FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Defensive end Jabaal Sheard didn’t do much to elaborate on his surprising deactivation last week, as he preferred to place his focus on the Patriots’ clash with the Jets on Sunday.

Not only was Sheard a healthy scratch Sunday against the 49ers for the first time in his career, but the Patriots left him home entirely. Bill Belichick’s decision was viewed as a way to motivate Sheard to play better down the stretch.

“That’s all Coach’s decision,” Sheard said Friday when discussing the benching for the first time. “I can only control what I can control.”

Sheard opened the season as the Patriots’ top defensive end, but his role has been reduced along the way. He only played 16 snaps in Week 10 against the Seahawks and was spotted yawning on the sideline while the defense was on the field. He then got blocked out of his run gap on back-to-back plays in his direction for 17 yards during his first defensive series.

So Sheard was asked what he needs to do to get back on the field.

“Just do my job, I think,” Sheard said. “Everything else, leave it up to Coach. I mean, just practice hard, and when I get an opportunity, play hard.”

Sheard was also asked how he was told he wouldn’t be traveling to San Francisco. Apparently, it was a pretty straightforward message.

“Just told me I wasn’t traveling this week,” Sheard said.

The Patriots did not indicate whether Sheard would make the trip to New Jersey, but Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reported Saturday that Sheard was traveling with the team.

“My biggest focus this week has just been on the Jets and taking advantage of everything I can do on the field to get out there and play this week,” Sheard said Friday.

Sheard played well for the first six games with 3.5 sacks, five quarterback hits, eight pressures, two drawn penalties and two run stuffs. But since Week 7, he only has one quarterback hit and one pressure.

“There’s always room for improvement,” Sheard said.

Bills: Buffalo activated wide receiver Sammy Watkins from injured reserve Saturday.

Watkins returned to practice this week after missing two months due to lingering pain in his left foot following April surgery to repair a stress fracture.

Watkins had six receptions for 63 yards in the first two games before going on injured reserve. He set franchise records with 125 receptions and 2,029 receiving yards in his first two seasons.

Bengals: Cincinnati activated running back Cedric Peerman – sidelined all season with a broken forearm – and promoted long snapper Tyler Ott to the active roster for its game in Baltimore.

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