The Oakland Raiders lost running back Justin Fargas to injury Sunday.
That opened the door for a big game by rookie Darren McFadden.
Fargas injured his groin midway through the second quarter when he tried to run a pass route down the sideline. Lined up against middle linebacker Pat Thomas, Fargas pulled up lame well before JaMarcus Russell’s pass arrived, then fell to the ground holding the inside of his leg.
Fargas stayed on the ground for a few seconds, then limped to Oakland’s sideline. He had 43 yards on nine carries before the injury after leading the Raiders with 97 yards on 18 carries against Denver last week.
In his place, McFadden ran for 164 yards and a touchdown in Oakland’s 23-8 win.
Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard didn’t play the final three quarters after suffering what the team called mild head trauma. He was already filling in for Brodie Croyle, who separated his shoulder against New England last week.
The 12-year veteran was in for Kansas City’s first two series but didn’t return after throwing an interception late in the second quarter.
Huard finished 2-for-4 for 19 yards and was replaced by Tyler Thigpen.
The Bears lost return specialist Devin Hester after he was carted to the locker room with an apparent rib injury during the third quarter of a 20-17 loss to Carolina.
Hester grabbed the left side of his rib cage after a kickoff return.
Hester set an NFL record last season by returning four punts and two kickoffs for touchdowns. Carolina held him to three kickoff returns for a 21.7-yard average and two punt returns for 9 yards before the injury.
Cincinnati lost tight end Ben Utecht, who hurt his chest on the Bengals’ first play of the game and left the field on a cart.
In Seattle, one wrong step in pregame warm-ups ended Seneca Wallace’s day. One big hit early in the first quarter Sunday sent Logan Payne to the sidelines too, only adding to the almost comical injury situation facing the Seahawks’ receivers.
The two injured receivers joined Bobby Engram, Deion Branch, Nate Burleson and Ben Obomanu on the sidelines.
The Vikings also lost a receiver when Sidney Rice injured his right knee in their 18-15 loss to Indianapolis.
Green Bay cornerback Charles Woodson, who had two interceptions, played with a broken toe and left Ford Field with a walking boot protecting his right foot.
Packers fullback Korey Hall (knee), safety Atari Bigby (cramps) and Lions safety Gerald Alexander (concussion) and tight end Casey FitzSimmons (thumb) were injured during the game.
New Orleans safety Aaron Glenn left the game against Washington with an ankle injury. X-rays were negative.
A week after losing Tom Brady for the season, the Patriots had another key offensive player injured on offense when RB Laurence Maroney left early in the second quarter with a shoulder injury and didn’t return until late in the fourth quarter.
