Sep 23, 2013 5 min read

Browns coach Rob Chudzinski hasn’t decided whether to stick with Brian Hoyer at quarterback or go back to Brandon Weeden.

Hoyer, who leapfrogged backup Jason Campbell on the depth chart to start at Minnesota on Sunday, threw three touchdown passes as the Browns (1-2) stunned the Vikings 31-27. The shocking win capped a tumultuous week for the Browns as Chudzinski picked Hoyer to start for an injured Weeden and the team traded start running back Trent Richardson to Indianapolis.

On Monday, Chudzinski kept his options at quarterback open.

“I’m going to wait to make any determination on that until I have all the information,” Chudzinski said.

Chudzinski said Weeden’s sprained right thumb has improved, but the second-year QB hasn’t thrown the ball since getting hurt in the fourth quarter against Baltimore Sept. 15.

“We’ll sit down later today and talk about next week’s game, we’ll find out from a health status where guys are coming up in the next day or two and from a game-plan standpoint what we think we need to do and make those plans going forward,” Chudzinski said.

Hoyer completed 30 of 54 passes for 321 yards and three interceptions in his second NFL start. The Cleveland-area native rallied the Browns in the fourth quarter, throwing a 7-yard TD pass to tight end Jordan Cameron with 51 seconds left.

Bengals don’t flinch: The Bengals’ defense has a motto: Don’t flinch. On the worst day, it didn’t. And as a result, Cincinnati is looking mighty good at the moment.

The Bengals made NFL history admittedly, weird NFL history with their 34-30 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. The offense turned the ball over four times to one of the league’s best offenses, but that unflinching defense minimized the damage.

Then, it scored the winning touchdown on Terence Newman’s 58-yard fumble return with 3:47 left, and finished the day by batting down Aaron Rodgers’ fourth-down pass at the Cincinnati 20-yard line. Some performance.

“Yeah man, that was tough,” defensive tackle Domata Peko said. “There were a lot of turnovers in a row and them getting the ball at the 40, at the 20, in the red zone. It just shows our character.

“We’ve been building here for a lot of years, and guys just stepped up their game. Every time we take the field, we take it like we own it. We stood firm as a defense. As long as we do that all season, we should have a chance to win a lot of games.”

The Bengals (2-1) recovered from a mistake-filled 24-21 loss in Chicago by winning two games in six days at Paul Brown Stadium, with the defense leading the way.

49ers lose Aldon Smith: The San Francisco 49ers placed linebacker Aldon Smith on the reserve non-football injury list as he enters rehab for substance abuse and begins what team CEO Jed York has termed an indefinite absence.

“I am taking a leave of absence to address my health,” Smith said through the team. “I am sorry that I have affected my team, my family and the organization. I will do everything in my power to handle this situation the best way possible. I appreciate the support of the 49ers and our fans.”

The NFL said there is no minimum number of games Smith must miss on the reserve non-football injury list, and he can return when ready.

On whether he expects Smith to return this season, coach Jim Harbaugh said only, “there’s a process, we’re going to respect that process.”

RG3 “not fully healthy”: Washington Redskins receiver Pierre Garcon says quarterback Robert Griffin III is “a lot different” this year.

Garcon said Monday that Griffin is “not fully healthy, obviously.”

The Redskins are off to an 0-3 start in part because Griffin has yet to regain the form that earned him NFL offensive rookie of the year honors last season. He missed offseason practices and didn’t play in the preseason as he rehabbed from major knee surgery.

Griffin has insisted that he is fully healthy. He had two turnovers Sunday, including his fourth interception of the year.

Arizona lose two LBs for season: Arizona coach Bruce Arians says Cardinals starting outside linebackers Sam Acho and Lorenzo Alexander are out for the season with injuries sustained in Sunday’s loss to New Orleans.

Acho has a broken leg and Alexander a foot injury. Arians said both will be placed on injured reserve. The coach said decisions on personnel moves to make up for the losses will come later in the week.

The third defensive starter lost in the game, safety Rashad Johnson, could return for next Sunday’s game at Tampa Bay. He had the tip of a finger cut off and in a Twitter post called it the most painful injury he’s had.