NFL Player News

Coach Marvin Lewis said Monday that Dalton still needs more tests to determine the severity of the thumb injury he suffered in Sunday's 35-20 loss to the Browns, Marisa Contipelli of the Bengals' official site reports.

While it isn't a great sign when extensive testing is required for a diagnosis, there's no need to jump to conclusions in the immediate aftermath of Dalton's departure from the Week 12 loss. The 31-year-old injured his right thumb in the third quarter of the contest, allowing Jeff Driskell to finish out the game as Cincinnati tried to erase a 28-point deficit. Driskell orchestrated a pair of touchdown drives, but the Bengals surely will want Dalton back under center with the final wild-card spot in the AFC still up for grabs. Week 13 brings a tricky home matchup against a Denver team coming off back-to-back wins over the Chargers and Steelers.

Tannehill said he didn't have any issues with his (right) throwing shoulder in Sunday's 27-24 loss to the Colts, Joe Schad of The Palm Beach Post reports.

Tannehill completed 17 of 25 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Dolphins take a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter. The team fell apart down the stretch, but Tannehill wasn't the problem so much as sieve-like defense and questionable play-calling. The 30-year-old quarterback answered any questions about the health of his shoulder on a 74-yard touchdown pass to Leonte Carroo, though the ball was slightly underthrown. A limited practice participant all last week, Tannehill may be ready for full participation heading into a Week 13 home matchup with a tough Buffalo defense that has allowed just 6.4 yards per pass attempt this season.

Beathard may get another chance to start for the 49ers at some point in December, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Nick Mullens predictably has regressed since his 262-yard, three-score NFL debut Week 9 against Oakland, throwing two touchdowns and four interceptions the past two games -- both of which were losses to sub-.500 teams. Beathard has his own issues with turnovers, but holds advantages over Mullens in terms of size, mobility and arm strength. Looking beyond this season, the 49ers still need to figure out if either player is good enough to serve as their long-term No. 2 quarterback behind Jimmy Garoppolo (knee).

Coach Kyle Shanahan wasn't impressed by Mullens' performance in Sunday's 27-9 loss to Tampa Bay, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "I don't think he played very well, just looking at some of our situations, but that wasn't all on him," Shanahan said. "No one played very well, especially in the passing game."

Facing arguably the worst defense in the league, Mullens completed 18 of 32 passes (56.3 percent) for 221 yards (6.9 yards per attempt), with one touchdown, two interceptions and four sacks. Back-to-back outings with two picks have removed some of the luster from Mullens' three-score NFL debut Week 9 against Oakland, potentially setting the stage for Shanahan to turn back to C.J. Beathard at some point in December. Mullens will probably get another shot Week 13 in Seattle, though Shanahan declined to provide any assurances, merely saying he evaluates every position every week.

Rodgers completed 17 of 28 pass attempts for 198 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 24-17 loss to the Vikings.

Rodgers didn't bring his A game in an important divisional matchup, despite completing 61 percent of his passes and not turning the ball over. His lackluster night can be summed up on a fourth-quarter play where the usually pinpoint Rodgers overthrew an open Davante Adams in the end zone. Part of the veteran's struggles can be attributed to losing the left side of his offensive line to injury, resulting in four sacks at the hands of Minnesota's strong defensive line. The Vikings also did a good job of keeping the ball away from Rodgers, dominating the time of possession battle 34:37 to 25:23. Overall, it wasn't a terrible outing by any means, but it certainly falls below Rodgers' standards. He will look to bounce back Sunday against a Cardinals defense that was just torched by Philip Rivers and the Chargers for 45 points.

Cousins completed 29 of 38 pass attempts for 342 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday's 24-17 win over Green Bay.

Cousins outdueled Aaron Rodgers in this one, a feat that not many quarterbacks can lay claim to. The 30-year-old was accurate with his downfield shots -- an area he struggled with in the face of the Bears' defense last week -- leading to a season-high 9.0 yards per attempt. The signal caller eclipsed the 300-yard mark just once over his previous five games, so this huge performance was a welcomed sight for his fantasy owners. Cousins will need a similar showing against another all-time great when the Vikings take on Tom Brady and the Patriots in Foxborough in Week 13.

Keenum completed 15 of 28 attempts for 197 yards and two touchdowns during Sunday's 24-17 win against Pittsburgh.

The wily veteran picked apart a typically stellar Steelers pass defense, piecing together multiple passing touchdowns and zero interceptions for the first time since Dec. 17 of last season. Keenum hasn't been particularly effective in pushing the ball downfield this year (7.2 yards per attempt), but at least he's cleaned up his act in the turnovers department of late, with zero interceptions or fumbles lost over his past three outings, after committing 11 total turnovers through the first eight weeks of the regular season. There's no denying that he's had ice in his veins in his first year as a Bronco, with four game-winning fourth quarter drives already this season, and a number of gutsy performances against clear Super Bowl contenders (three losses to the Chiefs and Rams coming by 14 total points). Week 13 is a dreamy matchup for fantasy purposes, going up against a Bengals defense that ranks bottom five in completions, passing yards and touchdowns allowed to opposing quarterbacks.

Tannehill completed 17 of 25 pass attempts for 204 yards and two touchdowns Sunday against the Colts. He also carried three times for 14 yards in the 27-24 loss.

Tannehill made his first start since Week 5 after recovering from a shoulder injury. He averaged a respectable 8.2 yards per attempt, but the team limited his exposure by using a balanced approach in this one. Tannehill threw long touchdown passes to Kenyan Drake and Leonte Carroo, which accounted for over half his yardage on the day, and he managed to avoid turnovers in the narrow loss. All in all, it was a solid return for Tannehill, who will face a tough Bills defense next Sunday.

Coach John Harbaugh doesn't intend to announce his decision between Jackson or Joe Flacco (hip) as the starting quarterback for Week 13 in Atlanta, ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley reports. "Whether the decision has been made or not, it's not important for anybody to know but us," Harbaugh said after Sunday's 34-17 win over the Raiders. "If I decide to do it one way or another, I don't want our opponent to know. So, I'm probably not going to announce it for obvious reasons."

Flacco reportedly hopes to resume practicing Tuesday, but he hasn't yet been cleared to do so and still needs to meet with a hip specialist in the coming days. Meanwhile, Jackson has led the Ravens to back-to-back wins, albeit in home games with the benefit of cupcake matchups (Cincinnati and Oakland). The rookie has taken 37 carries for 190 yards and a touchdown as the starter, but he's also been intercepted three times on just 44 pass attempts. As much sense as it makes to deploy a run-heavy offense featuring zone-read runs with Jackson and Gus Edwards against an Atlanta defense that allows 5.1 yards per carry, the Ravens might worry about the plan falling to pieces if they're forced to play from behind. With Harbaugh intent on guarding information, Flacco's practice participation may be the only real clue this upcoming week.

Dalton is slated to undergo further testing on his right thumb, Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports.

Following Sunday's 35-20 loss to the Browns, coach Marvin Lewis indicated that the initial belief is that Dalton's thumb injury is not serious. That said, it's still too early to know if the QB's status for next weekend's game against the Broncos is in any danger. If Dalton is forced to miss any time, Jeff Driskel would be in line to handle the Bengals' first-team QB reps.