PRO FOOTBALL / PLAYOFF REPORT : AFC : Kelly Has Sprained Knee Ligament, Won’t Play for Bills Against Oilers

Quarterback Jim Kelly, who sprained his right knee during the Buffalo Bills’ 27-3 loss to the Houston Oilers on Sunday night, won’t play when the teams meet again next Sunday in the AFC playoffs at Orchard Park, N.Y.

Buffalo Coach Marv Levy said Monday that, while test results were encouraging, Kelly will be on the sidelines. The test showed a “relatively mild” sprain of the medial collateral ligament, Levy said.

“There’s no swelling; there’s some soreness,” Levy said. “There’s no instability in it, which is the important thing. There’s no torn ligament fibers in it. Those are all encouraging signs.”

Replacing Kelly will be veteran reserve Frank Reich, who was ineffective after Kelly left the game in Houston.

“I hope it’s only one (week off), but it’s something we have to take week by week and see what happens,” said Kelly, who is on crutches. “It could be two weeks, it could be three weeks.”

Stan Humphries, who suffered a dislocated left shoulder Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, might be able to start at quarterback Saturday when the San Diego Chargers play the Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego in a first-round playoff game.

Humphries, hurt late in the second quarter of San Diego’s 31-14 victory that clinched the AFC West title, is listed as questionable. However, trainer Keoki Kamau is encouraged because treatment Sunday night and Monday helped reduce the swelling and increase the range of motion in Humphries’ non-throwing shoulder.

“Less than 24 hours after the injury, we feel pretty darn good,” Kamau said. “If we continue with what we’re doing and the athlete feels good, then he has a pretty good shot.”

The Chargers said Humphries might be able to practice Wednesday and Thursday. They are exploring several options to protect Humphries if he plays, including splinting or harnessing the shoulder, or building special shoulder pads.

Bob Gagliano, who rallied the Chargers to victory in Seattle, would replace Humphries.

Quarterback Bernie Kosar of the Cleveland Browns will undergo surgery today to repair a his right ankle, which he re-broke against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

Kosar initially broke the ankle in September when he was sacked in a game against the Miami Dolphins. Believing it was only a sprain, he played the rest of the game, but was sidelined for the next 10 weeks.

After breaking the ankle Sunday, Kosar remained on the field for about a dozen more plays before sitting out the second half.

The Browns also announced that wide receiver Lawyer Tillman will undergo surgery today to repair a broken right ankle.

Don Hollas will be inactive for at least six months because of ligament and cartilage damage to his left knee, throwing the Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback plans into disarray.

Hollas hurt his left knee Sunday in the fourth quarter of a season-ending 21-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. The Bengals were planning to go into next season with David Klingler as the starter and Hollas as the backup.

The injury to Hollas probably does not change the Bengals’ plan to trade veteran Boomer Esiason.