NFL Player News

Coach Bruce Arians said Winston suffered a "little bitty fracture" in his right thumb during Sunday's 38-35 victory against the Colts, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports. "He was fine at halftime and went out and went to grip the ball and couldn't grip it. They X-rayed his thumb," Arians added. "Nothing serious. He was able to get his strength back and come back and finish.''

Winston missed the Buccaneers' first series of the second half with what was termed a right hand injury at the time, but he returned for the second possession and later guided the team on a game-winning drive down the stretch. By game's end, he had a truly unique stat line: 33-for-45 passing for 456 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions to go with six carries for five yards and another TD. Arians' comments seem to indicate Winston will be fine, but his practice reps may be capped this week to avoid any sort of setback before the team visits the Lions next Sunday. Behind Winston, Ryan Griffin serves as Tampa Bay's backup quarterback.

Brissett completed 19 of 36 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns while adding 26 yards on four carries in Sunday's 38-35 loss to Tampa Bay.

Brissett was inefficient against the vulnerable Buccaneers secondary, but he found Marcus Johnson for a 46-yard touchdown just 2:15 into the game and added a 12-yard touchdown to Zach Pascal in the third quarter. He has a tidy 18:6 TD:INT this season, but that ratio is 4:3 over his past six games. The quarterback's second-half decline has coincided with his team's drop in the standings, as the Colts have lost five of their last six to fall to 6-7.

Jackson completed 16 of 25 pass attempts for 145 yards, three touchdowns and one interception Sunday against the Bills. He also rushed 11 times for 40 yards in the 24-17 win.

Jackson completed a respectable 64 percent of his passes, but he made just one completion longer than 15 yards as he finished averaging 5.8 yards per attempt. That happened to be on a 61-yard touchdown strike to Hayden Hurst, which he complemented with short scores to Nick Boyle and Willie Snead. Jackson's output on the ground also made him just the second quarterback in NFL history to surpass 1,000 rushing yards for a season alongside Michael Vick. He continues to provide plenty of value each week and will look to keep it up Thursday against the Jets.

Rodgers completed 18 of 28 passes for 195 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in the Packers' 20-15 win over the Redskins on Sunday. He also rushed five times for 16 yards and lost a fumble.

Rodgers got his day off to a strong start before cooling off, and Aaron Jones ultimately was as responsible for helping keep the chains moving with 134 rushing yards and a team-high 58 more yards through the air. The perennial Pro Bowler averaged a relatively modest 7.0 yards per attempt and took four sacks from an aggressive Redskins front. Rodgers has now been under 200 yards in two of his last three games and three of his last five overall, and he'll look to boost his numbers back up against the Bears in Week 15.

Lock completed 22 of 27 passes for 309 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in Sunday's 38-24 win at Houston. He added 15 yards on three rushing attempts.

Lock completed 16 of 19 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone, as the visiting Broncos took a 31-3 lead into the locker room. Those three scores were a 14-yarder to Noah Fant, an eight-yarder to Jeff Heuerman and a three-yarder to Royce Freeman. The rookie second-rounder out of Missouri improves to 2-0 as an NFL starter, and he threw for more than twice as many yards in this one compared to last week. Maintaining that undefeated record won't be easy with a trip to Kansas City on tap for the Broncos in Week 15.

Winston completed 33 of 45 passes for 456 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions and also rushed six times for five yards and another score in the Buccaneers' 38-35 win over the Colts on Sunday.

Presumably playing for his future in Tampa, Winston put on what has become a rather commonplace type of performance for him in coach Bruce Arians' offense -- an avalanche of yards and touchdowns, interspersed with multiple interceptions. Winston had a brief in-game absence due to a hand injury, but he returned for the second drive of the second half and went the rest of the way. As is customary, the fifth-year signal-caller dealt with plenty of adversity, some of his own making and some in the form of a hamstring injury suffered by Mike Evans on a 61-yard touchdown reception, an injury that knocked the Pro-Bowl receiver out of the contest for good. Winston has now thrown 23 interceptions overall, with multiple picks in four of the last five games, but he's partially offset his mistaken-prone ways with at least 301 passing yards in seven of his last eight contests. Winston does head into a Week 15 matchup versus the Lions' vulnerable defense with momentum, as he spearheaded a game-winning, eight-play, 63-yard drive versus Indianapolis.

Watson completed 28 of 50 passes for 292 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in Sunday's 38-24 loss to the Broncos. He also rushed six times for 44 yards and two touchdowns.

Watson was a non-factor in the first half, but he took his level up a few notches after halftime. He connected with DeAndre Hopkins for a 43-yard touchdown in the third quarter before scoring a highlight-reel rushing touchdown from six yards out, reaching the ball over the plane on a hurdling effort. Watson added a three-yard rushing score in the final minute, but he sandwiched that last touchdown in between a pair of interceptions. He'll remain a dynamic threat as both a passer and runner against the Titans in Week 15.

Winston (hand) returned to Sunday's game versus the Colts, Greg Auman of The Athletic reports.

And the rollercoaster ride with Winston continues. Winston had a monster first half, accruing 277 yards and two touchdowns through the air and another score on the ground. He also tossed two picks, one of which was returned for a TD. Winston opened the second half on the sideline but made his presence felt on the Bucs' second possession after halftime, leading the team on another touchdown drive.

Winston suffered an injury to his right throwing hand during Sunday's contest versus the Colts, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports.

Winston racked up a whopping 277 yards and two touchdowns on 20-for-28 passing in the first half, but he also mixed in a pick-six among two interceptions. With an injury in tow, he's questionable to return to the contest, leaving Ryan Griffin to direct the offense for the time being.

While it's unlikely Stafford (back/hip) will play again in 2019, his fractured back is healing "as it should" and the injury is not a long-term concern, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports. "It's something that was kind of a freak deal that happened and obviously got to take it in stride and listen to the doctors, my body, coaches, everybody, kind of figure out what's best," Stafford said Wednesday.

Head coach Matt Patricia said earlier this week that Stafford hasn't been placed on injured reserve "out of respect for Matthew and his competitiveness," but it seems unlikely the franchise QB will return to action this season given Stafford's history with back injuries and the fact the Lions have already fallen out of playoff contention. David Blough therefore seems likely to continue on as Detroit's interim signal caller and it will be hard to trust any of the Lions skill players to consistently produce down the stretch.