NFL

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ -- The last time the Giants played at Denver, the game coincided with the opening of Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium. Only one current Giants player was a part of that game.

He will never forget it. Nor the shock and tragedy that soon followed.

Guard Rich Seubert was a 22-year-old undrafted rookie free agent from Western Illinois University when he signed with the Giants prior to the 2001 season. He and the Giants, eight months off a Super Bowl XXXV loss to Baltimore, opened that 2001 season on Sept. 10 at Denver, a 31-20 loss.

Afterward, the Giants flew home to New York and arrived only a few hours before the Sept. 11 terrorist airplane attacks on the World Trade Center's twin towers in Manhattan.

Tampa Bay rookie head coach Raheem Morris has been unhappy with the performance of his team's defense, so he's decided to deal with the situation head-on. Morris removed Jim Bates from his role as defensive coordinator Monday, according to the St. Petersburg Times, and will take over the position himself. Bates will remain with the team as a consultant.

Tampa Bay, 1-9 on the season, ranks 31st in the NFL in average points allowed at 29.4 per game -- ahead of only Detroit. The Buccaneers are last in the league against the run.

Morris will reportedly return the Bucs to a Tampa-2 defense, a scheme that became prominent during Tony Dungy's days as the Bucs' head coach.

According to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Rams will be without starting quarterback Marc Bulger for at least three weeks, and possibly the rest of the season. Bulger injured his knee in Sunday's loss to the visiting Arizona Cardinals. The injury is actually a fracture in the knee area, termed a tibial plateau fracture. The Rams are expecting to lose him for three-to-six weeks -- and there are only six weeks left in the season.

Kyle Boller will take the helm for the Rams. The team is 1-9, but has improved its play on both sides of the football as of late -- hanging with two of the better NFC teams in each of the past two weeks (New Orleans and Arizona). Boller appears to be a step down from Bulger, albeit a slight one.

There was little on Sunday that matched the drama of the Cleveland-Detroit showdown. Yes, two 1-8 teams gave us a gripping game filled with highlights and lowlights from both sides.

After Matthew Stafford found Brandon Pettigrew for the game-winning touchdown on an untimed down that followed a defensive penalty, Browns coach Eric Mangini -- never one to shy away from controversy -- decided to accuse the Lions of faking injuries during the game.

Chargers star cornerback Antonio Cromartie is being investigated by police for his role in an altercation at a San Diego bar, according to multiple reports.

TMZ.com first reported that Cromartie was under investigation for assault with a deadly weapon, citing law enforcement sources who stated that Cromartie was out celebrating the Chargers' win "when somebody threw a champage bottle which hit a bystander in the head." Apparently, no arrests were made and no charges have yet been filed.

Cromartie issued a statement on Twitter (@crimetime31): "I want to apologize to charger nation and my fans. There's sum stuff out abt me that's not true. It will come out. God Bless."

When you're the Detroit Lions and you're thinking about making Matthew Stafford the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, you're a quivering Jell-O mold of fear and trepidation. Is the kid smart enough? Is he strong enough? Is he tough enough to not just play but thrive in the most crucial position any sport has? Will he represent the team well? Does he make a good impression? Is he a leader? You're risking dozens of millions of dollars and the future of your franchise on questions you really can't hope to answer by the end of April of his junior year of college, and it's scary.

But the flip side is what you know he can be, which is that rarest of NFL commodities -- a franchise quarterback. You imagine a day when he puts the team on his back, overcomes some ridiculous obstacle (an expired clock, say, or an injured shoulder ... or both!) and leads the team to an emotional, season-defining win. You believe he can be that kind of player, and so, you give him the money and hope. And then, in Week 11 of his first season, he gives you a glimpse.

After starting the season with four wins and only one loss, the Atlanta Falcons have lost four times in their last five games and see themselves sitting on the outside of the playoff picture, looking in. At 5-5, the Falcons have a lot of work to do to ensure a spot in the post-season, but the team hasn't given up yet and they have a favorable schedule ahead to work with.

Head Coach Mike Smith spent time in the locker room after a Sunday loss to the New York Giants talking about the tough stretch the Falcons have gone through and how the Falcons play four of their final six games in the friendly Georgia Dome, a place where they haven't lost all season. "What I told our team is that we've been through a long road in terms of the last six weeks", said Smith. "Four out of the six games we've played have been against teams that have been coming off the byes. I also told them that we are looking forward to having a three-game home stand."

The Steelers have had a great decade. Two Super Bowl titles, two more AFC Championship appearances and six playoff berths is a record most teams would love to have.

But there have been some bad losses along the way as well, few worse than the loss to the Chiefs on Sunday. Here's a look at the worst five losses of the decade.

The NFL season officially hit the homestretch late in the second quarter in Denver on Sunday when Josh McDaniels, his Broncos trailing San Diego 13-0, inserted gimpy starting quarterback Kyle Orton for struggling backup Chris Simms.

Denver lost, 32-3, although the offense did get better with Orton leading it.

But that's not the point. The point is that McDaniels, whose team had lost three in a row coming in, felt Sunday's game was so critical that he needed to insert Orton and risk further injury to the ligaments in the QB's ankle, even with another game coming up in four days. It's like George Allen's old slogan for the Redskins of the 70s: "The future is now.'' Except that Allen's slogan worked a lot better than Orton worked for the Broncos -- he certainly was better than Simms, but it didn't matter much.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- It was a what-else-can-go-wrong game for the Jets that revealed their warts and showcased the Patriots' muscle. Everything about this 31-14 Patriots victory here on Sunday essentially pointed to one fact: the Jets are frauds.

They talked a big game before the first snap of the season and more smack when they toppled the Patriots 16-9 back in Week 2. They were throwing a rookie quarterback sensation at opponents, combined with a defense designed to growl and intimidate.

They sped to three straight victories -- but have since lost six of seven games. And those six losses have come in a pair of three-game losing skids, including the current one. They are a 4-6 team steamrolling to a 7-9 or 6-10 season.

DENVER -- Four consecutive losses have dropped the once impressive Denver Broncos into the middle of the AFC pack.

The San Diego Chargers (7-3) all but ensured they will win the AFC West with a 32-3 rout Sunday at Denver's Invesco Field, and only the second-quarter emergence of injured Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton off the bench sparked any life in the disillusioned home team.

Hobbling on a badly sprained left ankle, Orton was a better option than struggling backup Chris Simms, who started the game but almost immediately lost the ball on a sack and fumble and ultimately failed to move Denver's offense effectively.