NFL Player News

Watson completed 19 of 24 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns in Monday night's 34-17 win over the Titans. He also rushed eight times for 71 yards and another score.

Watson was excellent Monday night, doing damage both through the air and on the ground. In fact, his rushing total marked a career high, which included a 15-yard score on a read option during the second quarter. Prior to that, Watson found new wideout Demaryius Thomas on a 12-yard touchdown pass to start Houston's scoring. The pair then later connected on a 10-yard touchdown to seal the game in the fourth quarter. Now having led his team to eight straight victories, Watson will look to keep the momentum going in Week 13 versus the Browns.

Coach Marvin Lewis relayed Monday that the Bengals' medical staff expects Dalton to fully recover from his thumb injury in advance of the 2019 season, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Lewis' announcement came shortly after the Bengals placed Dalton on injured reserve, ending his season. With Dalton sidelined, Jeff Driskel will take over as the team's starting quarterback and by the time next season rolls around, Dalton's team context will no doubt have undergone some changes. While the Bengals have yet to specify the nature of Dalton's injury, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network indicates that the 31-year-old suffered torn ligaments in his thumb. It's not known at this time if surgery will be necessary.

Driskel will take over as the Bengals' starting quarterback after Andy Dalton (thumb) was placed on injured reserve Monday, Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports.

Driskel was competent after replacing Dalton in the second half of Sunday's 35-20 loss to the Browns, completing 17 of 29 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown while adding three carries for nine yards and another score. Selected by the 49ers in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, Driskel never stuck in San Francisco but was claimed off waivers by Cincinnati that same year and has lingered as a depth option for parts of three seasons. The 25-year-old is unlikely to match Dalton in terms of passing skill, but he could bring an element of mobility to the Cincinnati offense after running a 4.56-second 40-yard dash at the 2016 Scouting Combine. Even so, it's still difficult to spin this as anything but bad news for Joe Mixon, Tyler Boyd and A.J. Green (toe) as well as complementary weapons C.J. Uzomah, John Ross and Giovani Bernard.

Savage was claimed off waivers by the Bengals on Monday.

Savage was waived by the 49ers for the third time this season over the weekend but won't have a chance to re-sign with the club after the Bengals needed to add depth to its quarterback room. With Andy Dalton (thumb) shifting to injured reserve, Jeff Driskel will slide into the starting role, leaving Savage on hand for No. 2 duties. Savage hasn't seen regular-season game action since Week 14 of the 2017 campaign as a member of the Texans.

Dalton (thumb) was placed on injured reserve Monday.

The tests Dalton underwent Monday apparently revealed a major issue with his right thumb, prompting the Bengals to move him to IR at a juncture of the season in which he won't be eligible to return. Jeff Driskel is left as the team's top quarterback, with Cincinnati scooping Tom Savage off waivers from the 49ers to provide depth. Dalton doesn't exactly elevate the players around him, but his absence is still a major blow to every other piece of the Cincinnati offense, including running back Joe Mixon and wideouts Tyler Boyd and A.J. Green (toe).

Coach John Harbaugh said Monday that Jackson and Joe Flacco (hip) may both have significant roles once the latter is cleared to play, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports.

Jackson just engineered back-to-back wins behind team totals of 267 and 242 rushing yards, but he struggled in obvious passing situations against a pair of soft opponents (Cincinnati and Oakland). Given the vast difference in the two players' skill sets, Baltimore might consider rotating quarterbacks based on down, distance and score once Flacco is available. The veteran signal-caller is visiting with a doctor Monday, hoping to gain clearance to return to practice Wednesday as the Ravens prepare for Sunday's game in Atlanta. Given the multiple variables in play, Jackson seems more likely than not to get another start.

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.