Hill evokes Sayers as Chiefs win in Denver
Tyreek Hill scored touchdowns via each of the three Rs -- by rushing, receiving and on a return -- to help the Chiefs to a 30-27 overtime victory in Denver. Hill became the first NFL player to score touchdowns by each of those methods in the same game since Miami’s Freddie Solomon did it against Buffalo on Dec. 5, 1976 – forty years ago minus eight days. And the last rookie to score touchdowns by each of the three Rs in an NFL game was Gale Sayers, who actually did it twice for the Bears in 1965 – on October 17 at Minnesota and on December 12, in his NFL-record-tying six-touchdown game against the 49ers at Wrigley Field.
Another four-bagger for Brees at the Superdome
Drew Brees threw four touchdown passes in the Saints’ 49–21 rout of the Rams. It was the 22nd game in which Brees threw at least four TDs at the Superdome. That is by far the highest such total in NFL history. Only two passers had even half as many 4-TD games at one stadium as Brees does at the Superdome: Tom Brady at Gillette Stadium (13) and Peyton Manning at the RCA Dome (11).
Beckham is the King of YAC
Odell Beckham caught two touchdown passes as the Giants won their sixth straight game, 27–13 at Cleveland. Beckham ranks second with 33 TDs during his three seasons in the NFL (2014–16), but what’s truly extraordinary is his total of 11 touchdown receptions on which he has gained at least 20 yards after the catch, including one on Sunday. Over the last three seasons, only one other NFL player has scored even half as many touchdowns as Beckham on balls caught outside the 20-yard line: DeSean Jackson (6).
Six straight wins for Dolphins’ Gase and Giants’ McAdoo
The Dolphins extended their winning streak to six games with a 31–24 victory over the 49ers that was secured only when Colin Kaepernick was tackled at Miami’s 2-yard line as time expired. Adam Gase of the Dolphins and Ben McAdoo, whose Giants have won six straight, are the first NFL rookie head coaches to win six consecutive game since Jim Harbaugh led the Niners to an eight-game winning streak in 2011.
Kaepernick shines in loss to Miami
Colin Kaepernick ran for 113 yards and threw three touchdown passes in San Francisco’s loss. Marcus Mariota and Cam Newton had games with at least 100 rushing yards and three touchdown passes last season. Prior to that, there had been only three such games in NFL history, by Tobin Rote (1951), Randall Cunningham (1990), and Mike Vick (2010).
Winston’s early TDs down the Seahawks
Jameis Winston threw a pair of early touchdown passes and Tampa Bay hung on for a 14–5 win over Seattle. Winston was the first player with two first-quarter TD passes against the Seahawks since 2009. The last three players to do so were John Elway (1998), Doug Flutie (2000), and Matthew Stafford as a rookie in 2009.
Anyone start Taylor Gabriel on Sunday?
Taylor Gabriel reminded us why Fantasy Football is so difficult when he caught touchdown passes of 35 and 25 yards in the Falcons’ 38–19 win over the Cardinals. Gabriel was the first Atlanta player with two touchdown receptions in the same game this season, something Julio Jones hasn’t done in his last 24 games. Jones’ last 2-TD performance was on September 27, 2015.
To take it one step further, Gabriel was the first Falcons receiver with two touchdown receptions of 25 yards or longer in the same game since 2012, and that wasn’t Julio Jones either. Roddy White did it against the Lions four seasons ago.
Tucker’s long FGs provide margin of victory for Ravens
Justin Tucker kicked four field goals, including three of 52 yards or longer in the first half, in the Ravens’ 19–14 win over the Bengals. It was the second game this season in which field goals of at least 50 yards by Tucker accounted for Baltimore’s margin of victory. He kicked a game-winning 53-yarder in a 19–17 win at Jacksonville in September. No other NFL kicker has accounted for more than one such win this season.
A long TD and a milestone for Shady
LeSean McCoy gained 103 yards on 19 carries, including touchdowns of 75 and 7 yards, in the Bills’ 28–21 win over the Jaguars. It was the 30th time that McCoy gained at least 100 yards in an NFL game. Only three other active NFL players have at least thirty 100-yard games in the league: Adrian Peterson (49), Chris Johnson (40), and Frank Gore (40). Peterson and Johnson are on Injured Reserve.
O.J. Simpson made five touchdown runs of 75 yards or longer for the Bills (1972–76). But only five Buffalo players have done so in 40 years since then; Greg Bell did it twice and McCoy joined Fred Jackson as the only ones to do so in the last quarter-century.
Patriots’ Mitchell is another productive 4th-rounder
Dak Prescott isn’t the only fourth-round pick from the NFL’s rookie class of 2016 making an impact. Malcolm Mitchell caught a pair of touchdown passes, including the game-winner with 1:56 to play, in the Patriots’ 22–17 win over the Jets. Mitchell was the 112th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft -- Prescott was chosen 135th -- and he is only the second rookie to score a game-winning TD inside the 2-minute warning of the fourth quarter this season. The other is Prescott’s teammate, Ezekiel Elliott, against the Steelers earlier this month.
A costly oops for sure-handed Bellamy
Josh Bellamy dropped a potential game-tying touchdown pass in the end zone on a first-and-goal-to-go play in the final minute, and the Bears ultimately turned the ball over on downs, losing 27–21 to the Titans. Prior to Sunday’s game, Bellamy had caught 22 consecutive on-target passes, and Tennessee had allowed a TD on 17 of the last 22 drives on which its opponent had a first-and-goal situation.
San Diego represents the AFC West in victory at Houston
Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes and Brock Osweiler threw three interceptions in the Chargers’ 21–13 win at Houston. Teams from the AFC West have a 10–2 record against teams from the AFC South this season, and it’s been that way for a while: 30–14 since 2011, including a 15–7 mark on the road.
Raiders rally after Panthers roll
The Panthers scored 25 straight points to take a 32–24 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Raiders rallied for a late touchdown and field goal for a 35–32 win over Carolina. It was only the second victory in team history in which the Raiders allowed as many as 25 unanswered points. The first was a 42–35 win at New Orleans on Monday Night Football in 1979, with Ken Stabler besting Archie Manning.
A low point for Griffin and Paul
The Clippers shot 31 percent from the field in a 91–70 loss at Indiana. It was the team’s lowest point total in the 306 regular-season games that Chris Paul and Blake Griffin have played together. It was their largest margin of defeat with both Paul and Griffin on the floor since February 21, 2013, when the Spurs topped the Clippers, 116–90.
An important moment in Pelicania
Anthony Davis scored 36 points in the Pelicans’ 91–81 loss at Dallas. Within the last 10 days, Davis also scored 38 points against Portland, 38 against Charlotte, and 45 against Minnesota. That surge boosted his point total this month to 424, the highest by any player in any calendar month in team history. The previous record was 399 by Chris Paul in January 2009.
James gets some high-scoring help
Kyrie Irving scored 39 points in the Cavaliers’ 112–108 win at Philadelphia, four days after Kevin Love’s 40-point effort in a victory over the Portland. During the first two seasons of LeBron James’ second tour of duty with Cleveland, he played only one game in which a teammate scored as many as 39 points. Irving scored 57 points in a win at San Antonio in March 2015.
Sacramento showing signs of life on the road
The Kings routed the Nets, 122–105, at Brooklyn, and the news is that it was not Sacramento’s biggest road win of this young season. The Kings walloped the Suns, 113–94, at Phoenix on opening night. Over the previous 10 seasons, the Kings won only 13 road games by a margin of 17 points or more -- on average, one every 31 road games.
Suns’ backcourt scores big in loss to Nuggets
For the second time in this calendar year, Phoenix’ starting guards scored at least 30 points each in the same game but the Suns lost, as Eric Bledsoe scored 35 points and Devin Booker added 30 in a 120–114 loss to Denver. Booker and Brandon Knight scored 30 points each in a loss at Minnesota in March.
Those were the first games in which both Suns starting guards scored at least 30 points since 1993, when Kevin Johnson and Dan Majerle did it against the Clippers.
Anderson’s amazing resume at MSG
Craig Anderson recorded his third shutout of the season in Ottawa’s 2–0 win against the Rangers. During 14 seasons in the NHL Anderson has never played for the Rangers, but he has made Madison Square Garden a home away from home by posting a 7–1–1 record in nine regular-season games as the “World’s Most Famous Arena.”
Anderson’s clean sheet on Sunday night was his third regular-season shutout at MSG (one for Florida and two for Ottawa), tying the record for a visiting goaltender, which he now shares with Dominik Hasek and John Vanbiesbrouck. Hasek got those shutouts in three consecutive games for Buffalo at the Garden spanning the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons. Vanbiesbrouck, who posted nine regular-season shutouts at MSG for the Rangers, had one shutout there for Florida and two for Philadelphia. But Anderson is the only one of those three goaltenders with three regular-season shutout wins as a visitor at MSG, since Hasek and “the Beezer” each earned one of their three shutouts in a 0–0 tie!
Look who’s back!
Journeyman goaltender Michael Leighton, playing his first game for Carolina in seven years and only his fourth game in the NHL over the last seven seasons, recorded a 3–2 win (and an assist) for the Hurricanes against the Panthers. This was Leighton’s first NHL victory since Dec. 30, 2010, when he won a game for the Flyers against the Kings. Leighton’s gap between those wins (5 years, 333 days) is the longest between two NHL victories by any goaltender since Kay Whitmore went more than six-and-a-half years between the last two of his 60 career wins in the NHL: #59 for Vancouver on April 13, 1994 and #60 for Boston on Nov. 2, 2000.
Stolarz stars in NHL debut
Anthony Stolarz, making his NHL debut, racked up 29 saves as he recorded a 5–3 win for the Flyers against the Flames. Stolarz, who is the first player born in New Jersey to play goal in the NHL, is the fourth goaltender in the last 25 years to make his NHL debut with Philadelphia and post a win in his first game. The others to do that in the last quarter-century were Antero Niittymaki (2004), Sergei Bobrovsky (2010), and Rob Zepp (2014).
A busy Rask is an unbeatable Rask
Tuukka Rask helped to end the Bruins’ three-game losing streak by making 30 saves in Boston’s 4–1 win over the Lightning. Rask has won all seven games in which he faced 30 or more shots on goal this season and he allowed only 10 goals while doing so. That matches Rask’s career high for consecutive wins in one season in games in which faced 30-plus shots, a mark he set in 2013. Rask’s current streak is the longest within one season by a Bruins goaltender since Chad Johnson won eight straight games in which he faced 30 or more shots on goal in 2013–14.
Hellebuyck turns aside 42 shots in shutout
Connor Hellebuyck recorded his second shutout of the season in the Jets’ 3–0 victory against Nashville in which he made 42 saves, including 20 in the third period. That’s the most saves by a Jets goaltender in a shutout since the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg in 2011, and the second most in franchise history. Hellebuyck fell one short of the club record 43 saves made by Chris Mason in the Thrashers’ 1–0 win at Philadelphia on March 31, 2011. Hellebuyck also tied the NHL season high for shots faced by a goaltender in a shutout, a mark set by the Canadiens’ Carey Price with 42 saves in his 3–0 win against the Canucks on November 2.
Oilers find the Coyotes unbeatable
The Coyotes, who posted a shootout victory at Edmonton on Friday, completed a sweep of their home-and-home series against the Oilers with a 2–1 win at Glendale on Sunday. Arizona has gained at least one point from each of its last 25 games versus the Oilers (21–0–4), a streak that dates back to March 2011. This is the longest point streak by one NHL team against another since the Flyers went unbeaten in 32 consecutive games against the Kings from October 1974 to February 1983 (27 wins and 5 ties).
