NFL notebook: Bears OLB Mack (ankle) might miss game vs. Jets

Chicago Bears outside linebacker Khalil Mack, who has never missed a game since entering the NFL in 2014, on Friday was listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the New York Jets because of a nagging right ankle injury. Mack, who was a dominating force in the Bears' first four games after being acquired in a trade with the Oakland Raiders on the week of the season opener, sustained the sprained ankle two weeks ago against the Miami Dolphins. On Friday, Mack was limited after missing the Bears' previous two practice sessions. The Bears are considering having Mack miss a game, or two, so he will be strong in the second half of the season. "It's not easy, it's not easy," Bears coach Matt Nagy said of the decision to possibly sit Mack. "That's where the trust level from both ends have to be there. The player has to understand where we're coming from as a team, as to where you're at percentage-wise. We all know he's not 100 percent, but where are you at? "That's where we trust him, he trusts us, and we go ahead with the plan -- with the action plan -- and that's what we ended up doing. It's not an easy decision or process." Mack had 17 total tackles, including five sacks, and forced four fumbles in the first four games of the season, but he has only three tackles and no sacks in the two games since being injured. The Bears also might be without wide receiver Allen Robinson (groin), who is listed as questionable for Sunday. Robinson is the Bears' third-leading receiver this season with 25 catches for 285 yards and two touchdowns. --The NFL admitted Friday that the official who threw a flag on a hit to the head of Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield made the right call, and that he should not have been overruled by the other officials. In his weekly video, NFL head of officiating Al Riveron showed the hit on Mayfield by Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Jordan Whitehead in last Sunday's game won by the Bucs 26-23 in overtime. "We had a flag on this play and we incorrectly picked it up after we had a conference by the officials," Riveron said. "He lowers his head to initiate contact, and he does make contact, so that right there is a foul in itself. No. 2, as we can see, the quarterback starts to slide, and even though he slides late, he is still afforded protection from forcible contact to the neck and head area. And there is your contact, so that is a foul for two reasons. No. 1, lowering your head to initiate contact. And No. 2, forcible contact to a quarterback who has given himself up in the head or neck area." Riveron did not reveal what was said in the conference among the officials that resulted in a hit that should have been two penalties being ruled no penalty at all. --The Denver Broncos will need outside linebacker Von Miller if they are going to slow down quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, and Broncos coach Vance Joseph said Miller will play despite being listed a questionable. Miller, who has not missed a game since the 2013 season, sustained what Joseph described as a "very minor" ankle injury in practice on Thursday and was limited Friday. Miller said he will be in Kansas City to go after Mahomes. "Just get him on the ground," said Miller, who has 7.5 sacks this season and 91 in his career. "You would think after you scramble a lot and come back to the line you wouldn't have that same energy. But he's just like all of the great scramblers in the National Football League, just like Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers. He's able to do it time after time again. "You would think the magic would wear off, but he just keeps going harder and harder. Hats off to those guys, but the Broncos are going to be ready to go on Sunday." While Miller is expected to play, the Broncos will be without right tackle Jared Veldheer (knee), running back Royce Freeman (ankle), wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton (knee) and safety Darian Stewart (neck). --Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict was among six players ruled out by the team for Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Burfict did not practice all week after suffering a hip injury that sidelined him in the second half of last week's 45-10 loss at Kansas City. Also ruled out for Cincinnati on Friday was wide receiver John Ross, running back Giovanni Bernard, cornerback Darqueze Dennard, tight end Tyler Kroft and linebacker Nick Vigil. In addition, rookie center Billy Price was listed as doubtful. Burfict has struggled since returning to the lineup after serving a four-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. He had a career-high four missed tackles in the loss at Kansas City. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis acknowledged that Burfict has not played up to his previous standards. In addition, Burfict was fined $112,000 by the NFL for two unnecessary roughness calls against Pittsburgh in Week 6. --Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was removed from the injury report on Friday despite being limited in practice again. The Panthers termed Newton's reduced workload in practice as "maintenance" and said rest could be part of his weekly schedule in the coming weeks. Newton was dealing with soreness in his throwing shoulder during Thursday's practice, but Carolina coach Ron Rivera said it would not affect his availability for Sunday's matchup against the visiting Baltimore Ravens. "There is no doubt, bone at all (that Newton will play)," Rivera told the team's official website. Newton is coming off a sensational fourth-quarter performance in last week's 21-17 win at defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia. He led the Panthers to 21 straight points in the quarter while throwing for 201 of his 269 yards. --The Houston Texans lost wide receiver Will Fuller for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Fuller was injured in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's 42-23 victory over the Miami Dolphins. An MRI on Friday morning revealed the severity of the injury, the Houston Chronicle reported. Fuller had five receptions for 124 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown strike from Deshaun Watson, as Houston rolled to its fifth consecutive win on Thursday night. It was the third 100-yard game of the season for Fuller, who finished the season with 32 receptions for 503 yards and four touchdowns in seven games. He was averaging a career-best 15.7 yards per catch. --Jacksonville running back Leonard Fournette will miss his fourth straight game on Sunday, when the Jaguars face the Philadelphia Eagles. Fournette has been hobbled by a hamstring injury that has limited him to parts of two games this season. He was hurt in the season opener against the New York Giants and aggravated the injury in Week 4 against the New York Jets. Because of the injury to Fournette, Jacksonville made a trade with the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 19, acquiring running back Carlos Hyde for a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Hyde was inactive for last week's loss to Houston, but he will make his Jaguars debut against the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles at London's Wembley Stadium. The 6-foot, 229-pound Hyde was leading the Browns with 382 rushing yards and five touchdowns. --The Oakland Raiders revealed their plan for replacing departed wide receiver Amari Cooper: Ride the "hot hand." The Raiders traded the former first-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys earlier this week. Oakland (1-5) is coming off a bye as it prepares to host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. It will be the team's first game without Cooper and starting running back Marshawn Lynch (groin), who was placed on injured reserve. Cooper had 22 catches for 280 yards and a touchdown through six games, so the Raiders will need someone to fill the void for a passing attack that has been too reliant on tight end Jared Cook and running back Jalen Washington, who rank 1-2 on the team in catches. One of the guys Olson and the Raiders would like to see step up is wide receiver Martavis Bryant, who was acquired from Pittsburgh in April. He has 14 catches for 220 yards this season.