Ed Hochuli's acknowledgement that he erred on a call late in Sunday's San Diego-Denver game will mean lower grades for one of the NFL's highest profile referees.

"Officials are held accountable for their calls. They are graded on every play of every game," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said yesterday. "Ed has been an outstanding official for many years, but he will be marked down for this call. Under our evaluation system, an official's grades impact his status for potentially working the playoffs and ultimately whether or not he is retained."

The play occurred with the Broncos at the Chargers' 1 in the final minute. Denver quarterback Jay Cutler dropped back to pass, the ball slipped out of his hands, bounced off the grass and into the arms of San Diego linebacker Tim Dobbins.

Hochuli ruled it an incomplete pass. Replay ruled it a fumble, but it was spotted at the 10-yard line, where the ball hit the ground, and given to Denver because the rules did not permit possession to be awarded to San Diego because the whistle had blown.

Denver went on to score, convert a 2-point conversion and win 39-38.

The play will likely be reviewed in the offseason by the league's competition committee, which reviews all controversial plays.

San Diego coach Norv Turner said he spoke with NFL officials and that the Chargers sent in video of the plays in question.

"As for things that occurred during the game, in my mind, they're done," Turner said. "We sent the plays in to the league that we had in question. We expect to get a response back. Anything that we talk about or anything that is discussed in terms of any of the rules or any of the calls isn't going to change the outcome of that game. That game is going to be 39-38, forever."

Safety Clinton Hart had surgery on a broken bone in his left hand, but said he should be able to play Monday against the Jets.

Steve Smith is back with the Panthers, just in time to join a team full of confidence after a surprising 2-0 start. The receiver's two-game suspension for breaking teammate Ken Lucas' nose in a training camp fight ended yesterday.

Safety Lawyer Milloy was arrested and charged on DUI and speeding charges in suburban Atlanta just hours after Atlanta lost to Tampa Bay. Milloy was booked into a suburban Atlanta jail at 4:35 a.m. and posted a bond of more than $1,600 about five hours later. He is in his 13th season, his third with the Falcons.

Defensive lineman Robaire Smith sustained a potentially season-ending injury to his left Achilles during Sunday's loss to the Steelers. Coach Romeo Crennel didn't provide specifics of Smith's injury, but indicated the 6 feet 4, 310-pounder would be out for an extended period. The Browns, who fell to 0-2 with a 10-6 loss, are already playing without two key defensive players. Linebacker Antwan Peek is out for the season with a knee injury, and safety Sean Jones will be out for several more weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery last week.

Receiver Sidney Rice has a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Rice was injured Sunday against Indianapolis when he went up for a jump ball on the sideline and landed awkwardly on the knee.

The Texans will resume practicing today with uncertainty about their future after Hurricane Ike seriously damaged Reliant Stadium. Aerial photos of the stadium's retractable roof showed five pieces missing and officials said large pieces of debris had fallen into the stadium. The $352 million stadium has been the Texans' home since their inception in 2002. Houston's game with Baltimore, scheduled for Sunday before being pushed to yesterday and eventually postponed, has been rescheduled for Nov. 9.