Cowboys cruise to win over Buccaneers

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on December 17, 2011, 11:25 PM EST

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The Cowboys held serve Saturday night.

They beat a very bad Bucs team in Tampa, and the Cowboys did it convincingly by the score of 31-15, with a victory formation inside the Bucs’ five-yard line to cap the night.

The game wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The Cowboys had 28 first downs to only seven for the Bucs, and led 28-0 at halftime before cruising to the win.

The win puts the Cowboys at 8-6, in the thick of a division race and wild card race that will go down to the season’s final Sunday.

Lions will be without Louis Delmas again this weekend

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on December 17, 2011, 2:40 PM EST

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The Lions are getting a few key players back this week, but they will still be without the best player in their secondary.

The Lions announced that safety Louis Delmas has been downgraded from questionable to out. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that other questionable players like cornerback Chris Houston and running back Kevin Smith made the trip to the Bay Area. They are expected to play Sunday despite being listed as questionable.

With Ndamukong Suh also returning, the Lions are in good shape for perhaps the most intriguing game of the week that very few people will watch.  (It’s opposite Tebow-Brady Armageddon.)

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Patriots extend Jerod Mayo with 5-year deal

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on December 17, 2011, 10:33 AM EST

Reuters

The Patriots defense doesn’t have a lot going for it, but it does have a great young leader in linebacker Jerod Mayo.

New England made sure that Mayo remains with the team through the prime of his career by giving him a five-year contract extension on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

19 things to know about the Week 15 injury report

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on December 16, 2011, 7:23 PM EST

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We handle the big injury stories Friday in the rumor mill.

The rest goes right here, in America’s most enticing weekly segment about the injury report.

1. Here are the players were updated during the day on the rumor mill: Kevin Smith, Andre Johnson, Colt McCoy, Justin Tuck, and Kyle Orton.

2. The Eagles are ready to go, except for defensive end Darryl Tapp who is doubtful with a broken rib.

3. The Jets get running back Joe McKnight and defensive lineman Mike Devito back in the lineup for their game against Philly.

Sam Hurd denies allegations of selling drugs to NFL players

Posted by Mike Florio on December 17, 2011, 6:48 AM EST

AP

The Bears officially have cut ties with receiver Sam Hurd.  Hurd’s lawyers claim that no current players have had any involvement in whatever it was that Hurd was allegedly, or actually, doing.

“Sam has asked me to address one point, with respect to the rumors that Sam has been supplying drugs to other members of the NFL, out of respect to the NFL, out of respect to teammates and out of respect to other players, he 100 percent denies that allegation,” attorney Brent Greenfield (pictured) told reporters Friday night, via the Associated Press.  “It is patently and totally false.  It just didn’t happen.”