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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

NFL notebook: Cardinals lose starting guards Evan Mathis and Mike Iupati

Associated Press

No matter that it wasn’t a work of art, the Arizona Cardinals got a much-needed victory Thursday night against San Francisco, but they lost their two starting guards to what appeared to be serious ankle injuries.

Coach Bruce Arians said Friday that the team “was still in the evaluation process” of Evan Mathis and Mike Iupati, an Idaho graduate.

“Mike is looking a little more promising than Evan at this moment,” Arians said. “Whether or not there will be roster moves, we’ll talk about it over the weekend, Steve (general manager Steve Keim) and I.”

Arians praised the play of backups Earl Watford and John Wetzel, especially Wetzel, normally a tackle who hadn’t played guard since training camp.

Kubiak says Siemian is 50-50 for Sunday’s game

Four days after declaring Trevor Siemian was still his starting quarterback, Broncos coach Gary Kubiak declined to name Siemian the starter for the Broncos’ game against the Atlanta Falcons this weekend.

Kubiak said he wants to see Siemian throw again Saturday to make sure he’s healthy enough to play again after leaving last weekend’s game with a bruised left (non-throwing) shoulder.

Kubiak’s other option is giving rookie Paxton Lynch his first start against the league’s 30th-ranked defense, one that has an injury epidemic at linebacker.

Titans-Dolphins game will be played Sunday

The Tennessee Titans’ game against the Dolphins will be played in Miami as scheduled Sunday after South Florida escaped the worst of Hurricane Matthew.

Concerns that the game might need to be moved to Nashville were eased when the brunt of Matthew stayed to the east of the area when it passed.

“The consensus from local, state and federal officials is that Miami is safe and equipped to put on the game,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Friday. “Hosting the game there would not draw resources away from other needs.”

Titans coach Mike Mularkey was hoping to play the game at home. But his mother, brother, sister and some nieces and nephews live in the Fort Lauderdale area, so he was happy to hear South Florida was spared significant storm damage.

Quick kicks

Jaguars guard Luke Joeckel will miss the rest of the season after having major knee surgery. … Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis is doubtful to play against the Steelers after not practicing all week because of a tweaked hamstring. Wide receiver Eric Decker will miss his second straight game, as expected, with a partly torn right rotator cuff. … The Patriots have placed quarterback Jacoby Brissett on injured reserve with a right thumb injury. Jimmy Garoppolo is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game in Cleveland with a shoulder injury.