NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—The Tennessee Titans have decided not to retain
secondary coach Marcus Robertson and assistant secondary coach Curtis Fuller.

Robertson worked as the secondary coach for three seasons and has spent 19
total years with the organization. He played for 10 seasons as a safety for the
Oilers and Titans and was part of the squad that reached the 2000 Super Bowl.

Fuller spent one season with Tennessee.

Titans coach Mike Munchak says he respects both men but wanted to move in a
different direction. He says the process to replace the pair “might take some
time.”

Thanks for reading! .

Gotta run!.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—The Tennessee Titans will spend the offseason
thinking of the three games that cost them a playoff berth and looking ahead to
a promising second season under coach Mike Munchak.

Just how many are back for 2012 remains to be seen with contracts of more
than 20 Titans expiring. With Munchak taking over a team that went 6-10 and
didn’t have an offseason due to the lockout, the Titans have high expectations
for what’s next.

“Who would have thought we’d be 9-7?” fullback Ahmard Hall said Monday
after the Titans cleaned out lockers. “Who would give us a chance to be 9-7?
Munch is building something great here, and everybody wants to be a part of
that.”

Hall is among those whose contracts are up, meaning the Titans have plenty
of personnel work ahead.

For a franchise that got rid of a quarterback and head coach a year ago,
handling a secondary where four defensive backs are pending free agents should
be much easier. Defensive captain and cornerback Cortland Finnegan and safeties
Chris Hope, Michael Griffin and Jordan Babineaux all are up with no contract
talks since Finnegan bolted training camp in August.

Finnegan doesn’t sound as if he expects to be back, though he hopes to
return after six seasons in Tennessee.

“Coach Munchak is building something really special around here,” Finnegan
said. “He plans to talk to everyone. We’ll see what the future holds.”

Munchak said the salary cap will decide how many players they keep. He hopes
they keep as many as possible in free agency along with another crop of rookies
to go with a promising draft class where three started on defense.

“You got a nice little core here, so I think it’s something we can build
on,” Munchak said. “I think that’s part of the excitement of selling to the
guys that are in this room is that yeah, 9-7 was OK. It wasn’t quite good enough
this year, but a lot of good things happened at 9-7 that we’re excited about as
an organization, as a team and that we can build on.”

The Titans finished the season beating the Houston Texans 23-22, missing out
on their first playoff berth since 2008 when the Jets lost to Miami and Denver
lost to Kansas City. That left Tennessee tied with Cincinnati but losing the
head-to-head tiebreaker due to a Nov. 6 loss to the Bengals where the Titans
blew a 10-point lead in losing 24-17.

“Hopefully the lesson we learned is you can’t hope that someone else can do
your job for you,” Munchak said. “We had to earn our way in, and we didn’t.”

Tennessee also lost its opener 16-14 in Jacksonville and became the first
team to lose to the previously winless Colts 27-13 on Dec. 18 when a win would
have put the Titans into the AFC’s sixth and final playoff spot.

At least Munchak has his quarterbacks in veteran Matt Hasselbeck and Jake
Locker going into a full offseason to push for the starting job. Hasselbeck
started all 16 games and became the first quarterback for this franchise not
named Warren Moon to throw for at least 3,500 yards. He finished with 3,571
yards passing with 18 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions. Locker threw for
four TDs with a 99.4 passer rating coming off the bench in five games.

Munchak said the quarterbacks will compete again with the player who should
start being an obvious decision when the time comes.

He plans on keeping his coordinators, giving Chris Palmer to work on an
offense that ranked 17th in the NFL in passing even though top receiver Kenny
Britt tore his right ACL in September.

The biggest focus will be on a run game that ranked 31st in the league
averaging a measly 89.9 yards.

Chris Johnson ran for a career-low 1,047 yards after missing the preseason
before getting his new contract extension. He has plenty of incentives in that
deal to spend plenty of time working in the Titans’ offseason program, and he
said the Titans simply need to improve their execution.

A full offseason will help Jerry Gray’s defense too.

“We were limited in what we could do because guys were learning it on the
run,” Finnegan said. “That’d be huge for this defense.”

A fourth rookie, Karl Klug, led Tennessee with seven sacks, and the Titans
ranked eighth in the NFL in points allowed per game. But Tennessee still must
find a way to tighten up a run defense gashed for big runs far too often,
leading to a No. 24 ranking giving up 128.3 yards per game.

Notes: The Titans will pick 20th in April’s draft. … The Titans’ 2012 home
schedule features visits from Houston, the Colts and Jaguars in the AFC South
along with the Patriots, the Jets, the Steelers, Chicago and Detroit. Tennessee
will visit its AFC South divisional rivals along with trips to Minnesota, Green
Bay, Miami, San Diego and Buffalo after finishing second in the division.

Comment Below!.

Houston Texans quarterback T.J. Yates (13) greets Tennessee Titans running back Jamie Harper (23) after an NFL football game on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012, in Houston. The Titans defeated the Texans 23-22.

(AP Photo by Dave Einsel)

HOUSTON — The Tennessee Titans’ regular-season finale came down to a 2-point conversion. Their playoff hopes officially ended a few hours later.

Matt Hasselbeck threw two touchdown passes, and Tennessee staved off Houston’s last-minute rally in a 23-22 victory Sunday.

Tennessee (9-7) earned its first winning record since 2008 in Mike Munchak’s first season, but its postseason fate depended on the outcome of later games in Cincinnati, Oakland and Denver.

When the Broncos lost to Kansas City, the Titans were knocked out of playoff contention.

“We knew that was the situation we were in, and we could only do what we could do,” Hasselbeck said. “We were focused on taking care of business and handling the things that we could control. Finishing 9-7 is something we can be proud about whether we get the help or we don’t.”

The Titans got some early help when the New York Jets lost in Miami, but then had to sweat out the final two minutes when Ahmard Hall fumbled, and Jake Delhomme drove Houston for a touchdown with 14 seconds left.

The Texans (10-6) were locked into the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs before the game began. They will play Cincinnati (9-7) next weekend in the franchise’s first postseason game. Houston beat the Bengals 20-19 on Dec. 11.

With their position secured and nothing to lose but more players to injury, coach Gary Kubiak called for a 2-point conversion to avoid overtime and win the game in regulation.

“You would never go for 2 there in any other situation,” Kubiak said. “But where we were physically, at the end of the game, I had a tight end [Garrett Graham] playing linebacker. Our team, I had to get them to next week.”

But tight end Joel Dreessen was flagged for illegal motion, and then backup center Thomas Austin flipped the snap over Delhomme’s head and the game was over.

The victory turned out to mean nothing for the Titans.

Tennessee needed the Bengals to lose to Baltimore and victories by Oakland and Denver to earn a playoff berth. And that would’ve landed the Titans right back in Houston next week to play the Texans.

But a 27-13 loss in Indianapolis two weeks ago proved costly, and the Titans will sit out the playoffs for the third straight season.

“We knew that after we lost to the Colts, which was kind of a low point for us, at that point we were 7-7,” Hasselbeck said. “Coach Munchak came and said: ‘Hey, there’s a lot of things this season that could have gone better, that we could have done better, but we didn’t. That’s in the past and there’s nothing we can do about that.”

The Texans, meanwhile, will head into the franchise’s first postseason on a three-game losing streak and new concerns about their quarterback.

Rookie starter T.J. Yates left the game after one series and was replaced by the 36-year-old Delhomme. Kubiak said Yates had a bruised left shoulder but could’ve returned if necessary.

“Obviously, I didn’t want him to go back in the game,” Kubiak said. “We’ll know better where we’re at [Monday], at this point.”

Delhomme, signed Nov. 29 in the wake of season-ending injuries to starter Matt Schaub and backup Matt Leinart, completed 18 of 28 passes in his first action since December 2010.

Johnson ran for 61 yards to go over 1,000 for the fourth consecutive season, and Rob Bironas kicked three field goals for Tennessee.

“It was an interesting ending,” Munchak said. “Our goal was to come in here and win this game. We did that. We’re 9-7 and that’s all we can control.”

Yates was sacked on Houston’s first snap by Jurrell Casey and Derrick Morgan. He completed passes to Dreessen and James Casey for first downs, before Ben Tate and Derrick Ward started alternating touches for the rest of the drive.

Tate plowed into the end zone with 5:15 left in the first quarter, but Yates came off the field favoring his left shoulder and went to the locker room.

Yates jogged back to the Houston sideline for the start of the second quarter. But after Bironas kicked a 21-yard field goal, Delhomme returned for the Texans’ next possession.

Titans defensive end Dave Ball sacked Delhomme and knocked the ball loose, and safety Chris Hope recovered at the Texans 33. Hasselbeck threw a 25-yard pass to Jared Cook, then found Donnie Avery in the corner of the end zone to move Tennessee in front.

Hasselbeck completed 22 of 35 passes for 297 yards without an interception.

Delhomme threw a 16-yard pass to Andre Johnson to get Houston moving again. Johnson caught two passes and sat out the second half after missing the previous three games with a strained left hamstring.

That’s all the news for today.

HOUSTON — The Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans have different
objectives in mind heading into today’s regular-season finale.

For the Titans (8-7), the goal is clear-cut — win at Reliant
Stadium and then hope for the magic combination of losses involving
Cincinnati, Denver, Oakland and the New York Jets to earn their
first playoff berth since 2008.

And that would set up a rematch with the Texans in the first
round of the postseason right back in Houston.

“If we don’t take care of our business, there will be no
scoreboard watching,” kicker Rob Bironas said. “We’ll be on the
couch watching — for all of January.”

For the Texans (10-5), the incentive is more intangible —
regaining the momentum they seem to have lost in two consecutive
defeats after reeling off seven straight wins to clinch their first
AFC South title.

Houston has nothing at stake in terms of postseason positioning.
The Texans are locked into the No. 3 seed in the AFC, and will host
a game on the first weekend of the playoffs, no matter what
happens.

But no one in the locker room wants to go into the franchise’s
first postseason game riding a losing streak.

“This game is more important than most people will ever know,”
defensive end Antonio Smith said. “You think that since it doesn’t
hurt us or help us as far as the playoff run, that it doesn’t
matter.

“You’ve got to be firing on all cylinders when you go into the
playoffs,” he said. “If not, man, ain’t no telling what will
happen.”

The Texans kick-started their regular season with a 41-7 victory
in Nashville on Oct. 23. They stayed in first place for the rest of
the regular season, despite playing most of their games without
star receiver Andre Johnson.

The five-time Pro Bowl selection has been practicing this week,
and coach Gary Kubiak expects Johnson to play in the finale.
Johnson sat out six games with a right hamstring injury that
required minor surgery, started the next two games and then
strained his left hamstring. He’s been sidelined for the last three
games, and he’s eager to see some action on Sunday, just so he can
regain some stamina and timing.

“I’m excited,” Johnson said. “I feel like I haven’t played
football all year. It’ll be fun to get back out there and run
around a little bit.”

Houston also hopes to have defensive coordinator Wade Phillips
back calling the plays, but from the press box instead of on the
sideline. Phillips, 64, returned to practice this week after
undergoing kidney and gall bladder surgery on Dec. 15.

“It’s awesome to have him back,” rookie outside linebacker
Brooks Reed said. “He just has that personality where no matter
what goes wrong, he’s always calm and I think that is kind of
contagious throughout.”

The Titans, meanwhile, only have flickering playoff hopes
because of a 23-17 victory over Jacksonville last week. They lost
to the previously winless Colts on Dec. 18, a setback that now
looms large.

And they also remember how the Texans manhandled them on their
home field, holding Tennessee to 148 yards and 11 first downs.
Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck conceded that the Titans took their
divisional rivals too lightly the first time around.

“I think we probably underestimated how good they were
physically,” Hasselbeck said. “They’re one of the premier teams in
the NFL this year and it just hasn’t been the case sometimes in the
past.

“They were fantastic that game we played against them here,” he
said. “They were making plays all over the field in all phases and
they really took it to us. I think that’s probably the toughest
game we’ve played this year in terms of just, we were feeling one
thing and they really disrupted what our thoughts were and took it
to us.”

Chris Johnson rushed for only 18 yards in that game, but he’s
had three 100-yard games since, all Tennessee victories. Johnson
needs only 14 yards rushing on Sunday to reach 1,000 yards for the
fourth consecutive season.

“We’re fully aware that he can just break out any time,” Reed
said, “and we just need to secure edges and just make sure he
doesn’t get out in too many open spaces because that’s where he’s
dangerous.”

The Texans’ running backs dominated the earlier meeting.

Arian Foster and Ben Tate both went over 100 yards, and Foster
also had 100 yards receiving. Foster, named to the Pro Bowl for the
second straight season, has seven 100-yard games this year and has
topped 100 yards rushing in Houston’s last two season finales, both
victories.

Gotta run!.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—For nearly three seasons, the Tennessee Titans have
waited for Jared Cook to consistently perform up to his potential.

Now Cook has put together the best two games of his career, with 169 yards
receiving in the last game to set a new team record for most yards receiving by
a tight end.

He’s’ also just 73 yards shy of Frank Wycheck’s franchise record of 769
yards receiving by a tight end going into Sunday’s game at Houston (10-5).

“We know what a good player he is. I think since the first day (offensive
coordinator) Chris Palmer came in here and in the first press conference, I
think he is the first guy he talked about,” Titans coach Mike Munchak said of
Cook. “I think there has been an emphasis to try to get him the ball.”

In last week’s 23-17 win over Jacksonville, Cook had eight catches for 169
yards including a 55-yard touchdown. That bumped aside Casper who had 150 yards
receiving Nov. 30, 1980, against Cleveland for the then-Houston Oilers. That
also marked Cook’s second straight 100-yard receiving game and put him over
1,000 yards receiving fo rhis career.

Cook has 45 receptions for the season. His biggest challenge since being
drafted out of South Carolina is being an up-and-down player. He has 17 catches
the past two weeks, but none in either of the two previous games.

“There are going to be roller coasters in seasons, you just got to roll
with it,” Cook said. “Sometimes the offense expects to do great things, but
sometimes we don’t. You’ve just got to keep riding the roller coaster.”

The tight end is just happy that things are finally going well for him.

“It feels good,” he said. “Hopefully, this is kind of a preview of what’s
to come for the offense. It feels good to be out there and offense is clicking
and everybody is catching balls.”

As for why Cook has been so inconsistent, that appears to remain a bit of a
mystery.

“Things are trending the way where it’s either feast of famine with him
more so than anything,” Munchak said. “It just a multiple of factors … and
it doesn’t mean that we are not trying to get him the ball. There could be
things about what Cookie is doing and what he is not doing, the quarterback
getting a read wrong, how they are covering, it’s all of those things going into
the equation.”

Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck agreed, saying it was good to see Cook
involved in the game from start to finish against the Jaguars.

“It was nice to see Jared Cook come out and play so well,” Hasselbeck
said. “He’s always been kind of a big-play threat for us in a way, but he
consistently played well for us in that game, catching the ball, pass blocking,
all of it. That was great to see. He’s a matchup problem for a lot of people.”

The Titans (8-7) hope to keep up that trend Sunday at Houston. They must win
to maintain their playoff hopes and need help from later games to earn a playoff
berth.

They head into the game relatively healthy.

Defensive end Jason Jones remains in a walking boot with a high ankle sprain
and is doubtful. But running back Chris Johnson (right ankle), receiver Lavelle
Hawkins (ankle), tight end Daniel Graham (illness), defensive tackle Shaun Smith
(knee) and linebacker Gerald McRath (knee/ankle) all practiced fully Friday and
are questionable.

What do you guys think about this.

Thanks for reading! .

That’s all for today.

New Orleans Saints

Last Sunday, the New Orleans Saints clinched their third straight trip to the playoffs thanks to a 22-17 win over the Tennessee Titans. The Titans were not expected to be serious contenders in the AFC this season. However, with a 7-6 record, the Titans have been tough this year. Unfortunately, the Titans came across as anything but tough when they whined about a whistle being blown on the Saints sidelines.

Whistle

The Titans claim to have audio of a whistle being blown during some of their offensive plays. Furthermore, the Titans claim that the whistle came from the direction of the Saints bench. The whistle supposedly caused the Titans to let up on offensive plays because they thought the referees had stopped the action.

The Titans excuse for losing is so ridiculous on so many levels, I will have to stick with my main rebuttals or this article would go on forever.

How do the Titans know it was Saints personnel?

Assuming that a whistle was actually blown (which I don’t believe for an instant) how do the Titans know it came from the Saints bench? The whistle could have just as easily been coming from the crowd behind the Saints bench. In fact, there were so many Saints fans in attendance it certainly could have been an overzealous Who Dat supporter.

Where is the “video” evidence?

The Titans claim to have audio evidence of the whistle. What does that prove? There is a whistle blown at the end of every NFL play! Besides, there are so many cameras at every NFL game, it is impossible for anything to get past network crews these days. If a Saint had a whistle in his mouth, some cameraman would have picked it up.

The Saints should be complaining

I give the Titans credit for playing the Saints tough. However, the only reason the Titans kept the game close was because the referees botched two Saints TDs. There was a phantom holding call on a Darren Sproles punt return for a TD. And Saints TE Jimmy Graham clearly got his knee down before his cleat touched out of bounds.

Are you sure you want to blame an NFL loss on a whistle?

This is really what this whole whistle issue boils down to. Football is a vicious, violent sport played by some of the toughest men in the world. And the Titans want to accuse the Saints of blowing a whistle? Really? This sounds more like an excuse for losing a backyard game of croquet.

Tennessee claiming the Saints blew a whistle makes them look more like dwarves than Titans.

Patrick Michael was born and raised in New Orleans and currently resides in the Big Easy. As such, he is a lifelong, diehard New Orleans Saints fan. His highlight as a Saints fan was experiencing the magical Super Bowl season of 2009.

Sources

MJD, “Titans accuse Saints of blowing whistles on the sidelines,” yahoo.com

More from this contributor

Game summary of Super Bowl 48

The glory of the Saints

The top 5 victims of the Madden curse

The top 5 New Orleans Saints safeties in history

Top 5 NFL players in the Hall of Fame who should not be

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

That’s all the news for today.

Some quick notes for the New Orleans Saints game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

• New Orleans is ranked first in the NFL in offense (eighth rushing and first passing) and 27th in defense (16th rushing and 30th passing) … Tennessee’s ranked 22nd on offense (28th rushing and 18th passing) and 18th on defense (21st rushing and 18th passing).
• The Saints and Titans, who were the Houston Oilers from 1960-1996 have met 12 times. The Titans have a 7-4-1 record in the series. Five of the outcomes have been decided by a touchdown or less. The Titans have won the past four meetings dating back to 1996, their final season in Houston.
• The clubs first met in 1971 and played to a 13-13 tie at the Astrodome. The Oilers captured the next two games in the series, before the Saints won their first game in the series in 1981, the start of a three-game winning streak. The two clubs split their next two meetings before the Titans went on to capture the next four. This will be New Orleans’ second regular season visit to Nashville, their first being a 27-12 loss on September 21, 2003.
  
• In 2010, New Orleans won at least 10 games for the third time since Sean Payton became coach and for the second straight season for the first time since 1991-1992. It was only the second time that the Saints posted back-to-back 11-win seasons. On Sunday, the Saints will be attempting to have double digit wins in three straight seasons for the first time in team history in 2011

Gotta run!.

The New Orleans Saints’ last three games have been high profile victories over the Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants and Detroit Lions. But this week’s road game against the Tennessee Titans has quietly turned into an equally tough test.

For one thing, the Saints have struggled on the road this year, posting a 3-3 record, and this will be their first road game in four weeks. For another, the Titans (7-5) have won three of their last four games, with dangerous tailback Chris Johnson finally getting hot over the last few weeks. And Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck certainly won’t be intimidated by the Saints defense after he picked them apart during last season’s playoffs as the quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks.

“It’s a combination of all those things,” Saints linebacker Scott Shanle said when asked which threat looms largest. “I think playing the last two games the way we’ve played, at home, in the environment, having our fans behind us, and now you’ve got to leave that atmosphere and go play on the road against a good team, against a really good running back, and they’ve been playing solid defense as well. So that’s just the challenge of getting away from home, where it’s felt comfortable, we’ve been playing well. Now we have to go back and see if we can do it away from home.”

Safety Malcolm Jenkins agreed that all of those factors will keep the Saints’ attention this week.

“Hasselbeck, we all know what he’s capable of, especially from last year. Chris Johnson is coming on real hot lately. And that team has been playing well in the last couple of weeks,” Jenkins said. “They’re a hot team and going into their house playing on the road, especially after the last four games have been emotional games, some real intense games. It will be a challenge for us to continue with that intensity, continue with that same focus to go on the road and try to get a win.”

Two of the Saints losses this season were outdoor games – at Tampa Bay and at Green Bay. But Jenkins said he’s not worried about this team coming out flat again this season.

“I think we’ll do a good job,” Jenkins said. “I know from the leadership on this team and from the coaches, we’ll do a good job of getting guys emotionally ready for this game. It’s too late in the season to really have one of those lulls as far as what we’re trying to accomplish and our focus. I think we know what’s on the line, we know what’s at stake, and we’ll continue to show up.”

What are your opinions.

Orchard Park, N.Y. —

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Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck did his part in getting the
Tennessee Titans this far into the playoff hunt. Chris Johnson’s
happy to take over from here.

The Titans ground game is sprouting legs now that Johnson has
shown more signs that he’s re-emerged from what had been a
two-month slumber.

CJ rushed for 153 yards and scored twice in securing a 23-17 win
over the slumping Buffalo Bills on Sunday. It’s the third time in
four games Johnson’s had at least 100 yards, and it’s no
coincidence that the Titans have won all three times to climb into
a logjam of five teams with 7-5 records.

“At the beginning of the season, the passing game carried us,
and now it’s time for the running game to step it up,” said
Johnson, who has 486 of his 852 yards rushing in his past four
games. “The offensive line and everything is hitting on all
cylinders right now, and hopefully we can continue to keep this
momentum going.”

Johnson doubled his season touchdown total by scoring from 48
and 4 yards on consecutive possessions in getting the Titans out to
a 17-7 lead.

Rob Bironas hit three field goals, including a 44-yarder to make
it 23-10 with nine minutes left. Hasselbeck was efficient, going 16
of 25 for 140 yards passing. And the Titans defense generated two
turnovers, and forced Ryan Fitzpatrick to throw three straight
incompletions to end the Bills last drive in the final minute.

The praise was left to Johnson, who’s electric running style is
sparking the Titans’ confidence.

“That’s the CJ that I know,” cornerback Alterraun Verner said.
“If there is a time you want someone to peak, it’s now. … It’s
going to be scary when he starts having some 250-yard games. I
can’t wait for that.”

The Bills (5-7) have very little left to look forward to but
playing games for pride, in the midst of a five-game skid that has
all but mathematically knocked them out of the hunt. A month after
Buffalo was battling New England and the Jets for top spot in the
AFC East, the team’s now in attempting to hold off Miami (4-8) for
last place in the division.

“It’s disappointing. I’ve never lost five in a row,” linebacker
Nick Barnett said. “This is new territory for me and I’m sure for a
lot of guys. It doesn’t feel good. They don’t like it and I don’t
like it.”

C.J. Spiller rushed for a career-best 83 yards and scored on a
35-yard scamper in which he recovered his own fumble just before
sliding out of the end zone. Stevie Johnson made the game close,
scoring on a 2-yard touchdown catch with 2:58 remaining.

At least Johnson, this time, kept his TD celebration in check, a
week after being criticized, flagged 15 yards and fined by the NFL
$10,000 for a questionable display in a 28-24 loss to the New York
Jets.

“Last week was last week,” said Johnson, who had five catches
for 52 yards. “We moved on to the Titans and we tried to get this W
and we came up short.”

Two turnovers _ fumbles by Fitzpatrick and tight end Scott
Chandlers _ led directly to the Titans scoring 10 points.

Though the Bills’ defense limited Tennessee to converting two of
11 third-down chances, Buffalo couldn’t contain the Titans’ running
attack in allowing a season-worst 187 yards.

The Titans prepare for their next big test in hosting Drew Brees
and the NFC South-leading New Orleans Saints next week.

“We’ve got some extra studying to do,” cornerback Cortland
Finnegan said. “I might not do another interview this week, because
I’ll be watching film.”

They’ll at least have some confidence and momentum going into
that game in having strung together two straight wins for the first
time since a 3-1 start.

“A lot of these guys are growing confidence that wasn’t there
from the beginning,” receiver Nate Washington said. “We are
starting to realize we have a good chance at being a great football
team here _ not just good, but great.”

Notes: Johnson’s 48-yard TD run was his longest since scoring a
76-yard touchdown in the 2010 season opener. … Fitzpatrick’s TD
pass gave him 20 this season, becoming the first Bills player to
throw that many in consecutive years since Jim Kelly did it in
1994-95. … Washington did not finish the game to rest a sore left
ankle. Starting CB Jason McCourty’s status is uncertain after he
sustained a concussion in the first quarter. … The Bills honored
Allen Wilson, longtime beat writer for The Buffalo News, who died
Saturday of leukemia. Flowers and a framed picture of “Big Al” were
placed at his seat in the press box. Bills safety and captain
George Wilson spoke for the players in issuing his condolences,
calling the writer a “good man” and “genuine guy.”

Not much else going on in the NFL world today.