Don’t forget about these guys

Are tight ends the new wide receivers?

It sure seems that way, with the way the oft-overlooked specialists have been racking up the receiving yards this season.

Kellen Winslow of the Cleveland Browns has 874 yards receiving, Antonio Gates of the San Diego Chargers has 834, Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys has 750 and Tony Gonzalez of the Kansas City Chiefs has 738.

That’s four tight ends who are on pace to surpass the 1,000-yard mark, which would be the most in NFL history. Another, Owen Daniels of the Houston Texans, has 624 yards receiving and is just off a 1,000-yard pace.

In 1981, Kellen Winslow Sr. of the Chargers, Joe Senser of the Minnesota Vikings and Ozzie Newsome of the Browns became the first trio of tight ends to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for a season.

In a rush

The most popular running backs club in recent weeks is the 10,000-yard club.

It got two new members in Week 12 as Warrick Dunn of the Atlanta Falcons joined on Thursday and LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers got in on Sunday.

On Nov. 11, Fred Taylor of the Jacksonville Jaguars surpassed the mark. There are only 23 players in NFL history with 10,000 yards rushing or more.

“It’s been the benchmark for a lot of running backs in this league,” Tomlinson said. “I take it like you get 10,000 yards but that means you’re getting older.”

Tomlinson tied Emmitt Smith as the fourth-fastest in NFL history to reach the milestone, getting there in his 106th game.

Quick starters

The Jaguars scored on their first three possessions en route to a 36-14 victory over the Buffalo Bills.

It was the second consecutive game and third time in four games the Jaguars have scored on their first three possessions. The Jaguars have scored on their opening possession in four consecutive games and have scored a touchdown in the first quarter in five consecutive games.

Jacksonville is only a game behind Indianapolis in the AFC South and the teams meet next week.

“We know what’s ahead of us,” Taylor said. “We know what’s at stake.”

Moore or less

The Carolina Panthers offense was struggling during a 31-6 loss to the New Orleans Saints that dropped the Panthers to 0-5 at home as they joined the Dolphins and St. Louis Rams as the only winless teams in their own stadiums.

That’s when the crowd started chanting “We want Moore,” calling for backup quarterback Matt Moore.

Starting quarterback David Carr, however, was in denial.

“They were chanting ‘more’ -- that they wanted more points,” he said.

Not quite. When Moore eventually replaced Carr, the home crowd delivered its loudest cheer of the day.

Is this thing on?

CBS television analyst Steve Beuerlein made a boo-boo when calling the Cincinnati Bengals’ victory over the Tennessee Titans.

Just before the end of the first half, Titans running back LenDale White and Bengals safety Marvin White were involved in an altercation and referees flagged both players for personal fouls.

The Titans then lined up for a field goal and Cincinnati called a timeout.

CBS went to a commercial and as the game came back on, microphones caught Beuerlein saying “USC thugs, man” -- apparently finishing a conversation he was having off the air.

LenDale White, of course, went to USC, but it was unclear who Beuerlein was talking about.

Beuerlein went to Notre Dame. He also has Southern California roots, having attended Anaheim Servite High.

Chief concern

Justin Fargas of the Oakland Raiders had 139 yards rushing in a 20-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs -- the first 100-yard game by a Raiders player at Kansas City since Arthur Whittington had 134 on Nov. 5, 1978.

Monday preview

Running back Ricky Williams, out of the NFL for two years after violating the league’s substance abuse policy, is expected to play for the Miami Dolphins (0-10), but he’ll be facing the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3), who rank No. 3 in the NFL against the run and No. 1 overall.

Injury report

St. Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger suffered a concussion against the Seattle Seahawks and may miss next week’s game against Atlanta. . . . Seattle receiver D.J. Hackett injured his right ankle in the same game and did not return. . . . Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson injured his left ankle in the second quarter against Denver and was carted off the field. . . . Tampa Bay quarterback Jeff Garcia was sidelined against Washington with a back injury, but he returned in the fourth quarter. . . . Rams center Brett Romberg left in the first quarter with an ankle injury and didn’t return. . . . Rams linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa left in the third quarter with a sprained left knee and will have an MRI exam today. . . . New England Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin was not on the field in the fourth quarter against Philadelphia because of a foot injury.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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peter.yoon@latimes.com

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End game

Tight ends this season are producing at a record rate, with four on pace to reach 1,000 yards receiving. A look at the top 10 tight ends:

*--* Player Team Yards TDs Kellen Winslow Cleveland 874 5 Antonio Gates San Diego 834 8 Jason Witten Dallas 750 6 Tony Gonzalez Kansas City 738 4 Owen Daniels Houston 624 1 Jeremy Shockey N.Y. Giants 528 3 Donald Lee Green Bay 468 4 Dallas Clark Indianapolis 467 7 Heath Miller Pittsburgh 457 6 Chris Cooley Washington 399 6 *--*

Source: NFL.com