Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell sprained a ligament in his right knee against the New York Giants yesterday and might miss the regular-season finale next weekend.

Brunell hurt his MCL in the third quarter of a 35-20 win when he was sacked for a 9-yard loss by linebacker Nick Greise. Brunell will have an MRI exam tomorrow. The Redskins (9-6) can clinch a playoff berth by beating Philadelphia next week.

"There's a chance he can go next week. We'll just wait and see," Redskins director of sports medicine Bubba Tyer said. "We're going to be aggressive and work with him and see how he does."

Later in the third quarter, Giants middle linebacker Chase Blackburn was carted off the field and taken for X-rays after spraining his neck. He was hurt making a helmet-first tackle on H-back Chris Cooley and gave a thumbs-up as he was driven away.

"He was squeezing my hand and moving his legs around," coach Tom Coughlin said. "We haven't heard anything more from the medical people, so we're standing by on that."

Denver Broncos running back Mike Anderson twisted his left ankle after topping 1,000 yards for the season and sat out the second half of a 22-3 win over Oakland. Anderson carried 10 times for 46 yards and a score.

In Miami, Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair left their game against the Miami Dolphins in the second quarter with a strained pectoral muscle.

San Francisco 49ers cornerback Bruce Thornton was carted off with a knee sprain and his backup, Derrick Johnson, had a stinger that coach Mike Nolan said would leave him questionable for the season finale.