NFL News and Notes

St. Louis Rams rookie tight end Dominique Byrd was charged Monday with allegedly hitting a bar patron in the face with a drinking glass.

Byrd was charged with second- and third-degree assault and armed criminal action. His bond was set at $25,000, said chief warrant officer Jeannette Graviss with the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's office.

Byrd's lawyer, Scott Rosenblum, said his client had posted bail and will plead not guilty.

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Cincinnati Bengals rookie wide receiver Reggie McNeal was arrested in Houston and charged with resisting arrest after being refused entrance to a nightclub early Sunday.

McNeal, a former Texas A&M quarterback, was arrested outside The Red Door, said Houston police spokesman Gabe Ortiz on Monday.

Ortiz said McNeal approached two officers who were standing near the entrance and became unruly when the officers told him the club was closing. McNeal "became aggressive and started using profanity" when the officers refused to let him enter, Ortiz said.

McNeal is the seventh Bengals player arrested this year.

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Broncos fullback Cecil Sapp will miss the rest of the season because of a broken left leg, but linebacker Al Wilson could return to practice this week after injuring his neck in the Broncos' loss to Seattle.

Sapp was hurt while returning a kickoff with about three minutes left in the Broncos' 23-20 defeat Sunday night. He was tackled by Niko Koutouvides and Lance Laury and was bent backward in the pile.

One of Denver's top special teams players, Sapp was placed on injured reserve Monday and will have surgery sometime this week. There wasn't an immediate corresponding roster move.

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LaDainian Tomlinson's touchdown binge has carried him to the cusp of NFL history and the San Diego Chargers to the verge of returning to the playoffs.

The star running back scored two more touchdowns in San Diego's 24-21 win at Buffalo on Sunday, the Chargers' sixth straight win. He's three shy of breaking the record of 28 set last year by league MVP Shaun Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks.

Tomlinson has scored 23 touchdowns in the last eight games. He scored four times at Denver on Nov. 19, a week after he scored four TDs at Cincinnati. The week before that, he scored three against Cleveland.

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Philadelphia 27, Carolina 24
Jeff Garcia threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Eagles (6-6) over the Panthers (6-6) on Monday night. The win kept Philly alive in the playoff race, while Carolina fell two games behind first-place New Orleans in the NFC South. Garcia has thrown for six TDs and no interceptions since taking over for McNabb. Brian Dawkins' 38-yard interception return set up David Akers' decisive 25-yard field goal with 3:13 to go and Lit Sheppard picked off Jake Delhomme in the end zone to preserve the win after the Panthers had driven to the Eagles 7.


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