakland leads 28-13 lead in the third quarter.
-Josh Dubow reporting from Oakland.
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5:24 p.m.
The Denver Broncos are set to honor team owner Pat Bowlen at halftime of their big showdown with the Green Bay Packers.
The Broncos are inducting Bowlen into their Ring of Fame. He won't be on hand, however, because he's battling Alzheimer's. His wife, Annabel, and the couple's children, will represent him on the field during the ceremony.
More than 40 members of Denver's first Super Bowl-winning team from 1997 that beat the Packers 31-24 will be on hand to celebrate his induction as the 28th member of the Ring of Fame.
Since Bowlen bought the Broncos in 1984, no NFL team has a better winning percentage than Denver's .614, and the Broncos have more Super Bowl appearances with six than losing seasons (five).
-Arnie Stapleton reporting from Denver.
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4:49 p.m.
Drew Brees was unstoppable and the Cincinnati Bengals are undefeated.
Brees threw a career-high seven touchdown passes and the New Orleans Saints won a shootout when Kai Forbath hit a 50-yard field goal as time expired for a 52-49 win over the New York Giants.
Brees completed 40 of 50 passes for 511 yards in the game, besting Giants quarterback Eli Manning's 350 yards and six touchdowns in a wild game. The 101 combined points were tied for the third-most in NFL history.
It was an entirely different kind of game in Pittsburgh.
The Bengals got a late touchdown pass from Andy Dalton to beat rival Pittsburgh 16-10 and improve to 7-0 for the first time in franchise history. The victory put the Bengals in the driver's seat in the AFC North with the second-place Steelers stuck at 4-4.
Results of the other 1 p.m. games:
--Chiefs 45, Lions 10
--Vikings 23, Bears 20
--Texans 20, Titans 6
--Cardinals 34, Browns 20
--Ravens 29, Chargers 26.
--Rams 27, 49ers 6
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4:32 p.m.
Ryan Fitzpatrick has his left hand taped up and is questionable to return for the New York Jets.
Fitzpatrick got hurt on a scramble on New York's opening drive against Oakland and was replaced by former starting quarterback Geno Smith.
The Jets got a field goal on the opening drive as Smith played for the first time since he broke his jaw in training camp after getting punched by teammate IK Enemkpali.
- Josh Dubow reporting from Oakland
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4:15 p.m.
Geno Smith made his season debut for the New York Jets when starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was hurt on the opening drive against the Raiders.
Fitzpatrick got hurt at the end of a 12-yard scramble on a third-down play. He narrowly escaped a sack attempt by Mario Edwards Jr. before running for the first down. He was slow to get up and replaced by the former starter Smith.
Smith lost the job in training camp when he broke his jaw after getting punched in the locker room by teammate IK Enemkpali.
- Josh Dubow reporting from Oakland ---
3:43 p.m.
The Bears just announced that running back Matt Forte will miss the rest of the game against the Vikings with a knee injury. Chicago leads 20-13 with 2 1/2 minutes left.
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3:18 p.m.
The Browns lost two Pro Bowlers and the lead in the first 7:25 of the third quarter.
Cornerback Joe Haden and safety Donte Whitner were both taken to the locker room to be evaluated for possible concussions. Haden missed Cleveland's two previous games with a head injury. He got hurt while giving up a 60-yard TD pass that pulled Arizona within 20-17.
Whitner was hurt on Arizona's next play, getting up slowly after a tackle. Three plays later, the Cardinals took a 24-20 lead on Carson Palmer's third TD pass.
- Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland.
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3:15 p.m.
Running back Matt Forte has left the Chicago Bears' game against Minnesota with a knee injury.
It was unclear when the injury occurred Sunday, but Forte departed on Chicago's opening drive of the second half and walked to the locker room.
The team said his return was questionable.
Forte had 10 carries for 41 yards and four receptions for 28 yards at the time of his departure. He began the day with a team-high 507 yards rushing on 126 carries.
The Bears also lost wide receiver Eddie Royal to a knee injury in the first half. The team said he will not return.
-Jay Cohen reporting from Chicago
3:10 p.m.
Dez Bryant is active against Seattle and likely to return after missing five games with a broken right foot.
Dallas' All-Pro receiver was injured in the opener, and quarterback Tony Romo went down with a broken left collarbone a week later. The Cowboys (2-4) have lost four straight games without their two offensive stars.
Bryant led the NFL with 16 touchdown receptions last year. He was the highest-scoring receiver in the league since 2011 before getting injured.
The sixth-year player had surgery Sept. 14, the day after getting hurt against the Giants. He had a procedure designed to speed the healing process about three weeks ago. He returned to practice this past week and was listed as limited all three sessions.
-Schuyler Dixon reporting from Dallas
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3 p.m.
Saints running back Khiry Robinson appears to have seriously injured his lower right leg on a short run late in the first half of Sunday's game against the New York Giants.
Trainers could be seen placing Robinson's leg in an air cast as concerned teammates knelt around the power runner.
Left tackle Terron Armstead was among teammates who helped trainers lift Robinson onto a cart. The Superdome crowd applauded as Robinson was taken off the field with one of the team's orthopedic surgeons at his side.
Robinson was hurt on his 56th carry of the season. He has 180 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
His injury left the Saints with three healthy running backs on the roster: Mark Ingram, C.J. Spiller and rookie Marcus Murphy.
- Brett Martel reporting from New Orleans
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2:45 p.m.
It's a shootout in New Orleans. Saints quarterback Drew Brees and Giants quarterback Eli Manning are throwing the ball all over the Superdome. The two have combined for seven touchdown passes and just five incompletions in the first half.
Brees is 19 of 21 for 300 yards and four touchdowns.
Manning is 18 of 21 for 165 yards and three scores. The Saints lead 28-21 at halftime.
- Brett Martel reporting from New Orleans
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1:59 p.m.
Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell is hurt. He caught a pass from Ben Roethlisberger and got his right knee twisted awkwardly underneath him during a tackle by linebacker Vontaze Burfict. He didn't put any weight on the leg as he was helped to a cart and taken from the field.
- Joe Kay reporting from Pittsburgh
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1:53 p.m.
Josh McCown's right shoulder looks fine.
Cleveland's quarterback, who missed practice time this week with a shoulder injury and sore ribs, zipped his second touchdown pass of the first half to give the Browns a 14-7 lead over Arizona.
The 36-year-old McCown came into the game listed as questionable after being roughed up in a loss at St. Louis last week. But on the second play of the second quarter, McCown hit favorite target, tight end Gary Barnidge, for his 10th TD pass this season. Barnidge has six TD catches this season after having just three in seven previous seasons.
- Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland.
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1:10
Ben Roethlisberger reached another career milestone on his fourth pass Sunday. He became the fifth active player with 40,000 yards passing, joining Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Eli Manning.
Roethlisberger is back for a game against Cincinnati after missing the last four with a sprained left knee.
- Joe Kay reporting from Pittsburgh
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12:14 p.m.
Ben Roethlisberger is back as the Steelers starting quarterback, walking around the field and slapping hands with teammates during pregame warmups. He missed the past four with a sprained left knee, and Pittsburgh (4-3) has a key game at Heinz Field against undefeated Cincinnati (6-0). The Bengals would take command of the AFC North with a win.
The Bengals also have a key player back. Middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict missed the first six games while recovering from offseason knee surgery, and was added to the active roster on Saturday. He's active for the game but is expected to have a limited role as Cincinnati works him back in slowly.
- Joe Kay reporting from Pittsburgh
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