Indianapolis’ Adam Vinatieri set the record as the NFL’s top all-time scorer in the first half of the Colts’ 42-28 win at Oakland. He kicked a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter to tie Morten Andersen with 2,544 points and then added a 25-yarder late in the second to set the record. Vinatieri scored three more points, giving him 2,550 for his career. ... Ben Roethlisberger’s second TD pass to Antonio Brown in Pittsburgh’s 33-18 win over Cleveland moved him past Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton (342) on the career list. Eli Manning (346) is seventh. Peyton Manning holds the record with 539 TD passes. Roethlisberger and Brown have combined for 67 TDs, tied for seventh-most in league history. Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne also had 67 scores. ... Kansas City’s 30-23 win over Denver gave coach Andy Reid his 201st victory, tying Dan Reeves for eighth-most in NFL history. ... Tampa Bay’s DeSean Jackson caught a 60-yard touchdown pass in a 37-34 loss at Cincinnati, moving him ahead of Jerry Rice for the NFL record. He has 24 TDs of at least 60 yards. It also was Jackson’s 29th career TD of at least 50 yards, tying Randy Moss for second-most since the 1970 merger behind Rice’s 36. ... Larry Fitzgerald’s 112th career touchdown catch, coming in Arizona’s 18-15 win over San Francisco, moved him past Tony Gonzalez alone into seventh on the NFL career list.
STREAKS & STATS
Cleveland has lost 25 consecutive road games, one shy of the NFL record held by the Detroit Lions (2007-10). ... Carolina’s Graham Gano extended his streak to 39 consecutive field goals made at home — and 28 straight overall — after connecting from 54, 44 and 30 yards in the Panthers’ 36-21 win over Baltimore. ... Kansas City failed to score on its initial drive for the first time all season, but went on to beat Denver 30-23. ... Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker had a streak of 61 consecutive PATs snapped in the first half of Kansas City’s win. ... Tampa Bay’s Jason Pierre-Paul had a pair of sacks in the Buccaneers’ 37-34 loss at Cincinnati, giving him at least one in six straight games to tie Simeon Rice for the most consecutive games with a sack in team history. ... Oakland’s Derek Carr scored on a 1-yard sneak on fourth down in the third quarter of a 42-28 loss to Indianapolis. It was his first career touchdown run, and Oakland hadn’t had a quarterback run for a TD since Terrelle Pryor scored on a 93-yard run against Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2013. Only the Chargers had gone longer without a TD run for a QB.
STARTS
The Los Angeles Rams remained the NFL’s lone unbeaten team at 8-0 with a 29-27 win against Green Bay to extend their best start to a season since 1969. ... Washington defeated the New York Giants 20-13 to improve to 5-2, its best start since 2008.
SOMBER DAY
The Steelers overcame a slow start and their own mistakes to win their 15th straight at Heinz Field over the Cleveland Browns, 33-18 on Sunday. The victory delivered a few hours of comfort to Pittsburgh’s fans and Western Pennsylvania still in shock a day after a gunman stormed into the Tree of Life Synagogue and killed 11 people. A moment of silence was observed before the game and several signs with the Steelers’ helmet logo — inlaid with a Star of David — were displayed by fans. The shooting was felt by all Pittsburghers, and was close to the Steelers. Michele Rosenthal, the team’s former community relations manager, had two brothers, Cecil and David, killed in the attack.
STILL GOING STRONG
Washington’s Adrian Peterson had 149 yards rushing and two touchdowns — one rushing, one receiving — in the Redskins’ 20-13 win against the New York Giants. At 33 years and 221 days old, Peterson is the oldest player in NFL history to record at least 100 yards rushing and both a rushing and receiving touchdown in a single game. With a 64-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, Peterson joined Steve Bono (76 yards, 1995), Rocky Bleier (70, 1979) and Jim Thorpe (80, 1921) as the only players to run for a TD run of at least 60 yards at 33 or older. He’s also the fourth player with at least 140 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in a single game at 33 or older, joining John Henry Johnson (200 yards, three TDs, 1964), John Riggins (140, one TD, 1984) and DeAngelo Williams (143, two TDs, 2016).
IN THE CARDS
Arizona’s Josh Rosen threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to fellow rookie Christian Kirk with 34 seconds to play to rally the Cardinals to an 18-15 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in a matchup of teams with two of the worst records in the NFL. The Cardinals (2-6) beat the 49ers (1-7) for the eighth straight time and second time in three weeks. Arizona got two fourth-quarter touchdown passes from Rosen after the 49ers had built a 15-3 lead. Rosen’s 13-yard pass to Larry Fitzgerald cut the lead to 15-10 with 11:06 to play. Fitzgerald also caught a 2-point conversion pass after Kirk’s TD.
LAST IN LONDON
Philadelphia’s 24-18 win over Jacksonville, played before a record, pro-Eagles crowd of 85,870 fans, was the last of three played at Wembley this season. The Jaguars, who have played at the venue since 2013, have a contract to hold one game there annually through the 2020 season.
SLINGIN’ IT
Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes became the fourth player in NFL history to throw at least four touchdown passes in three consecutive games, joining New Orleans’ Drew Brees (three straight in 2011), Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning (five, 2004) and Miami’s Dan Marino (four, 1984). Mahomes also joined Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck (eight straight in 2014) and Brees (seven, 2011) as the only player with seven consecutive games with at least 300 passing yards in a single season.
SEATTLE SURPRISE
To seal Seattle’s 28-14 victory at Detroit, punter Michael Dickson ran out of his end zone and gained 9 yards on a fourth-and-8 from the Seattle 3 on a play that was designed for him to take a safety. “He went against all traditions and everything, but he saw the situation and he took advantage of it,” coach Pete Carroll said. “It was truly a surprise.”
WINSTON’S WAYWARD THROWS
Jameis Winston was benched in Tampa Bay’s 37-34 loss at Cincinnati after matching his career high with four interceptions, the third time he’s thrown so many in his career. He has thrown 10 interceptions, one fewer than all last season. “I’m definitely the reason we came up short with this game, and I know that I have to fix it,” said Winston, who was 18 of 35 for 276 yards with five sacks. Winston went to the bench, and Ryan Fitzpatrick pulled Tampa Bay even with a 72-yard touchdown to Mike Evans , his fifth TD pass of at least 50 yards this season — most in the NFL, and an 18-yard TD to O.J. Howard and completing another pass for the conversion with 1:05 left. Winston has thrown at least two interceptions in five straight games, tied for the most since 1990. His 13 interceptions over that span are tied with Fitzpatrick for the most in a five-game stretch over the past five seasons.
+SHIELDS SHINES
Sam Shields made several big plays for the Los Angeles Rams against his former team. The veteran defensive back caught a pass from Johnny Hekker on a fake punt, and he later downed a punt at the Green Bay 1 to set up the Rams’ defense for its safety in a 29-27 win. Shields played seven seasons with the Packers before his fourth concussion in 2016 nearly ended his career, but he returned to the NFL with the Rams this season.
SHOWING SUPPORT
Demonstrators gathered outside the Panthers’ stadium in support of Carolina safety Eric Reid and his protest against social and racial injustice. The organization, known as Serve The People-Charlotte, held signs and chanted on a sidewalk near the stadium before the game against the visiting Ravens, then gathered at a nearby street to take a knee just before kickoff. About 50 people participated in the protest outside the stadium, while Reid was taking a knee on the Carolina sideline inside during the national anthem.
SIDELINED
Philadelphia offensive tackle Lane Johnson injured his left knee on the Eagles’ opening drive and did not return to the team’s 24-18 win over the Jaguars in London on Sunday. Cornerback Jalen Mills injured his foot a minute into the third quarter and missed the rest of the game. ... Kansas City wide receiver Tyreek Hill appeared to tweak his groin on a long catch early in the game and he left late in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs’ 30-23 win over Denver. ... Chicago guard Kyle Long had to be helped off the field in the closing minutes with an injured right foot, putting a damper on a 24-10 victory over the New York Jets. ... Bengals guard Clint Boling hurt his back late in the first half and defensive end Carl Lawson hurt his right knee in Cincinnati’s 37-34 win over Tampa Bay. Buccaneers running back Ronald Jones II suffered a hamstring injury in the second half. ... The 49ers lost two important defensive players in their 18-15 loss to the Cardinals: Linebacker Reuben Foster left early with a hamstring injury and safety Jaquiski Tartt was knocked out with a shoulder injury. ... Washington offensive tackle Trent Williams left the Redskins’ 20-13 win over the New York Giants with a dislocated thumb.
SPEAKING
“We’re thankful for a victory, but we also understand that there are bigger things. There’s life. I’m glad that we could give people maybe three hours of a break of maybe not thinking about it all the time, and that’s what sports does sometimes is it helps you to kind of heal. But it’s over and people are going to celebrate and enjoy this, but reality still sets in for a lot of people.” — Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after a 33-18 win over the Cleveland Browns brought temporary comfort to Pittsburgh’s fans and Western Pennsylvania still in shock a day after a gunman stormed into the Tree of Life Synagogue and killed 11 people.
“I had a heavy heart today. My oldest son Devin didn’t want to come to the game today. My feelings were a little hurt. So I was carrying that around all day so when I got in there (the end zone), I kind of let it out. So all the kids that are watching, I’m sorry, I set a bad example today.” — Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald on spiking the football after his 2-point conversion in the Cardinals’ 18-15 win over San Francisco. His son went to a state fair instead of his game.
