The Sports Xchange

Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch will sit out Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

It will be the second straight game Lynch misses due to a hamstring injury. He suffered the injury against the Chicago Bears in Week 3 and missed last Monday’s game against the Detroit Lions.

Lynch had played in 61 consecutive regular-season games prior to sitting out versus Detroit.

Running back Fred Jackson (ankle) is questionable after being injured against Detroit, meaning rookie Thomas Rawls could be the starter for the second straight game.

—Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, off to the hottest start of his career, may be responding after being booed at a celebrity softball game this summer.

Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson thinks the softball game held a couple of days before the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Cincinnati was a “turning point” for Dalton.

Dalton, who has made two trips to the Pro Bowl, was booed by local fans when he took his first at bat in July. Dalton shrugged off the boos later, saying at the time “I’m not worried about it.”

“I truly believe that was a turning point for Andy,” Jackson told Peter King of TheMMQB.com. “I’m not going to tell you it didn’t bother him. It did. When you have the success he has had — four seasons in the league, four times in the playoffs — getting booed in your own city, that has to hurt a bit. But he was able to hit one over the fence for a home run. And he flipped the bat. His message was sort of, ‘You might not like me now, but you’re going to love me later.'”

The Bengals are 4-0 as they face the Seahawks, with Dalton’s best start to a season on 78-of-116 passing for 1,187 yards, nine touchdowns and just one interception.

—Bills running backs LeSean McCoy and backup Karlos Williams are out for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans, when Boobie Dixon is expected to start for Buffalo.

McCoy told reporters Friday he has a Grade-2 hamstring pull and that the team told him it’s typically a 3-4-week injury.

McCoy didn’t play last week in a loss to the New York Giants, opting to rest the hamstring injury that first cropped up in August, and said he doesn’t plan to return to the field until he is 100 percent healthy.

Williams started in McCoy’s place last week and scored for the fourth time in four games, the only NFL player who can make that claim. But he did not pass concussion tests this week and was ruled out officially on Friday.

—Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee has cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol and is slated to play in Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.

Lee was cleared Thursday and returned to practice. He indicated he had no limitations during practice.

“We’re optimistic with how he has responded to everything,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said.

Lee was injured during Sunday’s loss to the New Orleans Saints.

—The Cleveland Browns listed cornerback Joe Haden as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Haden did not play last Sunday against the San Diego Chargers with a broken finger after he was listed as probable.

Browns linebacker Karlos Dansby, running back Robert Turbin, wide receiver Brian Hartline and linebacker Scott Solomon joined Haden on the list of questionable players. Safety Tashaun Gipson has been ruled out with a foot injury.

The Ravens will be without starting tight end Crockett Gillmore for the second consecutive week.

Gillmore (calf), defensive end Chris Canty (calf) and wide receiver Breshad Perriman (knee) are listed as out for the Ravens. Wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. has not practiced this week due to broken bones in his back and is listed as doubtful.

—Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed will miss Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons due to a concussion and cornerback Chris Culliver will be out with a knee injury.

The Redskins also announced that wide receiver DeSean Jackson and cornerback DeAngelo Hall will miss the Week 5 game. Jackson has been out due to a season opener hamstring injury, while Hall suffered a toe injury in the third game.

Derek Carrier, acquired in August trade, is the likely starter at tight end with Reed out.

For the Falcons, running back Tevin Coleman will return and linebacker Justin Durant (elbow) was ruled out, while standout receiver Julio Jones was listed as questionable.

—Charles Leno will start a second consecutive game at left tackle for the Chicago Bears at Kansas City.

Jermon Bushrod was officially ruled out for the game, and the Bears won’t know the status of several other key players until gameday.

Free safety Antrel Rolle (ankle) is doubtful and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery did not practice Friday. He’s listed as questionable but appears likely to be preparing to sit out for the fourth consecutive day.

Quarterback Jay Cutler is questionable with a hamstring injury but practiced and is likely to play through the muscle strain.

—The Detroit Lions named linebacker DeAndre Levy their defensive captain for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals and he will make his season debut.

Levy missed the first four games of the season with a hip injury that he suffered on Aug. 24.

Levy, 28, only began practicing last week. He led the Lions with 151 tackles last year and tied for second in the NFL with six interceptions in 2013. He also led the NFL in solo tackles last season with 117.

—Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien announced that Brian Hoyer will start at quarterback against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.

Hoyer won the job out of camp but was pulled in the fourth quarter of a season-opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs after committing two turnovers.

Ryan Mallett started since then, but he also has struggled and Hoyer took over in both of the last two games as the Texans fell to 1-4.

“I think it’s 11 one-game seasons,” O’Brien said Friday. “(Hoyer’s) the starter for Jacksonville. I think over the last two games, he’s gone in there with a really good attitude, with a calmness about him. Really good mechanics. Has he been perfect? No. … I think overall he’s played pretty well, so we’re going to go with him against Jacksonville.”

Hoyer replaced Mallett in the second quarter on Thursday night and was 24-of-31 passing for 312 yards and two touchdowns in the 27-20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. But Hoyer was intercepted by defensive back Mike Adams with less than 2 minutes left.

—New England Patriots running back Dion Lewis signed a two-year contract extension through the 2017 season.

The deal is worth nearly $5 million and prevents Lewis from becoming an unrestricted free agent following the season.

The Patriots also signed offensive lineman Chris Barker to the practice squad. In a corresponding move, the Patriots released offensive lineman Sean Hickey.