SCOREBOARD
Monday night, Dec. 24
Denver (6-8) at San Diego (9-5). San Diego clinched the AFC West last week, has won four straight and is outscoring opponents 130-55 over that stretch.
STARS
Passing
-Kurt Warner, Cardinals, was 36-of-53 for 361 yards and three touchdowns to lead Arizona to a 30-27 victory in overtime.
-Peyton Manning, Colts, was 28-of-35 for 311 yards and three touchdowns with a rating of 132.3 in Indianapolis’ 38-15 win over Houston.
-Donovan McNabb, Eagles, threw for 263 yards and three TDs and ran for 37 yards to lead Philadelphia to a 38-23 victory at New Orleans.
-Chris Redman, Falcons, had 315 yards passing, including two touchdowns in a losing cause as Atlanta fell to Arizona 30-27 in overtime.
-Damon Huard, Chiefs, took over for an injured Brodie Croyle and threw for 305 yards and two TDs in Kansas City’s 25-20 loss.
Rushing
-Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs, Giants, combined for 296 yards rushing as New York clinched a playoff berth with a 38-21 win at Buffalo. Bradshaw had 151 yards and a TD on 17 carries, while Jacobs gained 145 yards and two scores on 24 carries.
-Laurence Maroney, Patriots, had 156 yards on 14 carries as New England improved to 15-0 with a 28-7 win over Miami.
-Fred Taylor, Jaguars, had 111 yards and a touchdown on seven carries in Jacksonville’s 49-11 rout of Oakland for his fifth consecutive 100-yard day.
-Kenny Watson, Bengals, ran for 130 yards and a score in Cincinnati’s 19-14 win over Cleveland.
-Dominic Rhodes, Raiders, rushed for 115 yards on 27 carries in Oakland’s 49-11 loss to Jacksonville.
Receiving
-Anquan Boldin, Cardinals, had 13 catches for 162 yards and two touchdowns in Arizona’s 30-27 overtime victory over Atlanta.
-Jerricho Cotchery, Jets, had 152 yards receiving and a TD on eight receptions, but New York lost 10-6 at Tennessee.
-Reggie Wayne, Colts, caught 10 passes for 143 yards and a score in Indianapolis’ 38-15 rout of Houston.
-Roddy White, Falcons, had 12 receptions for 141 yards in Atlanta’s 30-27 overtime loss at Arizona.
-Tony Gonzalez, Chiefs, caught 10 passes for 137 yards in Kansas City’s 25-20 loss at Detroit.
Special Teams
-Corey Graham, Bears, recovered Charles Tillman’s block of a punt at the Packers 7 and ran it in for a touchdown in Chicago’s 35-7 rout of Green Bay.
-Neil Rackers, Cardinals, kicked three field goals, including the winning 31-yarder, and three extra points in Arizona’s 30-27 overtime win over Arizona. His 29-yarder as regulation expired forced OT.
-Casey FitzSimmons, Lions, blocked a punt for a safety in Detroit’s 25-20 win over Kansas City.
-Martin Gramatica, Saints, kicked three field goals and two extra points in New Orleans’ 38-23 loss to Philadelphia.
Defense
-Brian Urlacher, Bears, returned an interception for a TD for the first time in his career, an 85-yard return, in Chicago’s 35-7 win over Green Bay.
-Paris Lenon, Lions, scored on a 61-yard interception return in Detroit’s 25-20 win over Kansas City.
-Kawika Mitchell, Giants, had two sacks and returned an interception 20 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in New York’s 38-21 win at Buffalo.
-Kyle Vanden Bosch, Titans, had three of Tennessee’s six sacks in a 10-6 victory over the New York Jets.
-Chinedum Ndukwe, Bengals, had two interceptions and 10 tackles, including eight solo, in Cincinnati’s 19-14 win over Cleveland.
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PERFECT PATRIOTS
New England set an NFL record with its 15th win, 28-7 over Miami, and is one win from becoming the first team to finish a regular season undefeated in 35 years. If the Patriots beat the New York Giants at the Meadowlands next Saturday night, then go unbeaten in the postseason to finish 19-0, they’ll join the Dolphins as the only teams to post a perfect record from opening day until the clock in the championship game runs out.
CATCHING ON
Arizona’s Anquan Boldin became the fastest to reach 400 catches in NFL history. He had 13 receptions in the Cardinals’ 30-27 overtime victory over Atlanta, allowing him to surpass 400 career catches in his 67th game. The previous quickest was Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow, who did it in 72.
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MILESTONES
Tony Gonzalez had 10 receptions for 137 yards in Kansas City’s 25-20 loss at Detroit, giving him 23 100-yard games in his career to trail only Kellen Winslow’s total of 24 among tight ends in NFL history. … With six catches, two for TDs, Indianapolis’ Dallas Clark surpassed John Mackey’s single-season franchise marks for tight ends in both categories. Clark has 57 catches and 11 TDs. Mackey’s bests were 55 receptions and nine TDs. … Marshawn Lynch finished with 70 yards rushing in Buffalo’s 38-21 win over the New York Giants to give him 1,010 this season, becoming the fourth Bills rookie to break the 1,000-yard plateau, and first since Greg Bell had 1,100 in 1984. … Cincinnati’s Shayne Graham kicked his 29th and 30th field goals, passing Doug Pelfrey for the Bengals record.
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STREAKS
Detroit’s 25-20 win over Kansas City snapped the Lions’ six-game losing streak and extended the Chiefs’ skid to eight. It’s Kansas City’s worst slump since losing nine in a row in 1987.
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CLOSING IN
New England’s Tom Brady has 48 touchdown passes, one shy of Peyton Manning’s NFL record of 49 set in 2004 and tied with Dan Marino’s production in 1984. Randy Moss reached 21 touchdown receptions, one less than Jerry Rice’s mark of 22 set in 12 games in 1987, a strike year. The Patriots also tied their NFL record of 18 consecutive regular-season wins set in 2003-04, and broke the league mark of 70 touchdowns in one season by the 1984 Dolphins, reaching 71 before Miami finally scored in New England’s 28-7 victory.
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SWINGS
After starting the game on Seattle’s bench, Shaun Alexander had his best game since Week 4, gaining 73 yards on 13 carries in the Seahawks’ 27-6 win over Baltimore. He sat on the bench in a hooded parka during Seattle’s first two drives, watching backup Maurice Morris run the plays.
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STATS
Chicago’s 35-7 win over Green Bay gave the Bears a season sweep of the Packers, and the 35 points were their most against Green Bay since a 61-7 win on Dec. 7, 1980. … With Detroit’s 25-20 victory, the Lions improved to 7-8, giving them the most victories they’ve had in any of the seven seasons under team president Matt Millen. Detroit also guaranteed it won’t be the first NFL team to finish 6-10 after winning six of its first eight games.
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SO CLOSE
Michael Clayton landed out of bounds with his catch on a 2-point conversion attempt with 1:20 left in San Francisco’s 21-19 victory over Tampa Bay. Clayton’s foot was clearly out of bounds when he came down with the pass, and San Francisco recovered the onside kick.
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SLOPPY
Green Bay had gone 12 years and 929 punts without a block before Darrell McClover knocked one down in the second quarter on Chicago’s 35-7 victory. More damaging was Charles Tillman’s block midway through the third quarter. Corey Graham recovered at the 7 and ran it in for a 28-7 lead. … Cleveland’s Derek Anderson threw four interceptions, two setting up rapid-fire touchdowns, in a 19-14 loss to Cincinnati. … New York’s Eli Manning went just 7-of-15 for 111 yards with two interceptions and two lost fumbles in the Giants’ 38-21 win at Buffalo.
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STEPPING IN
Baltimore’s Troy Smith, the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner, completed 16 of 33 passes in his first NFL start, a 27-6 loss at Seattle. It took Smith’s 79-yard TD pass to Derrick Mason with 4:41 left for Baltimore to avoid its first shutout since Sept. 15, 2002.
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SPECIAL GUEST
Kevin Everett addressed his Bills teammates before their game against the New York Giants in his first visit to Buffalo since sustaining a severe spinal cord injury in the season opener against Denver on Sept. 9. Everett is now walking on his own while continuing his rehab in Houston. It’s a remarkable recovery for someone doctors initially feared would never walk again.
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SCORING
Indianapolis scored on six of its first eight possessions and had 38 consecutive points in a 38-15 rout. … Jacksonville has scored at least 24 points in nine consecutive games and gained at least 400 yards in five straight, both team records.
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MOVING THE CHAINS
The Colts had a season-high 458 yards, tied the second-most first downs in a game in franchise history with 33 and three running backs helped produce Indy’s first 100-yard rushing day since Thanksgiving night in a 38-15 rout of Houston.
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DOUBLE TROUBLE
Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw combined for 296 yards rushing as New York clinched a playoff berth with a 38-21 win at Buffalo. The Giants finished with 291 yards rushing, their most since they had 351 on Nov. 29, 1959, against Washington. Jacobs gained 145 yards and two scores on 24 carries, while Bradshaw had 151 yards and a TD on 17 carries.
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SACKS
Houston’s Mario Williams sacked Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning in the second quarter of the Texans’ 38-15 loss, his sixth straight game with a sack. … Pro Bowler Kyle Vanden Bosch had three of Tennessee’s six sacks as the Titans beat the New York Jets 10-6. Vanden Bosch now has 12 for the season.
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ROAD WARRIORS
The Giants (10-5) won their seventh straight road game to establish a single-season franchise record with a 38-21 win at Buffalo. They also avoided what could’ve been a must-win finale against the league’s top team, the Patriots, at home, where they’re 3-4.
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SIDELINED
Kansas City quarterback Brodie Croyle left the Chiefs’ 25-20 loss at Detroit with an injured right hand. Also in that game, Lions running back Kevin Jones hurt his right knee, an injury coach Rod Marinelli said was “pretty serious.” … Baltimore running back Willis McGahee broke two ribs on a hit in the first quarter of the Ravens’ 27-6 loss to Seattle.
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SPEAKING
“I’ve been playing 17 years, and that was the worst condition I’ve ever played in. Excuse? No excuse. It was, but they handled it better than we did. We have historically handled it well. It’s kind of our ace in the hole, but today, obviously, it wasn’t.” – Green Bay’s Brett Favre after the Packers’ 35-7 loss at Chicago, where the gametime temperature was 16 degrees with a gusty wind.