Chad Henne’s knee hurt, and he also felt badly for Miami Dolphins teammate Chad Pennington.
Over on the Tennessee Titans’ sideline, things were almost as bad.
Injuries sidelined the Dolphins’ top two quarterbacks Sunday. Pennington’s season debut lasted only two plays before he departed with another injury to his troublesome right shoulder, and Henne hurt his left knee in the third quarter.
Tyler Thigpen finished the Dolphins’ 29-17 victory over Tennessee, and he may be the starter by default Thursday against Chicago.
Kerry Collins started for the Titans and played the first half before leaving the game with a calf injury. He was replaced by Vince Young, who didn’t start because of a sprained left ankle.
“Our situation speaks for itself,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “We’ve got two good quarterbacks that have been spelling one another through this injury thing we’ve been dealing with.”
Fisher said he didn’t know how long Collins would be unavailable.
“You’ve got to fight through pain,” Young said. “My number was called. Kerry went down, so I had to go and try to win the game. That’s what I tried to do.”
The 34-year-old Pennington has undergone shoulder surgery three times, most recently last year after he was injured in Week 3. He hadn’t played since, and now the Dolphins wonder if he’ll be able to play again.
“For him to have another shoulder problem, it’s tough,” Henne said. “I’m sure he’s going to have some decisions to make when he finds out what’s going on.
“We’re stuck with this situation. We’ll see what happens.”
Henne hurt his left knee when hit by 305-pound defensive tackle Tony Brown as he threw an incompletion. He walked off the field and was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam.
“It doesn’t feel good,” Henne said. “But if I can stand it, if I can run on it, I’m going to play. We’ll see what happens. I’m not going to be one to baby my knee. If I can be out there, I’ll be out there.”
Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward injured his neck attempting to make a catch against New England and did not return to the game, ending his Steelers-record streak of making at least one reception in 186 consecutive games.
Ward was hurt while being hit by Patrick Chung and James Sanders on what was initially ruled a 6-yard catch on Pittsburgh’s third possession. Sanders’ helmet appeared to strike Ward’s helmet.
After Ward stumbled while being helped off the field, the Patriots challenged the completion and it was overturned because Ward did not maintain possession as he struck the ground.
Bills rookie running back C.J. Spiller is out indefinitely after hurting his hamstring in a 14-12 win over the Detroit Lions.
Though final tests results weren’t in, coach Chan Gailey all but ruled out Spiller from playing next week, when the Bills are at Cincinnati.
“I can’t imagine him playing this week,” Gailey said. “We’ll have to see how long it lasts.”
In becoming the NFL’s final team to win this season, the Bills (1-8) also lost defensive lineman Spencer Johnson to a hamstring injury in the second half.
Spiller, the rookie first-round pick, was hurt after he was hit along the sideline and pushed out of bounds by Detroit’s Vinny Ciurciu after returning a punt 29 yards with 9 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter.
San Francisco 49ers left tackle Joe Staley is out indefinitely after breaking his left leg during a 23-20 overtime win against the St. Louis Rams.
The fourth-year starter was on crutches after the game. Staley apparently kept playing after an initial injury, but committed two penalties on San Francisco’s go-ahead drive late in the fourth quarter. His holding penalty wiped out Troy Smith’s 43-yard TD pass to Vernon Davis.
Cleveland’s Joshua Cribbs hurt his right foot in the second quarter in the team’s overtime loss to the New York Jets and did not return. Linebacker Scott Fujita, possibly the team’s defensive MVP, injured his left knee and sat out the second half. And, cornerback Sheldon Brown hurt his left shoulder tackling Braylon Edwards.
Dallas Cowboys cornerbacks Terence Newman and Michael Jenkins left the win against the New York Giants with injuries.
Newman was hurt with about six minutes remaining in the first quarter. He limped to the sideline, then walked to the locker room with a left ankle problem. Jenkins was sidelined by a neck injury sustained in the second quarter.
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