AROUND THE LEAGUE
STARS
PASSING
-Peyton Manning, Broncos, was 22 of 30 for 305 yards and three
touchdowns in Denver's 34-14 victory over New Orleans.
-Tom Brady, Patriots, finished 23 for 35 for 304 yards and four
touchdown passes in New England's 45-7 win over St. Louis. Brady joined
Brett Favre (72), Peyton Manning (67) and Dan Marino (62) as the only
NFL players with 50 games of at least three TD passes. It was also the
50th 300-yard passing game of his career.
-Matthew Stafford, Lions, was 34 for 49 for 352 yards with three
touchdown passes and an interception in Detroit's 28-24 win over
Seattle.
-Matt Ryan, Falcons, was 22 for 29 for 262 yards and three touchdown
passes in Atlanta's 30-17 win over Philadelphia.
-Andrew Luck, Colts, finished 26 for 38 for 297 yards and a TD and
interception in Indianapolis' 19-13 overtime win over Tennessee. Luck,
the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, has led the Colts to a 4-3 record,
the highest winning percentage (.571) by a rookie QB who was a No. 1
overall pick through Week 8 in NFL history.
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RUSHING
-Stevan Ridley, Patriots, had 15 carries for 127 yards and a touchdown
in New England's 45-7 win over St. Louis.
-Trent Richardson, Browns, had 24 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown
in Cleveland's 7-6 win over San Diego. Richardson has five touchdowns
rushing, the most by a Browns' rookie in the team's first eight games
since 1969 (Ron Johnson, five).
-Willis McGahee, Broncos, ran for 122 yards and a score in Denver's
34-14 win over New Orleans.
-Darren McFadden, Raiders, finished with 29 carries for 114 yards in
Oakland's 26-16 victory over Kansas City.
-Jonathan Dwyer, Steelers, finished with 17 carries for 107 yards in
Pittsburgh's 27-12 win over Washington.
-Marshawn Lynch, Seahawks, had 12 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown
in Seattle's 28-24 loss to Detroit.
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RECEIVING
-Jason Witten, Cowboys, finished with 18 catches, tied for third most
in NFL history, for 167 yards in Dallas' 29-24 loss to the New York Giants.
-Rob Gronkowski, Patriots, had eight receptions for 146 yards and two
touchdowns in New England's 45-7 win over St. Louis.
-Miles Austin, Cowboys, had nine catches for 133 yards in Dallas' 29-24
loss to the New York Giants.
-Julio Jones, Falcons, had five catches for 123 yards and a touchdown
in Atlanta's 30-17 win over Philadelphia.
-Steve Smith, Panthers, finished with seven catches for 118 yards in
Carolina's 23-22 loss to Chicago.
-Cecil Shorts, Jaguars, had eight catches for 116 yards in
Jacksonville's 24-15 loss to Green Bay.
-Dez Bryant, Cowboys, had five catches for 110 yards in Dallas' 29-24
loss to the New York Giants.
-Titus Young, Lions, had nine catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns
in Detroit's 28-24 win over Seattle.
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DEFENSE
-Tim Jennings, Bears, returned one of his two interceptions 25 yards
for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of Chicago's 23-22 win over
Carolina.
-Greg Hardy and Louis Murphy, Panthers, Murphy recovered a fumble for a
touchdown and Hardy had three sacks in Carolina's 23-22 loss to Chicago.
-Jason Pierre-Paul and Stevie Brown, Giants, Pierre-Paul returned an
interception 28 yards for a touchdown and Brown had two interceptions
and a fumble recovery in New York's 29-24 win over Dallas.
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SPECIAL TEAMS
-Dezman Moses, Packers, recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a
touchdown in Green Bay's 24-15 win over Jacksonville.
-Olivier Vernon, Dolphins, recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for
a touchdown; also blocked a field goal in Miami's 30-9 win over the New York Jets.
-Justin Medlock, Panthers, was 5 for 5 on field goals in Carolina's
23-22 loss to Chicago.
-Lawrence Tynes, Giants, was 5 for 5 on field goals in New York's 29-24
win over Dallas.
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STATS
The Chiefs are the first team since at least 1940 to go through their
first seven games without a lead, according to STATS LLC. ... The New England Patriots amassed 473 total yards in the 45-7 win over St. Louis
in the NFL's game in London. The Patriots have posted at least 350
total yards in 17 consecutive games, surpassing the Rams (1999-2000)
for the longest such streak in NFL history. New England also became the
first team to win two games in London. ... The Bears are the first team
in NFL history to return six interceptions for touchdowns through the
first seven games of a season. ... Matt Ryan is 15-0 (4-0 in 2012) when
he throws at least three touchdown passes in a game. Only Daryle
Lamonica (19-0) has a better record in games with at least three
touchdown passes. ... Aaron Rodgers was 22 of 35 for 186 yards and two
touchdowns, which moved him past Bart Starr into second place on the
Green Bay career list with 153. Brett Favre holds the Packers record
with 442 TDs. Donald Driver appeared in his 200th regular season game,
joining Favre as the only Packers to accomplish the milestone. ... The
Titans' Matt Hasselbeck was 22 of 29 for 236 yards with a TD pass that
was the 200th of his career making him the 32nd player in NFL history
to reach that mark. ... Rob Bironas is the Titans franchise career
leader with 201 field goals. Al Del Greco had 200 for the
Oilers-Titans. ... The Falcons won in Philadelphia for the first time
since Oct. 30, 1988, and Falcons coach Mike Smith moved past Dan Reeves
into first place on the club's all-time list with 50 wins. The win gave
Ryan his 50th regular season win as a starter and tied Ben Roethlisberger for the second-fewest starts (69) to reach the milestone
among active players. New England's Tom Brady reached 50 regular season
wins in 65 starts.
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STREAKS
The Atlanta Falcons (7-0) are off to their best start in franchise
history. ... The Packers' 24-15 win over Jacksonville was their third
straight win and 16th in their past 17 games at Lambeau Field. ... The
Panthers have lost five straight. ... The Jaguars have dropped four in
a row. ... The Chiefs have also lost four in a row. ... The Chargers
have dropped three straight. The Eagles have also lost three in a row
and also lost after a bye for the first time in 14 games under coach
Andy Reid since 1999. ... Jacksonville's Josh Scobee has made 20
straight field goals, tying Mike Hollis' franchise record. ... The
Colts have beaten Tennessee in seven of eight overall and seven of the
past 10 in Nashville. ... Jets LB Bart Scott had his streak of 119
consecutive games played end because of a toe injury that has bothered
him since the previous time the teams played in Week 3.
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SIDELINED
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was injured on the Miami Dolphins' second
possession of the game. The Indianapolis Colts lost cornerback Vontae
Davis to a sprained left knee on the Tennessee Titans' opening drive.
At least Tannehill and Davis got to celebrate wins - Kansas City
quarterback Brady Quinn got hurt in the first half of the Chiefs' 26-16
loss to the Oakland Raiders. Miami turned to Matt Moore after Tannehill
injured his left knee and quadriceps muscle on a sack by Calvin Pace.
Davis went down defending Chris Johnson on a run during Indianapolis'
19-13 overtime victory at Tennessee. He stayed on the field for a
couple minutes before walking off. He was replaced by Cassius Vaughn.
Quinn was hit hard on a sack by Rolando McClain on the Chiefs' third
possession, and then took another shot when he threw an interception
off his back foot. Matt Cassel came into the game for the Chiefs' next
series. The team said Quinn had a ''head injury.''
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SPEAKING
''We're 7-0 over here baby. If I was over there now, they have to go to
work.'' - Falcons cornerback Asante Samuel on his former team, the
Eagles, after Atlanta's 30-17 win over Philadelphia (3-4).
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