Wracked by core muscle injury, Clowney vows: ‘No way I’m not playing’

The high point of Jadeveon Clowney’s four months with the Seahawks occurred the last time Seattle played the 49ers, a spectacular performance that earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors and seemed to herald a turnaround for the Seahawks defense.

The low point has been almost everything that has happened since.

Clowney suffered what he now knows is a core muscle injury in that game — something he began feeling in the second quarter — which has contributed to him playing in just two of five games since that Nov. 11 night in Santa Clara.

But as the Seahawks and 49ers get set for a rematch Sunday in Seattle that will decide the NFC West title, Clowney said nothing will keep him off the field.

“There’s no way I’m not playing,” Clowney said. “I’m playing.”

TITANS: Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry makes it very clear he will play Sunday against the Texans with a playoff berth on the line for Tennessee. “I love playing the game, so I’m definitely ready,” said Henry, who earned his first Pro Bowl berth by running for 1,329 yards despite missing Sunday’s loss to the Saints with a sore hamstring.

BILLS: Elbert Dubenion, a receiver who played key roles in Buffalo winning consecutive AFL championships in the mid-1960s, has died. He was 86. The Bills said Dubenion had been living in Ohio and battling Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. Born in Griffin, Dubenion was nicknamed “Golden Wheels” for his speed. He played his entire nine-year career in Buffalo.