Many coaches would be wringing their hands if their quarterback got hurt just as they began the toughest stretch of their schedule.
Not Marty Schottenheimer, who will try to keep his Kansas City Chiefs within a game of Denver in the AFC West when they go to Jacksonville Sunday without Elvis Grbac, who has been the main factor in their 7-2 start.Grbac was injured late in the Chiefs' 13-10 win over Pittsburgh on Monday night, and Rich Gannon came on to help run out the clock. That was the Chiefs' first of five straight games against winning teams - the Jaguars (6-3); Denver (8-1); Seattle (5-4) and San Francisco (8-1) are next up.
"We're very comfortable with Rich Gannon as our quarterback," Schottenheimer said. "We won't change anything that we do."
In other games Sunday, Arizona is at Dallas; Chicago at Minnesota; Cincinnati at Indianapolis; Detroit at Washington; the New York Jets at Miami; New England at Buffalo; St. Louis at Green Bay; Tampa Bay at Atlanta; Carolina at Denver; New Orleans at Oakland; the New York Giants at Tennessee; Seattle at San Diego; and Baltimore at Pitts-burgh.
San Francisco is at Philadelphia on Monday night.
As the Chiefs arrive in Jacksonville without Grbac, they can hardly expect any sympathy from the Jaguars.
Not only has Jacksonville won with three different starting quarterbacks this season, but it will be without left tackle Tony Boselli, the anchor of its offensive line. That has resulted in a reshuffling that has only right tackle Leon Searcy remaining where he has played all season.
But the Jags are taking the same attitude that the Chiefs are taking with Grbac.
"It's definitely a void in our offense," Searcy says. "`But as good as Tony is, there are other linemen who have to make plays."
The game between Arizona (2-7) and Dallas (4-5) follows what has become the Cowboys' weekly circus. This week, Jerry Jones gave Barry Switzer a vote of confidence for the season after one report that personnel director Larry Lacewell would coach the rest of the season and another that it would be Joe Avezzano, the special teams coach.
Whatever, the Cowboys' record is their worst at this point since 1990, and the Cardinals are coming off a 31-21 win over Philadelphia, their first since beating the Cowboys 25-22 in overtime the second week of the season.
But Kent Graham, who engineered a comeback in both wins - last week in relief of rookie Jake Plummer - will be back on the bench for the Cards. Instead, coach Vince Tobin will go with Plummer, who started the previous two games.
Emmitt Smith, who pulled a groin muscle in last week's 17-10 loss in San Francisco, is a question mark for Dallas, which already has lost fullback Daryl Johnston for the season. If Smith won't play, Sherman Williams will replace him, with Herschel Walker in reserve at both running back positions.
Carolina (5-4) has won three straight, albeit over New Orleans, Atlanta and Oakland, who have a combined record of 7-20.
In last week's 38-14 win over Oakland, the Panthers unveiled Fred Lane, a free agent rookie, who ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns in relief of the injured Tshimanga Biakabutuka.
The Broncos, by contrast, have won their last two games - over Buffalo and Seattle - by three points each, a stark contrast to their first seven games, when they outscored opponents by an aggregate 190-85.
That makes Denver coach Mike Shanahan even warier than usual against a Carolina team that finished 12-4 and made it to the NFC title game in its second season.
"They're in exactly the same situation they were in a year ago," Shanahan said. "They're playing with a lot of confidence, and they've got some enthusiasm going."
Denver's Bill Romanowski was fined $20,000 after a hit that broke Carolina quarterback Kerry Collins' jaw in an exhibition season. And the Panthers were in a brawl with the Raiders at the end of last week's game that resulted in a total of $54,500 in fines by the NFL.