SCOREBOARD
Monday night, Oct. 8
Dallas (4-0) at Buffalo (1-3). The high-powered Cowboys visit the injury-plagued Bills. It’s Buffalo’s first Monday night home game in 13 years.
STARS
Passing
– Tom Brady, Patriots, was 22-of-38 for 265 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-17 victory over Cleveland. He has thrown for at least three TDs in every game this season.
– Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers, completed 13 straight passes and was 18-of-22 for 206 yards and a touchdown in a 21-0 victory over Seattle.
– Jason Campbell, Redskins, threw for 248 yards and two TDs in a 34-3 win over Detroit.
– Peyton Manning, Colts, was 29-of-37 for 253 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-14 victory over Tampa Bay. Manning is two TD tosses behind John Unitas’ franchise record.
– Philip Rivers, Chargers, was 13-of-18 for 270 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-3 rout of Denver. Rivers also scored on a 2-yard run, the first TD rushing of his career.
Rushing
– Kenton Keith, Colts, ran for 121 yards and two touchdowns during a 33-14 rout of Tampa Bay. He was making his first NFL start in place of injured Joseph Addai.
– Michael Turner, Chargers, ran 74 yards for a touchdown and finished with 147 yards on 10 carries in a 41-3 win over Denver.
– Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward, Giants, combined for 156 yards on 33 carries with two touchdowns in a 35-24 victory over the Jets.
– Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars, ran 52 yards for a touchdown in a 17-7 win over Kansas City. He gained 82 yards on only nine carries.
– Ronnie Brown, Dolphins, rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown in a 22-19 loss to Houston. He’s the second player in franchise history with 100 yards rushing in three straight games.
Receiving
– Benjamin Watson, Patriots, caught six passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-17 victory over the Browns. Watson came into the game with 11 catches for 87 yards this season.
– Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals, had nine catches for 136 yards and a touchdown in a 34-31 victory over St. Louis. He also recovered the onside kick with less than a minute to go.
– Plaxico Burress, Giants, caught five passes for 124 yards, including the go-ahead 53-yard touchdown in a 35-24 win over the Jets.
– Antonio Gates, Chargers, caught seven passes for 113 yards and a touchdown in a 41-3 blowout of the Broncos.
Special Teams
– Kris Brown, Texans, kicked five field goals, the last a 57-yarder with 1 second left in a 22-19 victory over Miami. Brown also kicked field goals of 54, 54, 43 and 20 yards.
– Leon Washington, Jets, returned a kick 98 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter of a 35-24 loss to the Giants. He also had a 98-yard return against Miami in Week 3.
– John Kasay, Panthers, kicked three field goals, the last a 52-yarder with no time left that gave Carolina a 16-13 victory over New Orleans. Kasay made six field goals in the Superdome against the Saints in 2004.
– Matt Stover, Ravens, kicked three field goals in a 9-7 victory over San Francisco. His 49-yarder midway through the third quarter was the difference.
Defense
– Aaron Ross, Giants, had two interceptions in a 35-24 win over the Jets. The first set up the go-ahead touchdown, and the second was returned 43 yards for a score with 3:15 to go.
– Rod Hood, Cardinals, made two interceptions, taking one of them back 68 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in a 34-31 victory over St. Louis.
– Junior Seau, Patriots, had two interceptions in a 34-17 victory over Cleveland.
– Fakhir Brown, Rams, had two interceptions in a 34-31 loss to Arizona. It was his first game after serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
– Vincent Fuller, Titans, returned an interception 76 yards for the winning touchdown late in the third quarter of a 20-13 victory over Atlanta.
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MILESTONES
The Texans’ Kris Brown became only the third kicker in NFL history to hit three field goals from beyond 50 yards in a game. The last was a career-long, 57-yard game-winner in a 22-19 victory over Miami. … The Patriots’ Tom Brady tied an NFL record with at least three touchdown passes in each of his first five games. New England became the fourth team to start a season with five wins by at least 17 points. … The Rams (0-5) are tied for the second-worst start in franchise history, trailing only an 0-6 beginning in 1962.
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STREAKS
The Redskins are 21-0 at home against the Lions since moving to Washington in 1937. … Tennessee has not allowed a point in the fourth quarter this season. … The Dolphins have lost eight straight. … Drew Bennett’s second-quarter touchdown catch ended a string of 32 possessions without a TD for St. Louis. … Jacksonville was the first opponent in 24 games to avoid having a turnover against the Chiefs. … The Jets last beat the Giants in the regular season in 1993. … Denver had gone 22 games without allowing an opening-drive TD before Philip Rivers went in from the 2. … The Broncos’ Jay Cutler failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time in 10 NFL starts. His streak had been the longest to begin a career since Mark Rypien tossed TD passes in his first 11 games for the Redskins in the late 1980s. … Indianapolis has won a franchise-record 12 in a row at the RCA Dome.
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STATS
The Broncos’ 41-3 loss to San Diego was their worst at home since a 56-10 loss to the Chiefs on Oct. 23, 1966. The Chargers have won consecutive games in Denver for the first time since 1967-68. It was the third time in Mike Shanahan’s 13 season as Broncos coach that the Broncos didn’t score a TD. … Matt Hasselbeck and backup Seneca Wallace were only 2-of-8 for 17 yards in the second half of the Seahawks’ 21-0 loss to Pittsburgh. The Steelers more than doubled Seattle’s time of possession, holding the ball for 40:45. … The Jaguars tied a team record by using 18 plays during a scoring drive that lasted 10 minutes, 55 seconds. John Carney kicked a 20-yard field goal. … The Titans and Falcons combined for 272 yards passing with no touchdowns and five interceptions. … Indianapolis held the ball for all but 90 seconds in the third quarter when Tampa Bay ran three plays.
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SWINGS
hins lined up for what would have been a 56-yard field goal attempt with less than 2 minutes left against Houston, but instead called timeout and punted. Kris Brown later kicked a 57-yard game-winner for the Texans. … Carolina had been 0-for-6 in converting fourth downs before converting all five chances in the fourth quarter of a 16-13 win over New Orleans.
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SLOPPY
The Falcons botched a pitch on first down from the 1-yard line against Tennessee. After two straight incompletions, Byron Leftwich was sacked on fourth down and the Titans hung on 20-13. … The Lions’ Jon Kitna threw two picks, lost two of his three fumbles and was sacked in the end zone for a safety in a 34-3 loss to Washington. … The Saints’ Olindo Mare had a 20-yard field goal blocked early in the fourth quarter, and missed a 54-yarder shortly before the 2-minute warning in a 16-13 loss to Carolina. … Chad Pennington threw three interceptions in the Jets’ 35-24 loss to the Giants. … Derek Anderson threw three interceptions in the first half, two on consecutive offensive plays, that led to 14 points for New England. … Denver committed four turnovers in a 41-3 loss to San Diego.
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STUFFED
Kansas City’s Larry Johnson gained 12 yards on nine carries in a 17-7 loss to Jacksonville. The Chiefs totaled 10 yards on the ground, second fewest in franchise history. … Shaun Alexander managed only 25 yards on 11 carries in Seattle’s 21-0 loss to Pittsburgh. The Seahawks gained just 144 yards of total offense. … The Jets gained 55 yards on 25 carries in a 35-24 loss to the Giants. … Tampa Bay managed 17 yards on 12 running plays in a 33-14 loss to Indianapolis. It was the lowest rushing total allowed by a Colts team since 1971. … San Francisco managed one first down and 38 total yards, including zero net yards passing, in the first half of a 9-7 loss to Baltimore. The 49ers finished with 163 total yards, 49 on the ground.
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SACKS
James Farrior had two of Pittsburgh’s three sacks in a 21-0 victory over Seattle. … Andre Carter had two of Washington’s five sacks, including one for a safety, in a 34-3 win over Detroit. … Tedy Bruschi had a pair of sacks in New England’s 34-17 win over Cleveland. … Miami’s Jason Taylor had two sacks in a 22-19 loss to Atlanta. One of them forced a fumble the Dolphins converted into a field goal.
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SIDELINED
s to a season-ending knee injury, Tampa Bay backup Michael Pittman was carted off the field with a right ankle injury.
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SPEAKING
“They’re great. It’s obvious. They’ve won three Super Bowls.” – Browns tight end Kellen Winslow on the Patriots.
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“It’s special. I don’t know if we’ll ever see that again.” – Texans coach Gary Kubiak, after Kris Brown’s fifth field, a 57-yarder with no time left, gave Houston a 22-19 win over Atlanta.
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“Nobody admires the mentality of defense they play more than I do. It is second to none. There’s an attitude there, a belief system, a set of core values defensively that makes it very difficult to play good offensive football against them.” – 49ers quarterback Trent Dilfer, after a 9-7 loss to the Ravens.