The latest from NFL games around the league on the ninth Sunday of the season (all times EST):
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THUMBS UP
New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is going through offensive drills and handing off with his gloved left hand, which has a torn thumb ligament.
Fitzpatrick was injured last week at Oakland during the Jets’ first offensive possession and replaced by backup Geno Smith. The veteran quarterback will eventually need surgery to repair the thumb, but could wait until after the season — as long as he can handle the pain with it.
During pregame warmups Sunday, Fitzpatrick looked comfortable and not hindered while wearing a protective glove on his left hand. The concern was whether he might be able to hand off cleanly, but he was confident during the week it wouldn’t be an issue and that appeared to be the case about 45 minutes before the game against Jacksonville.
—Dennis Waszak reporting from East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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12:29 p.m. EST
The St. Louis Rams are missing some key members of their stout defense at Minnesota, including two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Quinn.
Quinn, who has a knee injury, was listed as questionable to play the Vikings. His five sacks in seven games are tied for 13th in the NFL. Making matters worse for the Rams, who are fifth in the league in yards allowed per game and sixth in points allowed per game, is the continued absence of defensive end Chris Long, who is out for the third straight game with a knee injury. Starting safety T.J. McDonald is also inactive for the first time this season with a foot injury.
Not the best timing against Adrian Peterson and the Vikings. Peterson, who’s third in the NFL with 633 yards rushing this year, has 350 yards and three touchdowns on 59 carries (5.9 yards per attempt) in three career games against the Rams.
—Dave Campbell reporting from Minneapolis
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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
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