The Latest on Week 8 in the NFL on Sunday (all times EDT):
7:55 p.m.
Todd Gurley and the Los Angeles Rams are halfway to 16-0 after a comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers.
The Rams remained unbeaten by overcoming their largest deficit of the season to beat Aaron Rodgers and Co. 29-27 despite trailing by 10 points after the first quarter.
And they did it despite a pro-Packers crowd that loudly supported the visiting team at the Coliseum.
Gurley accounted for 195 yards - 114 on 25 carries, and another 81 on six catches - and a TD. Greg Zuerlein made the go-ahead 34-yard field goal with a little more than two minutes left, before Green Bay’s Ty Montgomery fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Rams recovered.
Next for LA (8-0) is a game against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.
In other late afternoon NFL action:
- Andrew Luck threw a trio of TD passes to push the Indianapolis Colts past Jon Gruden and Oakland 42-28 to win in consecutive weeks for the first time in three years;
- A couple of rookies, Josh Rosen and Christian Kirk, teamed up for a 9-yard scoring pass with 34 seconds left, and the Arizona Cardinals edged the San Francisco 49ers 18-15 in a game between two teams that entered the day with matching 1-6 records.
In Sunday’s last game, the Minnesota Vikings host the Saints at night.
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7 p.m.
Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald is now alone in seventh place for most career NFL touchdown catches with 112.
Fitzgerald broke a tie at 111 with Pro Football Hall of Fame nominee Tony Gonzalez by grabbing a 13-yard scoring pass from Josh Rosen in the fourth quarter against San Francisco.
No. 6 on the list is Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, who is still active and has 115 TD receptions.
The record of 197 is held by former 49ers star Jerry Rice.
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6:10 p.m.
A fake punt, a safety and back-to-back big gains on calls reversed by video replay are helping the Los Angeles Rams keep it close with the Green Bay Packers.
The unbeaten Rams trailed Green Bay 10-8 at halftime, but they were down by a season-high 10 points before getting back in it.
With LA’s high-powered offense getting stymied by Green Bay’s inspired defense, the Rams had to get creative.
Punter Johnny Hekker completed a pass to former Packers cornerback Sam Shields to convert a first down. Later, Shields downed a punt by Hekker at the Green Bay 1, where the defense scored the hosts’ first points with a safety.
The Rams then put together their only scoring drive of the first half, picking up 57 yards on consecutive catches by Brandin Cooks and Todd Gurley. Both passes were initially ruled incomplete on close plays.
Josh Reynolds caught a 1-yard TD toss from Jared Goff with 21 seconds left in the half, but the 2-point conversion attempt failed.
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5:50 p.m.
Two of the NFL’s worst teams are playing like it. Just look at the halftime score: The San Francisco 49ers lead the Arizona Cardinals 5-3.
No, this is not baseball. Or hockey. Or soccer. It’s the pass-happy, point-happy NFL.
The 49ers have accumulated a paltry 61 total yards, but lead thanks to Robbie Gould’s 27-yard field goal and a safety when Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen was sacked.
Arizona’s offense has 111 yards in its first game under new offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. Its only points came via Phil Dawson’s 31-yard field goal in the first quarter.
Rosen has thrown an interception and been sacked three times.
The 49ers and Cardinals entered the day with matching 1-6 records.
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5:25 p.m.
Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri has scored more points than anyone in NFL history, breaking the record on a 25-yard field goal with 26 seconds left in the first half against the Oakland Raiders.
That increased Vinatieri’s total to 2,547 points, three more than Morten Andersen.
Vinatieri entered Sunday trailing Anderson’s mark by four points and pulled even with an extra point and a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter.
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5:10 p.m.
The Los Angeles Rams are trailing after the first quarter for the first time this season, thanks to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
Jamaal Williams scored on a 1-yard TD plunge after back-to-back big throws by Rodgers, who staked the Packers to a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter at the Coliseum.
The 10-point deficit is the biggest faced at any time in any game all season by the unbeaten Rams.
Backed by big cheers from the Packers’ huge West Coast fan base, Green Bay outgained the Rams 142-38 in the first quarter.
Los Angeles coach Sean McVay’s high-powered offense got off to a slow start with just 38 yards on its first 12 plays.
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4:50 p.m.
Pat Mahomes just keeps putting up big numbers for the Kansas City Chiefs at age 23.
Adrian Peterson is doing the same for the Washington Redskins at age 33.
No wonder both of those teams are in first place.
Mahomes threw for 303 yards and four touchdowns, including two to Sammy Watkins, and the Chiefs improved to 7-1 by beating the AFC West rival Denver Broncos 30-23.
Peterson ran for a season-high 149 yards, 64 on a late TD run, and added a 7-yard scoring catch to help the Redskins top the New York Giants 20-13 and stay atop the NFC East at 5-2. Washington hasn’t started a season that well since 2008.
In other early games Sunday:
- Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown paired up for two scores in Pittsburgh’s 33-18 victory over Cleveland, which has lost 25 road games in a row - one shy of the NFL record;
- Cam Newton threw for two TDs and ran for another to lead the Panthers past the Ravens and the league’s top-rated defense 36-21;
- Russell Wilson connected for three scoring passes in the second quarter and led Seattle past Detroit 28-14 for the Seahawks’ fourth victory in five games;
- Chicago won without injured linebacker Khalil Mack, using two TD tosses by Mitchell Trubisky to top the New York Jets 24-10;
- the Bengals picked off Jameis Winston four times before he was benched and Randy Bullock kicked a 44-yard field goal on the final play in Cincinnati’s 37-34 win over Tampa Bay;
- Carson Wentz overcame turnovers on Super Bowl champion Philadelphia’s first two possessions to throw three TD passes and help the Eagles beat the Jaguars 25-18 in London.
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4:35 p.m.
Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri is now tied for the all-time NFL lead in points scored.
Vinatieri made an extra point and a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter against the Oakland Raiders, giving him 2,544 career points. That pulled him even with Morten Andersen for the most in league history.
The 45-year-old Vinatieri is in his 23rd NFL season.
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4 p.m.
Tampa Bay QB Jameis Winston was benched and replaced by backup Ryan Fitzpatrick in the third quarter after throwing four interceptions against Cincinnati.
Winston, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft, was just 18 for 35 for 276 yards, one TD and the four picks.
Fitzpatrick started the first three games this season, while Winston was serving a suspension.
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3:20 p.m.
Well, this was an appropriate way to mark a TD at World Series time.
Tyler Lockett was the pitcher and fellow Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin was the batter in Seattle’s clever touchdown celebration at Detroit.
After one of the Seahawks’ three second-quarter TDs, Seattle players acted out a baseball scene in the end zone. The “pitch” was Lockett throwing the football to Baldwin, and when Baldwin was hit by the ball, he ran at Lockett as if charging the mound, then threw a phantom punch.
Two other Seattle receivers joined in on the fun: Jaron Brown acted as the catcher, and David Moore served as the umpire.
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3:15 p.m.
Ben Roethlisberger and Adrian Peterson moved up a couple of pretty significant NFL lists by overtaking a couple of pretty significant names.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Roethlisberger surpassed Fran Tarkenton for No. 8 on the list of most touchdown throws with No. 343.
That came on a 1-yard TD toss to Antonio Brown with 10 seconds left in the first half against the Cleveland Browns. That was Big Ben’s second touchdown pass of the day.
No. 7 in NFL history is New York Giants QB Eli Manning, who entered Sunday with 346.
Peyton Manning holds the record with 539.
Washington Redskins running back Peterson surpassed Tony Dorsett for No. 9 on the career rushing chart with a 4-yard gain around the right end late in the first half against the New York Giants.
That play put Peterson at 12,743 yards for his career, ahead of Dorsett’s total of 12,739. Even when Peterson lost 3 yards on his next carry, he stayed in front of Dorsett.
Next on the list is No. 8 Eric Dickerson with 13,259 yards. The record-holder is Emmitt Smith, with 18,355.
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2:50 p.m.
The Detroit Lions inducted Herman Moore, Roger Brown and the late Alex Karras into the Pride of the Lions during halftime of their game against Seattle.
Brown said he was overcome with emotion when he was told of the honor given to the franchise’s greats.
“I cried,” said Brown, a five-time Pro Bowler. “To be out on the field and look at all the names, I never saw mine, and I wanted mine up there. And now it’s happening.”
Brown was recognized along with Karras, a “Fearsome Foursome” defensive linemate. Karras died in 2012.
Karras was a four-time All-Pro selection and later starred as a film and television actor.
Moore once held the NFL record for receptions in a season with 123.
Moore is second in Lions history in catches (670), receiving yards (9,174) and receiving touchdowns (62).
The Seahawks were up 21-7 at halftime.
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2:25 p.m.
Demonstrators gathered outside the Panthers’ stadium in support of Carolina safety Eric Reid and his protest against social and racial injustice.
The organization, known as Serve The People-Charlotte, held signs and chanted on a sidewalk near the stadium before the game against the visiting Ravens, then gathered at a nearby street to take a knee just before kickoff.
About 50 people participated in the protest outside the stadium, while Reid was taking a knee on the Carolina sideline inside during the national anthem.
Jibril Hough, a Panthers season ticket holder who has refused to stand during the national anthem since former NBA player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf remained seated nearly 23 years ago, organized the protest.
“We want to show Eric Reid he is not alone,” Hough said. “We’re also recognizing we have an owner (David Tepper) who recognizes Eric’s right to do that.”
The demonstration went off without counter-protest or police action.
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1:45 p.m.
How many coaches have the guts to make this call?
Leading 7-0 in the first quarter at Carolina, Ravens coach John Harbaugh went for a fake punt from his own 10-yard line on a fourth-and-1 - and Baltimore appeared to pick it up easily with Anthony Levine plowing ahead for an 8-yard gain.
Not so fast, though.
The Ravens were called for an illegal shift on the play, wiping out the first down, and they wound up punting.
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1:05 p.m.
Damon “Snacks” Harrison has made his debut for the Detroit Lions.
The crowd at Ford Field cheered when Harrison’s name was announced and his picture appeared on the videoboards before kickoff against Seattle.
The run-stuffing defensive tackle was acquired from the New York Giants for a fifth-round pick. His first practice with the Lions was on Thursday.
Harrison did not start against the Seahawks, but he did come in on the third and fourth snaps and helped make a tackle both times.
The game was preceded by a moment of silence for Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder and Seahawks owner who died Oct. 15. This was Seattle’s first game since then, because they had a bye last week.
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1 p.m.
The Browns and Steelers observed a moment of silence at Heinz Field for the 11 people killed by a gunman inside a Pittsburgh synagogue a day earlier.
There were other such tributes at NFL games elsewhere Sunday.
Eight men and three women were murdered inside the Tree of Life Synagogue during services on Saturday. The names of the victims, which included a pair of brothers and a married couple, were released Sunday.
In a statement issued before his team’s game, Steelers owner Art Rooney II said: “Our hearts are heavy, but we must stand against anti-Semitism and hate crimes of any nature and come together to preserve our values and our community.”
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto called the slayings the “darkest day of Pittsburgh’s history.”
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12:45 p.m.
Carson Wentz set aside turnovers on Philadelphia’s opening two drives and threw a trio of TD passes to lead the Super Bowl champion Eagles past the collapsing Jacksonville Jaguars 24-18 at Wembley Stadium in London.
The first time the Eagles (4-4) had the ball, Wentz fumbled on a sack. The next, Jalen Ramsey picked him off in the end zone.
But the Jaguars (3-5) only managed to turn that pair of opportunities into one measly field goal and were on their way to a fourth consecutive loss.
This was not a great trip overseas for the Jaguars: Four players were detained by the police in the wee hours of Saturday over a bar bill.
Wentz wound up 21 for 30 for 286 yards and scoring passes to Dallas Goedert with 29 seconds left in the first half, and to Wendell Smallwood and Zach Ertz in the second half.
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12:25 p.m.
Former Carolina receiver Rae Carruth’s son, Chancellor Lee Adams, attended the Panthers’ home game against the Ravens - six days after Carruth was released following 18-plus years in prison in connection to the murder of Adams’ mother.
The 19-year-old Adams has brain damage and cerebral palsy as a result of his mother’s shooting.
Adams wore a white No. 1 jersey of Panthers quarterback Cam Newton on Sunday, when he spent time on Carolina’s sideline with his grandmother, Saundra Adams, before kickoff. Several players greeted Chancellor Lee Adams, including safety Eric Reid, who gave him his playing gloves.
Carruth, who played for the Panthers from 1997-99, was convicted of conspiracy to murder Cherica Adams in 1999. He was released from Sampson Correctional Institution in Clinton, North Carolina, on Monday and is now living in Pennsylvania. He remains on post-release probation and cannot leave the country for nine months.
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11:35 a.m.
Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Jason Peters returned to the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London after being evaluated for a concussion, but right tackle Lane Johnson will not after sustaining a knee injury.
Peters left the game in the second quarter before undergoing medical scans. Johnson left the game at the end of the Eagles’ first series.
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