Chandler Is Out, so Burris Gets the Call

Concussion-plagued quarterback Chris Chandler will not start for the Chicago Bears in Sunday’s regular-season finale against Tampa Bay.

The 37-year-old Chandler left during the second quarter of last week’s 24-14 loss to Carolina with the fifth concussion of his career.

Former CFL and Temple player Henry Burris, who replaced Chandler last week, will make his first NFL start Sunday.

On Thursday, Bear Coach Dick Jauron and offensive coordinator John Stoop were optimistic that Chandler would play. But the quarterback saw team doctors late Thursday, and they determined he hadn’t shown enough progress in his recovery.

“Nothing really changed,” Jauron said Friday. “It was an ongoing evaluation. They would see him every single day. A concussion, they wanted to watch it closely.

“When they evaluated him, they really just didn’t feel like it was in his best interest to play.”

Chandler did not practice Friday and wasn’t available for comment.

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The Green Bay Packers may have to make their final push at securing a first-round bye in the playoffs without Darren Sharper.

The all-pro free safety didn’t practice Friday and remains questionable because of a sprained ligament in his right knee for Green Bay’s regular-season finale Sunday against the New York Jets.

Sharper hasn’t practiced all week and did only some light rehabilitation work on the knee Friday.

He’s expected to test the knee again today, and his status will be a game-day decision. If Sharper does play Sunday, he will do so with a knee brace.

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Steve McNair missed another practice because of tightness in his lower back.

In the previous four weeks, rib and toe injuries have caused McNair to sit out virtually every workout but he has not missed a game. Coach Jeff Fisher said that inability to prepare physically has led to the current situation.

“There’s nothing structurally wrong. The ribs are feeling better, and the toe is feeling better,” Fisher said.

“It’s a matter of doing things just once a week and not doing much during the week other than stretching and then going on the field and playing Sundays. When you do something once a week, you’ll have a tendency to get stiff and sore.”

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The Oakland Raiders gave Kansas City’s defense a serious confidence boost two months ago, and the Chiefs needed it badly. The league’s last-place defense held the NFL’s top-rated offense to its lowest point total of the year in a 20-10 win at Arrowhead Stadium on Oct. 27.

The Chiefs believe there’s no reason they can’t do it again today when they meet the Raiders at Oakland, but they realize it will be a lot tougher with the rowdy Raider Nation going against them on every down.

This game also carries more importance for both teams. The Raiders (10-5), who won the AFC West for the third straight time, could secure home-field advantage through the playoffs, and the first-round bye that accompanies it, with a victory. The Chiefs (8-7) still can make the playoffs, which would end a four-year postseason drought.

Raider quarterback Rich Gannon put up big numbers in that loss to the Chiefs two months ago, completing 35 of 55 passes for 334 yards, but he couldn’t get his team into the end zone enough.

“I think we got after them pretty good up front,” said Chief linebacker Mike Maslowski, who needs six tackles to break the franchise single-season record of 157 set by Gary Spani in 1979.

The win was the first for the Chiefs over the Raiders in six games.

Gannon hasn’t lost any faith in Oakland’s creative offensive system, despite low numbers the last two weeks.

“It’s a system that’s been very productive for us,” he said. “However, if you make mistakes or make mental errors and you’re not clean in your performance, then it’s tough.”