BENGALS

BENGALS

Burfict suspended for five games

CINCINNATI

Linebacker Vontaze Burfict missed the first three games last season because of his hit to Antonio Brown’s head in the playoffs. He’ll miss the first five this season thanks to another rattling hit, this time during a preseason game.

The NFL has suspended the Cincinnati Bengals’ defensive leader for leveling a Chiefs running back in violation of its player safety rules, the latest in Burfict’s history of egregious hits that have drawn fines and suspensions.

Burfict hit running back Anthony Sherman in the chest this month during a pass play in which he was not the intended receiver, knocking him to the ground. The NFL has been cracking down on such hits as part of its emphasis on player safety.

Burfict was suspended for his hit to Brown’s head on an incomplete pass during a first-round playoff game in the 2015 season. The resulting personal foul moved the Steelers into field goal range in the closing seconds for an 18-16 victory at Paul Brown Stadium.

TEXANS

Game moved to Dallas

FRISCO, Texas

Tom Savage longs to hold his tiny daughter and spend some quality time with his wife.

J.J. Watt wants to do more than raise money via video on social media about 250 miles from Houston with the city swamped by floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey.

While wanting simply to be home with family and friends, the Texans are instead stranded in the Dallas area. And now what was supposed to be a home preseason game against Dallas will be played at the Cowboys’ stadium Thursday night.

After losing an exhibition game at New Orleans on Saturday, the Texans essentially flew over their flood-stricken city on the way to Dallas. They practiced Monday at Cowboys headquarters, and were hotel hopping because of the uncertainty over what was next.

The NFL said Monday afternoon that the exhibition game Thursday night was being moved to Arlington “due to public safety concerns resulting from the ongoing weather emergency related to Hurricane Harvey.” The statement said the league and Texans would continue to closely monitor the situation in Houston and adjust the team’s plans as necessary.

JETS

McCown named starting quarterback

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.

Josh McCown is ready to roll — even if he hasn’t played much this preseason.

Jets coach Todd Bowles announced Monday that McCown will start at quarterback in New York’s regular-season opener at Buffalo on Sept. 10, ending a strange training camp competition that included Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty.

The 38-year-old McCown was the assumed starter when he signed a one-year, $6 million deal in March, and that never changed despite the fact he has played in just one series in a preseason game and led the Jets to a touchdown in the opener .

Hackenberg, a second-round pick last year, saw an increase in practice snaps and started the past two games. But he struggled mightily and made no real push to win the job over McCown.

RAVENS

Harbaugh signs contract extension

OWINGS MILLS, MD.

The Baltimore Ravens have given coach John Harbaugh a contract extension, even though the team has missed the playoffs in three of the past four years.

Harbaugh started this season with a contract that stretched through 2018. The Ravens did not disclose the length of the new deal. Since his arrival in 2008, Harbaugh has taken Baltimore to the postseason six times. The Ravens played in the AFC title game in 2008, 2011 and 2012, and he guided Baltimore to a Super Bowl victory in the 2012 season. In nine years with the Ravens, Harbaugh is 85-59 during the regular season and 10-5 in the playoffs.

Associated Press