SCOREBOARD
Monday, Oct. 10
Tampa Bay at Carolina, 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Panthers (1-3) will be without quarterback Cam Newton, who will be replaced by Derek Anderson as he recovers from a concussion. Meanwhile, Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers (1-3) will look to take advantage of a Carolina defense that allowed Atlanta’s Matt Ryan to throw for a franchise-record 503 yards last week.
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STARS
Passing
- Tom Brady, Patriots, passed for 406 yards and had three touchdowns to Martellus Bennett while looking razor-sharp at times and relatively rust-free after serving his four-game “Deflategate” suspension, leading New England past Cleveland 33-13.
- Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers, passed for 380 yards and four touchdowns in Pittsburgh’s 31-13 win over the New York Jets.
- Marcus Mariota, Titans, threw for three touchdowns and ran for another score, helping Tennessee top the Miami Dolphins 30-17.
- Andrew Luck, Colts, threw a 35-yard TD pass to T.Y. Hilton with 3:43 left to lead Indianapolis past Chicago 29-23. He finished with 322 yards passing and two TDs.
- Brian Hoyer, Bears, was solid in his third straight start and finished 33 of 43 for 397 yards with two touchdowns in a losing effort as Chicago lost to Indianapolis 29-23.
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Rushing
- Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys, ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries in Dallas’ 28-14 win over Cincinnati.
- DeMarco Murray, Titans, had 121 yards rushing on 27 carries in Tennessee’s 30-17 win at Miami.
- Jordan Howard, Bears, ran 16 times for 118 yards and caught three passes for 45 yards and a score in Chicago’s 29-23 loss at Indianapolis, his second straight start in place of the injured Jeremy Langford.
- LeSean McCoy, Bills, had 150 yards rushing on 18 carries in Buffalo’s 30-19 win at Los Angeles.
- Terrance West, Ravens, peeled off a 35-yard run, Baltimore’s longest of the season, on the opening possession and finished with 95 yards on 11 carries in a 16-10 loss to Washington.
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Receiving
- T.Y. Hilton, Colts, had 10 catches for 171 yards, including a 35-yard TD grab late in the fourth quarter, in Indianapolis’ 29-23 win over Chicago.
- Sammie Coates, Steelers, caught six passes for a career-high 139 yards and two scores, including a 72-yard catch-and-run for a score on Pittsburgh’s opening drive in a 31-13 victory over the New York Jets.
- Martellus Bennett, caught three touchdown passes from Tom Brady in New England’s 33-13 win at Cleveland.
- Cameron Meredith, Bears, had nine receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown in Chicago’s 29-23 loss at Indianapolis.
- Adam Thielen, Vikings, caught a touchdown pass to cap Minnesota’s opening drive and finished with a career-high 127 yards in the Vikings’ 31-13 victory over Houston.
- Amari Cooper, Raiders, had six catches for a career-high 138 yards and a TD in Oakland’s 34-31 win over San Diego.
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Special Teams
- Jamison Crowder, Redskins, had an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown in Washington’s 16-10 victory at Baltimore. It was the Redskins’ first punt return TD since 2008.
- Marcus Sherels, Vikings, returned a punt 79 yards for a score in Minnesota’s 31-13 win over Houston.
- Matt Prater, Lions, kicked a 29-yard field goal with 1:28 left, helping Detroit hand rookie quarterback Carson Wentz his first loss with a 24-23 victory over Philadelphia.
- Jakeem Grant, Dolphins, scored on a 74-yard punt return in Miami’s 30-17 loss to Tennessee.
- Adam Vinatieri, Colts, kicked five field goals, including two of over 50 yards, and made both of his extra points in Indianapolis’ 29-23 win over Chicago.
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Defense
- Vic Beasley, Falcons, had 3 1/2 sacks and two forced fumbles in Atlanta’s 23-16 win at Denver.
- Nickell Robey-Coleman, Bills, returned one of his two interceptions 41 yards for a touchdown in Buffalo’s 30-19 victory at Los Angeles. Lorenzo Alexander had three sacks to help Buffalo.
- Darius Slay, Lions, made an over-the-shoulder interception to help seal Detroit’s 24-23 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
- Willie Young, Bears, had three sacks in Chicago’s 29-23 loss at Indianapolis.
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STREAKS & STATS
Philadelphia turned over the ball for the first time this season with 2:34 remaining in the Eagles’ 24-23 loss at Detroit when Ryan Mathews fumbled on a hit by Darius Slay. … With its 33-13 loss to New England, Cleveland has dropped seven straight and 14 of 15 dating to last season. … Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger has thrown a touchdown pass in 41 consecutive home games, the third-longest streak in NFL history. His 15 TD tosses are the most by a Steelers quarterback in the first five games of a season. … Atlanta’s 23-16 victory over Denver snapped the Super Bowl champs’ nine-game winning streak.
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MILESTONES
Indianapolis’ Frank Gore passed Jim Brown for No. 9 on the NFL’s career rushing list with a 16-yard run late in the first quarter. Brown retired in 1965 with 12,312 yards, a league record that stood for nearly two decades. Gore had 14 carries for 75 yards Sunday, giving him 12,367. … New England’s 33-13 win at Cleveland was the 250th career victory - including the postseason - for Bill Belichick, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Don Shula (347), George Halas (324) and Tom Landry (270) as the only coaches to accomplish the feat. … With two catches against Pittsburgh, Matt Forte of the New York Jets became the 10th running back in NFL history to reach 500 career receptions.
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STARTS
Minnesota remained undefeated - the NFL’s only team without a loss - improving to 5-0 with a 31-13 win over Houston. The Vikings have not thrown an interception this season, joining the 1969 Los Angeles Rams as the only teams since 1933 to start 5-0 without having an INT. … Cleveland dropped to 0-5 with a 33-13 loss to Tom Brady and New England, remaining the only NFL team without a win.
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SWINGS
Washington allowed 108 points in its first four games and came in with the league’s 29th-ranked defense. In a 16-10 win at Baltimore, the Redskins gave up a touchdown on the game’s opening drive and smothered the Ravens (3-2) the rest of the way.
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HAPPY RETURNS
Sunday marked the first time in NFL history there were three punt returns for touchdowns of 74 or more yards: Washington’s Jamison Crowder (85 yards), Minnesota’s Marcus Sherels (79) and Miami’s Jakeem Grant (74).
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BROKEN BROWNS
Browns quarterback Cody Kessler took a hard shot from Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower while trying to throw a swing pass to Duke Johnson at the Cleveland 10 late in the second quarter of New England’s 33-13 win. Kessler had to be helped up and after being checked on the sideline, the third-round pick was taken to the locker room for X-rays and did not return. Quarterback-turned-wide receiver Terrelle Pryor took two snaps before veteran Charlie Whitehurst replaced him, becoming the fifth quarterback to play for Cleveland in five games. Whitehurst then hyperextended his right knee in the final minutes.
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YOUNG GUNS
Dallas’ Dak Prescott threw for 227 yards and Ezekiel Elliott ran for 134 yards in a 28-14 win over Cincinnati, making the Cowboys the first team in NFL history to have a rookie quarterback with at least 1,000 yards passing and a rookie running back with at least 500 yards rushing in the first five games of a season. Prescott has 1,239 yards passing and extended his NFL rookie record to 155 passes without an interception to start his career. Elliott has 546 yards rushing.
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LONDON CALLING
When Indianapolis opted not to take its bye following last week’s trip to London, NFL officials were eager to see how the Colts performed after such a long trip. They easily passed the test, beating Chicago 29-23 after losing last week to Jacksonville. The NFL could use Sunday’s result as an example that teams wouldn’t necessarily be at a disadvantage if there were more games, or a team, in London.
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SO CLOSE
Washington’s 16-10 win at Baltimore wasn’t decided until the final minute, when an apparent 23-yard touchdown catch by the Ravens’ Breshad Perriman was overturned by replay. Perriman got his right foot down in the end zone, but his left foot was ruled to be out of bounds.
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OLD RELIABLE
Indianapolis’ Adam Vinatieri kicked five field goals in the Colts’ 29-23 win over Chicago, marking the sixth time the 43-year-old veteran has accomplished the feat in the regular season - and first since 2013. Vinatieri has made 38 straight field goals dating to last season, a career high, and needs five more to break Mike Vanderjagt’s record, set from 2002-04. He also extended his streak of field goals made from 50 or more yards to nine.
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SLOPPY SAN DIEGO
San Diego committed four turnovers and then botched the hold on a potential tying field goal in a 34-31 loss to Oakland. Rookie Drew Kaser couldn’t hold the snap on what would have been a 36-yard field goal attempt. The Raiders then took over with 2 minutes left and ran out most of the clock to get a third straight win for the first time in five years and hand San Diego its 10th straight division loss.
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SIDELINED
Houston safety Quintin Demps hurt a calf, while cornerback Johnathan Joseph left with a concussion on a defense already missing superstar defensive end J.J. Watt (back) for the season. Backup linebacker Brian Peters hurt his quadriceps after handling kickoffs for kicker Nick Novak. In the third quarter at Minnesota, Texans right guard Jeff Allen left to be evaluated for a concussion, while backup tight end Ryan Griffin was taken off the field by a cart after hurting his neck making a tackle after an interception. … In Miami, rookie guard Laremy Tunsil hurt an ankle before kickoff against Tennessee. … Detroit lost defensive tackle Haloti Ngata to a shoulder injury in a 24-23 win over Philadelphia, while Eagles cornerback Leodis McKelvin aggravated a hamstring injury that had kept him out of the past two games. … Los Angeles cornerback Trumaine Johnson was carted to the locker room in the fourth quarter with an injured right ankle.
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SPEAKING
“This isn’t a time for me to reflect. There’s no point at looking back at anything. Whether we won Super Bowls or lost championship games or the last four weeks, none of it matters. I’ve just moved on, man.” - Tom Brady, who returned from a four-game suspension for his role in “Deflategate” and led New England to a 33-13 win at Cleveland on Sunday.
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“He’s not coming out. You can ask me 100 times. He’s going to be in there the rest of the season.” - Miami coach Adam Gase on quarterback Ryan Tannehill after the Dolphins totaled just eight first downs in a 30-17 loss to Tennessee as disgruntled fans chanted for Tannehill’s backup, Matt Moore.
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