NASHVILLE – San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers described his team's overtime win over the Tennessee Titans as the toughest physical battle he had ever been involved in as a player.

The psychological side wasn't too pretty, either.

Down two touchdowns with a little more than nine minutes remaining and with players like Rivers, tight end Antonio Gates, linebacker Shawne Merriman and fullback Lorenzo Neal either hobbled or completely out of the game, San Diego righted itself for a remarkable 23-17 victory.

The win was fortunate beyond just improving the Chargers to 8-5 and keeping them in control of the AFC West. A loss could have led to the exposure of some ugly wounds, such as Rivers and running back LaDainian Tomlinson exchanging some terse words in the third quarter.

Or some defensive players throwing things on the sideline in disgust as the offense was bumbling around. Or the offense being so crabby in the locker room at halftime.

Instead, all of that was wiped away as fast

In the days leading up to the NFL trade deadline on Oct. 16, the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers thought they had struck a great deal.

Chicago was willing to send linebacker Lance Briggs to the 49ers for an unspecified draft pick. The 49ers were going to get a player they coveted, and Briggs, who the Bears expect to lose in free agency this offseason, was finally going to get a long-term contract.

Briggs was willing to give San Francisco something of a discount on the deal for two reasons: First, he wanted the security of a long-term pact. Second, he grew up in Sacramento, Calif., located roughly two hours from San Francisco.

The deal worked for all parties. But before it could be finalized, the new contract had to be approved by the NFL. That's where it hit a snag, according to two NFL sources. That snag may prove to be a catalyst for change this offseason in some of the rules regarding trades.

San Francisco couldn't give Briggs a new contract because he was a franchise player

The NFL declined to make Mike Pereira, the league's vice president of officiating, available to Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday to discuss two controversial calls from games that helped the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots to victories in Week 13.

The first call was from Sunday's contest between the Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars at the RCA Dome. With 1:37 remaining in the first quarter, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning passed to tight end Ben Utecht for what appeared to be an 8-yard gain and then a fumble, which was recovered by Jacksonville backup cornerback Terry Cousin. The Colts challenged the play and the officials ruled that Utecht never controlled the ball, making the pass incomplete. On the next play, Manning threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Reggie Wayne, giving the Colts a 14-0 lead in an eventual 28-25 victory.

The Utecht play was among several the Jaguars asked the league for further clarification on in the weekly report that most teams send to the NFL

INDIANAPOLIS – No excuses, no explanations.

The Indianapolis Colts' team motto serves as a pretty handy summary of their latest result, a 28-25 victory over AFC South rival Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday here at the RCA Dome.

While Indianapolis continued to find ways to win, Jacksonville was left making excuses and offering explanations. Therein lies the difference between a Colts team that is 10-2 and cruising to a division title – not to mention the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs – and Jacksonville (8-4), which is still trying to figure out how to win.

How else can one explain a game which Indianapolis won despite being without star wide receiver Marvin Harrison and star defensive end Dwight Freeney, and while giving up more than 400 yards of offense?

"That's how we've always been around here, the motto is, 'No excuses, no explanations,'" said Indianapolis tight end Dallas Clark, who caught two touchdowns among his seven receptions. "It's always, 'Next man in.' Whoever it is is

IRVING, Texas – Brett Favre couldn't pass a football for most of Thursday night, but he probably passed a torch.

Favre exited the showdown between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys for supremacy in the NFC early Thursday night with a right elbow and left shoulder injury. He was hit so hard on the funny bone of his throwing elbow his forearm swelled progressively and he was relegated to the sideline in what was an eventual 37-27 loss to Dallas at Texas Stadium.

In response, it was Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, a man who grew up in Wisconsin idolizing Favre's gunslinger style, who took center stage. And probably not just for the night.

Romo completed 19 of 30 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns to lead Dallas to an 11-1 mark and a critical win over Green Bay (10-2) in a likely battle for home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs. Romo might have had five touchdowns if not for the ham-fisted play of wide receiver Terrell Owens in the fourth quarter. Owens turned a sure

The question didn't leave me speechless, but it certainly made me queasy.

Around 9 a.m. Tuesday, shortly after I read that Sean Taylor was dead, a Washington, D.C., radio station called and wanted to discuss what I knew about the Taylor story. Since I had lived in Miami for 15 years, the station figured I would have some perspective.

Then came the first question.

"How close is Taylor's house where he was killed to the 'hood?" the host asked.

That question is about far more than geography; it's flat-out racist. Implicit is that Taylor, who by most accounts grew up in a mostly middle-class neighborhood, was killed by someone poor, someone angry.

Someone black.

On Friday, The Miami Herald reported that three men, including two teenagers, were being questioned in Fort Myers, Fla., in connection with the murder. There was no other information about the men in the report, other than they may have inadvertently found out about Taylor from someone else.

For geography's sake, Fort Myers is

MIAMI – Among a half-dozen cars sitting in front of the Palmetto Bay house owned by star Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, who died Tuesday morning of a gunshot wound suffered at the home the day before, was a beat-up 1970s Cadillac.

The car was almost completely shrouded by a cover, only part of the front end visible. On the front bumper was a faceplate that read "Jesus Christ is the answer" in script and block letters.

As of Tuesday, Jesus Christ was the only answer Taylor's family and friends could cling to in the death of the 24-year-old man. Taylor's father, Pedro, who is the police chief in nearby Florida City, repeatedly talked about his and his family's faith as he spoke with reporters Tuesday night.

"The mood is still the same, God is always in control," Pedro Taylor said when asked about the change from late Monday, when he and others were hopeful Sean Taylor would recover, only to have those hopes crushed. "We have no control of life or death. It's in the power of Him.

Cleveland wide receiver Braylon Edwards, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2005 draft, has started to realize his vast potential during his third season in the NFL. He has scored 11 touchdowns this season, tying the most by a Browns receiver since 1963. He has also led the Browns to a 7-4 record and control of their playoff hopes with five games remaining in the season. On Tuesday, however, Edwards hosted his third annual canned food drive. He hosted a pizza party and did motivational speaking for an elementary school class that gathered the most cans:

Cole: So tell me about the drive.

Edwards: We're trying to show the younger kids that it doesn't take a million dollars, it doesn't take being an actor or a football player to help somebody, to help somebody less fortunate than you are. By just bringing in a can, you're helping somebody and you get excited. Then you might bring in five cans tomorrow or you'll ask your mom, 'Do we have any extra cans?' Then maybe you might take your own money