Dispatches

Buffalo's playoff hopes took a hard hit during one Tampa Bay scoring drive on Sunday. Star linebacker Sam Cowart and free safety Keion Carpenter suffered high ankle sprains, and linebacker Sam Rogers tore a groin muscle. Rogers is out for three to four weeks, Cowart and Carpenter for up to six weeks. The Bills outgained the Bucs 433-180 and still lost by two touchdowns. Turnovers and special teams did them in....

There's a wide range of opinion in NFL circles about where 28-year-old Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke will be taken in the draft. "My guess is he'll go between 10 and 15 in the first round," says Broncos director of college scouting Ted Sundquist. "His age isn't that big a deal, because he doesn't have much wear and tear on his body." Falcons scout Mike Hagen calls Weinke "a mature, quality Number 2 guy," projecting him to go in the third round, while Rams general manager Charley Armey labels him "a middle-round guy."...

The Broncos and Seahawks praised FieldTurf, a grasslike artificial surface, for how well it held up during a gamelong rain at Husky Stadium. "That grass was incredible—the best field I ever played on," said Denver wideout Rod Smith. "It's better than grass. No ruts. They ought to install that field at every stadium." The FieldTurf base is a combination of graded silica sand and ground rubber.