SCOREBOARD
Monday night, Oct. 15
N.Y. Giants (3-2) at Atlanta (1-4). New York has won three straight, while the Michael Vick-less Falcons have had one of the league’s worst offenses.
STARS
Passing
-Tom Brady, Patriots, was 31-of-46 for 388 yards and a career-high five touchdowns in a 48-27 win over previously unbeaten Dallas. He leads the league with 21 touchdown passes, and has at least three in every game this season.
-Vinny Testaverde, Panthers, became the oldest starting quarterback to win a game, throwing for 206 yards and a touchdown in a 25-10 victory over Arizona. The 43-year-old Testaverde signed with Carolina on Wednesday.
-Derek Anderson, Browns, was 18-of-25 for 245 yards and connected with Braylon Edwards on three touchdown passes in a 41-31 victory over the Dolphins. Anderson also ran for a score.
-Jeff Garcia, Buccaneers, threw for 274 yards and a touchdown in a 13-10 win over the Titans. Garcia has five touchdowns and no interceptions through six games.
-David Garrard, Jaguars, threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-17 rout of Houston. Garrard has not thrown an interception this season.
-Damon Huard, completed 25 of 35 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns without an interception in a 27-20 victory over Cincinnati.
Rushing
-Adrian Peterson, Vikings, rushed 20 times for a franchise-record 224 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-31 victory over the Bears. He had gained 383 yards on 76 carries and a touchdown through the first four games.
-LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers, matched his career high with four touchdowns, rushing for 198 yards on 24 carries in a 28-14 win over the Raiders.
-Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars, ran 12 times for 125 yards and two scores as Jacksonville piled up 244 yards rushing in a 37-17 victory over the Texans. Jones-Drew finished with 260 all-purpose yards.
-DeAngelo Williams, Panthers, ran 10 times for 121 yards and a touchdown in a 25-10 win over the Cardinals. His 75-yard scamper late in the game sealed it.
-Larry Johnson, Chiefs, carried 31 times for 119 yards and a touchdown in a 27-20 win over the Bengals. He rushed nine times for 12 yards the previous week in a loss to Jacksonville.
-Ronnie Brown, Dolphins, rushed for 101 yards in a 41-31 loss to the Browns. He joins Ricky Williams as the only Miami players to gain at least 100 yards rushing in four straight games.
Receiving
-Wes Welker, Patriots, caught 11 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-27 win over the Cowboys. Donte Stallworth also caught seven passes for 136 yards and a touchdown.
-Kevin Curtis, Eagles, caught five passes for 121 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown in the first quarter of a 16-9 victory over the Jets.
-Braylon Edwards, Browns, caught five passes for 67 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-31 win over the Dolphins.
-Steve Smith, Panthers, had 10 receptions for 136 yards and the go-ahead 65-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter of a 25-10 win over Arizona.
-T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Bengals, caught eight passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-20 loss to the Chiefs.
-Kevin Walter, Texans, grabbed 12 passes for 160 yards in a 37-17 loss to Jacksonville.
Special Teams
– Ryan Longwell, Vikings, kicked a pair of fields, the second a career-long 55-yarder with no time left that gave Minnesota a 34-31 win over the Bears.
-Matt Stover, Ravens, kicked five field goals in a 22-3 victory over the Rams.
-Devin Hester, Bears, returned a punt 89 yards for a first-quarter touchdown in a 34-31 loss to the Vikings. It was the third kick return this season for Hester, who also caught an 81-yard touchdown pass that tied it with 1:38 left.
-Matt Bryant, Buccaneers, kicked a game-winning 43-yard field goal in a 13-10 win over the Titans. Bryant also kicked a 23-yarder to open the scoring.
Defense
-Charles Woodson, Packers, had an interception and returned a fumble 57 yards for the go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter of a 17-14 victory over the Redskins.
-Sean Taylor, Redskins, had two interceptions and forced a fumble in a 17-14 loss to the Packers. Taylor has four picks this season and 11 since joining the league in 2004.
-Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips, Chargers, combined for 4 1/2 sacks in a 28-14 win over the Raiders. San Diego had six total sacks.
-Deke Cooper, Panthers, had his first two interceptions of the season in a 25-10 win over Arizona. Cooper had only three picks in his previous 62 games, 26 of them starts.
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MILESTONES
LaDainian Tomlinson’s four TD runs moved him past John Riggins for fifth on the career TDs rushing list with 106. … Tom Brady’s five TD passes tied a franchise record and gave him an NFL mark with at least three in each of the first six games of the season. … Tony Gonzalez caught a 3-yard pass in the first quarter of the Chiefs’ 27-20 win over the Bengals, breaking the record of 62 touchdown receptions for a tight end set by Shannon Sharpe from 1990-03. Gonzalez added another TD catch in the fourth quarter. … Brett Favre was intercepted for the 278th time in the Packers’ 17-14 win over Washington, surpassing George Blanda for the career record. … At 43 years and 335 days old, Vinny Testaverde became the oldest starting quarterback to win a game in NFL history. He was the third oldest to start a regular-season game, behind only Steve DeBerg and Warren Moon.
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STREAKS
The Dolphins have lost a franchise-record nine consecutive games, including six straight on the road. … The Bengals have lost four straight and are 1-7 since starting 8-5 last season. … The Rams are 0-6 for the first time since 1962, when the franchise was in Los Angeles. … The Eagles improved to 8-0 all-time against the Jets, and are 9-0 under Andy Reid in games following bye weeks. … The Raiders have lost 16 consecutive games to teams in their own division, and eight straight to the Chargers. … The Patriots have won all six games this season and nine in a row over two regular seasons.
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STATS
… The Patriots had 28 first downs in a 48-27 win over the Cowboys. Dallas committed 12 penalties, four resulting in New England first downs. … A week after rushing for 17 yards in a loss to Indianapolis, the Bucs were held to 30 on the ground. This time, they won, 13-10 vs. Tennessee.
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SWINGS
Instant replay overturned two interceptions by Tampa Bay’s Ronde Barber. He did pick up a fumble, only to fumble it during the return. The Buccaneers went on to win 13-10. … Tampa Bay, at 4-2, has already matched last season’s victory total. … The Browns’ Jerome Harrison had 57 yards on eight carries in 41-31 win over Miami, after totaling just 60 yards in his previous 11 NFL games. … Houston appeared to go ahead of Jacksonville 10-0 on Matt Schaub’s 10-yard pass to Andre’ Davis in the first quarter. Replays showed Davis fumbled just before the goal line and the call was overturned. The ball bounced out of bounds for a touchback, and the Jaguars rolled to a 37-17 win. … The Jets are 1-5 after going 10-6 last season. … The Vikings won a road game against the Bears for the first time since 2000.
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SLOPPY
Rams quarterback Gus Frerotte, in place of injured Marc Bulger, threw five interceptions and lost a fumble in a 22-3 loss to the Ravens. … The Packers fumbled four times, but didn’t lose any of them in a 17-14 win over Washington. … The Bengals committed two 15-yard penalties to set up the Chiefs’ 32-yard field goal on their first possession. … Raiders quarterback Daunte Culpepper was intercepted twice, lost a fumble and was sacked six times. … Tim Rattay was 12-of-24 for 159 yards with three interceptions in the Cardinals’ 25-10 loss to Carolina. He also fumbled twice, but recovered both times, after getting summoned to replace the injured Kurt Warner.
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SACKS
Shawne Merriman had 2 1/2 sacks, Shaun Phillips had two more, and the Chargers had six total in a 28-14 win over Oakland. … Jared Allen had 2 1/2 of the Chiefs’ four sacks in a 27-20 victory over the Bengals. Allen has six sacks in four games since returning from a suspension. … Four Ravens registered sacks against Rams quarterback Gus Frerotte in a 22-3 victory. … Aaron Kampman had two of the Packers’ three sacks in a 17-14 win over Washington. … Julius Peppers had 1 1/2 sacks, forced two fumbles and recovered one in the Panthers’ 25-10 victory over Arizona. Peppers had no sacks going into the game. … Dallas sacked Patriots quarterback Tom Brady three times, as many as he’d been sacked all season.
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SIDELINED
Vince Young left the Titans’ 13-10 loss to Tampa Bay with a quadriceps injury. He limped off after being pushed out of bounds while scrambling midway through the third quarter and didn’t return. … Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner sprained his left elbow in the first quarter against Carolina. He was replaced by Tim Rattay, the Cardinals’ only backup. … Patriots running back Sammy Morris left after taking a hard hit to the chest, and tight end Benjamin Watson sustained an ankle injury against Dallas. … The Redskins’ beat-up offensive line lost right tackle Todd Wade and center Casey Rabach to groin injuries.
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SPEAKING
“When you run the ball for nine-point-something yards a carry in this league, you’re kicking somebody’s tail. That was ours they were kicking.” – Texans coach Gary Kubiak after allowing Jacksonville 244 yards on 26 carries in a 37-17 loss.
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“We knew they was wounded. We smelled blood and we went after it.” – Baltimore defensive end Terrell Suggs after forcing Rams quarterback Gus Frerotte into six turnovers in a 22-3 win.
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“My experience is that when you get completely sick and tired of the feeling we have right now, then things will change.” – Coach Cam Cameron after the Dolphins’ ninth straight loss.
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“Jeff Garcia never gets rattled. All he needs is one more shot, and if you give him one more shot, he’s capable of doing what he did.” – Coach Jon Gruden after Garcia led upstart Tampa Bay to a 13-10 win over Tennessee.
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“I’m glad it’s over, just like the other records. We’re 5-1, so it feels a lot better than having no picks and being 1-5.” – Brett Favre after the Packers quarterback set the career interceptions record in a 17-14 victory over Washington.