SCOREBOARD
Monday, Dec. 3.
Washington at Philadelphia, 8:15 p.m. Colt McCoy makes his second start in a row for the Redskins (6-5) since replacing the injured Alex Smith. He had 268 yards passing, two TDs and three INTs last week. Carson Wentz and the defending Super Bowl-champion Eagles (5-6) are a victory away from heading to Dallas next week for a first-place showdown in the NFC East.
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STARS
Passing
- Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs, passed for 295 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in Kansas City’s 40-33 victory at Oakland.
- Russell Wilson, Seahawks, threw three first-half touchdowns on just four completions and finished with four TD passes in Seattle’s 43-16 rout of San Francisco.
- Philip Rivers, Chargers, was 26 of 36 for 299 yards and two TDs to lead Los Angeles past Pittsburgh 33-30.
- Jameis Winston, Buccaneers, passed for 249 yards and two touchdowns to lead Tampa Bay past Carolina 24-17.
- Tom Brady, Patriots, threw for 311 yards and a touchdown and New England beat Minnesota 24-10.
- Nick Mullens, 49ers, had 414 yards passing with two touchdowns and an interception in San Francisco’s 43-16 loss.
- Derek Carr, Raiders, tossed three TD passes in Oakland’s 40-33 loss to Kansas City.
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Rushing
- Phillip Lindsay, Broncos, ran for a career-high 157 yards and a pair of touchdowns as Denver rolled to its third straight victory, 24-10 over Cincinnati.
- Todd Gurley, Rams, ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns to help Los Angeles beat Detroit 30-16 and clinch the NFC West title for a second straight season.
- Saquon Barkley, Giants, had 125 yards on 24 carries in New York’s 30-27 overtime win over Chicago.
- Josh Allen, Bills, set a franchise record for yards rushing by a quarterback with 135 in Buffalo’s 21-17 loss at Miami.
- Christian McCaffrey, Panthers, ran for 106 yards on 10 carries and had nine catches for 55 yards with a touchdown in Carolina’s 24-17 loss at Tampa Bay.
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Receiving
- Travis Kelce, Chiefs, caught 12 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns in Kansas City’s 40-33 win at Oakland.
- Tarik Cohen, Bears, had 12 catches for 156 yards and the running back also threw a touchdown pass in Chicago’s 30-27 overtime loss to the New York Giants.
- Keenan Allen, Chargers had 14 receptions for 148 yards and a TD in Los Angeles’ 33-30 victory at Pittsburgh.
- Dante Pettis, 49ers, caught two touchdown passes and finished with five catches for 129 yards in Seattle’s 43-16 loss at Seattle.
- Chris Godwin, Buccaneers, had five receptions for 101 yards and a TD in Tampa Bay’s 24-17 victory over Carolina.
- Jordy Nelson and Jared Cook, Raiders. Nelson caught 10 passes for 97 yards and Cook had seven receptions for 100 yards and a TD in Oakland’s 40-33 loss to Kansas City.
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Special Teams
- Aldrick Rosas, Giants, kicked a 44-yard field goal in overtime and New York beat NFC North-leading Chicago 30-27, snapping the Bears’ five-game winning streak.
- Michael Badgley, Chargers, kicked a 29-yard field goal on the final play to lead Los Angeles past Pittsburgh 33-30.
- Zane Gonzalez, Cardinals, booted a 44-yard field goal with 1:41 left to lift the Cardinals past Green Bay 20-17.
- Desmond King, Chargers, had a 73-yard punt return for a score in Los Angeles’ 33-30 win at Pittsburgh.
- Kevin Pierre-Louis and Henry Anderson, Jets. Pierre-Louis blocked a punt in the second quarter of New York’s 26-22 loss at Tennessee, and Henry Anderson blocked an extra-point attempt.
- Ka’imi Fairbairn, Texans, had five field goals and two extra points in Houston’s 29-13 win over Cleveland.
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Defense
- Andrew Adams, Buccaneers, tied a franchise record by having three of Tampa Bay’s four interceptions of Cam Newton in a 24-17 win over Carolina.
- Bobby Wagner, Seahawks, capped a blowout with a franchise-record 98-yard interception return for a touchdown in Seattle’s 43-16 victory over San Francisco.
- Denico Autry, Colts, had three sacks and two forced fumbles in Indianapolis’ 6-0 loss to Jacksonville.
- B.J. Hill and Alec Ogletree, Giants. Hill had three sacks and Ogletree intercepted two passes, scoring on an 8-yard return on the second play from scrimmage, in New York’s 30-27 overtime win over Chicago.
- Aaron Donald, Rams, had two sacks and a forced fumble in Los Angeles’ 30-16 win at Detroit.
- Tavon Young, Ravens, scooped up a fumble and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown in Baltimore’s 26-16 victory at Atlanta.
- Zach Cunningham, Texans, grabbed his first career interception and ran 38 yards for a touchdown in Houston’s 29-13 win over Cleveland.
- Vic Beasley Jr., Falcons, scored on a 74-yard fumble return in Atlanta’s 26-16 loss to Baltimore.
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MILESTONES
Tom Brady completed 24 of 32 passes in New England’s 24-10 win over Minnesota and has 579 touchdown throws, including the playoffs, tying him with Peyton Manning for the most all time. He also has 508 regular-season TD passes, which ties him with Brett Favre on the career list. Manning is first with 539 and Drew Brees has 518. … Bill Belichick earned his 250th victory, including playoffs, as Patriots coach. … Los Angeles receiver Brandin Cooks became the first player in NFL history with 1,000 yards receiving in three straight years with three different franchises. He surpassed 1,000 last year with New England and in 2016 with New Orleans. Cooks also had a 1,000-yard season with the Saints in 2015. … Larry Fitzgerald had three catches in Arizona’s 20-17 win at Green Bay, giving him 1,281 for his career and matching Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the most in NFL history with one team. … Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston threw two touchdown passes in a 24-17 win over Carolina to move ahead of Josh Freeman as the franchise’s career leader with 81. … Buffalo rookie Josh Allen ran for 135 yards in a 21-17 loss at Miami, setting a franchise record for yards rushing by a quarterback. … The Giants’ Saquon Barkley has 954 rushing yards this season, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famer Tuffy Leemans (830 in 1936) for the most by a rookie in franchise history.
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STREAKS & STATS
Houston extended its franchise-record winning streak to nine games with a 29-13 victory over Cleveland. … New England clinched its 18th straight winning season. It’s the second-longest streak in NFL history. The record is held by Dallas at 20 seasons from 1966-85. … Baltimore held Atlanta to just 131 total yards in its third straight win, 26-16. It was Atlanta’s worst offensive showing since a 105-yard effort against San Francisco on Dec. 12, 1999. Matt Ryan was 16 of 26 for 131 yards, the fewest passing yards in a game he played from start to finish in his 11-year career. … Carolina’s Cam Newton has thrown at least two TD passes in 11 straight games, a franchise record. … Miami beat Buffalo 21-17 despite being outgained 415-175. … Jacksonville stopped a seven-game slide with a 6-0 win over Indianapolis, and snapped the Colts’ five-game winning streak. It was the Jaguars’ seventh shutout in franchise history and first at home since beating the New York Jets 41-0 in 2006. … New England’s Tom Brady improved to 5-0 against Minnesota, one of five teams (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Tampa Bay) he has a perfect regular-season record against.
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CLINCHED
The Los Angeles Rams (11-1) beat Detroit 30-16 to win the NFC West title for the second straight season and move a step closer to earning home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs. They took a one-game lead over New Orleans after the Saints lost to Dallas on Thursday night. It’s a cushion Los Angeles needs because its only loss was against the Saints last month. The Rams have won consecutive division titles for the first time since the 1978-79 seasons.
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SENT PACKING
The Green Bay Packers fired coach Mike McCarthy and made offensive coordinator Joe Philbin the interim head coach. The move announced by team president Mark Murphy came after a stunning 20-17 loss on Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals, dropping Green Bay to 4-7-1. McCarthy was in his 13th season as coach. The Packers won the Super Bowl under McCarthy in the 2010 season. He finishes with a record of 125-77-2.
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SELECT COMPANY
Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes leads the NFL with 41 touchdown passes, joining Peyton Manning (44 in 2004 and 41 in 2013) and Tom Brady (41 in 2007) as the only quarterbacks in league history with at least 40 in their team’s first 12 games of a season. Manning and Brady each were selected Associated Press Most Valuable Players in those seasons. Mahomes has seven games with at least four TD passes this season, the second most in a single season, trailing only Manning (nine games in 2013).
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COLD NORTH
All four teams in the NFC North lost Sunday. Division-leading Chicago was upset by the New York Giants 30-27 in overtime, second-place Minnesota fell 24-10 at New England, third-place Green Bay was stunned 20-17 by Arizona; and last-place Detroit dropped its game to the Los Angeles Rams, 30-16.
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SEE TOM RUN
Tom Brady reached another milestone in New England’s 24-10 win over Minnesota: 1,000 yards rushing in his career. He hit the mark on a 5-yard scramble in the first quarter. He slid to a stop, popped to his knee and signaled for a first down. Never considered much of a mobile quarterback, it took Brady 19 years and 265 games to reach the milestone - the most by a player since the merger. At 41, he is also the oldest player to reach 1,000 career rushing yards since 1970.
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THIRD TIME’S A CHARM
Michael Badgley kicked a 29-yard field goal on the final play to lift the Los Angeles Chargers to a 33-30 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night. Badgley initially missed a 39-yard kick, but Pittsburgh was penalized for being offside. Badgley’s ensuing 34-yard attempt was blocked, but the Steelers were again flagged for jumping across the line of scrimmage before the snap. Badgley then drilled his third attempt at the winner.
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BIG MAC
Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey ran for 106 yards on 10 carries and had nine catches for 55 yards with a touchdown in the Panthers’ 24-17 loss at Tampa Bay. He’s the first player in NFL history to record at least 50 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards in five consecutive games.
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NO JOSHIN’
Buffalo rookie quarterback Josh Allen threw for 231 yards with two touchdowns and rushed for 135 yards - a franchise record for a QB - in the Bills’ 21-17 loss at Miami. He became the fourth player in NFL history with at least two touchdown passes and 125 or more yards rushing in a game, joining Walter Payton (1983 at New Orleans), Tobin Rote (1951 at Detroit) and Michael Vick (2010 at the New York Giants).
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SLOPPY
Cincinnati was penalized eight times in the first half of its 24-10 loss to Denver, its most in an opening half since 2009. The Bengals finished with 12 penalties for 100 yards. … The New York Jets were flagged 11 times for 96 yards in their 26-22 defeat at Tennessee, including three times on the Titans’ final drive with one offsetting. The Titans, who came in as the NFL’s least-penalized team, had eight for 75 yards.
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IT’S TRICKY!
Chicago forced overtime in its 30-27 loss to the New York Giants on a 1-yard touchdown pass from halfback Tarik Cohen to Anthony Miller as time expired in the fourth quarter. Earlier in the game, Bears nose tackle Akiem Hicks dived over the goal line on fourth down from 1 yard on a play reminiscent of William “Refrigerator” Perry in Chicago’s glory days in the mid-1980s. Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. had some trickery of his own, throwing a 49-yard touchdown pass to Russell Shepard. Beckham, who also threw a 57-yard touchdown pass and had a 33-yard touchdown catch against Carolina in Week 5, is the first player since 1924 to record multiple games with a TD pass and TD catch in a single season.
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BAKER’S BROWNOUT
Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield, the top overall pick in this year’s draft, had his worst game of the season, throwing three interceptions in the Browns’ 29-13 loss to Houston. It was the first time since he was a freshman at Texas Tech in 2013 that he had three passes picked off. He entered the game having thrown nine touchdown passes with just one interception in the past three games as the Browns (4-7-1) won consecutive games for the first time since 2014. He finished with 397 yards passing and had a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter after throwing a career-best four in a win over the Bengals last week.
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WINNING FEELING
Jacksonville’s Cody Kessler, who replaced the benched Blake Bortles this week, completed 18 of 24 passes for 150 yards in the Jaguars’ 6-0 victory over Indianapolis - his first win in nine career starts. Kessler was sacked three times but played turnover-free football - barely. He had one interception dropped and managed to wrestle away a fumble of his own. He also was evaluated for a concussion early in the game but returned.
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SIDELINED
Cincinnati wide receiver A.J. Green returned after missing three games with an injured toe on his right foot, but he lasted only one quarter in the Bengals’ 24-10 loss to Denver. Green reinjured the foot while running a route and came off the field for perhaps the last time this season, slamming his helmet on the ground before leaving on a cart. … Denver cornerback Chris Harris Jr. broke his lower right leg in the first quarter of the Broncos’ win. It’s unclear how long he’ll be sidelined with a cracked bone in his lower leg. He’ll have more tests in Denver on Monday. … Carolina tight end Greg Olsen limped off after reinjuring his right foot in the second quarter of the Panthers’ 24-17 loss at Tampa Bay. Olsen said he ruptured his plantar fascia. It’s his third injury to the same foot. … Arizona left guard Mike Iupati was carted off the field in the third quarter with a knee injury against Green Bay. … Cleveland rookie cornerback Denzel Ward left in the first half against Houston with a concussion.
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SPEAKING
“I was on the couch a year ago, so this is a lot better. I was in a lot of pain. So it’s good for us to be winning … This is what it’s supposed to feel like. Honestly, this is how you dream it up.” - Houston’s J.J. Watt after the Texans extended their franchise record with a ninth straight win. Watt missed the last 11 games of last season with a broken leg.
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“He’s a bad boy. For him to be so young, running the ball, throwing the ball, he wants that moment of greatness. Fourth quarter being down, needing a touchdown, it’s scary to see him grow from weeks and months ago.” - Buffalo’s LeSean McCoy on Bills rookie quarterback Josh Allen, who set a franchise record for QBs with 135 yards rushing in a 21-17 loss at Miami.
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“He’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” Rams quarterback Jared Goff on teammate Aaron Donald, who has an NFL-high 16½ sacks this season after two more in Los Angeles’ 30-16 win at Detroit.
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