SCOREBOARD
Monday, Oct. 17
New York Jets at Arizona, 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Monday night matchup features a showdown between Jets coach Todd Bowles and Cardinals coach Bruce Arians, whose friendship spans 30 years to when Arians was the coach at Temple and Bowles was one of his defensive backs. The struggling Jets (1-4) have lost three in a row, while the Cardinals (2-3) get quarterback Carson Palmer back from a concussion.
___
STARS
Passing
- Drew Brees, Saints, passed for 465 yards and four touchdowns in New Orleans’ 41-38 victory over Carolina, breaking a tie with Peyton Manning for the most 400-yard games in the regular season with his 15th.
- Eli Manning, Giants, passed for 403 yards and three touchdowns, including the winning 66-yard score by Odell Beckham Jr. with 1:24 left to play, in New York’s 27-23 victory over Baltimore.
- Tom Brady, Patriots, threw three touchdown passes and went over 5,000 completions for his career while playing his first game in Foxborough since the end of his “Deflategate” suspension, leading New England past Cincinnati 35-17.
- Rookie Cody Kessler, Browns, threw for a career-high 336 yards and also had two TD passes, both to Terrelle Pryor in Cleveland’s 28-26 loss at Tennessee.
- Matthew Stafford, Lions, was 23 of 31 for 270 yards with a season-high four touchdowns in Detroit’s 31-28 win over Los Angeles.
___
Rushing
- Jay Ajayi, Dolphins, rushed for a career-high 204 yards and two scores on 25 carries in Miami’s 30-15 win over Pittsburgh.
- LeSean McCoy, Bills, had 140 yards rushing and matched a career high by scoring three times in Buffalo’s 45-16 victory over San Francisco.
- Rookie Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys, rushed for 157 yards on 28 carries in Dallas’ 30-16 win at Green Bay.
- Lamar Miller, Texans, ran for 149 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries and also caught a TD pass in Houston’s 26-23 overtime victory over Indianapolis.
- Matt Jones, Redskins, ran for 135 yards, including a victory-sealing 57-yard run on a third-down play with just under 90 seconds remaining, and a touchdown in Washington’s 27-20 win over Philadelphia.
- Spencer Ware, Chiefs, ran for a career-high 131 yards and a touchdown in Kansas City’s 26-10 win over Oakland.
- Terrance West, Ravens, had two touchdown runs and finished with 87 yards on 23 carries in Baltimore’s 27-23 loss to the New York Giants.
___
Receiving
- Odell Beckham Jr., Giants, caught eight passes for a career-best 222 yards and two touchdowns, including turning a short fourth-and-1 pass into a winning 66-yard catch-and-run with 1:24 to play in New York’s 27-23 victory over Baltimore.
- Brandin Cooks, Saints, had an 87-yard touchdown catch to highlight a career-high 173-yard outing on seven catches in New Orleans’ 41-38 win over Carolina.
- Golden Tate, Lions, had eight receptions for a career-high 165 yards and a touchdown to help Detroit edge Los Angeles 31-28.
- Rob Gronkowski, Patriots, had seven receptions for a career-high 162 yards and a touchdown in New England’s 35-17 win over Cincinnati.
- Kenny Britt, Rams, caught seven passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns in Los Angeles’ 31-28 loss at Detroit.
- Cameron Meredith, Bears, caught 11 passes for 113 yards in Chicago’s 17-16 loss to Jacksonville.
- Amari Cooper, Raiders, had 10 receptions for 129 yards in Oakland’s 26-10 win over Kansas City.
___
Special Teams
- Wil Lutz, Saints, kicked a 52-yard field goal with 11 seconds left to lift New Orleans over Carolina 41-38.
- Matt Prater, Lions, made a tiebreaking, 34-yard field goal with 1:29 remaining, giving Detroit a 31-28 win over Los Angeles.
- Wendell Smallwood, Eagles, returned a kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown in Philadelphia’s 27-20 loss at Washington.
- Steven Hauschka, Seahawks, kicked a 44-yard field goal with 1:57 remaining to cap the 20th career fourth quarter or overtime comeback for Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, and the Seahawks pulled out a 26-24 win over Atlanta.
- Nick Novak, Texans, made a 33-yard field goal in overtime to give Houston a 26-23 comeback victory over Indianapolis.
___
Defense
- Malcolm Jenkins, Eagles, returned an interception 64 yards for a touchdown in Philadelphia’s 27-20 loss at Washington.
- Rafael Bush, Lions, had a victory-sealing interception two plays after Matt Prater made a tie-breaking, 34-yard field goal with 1:29 left in Detroit’s 31-28 win over Los Angeles.
- Dont’a Hightower, Patriots, got his second safety in two weeks, dragging down Andy Dalton in the end zone in the third quarter of New England’s 35-17 win over Cincinnati.
- DeForest Buckner, 49ers, had two sacks and a fumble recovery in San Francisco’s 45-16 loss at Buffalo.
- Ryan Kerrigan, Redskins, had two sacks in Washington’s 27-20 win over Philadelphia.
- Willie Young, Bears, sacked Blake Bortles twice in Chicago’s 17-16 loss to Jacksonville.
___
STREAKS & STATS
Dallas’ Dak Prescott threw the first interception of his career against Green Bay, ending his NFL-record streak for the start of a career at 176 pass attempts. He broke the mark of 162 previously held by New England’s Tom Brady. … Cincinnati has lost in its past six trips to New England, including a 35-17 defeat Sunday, and hasn’t won in Foxborough since 1986. … Chicago fell to 2-9 at home in two seasons under coach John Fox with a 17-16 loss to Jacksonville. … Case Keenum completed a Rams-record 19 straight passes, and finished 27 of 32 for 321 yards with three touchdowns - and an interception in Los Angeles’ 31-28 loss at Detroit. … San Francisco allowed 312 yards rushing - Buffalo’s best outing since 1992 - including 140 by LeSean McCoy in the 49ers’ 45-16 loss. … Bills LB Lorenzo Alexander extended his sacks streak to six games, matching the team’s longest since Aaron Schobel did it during the 2006 season. The 10-year journeyman has eight sacks this season. … Tennessee’s 28-26 win over Cleveland was its second straight victory, the first time the Titans have won consecutive games since the end of the 2013 season. … Indianapolis’ Frank Gore had 22 carries for 106 yards in the Colts’ 26-23 overtime loss at Houston to end the NFL’s longest active streak of consecutive games without a 100-yard rusher at 55. The last Colts player to have 100 yards rushing was Vick Ballard in 2012. … The Colts’ Adam Vinatieri made three field goals to extend his streak to 41 in a row and leave him one away from tying the NFL record set by Mike Vanderjagt from 2002-04.
___
MILESTONES
With a 465-yard performance in a 41-38 victory over Carolina, New Orleans’ Drew Brees broke a tie with Peyton Manning with his 15th 400-yard passing game, the most in the regular season. Brees, who has 50,289 yards in 11 seasons with New Orleans, also became the sixth player to pass for 50,000 with one team, and extended his NFL-record streak of consecutive home games with a touchdown pass to 57. … With 5,010 career completions, New England’s Tom Brady became the fourth player in NFL history to reach 5,000, joining Brett Favre (6,300), Manning (6,125) and Brees (5,515). … Jay Ajayi ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns, the final one coming on a 62-yard run on his last carry in Miami’s 30-15 victory over Pittsburgh. Ajayi joined Ricky Williams as the only Dolphins to rush for at least 200 yards and two scores in a game. He also became the Dolphins’ first 200-yard rusher since Reggie Bush in 2011. … The Giants’ 27-23 victory over Baltimore was the 700th win in franchise history.
___
STARTS
With a 35-17 loss at New England, Cincinnati dropped to 2-4 for the first time since 2010, when it finished 4-12 - its worst season under coach Marvin Lewis. … After opening the season 0-2, Washington has its best record through six games since 2008 at 4-2 after a 27-20 win over Philadelphia. … Cleveland (0-6) is mired in its worst start since 1999, when the Browns lost their first seven as an expansion franchise. … Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 157 yards in a 30-16 win at Green Bay, giving him 703 yards rushing - second most in a player’s first six career games, behind only Eric Dickerson (787). Elliott also became the only rookie to rush for at least 130 yards in four consecutive games.
___
KAP’S BACK
Colin Kaepernick started for San Francisco for the first time this season, but the 49ers lost their fifth straight game, falling to Buffalo 45-16. Buffalo fans greeted Kaepernick roughly for his leadership among athletes protesting during the national anthem. They booed him loudly, sold anti-Kaepernick T-shirts and roughed up a dummy wearing his jersey. Kaepernick finished 13 of 29 for 187 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith.
___
PRESCOTT PICKED OFF
Dallas’ Dak Prescott threw the first interception of his career after he was picked off on third-and-8 from the Cowboys 6, throwing out of his end zone with 20 seconds left in third quarter in a 30-16 win at Green Bay. Morgan Burnett had the diving interception. Prescott’s NFL record streak for a quarterback at the start of his career without an interception ended at 176 attempts. He broke the mark of 162 previously held by New England’s Tom Brady earlier in the game.
___
SHUT DOWN
Ben Roethlisberger missed one series because of a left knee injury and was held to 189 yards passing in Pittsburgh’s 30-15 loss at Miami. He finished 19 for 34 with two interceptions. He hobbled to the locker room late in the second quarter, when he hyperextended his knee scrambling on a play that resulted in an interception by Reshad Jones. After the game, Roethlisberger had ice on both knees and a bruise in the middle of his back. An MRI on his knee was planned. Antonio Brown, the NFL’s leading receiver, was held to four receptions for 39 yards. Teammate Sammie Coates, playing with a hand injury, didn’t have a catch.
___
FLAG FOOTBALL
Philadelphia committed 13 penalties for 114 yards in a 27-20 loss at Washington, a week after the Eagles were called for 14 penalties for 111 yards in a loss to Detroit. … New Orleans was flagged for pass interference three times at or near the goal line, and Carolina cashed in all three times with touchdowns. In all, New Orleans had 10 penalties for 126 yards, but still won 41-38.
___
IT’S BENN A LONG TIME
Jacksonville’s Arrelious Benn caught a slant pass, slipped and then got up and ran for a 51-yard touchdown in the closing minutes of the Jaguars’ 17-16 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday - his first score since he had three TDs for Tampa Bay during the 2011 season. Benn spent the past three seasons on injured reserve with various injuries.
___
KICK AND A PICK
Matt Prater made a tie-breaking, 34-yard field goal with 1:29 left and Rafael Bush followed with a victory-sealing interception two plays later, giving Detroit a 31-28 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The Lions (3-3) have won two straight games with Prater making the winning kick and a defensive back following up with an interception on the ensuing possession. Last week, Prater’s kick and Darius Slay’s interception gave Detroit a win over previously unbeaten Philadelphia.
___
REAL McCOY
LeSean McCoy’s three-touchdown game in Buffalo’s 45-16 win over San Francisco was the third of his career, and first since Philadelphia’s 45-19 victory over the Rex Ryan-coached Jets in 2011. He became Buffalo’s first player to score three times rushing since Willis McGahee had four TDs against Seattle in 2004.
___
COOKIN’ IN THE END ZONE
New Orleans’ Brandin Cooks had an 87-yard touchdown catch in a 41-38 win over Carolina, making him the first player in NFL history with two touchdown catches of at least 85 yards in his team’s first five games. Cooks had a 98-yard TD reception in Week 1.
___
BACK IN ACTION
Carolina lost its fourth straight despite the return of quarterback Cam Newton, who missed last week’s loss to Tampa Bay because of a concussion. Newton passed for 322 yards and two touchdowns in the Panthers’ 41-38 loss at New Orleans. He also ran for a 2-yard score and threw a 2-point conversion to Devin Funchess that tied the game at 38 with 2:58 left, but was also intercepted by Sterling Moore in the back of the end zone, stalling a promising drive in the first half. Running back Jonathan Stewart returned after missing three games with a hamstring injury and rushed for 85 yards on 19 carries, including two short touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
___
SIDELINED
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger limped through the locker room after a 30-15 loss at Miami with his left knee aching following an awkward step in the second quarter. Though he returned to finish 19 of 34 for 189 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, Roethlisberger planned to undergo an MRI. … Baltimore’s injury-riddled and beleaguered secondary was dealt another blow when veteran Jimmy Smith left Sunday’s game against the New York Giants with a concussion. … Cleveland defensive back Jordan Poyer went to the hospital with a lacerated kidney following a vicious blindside hit in the second quarter of the Browns’ 28-26 loss in Tennessee. He was evaluated, then put on a cart that took him to the locker room before Poyer was transported to a hospital. He was evaluated at the hospital for a concussion and an abdomen injury, revealing the damage to his kidney.
___
SPEAKING
“I’m taking credit for that one for all the chubby guys out there. He’s got phenomenal hands. … It’s just a matter of looking it in, be patient and then cut the beast loose.” - Kansas City coach Andy Reid on 346-pound defensive lineman Dontari Poe, who scored a 1-yard touchdown after lining up in the backfield before shifting out wide right and then taking a lateral from Alex Smith and pushing his way into the end zone.
___
“We’ve gotten comfortable being uncomfortable. They feel like that’s the norm.” - Detroit coach Jim Caldwell after the Lions beat Los Angeles 31-28, marking the second straight game Matt Prater made a winning kick and a defensive back following up with an interception on the ensuing possession.
___
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
Please read our comment policy before commenting.