Late twists & turns in Lions’ OT win at Minnesota
The Lions defeated the Vikings, 22–16, in overtime after a back-and-forth final minute of regulation. Rhett Ellison scored on a 1-yard run with 23 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to give Minnesota its first lead of the game, but Matt Prater kicked a 58-yard field goal with 2 seconds on the clock to send the game to OT. Let’s take a closer look at each of those items:
Ellison, a tight end, is the first player to score a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute of the fourth quarter on the first carry of his NFL career.
Prater’s field goal was the second longest in NFL history in the final minute of the fourth quarter that sent a game to overtime—that is, it was the last score of regulation. Prater himself had the only longer such FG, kicking a 59-yarder for Denver in an eventual 13–10 Broncos victory in 2011.
Detroit won only one other game in its history in which it fell behind in the final 60 seconds of the fourth quarter. In 1960, Earl Morrall threw a 65-yard TD to tight end Jim Gibbons on the final play of a 20–15 victory at Baltimore. Gibbons ran 35 yards after the catch producing a result that was all the more stunning since the Colts had taken the lead just 14 seconds earlier when Johnny Unitas threw a 38-yard TD pass to Lenny Moore.
Blair Walsh of the Vikings missed a potential score-tying PAT after Kyle Rudolph’s touchdown in the third quarter. It was the second consecutive week on which a player missed an extra point in an eventual overtime loss. Roberto Aguayo of the Bucs did that against the Raiders last week.
The Cowboys’ rookies can’t be stopped
Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes and Ezekiel Elliott ran for two TDs as the Cowboys’ rookie fueled a 35–10 rout at Cleveland. There was only one other game in NFL history in which rookie teammates did that—one throwing three TDs and the other scoring twice on the ground—and it was played 68 years ago.
On November 21, 1948, Charlie Conerly and Ray Coates were the rookies in question as the Giants routed the Packers, 49–3. Conerly, of course, played 14 seasons in the NFL, all with the Giants. But Coates’ career lasted two seasons, and he scored only one other TD. That game, played at State Fair Park in Milwaukee, remains the worst home loss in Packers’ history.
A winnable game turns into a rare Packers loss at Lambeau
The Packers gained more yards than the Colts and Indianapolis committed two turnovers to Green Bay’s one, but the Colts managed a 31–26 victory. It was only the Packers’ second loss at Lambeau Field in a game in which they outgained their opponent by at least 50 yards and won the turnover battle. Green Bay’s record in those games is 56–2–1; the other loss was to Detroit last November.
Manning goes 4-for-4 vs. Eagles
Eli Manning threw four touchdown passes in the Giants’ 28–23 win over the Eagles. It was the fourth time that Manning tossed four or more TDs in one game against Philadelphia. The record for games with as many as four TD passes against one team is six, by Tom Brady against Buffalo.
A factor in Philadelphia’s loss was its three failed conversions of fourth-down plays. The Eagles hadn’t turned the ball over on downs three times in one game since a 35–13 loss to the Colts in 2002.
Gordon tops Week 9 rushing list
Melvin Gordon gained 196 yards on 32 carries in the Chargers’ 43–35 victory over the Titans. That is Week 9’s highest rushing total heading into the Monday night game between Buffalo and Seattle. Since LaDainian Tomlinson left San Diego following the 2009 season, there has been only one week on which a Chargers player had the highest rushing total, and it wasn’t a very impressive one. Ryan Mathews captured weekly honors with a 110-yard performance against Jacksonville on Week 7 in 2013.
Kaepernick betters Brees on paper, Saints top Niners on scoreboard
Colin Kaepernick passed for 398 yards, compared to 323 for Drew Brees, and he also scored two touchdowns. But the Saints led most of the way in a 41–23 victory over the 49ers. That’s how it goes with Brees, who has played in 35 games in which both he and an opposing player passed for at least 300 yards. Brees’ team has dominated those games, with a 24–11 record.
Murray’s 3 TDs lead Raiders to win over Broncos
Latavius Murray gained 114 yards on 20 carries, including three 1-yard touchdowns, in the Raiders’ 30–20 victory over the Broncos. In the 112 regular-season meetings between these teams, Murray is only the second Raiders player with three rushing TDs in one game. The first was Darren McFadden in 2010, and he also caught a touchdown pass in that game.
Incidentally, the only other Raiders player with three 1-yard TD runs in the same game was Booker Russell against the Chargers in 1979.
Ravens start fast with long TD pass
Joe Flacco connected with Mike Wallace on a 95-yard pass play at 1:07 of the first quarter, sparking the Ravens’ 21–14 win over the Steelers. That was the longest touchdown pass in the first two minutes of a game since 1977, when Steve Odom of the Packers scored on a 95-yard pass from Lynn Dickey after 99 seconds. It was Green Bay’s only score of the game, as the Vikings rebounded to win, 19–7
Foles does a great impersonation of Alex Smith in Chiefs’ win
Nick Foles, starting in place of Alex Smith, played the role of understudy perfectly, passing for 189 yards without throwing an interception in the Chiefs’ 19–14 win over the Jaguars. Smith, now in his 12th NFL season, has started and won 25 games in which he passed for less than 200 yards but avoided throwing an INT. No other player has even 20 such wins since Smith entered the NFL in 2005.
Drake saves the day with game-winning kickoff return
Kenyan Drake scored on a 96-yard kickoff return with 5:15 remaining to give the Dolphins a 27–23 win over the Jets. That was the latest game-winning KOR-TD since 2003, when Dante Hall scored a tie-breaking 97-yard TD with 5:08 to play in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs’ 17–10 win at Baltimore. Drake had returned only two kickoffs prior to Sunday’s game in this his rookie season.
California was “NFL Central” on Sunday
The Panthers scored an early touchdown then held on, relying on its defense in a 13–10 victory at Los Angeles. Carolina has now won nine of its last 12 regular-season games in the Pacific time zone, dating back to 2004—a frustration, to be sure, for Panthers fans who are all too aware that Carolina is 0–3 in postseason games on the West Coast, including last February’s loss to the Broncos in Super Bowl X at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
For the first time since 1988, there were four NFL games played on one date in the same state—California, in this case (as it was five times previously). You might be surprised to learn that two other states hosted four NFL games in one day: Illinois in 1920, with two games at Chicago, one at Rockford, and one at Rock Island; and Ohio in 1922, at Dayton, Akron, Toledo, and Canton.
Hayward displays midseason form in debut
Gordon Hayward, who missed Utah’s first six games with a broken right ring finger, scored 28 points to lead the Jazz to a 114–109 win over the Knicks. Over the last 30 seasons, only three other players scored that many points in a delayed season opener, which we will define here as players who missed their team’s first five games. The others were Keith Bogans (28 points in 2004), Antawn Jamison (31 points in 2009), and Kevin Love (34 points in 2012).
Nuggets fall just short of record first half at Boston
The Nuggets outscored the Celtics, 77–52, in the first half and cruised to a 123–107 victory at TD Garden in Boston. Denver fell one point short of the first-half record for visiting teams against the Celtics. That mark was set by the Nets in 1985 and matched by Denver in a 148–140 loss in 1990. Both of those games were played at Boston Garden.
McCollum and Lillard scoring big again this season
C.J. McCollum matched his career high with 37 points as the Trail Blazers defeated the Grizzlies, 100–94. That boosted McCallum’s scoring average 21.4 points per game, putting him and teammate Damian Lillard (32.0 PPG) on a very early pace for another 20/20 season. Last season, McCollum and Lillard became the first backcourt partners in Blazers history to average at least 20 PPG in the same season.
With scoring at a premium, Mavs dominate OT
The Mavericks outscored the Bucks, 12–1, in overtime to secure an 86–75 victory. And that was a fitting ending to a game that featured the lowest-scoring second half in any of the 70 games between those teams, dating back to 1980, when the Mavs were a first-year expansion team. Dallas and Milwaukee combined for 62 points in the second half on Sunday night. The previous low was 67 points in the second half of an 83–62 Bucks win on November 22, 1997.
Cammalleri scores a hat trick, naturally
Mike Cammalleri scored the first natural hat trick in the NHL this season when he gave the Devils a 3–0 lead in an eventual 4–1 win against the Hurricanes. Cammalleri is the first Devils player to score three consecutive goals in one game since Zach Parise scored the first three goals in a 4–0 win versus the Canadiens on Nov. 30, 2007. (That’s also the only other time a Devils player scored the first three goals of a game.) Cammalleri’s natural hat trick was only the second one for the Devils franchise in a road game. John Madden scored three unanswered goals in a 4–1 Devils win at Washington on Feb. 5, 2003.
Rangers find a new streaky goal-scorer
Kevin Hayes extended his goal-scoring streak to four games when he opened the scoring in the Rangers’ 5–2 win over the Jets. Hayes is the first Rangers player other than Rick Nash to score goals in each of four consecutive team games in one season since Carl Hagelin had a four-game goal streak in February 2013. Nash has done that six times since then (two five-game and four four-game streaks).
The Rangers have won five straight games and scored at least five goals in each game. This is the first time that the Blueshirts have scored five or more goals in each of five consecutive games since they set a franchise record with a nine-game streak during the 1978–79 season. The Rangers’ top goal scorers during that nine-game stretch were Ulf Nilsson (9 goals), Ron Duguay (7), Phil Esposito (6), and Anders Hedberg (6). Ooh, la, la!
Shattenkirk scores big from Blues’ backline
Kevin Shattenkirk became the first NHL defenseman with two three-point games this season, assisting on three goals in the Blues’ 5–1 win over the Avalanche. Shattenkirk, who tallied one goal and two assists in the Blues’ victory at Chicago on opening night, has accounted for each of the last seven instances of a St. Louis defenseman recording three points or more in a game (two in 2011–12, three in 2014–15, and the two this season).
Oilers say goodbye to Joe
Tyler Pitlick and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the goals for the Oilers in their 2–1 win over the Red Wings in Detroit, which marked Edmonton’s final visit to Joe Louis Arena. Going into play on Sunday the Oilers were winless in 10 games at “the Joe” (0–7–3) since their last victory in that building (Dec. 2009), and they had recorded only three regulation-time wins there since 1994.
Anisimov extends his point-scoring streak
Artem Anisimov scored one goal and assisted on Marian Hossa’s overtime game-winner in the Blackhawks’ 4–3 victory over the Stars. Anisimov didn’t register a goal or an assist in Chicago’s first two games this season, but he has at least one point in each of the Blackhawks’ 11 games since then (8 goals, 9 assists). The 11-game point streak for Anisimov, a Russian native, is the longest by a Blackhawks player born outside North America since Ivan Boldirev scored points in each of Chicago’s first 12 games in the 1974–75 season.