professional football

The Bill Belichick coaching family tree has just endured a horrendous week, and we use the word "endured" liberally, because a couple of his offspring may be unemployed soon.

The shakeout from quarterback injuries left the Pittsburgh Steelers with good and bad news Tuesday: Ben Roethlisberger appears to be fine after taking a blow to the head, but backup Charlie Batch likely is done for the season with a broken left wrist.

KANSAS CITY - Somebody with a microphone asked Pittsburgh Steelers safety Tyrone Carter if the better team won here Sunday. It seemed like such a jarring question considering the Kansas City Chiefs are a miserable team that came in 2-7 and the Steelers like to think of themselves as Super Bowl contenders. Or at least did.

FOXBORO, Mass. - Bill Belichick cursed his New England Patriots after they blew a 17-point, fourth-quarter lead at Indianapolis.

"He (chewed us out) pretty good on the things we did wrong," quarterback Tom Brady said. "There were no hugs in the locker room."

Jets coach Rex Ryan cried while talking to his team the day after they lost to Jacksonville.

Capsule previews for Week 11 around the NFL. All times Eastern.

SUNDAY:

Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) at Kansas City Chiefs (2-7), 1 p.m.

Since the middle of the 2007 season, the Chiefs are a pitiful 4-30, a record only the Lions (3-31) can eclipse for futility. Should be a nice way for QB Ben Roethlisberger to spend his first game in Arrowhead Stadium.

FOXBORO, Mass. - While many National Football League teams enjoy "Victory Mondays" -- when players get the Monday after a win off, New England Patriots Bill Belichick gave his players Monday off this week despite their loss at Indianapolis.

Thoughts on football here and abroad:

Here's a joke for you: What does HBO's training camp reality show "Hard Knocks" and the Heisman Trophy have in common?

The answer is that they're both usually considered NFL kryptonite.

Since you're probably not laughing right now, let me save myself by saying that this particular joke may not be funny, but it is true.

OWATONNA, Minn. - Minnesota Vikings owner and President Mark Wilf said Tuesday the franchise has received the boost it was looking for when it signed Brett Favre and made it clear the veteran quarterback would be welcomed back in 2010 to play the second season of the two-year, $25 million deal he received in August.

Here's the question.

If some other coach had decided to go for it on fourth-and-2 from his own 28 with 2:08 left and a six-point lead, what would you be saying?

Any coach.

At any level of football.

High school, college, NFL, any level.

What would you be saying?