Quarterback is no longer a question after Ryan Tannehill was ruled out this week, and Brock Osweiler will start. The Dolphins have some reinforcements coming on the defensive side of the ball with Cameron Wake (knee) and Bobby McCain (knee) returning to practice on a limited basis. Wake and McCain, two key starters, missed the past two games but have a good chance of playing Sunday vs. Detroit. — Cameron Wolfe

Leonard Fournette did not practice Wednesday and it’s unlikely he will play against Houston, which means it’s the T.J. Yeldon show again — but he didn’t practice Wednesday either because of an ankle/foot injury. That was probably more precautionary than anything because it’s important for Yeldon to be as healthy as possible since he’ll get the bulk of the work again even though Jamaal Charles’ playing time is expected to increase from the 17 snaps he played last week. — Michael DiRocco

Starting inside linebacker Wesley Woodyard missed two games after injuring his shoulder against the Eagles in Week 4. Woodyard was limited in practice all of last week but said he felt he was close to being able to play soon. The Titans’ run defense suffered without Woodyard, which is why Mike Vrabel is hopeful to have him back against Melvin Gordon and the Chargers this week. — Turron Davenport

AFC WEST

The Broncos have been forced to adjust in the offensive line, and players who started the season as backups will have to be up to the challenge of playing far more. Right tackle Jared Veldheer has missed the past two games because of a knee injury and is not expected to play Thursday night against Arizona. That has put backup Billy Turner in the lineup there. Left guard Ronald Leary also suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury in the loss to the Rams this past Sunday, and that will put Max Garcia in that spot against the Cardinals. Garcia and Connor McGovern, who will start at right guard Thursday night, had alternated at right guard against the Rams — until Leary was injured — because the Broncos were trying to repair some struggles against the Jets’ interior rushers the week before. It probably will force the Broncos into far more two-tight end, two-back sets as they try to keep quarterback Case Keenum out of harm’s way. — Jeff Legwold

The wait for the Chiefs’ two biggest defensive stars, safety Eric Berry and linebacker Justin Houston, appears destined to last another week. Neither one practiced Wednesday as the Chiefs began preparations for the Bengals. The Chiefs are trying to get by without the two, but that’s difficult judging by the results last week in New England, the first time they played a full game without both players. — Adam Teicher

For a second straight week, the Chargers could be using recently signed kicker Mike Badgley as Caleb Sturgis works his way back from a strained right quad. Sturgis was a limited participant Wednesday. Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said whether Sturgis plays could be a game-time decision again on Sunday. Badgley made a 44-yard field goal and all five of his extra point attempts in his first action for the Chargers against the Browns last week. — Eric D. Williams

The bye week comes at a good time for a handful of key players, as receivers Amari Cooper and Seth Roberts suffered concussions against the Seahawks, and guard Kelechi Osemele (knee), running back Marshawn Lynch (groin) and safety Karl Joseph (hamstring) are dinged up as well. — Paul Gutierrez

NFC EAST

Linebacker Sean Lee was limited in his first practice since suffering a hamstring injury against Seattle on Sept. 23. The Cowboys have their bye week after Sunday’s game at Washington, but if Lee is healthy enough to play, he will, according to Jason Garrett. The Cowboys have not missed Lee as much as they have in the past, with Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch performing well in his absence. With Lee’s return, the Cowboys will have a good “problem,” and work out a rotation between the three of them like they had before Lee was hurt. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence did not work a full practice, as he is working through a shoulder injury that limited his work to mostly passing situations last week and could continue to do the same this week. — Todd Archer

It looks as if tight end Evan Engram will return Monday night against the Falcons. Engram has missed three games because of a sprained MCL, but he was moving well at practice Tuesday and expected to play this week. This should open up the middle of the field a little bit for the struggling Giants offense. — Jordan Raanan

Both offensive tackles are hobbled but will push to suit up against the Panthers. Left tackle Jason Peters is going to play through a reported torn biceps, and Lane Johnson, who missed Wednesday’s practice, is trying to gut through a high ankle sprain. Slot corner Sidney Jones (hamstring) is likely to miss some time, and the secondary is already without S Rodney McLeod. It will be a patchwork group Sunday, with rookie Avonte Maddox a candidate to move into the nickel role for Jones. — Tim McManus

The Redskins, as usual, have key players banged up. Receiver Jamison Crowder is already unlikely to play because of an ankle injury. So the key focus will be on the offensive backfield, where Chris Thompson (ribs/knee) and Adrian Peterson (ankle/knee/shoulder) are hurting. Peterson did not practice Wednesday, but he played through quite a bit of pain last week. Thompson felt better Wednesday and is more optimistic about playing Sunday than he was at any point a week ago. But it still remains uncertain. — John Keim

NFC NORTH

Bears head coach Matt Nagy told reporters Wednesday that he planned to play it safe with star pass rusher Khalil Mack, who suffered a right ankle injury in last week’s overtime loss to Miami. “He’s day-to-day right now,” Nagy said of Mack. “We’re just going to continue to keep an eye on it and make sure whatever we do, we’re more cautious than anything. I believe in that and I think it’s important to go that route.” The Bears are still hopeful that Mack will play against the Patriots on Sunday. — Jeff Dickerson

The Lions received positive news Wednesday when T.J. Lang returned to practice on a limited basis after missing two weeks because of a concussion. Coming off its bye, Detroit looks fairly healthy (Ezekiel Ansah, Kerryon Johnson and Michael Roberts practiced, too). The biggest level of concern is going to be running back Theo Riddick, who surprisingly sat out Wednesday’s practice because of a knee injury. His status would be something to watch — and if he were somehow unable to go, then Ameer Abdullah could see an uptick in his workload, which is currently minimal. — Michael Rothstein

The Seahawks head into their bye in good shape health-wise after making it out of their past two games without any significant injuries. Furthermore, reinforcements are on the way. Linebacker K.J. Wright and tight end Ed Dickson probably will practice next week, according to Pete Carroll, and will have a chance to make their 2018 debuts on Oct. 28 at Detroit. Carroll sounded confident that Dickson would be available for that game but stopped short of saying definitively that either would play. He said Wright “has had a couple really good days” in his recovery from a late-August knee score and that “he’ll practice with us and complete to to play next week when we return.” — Brady Henderson

They head to Chicago having learned a lot about their team.

Coach Bill Belichick has said that two of the most important characteristics of his best squads are mental toughness and the ability to rise up in the crucial situations to make winning plays. The 2018 Patriots showed Sunday night they are capable of that.

“That was a great job by our players and coaching staff. Just battling for 60 minutes. We talked about that all week,” Belichick said. “In the end, we were able to just do a little bit more, do enough. I’m really proud of the way we competed all the way through — from the opening kickoff to the final kick. It’s a great effort. I thought we went out and played hard. I think we deserved it.”

The Patriots led 24-9 at halftime, which at their home stadium is one of the most ironclad locks in professional sports. Since Brady took over as the starter in 2001, the Patriots are 95-1 in the regular season at home when leading at the half.

The lone loss came to the Chiefs (in the 2017 season opener), and in a stunning second-half turnaround Sunday night, it looked as if the Chiefs were ready to do it again.

A Patriots defense that forced two turnovers in the first half suddenly became vulnerable to the big play after halftime. Uncharacteristic decision-making from Brady led to a strip sack that Kansas City quickly turned into a third-quarter touchdown.

“I don’t think we’ve seen our best. We can all play a lot better,” Brady said. “And that’s what we plan to do.”

play

Tom Brady floats the ball deep to Rob Gronkowski for a 39-yard gain, setting up Stephen Gostkowski for a 28-yard field goal to win the game.

But the Patriots showed fortitude in overcoming the slippage — a clutch play with the game on the line as old reliable Rob Gronkowski reeled in a 39-yard catch to set up the winning field goal as time expired — in what was a playoff-type environment.

“I’ll keep throwing to him in the biggest moments,” Brady said of Gronkowski, whose big catch was the 500th of his career. “We talked about competing for 60 minutes, and that’s what it took — right down to the last three seconds.”

In doing so, the Patriots improved to 94-2 at home with Brady as a starter when they get a double-digit lead.

“A lot of us had been expecting that all week, knowing that’s a high-powered offense,” Patriots receiver Josh Gordon said. “We had one of our own, so we were expecting to take it the full length of the game.”