Chris Burke Posts

As if the slumping Redskins needed any more bad news, running back Clinton Portis left Washington's game in the first quarter after suffering a concussion.

Portis took a couple of hard shots on a running play, with Atlanta's Chevis Jackson and Thomas DeCoud each landing blows -- at least one of which appeared to be helmet-to-helmet. No penalty was called on the play.

Portis stayed down on the field at the end of the play, then walked unsteadily to the sideline. He sat on the Redskins' sideline with a towel over his head while backup running back Ladell Betts replaced him. Jason Campbell threw an interception on the next play that was returned by the Falcons' Tye Hill for a touchdown.

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Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris was ejected from Sunday's Chicago-Arizona game after throwing a punch to the face of Cardinals guard Deuce Lutui.

The incident occurred just four plays into the contest -- Lutui, who was blocking Harris on a running play, was lying face down on the Soldier Field turf when Harris grabbed him, lifted him slightly and landed an uppercut to Lutui's facemask.

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All indications out of Philadelphia this week were that running back Brian Westbrook would play on Sunday night against Dallas, a little less than two weeks after suffering a Grade 3 concussion. The situation appears to have changed, though.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Westbrook will not play against the Cowboys so he can have another week to recover from his rather serious head injury.

Westbrook was hurt in the Eagles' Week 7 Monday night win at Washington, when he slammed his head into Redskins linebacker London Fletcher's knee on a running play. Westbrook lost consciousness and said later that he had no memory of the play.

Running back Ryan Moats almost single-handedly carried Houston to a Week 8 win at Buffalo -- scoring three rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Texans turned a 10-9 deficit into a 31-10 victory.

He'll be rewarded for that effort, too. Houston coach Gary Kubiak told ESPN's Bob Holtzman that Moats will be his team's starting back when the Texans play in Indianapolis Sunday, according to Adam Schefter.

Kubiak also said that Steve Slaton, who's had major issues with ball security this year, will share carries.

In a move that came a bit out of the blue, the Broncos waived 24-year-old cornerback Jack Williams and signed 14-year vet Ty Law.

Denver rookie head coach Josh McDaniels didn't mess around after Baltimore shredded Denver 30-7 last week -- the Broncos' first loss of the year. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco went 20 of 25 through the air in that game, and as Jeff Legwold of the Denver Post points out, 12 of 15 against Denver's nickel defense.

McDaniels said Saturday that he hopes Law can play Monday night when Denver hosts Pittsburgh.

Coincidence or not, after Tom Brady missed almost all of the 2008 season after a low hit tore the Patriots star's left MCL and ACL, the NFL's Competition Committee made clear that it would enforce more strictly a rule preventing defenders from tackling quarterbacks at or below the knee. It was affectionately dubbed "The Brady Rule" by folks outside the league office.

And the Patriots have benefitted from the increased focus on QB protection, with their opponents picking up five roughing the passer penalties in seven games. One, in particular, raised some eyebrows -- in New England's Week 4 win over Baltimore, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs gently brushed Brady's knee, and Brady gestured back at referee Ron Winter, and a flag came flying.

Winter might have thrown the flag regardless of Brady's reaction -- it is in the rule book, after all, though the rule states that forcible contact must me made -- but, nonetheless, the anti-Brady folk out there used it as evidence that Brady gets whatever he wants from officials.

Despite a still-struggling economy and a league that's unusually top-heavy this season, the NFL continues to -- somehow, some way -- sellout the majority of its games.

With the news Friday afternoon that Cincinnati had sold enough tickets its matchup with Baltimore to air on local TV, that left the floundering Jaguars as the only team blacked out for Week 9. It's the fourth time in four home games that Jacksonville has failed (by a large margin) to reach a sellout, and the third week this season that every home team but the Jaguars has avoided a local TV blackout.

Rather remarkably, only three teams thus far -- Jacksonville, Detroit and Oakland -- have been blacked out.

George Kokinis has been removed as general manager of the 1-7 Browns, the team confirmed in a statement Monday night.

Multiple news organizations, including the Cleveland Plain Dealer and WKYC-TV reported earlier that the Browns had made a move in the front office, and that Kokinis' short tenure with the team was believed to be over. Head coach Eric Mangini, who received the support of team owner Randy Lerner on Sunday, hand-picked Kokinis as GM in January.

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The NFC South takes center stage on Monday night with a huge showdown between Atlanta and New Orleans in the Superdome.

And in anticipation of the crucial ballgame in the bayou, we've turned the show over to Tom Mantzouranis, our resident Saints guru, and Knox Bardeen, a credentialed member of the media covering the Falcons.

Those two break down the game's most important storylines after the jump. And come back at kickoff to join us in our weekly Monday Night Football live chat.

Dominic Raiola has played all nine of his NFL seasons in Detroit, never finishing with better than a 7-9 record -- and that streak isn't ending this season. So he's allowed to have some pent-up frustration.

He let some of it out Sunday during the Lions' 17-10 home loss to the previously winless Rams, firing off some choice words at a group of Detroit fans who were heckling rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford. Detroit's final possession of the game consisted of four Stafford incompletions (plus two more pass attempts wiped out by penalties).

After the final misfire landed well wide of its intended target, a few rowdy patrons let Stafford have it -- yelling "Hey Matt, throw it to me, I'm open, I'm open," according to Raiola, who quickly came to his QB's defense.