gals, who are a game and a half out with two teams to overtake.They still

HOUSTON -- Before all the offseason renovations and before Brock Osweiler became the new hope for the Texans offense, a different quarterback sought that job.Tom Savage wanted to be the starter and thought hed get that opportunity. That changed with the arrival of Osweiler in free agency, but Savage is not pouting about it. In fact, he has tried to help.Coach is going to make decisions, Savage said. Hes got to feed his family as well. Hes going to do whatever he thinks is best for this team. I cant worry about that. I have to go to there and try and make this team as good as possible, and make the team, to be honest with you.Savage is competing to be the backup quarterback, and as he does it, he said he has put any ego completely aside. Hes sharing what he knows with Osweiler and his knowledge has helped the starting quarterback in his quest to learn his new offense quickly. Even without being the starter, Savage is helping to stabilize a position thats been volatile in Houston for several years.It takes a while for that position, coach Bill OBrien said. The only thing Tom needs is an opportunity. Tom is a good football player and hes put a lot of time in to get to where he is right now.Savage came to the Texans as a project, a fourth-round pick, 135th overall, out of Pittsburgh.He backed up Ryan Fitzpatrick and Ryan Mallett during the 2014 season. He played only once, entering a game against the Indianapolis Colts because Fitzpatrick broke his leg. He struggled, and spent the offseason haunted by his performance. Savage also suffered a knee injury in that game.He entered the 2015 offseason ready for another chance, this time backing up Brian Hoyer and Mallett. But Savage suffered a shoulder injury and went on season-ending injured reserve before Week 1.His shoulder actually healed long before the season ended, but injured reserve meant Savage wasnt available. He watched as the Texans needed four different starting quarterbacks to get through the season. And when that season ended with a 30-0 playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Savage declared his intention to be the Texans starter in 2016.They can draft 12 quarterbacks, Savage said in January. I am going to be ready to go. . I am not up there (in the front office). I dont make those decisions. So all I can do is be ready to compete.Two months later, the Texans dealt Savage another blow by signing Osweiler. But when Osweiler invited him to Arizona for a set of player-led workouts with their receivers, Savage didnt hesitate to accept.Im a Houston Texan; I want this team to win, Savage said. So Im going to do whatever I can to help out, whether thats go out there and talk with him, talk some shop, give him little tidbits about the offense, or go out there and play a game.He joined receivers DeAndre Hopkins, Cecil Shorts, Keith Mumphery and Jaelen Strong for workouts at Arizona State. More than any of the receivers could, he helped Osweiler get a head start on the intricacies of the Texans offense.Hes a guy that you want in your corner, Osweiler said. I really cant say enough. Tom is a tremendous teammate.The simple fact that he could help a newcomer showed progress in his understanding of the offense, and that work continues now.Game notes Outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney missed his third consecutive day of practice on Tuesday. Just giving him a couple days off, OBrien said. I wouldnt make too much of it. Clowney has been hampered by injuries since entering the NFL. He had groin surgery in June of 2014, a month after being drafted first overall, then a concussion during that years training camp that caused him to miss two preseason games. He suffered a lateral meniscus tear in the Texans season opener, and that injury required arthroscopic knee surgery and then microfracture surgery. In 2015, Clowney missed games with ankle, back and foot injuries. The foot injury, a Lisfranc sprain, caused him to miss the Texans regular-season finale and their playoff game. Cheap Hockey Jerseys Authentic .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. Fake Hockey Jerseys . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. https://www.fakehockeyjerseys.com/ . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Cheap Hockey Jerseys . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. Cheap Hockey Jerseys China . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. CINCINNATI -- The defending AFC North champions had a bye week to regain their confidence, fix their problems and go after another title thats tantalizing close.Instead, the Bengals opened the second half of their season with all of the same issues and now one less chance to save their season.Its begun to slip away.The Bengals 21-20 loss to the Giants on Monday night left them with a 3-5-1 record thats their worst in six years -- before Andy Dalton and A.J. Green came aboard -- and a sense that theyre making no progress in the areas where they keep coming up short.In its past five games, Cincinnati is 1-3-1 with a victory over winless Cleveland and a tie with Washington.The frustration for me is very high right now, said cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, who intercepted Eli Manning. For us not to win this game that we needed, its heartbreaking.And puzzling, too.The Bengals are one of the healthiest teams in the NFL, so injuries cant explain their dramatic drop-off from a year ago when they tied the franchise record with 12 wins. Theyre running the same plays that worked a year ago, with most of the same players.When they have a chance to take control of a game the way they did last season, they simply cant do it.The Bengals went up 20-14 on New York midway through the third quarter and had chances to pull away.They got the ball five more times and managed a total of only 47 yards and three first downs, one of them by penalty. Dalton was 3 of 11 for 29 yards with an interception and two sacks on those final five possessions.Its like we just needed that one play to get us going, and we never got it, said Dalton, who was 16 of 29 overall for 204 yards with a touchdown , an interception and three sacks.The defense has been one of the biggest problems all season, and it had a game-ending letdown.ddddddddddddThe Giants got the ball back at their 41-yard line with 3:01 left, plenty of time for Cincinnati to get another shot at a winning field goal if the defense could hold. The Bengals knew the Giants would run the ball, so they stacked the line. New York ran five consecutive times for 38 yards and two first downs, draining the clock.The loss represented a missed chance to close in on first place. Baltimore leads with a 5-4 mark, followed by Pittsburgh at 4-5 and then the Bengals, who are a game and a half out with two teams to overtake.They still have both games left with Baltimore as well as a home game against the Steelers, but the loss to New York leaves them with no margin for error in the last seven weeks.The Bengals host Buffalo on Sunday, then go to Baltimore for what could be the pivotal game of their season.Yes, were running out of time, Kirkpatrick said. At the end of the day, with some of the teams losing, that puts us in a decent situation. But we have to get our wins.Game notes DE Margus Hunt was inactive for the first time this season, an indication the coaching staff isnt pleased with his play. Hunt got a bigger role in the line rotation this season after Wallace Gilberry left for Detroit as a free agent. The Bengals re-signed Gilberry during their bye week, and he moved into Hunts role. ... Gilberry suffered an abdominal injury after four games with Detroit and was released with a settlement. He was on the field for 30 of the defenses 75 plays against the Giants and had one tackle.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '