Falling into a 2-6 hole near the midpoint of a season is usually a recipe to look to the future for NFL teams, with only two teams ever climbing out of that hole to reach the postseason.

Ezekiel Elliott scored the go-ahead touchdown with 41 seconds remaining, and the Dallas Cowboys avoided a major upset with a 27-23 victory over the hapless Houston Texans.

Deshaun Watson was on the field for the start of training camp with the Houston Texans on Wednesday.

Deshaun Watson plans to report to training camp with the Houston Texans.

The league is pressing forward with its goal of playing the Super Bowl as scheduled in Tampa on Feb. 7. What often seemed improbable during the COVID-10 pandemic has become quite achievable. "Contact tracing is the thing people are not talking the most about, but it is foundational to our success," said Sills. The league presses forward with its goal of playing all 256 scheduled games in 17 weeks and the Super Bowl in Tampa on Feb. 7. The trio works with the league’s three-member team consisting of a contact tracer, an epidemiologist and a physician.

“When we all follow the protocols, they work and they work well,” Tretter said. “The contact tracing, getting everyone who potentially are exposed out of the building, works to stop the spread of the virus. Union spokesman George Atallah said that 90% of players that test positive do so within five days of exposure. That is why the league and union have decided to isolate “high-risk” close contacts for a five-day period to make sure they continue to test negative. “We have to make decisions on the information and data we have at the time.”___More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Many viewers cringed at Denver’s ugly loss to the Saints behind a rookie receiver pressed into duty because every Broncos quarterback was barred by the NFL over coronavirus concerns. A three-year starter at Vanderbilt, Shurmur spent last season on the Chiefs’ practice squad. After Driskel’s positive test, a league investigation deemed Lock, Rypien and Bortles as high-risk close contacts and ordered them into quarantine Saturday. Hinton returned to catching passes, not throwing them, when he went back to the practice squad Wednesday. Miller has made it his goal to play this season after a freak ankle injury six days before the opener.

Denver Broncos quarterback Kendall Hinton (2) is hit after the throw by New Orleans Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020, in Denver. The NFL denied Denver's request to push the Saints game back 48 hours, which would have allowed their QBs to return to action. So they turned to Hinton, a former quarterback in college, and sprinkled in some direct snaps to running backs Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay. Lock, Rypien and Bortles were removed from the reserve/COVID-19 list after testing negative Tuesday for a fifth consecutive day. Lock and Rypien return to the Broncos’ active roster, and Bortles returns to the practice squad.

___GREEN BAY AT TAMPA BAYPackers: RB Tyler Ervin, CB Kevin King, QB Jordan Love. ___NEW YORK JETS AT MIAMIJets: QB James Morgan, QB Sam Darnold, CB Quincy Wilson, LB Jordan Willis, T Mekhi Becton, DL Nathan Shepherd. Dolphins: B/WR Malcolm Perry, RB Salvon Ahmed, RB Jordan Howard, LB Kyle Van Noy, DE Jason Strowbridge. ___HOUSTON AT TENNESSEETexans: WR Keke Coutee, CB Cornell Armstrong, RB Buddy Howell, ILB Peter Kalambayi, OT Charlie Heck, TE Jordan Akins. ___ATLANTA AT MINNESOTAFalcons: CB Jordan Miller, RB Qadree Ollison, S Jaylinn Hawkins, RT John Wetzel, DE Takk McKinley.

DENVER – Before kickoff, Tom Brady sauntered over to Peyton Manning, who owns four fewer Super Bowl rings but has something Brady desperately craves: a championship with a second team. “It was good to see him,” Brady said after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers past Manning’s former team 28-10 in Denver on Sunday. “There’s still a lot to learn, a lot to grow, a lot of room for improvement. Before Sunday, the Broncos were the only team in the NFL with a winning record against the six-time Super Bowl champion. “It just felt good to be out there making a couple of plays, get involved in the passing game,” Gronkowski said.

Bortles, the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, won’t be able to join the team until the weekend. Driskel took over last weekend when starter Drew Lock injured his throwing shoulder on a sack in Pittsburgh. He has 106 touchdown passes and 75 interceptions in 81 career games, including 76 starts, three in the playoffs. Last year, Bortles backed up the Rams’ Jared Goff but threw just two passes in three appearances. Even without Lock sidelined and Sutton out for the year, the Broncos don’t plan to alter their offense.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool (11) crosses the goal line for a touchdown on an 84-yard play during the first half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)PITTSBURGH – A game seemingly in hand suddenly on the cusp of slipping away, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin didn't overthink things. Needing a stop to turn back the surprisingly resilient Denver Broncos, the Steelers dialed up one final blitz in an afternoon filled with them. So the Broncos (0-2) hung around despite losing starting quarterback Drew Lock (right shoulder) in the first quarter. The Steelers recovered and went downfield for a touchdown while Lock was in the blue medical tent getting evaluated. Still, he wasn't exactly thrilled on a day the Steelers never trailed but struggled to put the Broncos away.

(AP Photo/John Froschauer)The Latest on Week 2 in the NFL (all times EDT):___8:55 p.m.Seattle safety Quandre Diggs was ejected late in the first quarter Sunday night for a helmet-to-helmet hit on New England’s N’Keal Harry. Multiple flags were thrown and after a few minutes of deliberation, referee Craig Wrolstad announced Diggs had been ejected. Watkins made an 11-yard catch to convert a third down when Desmond King started to bring him down and Denzel Perryman landed a helmet-to-helmet hit. San Francisco lost both defensive end Nick Bosa and defensive tackle Solomon Thomas to left knee injuries earlier in the game. Brady struggled in an 11-point loss to New Orleans in his first NFL game not in a New England Patriots uniform.