The Sports Xchange

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will miss his third straight game with a knee injury, the team announced Friday.

Roethlisberger sprained the medial collateral ligament and a bone bruise during a contest against the St. Louis Rams in Week 3. He was limited in practice this week, which provided a glimmer of hope he might be able to return.

When Roethlisberger was initially injured, the projection was that he would miss four to six weeks.

Veteran Michael Vick will again start when the Steelers play the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Pittsburgh is 1-1 in Vick’s two starts.

The Steelers will also be without safety Will Allen (ankle) and linebacker Ryan Shazier (shoulder).

—The Indianapolis Colts listed quarterback Andrew Luck, still recuperating from an injured right shoulder, as questionable for Sunday night’s game against the New England Patriots.

Luck, who has missed the last two games, has seen more practice time this week and appears to be throwing the ball better.

—The Patriots are preparing for Luck and backup Matt Hasselbeck this week. The 40-year-old Hasselbeck has gone 2-0 for the Colts after Luck started the season 1-2.

“We prepare for all guys on the active roster. We just don’t prepare for one guy,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Friday. “It wouldn’t make any difference. Last week, (Tony) Romo was out, so we didn’t have to prepare for Romo, but it was (Brandon) Weeden, it was (Matt) Cassel, (Kellen) Moore — we don’t know what they’re going to do. And after the first play of the game, anything can happen. Whoever you think is in there could be somebody else anyways.”

—The New Orleans Saints lost rookie offensive tackle Andrus Peat for approximately four weeks with a knee injury, according to a published report.

Peat, the 13th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, suffered a sprained medical collateral ligament during Thursday night’s victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

The injury occurred during the second start of Peat’s career. He was filling in for starter Terron Armstead, who is also sidelined with a knee injury.

—Houston Texans outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney was ruled out with a sprained ankle for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Clowney suffered the injury on Oct. 8 against the Indianapolis Colts. The next day after the Thursday night game, Clowney wore a walking boot on his right foot and a few days later he wore a brace on his ankle to practice. He missed all of this week’s practices.

The Texans also listed defensive end Jared Crick as questionable because of a knee injury that kept him out of practice this week. Safety Quintin Demps and wide receiver Nate Washington were ruled out with hamstring injuries.

—The Carolina Panthers ruled out defensive end Jared Allen and linebacker A.J. Klein for Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Allen suffered a pinched nerve the day before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 4. He only played 35 snaps against the Bucs and hasn’t practiced all week as he struggled with feeling in his foot. Wes Horton will start for Allen.

Klein suffered a concussion against Tampa Bay and has been in the league’s protocol. He practiced on a limited basis this week, but did not receive final clearance from the independent neurologist.

—Buffalo Bills starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor is listed as questionable with a knee injury for Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Coach Rex Ryan confirmed this week that Taylor has a sprained MCL in his left knee.

Running back LeSean McCoy is listed as probable after indicating he wanted to come back early from a hamstring injury. He missed the past two weeks.

Starting receivers Sammy Watkins (calf) and Percy Harvin (hip) are listed as questionable on the injury report.

—New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. missed another day of practice with a hamstring issue.

Giants head coach Tom Coughlin wants to keep open the possibility of Beckham playing against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night. Beckham also did not practice Thursday.

Beckham injured his left hamstring during the third quarter of last Sunday’s 30-27 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Beckham was initially ruled questionable to return and sat out for the majority of the fourth quarter, but came back for the final four plays of the game.

—Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett has been fined $20,000 for his unnecessary roughness penalty on Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton.

Bennett’s penalty in last Sunday’s 27-24 loss also cost the Seahawks 51 yards on the play. Bennett knocked Dalton down three times during an Earl Thomas interception return late in the second quarter.

The fine is Bennett’s third of the year. He was fined $8,681 for being involved in a fight during the Week 2 game against the Green Bay Packers. He was fined $17,363 during the preseason for a hit on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith.

—Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews was fined $17,363 for a hit on St. Louis quarterback Nick Foles.

Matthews was fined for a first-quarter hit on Foles in which he didn’t draw a penalty. Rams coach Jeff Fisher and former NFL head of officiating Mike Pereira both stated that Matthews should have been penalized because Foles was defenseless and Matthews used the crown of his helmet.

—Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh denied interest in the USC coaching job after a report claimed he was high on the Trojans’ list of targets.

The report by radio personality Dan Patrick stated Harbaugh was “high on USC’s short list.”

“I’ve been on a lot of short lists in my life,” Harbaugh said. “So, no. Obviously, no. This is what I’m doing. I love the Ravens, love being here, and that’s not a consideration.”

The Ravens are struggling through a 1-4 start this season but Harbaugh is well entrenched in his position and is in his eighth season as Baltimore coach.

The Trojans are looking for a coach to replace Steve Sarkisian, who was recently fired due to apparent issues with alcohol.

—The Ravens signed guard Marshal Yanda to a four-year contract extension.

Yanda, 31, was entering the final year of a five-year, $32.5 million contract that he signed in 2011.

A four-time Pro Bowler (2011-14), Yanda earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2014. The nine-year veteran has played in 120 games (109 starts) during his career, marking the third most among offensive linemen in Ravens history.

—Daily fantasy sports companies now need a license to operate in Nevada after a state gaming control board ruling.

All such unlicensed operations were ordered to stop operations in Nevada as of Thursday. Those that fail to comply could face felony charges, including fines and up to 10 years in prison.

“Because DFS involves wagering on the collective performance of individuals participating in sporting events, under current law, regulation and approvals, in order to lawfully expose DFS play within the State of Nevada, a person must possess a license to operate a sports pool issued by the Nevada Gaming Commission,” Nevada Gaming Control Board chairman A.G. Burnett wrote after the ruling.

FanDuel and DraftKings both said they will temporarily disable their product for customers in Nevada. Four lawsuits were filed in the past week in federal courts in New York, Illinois and Louisiana accusing the DraftKings and FanDuel sites of cheating.

Meanwhile, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee has been trying to organize a Congressional hearing involving the NFL as it relates to fantasy sports, but the league is trying to “ward off” a hearing sought by U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), according to reports.