Posted by Andy Benoit

With Dennis Dixon out at least six weeks after knee surgery, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin announced that Charlie Batch will get the ball against the Buccaneers on Sunday. Though Tomlin didn’t say so specifically, you can bet Batch will mostly be giving said ball to Rashard Mendenhall and Mewelde Moore.

Batch attempted only 11 passes in two-plus quarters of action against the Titans. Counting the sacks he took, Batch dropped back to throw 13 times. The Bucs are allowing 111 yards rushing per game this season, but last season they allowed an NFL-worst 158. Thus, expect Pittsburgh to challenge them on the ground.

Tomlin could have gone with Byron Leftwich. The veteran quarterback was re-signed earlier this week and, on Wednesday, participated in his first full practice since tearing his MCL in the preseason finale.

In other quarterback news, Batch’s former team, the Lions, will once again be without Matthew Stafford. The second-year darling is still recovering from a right shoulder injury. Jim Schwartz has been coy about Stafford’s status, but Sean Leahy of USA Today reports that Shaun Hill will get the start against the Vikings.

Finally, in Cleveland, Jake Delhomme once again missed practice because of the ankle injury suffered in Week 1. If Delhomme is unable to throw interceptions for the Browns again this week, Seneca Wallace will get the start. It almost doesn’t matter either way, as this Cleveland offense is facing the white-hot Baltimore defense.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

If you want to blame the officials for the Calvin Johnson TD catch not counting late in the Bears-Lions game, that’s OK. If you want to curse and say, “What the hell was the referee doing under that hood? Why didn’t he overturn an incomplete call on what was very obviously a TD call?” that’s all right, too.

On the surface, the sequence of events that secured Chicago’s 19-14 win against Detroit seems drastically unfair. And it is unfair. It’s a silly, stupid rule. But blame the rule. Don’t blame the officials.

Here’s how it set up: QB Shaun Hill threw a pretty pass to Calvin Johnson in the corner of the end zone with less than a minute to play. Johnson caught the ball over Bears DB Zackary Bowman and landed his feet and his body with the ball secured in his hands. Then he put the ball on the ground.

Whether he was using the ball to help himself up or whether he just lost control for a second (he had only one hand on the ball at that point), that’s where the controversy comes in. Was it a catch? Absolutely. Should it have been a TD? For sure. Is it spelled out that way in the rule book? No.

Because he was still “in the process” of catching the TD pass, what was, at first, ruled a TD was quickly overruled as an incomplete pass. The official’s review confirmed the second ruling on the field.

Here’s what the rule states (hat tip to Pro Football Talk ): "If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete."

Yes, the rule is unfair, and there’s no doubt that it’ll be under intense scrutiny. But it wasn’t the referee’s fault. He was just correctly enacting what is a stupid rule. A stupid, stupid rule.

Your eyes – and mine – told you that Johnson caught a TD pass. It should have been.

UPDATE (6:13 p.m.): Reaction from Johnson: "I thought it was a catch, I figured if I got two feet and a knee down, it was a catch. I thought we finally won in Chicago. It is what it is, and now it’s over."

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Posted by Will Brinson

The good news for the Chicago Bears is that Julius Peppers appears to care (he sacked Matt Stafford near the end of the half to land the Bears a field goal) and that Matt Forte appears to be closer to his first season than his second (he took a screen pass 89 yards to the house). The good news for the Lions is that Jahvid Best appears to be "for real" (he has two touchdowns in the first half) and they appear, as a team, to be better than last year (they're winning at halftime).

The bad news was that Mike Martz' offense managed to produce three turnovers ... against the Lions. The really bad news, though (at least for the Lions), is that Stafford suffered a shoulder injury on the sack by Peppers and was seen on the sidelines without his pads or jersey on.

Needless to say, the Lions will be careful with him, but considering that last year he managed to get back on the field and win a game with a shoulder injury, the news that he could be out for the second half is not good at all.

A strong showing by Jay Cutler, whose numbers are quite deceiving at halftime, in the second half could go a long way towards making Chicago fans feel less worried about their team this year. And likely towards keeping Lovie Smith and Martz' pants a little cooler.

Update (2:49): Shaun Hill entered the game for Stafford and the Lions' starter's return is officially listed as "questionable" -- he kicked the bench in frustration when being told that he wouldn't return.

Update (3:00): The NFL tweets that Stafford is OUT for the game and will not return, leaving the Lions hopes in Hill's hands.

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