FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Randy Moss caught one pass against Carolina, and he fumbled it away.
The star receiver was largely neutralized in the Patriots’ 20-10 victory over the Panthers on Sunday, when he spent more time tackling defenders after turnovers than avoiding them.
Quarterback Tom Brady threw the ball to Moss four times, and one was intercepted. The only catch was a 16-yarder at the start of the second quarter, which Moss fumbled.
He did not speak to reporters after the game. A speedy and talented receiver who’s found trouble at every NFL stop, Moss caught 98 passes and an NFL-record 23 touchdowns in 2007 — his first season with the Patriots. But since then, he has struggled to overcome the perception that he does not try on every play, especially when things are not going his way.
That reputation resurfaced Sunday when Panthers cornerback Chris Gamble told The Boston Globe that they knew Moss would “shut it down.”
“He’d just give up a lot; slow down; he’s not going deep; not trying to run a route. You can tell (by) his body language,” the paper quoted him as saying. “I know everyone who plays against him, they can sense that. Once you get into him in the beginning of the game, he shuts it down a little bit.”
Moss was one of four players sent home Wednesday when they showed up late for a team meeting.
Young strains a hamstring
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Titans quarterback Vince Young strained his right hamstring in the second quarter against the Rams and didn’t return as Tennessee finished off a 47-7 rout.
Coach Jeff Fisher described Young’s injury as mild.
“We will just see how he is throughout the week,” Fisher said. “I kept him warm and on the bike, and he would have been able to hand off, and so that gives you kind of some idea. I am not going to comment any further than that.”
Injury updates.
Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware was hospitalized with a sprained neck, sustained when he slammed headfirst into a Chargers lineman.
The Cowboys said Ware was “aware and alert with full movement and strength in his extremities” when he was taken off the field.
• Seattle linebacker Aaron Curry, the Seahawks’ first-round pick, suffered a right hip pointer in the fourth quarter against the Texans. Coach Jim Mora said Curry would travel home with the team and undergo an MRI today.
“It’s a pain deal,” Mora said. “It didn’t look like he could walk off the field.”
• Lions running back Kevin Smith left the game against the Ravens with a left knee injury.
