SCOREBOARD
Monday night, Dec. 17
Chicago (5-8) at Minnesota (7-6). The Vikings have won five in a row and are allowing 70.7 yards rushing per game, best in the NFL. The Bears have looked nothing like defending conference champs.
STARS
Passing
-Drew Brees, Saints, connected on 26 of 30 (86.7 percent) passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns in New Orleans’ 31-24 win over Arizona.
-David Garrard, Jaguars, threw three TD passes and went 17-of-33 for 197 yards to lead Jacksonville over Pittsburgh 29-22.
-Cleo Lemon, Dolphins, threw for 315 yards and a TD in overtime to give Miami its first win of the season, 22-16 over Baltimore.
-Peyton Manning, Colts, was 22-for-38 for 276 yards and a TD to lead Indianapolis to a 21-14 win over Oakland.
-Vince Young, Titans, passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns to lead Tennessee over Kansas City 26-17.
Rushing
-Fred Taylor, Jaguars, rushed for 147 yards and scored the decisive TD in Jacksonville’s 29-22 win at Pittsburgh.
-Jamal Lewis, Browns, rushed for 163 yards in Cleveland’s 8-0 win over Buffalo.
-Darren Sproles and LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers. Sproles rushed for 122 yards and a TD and Tomlinson had 116 yards on 15 carries and two scores in San Diego’s 51-14 rout of Detroit.
-Laurence Maroney, Patriots, ran for 104 yards to help New England become the second 14-0 team in NFL history with a 20-10 win over the New York Jets.
-Steven Jackson, Rams, had 143 yards on 23 carries in St. Louis’ 33-14 loss to Green Bay.
Receiving
-Marques Colston, Saints, had 114 yards receiving and a TD in New Orleans’ 31-24 win over Arizona.
-Greg Camarillo, Dolphins, had the first TD catch of his career, a 64-yard scamper after a short pass in overtime to give Miami its first win of the season 22-16 over Baltimore.
-Roydell Williams, Titans, had two TDs among his four catches for 94 yards to help Tennessee beat Kansas City 26-17.
-Brian Westbrook, Eagles, had nine catches for 63 yards to help Philadelphia upend the Cowboys in Dallas 10-6.
Special Teams
-Micheal Spurlock, Buccaneers, got the first kick return for a TD in Tampa Bay history, going 90 yards to spark a 37-3 rout of Atlanta.
-Phil Dawson, Browns, kicked two field goals in blizzard-like conditions to help Cleveland to an 8-0 win over Buffalo.
-Mason Crosby, Packers, was 4-for-4 from 44, 50, 25 and 46 yards in Green Bay’s 33-14 win over St. Louis.
-Rob Bironas, Titans, kicked four field goals to lead Tennessee to a 26-17 win over Kansas City.
-David Akers, Eagles, made a 21-yard field goal in the fourth quarter of Philadelphia’s 10-6 win at Dallas, making him the franchise scoring leader with 884 points.
-T.J. Rushing, Colts, scored on a 90-yard punt return to help Indianapolis beat Oakland 21-14.
Defense
-Antonio Cromartie, Chargers, broke a 46-year-old team record with his 10th interception of the season in San Diego’s 51-14 win over Detroit.
-Ronde Barber, Buccaneers, returned an interception 29 yards for a TD in Tampa Bay’s 37-3.
-Atari Bigby, Packers, had two interceptions in Green Bay’s 33-14 at St. Louis. Linebacker Nick Barnett was in on 13 tackles and had two sacks.
-Thomas Howard, Raiders, intercepted his sixth pass of the season in Oakland’s 21-14 loss to , the most for a LB since Baltimore’s Ray Lewis had six in 2003.
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ANOTHER RECORD
ecords, throwing his 421st TD pass. He topped John Elway’s career record for victories by a starting quarterback with his 149th at New York on Sept. 16.
COUNT IT
The Miami Dolphins finally won a game, beating Baltimore in overtime 22-16 thanks to a break and a big play. After Matt Stover missed a 44-yard field goal in the extra period, Miami’s Greg Camarillo turned a short completion into a 64-yard touchdown, helping the Dolphins (1-13) avoid matching the worst start in NFL history. Cam Cameron finally earned his first victory as an NFL head coach, 11 months after taking the job.
CLINCHED
San Diego repeated as AFC West champion by beating Detroit 51-14 for its fourth straight win and eighth in 10 games. … Tampa Bay won the NFC South for the second time in three seasons, beating Atlanta 37-3 to make it five straight seasons that the team winning the division finished last the previous year.
SNOW MEN
Cleveland’s 8-0 win over Buffalo was the first 8-0 game in the NFL since Nov. 10, 1929, when the Chicago Cardinals beat the Minneapolis Red Jackets. The Browns scored on two field goals by Phil Dawson in windy, blizzard-like conditions, and got a safety when a snap went over the head of punter Brian Moorman and he kicked it off the field to keep the Browns from recovering.
MILESTONES
Facing rain, wind and chilly gusts above 20 mph, New England became the second team in NFL history to go 14-0, beating the New York Jets 20-10 and clinching home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. … It took 32 seasons and 1,865 tries for the Buccaneers to finally score on a kickoff return, when Micheal Spurlock returned a first-quarter kick 90 yards for a TD in Tampa Bay’s 37-3 win over Atlanta. A total of 141 players have run back kicks since Tampa Bay’s inaugural season in 1976. The previous long for a return was 86 yards by Aaron Stecker against New Orleans in 2001. … Buffalo lost to Cleveland 8-0, failing to score for the first time since the 2003 season finale. … Jason Witten, coming off a Cowboys-record 15 receptions, caught eight passes for 113 yards in a 10-6 loss to Philadelphia and became the first Dallas tight end to go over 1,000 yards receiving in a season.
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STREAKS
score in the fourth quarter, falling to Tennessee 26-17.
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STATS
Laurence Maroney ran for 104 yards in the Patriots’ 20-10 win over the New York Jets, just the fourth time this season a New England rusher surpassed 100. … The Packers (12-2) are 6-1 on the road after winning 33-14 at St. Louis. … One week after becoming the first Saints player to rush for 100 yards this season, Aaron Stecker finished with 95 yards rushing and two touchdowns to go with 46 yards receiving in New Orleans’ 31-24 win over Arizona. … Fred Taylor, who ran for 147 yards in Jacksonville’s 29-22 win over the Steelers, is the first opposing back to run for 100 yards in Pittsburgh since Cincinnati’s Rudi Johnson gained 123 yards on Oct. 3, 2004, a span of 30 games. … Jacksonville QB David Garrard threw three TD passes in the Jaguars’ 29-22 win over Pittsburgh. He has 16 TD passes and two interceptions this season.
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SWINGS
ina’s 13-10 win over Seattle. The Panthers had lost six of seven games, while the Seahawks were riding a five-game winning streak a week after they wrapped up the NFC West title. … Tom Brady didn’t throw a touchdown pass for the first time this season in New England’s 20-10 win over the New York Jets.
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SLOPPY
Detroit’s Jon Kitna tied his career high with five interceptions. Three came in the span of six plays in the first half, leading to 17 points, as the Lions lost their sixth in a row, 51-14 to San Diego. … Baltimore’s Matt Stover missed a 44-yard field goal in overtime, allowing Miami to get its first win of the season when Greg Camarillo turned a short completion into a 64-yard touchdown, and the Dolphins beat the Ravens 22-16. … With Arrowhead Stadium about half-empty on a sunny, chilly afternoon, Kansas City closed out its worst home season in 30 years, falling to 2-6 after a 26-17 loss to Tennessee. The 1977 team was 1-6 in a 14-game season at home.
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SACKS
s to get to Brodie Croyle even once on the icy turf despite losing 26-17 to Tennessee. … Donovan McNabb was sacked four times, but Philadelphia beat Dallas 10-6. … Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck was sacked three times in the Seahawks’ 13-10 loss to Carolina.
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SIDELINED
New York Jets quarterback Kellen Clemens was slammed to the turf by Richard Seymour, landed on his arm and sustained what he called a rib injury on his only pass of the day – which was returned for a TD by Eugene Wilson. … Baltimore LB Ray Lewis was forced out of Sunday’s game at Miami because he dislocated a finger on his left hand and QB Kyle Boller sustained a concussion in the Ravens’ 22-16 overtime loss at Miami. … Raiders RB Justin Fargas left in the fourth quarter of Oakland’s 21-14 loss to the Colts with what he described as a sprained MCL in his right knee, but not before he gained 89 yards on 26 carries. He has 1,009 yards for the season. While coach Lane Kiffin said he feared the injury was to the ACL, Fargas said it was a much less serious MCL injury. He will undergo an MRI exam on Monday to make sure.
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SPEAKING
“Actually, when they stopped the game my first reaction was ‘What happened?’ A penalty or something like that.” – Brett Favre, who set the NFL record for yards passing on the first play of a fourth-quarter drive with a 7-yard slant to Donald Driver.
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“When you’re a kid, you dream of playing in a game like this. Today was the Turkey Bowl or the Christmas Bowl in the backyard when you’re wiping snow out of your eyes. This is why I came home, not for the elements, but to play in big games like this.” – Browns wide receiver Joe Jurevicius, who grew up just east of Cleveland after the Browns beat Buffalo 8-0 in a near blizzard.
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“We’re too far along to feel good because we played the world champs down on the 14-yard line to win the game Who cares? We lost. We got to start winning these games. Some day we’ll be that team that makes the plays and finishes people off like that.” – Raiders coach Lane Kiffin after Oakland lost to Indianapolis 21-14.