MOSCOW -- Bayer Leverkusen qualified for the Champions League knockout stages after a 1-1 draw away to CSKA Moscow on Tuesday, but the German club had a nervous wait before knowing it had advanced.Kevin Volland gave Leverkusen the lead in the 17th minute from close range after he was left unmarked at a free kick. Leverkusen gave away a needless penalty with Benjamin Henrichs clumsy challenge on Mario Fernandes, but Bibras Natchos 76th-minute spot-kick wasnt enough to keep the fourth-placed Russian teams hopes of qualifying alive.Leverkusen was assured of qualifying after Monaco beat Tottenham 2-1 later Tuesday.Monaco has won Group E with 11 points. Leverkusen has seven points and Tottenham four, but Spurs has a worse head-to-head record with Leverkusen. CSKA is last with three points.Leverkusen remained unbeaten, but had to settle for a fourth draw of the group stage after Volland hit the post in the 80th. CSKA could have stolen a win a minute later, but the tired midfielder Alan Dzagoev, playing for the first time since September due to injury, missed the target.CSKA was playing with a diminished squad, with 18-year-old Fyodor Chalov making his European debut up front and just four outfield players as substitutes, none of them midfielders. Financial concerns kept the Russian teams squad small even before recent injuries and a suspension last week for midfielder Roman Eremenko, who tested positive for cocaine following the 2-2 draw with Leverkusen in Germany in September.It is the fourth season in a row that CSKA has failed to qualify from the group stage, and the Russian champion has not won any of its last nine games in Europes top competition. Cheap Patriots Jersey . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. 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Just look at how he knocked out?Antonio Brown in the AFC wild-card game last season.You cant have that hit. Shoulder pad to the helmet at the worst possible time. The resulting penalty cost the Bengals a playoff win and contributed to Burfict landing a three-game suspension to start this season for repeated violations of player safety rules.No one knows Burficts intent on that particular hit. He plays fast. He plays hard. Guys can cross the line at times. Thats how a lot of defensive players are wired. That doesnt mean they are malicious in how they play the game. Maybe he could have pulled up. Heck, maybe he could have avoided the hit all together, I guess.But as Burfict returns to the field on Thursday night, this also needs to be said: Id love to play with this dude because he can change the flow of the game.?And I can tell you that a lot of other guys would too.This is hard to understand, so let me explain:As a defender, if you can physically intimidate the opponent, that will make every offensive player sit up a little straighter in the film room when youre next on the schedule. And it alters how opposing offenses practice and play -- because they know youre going to hit.Burfict gives that to his team. Hes going to shorten some arms of wide receivers who want to work the middle of the field. Everyone on the?Miami Dolphins offense will be aware of where Burfict is at all times during Thursdays contest in Cincinnati.As a defensive back, you love that. It means some basket picks: balls that flutter into the air and land in your lap; free gifts because of that linebacker patrolling the middle of the field and delivering blows. Boom. And no one on offense wants to gett close to a guy like that.ddddddddddddThats when wide receivers start telling the quarterback to avoid those inside routes.Look back to the Bengals loss on Sunday to the Denver Broncos. Would Gary Kubiaks team have been able to put together that go-ahead, fourth-quarter drive with Trevor Siemian throwing slants, inside hitch routes and wide receiver screens if Burfict was running to the ball and driving through ball carriers? Thats just something to think about here when we talk about the impact a physical player like Burfict can have.What Burfict needs to understand is that the game has changed. And every player has to adapt to the new rules. Look at Luke Kuechlys hit on Demaryius Thomas over the middle in Super Bowl 50. Thats a clean strike -- and I can promise you it stuck in the back of Thomas mind all night.The lesson? Theres no substitute for physicality and intimidation -- but that physicality and intimidation need not draw 15-yard penalties and three-game suspensions.Its a fine line, a tightrope defenders have to walk in this league on a weekly basis. You gotta hit or you wont last very long; and in 2016, you gotta do it cleanly or you wont last very long, either. Because of his history, Burfict will be watched closer than most. But as long as hes out there patrolling the middle of the field, his effect on his teammates and the Bengals defense will be palpable.Remember, defenses that can read, run, hit and intimidate dictate the tempo of the game. You can intimidate through execution, but its still football. It also helps to have that guy who creates a little fear. Burfict is that guy.ESPN.com NFL analyst Matt Bowen played seven seasons as a defensive back in the NFL. ' ' '