The Associated Press
SCOREBOARD
Monday, Sept. 29
New England (2-1) at Kansas City (1-2), 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN. Patriots QB Tom Brady needs 219 yards passing to become sixth in NFL history with 50,000 yards, while Andy Reid and the Chiefs will try to end a four-game losing streak at Arrowhead Stadium.
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STARS
Passing
–Andrew Luck, Colts, was 29 for 41 for 393 yards and four touchdown passes and an interception in Indianapolis’ 44-17 victory over Tennessee. He is the first player in NFL history to post consecutive games with at least 370 yards passing, four or more touchdown passes, a completion rate above 70 percent and one or no interceptions.
–Philip Rivers, Chargers was 29 for 39 for 377 yards and three touchdowns in San Diego’s 33-14 win over Jacksonville.
–Joe Flacco, Ravens, was 22 for 31 for 327 yards and three touchdowns in Baltimore’s 38-10 win over Carolina.
–Aaron Rodgers, Packers, was 22 for 28 for 302 yards for four touchdown passes in Green Bay’s 38-17 win over Chicago. Rodgers, who has 25,196 yards passing, reached 25,000 yards in 3,065 attempts, the fewest attempts in NFL history to reach the mark. Kurt Warner, who previously held the mark, reached 25,000 yards in 3,076 attempts.
–Matthew Stafford, Lions, finished 24 for 34 for 293 yards and two touchdown passes in Detroit’s 24-17 win over the New York Jets. –Tony Romo, Cowboys, hit on 22 of 29 throws for 262 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-17 rout of New Orleans.
–Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers, finished 29 for 40 for 314 yards and three touchdowns in Pittsburgh’s 27-24 loss to Tampa Bay. Roethlisberger became the 12th quarterback in NFL history to go over 35,000 yards passing.
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Rushing
–NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray, Cowboys, ran for 149 yards and two TDs, pacing Dallas past New Orleans 38-17. Murray joined Emmitt Smith as the only Dallas running backs with 100 yards in the first four games of a season, and he didn’t fumble in the first quarter for the first time this season.
–Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata, Vikings. McKinnon had 18 carries for 135 yards and Asiata had 20 carries for 78 yards and three touchdowns in Minnesota’s 41-28 win over Atlanta.
–Matt Forte, Bears, had 23 carries for 122 yards in Chicago’s 38-17 loss to Green Bay. He eclipsed 10,000 yards for his career. He has 10,037.
–Frank Gore, 49ers, had 24 carries for 119 yards in San Francisco’s 26-21 win over Philadelphia.
–Lamar Miller, Dolphins, had 12 carries for 64 yards and two touchdowns in Miami’s 38-14 win over Oakland in London.
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Receiving
–Steve Smith, Ravens, had seven catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns in Baltimore’s 38-10 win over Carolina, his former team.
–Keenan Allen, Chargers, had 10 catches for 135 yards in San Diego’s 33-14 win over Jacksonville. Teammate Eddie Royal had five receptions for 105 yards and two TDs.
–Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson, Packers. Cobb had seven catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns and Nelson had 10 catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns in Green Bay’s 38-17 win over Chicago. Cobb and Nelson are the first Packers teammates to each have at least 100 yards receiving and two touchdowns in the same game since Dec. 21, 1969 (Carroll Dale and Boyd Dowler).
–Martellus Bennett, Bears, had nine catches for 134 yards in Chicago’s loss.
–Jarius Wright, Vikings, had eight catches for 132 yards in Minnesota’s 41-28 win over Atlanta.
–Antonio Brown, Steelers, had seven catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns in Pittsburgh’s 27-24 loss to Tampa Bay.
–Reggie Wayne, Colts had seven catches for 119 yards and a touchdown in Indianapolis’ 41-17 win over Tennessee. With 1,029 receptions, Wayne passed Isaac Bruce (1,024) for the seventh-most receptions in NFL history.
–Golden Tate, Lions, had eight catches for 116 yards in Detroit’s 24-17 win over the New York Jets.
–Terrance Williams, Cowboys, hauled in six passes for 77 yards and two TDs in a 38-17 win over the Saints.
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Special Teams
–Darren Sproles and Brad Smith, Eagles. Sproles returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown and Smith recovered Trey Burton’s blocked punt for a touchdown in Philadelphia’s 26-21 loss to San Francisco.
–Nick Novak, Chargers, was 4 for 4 on field goals in San Diego’s 33-14 win over Jacksonville.
–Phil Dawson, 49ers, was 4 for 4 on field goals in San Francisco’s 26-21 win over Philadelphia.
–Blair Walsh, Vikings, was 4 for 5 on field goals in Minnesota’s 41-28 win over Atlanta.
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Defense
–J.J. Watt, Texas, returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown in Houston’s 23-17 victory over Buffalo. Watt is the second player since the merger in 1970 to have an interception return for a touchdown and a touchdown catch in the same season. Houston assistant coach Mike Vrabel did it in 2005 for New England.
__Malcolm Jenkins, Eagles returned an interception 53 yards for a touchdown in Philadelphia’s 26-21 loss to San Francisco.
–Cortland Finnegan, Dolphins, returned a fumble 50 yards for a touchdown in Miami’s 38-14 win over Oakland.
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MILESTONES
Green Bay’s 38-17 victory was the 700th regular-season win in franchise history and the Packers joined the Bears (732) as the only teams to accomplish the feat. … Rookie quarterbacks Blake Bortles of Jacksonville and Teddy Bridgewater of Minnesota each made his first NFL start today. Along with Oakland’s Derek Carr, three rookies have started at quarterback this season. It marks the fourth consecutive season (2011-14) in which at least three rookies started at quarterback in a September game. That is the longest such streak in the Super Bowl era.
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STREAKS & STATS
The Colts have won nine in a row against AFC South opponents. … The Packers have five straight wins at Soldier Field. … Jay Cutler fell to 1-10 lifetime against Green Bay, counting the postseason. … Neither the Packers nor the Bears punted in Green Bay’s 38-17 win. The only other regular-season game without a punt was between Buffalo and San Francisco on Sept. 13, 1992. … The Lions are off to a 3-1 start for the second straight season. … The Raiders have lost 10 straight dating to last season. … Blake Bortles was the fifth Jaguars QB to start a game during his rookie season. All five lost their first start. … Toby Gerhart gave Jacksonville a 7-3 lead on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter — the Jaguars’ first TD rushing since Nov. 24. … Jacksonville’s 33-14 loss to San Diego was the fifth straight game the Jaguars lost by double digits dating to last season’s finale. They’ve been outscored 152-58 this season. … The Saints lost to the Cowboys in Texas for the first time since 1991.
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SIDELINED
Teddy Bridgewater’s first NFL start ended early. The rookie passed for 317 yards and a key 2-point conversion before hurting his ankle in the fourth quarter of a 41-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons 41-28. Bridgewater was 19 for 30 with no turnovers and ran five times for 27 yards and a score, but his last carry was costly. His left foot rolled underneath him as he was sandwiched by two tacklers at the 1-yard line. … The already banged-up Falcons offensive line was decimated by injuries in the game. The Falcons lost three starting linemen in the first three quarters, forcing them to play tight end Levin Toilolo at right tackle in the fourth. Left guard Justin Blalock left in the second quarter with a back injury, right tackle Lamar Holmes went out with a right foot injury in the third quarter, and center Joe Hawley had to be taken off the field on a cart with a right leg injury at the end of the third. … Another rookie quarterback, the Raiders’ Derek Carr, injured his left ankle and knee in the third quarter of a 38-14 loss to the Miami Dolphins in London. … San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis left a 26-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles early in the third quarter with a back injury. Davis made a 5-yard catch in the flat, and as he was being pulled down by one defender he was struck in the back by another and went down in pain. He got up holding his back, then went back down before he was helped to the locker room.
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SPEAKING
“He’s worth every cent. I hope he doesn’t come in tomorrow and ask for a raise.” — Texans owner Bob McNair on defensive end J.J. Watt on his 80-yard interception return for a touchdown against Buffalo. Watt signed a six-year, $100 million contract earlier this month.
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“I was out last year, so it’s been a long time since I’ve tasted winning a game. For our football team, we needed this.” — Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith after Tampa Bay rallied for a 27-24 win over Pittsburgh.
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“At the end of the day, honestly they didn’t deserve anything I had to say that would be derogatory — and I didn’t need to. They didn’t even deserve me to spin the ball on them. I just caught it and put it down and went about my business.” — Ravens receiver Steve Smith on facing his former team, the Carolina Panthers, for the first time. Smith had seven receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-10 win.
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