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EAST RUTHERFORD http://www.neworleanssaintsteamonline.com/marcus-davenport-jersey , N.J. (AP) New York Giants right guard D.J. Fluker is going to miss the Thanksgiving game against the Redskins in Washington.

The Giants also announced that tackle Justin Pugh (back) and middle linebacker B.J. Goodson (ankle) also will miss the game.

The injury to Fluker means the Giants will have to use their eighth offensive line combination in 11 games. It is expected that veteran John Greco or first-year player Jon Halapio will replace Fluker.

Calvin Munson, who replaced Goodson , is doubtful after aggravating a quad injury.

Linebacker Jonathan Casillas (neck), long-snapper Zak DeOssie (trapezoid muscle) Bills Taron Johnson Jersey , defensive tackle Damon Harrison (ankle/elbow), receiver Sterling Shepard (illness) Cheap Vincent Valentine Jersey , linebacker Kelvin Sheppard (groin) and defensive end Olivier Vernon (shoulder) are questionable.

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Brett Favre says he might have had ”thousands” of concussions during his Hall of Fame career.

The three-time NFL MVP who played from 1992-2010 and was known for his aggressive approach to football said Thursday on NBC’s ”Megyn Kelly Today” that he is experiencing short-term memory issues.

Favre Bengals Logan Woodside Jersey , 48, has become an advocate for concussion research and said he had three or four known concussions during his lengthy career, which spanned 302 regular-season games and 24 in the postseason.

”But as we’re learning about concussions,” he told Kelly, ”there’s a term we use in football and maybe other sports, that I got `dinged.’ When you have ringing of the ears, seeing stars, that is a concussion.

”If that’s a concussion Bengals Mark Walton Jersey , then I’ve had hundreds, probably thousands, throughout my career, which is frightening.”

Favre added that he worries about developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) as he ages.

”My football career has meant a great deal to me and has provided a lot of things, a lot of joy not only for me, but for my family,” Favre said. ”Now, my family doesn’t have to face the physical problems that could potentially arise , or the mental problems that could, but they are directly associated with me in that regard. It’s kind of a blessing and a curse.

”I grew up playing football. My dad was the coach, he was tough on me, he was a hard-nosed, just in-your-face-type of guy, and he didn’t know what concussions were about. We knew basically what a concussion was, but the thought process in those days was you would never come out of a game or practice because you had a little head ding. You would be considered, for lack of a better term Cheap Billy Price Jersey , a sissy.

”My point in this is 30 years ago, there wasn’t a problem in anyone’s mind from playing football. It was just a matter of being tough, and the ones who stuck it out and made the most of it. Now, what we know, is it has nothing to do with toughness and that’s a lot scarier. So I look at my career as something wonderful. I didn’t know; had I known in Year 5, I would have looked at my future a bit closer as my career unfolded.”

Favre appeared on Kelly’s program with three other retired star athletes: soccer’s Abby Wambach, baseball’s David Ross and Favre’s fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer and former teammate Kurt Warner. All four have invested in a company developing a concussion-treatment drug that is not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Favre said he would not encourage youngsters to play football.

”The brain and just the skull itself, for (8- to 15-year-olds) http://www.sanfrancisco49ersteamonline.com/fred-warner-jersey , and maybe even older, is not developed enough and they should not be playing tackle football,” Favre said. ”We should protect them, especially when there is no treatment solution out there.”

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THOUSAND OAKS http://www.baltimoreravensteamauthentic.com/lamar-jackson-jersey , Calif. (AP) Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead has to put together a complicated puzzle this offseason.

And he still isn’t sure whether All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s contract extension will be the first or last piece to fall into place for the surprising NFC West champions.

Negotiating with Donald is the highest-profile task awaiting Snead, who will also have to address uncertainty in the secondary, if he will use the franchise tag on wide receiver Sammy Watkins, and whether to cut players such as linebacker Mark Barron and wide receiver Tavon Austin.

”That’s the biggest piece of the puzzle is, all right, how do we stay in this window where we expect to compete for a division, expect to win the division. And we do have a young team so it is sustainable, but it’s solving that riddle,” Snead said Wednesday.

The Rams spent much of their efforts last offseason trying to address their struggling offense, hiring Sean McVay as head coach and bringing in established veterans including left tackle Andrew Whitworth Buccaneers M.J. Stewart Jersey , center John Sullivan and wide receivers Robert Woods and Watkins to assist quarterback Jared Goff.

Those efforts were more successful than Snead could have imagined, finishing as the top scoring offense in the league this season after ranking last the previous season.

Los Angeles went 11-5, with the franchise earning its first division title since 2003, before losing to the Atlanta Falcons 26-13 in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday.

Snead said the emphasis in the upcoming months will now be on defense, including trying to finalize a new contract with Donald. Donald held out of training camp in hopes of getting that deal and didn’t report to the team until one day before the regular season started.

Still, he finished with 15 tackles for loss and 11 sacks in 14 games, solidifying his status as the game’s dominant interior lineman.

Snead and Donald’s representatives both agreed to stop negotiating during the season. There is no timetable for an agreement, but even a basic framework of what will likely be the richest contract for a defender in NFL history would give Snead the ability to respond accordingly in other areas.

”Like I’ve always said with Aaron, hey, we want him to be a Ram a long time Cheap Mark Walton Jersey ,” Snead said. ”So when we ink that deal, or not, I can’t put a timeline on it, but it is a major priority, as it always will be until we get it done. And for Aaron’s sake, and for doing business, with our other players as well because that contract obviously will affect basically your salary cap.”

While Donald will almost certainly remain the anchor up front for a long time, there are fewer guarantees at defensive back. Cornerback Trumaine Johnson has played the past two seasons under the franchise tag, and starting safety Lamarcus Joyner and slot corner Nickell Robey-Coleman are unrestricted free agents.

Cornerback Kayvon Webster, one of the few significant signings on defense last offseason Cheap Trenton Cannon Jersey , is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon.

Snead held off on committing to Johnson on a long-term basis before seeing how he would fit in defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ system.

Snead said making sure a player can thrive in a specific scheme is a must before committing big money. Johnson played well with 57 solo tackles, 14 passes defended and two interceptions.

”They definitely have to be ideal scheme fits, or I always call it you’re putting a rectangle in a square and I think that’s how things get a little off-kilter when you’re building a team,” Snead said.

There could also be turnover at linebacker, where Barron and edge rusher Robert Quinn could be cut to avoid significant salary-cap hits.

The same might be true for Austin, who had 13 receptions for 47 yards and ran for 270 yards and one touchdown. Austin fell behind Woods, Watkins and rookie Cooper Kupp in the rotation after being limited by a hamstring injury in training camp.

If the 2013 first-round pick were to go, it could increase the likelihood Watkins remains with Los Angeles.

Watkins led the Rams with eight touchdown receptions in the final season of his rookie contract after being acquired in a trade from Buffalo in August.

Watkins could be one of the top options in a relatively weak group of free-agent receivers, making him a potential option for the franchise tag.

”The goal is to make sure we can fit everybody into the budget,” Snead said. ”Because sometimes saving money , that kind of means we’re attacking an individual player just to save money.

”But it’s really looking at the budget, the cap situation for this year, and the cap situation for next year, and the next. Then we go `18, how do we improve and then keep the core together? So, it’s not necessarily looking at just salaries.”

NOTES: Defensive tackle Michael Brockers is not expected to require surgery for the knee injury he sustained against the Falcons, Snead said.

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NEW YORK (AP) Papa John’s founder John Schnatter will step down as CEO next month http://www.atlantafalconsteamonline.com/logan-paulsen-jersey , about two months after he criticized the NFL leadership over national anthem protests by players – comments for which the company later apologized.

Schnatter will be replaced as chief executive by Chief Operating Officer Steve Ritchie on Jan. 1, the company announced Thursday. Schnatter, who appears in the chain’s commercials and on its pizza boxes, remains chairman of the board. He is also the company’s biggest shareholder.

Earlier this year, Schnatter blamed slowing sales growth at Papa John’s – an NFL sponsor and advertiser – on the outcry surrounding football players kneeling during the national anthem. Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick had kneeled during the anthem to protest what he said was police mistreatment of black men, and other players started kneeling as well.

”The controversy is polarizing the customer, polarizing the country,” Schnatter said during a conference call about the company’s earnings on Nov. 1.

Papa John’s apologized two weeks later, after white supremacists praised Schnatter’s comments. The Louisville Panthers Ian Thomas Jersey , Kentucky-based company distanced itself from the group, saying that it did not want them to buy their pizza.

Ritchie declined to say Thursday if the NFL comments played a role in Schnatter stepping down, saying only that it’s ”the right time to make this change.”

Shares of Papa John’s are down about 13 percent since the day before the NFL comments were made, reducing the value of Schnatter’s stake in the company by nearly $84 million. Schnatter owns about 9.5 million shares of Papa John’s International Inc., and his total stake was valued at more than $560 million on Thursday, according to FactSet. The company’s stock is down 30 percent since the beginning of the year.

”I think it’s possible that this was a conscious decision to get him out of the line of fire,” said restaurant analyst John Gordon, who is the founder and CEO of Pacific Management Consulting Group. ”The focus of the brand needs to be the pizza.”

Schnatter, 56 Bills Phillip Gaines Jersey , founded Papa John’s more than three decades ago, when he turned a broom closet at his father’s bar into a pizza spot. Since then, it has grown to more than 5,000 locations. Schnatter has also become the face of the company, showing up in TV ads with former football player Peyton Manning. Schnatter stepped away from the CEO role before, in 2005, but returned about three years later.

Ritchie said new ads would come out next year. The company said later Thursday that it had ”no plans to remove John from our communications,” which it says includes pizza boxes or commercials.

The leadership change comes as pizza makers, which once dominated the fast-food delivery business Cheap Bradley Chubb Jersey , face tougher competition from hamburger and fried-chicken chains that are expanding their delivery business. McDonald’s Corp., for example, expects to increase delivery from 5,000 of its nearly 14,000 U.S. locations by the end of the year.

Ritchie said his focus as CEO will be making it easier for customers to order a Papa John’s pizza from anywhere. That’s a strategy that has worked for Domino’s, which takes orders from tweets, text messages and voice-activated devices, such as Amazon’s Echo. Papa John’s customers can order through Facebook and Apple TV, but Ritchie said he wants the chain to be everywhere customers are.

”The world is evolving and changing,” he said.

Ritchie, 43, began working at a Papa John’s restaurant 21 years ago, making pizzas and answering phones, the company said. He became a franchise owner in 2006 and owns nine locations. He was named chief operating officer three years ago. Ritchie said plans for him to succeed Schnatter were made after that.

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Contact Joseph Pisani at http://twitter.com/josephpisani

LAKE BUENA VISTA Cheap Joe Thuney Jersey , Fla. (AP) Pittsburgh Steelers star running back Le’Veon Bell says he and the team are making progress on a contract extension.

The team has presented an initial offer, and Bell says ”we are a lot closer than we were last year.”

Bell spoke Wednesday at the Pro Bowl. He says he doesn’t believe talks will drag on. He says ”I think we’ll get something done and it will be exciting for both sides http://www.oaklandraidersteamonline.com/brandon-parker-jersey , for the fans and everybody.”

The 25-year-old back turned down a long-term contract in 2017, skipped training camp and then signed a one-year Cheap Justin Bethel Jersey , $12 million franchise tender. 

The Steelers could franchise him again in March, a move Bell told ESPN would force him to consider retiring or sitting out the 2018 season. A second tag would be worth around $14.5 million.

Bell led the NFL in touches (404) this past season. He insists his preference would be to remain in Pittsburgh.

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NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH Chiefs Breeland Speaks Jersey , Mass. (AP) The more than $115,000 in back taxes owed on the Massachusetts home that once belonged to former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez have been paid.

The tax collector in North Attleborough tells The Sun Chronicle that Hernandez’s estate paid $60 Cheap Donald Trump Jersey ,000 toward the lien in December while the new owners of the home paid the remaining $55,000 last month.

Hernandez bought the home for $1.3 million in 2012. It was sold in November for $1 million.

Court records also show $500 Cheap Trent Murphy Jersey ,000 from the sale was placed into escrow while a judge determines if it should go to Hernandez’s daughter.

Hernandez was serving a life sentence for the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd when he hanged himself in prison in April days after his acquittal in a double slaying.

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Information from: The (Attleboro, Mass.) Sun Chronicle Steelers Terrell Edmunds Jersey , http://www.thesunchronicle.com

TENNESSEE (8-5) at SAN FRANCISCO (3-10)

Sunday Bengals Mark Walton Jersey , 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS

OPENING LINE – Titans by 2 1/2

RECORD VS. SPREAD – Tennessee 5-7-1, San Francisco 7-6

SERIES RECORD – 49ers lead 8-5

LAST MEETING – 49ers beat Titans 31-17, Oct. 20 Eagles Dallas Goedert Jersey , 2013

LAST WEEK – Titans lost to Cardinals 12-7; 49ers beat Texans 26-16

AP PRO32 RANKING – Titans No. 13, 49ers No. 26 (tie)

TITANS OFFENSE – OVERALL (21), RUSH (10), PASS (27).

TITANS DEFENSE – OVERALL (9) Redskins Pernell McPhee Jersey , RUSH (5), PASS (22).

49ERS OFFENSE – OVERALL (17), RUSH (22), PASS (16).

49ERS DEFENSE – OVERALL (25) Bengals Logan Woodside Jersey , RUSH (25), PASS (20).

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES – Titans spent week in Arizona following game at Cardinals to reduce travel. … Titans making first visit to Levi’s Stadium. Second straight game Titans have played in a stadium for first time, following University of Phoenix Stadium. … Titans one win from posting first back-to-back winning seasons since 2007-08. … Tennessee QB Marcus Mariota has thrown eight INTs past four games to give him career-worst 14 on season. … Mariota has had four of his eight career game-winning drives this season. … Tennessee made eight sacks twice in past three games after having not done it since 1985. … Titans have 20 sacks in three games Ravens Robert Griffin III Jersey , most by NFL team over any three-game span this season and most for franchise in three-game span during Titans’ era since 1999. … Tennessee held seven straight teams to fewer than 100 yards rushing before allowing 136 last week. … Niners seek first three-game winning streak since 2014. … QB Jimmy Garoppolo makes first home start for San Francisco. His 627 yards passing past two weeks are most for any 49ers QB in first two starts with team since merger. … Garoppolo one ouben Foster has 45 tackles in past five games. … 49ers third worst in NFL with TDs on 41.7 percent of red zone trips. … San Francisco FB Kyle Juszczyk had career-high 64 yards receiving last week. … 49ers K Robbie Gould made 14 straight FGs. … Fantasy Tip: San Francisco WR Marquise Goodwin has developed into Garoppolo’s favorite target with 14 catches for 205 yards in two games together.

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NEW YORK (AP) The New York Jets aren’t ready to sacrifice wins now for a glimpse at an uncertain future.

A day after coach Todd Bowles insisted that Josh McCown will remain the starter under center Cheap Rex Burkhead Jersey , quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates reiterated that point – regardless of the growing sentiment outside the facility that it might be time for Christian Hackenberg or Bryce Petty to get an opportunity.

”We’re focused more on the Carolina Panthers than getting into that debate,” Bates said Tuesday during a conference call. ”Of course, we’ll have that conversation at the end of the season.

”As an organization, this is professional football. This isn’t Triple-A.”

In other words, now is not the time to send a player onto the field simply to assess his progress and development.

At 4-6, the Jets are still in the playoff hunt as they head into their bye week, despite having dropped four of their past five.

When they return to the practice field next week, McCown will again be leading the first-team offense as they prepare for Cam Newton and the Panthers.

”We’re going to play the best players that give us the opportunity to win at all positions,” Bates said. ”That’s our philosophy. Josh is our starter. He gives us the opportunity to win on Sunday and that’s what we’re focused on.”

But there’s no guarantee, of course http://www.sanfrancisco49ersteamonline.com/tarvarius-moore-jersey , that Bates, Bowles, offensive coordinator John Morton or anyone else will be back to talk about the franchise’s future when this season is over. Bowles is still coaching for his job, and likely needs the Jets to continue being competitive if he has a shot at returning for the final year on his current contract.

While Bates said McCown is ”playing at a high level,” the veteran QB is 38 and signed for just this season, so he clearly isn’t the future. Both Hackenberg, a second-rounder out of Penn State last year, and Petty, a fourth-rounder out of Baylor in 2015, were given a shot to overtake McCown for the job in training camp. But neither proved he was up for the challenge.

When asked a few weeks ago whether it was time to put one of the youngsters in http://www.sanfrancisco49ersteamonline.com/fred-warner-jersey , Bowles replied flatly: ”I looked at all of my young quarterbacks in the summer. Josh is my quarterback.”

That might have been the clearest of all indicators as to where the organization stands on their evaluations of Hackenberg and Petty.

Petty started four games last season for Ryan Fitzpatrick, but had just three touchdown passes and seven interceptions.

Meanwhile, Hackenberg remains an even bigger question mark. A talented thrower who was rated highly by general manager Mike Maccagnan, Hackenberg has been unable to move up on the depth chart. The Jets could still potentially land a top quarterback in the draft in April, but that would also spell the end of Hackenberg’s chances of being the guy to lead the huddle in the future.

”He continues to develop as a pro quarterback, learning the system, playing fast, and being more accurate,” Bates said. ”So all those things, he’s working on.”

While the two youngsters continue to watch from the sideline during games and serve as backups during practice http://www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/john-kelly-jersey , Bates believes they are still learning from a ”true pro” in McCown. The 15-year veteran has a single-season personal best of 14 touchdown throws and his 69.0 percent completion rate ranks third in the NFL.

”When you watch Josh practice, he goes out there and he’s on it – on the protections, 100 percent on the run game, 100 percent,” Bates said. ”As a young quarterback, I think that’s huge to witness that, because you can’t have an off day. You can’t have a bad Wednesday or have the philosophy of, `Man, I’m going to really turn it loose on game day.”’

Bates said both Hackenberg and Petty, who take turns running the scout team Ravens Mark Andrews Jersey , have a system during practice that puts an emphasis on making the right decisions with each snap.

”If you throw a completion, you stay on, and if you throw an incompletion, you rotate,” Bates said. ”They know the importance of the game. They know the importance of their position. And I think they’re both working their tail off to put themselves in the position.

”So when their number is called, they’ll be ready.”

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This is a fairy tale that takes place in the Midwest and on the West Coast.

It centers on a team called the Chiefs http://www.sanfrancisco49ersteamonline.com/mike-mcglinchey-jersey , and how they were headed toward greatness, then fell down the rabbit hole.

And a team called the Chargers, who climbed out of that hole. And the Raiders , who keep digging holes for themselves, yet have emerged.

There’s also this rainbow, at the end of which is a silver trophy all three covet.

Well, that’s really going beyond where this trio might be capable of traveling.

The not-so-magical land they live in is called the AFC West. It was projected to be very Oz-like heading into the 2017 NFL season. Now, it looks more like a gravel-strewn back road than any yellow brick variety leading to a flashy palace.

Mediocrity, or worse http://www.minnesotavikingsteamonline.com/brian-o_neill-jersey , will do that to you.

Kansas City, Oakland and Los Angeles are tied at 6-6. There are enough head-to-head matchups over the next few weeks for them to settle the division crown by themselves.

Or, a team such team as the Jets – who beat the Chiefs 38-31 Sunday and next play at Denver and have LA on Christmas Eve – could be a factor.

Regardless, the ride could get even bumpier, and it’s unlikely more than the division winner will make it to January.

CHIEFS

The dynamic bunch that upended New England and Philadelphia – merely the top two teams in the NFL for much of the schedule – in September and began 5-0 has hit the skids. Kansas City rediscovered its big-play offense against the Jets, but the defense sprung all kinds of holes. It’s gotten so bad that Andy Reid’s team has fallen twice in the New Jersey Meadowlands in three weeks, and we’re not talking Joe Namath’s Jets or Lawrence Taylor’s Giants.

And KC completely self-destructed with a series of penalties in the red zone late in Sunday’s loss.

”We definitely can’t show frustration,” wide receiver Tyreek Hill said, ”because if we do Cheap Montee Ball Jersey , it’ll definitely get the best of us.”

Which it is. The once-stingy secondary has lost its edge, with even its surest cover guys and tacklers looking sloppy and making terrible decisions. A powerhouse running game has gone flat. Reid’s play-calling had stagnated and he gave up those duties against the Jets; at least that worked with Matt Nagy handling such duties.

”You just continue to fight and try to win a game,” quarterback Alex Smith said. ”We’ve been in some close ones a bunch here lately and have come out on the wrong side. Keep fighting and try to find a way. We know we have a couple of big division games coming up, so you have to assess this and get ready.”

Immediately.

RAIDERS

In a few years, they will live in Las Vegas. This year, the Raiders are rolling some sevens.

A four-game slide in which the offense disappeared, particularly when quarterback Derek Carr was sidelined, didn’t ruin their chances. When the Chiefs came back to the pack, Carr got healthy and the schedule got a bit easier.

In Sunday’s win over the Giants Cheap Patrick Chung Jersey , Oakland caught a break because spiraling New York had benched its only proven QB, Eli Manning. So even without its top two receivers – Michael Crabtree was suspended, Amari Cooper was hurt – Oakland had enough.

The Raiders play at the Chiefs on Thursday night and finish at the Chargers.

”You have to stay the course,” Carr said. ”There’s a lot of adversity that happens every season. You wish you could just go out and win them all and do it in a good way. That just hasn’t been our road this year. It’s been a little bit more difficult, a lot of it because of ourselves. But we’re in a situation where all of our goals are right in front of us.”

CHARGERS

When they were 0-4, unable to fill a small soccer stadium they are calling home, the Chargers were a laughing stock. Look who is chuckling now.

”No one ever flinched,” coach Anthony Lynn said. ”At 0-4, we still had a lot of football left Cheap Jordan Akins Jersey , and that’s how we’ve always looked at it. To be in this position doesn’t surprise me at all, because guys have worked hard and they’re committed to the process. They never stopped believing.”

The Bolts haven’t beaten a team that has a winning record, but that won’t matter much if they keep storming through the weaker opponents. They don’t have anyone above .500 on their remaining schedule.

There’s veteran leadership thanks to Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates. There’s a watch-out sacks duo of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram. And there’s a growing confidence.

”If you had told us when we started with an 0-4 record that we would be where we are now, people would say you’re crazy,” cornerback Casey Hayward said. ”I think we are headed in the right direction. We can win this quarter of the season and be in the playoffs. We have a chance to make some noise.”

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LAKE FOREST http://www.baltimoreravensteamauthentic.com/jaleel-scott-jersey , Ill. (AP) With three straight losses and Aaron Rodgers sidelined because of a broken right collarbone, things sure are looking bleak for Green Bay.

Even beating Chicago is hardly a given.

While the Packers come into Sunday’s game trying to find their footing with the superstar quarterback sidelined, the Bears are playing more like a respectable team.

”The standard is still the standard,” Packers cornerback Davon House said. ”My eye is still on the Super Bowl, but we’ve got to make the playoffs first and we’ve got to beat Chicago first.

”If we don’t beat Chicago and we don’t start winning some of these division games Cheap Martinas Rankin Jersey , there is no playoffs. That’s as simple as that. As simple as that.”

The Packers (4-4) haven’t won since they pulled out a 35-31 victory at Dallas on a touchdown pass from Rodgers to Davante Adams in the closing seconds on Oct. 8.

A week later at Minnesota, the two-time MVP got driven hard to the turf by the Vikings’ Anthony Barr.

Rodgers fell on his throwing shoulder and left with an injury that could sideline him for the rest of the season.

With Brett Hundley taking over at quarterback, the Packers dropped that game 23-10 and have lost two more since then. That includes a 30-17 drubbing by Detroit on Monday night coming off a bye.

The Packers have tormented the Bears in recent years, taking seven of eight from them. They have won seven in a row at Soldier Field, including the 2010 NFC championship game.

They also pounded Chicago 35-14 at home on Sept. 28. But the Bears (3-5) have also undergone a few changes since then.

Chicago benched struggling quarterback Mike Glennon and turned to No. 2 overall draft pick Mitchell Trubisky after getting blown out by Green Bay. Since then Cheap Billy Price Jersey , the Bears are 2-2.

With their defense leading the way, they put together back-to-back victories for the first time since 2015 before a loss at NFC South leader New Orleans.

After a week off, the Bears have a chance to exceed their win total from last season by beating Green Bay.

”I kind of feel like it’s a new season in a way,” Trubisky said. ”The last few games are what they are but we have a great opportunity coming up next with this home game.”

Here are some things to know as the Packers try to stop their skid and the Bears go for their third win in four games:

MISSING RODGERS: The Packers are 3-7-1 in games Rodgers has missed since he became the starter in 2008. They’ll need more from Hundley if they’re going to improve on that record.

The third-year pro has thrown one touchdown and four interceptions in the past three games. He has also been sacked eight times.

Hundley was 26 of 38 for 245 yards with no interceptions against Detroit. But a late touchdown drive with the game in hand boosted those numbers.

TARGET DOWN: Last in the NFL in passing, the Bears will try to get their offense jumpstarted even though they are missing one of their few reliable targets.

Tight end Zach Miller is recovering from surgery to save his left leg after an injury at New Orleans http://www.miamidolphinsteamonline.com/minkah-fitzpatrick-jersey , and that means bigger roles for Dion Sims, Adam Shaheen and Daniel Brown. Wide receiver Dontrelle Inman is available for the first time since the Bears acquired him from the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 25.

”He’s a veteran guy,” coach John Fox said. ”He’s had opportunities to throw live with Mitch and the other quarterbacks. I think he’s got a good grasp of what we’re doing now and what’s expected of him.”

BENNETT GONE: The Packers waived tight end Martellus Bennett on Wednesday while citing a ”failure to disclose a physical condition.” That could mean more opportunities for Lance Kendricks and Richard Rodgers, who each have had 50-reception seasons.

Kendricks has caught eight passes for 126 yards and one touchdown while Rodgers has caught four passes for 43 yards.

LINING UP: Besides dealing with a decimated group of wide receivers, Trubisky is playing behind a banged up line. Guard Kyle Long left the New Orleans game because of a finger injury and Cody Whitehair left with an elbow injury. Both players returned to practice this week.

UNDER PRESSURE: The Packers have been burned by Drew Brees and Matthew Stafford while dropping the past two games against New Orleans and Detroit. One reason for that: A lack of sacks.

The Packers have four in the past five games. And only one team has fewer sacks than Green Bay’s 13 on the season.

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