Hand injury not expected to keep Browns’ Mayfield out

Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is not expected to miss any time after injuring his right hand in Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh.

Mayfield played the second half with a glove helping protect and support his hand after he struck it on the facemask of Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree while throwing a deep incompletion just before halftime.

Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said Monday that he was prepared to play backup Garrett Gilbert in the second half, but X-rays taken on Mayfield at halftime were negative.

Kitchens said Mayfield “should be fine” and able to start this week when the Browns (5-7) host the Cincinnati Bengals.

LATE SUNDAY

Texans 28, Patriots

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22: Deshaun Watson threw three touchdown passes and had the first TD reception of his career, and host Houston frustrated

Tom Brady to prevent New England from becoming the first AFC team to clinch a playoff spot this season.

Texans coach and former Patriots assistant Bill O'Brien got his first win in six tries against New England coach Bill Belichick. It was Houston’s second win over the Patriots and first since Jan. 3, 2010.

Watson had 234 yards passing and threw touchdown passes of 14, 13, and 35 yards as Houston (8-4) built a 21-3 lead against New England’s vaunted defense.

Brady completed two of his three TD passes in the final 4 minutes to pull within six. A Patriots (10-2) player got a hand on Jake Bailey’s onside kick attempt with 50 seconds remaining, but the ball bounced out of bounds.

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Jaguars: Rookie quarterback ● Gardner Minshew will return as starter Sunday against the Chargers, replacing ineffective and highly paid veteran

Nick Foles following the team’s fourth consecutive lopsided loss.

The move came one day after coach Doug Marrone sat Foles at halftime of a 28-11 home loss to Tampa Bay. It also could create a complicated mess moving forward at the position — for embattled personnel chief Tom Coughlin or whoever’s in charge next season.

Foles’ contract pays him $15.125 million in 2020 — fully guaranteed — and he will count nearly $22 million against the salary cap. That’s a huge payout for a guy not guaranteed to be the starter. Cutting him would cost the Jaguars nearly $34 million against the cap and trading him before June would cost nearly $19 million.

It’s not unlike the situation Jacksonville faced with Blake Bortles earlier this year. Coughlin and general manager Dave Caldwell gave Bortles a three-year deal worth $58 million in 2018, months after making the AFC title game. Bortles fizzled last season and is now counting $15.5 million against the cap — the largest deadmoney hit in NFL history.

Jets: Star safety Jamal ●

Adams has a sprained left ankle that could sideline him for at least New York’s game Sunday against the Dolphins. Adams was still expected to have an MRI exam to further evaluate the injury which happened early in the Jets’ 22-6 loss at Cincinnati to the previously winless Bengals.

After the game, Adams fought back tears while discussing the loss and the injury, which had him in a walking boot.

Giants: Co-owners

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John Mara and Steve Tisch are going to be faced with major decisions regarding coach Pat Shurmur and general manager

Dave Gettleman after the season. Heading into the final quarter of the schedule, the Giants (2-10) have the NFL’s second-worst record.

They are riding an eightgame losing streak, tied for the second worst in the history of a franchise that dates to 1925.