NFL Today, Week 14
SCOREBOARD
Monday, Dec. 8
Atlanta vs. Green Bay, 8:30 p.m. ESPN. Matt Ryan and the Falcons (5-7) are looking to stay atop the NFC South. Aaron Rodgers has thrown 360 straight passes at home without an interception for the Packers (9-3), a stretch that includes 31 consecutive touchdown passes at Lambeau Field without a pick.
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STARS
Passing
— Cam Newton, Panthers, passed for three touchdowns and ran for another score to help Carolina end a six-game skid with a 41-10 rout of New Orleans.
— Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers, threw three touchdown passes, including a 94-yarder to rookie Martavis Bryant, and had 350 yards passing as Pittsburgh topped Cincinnati.
— Matthew Stafford, Lions, went 26 of 34 for 311 yards and three TDs in Detroit's 34-17 win over Tampa Bay.
— Tom Brady, Patriots, threw for 317 yards and two touchdowns in New England's 23-14 win at San Diego.
— Teddy Bridgewater, Vikings, connected with Jarius Wright for a game-winning 87-yard TD in overtime, and finished with 309 yards passing and two touchdowns in Minnesota's 30-24 victory over the New York Jets.
— Russell Wilson, Seahawks, threw for 263 yards and two touchdown passes, and ran for 48 yards and another score as Seattle stifled Philadelphia in a 24-14 victory.
— Derek Carr, Raiders, threw three touchdown passes as Oakland put a major dent into San Francisco's dwindling playoff hopes with a 24-13 victory.
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Rushing
— Le'Veon Bell, Steelers, ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries and caught six passes for 50 yards and another score in Pittsburgh's 42-21 win at Cincinnati.
— Jonathan Stewart, Panthers, rushed for 155 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown, as Carolina blew past New Orleans 41-20.
— Andre Williams, Giants, ran for a season-high 131 yards, including a 50-yard TD, in New York's 36-7 rout at Tennessee.
— Arian Foster, Texans, rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown as Houston beat Jacksonville 27-13.
— C.J. Anderson, Broncos, ran for three touchdowns in Denver's 24-17 win over Buffalo.
— Kerwynn Williams, Cardinals, ran for 100 yards on 19 carries in Arizona's 17-14 win over Kansas City.
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Receiving
— A.J. Green, Bengals, caught 11 passes for a career-high 224 yards and a TD in a losing cause, as Cincinnati fell 42-21 to Pittsburgh.
— T.Y. Hilton, Colts, made 10 catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns to help Indianapolis edge Cleveland 25-24.
— Calvin Johnson, Lions, had eight catches for 158 yards and a TD in Detroit's 34-17 win over Tampa Bay.
— Odell Beckham Jr., Giants, set a team rookie record with his fourth game with 100 yards receiving this season, getting 11 catches for 130 yards and a TD in New York's 36-7 win at Tennessee. He's also the first rookie in NFL history to record at least 90 yards receiving in six consecutive games.
— Julian Edelman, Patriots, caught eight passes for 141 yards and a touchdown to help New England win 23-14 at San Diego.
— Vincent Jackson, Buccaneers, had 10 receptions for 159 yards in Tampa Bay's 34-17 loss at Detroit.
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Special Teams
— Tavon Austin, Rams, returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter of St. Louis' 24-0 win at Washington.
— Brandon Bolden, Patriots, blocked a punt by San Diego's Mike Scifres in New England's 23-14 win.
— Josh Brown, Giants, kicked five field goals as New York routed Tennessee 36-7.
— Nick Folk, Jets, made all five of his field-goal attempts in New York's 30-24 loss at Minnesota.
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Defense
— Elvis Dumervil, Ravens, had 3½ sacks in Baltimore's 28-13 win at Miami, increasing his season total to a franchise-record 16.
— Sheldon Richardson, Jets, had three sacks and a safety in New York's 30-24 overtime loss at Minnesota.
— J.J. Watt, Texans, had three sacks and five quarterback hits in Houston's 27-13 win at Jacksonville.
— Justin Gilbert and Craig Robertson, Browns. Gilbert returned an interception of Andrew Luck 21 yards for a score, and Robertson recovered a fumble in the end zone for a TD in Cleveland's 24-24 loss to Indianapolis.
— Gerald Hodges, Vikings, returned an interception thrown by Geno Smith 27 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in Minnesota's 30-24 overtime win over the New York Jets.
— Markus Kuhn, Giants, returned a fumble 26 yards for a TD in New York's 36-7 win at Tennessee.
— Darrell Stuckey, Chargers, returned a fumble 53 yards for a touchdown in a losing cause as San Diego fell 23-14 to New England.
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MILESTONES
Pittsburgh's Le'Veon Bell ran for 185 yards and caught six passes for 50 yards in the Steelers' 42-21 win at Cincinnati on Sunday, joining Walter Payton as the only players with at least 200 yards from scrimmage in three consecutive games. ... Philadelphia's LeSean McCoy set the franchise record for career yards rushing, passing Wilbert Montgomery with 6,540 yards. ... Cincinnati's Andy Dalton made Bengals history when he faked a handoff to Jeremy Hill and ran 20 yards untouched for a touchdown, the longest scoring run by a quarterback in franchise history. ... Indianapolis' Andrew Luck finished with 294 yards passing in the Colts' 24-24 win at Cleveland, giving him 12,501 yards for his career, surpassing Peyton Manning's mark for the first three seasons. ... Jacksonville's Josh Scobee became the first player in franchise history to score 1,000 points. ... Seattle held the ball for a franchise-record 41:56 in its 24-14 win at Philadelphia. ... New England's Rob Gronkowski became the first tight end in NFL history with four seasons with at least 10 touchdown receptions.
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STREAKS & STATS
Peyton Manning's streak of 51 straight games with a touchdown throw — three shy of Drew Brees' NFL record — ended in Denver's 24-17 win over Buffalo. ... With just one catch for 5 yards, Indianapolis' Reggie Wayne had his NFL record streak of consecutive games with three or more catches snapped at 82 in a 25-24 win at Cleveland. ... St. Louis shut out Washington 24-0, marking the second straight game the Rams blanked two opponents in a row and the first since 1945, when the Cleveland Rams beat the Chicago Cardinals 21-0 and the Chicago Bears 17-0. ... Eli Manning threw for 260 yards and a touchdown to help the New York Giants snap a seven-game losing streak by routing the Tennessee Titans 36-7. It was the Giants' first win since Oct. 5. ... Tennessee lost its seventh straight and 11th in 12 games — the franchise's longest slide since losing 11 straight in 1994 as the then-Houston Oilers. ... Carolina ended a six-game skid with a 41-10 rout of New Orleans. ... Minnesota's 34-20 overtime win was the first time the Vikings beat the New York Jets in eight matchups since Oct. 12, 1975. According to STATS, the only series with a longer stretch of one team beating the other was between the Jets and Philadelphia from Dec. 9, 1973. The Eagles have never lost to the Jets in nine matchups. ... New England topped San Diego 23-14 to clinch its 12th straight 10-win season, the second-longest such streak in NFL history.
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FIVE FOR NO. 1?
Oakland stunned San Francisco 24-13, and the New York Jets, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville and Tennessee all lost on Sunday, putting them all at a league-worst 2-11 and in the running for the No. 1 draft pick in April. At 3-10 after a loss to St. Louis, the Washington Redskins are just a game behind.
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DUAL THREAT
Carolina quarterback Cam Newton passed for 226 yards with three touchdowns and rushed for 83 yards with one touchdown in the Panthers' 41-10 win at New Orleans. Newton has four career games — the most in NFL history — with at least 200 yards passing, multiple touchdown passes, 80-plus yards rushing and a touchdown run. Only two others have accomplished the feat multiple times: Michael Vick (two) and Russell Wilson (two).
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HOME COOKING
Arizona defeated Kansas City 17-14 on Sunday to improve to 7-0 at home. The Cardinals' seven home wins are the most for the franchise in a single season since 1925, when the team won 11 of its 13 home games.
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THE RG3 SIX
For the pregame coin toss against Washington, St. Louis sent out all six players — Michael Brockers, Janoris Jenkins, Alec Ogletree, Greg Robinson, Stedman Bailey and Zac Stacy — who were drafted as a result of the trade the Redskins made to take Robert Griffin III in 2012. "I will always be remembered as (being a part of) that blockbuster trade," Brockers said after the Rams' 24-0 victory. "And, you know, the Rams won. The Rams won that one."
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FEELING MINNESOTA
New York Jets wide receiver Percy Harvin was booed each time his name was announced in his first game in Minnesota in more than two years after playing his first 3 1/2 seasons with the Vikings. He finished with 124 yards on six catches, including a 35-yard TD reception, before leaving the Jets' 30-24 overtime loss with an ankle injury. Fellow Jets receiver Eric Decker had six catches for 89 yards in his return to his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, where the Vikings are playing while their new stadium is being built.
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GETTING CHIPPY
New Orleans linebacker Curtis Lofton drew a personal foul for shoving Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, who appeared to incite a scuffle when he dived over the pile for a TD in the Panthers' 41-10 win Sunday. Newton's jawing and "Superman" celebration after his 2-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter drew Lofton's shove, igniting a scrum that burst through a closed gate behind the goal post and into a tunnel. Panthers tight end Brandon Williams was ejected for punching defensive end Cam Jordan. Although Lofton was flagged, he was allowed to stay in the game and said he'd respond to Newton's actions the same way "100 times out of 100."
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STANDING TOGETHER
Several St. Louis Rams players wrote the words "I Can't Breathe" on their equipment Sunday, displaying the message before and during a 24-0 win over the Washington Redskins. "I feel like we should support what we feel is right," said guard Davin Joseph, who had the words on his cleats during the pregame warmup. Some were among the group that performed a "Hands Up, Don't Shoot!" show of solidarity — and were criticized for their activism — before a home game a week earlier in the wake of a grand jury's decision not to indictment the police officer who shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The "I Can't Breathe" message references Eric Garner, who died at the hands of a New York police officer in a case that also did not get an indictment from a grand jury.
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SIDELINED
Houston wide receiver Andre Johnson left the Texans' 27-13 win at Jacksonville with a concussion. He left early in the second quarter after being hit in the head by Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith. Johnson eventually walked off the field under his own power, but later headed to the locker room for good. ... Arizona cornerback Antonio Cromartie was carted off the field with what the Cardinals first termed an Achilles tendon injury, although coach Bruce Arians later said the Achilles was "stable." ... Tennessee quarterback Zach Mettenberger sprained his right shoulder for a second week in a row and couldn't finish the Titans' 36-7 loss to the Giants. ... Washington quarterback Colt McCoy sprained his neck with two minutes remaining in the Redskins' 24-0 loss to St. Louis. Redskins running back Roy Helu Jr. left with a toe injury and never returned. ... Miami safety Louis Delmas was carted off the field in the fourth quarter of the Dolphins' 28-13 loss to Baltimore with a right knee injury. ... Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David left in the third quarter of Tampa Bay's 34-17 loss at Detroit with a possible concussion.
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SPEAKING
"I might be the most uptight guy on the defense, but even I was dancing today." — Seattle safety Earl Thomas after the Seahawks shut down the Philadelphia Eagles' high-powered offense in a 24-14 victory Sunday.
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"1945? We're about to shut out three! When's the last time we shut out three?" St. Louis defensive tackle Michael Brockers after the Rams beat Washington 24-0, the first time they have blanked two opponents in a row in 69 years. The Rams have never had three straight shutouts.
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