The Sports Xchange

The Dallas Cowboys are downplaying the heated exchange on the sideline between defensive end Greg Hardy and injured receiver Dez Bryant during Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants.

Television footage also showed Hardy getting into an angry shouting match with special-teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia and swiping at a clipboard Bisaccia was holding.

Hardy’s animated discussion with Bryant followed immediately after Hardy broke into the special-teams huddle to berate his teammates after they gave up Dwayne Harris’ 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that gave the Giants their winning margin, 27-20.

ESPN’s Josina Anderson caught up with Bryant in the MetLife Stadium tunnel after the game and asked him about his heated exchange with Hardy.

“There is no issue,” Bryant said. “That’s just football. People want to make nothing into something, especially when we lose. That’s just football.”

Hardy issued a half-dozen “no comments” to questions in the locker room, then turned his back to the reporters.

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett and owner Jerry Jones said the Hardy incident was not an issue.

—Detroit Lions fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn and assistant line coach Terry Heffernen on Monday, the first of many anticipated changes in the wake of a 1-6 start.

Quarterbacks coach Jim Bob Cooter was elevated to offensive coordinator.

The Lions mustered just 19 points in a loss to the Vikings at Ford Field on Sunday when Minnesota battered quarterback Matt Stafford, a running theme of what is looking like a lost season in the Motor City.

“It’s going to be tough to tell you right now,” Stafford said Sunday night. “They did a good job of getting after me a little bit but that’s a team thing. It’s on everybody.”

Sunday’s loss was the fifth time in seven games the Lions failed to score 20 points.

—Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is expected to return to the lineup when the Pittsburgh Steelers play host to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. If the Steelers have any designs on winning the AFC North they probably have to beat the Bengals, who hold a 2 1/2-game lead over Pittsburgh.

Roethlisberger has been out with a sprained left knee and bone bruise. The Steelers are 2-2 without Roethlisberger, but all signs point to his return this week.

“We’ll move forward with Ben as we prepare this week,” coach Mike Tomlin said.

–The level of tension and frustration for the Indianapolis Colts may be reaching a boiling point after Sunday’s loss to the New Orleans Saints dropped the team’s record to 3-4.

According to the Indianapolis Star, owner Jim Irsay and general manager Ryan Grigson had a “heated conversation” after the 27-21 loss, the Colts’ second straight.

The Colts were considered to be title contenders entering the 2015 season, a year after playing in the AFC Championship Game.

Head coach Chuck Pagano has been on the hot seat this season and it intensified after the coach’s fake punt fiasco in the third quarter the previous week against the New England Patriots.

The Colts also signed guard David Arkin to the practice squad and released tight end Sean McGrath.

—New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul reported to the club on Monday to undergo a physical, the NFL Network reported.

Pierre-Paul suffered major damage to his right hand in a fireworks incident on July 4, losing his index finger and the tip of his thumb.

He previously underwent a physical with the Giants on Sept. 7. The club determined that he wasn’t in position to play and sent Pierre-Paul home for further recovery.

Both sides know there’s a deadline looming. Pierre-Paul has until Nov. 17 to sign the team’s one-year, $14.8 million franchise tender.

—Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Louis Murphy tore his right ACL in Sunday’s loss to the Washington Redskins.

“Minor setback for a major comeback,” Murphy told ESPN on Monday of the season-ending injury.

Murphy, a seven-year veteran, was hurt on a 29-yard catch and run play on Tampa Bay’s opening drive. Murphy limped off the field and was ruled out for the rest of the game.