Los Angeles Chargers coach Anthony Lynn received some slight

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COSTA MESA , Calif. (AP) — good news Monday when it was announced that running back Melvin Gordon is week to week after he sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee during a 45-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals .Lynn said that the fourth-year running back is “highly doubtful” for this week’s key AFC showdown at Pittsburgh but that he is hopeful of returning before the end of the regular season.“We are taking it week by week. You can never count him out since he recovers quickly,” Lynn said.Gordon, who rushed for 61 yards and two touchdowns, was injured Sunday when the Chargers ran a reverse during the third quarter and he was leg whipped to the ground by Cardinals defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche. It was a curious play call considering it was the first time Los Angeles had run that and they were comfortably ahead.Lynn did not second-guess the call, noting that they were still trying to be aggressive with a 28-10 lead.“That’s a play we’ve had in for a long time, and we’ve been trying to get it called in a game,” he said. “It’s a play that if we get around the perimeter, he would still be running. They made a heck of a play and hit us in the backfield.”Gordon, who missed the Week 7 game against Tennessee due to hamstring injury , is fourth in the league in average yards from scrimmage per game (125.5) and is sixth in the league in rushing with 802 yards. He has already scored a career-high 13 touchdowns, which includes nine rushing.Austin Ekeler is expected to become the lead back if Gordon misses any time, with Justin Jackson and Detrez Newsome also seeing time.Ekeler is averaging a league-leading 7.5 yards per touch. The second-year back also has four touchdowns. With a rushing score against Arizona, he is the first undrafted player in team history to post a rushing and a receiving TD in each of his first two seasons.“Those are big shoes to fill and Melvin and I are different running backs. He’s a beast, and I have to step up my game and Justin and Detrez as well got to be ready to go,” Ekeler said. “I got to keep carrying the load now.”Jackson and Newsome got their first extended snaps during the fourth quarter. Jackson had seven carries for 57 yards and Newsome added 15 yards on four carries. Lynn said as the season hits the late stages sometimes mixing in fresher legs can be a benefit.The Chargers will face a Steelers team that lost 24-17 to Denver. Pittsburgh is ranked sixth in the league in total defense and 10th against the run. However, the Steelers have allowed 398 yards on the ground the past three games, including 124 against Denver.Los Angeles (8-3) will host Cincinnati on Dec. 9 before a key division contest four days later at Kansas City. The Chargers have a firm grip on the first wild card spot, but three of their final five games are against teams that would also currently make the playoffs — the Steelers , Chiefs and Ravens (Dec. 22).Quarterback Philip Rivers, who tied the NFL mark Sunday for consecutive completions and broke records for the most to start a game and the highest completion percentage in a game, said the offense isn’t going to change if Gordon can’t go.“We’re still going to run our offense. We can’t all of the sudden say, ‘Hey, let’s throw it 50 times.’ I think those guys, we trust those guys enough,” said Rivers, who completed 28 of 29 for 259 yards and three touchdowns. “The guys up front are blocking and running well enough that we still have to continue with the balance and those three will have to pick up that load. We’ll have to continue to be efficient in the passing game.” The NFL’s investigation of Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill continues, with the NFL finally speaking directly to Hill.Per a source with knowledge of the situation , Hill currently is meeting in Kansas City with NFL Special Counsel for Investigations Lisa Friel as part of the league’s review of multiple potential violations of the Personal Conduct Policy by Hill. Jennifer Gaffney, who works with Friel, also is present.Despite a report that multiple interviews of Hill will occur, the expectation is that only one interview will happen in Kansas City. If/when the NFL determines that Hill should be punished, Hill would travel to New York to meet with Commissioner Roger Goodell.As the source explained it, issues currently on the table include the recorded comments made by Hill to Crystal Espinal (“you need to be terrified of me too, bitch”), discipline of Hill’s three-year-old son that may have crossed the line, and the circumstances that resulted in the child being removed from the custody of Hill and Espinal.After the audio of Hill’s comments emerged , the Chiefs and Hill agreed that he would stop attending offseason workouts. Training camp opens on July 23; while Hill possibly will be present, a suspension could become effective after the preseason ends. Last year, the NFL suspended Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith four games for threatening and engaging in emotional abuse of the mother of his child, without any type of physical violence.Hovering over the entire situation is Hill’s history of violence against Espinal. He previously pleaded guilty to choking and beating her while she was pregnant. Hill has never been disciplined by the league for that incident (it happened before he was drafted), but the Personal Conduct Policy allows pre-NFL misbehavior to be used as an aggravating factor when establishing punishment for misconduct that happens after the player joins an NFL team.With three different possible violations and the aggravating circumstances arising from his past behavior, Hill could still be facing a lengthy suspension.

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