WEEK 7
LOOKING BACK THURSDAY’S GAME: Aaron Rodgers (left) threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns in Packers’ first contest without injured running back Eddie Lacy, who is out with an injured ankle.
THIS WEEK’S STORYLINES: Steelers begin life without Big Ben, as QB is out after knee surgery. ... Geno Smith to start at QB for Jets; Ryan Fitzpatrick benched. game previews For broadcast information on teams of area interest, check TV/radio listings.
AFC at a glance standings
East Team W L T New England 5 1 0 Buffalo 4 2 0 Miami 2 4 0 N.Y. Jets 1 5 0
Pct PF PA Home Away .833 149 91 3-1-0 2-0-0 .667 162 103 2-1-0 2-1-0 .333 118 134 2-1-0 0-3-0 .167 95 164 0-2-0 1-3-0
AFC NFC Div 4-1-0 1-0-0 1-1-0 1-2-0 3-0-0 1-1-0 2-3-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 1-3-0 0-2-0 1-0-0
South Team Houston Tennessee Jacksonville Indianapolis
W L T 4 2 0 3 3 0 2 3 0 2 4 0
Pct PF PA Home Away .667 108 127 4-0-0 0-2-0 .500 120 127 1-2-0 2-1-0 .400 101 127 1-2-0 1-1-0 .333 160 174 2-1-0 0-3-0
AFC NFC Div 3-1-0 1-1-0 2-0-0 2-2-0 1-1-0 0-1-0 1-2-0 1-1-0 1-0-0 1-3-0 1-1-0 0-2-0
North Team Pittsburgh Baltimore Cincinnati Cleveland
W L T 4 2 0 3 3 0 2 4 0 0 6 0
Pct PF PA Home Away .667 154 123 3-0-0 1-2-0 .500 117 115 1-2-0 2-1-0 .333 109 145 1-1-0 1-3-0 .000 113 176 0-2-0 0-4-0
AFC NFC Div 3-1-0 1-1-0 1-0-0 3-1-0 0-2-0 1-0-0 2-3-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-4-0 0-2-0 0-1-0
West Team W L T Pct PF PA Home Away Oakland 4 2 0 .667 152 163 1-2-0 3-0-0 Denver 4 2 0 .667 140 108 2-1-0 2-1-0 Kansas City 3 2 0 .600 109 102 2-0-0 1-2-0 San Diego 2 4 0 .333 173 155 2-1-0 0-3-0
AFC NFC Div 3-1-0 1-1-0 1-1-0 2-1-0 2-1-0 0-1-0 3-2-0 0-0-0 2-0-0 2-3-0 0-1-0 1-2-0
New York Giants (3-3) vs. Los Angeles (3-3)
Minnesota (5-0) at Philadelphia (3-2)
New Orleans (2-3) at Kansas City (3-2)
Oakland (4-2) at Jacksonville (2-3)
When: Sunday, 9:30 a.m. EDT TV: CBS Opening line: Giants by 2 1/2 Series record: Rams lead 25-15 Last meeting: Giants beat Rams 37-27, Dec. 21, 2014 Last week: Giants beat Ravens 27-23; Lions beat Rams 31-28 Notes: London calls teams from two biggest U.S. cities for first NFL game at Twickenham Stadium, ancestral home of English rugby.
When: Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT TV: Fox Opening line: Vikings by 2½ Series record: Vikings lead 13-12 Last meeting: Vikings beat Eagles 48-30, Dec. 15, 2013 Last week: Vikings had bye; Eagles lost to Redskins 27-20 Notes: Eagles have won five of past seven meetings, including playoffs. ... Vikings QB Sam Bradford was 7-7 in 14 starts for Eagles in 2015.
When: Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT TV: Fox Opening line: Chiefs by 7 Series record: Tied 5-5 Last meeting: Chiefs beat Saints 27-24, OT, Sept. 23, 2012 Last week: Saints beat Panthers 41-38; Chiefs beat Raiders 26-10 Notes: All 10 meetings between teams decided by 10 points or fewer. ... Teams last met in Kansas City in November 2008. ... Kansas City has not lost at Arrowhead Stadium since Oct. 11, 2015.
When: Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT TV: CBS Opening line: Jaguars by 2 Series record: Jags lead 4-3 Last meeting: Raiders beat Jaguars 19-9, Sept. 15, 2013 Last week: Raiders lost to Chiefs 26-10; Jaguars beat Bears 17-16 Notes: Raiders haven’t won in Florida since beating Tampa Bay in 2008. ... PK Sebastian Janikowski needs nine points to pass David Akers (1,721) for 11th on NFL’s career scoring list.
Baltimore (3-3) at New York Jets (1-5)
Washington (4-2) at Detroit (3-3)
Indianapolis (2-4) at Tennessee (3-3)
Buffalo (4-2) at Miami (2-4)
When: Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT TV: CBS Opening line: Pick-em Series record: Ravens lead 8-1 Last meeting: Ravens beat Jets 19-3, Nov. 24, 2013 Last week: Ravens lost to Giants 27-23; Jets lost to Cardinals 28-3 Notes: Baltimore looking to snap three-game losing streak, while New York on four-game skid. QB Joe Flacco missed practice Wednesday with right shoulder injury, expects to play.
When: Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT TV: Fox Opening line: Lions by 2 Series record: Redskins lead 30-13 Last meeting: Lions beat Redskins 27-20, Sept. 22, 2013 Last week: Redskins beat Eagles 27-20; Lions beat Rams 31-28 Notes: Lions have won three straight against Redskins. ... Washington has four consecutive victories this year after 0-2 start.
When: Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT TV: CBS Opening line: Pick-em Series record: Colts lead 29-14 Last meeting: Colts beat Titans 30-24, Jan. 3, 2016 Last week: Colts lost to Texans 26-23, OT; Titans beat Browns 28-26 Notes: Colts have won nine straight and 14 of last 15 in series. QB Andrew Luck is 7-0 as starter vs. Titans. ... Titans have not won three straight since Weeks 2-4 of 2011 season.
When: Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT TV: CBS Opening line: Bills by 2 1/2 Series record: Dolphins lead 58-45-1 Last meeting: Bills beat Dolphins 33-17, Nov. 8, 2015 Last week: Bills beat 49ers 45-16; Dolphins beat Steelers 30-15 Notes: Bills have won five of past six meetings against Dolphins. ... Bills have won four consecutive games by combined score of 124-53.
Cleveland (0-6) at Cincinnati (2-4)
Tampa Bay (2-3) at San Francisco (1-5)
San Diego (2-4) at Atlanta (4-2)
New England (5-1) at Pittsburgh (4-2)
When: Sunday, 1 p.m. EST TV: CBS Opening line: Bengals by 10 Series record: Bengals lead 46-39 Last meeting: Bengals beat Browns 37-3, Dec. 6, 2015 Last week: Browns lost to Titans 28-26; Bengals lost to Patriots 35-17 Notes: Bengals have won last three in series by lopsided scores: 30-0, 31-10, 37-3. Browns are off to worst start since 1999, when they went 0-7 as expansion team.
When: Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EDT TV: Fox Opening line: Buccaneers by 1 Series record: 49ers lead 17-5 Last meeting: 49ers beat Bucs 33-14, Dec. 15, 2013 Last week: Bucs had bye, beat Panthers 17-14 on Oct. 10; 49ers lost to Bills 45-16 Notes: Niners won four of past five meetings in series. ... Bucs rank second in NFL, limiting opponents to 31.1 percent conversion rate on third downs.
When: Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT TV: Fox Opening line: Falcons by 6 Series record: Falcons lead 8-1 Last meeting: Falcons beat Chargers 27-3, Sept. 23, 2012. Last week: Chargers beat Denver 21-13; Falcons lost to Seahawks 26-24 Notes: Chargers rookie TE Hunter Henry trying to extend streak of three straight games with TD catch.
When: Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT TV: CBS Opening line: Patriots by 1½ Series record: Steelers lead 15-13 Last meeting: Patriots beat Steelers 28-21 on Sept. 10, 2015 Last week: Patriots beat Bengals 35-17; Steelers lost to Dolphins 30-15 Notes: Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is out. Pittsburgh is 11-9 in games Roethlisberger has not started since 2001.
Looking ahead
fantasy watch
WEEK 8 SCHEDULE (All times Eastern) Thursday, Oct. 27 Jacksonville at Tennessee, 8:25 p.m.
n Le’Veon Bell (RB, Steelers):
AFC INDIVIDUAL statistical leaders Quarterbacks Name Att Dalton, CIN 218 Luck, IND 237 Roethlisbrgr, PIT 226 Rivers, SD 201 Carr, OAK 227 Flacco, BAL 264 Tannehill, MIA 188 Fitzpatrick, NYJ 223 Osweiler, HOU 227 Mariota, TEN 189
Com Yds 147 1757 152 1721 145 1685 135 1647 151 1608 164 1589 124 1524 127 1441 134 1402 117 1372
TD Int 6 2 11 4 16 6 12 3 12 3 5 4 6 7 5 11 8 8 10 6
Punt Returners Name No T. Hill, KC 12 J. Grant, MIA 8 Richard, OAK 8 Norwood, DEN 10 Tate, BUF 11 Ervin, HOU 13 Greene, JAC 10 Hester, BAL 9 Amendola, NE 8 Mariani, TEN 16
Yds Avg 197 16.4 118 14.8 116 14.5 108 10.8 100 9.1 114 8.8 86 8.6 65 7.2 55 6.9 110 6.9
LG TD 50 0 74t 1 47 0 17 0 31 0 18 0 42 0 20 0 19 0 17 0
Rushers Name McCoy, BUF D. Murray, TEN L. Miller, HOU Blount, NE Gore, IND Crowell, CLE S. Ware, KC T. West, BAL Gordon, SD Forte, NYJ
Att 104 114 125 119 100 83 78 88 116 102
Yds Avg 587 5.6 526 4.6 520 4.2 439 3.7 434 4.3 432 5.2 415 5.3 414 4.7 393 3.4 360 3.5
LG TD 53 6 67 4 23 1 41t 6 22 2 85t 3 46 2 35 3 48 6 28 3
Kickoff Returners Name No Hester, BAL 9 Bray, IND 9 J. Marshall, NYJ 9 Richard, OAK 8 T. Hill, KC 8 Tate, BUF 10 Mariani, TEN 11 Ervin, HOU 10 C. Grant, JAC 12 McCluster, SD 8
Yds Avg 259 28.8 231 25.7 231 25.7 198 24.8 188 23.5 235 23.5 256 23.3 226 22.6 256 21.3 165 20.6
LG TD 60 0 39 0 65 0 50 0 33 0 45 0 33 0 33 0 32 0 30 0
Receivers Name No A. Green, CIN 42 A. Cooper, OAK 36 Hilton, IND 38 Landry, MIA 41 An. Brown, PIT 41 B. Marshall, NYJ 27 Coates, PIT 19 Dem. Thms, DEN 31 Sanders, DEN 36 T. Pryor, CLE 33
Yds Avg 606 14.4 585 16.2 556 14.6 494 12.0 486 11.9 433 16.0 421 22.2 416 13.4 413 11.5 413 12.5
LG TD 54t 2 64t 1 63t 3 42t 1 38t 5 41 2 72t 2 55t 3 41t 3 44 3
Scoring Touchdowns Name TD Rush Rec Ret Gordon, SD 7 6 1 0 McCoy, BUF 7 6 1 0 Blount, NE 6 6 0 0 D. Murray, TEN 6 4 2 0 Crabtree, OAK 5 0 5 0 An. Brown, PIT 5 0 5 0 Ajayi, MIA 4 4 0 0 C.. Andrsn, DEN 4 3 1 0 Bennett, NE 4 0 4 0
Pts 42 42 36 36 32 30 24 24 24
NFC at a glance
standings
East Team Dallas Washington Philadelphia N.Y. Giants
W L T 5 1 0 4 2 0 3 2 0 3 3 0
Pct PF PA Home Away .833 159 107 2-1-0 3-0-0 .667 142 142 2-2-0 2-0-0 .600 135 78 2-0-0 1-2-0 .500 116 131 2-1-0 1-2-0
NFC AFC Div 4-1-0 1-0-0 1-1-0 2-1-0 2-1-0 2-1-0 1-2-0 2-0-0 0-1-0 2-3-0 1-0-0 1-1-0
South Team W L T Atlanta 4 2 0 Tampa Bay 2 3 0 New Orleans 2 3 0 Carolina 1 5 0
Pct PF PA Home Away .667 199 166 1-1-0 3-1-0 .400 94 142 0-2-0 2-1-0 .400 155 168 1-2-0 1-1-0 .167 161 176 1-2-0 0-3-0
NFC AFC Div 2-2-0 2-0-0 2-1-0 2-2-0 0-1-0 2-0-0 1-2-0 1-1-0 1-1-0 1-4-0 0-1-0 0-3-0
North Team Minnesota Green Bay Detroit Chicago
W L T 5 0 0 4 2 0 3 3 0 1 6 0
Pct PF PA Home Away 1.000 119 63 3-0-0 2-0-0 .667 140 123 3-1-0 1-1-0 .500 150 153 2-1-0 1-2-0 .143 111 169 1-2-0 0-4-0
NFC AFC Div 3-0-0 2-0-0 1-0-0 3-2-0 1-0-0 2-1-0 2-2-0 1-1-0 0-2-0 1-3-0 0-3-0 1-1-0
West Team W L T Seattle 4 1 0 Los Angeles 3 3 0 Arizona 3 3 0 San Francisco 1 5 0
Pct PF PA Home Away .800 105 78 3-0-0 1-1-0 .500 110 137 1-1-0 2-2-0 .500 153 104 2-2-0 1-1-0 .167 127 185 1-2-0 0-3-0
NFC AFC Div 2-1-0 2-0-0 1-1-0 3-2-0 0-1-0 2-1-0 2-1-0 1-2-0 1-1-0 1-4-0 0-1-0 1-2-0
nFC INDIVIDUAL statistical leaders Quarterbacks Name Att M. Ryan, ATL 210 Manning, NYG 233 Brees, NOR 225 Cousins, WAS 226 Stafford, DET 212 A. Rodgers, GBY 237 Prescott, DAL 182 Hoyer, CHI 200 Keenum, LA 184 Palmer, ARI 187
Com Yds 143 2075 151 1788 150 1734 147 1695 146 1648 148 1496 125 1486 134 1445 115 1417 113 1363
TD Int 15 3 8 6 14 4 9 6 14 4 13 4 7 1 6 0 7 6 7 5
Rushers Name Att E. Elliott, DAL 137 Da. Johnson, ARI 113 D. Freeman, ATL 90 Mat. Jones, WAS 89 C. Hyde, SNF 109 Lacy, GBY 71 Michael, SEA 81 Howard, CHI 73 Gurley, LA 119 Ingram, NOR 70
Yds Avg 703 5.1 568 5.0 450 5.0 433 4.9 429 3.9 360 5.1 354 4.4 352 4.8 346 2.9 272 3.9
LG TD 60t 5 58t 8 48 2 57 3 34 6 31 0 41t 4 57 1 16 3 17 1
Receivers Name J. Jones, ATL Olsen, CAR Beckham, NYG Mar. Jones, DET Jeffery, CHI K. Britt, LA Mi. Evans, TAM Cooks, NOR Fitzgerald, ARI Benjamin, CAR
Yds Avg 656 21.2 610 15.6 581 16.6 529 18.2 520 16.2 492 16.4 449 14.0 428 17.1 410 11.1 394 13.6
LG TD 75t 4 78t 2 75t 3 73t 4 54 0 47 2 45t 4 98t 3 29t 5 25 4
No 31 39 35 29 32 30 32 25 37 29
Punt Returners Name No Crowder, WAS 10 Roberts, DET 8 Sherels, MIN 11 Weems, ATL 9 Lockett, SEA 11 Royal, CHI 13 Sproles, PHL 10 A. Hmphrs, TAM 11 Austin, LA 13 Kerley, SNF 8
Yds Avg 207 20.7 142 17.8 181 16.5 138 15.3 139 12.6 153 11.8 112 11.2 118 10.7 116 8.9 69 8.6
LG TD 85t 1 85t 1 79t 2 73 0 62 0 65t 1 40 0 25 0 47 0 26 0
Kickoff Returners Name No Patterson, MIN 7 Dw. Harris, NYG 9 Weems, ATL 9 Ginn, CAR 15 De. Thmpsn, CHI 14 Roberts, DET 12 Ellington, ARI 8
Yds Avg 209 29.9 258 28.7 202 22.4 335 22.3 297 21.2 248 20.7 134 16.8
LG TD 61 0 44 0 42 0 59 0 32 0 31 0 25 0
Scoring Touchdowns Name TD Rush Rec Ret Da. Johnson, ARI 8 8 0 0 C. Hyde, SNF 6 6 0 0 D. Adams, GBY 5 0 5 0 T. Coleman, ATL 5 4 1 0 E. Elliott, DAL 5 5 0 0 Fitzgerald, ARI 5 0 5 0 Michael, SEA 5 4 1 0 Jo. Nelson, GBY 5 0 5 0 Benjamin, CAR 5 0 4 0 Crowder, WAS 5 0 3 1 t—play resulted in touchdown
Pts 48 38 30 30 30 30 30 30 24 24
Seattle (4-1) at Arizona (3-3)
Houston (4-2) at Denver (4-2)
When: Sunday, 8:30 p.m. EDT TV: NBC Opening line: Cardinals by 1½ Series record: Tied 17-17 Last meeting: Seahawks beat Cardinals 36-6, Jan. 3, 2016 Last week: Seahawks beat Falcons 26-24; Cardinals beat Jets 28-3 Notes: Russell Wilson has been sacked 10 times through five games, compared with 26 in first five games year ago. ... Cardinals playing third consecutive prime- time game.
When: Monday, 8:30 p.m. TV: ESPN Opening line: Broncos by 6 Series record: Broncos lead 3-2 Last meeting: Broncos beat Texans 37-13 on Dec. 22, 2013 Last week: Texans beat Colts 26-23 in overtime; Broncos lost 21-13 at Chargers Notes: QB Trevor Siemian 2-0 as starter at home. ... OLB Von Miller has 12½ sacks, three forced fumbles and interception in past eight games.
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Sunday, Oct. 30 Washington at Cincinnati, 9:30 a.m. Detroit at Houston, 1 p.m. Arizona at Carolina, 1 p.m. Kansas City at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. N.Y. Jets at Cleveland, 1 p.m. New England at Buffalo, 1 p.m. Seattle at New Orleans, 1 p.m. Oakland at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. San Diego at Denver, 4:05 p.m. Green Bay at Atlanta, 4:25 p.m. Philadelphia at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31 Minnesota at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
number to know
39
In Thursday’s win over the Bears, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers was 39 of 56, setting a franchise mark for completions in a game.
With QB Ben Roethlisberger out, expect Steelers to rely heavily on Bell, who leads NFL in yards from scrimmage in October games since 2013 (1,259). n David Johnson (RB, Ari-
zona): Johnson leads NFL in yards from scrimmage (132) and TDs (8) and is third in rushing (568 yards). He has 21 TDs in 22 career games. n MARCUS MARIOTA (QB,
Titans): Mariota has thrown six TD passes in past two games and run for at least 60 yards in each. He threw for 367 yards and two TDs as rookie in only start vs. Colts.