Bengals fire defensive coordinator after throttling by Saints

Marvin Lewis got the Bengals’ head coaching job because of his reputation for defensive excellence. He’s now in charge of trying to resuscitate a historically bad unit and pulling Cincinnati’s season back from the brink.

The Bengals fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin on Monday, a day after a 51-14 loss to the Saints that ranks among the worst in franchise history. New Orleans scored on every possession except the last one – when it took a knee while in field-goal range – during its rout at Paul Brown Stadium.

The fading Bengals (5-4) fired a coordinator in midstream for the second season in a row. And it’s up to Lewis to get hands-on and try to fix the mess while filling two roles at once.

“Teryl worked very hard, but I just felt like we have to rock their world, shake things up,” Lewis said.

Bills release QB: Nathan Peterman’s turnover-over prone days with the Buffalo Bills are over after the second-year player was cut by the team.

The move was announced as the Bills (3-7) enter their bye week.

Peterman threw seven interceptions in four appearances this season, and 13 overall in nine games, including a brief playoff stint last season. Peterman became the odd man out on a team carrying four quarterbacks, and with rookie Josh Allen set to reclaim his starting job after missing four games with a sprained right throwing elbow.

Another weapon for Saints: New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton says the Saints have signed veteran receiver Brandon Marshall.

Marshall’s addition adds depth to an offense that already leads the NFL in scoring with 36.7 points per game and ranks in the top five in yards per game with 413.9.

Last week, the Saints signed receiver Dez Bryant, but he tore an Achilles in only his second practice and didn’t play a game for New Orleans.

Kupp injures knee: Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp is out for the season after tearing a ligament in his left knee.

Coach Sean McVay on Monday confirmed the injury for Kupp, who led the Rams in yards receiving last season.

Kupp was hurt on a noncontact play during the Rams’ victory over the Seattle Seahawks. An MRI exam confirmed a torn ligament for Kupp, who already missed two games last month with a different injury to the same knee.

In other injury news:

❚ Eagles cornerback Ronald Darby tore an ACL in the second half of Philadelphia’s loss to Dallas on Sunday, leaving the defending Super Bowl champs without half their starting secondary. Safety Rodney McLeod suffered a knee injury in September.

❚ Jacksonville Jaguars center Brandon Linder will have season-ending surgery on his right knee after he injured it in Sunday’s loss at Indianapolis.

❚ Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman will miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury.

Coach Anthony Lynn said Perryman injured the lateral collateral ligament in his left knee during the first quarter of Sunday’s win against Oakland.