NFL ROUNDUP \ News and notes

Buccaneers: Earnest Graham injured his right ankle during a victory over the Vikings, and coach Jon Gruden said the running back’s season “could be in jeopardy.” Graham was hurt on his only carry in Sunday’s 19-13 win, limping off after landing awkwardly when he was tackled after a 3-yard gain. “His status for the rest of the season is very much in question right now,” Gruden said Monday. “I don’t have the exact medical terms, but I will say right now, it doesn’t look like he’ll play any time soon.” Warrick Dunn took over as the featured back when Graham left, finishing with 53 yards on 20 carries to move ahead of Ricky Watters for 19th place on the NFL’s career rushing list with 10,657 yards.

Rams: Offensive tackle Orlando Pace will be sidelined two to four weeks with a knee injury sustained in Sunday’s loss at San Francisco. Coach Jim Haslett also counted out running back Steven Jackson, who will miss his fourth game in five weeks with a persistent thigh injury. Jackson had a second opinion on the injury, which Haslett said agreed with the Rams’ diagnosis as a strain.

Texans: Quarterback Matt Schaub’s recovery from a left knee injury will take longer than the two to four weeks initially projected. Schaub has been out two weeks with an injured medial collateral ligament and coach Gary Kubiak was far more candid Monday about his condition than he has been since the injury. Kubiak said it could be another four weeks. Kubiak said at one time after the injury he didn’t expect Schaub to play for the rest of the season.

Titans: Cornerback Eric King has a broken forearm that likely will need surgery. That doesn’t mean his season is over just yet. Coach Jeff Fisher said King will miss Sunday’s game with the Jets (7-3). King was hurt while starting for Nick Harper in the 24-14 win at Jacksonville. The key backup is getting several opinions on the injury before the Titans (10-0) make a decision on him with six games remaining in the regular season.

Patriots: Bill Belichick is preparing his team for another look at the Dolphins unusual Wildcat offense. Miami unveiled the tactic in which a running back takes a direct snap from center in its 38-13 win over New England in the teams’ third game of the season. The Patriots visit Miami on Sunday and Belichick said Monday that even though the element of surprise is gone, it’s still a difficult offense to stop. Belichick said the Dolphins add new wrinkles to their Wildcat plays each week. “I don’t think it’s going to be a surprise when Ronnie Brown lines up behind the center and takes the snap,” Belichick said, “but what the rest of the formation will be, what the blocking will be, what they’ll do out of it, that’s not always the same every week.”

Giants: Running back Brandon Jacobs was having a precautionary MRI on his knee, although coach Tom Coughlin said he didn’t think Jacobs had a serious injury. Jacobs gained 73 yards on 11 carries in the 30-10 win over Baltimore that raised New York’s record to 9-1. He left the game in the second quarter and returned for just two carries in the third as Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw took over. They helped the Giants rush for 207 yards against a team that had been leading the league allowing just 65 yards rushing per game.

Packers: Linebacker Nick Barnett will have surgery to repair his torn right knee ligament Thursday. Barnett said Sunday he is expected to need six to eight months of recovery time. Coach Mike McCarthy said WR Donald Driver would likely sit out Wednesday’s practice to rest nagging injuries. “He has some things he deals with during the course of the week, but it’s nothing where he’s missed any practice time,” McCarthy said. “That’s probably why I’m going to give him a day this week to get back healthy.”

Raiders: Confidence is a problem for the offense, which has gone 13 quarters without scoring a touchdown. The Raiders have run 180 offensive plays since Justin Griffith’s 2-yard score in the final minute of the third quarter at Baltimore on Oct. 26. The Raiders have just nine offensive touchdowns — fewer than the total for five individual players — and have scored a league-low 128 points. “I think it’s pressing too hard,” coach Tom Cable said when asked for an explanation for the struggles.

49ers: A day after the 49ers snapped their six-game losing streak, interim coach Mike Singletary didn’t see any cause for celebration. Nobody got the day off after San Francisco improved to 3-7 with a 35-16 win over the Rams. Former coach Mike Nolan was among many NFL leaders who usually gave an extra day of rest to his team after its infrequent victories, calling it a “Win Monday.” Instead, the 49ers reported to their training complex to watch film, lift weights and keep their meager accomplishment in the perspective Singletary felt it deserved.

Associated Press