Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon was out for the second straight game, due to an MCL sprain in his right knee.
Austin Ekeler started in place of Gordon on Sunday against Cincinnati, with rookie Justin Jackson, who gained 62 yards during the second half of last week's comeback win at Pittsburgh, slated for plenty of playing time.
The Chargers were without nose tackle Brandon Mebane for a third straight game, as he cares for his newborn daughter. The visiting Bengals were missing two key starters on defense: cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (ankle) and linebacker Vontaze Burfict (concussion).
In other Week 14 lineup news around the league:
— With James Conner out for Pittsburgh because of an ankle injury, Jaylen Samuels and Stevan Ridley were in line for the bulk of the work in the backfield for the Steelers against Oakland.
— San Francisco is missing two key skill-position players, running back Matt Breida (ankle) and wide receiver Pierre Garcon (knee), against Denver. The Broncos lost cornerback Chris Harris Jr. (broken leg) and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (ruptured Achilles tendon) to major injuries last week.
— The depleted Arizona wide receiver group got thinner with the loss of Chad Williams, who aggravated a hamstring injury late in the week and was inactive for the game against Detroit.
— Dallas left tackle Tyron Smith was active for a key NFC East showdown against Philadelphia, after missing the previous two games with a neck issue. The first- Cowboys, however, held linebacker Sean Lee out for a fifth straight week with a hamstring injury. Eagles defensive tackle Tim Jernigan was inactive again with a back issue after being listed as questionable on the injury report. Jernigan has played just one game this season, two weeks ago.
From the earlier games:
— Miami's Danny Amendola played against New England, his former team, after sitting out the last game because of a knee injury.
— Baltimore put quarterback Joe Flacco on the inactive list for the fourth straight game, despite his return to practice this week with the expectation he would serve as Lamar Jackson's backup at Kansas City. Instead, Flacco rested his hip injury with Robert Griffin III as the second-stringer behind Jackson.
— The New York Giants traveled to Washington without star receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who stayed home with a quadriceps injury. The Redskins were in worse shape, with guard Tony Bergstrom (knee/ankle) the latest offensive lineman to be sidelined
— Green Bay was down three starters on the offensive line against Atlanta: left guard Lane Taylor (foot), right guard Byron Bell (knee) and right tackle Bryan Bulaga (knee/illness).
— Indianapolis had T.Y. Hilton suited up against Houston, despite a shoulder injury that kept him out of practices this week, but fellow wide receiver Dontrelle Inman was out with a shoulder injury.
— Carolina played at Cleveland without kicker Graham Gano, whose knee injury forced the Panthers to sign replacement Chandler Catanzaro, kicked a 59-yard field goal to beat the Browns in overtime earlier this season for Tampa Bay. Browns rookie cornerback Denzel Ward remained in concussion protocol after getting hurt last week, with Terrance Mitchell activated to make his first start after missing eight games with a broken right wrist.
— Sam Darnold returned for the New York Jets after a three-game absence because of a foot injury, setting up a matchup of first-round draft pick quarterbacks in Buffalo against Josh Allen. The Jets had running back Isaiah Crowell (toe) and wide receiver Robby Anderson (ankle) back. They were questionable on the injury report.
