Coming off a 34-7 loss to the Eagles Sunday, Falcons coach Mike Smith said he hopes quarterback Matt Ryan and other injured starters can return this week to face the undefeated Saints. Ryan wore street clothes and protected his turf toe injury by wearing a walking boot on the sideline Sunday. The boot sat empty at Ryan’s locker yesterday. The QB wasn’t available for interviews, but Smith said he hopes Ryan, who hurt his right big toe two weeks ago, will participate in the team’s first practice of the week tomorrow . . . The Jets’ Mark Sanchez did not practice while recovering from a sprained right knee, but coach Rex Ryan is optimistic about the rookie QB’s chances of playing Sunday at Tampa Bay. Sanchez sprained the posterior cruciate ligament in the knee while diving for a first down in New York’s 19-13 win over Buffalo Thursday night. “He’s so much better,’’ Ryan said. “We thought we were going to get good news from the MRI, we did. Just the way he’s approaching his treatment and rehab and everything else, you can tell he is definitely willing. That’s for sure.’’ Ryan was uncertain whether Sanchez would participate in the team’s next practice tomorrow . . . Texans signal-caller Matt Schaub could play Sunday against the Seahawks despite dislocating his non-throwing shoulder Sunday. Coach Gary Kubiak says Schaub has “good chance’’ of playing this weekend. He was injured on the first play of a loss to the Jaguars but returned in the second quarter and finished the game . . . Seahawks veteran Matt Hasselbeck’s sore shoulder may cost him some practice time but not the team’s game Sunday. Seattle coach Jim Mora said his three-time Pro Bowler is OK after a hit on a scramble Sunday against the 49ers. Hasselbeck’s shoulder had been sore for weeks before the hit. He finished the game and led the winning drive in the final seconds before getting extensive ice treatment afterward . . . One day after rookie Matt Stafford left Detroit’s game against Cincinnati with an aggravation of his separated left (non-throwing) shoulder, Lions coach Jim Schwartz wasn’t giving any hints to his availability for Sunday’s game in Baltimore. “I’ve got a pretty good idea of his status, but I don’t feel any need to tell Baltimore that information,’’ Schwartz said.

Vikings coach Brad Childress said linebacker E.J. Henderson is in “good spirits’’ after having surgery on his broken left leg. Henderson stayed in intensive care at a Phoenix-area hospital while the rest of his teammates went home Sunday night after a 30-17 loss to the Cardinals. Childress said surgery went well, but he was not ready to say when, or if, Henderson would be able to return to the field after the gruesome injury . . . Browns defensive lineman C.J. Mosley is done for the season with a leg injury. He was hurt in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to San Diego. The team placed Mosley on injured reserve, the fifth Cleveland defensive player to go on IR . . . Rams safety O.J. Atogwe could miss the rest of the season with a dislocated right shoulder that eventually will require surgery. Atogwe hasn’t ruled out finishing the year while wearing a brace. He said he planned to speak with his agent and get other medical opinions. Atogwe is among the team’s leading tacklers and forced a fumble in Sunday’s loss to the Bears before being hurt near the end of the first half . . . Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko had arthroscopic knee surgery, sidelining one of the team’s best run-stoppers for at least a couple of weeks.

The NFL is reviewing a play Sunday on which Cowboys tackle Flozell Adams shoved Giants defensive end Justin Tuck in the back. It could result in another fine for Adams or even a suspension. “Any altercation of that nature is reviewed for discipline,’’ NFL spokesman Randall Liu said. While such reviews may be routine, Adams has a history of run-ins with New York, including Week 2 this season when Tuck injured his shoulder after being tripped by Adams. The NFL fined Adams $12,500 for two plays in that game, and he was also fined for incidents in the games immediately before and after that. Video clearly shows Adams shoving Tuck in the back at the end of the first half in New York’s 31-24 victory Sunday. There was then a small melee between players from both teams on the New York sideline, and Adams was given a personal foul penalty though no yardage was marked off against Dallas at the start of the second half. Giants coach Tom Coughlin said he had spoken with NFL director of officiating Mike Pereira about the play . . . Coach Mike Singletary is a little miffed by the number of calls he deemed “questionable’’ during San Francisco’s loss at Seattle. Enough so that he planned to write a letter to the league office, something he does regularly but this time it will be longer than usual. “Every week we send a letter to the league about different calls that are made or not made in a game,’’ Singletary said. “Just to say this week, there will be several paragraphs that will be going to the league.’’ . . . NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the Dolphins’ stadium needs more upgrades if South Florida is to remain competitive in bidding for future Super Bowls.