SCOREBOARD
Monday, Jan. 10
Baltimore at Cincinnati, 7 p.m. EDT
Willis McGahee makes his debut with the Ravens, who let Jamal Lewis leave as a free agent after going 13-3 last season. Chad Johnson, Carson Palmer and Bengals are trying to return to the playoffs.
Arizona at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m. EDT
A matchup of high-profile QBs Alex Smith (the first overall pick in 2004) and former USC star Matt Leinart (taken 10th the following year) who have become off-field buddies.
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STARS
Passing
-Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers, threw a career-high four TD passes in Pittsburgh’s 34-7 win at Cleveland.
-Jake Delhomme, Panthers, finished 18-for-27 for 201 yards and three TDs in Carolina’s 27-13 win over St. Louis.
-Jay Cutler, Broncos, completed 23 of 39 passes for a career-high 304 yards in Denver’s 15-14 win at Buffalo.
– Jon Kitna, Lions, 27-for-36 for 289 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in Detroit’s 36-21 win over Oakland.
– Matt Schaub, Texans, went 16-of-22 for 225 yards and a TD in Houston’s 20-3 win over Kansas City.
Rushing
-Chris Brown, Titans, ran for 175 yards in Tennessee’s 13-10 win over Jacksonville.
-Shaun Alexander, Seahawks, playing pain-free for the first time since he broke his foot 12 months ago, ran for 105 yards and a TD in Seattle’s 20-6 victory over Tampa
-Clinton Portis, Redskins, had 17 carries for 98 yards and a TD in Washington’s 16-13 overtime defeat of Miami.
-Rookie Adrian Peterson, Vikings, rushed for 103 yards on 19 carries and turned a catch out of the backfield into a 60-yard TD in Minnesota’s 24-3 win over Atlanta.
-Willie Parker, Steelers, rushed for 109 yards in Pittsburgh’s 34-7 win over Cleveland.
-Travis Henry, Broncos, rushed for 139 yards in Denver’s 15-14 win over Buffalo.
Receiving
-Randy Moss, Patriots, who caught nine passes for 183 yards and a TD in his New England debut, a 38-14 win over the New York Jets.
-Antwaan Randle El, Redskins, had five catches for 162 yards in Washington’s 16-13 overtime win over Miami.
-Andre Johnson, Texans, had seven catches for 142 yards and a TD in Houston’s 20-3 win over Kansas City.
-Drew Carter and Steve Smith, Panthers. Carter had TD catches of 10 and 9 yards and Smith had seven catches for 118 yards and a TD in Carolina’s 27-13 win over St. Louis.
– Ronald Curry, Raiders, had 10 catches for 133 yards and a 4-yard score in Oakland’s 36-21 loss to Detroit.
Special Teams
– Ellis Hobbs, Patriots, set a record with a 108-yard kickoff return in New England’s 38-14 win over the New York Jets.
– Jason Elam, Broncos, kicked his third field goal of the day, a 42-yarder as time expired to give Denver a 15-14 win at Buffalo.
– Mason Crosby, Packers, made a 42-yard field goal with 2 seconds left to give Green Bay a 16-13 victory over Philadelphia.
– Shaun Suisham, Redskins, kicked a 39-yard field goal 5:36 into overtime for a 16-13 win over Miami.
-Roscoe Parrish, Bills, had a 74-yard punt return in Buffalo’s 15-14 loss to Denver.
Defense
-Dewayne White, Lions, intercepted Raiders QB Josh McCown, and later stripped him and recovered a fumble to set up a 14-yard score by Tatum Bell that iced Detroit’s 36-21 win in Oakland.
-Mario Williams, Texans, returned a fumble for a touchdown and had two sacks to help Houston to a 20-3 win over Kansas City.
-E.J. Henderson and Kevin Williams, Vikings. Henderson had two of Minnesota’s six sacks of Atlanta QB Joey Harrington and Williams returned an interception 54 yards for in the Vikings’ 24-3 win.
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MILESTONES
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin started off with the kind of bruising victory that typified Bill Cowher’s tenure in the Steel City. Cowher went 21-5 against the Browns, but Tomlin did something even his iron-jawed predecessor couldn’t: beat Cleveland in his first meeting as the Steelers cruised to a 34-7 win. … Brett Favre tied John Elway’s record for career victories by a starting quarterback with 148 in Green Bay’s 16-13 win over Philadelphia. … New England’s Ellis Hobbs tied an NFL record by taking the second-half kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown Sunday against the New York Jets. His return is one of the three longest plays in NFL history, along with Devin Hester’s 108-yard runback of a missed field goal for Chicago last year and Nathan Vasher’s 108-yard return of a miss the year before. … Mason Crosby kicked a field goal with 2 seconds left to give Green Bay a 16-13 win over Philadelphia. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Crosby is the first rookie kicker to win a game with a field goal on opening day since Matt Bahr did it for Pittsburgh on Sept. 3, 1979 in overtime. … Norv Turner came away a winner in his debut as Chargers head coach, beating Chicago 14-3 to raise his overall head coaching record with three teams to 59-82-1.
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STREAKS
Tom Brady continued his mastery of the Jets, improving to 7-0 against them at Giants Stadium, and 11-2 overall in starts against New York in New England’s 38-14 win over the Jets. … Browns coach Romeo Crennel has lost all five of his games against Pittsburgh after the Browns’ 34-7 loss. Cleveland had its eighth straight loss and 14th in 15 to the Steelers. … Ronald Curry’s 4-yard TD catch with 3:49 left in the third quarter of Oakland’s 36-21 loss to Detroit ended a stretch of 232 minutes, 44 seconds without a touchdown for the Raiders, dating to last season.
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STATS
LaDainian Tomlinson of San Diego threw a 17-yard TD pass and ran for another score in the Chargers’ 14-3 win over Chicago. It was Tomlinson’s seventh career TD pass. … The 183 yards receiving by Randy Moss in the Patriots’ 38-14 win over the New York Jets were third most in his career. He had 190 as a rookie in 1998 for Minnesota in Green Bay, and 204 a year later in Chicago. … Sebastian Janikowski missed three long field goals in the first half of Oakland’s 36-21 loss to Detroit, just the third time in his career he missed three in a game. … Raiders coach Lane Kiffin, 32, became the youngest man to coach a game in the NFL since Harland Svare took over the Los Angeles Rams as a 31-year old in 1962.
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SWINGS
aught nine passes for 183 yards, including a 51-yard TD, in the Patriots’ 38-14 win over the New York Jets. … Tennessee rushed for 282 yards in a 13-10 win over Jacksonville, setting franchise records for both teams. Jacksonville’s previous high allowed was 246 yards against Seattle in 2005, and the Jaguars were fourth in the NFL, yielding just 1,460 yards on the ground last season.
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STINGY AND SLOPPY
the Chiefs’ 20-3 loss to Houston.
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SACKS
Pittsburgh sacked Browns QBs Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson six times in a 34-7 win … Minnesota overwhelmed Atlanta QB Joey Harrington with six sacks and two interception returns for touchdowns. … Last year’s first overall draft pick, Mario Williams, had two sacks for Houston in a 20-3 win over Kansas City. … After finishing last season without a sack, Minnesota DE Kenechi Udeze got one on the game’s final play and was given the game ball for his effort.
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SIDELINED
Buffalo’s Kevin Everett had surgery hours after the Buffalo Bills tight end showed no signs of movement after sustaining a severe neck injury in the team’s opener against Denver. Bills spokesman Scott Berchtold said he was informed by the team’s medical staff that Everett went into surgery at a Buffalo hospital at about 8 p.m. Berchtold said he had no further information, and didn’t know whether Everett had shown any signs of movement since he was driven off the field in an ambulance. … Tampa Bay QB Jeff Garcia and RB Carnell Williams left Sunday’s 20-6 loss to Seattle in the third quarter after hits. Garcia later returned. … Washington RT Jon Jansen broke his right ankle early in the second quarter of the Redskins’ 16-13 overtime win over Miami. … St. Louis OT Orlando Pace hurt his right shoulder in a 27-13 opening loss to Carolina. He will have an MRI exam Monday.
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SPECIAL TASKER
Buffalo honored former receiver and special teams star Steve Tasker as the 24th member of the Bills’ Wall of Fame on Sunday. Tasker was inducted in a halftime ceremony at Ralph Wilson Stadium during the Bills’ 15-14 loss to Denver.
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SPEAKING
“I didn’t even think about kneeling that ball. We’re taking them all out. They pay me to make plays. They don’t pay me to take knees. This isn’t college. This isn’t high school. We’re in the NFL. They pay me to return the ball and guys in front of me to block. Why not give them something to celebrate and enjoy?” – New England’s Ellis Hobbs after he set an NFL record with a 108-yard kickoff return in the Patriots’ 38-14 win over the New York Jets.
“This was a championship-type game. This was a game we didn’t win last year. L.T.’s not going to rush for 170 yards every game. It’s about winning.” – San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers after the Chargers beat Chicago 14-3.
“I’m going to look back at this game down the road and this is going to be one of my favorites. Out of all the kicks I’ve had, I’ve never had a scenario like that.” – Broncos K Jason Elam, who ran onto the field and made a 42-yard field goal as the clock ticked down for a 15-14 win over Buffalo.