COWBOYS: Dallas wide receiver Terrell Owens can take his time recovering from a high ankle sprain. Dallas has clinched home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs.
Dallas locked up the No. 1 seed in the conference Sunday with Green Bay losing to Chicago. While the Cowboys (13-2) and Packers (12-3) could still wind up with the same record, Dallas owns the tiebreaker because it won a head-to-head matchup.
Owens actually will have three weeks — until Jan. 12 or 13 — to heal the left ankle injury sustained in the second quarter of a 20-13 victory over Carolina on Saturday night.
X-rays showed no break and he left the stadium on crutches, but smiling and wearing a Santa hat. He vowed to be ready for the playoffs, and an MRI taken Sunday showed no further damage, confirming the original diagnosis of a high ankle sprain.
High ankle sprains are often slow to heal and tend to linger. Cornerback Anthony Henry missed three games early this season and still isn’t back at full strength.
TELEVISION: Next Sunday’s season finale between the Titans and Colts at Indianapolis has been moved to prime time with Tennessee in position to secure an AFC wild-card berth.
The NFL said after Tennessee’s 10-6 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday it was switching Titans-Colts from 10 a.m. PST to 5:15 p.m. under the flexible schedule for late-season Sunday games. The originally scheduled Kansas City-Jets game moves to 1:15 p.m. PST.
If the Titans beat the defending Super Bowl champion Colts, they will earn the sixth seed in the playoffs. They also will get that spot if Cleveland loses at home to San Francisco in an afternoon game.
The Titans and Browns, both 9-6, are the only teams in the running for the final AFC wild-card slot.
LIONS: Running back Kevin Jones injured his right knee during Detroit’s 25-20 win over Kansas City. “It doesn’t look good,” Detroit coach Rod Marinelli said. “It’s pretty serious.”
CHIEFS: Kansas City quarterback Brodie Croyle was knocked out of the Chiefs’ 25-20 loss to Detroit when he injured his right hand trying to make a tackle on Paris Lenon’s 61-yard interception return for a TD. “MRI came back negative; it’s not broken,” Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. “We’ll see where he’s at going into next week.”
GIANTS: Running back Brandon Jacobs sprained his left ankle in the fourth quarter against Buffalo. Jacobs said the injury isn’t major, and he expects to play next week.
Associated Press
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
