PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers will have to vie for their first AFC North title since 2010 without Troy Polamalu.
The veteran safety is out Sunday night against Cincinnati with a knee injury. Polamalu hasn’t played since injuring the knee in a 27-20 win over Atlanta on Dec. 14. Pittsburgh cornerback Ike Taylor is sitting out his third straight game with shoulder and forearm problems.
Will Allen starts in place of Polamalu. Brice McCain replaces Taylor.
Cincinnati wide receiver A.J. Green is active for Cincinnati. Green left Monday night’s victory over Denver with a right arm injury. Cornerback Terence Newman is inactive for the Bengals. He will be replaced by Dre Kirkpatrick.
Wide receivers James Wright and Greg Little also are inactive for Cincinnati.
Falcons without Jackson for regular season finale
ATLANTA — Running backs Steven Jackson of Atlanta and DeAngelo Williams of Carolina are missing Sunday’s game to decide the NFC South title due to injuries.
Williams (broken hand) is missing his fourth straight game despite being listed as probable on Friday. Jonathan Stewart, who has 437 yards rushing the past four weeks, remains the starter.
Jackson left last week’s win at New Orleans with a quadriceps injury. Jacquizz Rodgers and Devonta Freeman are expected to share the carries.
Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (hip) and right guard Jon Asamoah (back) are starting.
Panthers linebacker A.J. Klein (knee) is inactive. Rookie Adarius Glanton will make his second straight start if the team opens in its base 4-3 defence.
Max Unger, Jermaine Kearse, Cooper Helfet all inactive for Seattle vs. St. Louis
SEATTLE — Seahawks centre Max Unger, tight end Cooper Helfet and cornerback Tharold Simon are all out for Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Rams.
Unger missed his sixth straight game as he continues to recover from a high ankle sprain. Unger practiced this week and was questionable on the injury report, but Seattle decided to hold him out at least until the playoffs.
Helfet suffered a rib injury last week against Arizona, while Simon suffered a shoulder injury. Helfet being inactive leaves Seattle with only two healthy tight eds.
Wide receiver Jermaine Kearse had already been ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Starting cornerback E.J. Gaines was inactive for St. Louis after suffering a concussion. He was listed as doubtful on the injury report. Trumaine Johnson is expected to start for Gaines.
Emmanuel Sanders active for Broncos, T.J. Ward and Brandon Marshall sit out finale vs. Raiders
DENVER — Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack, who were limited all week at practice, are both active for the Oakland-Denver game.
Sanders has been dealing with a sore hip, while Mack has been bothered by a tight hamstring.
For the Broncos, safety T.J. Ward (neck) and linebacker Brandon Marshall (foot) are out, along with Juwan Thompson (hip, knee) and Paul Cornick (toe). Michael Schofield, Dominique Jones and Mitch Unrein are healthy scratches.
Sitting this one out for the Raiders are: Denarius Moore (knee, ankle), Vincent Brown (groin), Chekwa Chimdi (hamstring), TJ Carrie (ankle) and Menelik Watson (foot, ankle) along with healthy scratches Tony Bergstrom and Stacy McGee.
49ers second-year safety Eric Reid sidelined by concussion, third in 2 seasons
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — 49ers safety Eric Reid is out for Sunday’s game against Arizona with a concussion, his third in two seasons as a pro.
Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton is sidelined recovering a right knee injury coach Bruce Arians has been confident will heal by the playoffs next week. His backup, Ryan Lindley, threw his first career touchdown pass on his 229th attempt as Arizona took an early lead.
Six days after having their offensive line together again, Joe Looney filled in for injured right guard in place of Alex Boone, who was placed on injured reserve with a torn meniscus that may require surgery.
