he direction of his team's sideline Bobby Hebert Jersey Salute to Service , this much is clear: His broken leg amid an ongoing flap with the Seattle Seahawks illustrates why the lack of guaranteed contracts is such a problem for NFL players.This is exactly what Thomas was worried about when he sat out training camp. And when he skipped practices after the season started.There are, of course, all manner of injuries in each and every game, each and every week, around the violent-by-design league.Often, they involve stars — such as Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who left New England's 38-7 win over Miami with an injured right ankle. Often, they are gruesome — such as what happened to Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert's lower right leg in Cincinnati's 37-36 victory at Atlanta, leaving him covering his face with interlocking fingers as he was driven to the locker room.So this given Sunday was no different from any other, really. Thomas' particular case, though, seemed to resonate — yes, because of his flipping reaction, but also — because he has been so public about his concerns about health and finances.He's in the final year of his deal and repeatedly has spoken about wanting the extra security of a fresh contract."I need to make sure my body is 100 (percent)," Thomas said a week ago, "and I'm invested in myself."Prescient sentiment. In the fourth quarter of Seattle's 20-17 victory at the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Thomas's left leg was fractured while he tried to defend against what became a 22-yard touchdown pass. As the six-time Pro Bowl safety was driven away on a cart along Arizona's sideline, his leg in an air cast Morten Andersen Jersey , he looked across the field, lifted his right hand and made his anger clear.It elicited a ton of reaction on Twitter, including this nugget from Thomas' former Seahawks teammate Cliff Avril: "Exactly why guys want extensions."In case you missed it, here are other top topics after the NFL season's fourth Sunday:ROUGHING THE PASSERYes, Packers linebacker Clay Matthews was credited with half a sack while helping take down Bills QB Josh Allen in the second quarter as Green Bay beat Buffalo 22-0 . And, lo and behold, Matthews did not get flagged for roughing the passer — the first game this season that he did not get whistled for it. All in all, the uproar caused by the focus on that particular penalty seemed to have an effect, because after an average of more than 10 roughing calls per week through Week 3, there were only five entering the Monday night game. Then again, one of Sunday's was pretty hard to believe: when Oakland's Arden Key barely touched Cleveland QB Baker Mayfield.NOT TAKING A KNEEHey, maybe Jaguars coach Doug Marrone was worried that the Jets would return a kickoff for a touchdown, then line up and go for 14? Hard to figure out what else would motivate him to go for a 2-point conversion after a TD put his team ahead 31-12 with 25 seconds left — unless, of course, Marrone just wanted to rub it in a bit against a club that passed him over for its top job. Jets defensive lineman Leonard Williams called it "really disrespectful." Jaguars defensive tackle Malik Jackson's take? "He doesn't like those guys. I don't know what they did to him, but he doesn't like them." And Marrone's explanation? "On the chart," he said, "it says go for two."YOUNG RUNNERSDon't bother with a running game Authentic Sam Mills Jersey , they say. Never draft a tailback too high, they insist. Maybe they're right, but there is a young crop of runners who are looking fantastic right now. There's second-year back Alvin Kamara, who scored three second-half TDs and finished with 134 yards on the ground in the Saints' 33-18 victory at the New York Giants, whose rookie Saquon Barkley looks pretty talented, too. Rookie Sony Michel ran for 112 yards and his first NFL TD for the Patriots, while his college teammate at Georgia, Nick Chubb, needed all of three carries to gain 105 yards and score twice for Cleveland in its 45-42 OT loss at Oakland. Yet another rookie, Kerryon Johnson, bulled through defenders while producing 55 yards and a TD for Detroit, which was beaten 26-24 by Dallas.AP Sports Writer Mark Long in Jacksonville, Fla., contributed to this report.Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at ://HowardFendrich Ron Rivera is clinging to the slim hope the Panthers can rebound from a five-game losing streak, beat the Saints twice in three weeks and earn a wild card spot in the NFC playoffs.The coach understands the chances of all of that happening are remote at best."There's a chance 鈥?five percent," Rivera said Tuesday. "That's what they are giving us, so that's what we will take. ... All you need is a chance."Actually, Carolina's playoff hopes are a little better than that after the Vikings lost to the Seahawks on Monday night. According to the website FiveThirtyEight Limited Rickey Jackson Jersey , which analyzes NFL teams' chances of reaching the postseason, the Panthers have a nine percent chance to reach the playoffs.Rivera relayed the team's chances to his players on Tuesday as a sort of dangling carrot."That would be a great story wouldn't it?" Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers said. "If we won this game and then won two more and made it in?"When asked if he really thinks that can happen, Peppers smiled and said, "of course it can happen. We expect it to happen, actually."One look at the standings and the task doesn't seem all that daunting considering the Panthers (6-7) are just a half-game behind the Vikings (6-6-1) in the race for the second wild card spot, tied with the Eagles and Redskins. The Panthers hold a tiebreaker advantage over the Eagles, but not the Redskins.That doesn't factor in the Panthers haven't won a game since Oct. 28, and will close the season with three games against division foes 鈥?including two against the division champion Saints, the first of which is Monday night at home.Rivera said his plan is to stick with Cam Newton at quarterback despite a lingering right shoulder problem that has limited the former league MVP's ability to throw downfield on a consistent basis and might have contributed to some throws sailing high. On three different occasions this season the Panthers have turned to backup Taylor Heinicke on Hail Mary attempts because of Newton's lack of arm strength.Rivera said this season bears a resemblance to 2014 when the Panthers were 3-8-1 and managed to win their final four games to capture the NFC South and then beat the Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs.But Carolina has shown no sign of another potential turnaround up until this point. Rather, the Panthers seem to collapse time and time again when they have a chance to break through and regain control of their own playoff destiny.Carolina was 6-2 and battling for first place in the NFC South when it to went Pittsburgh in early November and got dismantled 52-21 in a nationally televised Thursday night game. The Panthers went on to lose their next four games against the Seahawks and three of the league's lower-end teams 鈥?the Lions, Buccaneers and Browns 鈥?leading to speculation about Rivera's future.All four of those losses were all by seven points or less."We just keep finding ways to lose," Newton said Sunday.Rivera felt there was a lot of good" that happened in the Browns' loss, but that the Panthers missed chances in the red zone on offense and had four costly bad plays on defense. He sees those problems as fixable.The biggest game remaining for the Panthers will be the next one against the Saints, a team they lost to three times last season and bumped them out of playoff contention.If the Panthers can somehow get past Sean Payton's crew, they will host the fading Falcons on Dec. 23 and play the Saints in a rematch on Jan. 30 鈥?a game in which New Orleans might rest some its starters if it has already solidified one of the top two seeds in the NFC playoffs."It's a big emphasis around here that we still have a chance to make the playoffs," said wide receiver D.J. Moore. Custom New England Patriots Jerseys