NFL Monday’s news

Steelers: NFL owners may vote on Wednesday whether to accept the restructured ownership plan in which Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney and his son will buy most of the shares owned by other family members. The NFL finance committee “thoroughly reviewed the transaction today [Monday] and it is on the league meeting agenda for consideration by the clubs on Wednesday,” the league said in an e-mail. The finance committee is chaired by Tom Benson of the New Orleans Saints and includes eight other owners. To be approved, at least 24 of the 32 franchises must vote in favor of the restructuring. Two of Dan Rooney’s four brothers plan to sell their 16 percent stakes and the other two, Art Jr. and John, will sell 8 percent each to Dan Rooney and son Art Rooney II, the team president. The Jack McGinley family, which owns 20 percent of the franchise, will also sell some shares. The restructuring was mandated by the NFL to bring the Steelers into compliance with league rules that the principal owner owns at least 30 percent of the club. Previously, Dan Rooney owned only the same 16 percent stake as his brothers. The NFL also bars owners from being involved in racing or gambling. The two Rooney brothers who are selling their full shares, Pat and Tim, operate race tracks in Florida and New York. The five brothers acquired their stakes when Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr., their father, died in 1988. The McGinleys bought into the team when Art Rooney Sr. sold the Steelers in 1941, only to regain them later that year.

Titans: Good thing the Tennessee Titans already clinched the AFC South title, a first-round bye and a home playoff game. Winning the AFC’s No. 1 seed for the postseason will be a much bigger challenge without the right side of their defensive line. Coach Jeff Fisher announced Monday that defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch will miss the final two games of the regular season with injuries. “We’ll have them both back, expected to have them both back for the playoffs. ... There’s no doubt in our mind that he’ll be back.” Haynesworth sprained his left medial collateral ligament with 92 seconds left in Sunday’s 13-12 loss to the Houston Texans when players rolled up the back of his left leg, pushing his knee inward as he fell to the ground. The seven-year veteran is having the best season of his career with 8 1/2 sacks. Vanden Bosch did not play against Houston. Fisher said Vanden Bosch, who had 12 1/2 sacks last season, injured his groin on Dec. 7 against Cleveland.

Bengals: Quarterback Carson Palmer is doing well in his comeback from an elbow injury and could throw in practice this week. Coach Marvin Lewis said Palmer is throwing hard in his personal workouts and having no problems with the elbow. Palmer has a partially torn ligament and tendon in the right elbow, which was injured in the third game of the season. Palmer rested the elbow for the last two months, but resumed throwing two weeks ago. Lewis said he might be allowed to do some limited throwing in practice this week, though he’s not going to play in any of the Bengals’ last two games.

Ravens: If the Ravens are to put a positive finish on the regular season, they must play better at the end of the game. A 13-9 loss to the Steelers on Sunday eliminated Baltimore from contention in the AFC North, but the Ravens (9-5) will earn a wild-card berth if they win their final two games: at Dallas on Saturday night and at home against Jacksonville on Dec. 28. That will be their focus this week. Coach John Harbaugh said Monday there is nothing to be gained by lamenting the ending of the Pittsburgh game, in which Santonio Holmes was credited with a touchdown catch after a replay review reversed the on-field decision that the Steelers receiver came up short of the goal line. Whether the referees got it right or not is debatable, but there is no disputing Harbaugh’s disappointment in Baltimore’s play leading up to the touchdown. Taking over at its 12 with 3:36 left, Pittsburgh used pass completions of 12, 13, 16, 16, 9, 24 and 10 yards to get into position for the winning score. “It’s our job not to put the official in position to have to make that call,” Harbaugh said. “If we do our job better, if we finish in crunch time, it won’t even be an issue. We don’t need the officials’ help to win a football game.” The game probably wouldn’t have hinged upon a last-minute call if the Ravens had taken advantage of their opportunities against the league’s top-ranked defense. Three times Baltimore got inside the Pittsburgh 20, and three times had to settle for field goals. “We killed ourselves,” said Le’Ron McClain, who gained 87 yards on 23 carries. “We had them on the ropes. We couldn’t knock them out.”

Vikings: If the Minnesota Vikings are going to continue their late-season surge into the playoffs, they will have to do it without star defensive tackle Pat Williams. Williams will miss anywhere from two to six weeks with a fractured shoulder, leaving the Vikings (9-5) without their best run stopper as they prepare to face the two best rushing teams in the league with a playoff berth hanging in the balance. Williams was hurt Sunday in a 35-14 rout of Arizona. It’s a big blow to a Vikings defense that is second in the NFL against the run. They need only one more victory or a Bears loss in the final two weeks to capture their first NFC North title. The Vikings have won four in a row to remain in the running for the NFC’s second seed, which would bring with it a first-round bye.

Associated Press