Stars
Passing
Peyton Manning, Broncos, was 22-for-35 for 403 yards with five touchdown passes and two interceptions in Denver’s 35-28 win over Kansas City. Manning has won his first 10 division starts with the Broncos and joins Kurt Warner (11) as the only players since the 1970 merger accomplish the feat. Manning leads the NFL with 4,125 yards passing, the most through the first 12 games of a season. He recorded his 13th career 4,000-yard season, extending his record for the most in NFL history. Drew Brees ranks second with seven 4,000-yard seasons. The game was Manning’s eighth career game with at least five touchdown passes, tied with Brees for the most in NFL history.
Tom Brady, Patriots, was 29-for-41 for 371 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception in New England’s 34-31 win over Houston.
Josh McCown, Bears, was 23 for 36 for 355 yards with two touchdown passes in Chicago’s 23-20 overtime loss to Minnesota.
Rushing
Adrian Peterson, Vikings, had 35 carries for 211 yards in Minnesota’s 23-20 overtime win over Chicago. He surpassed 10,000 yards for his career in just 101 games, needing the third-fewest games behind Eric Dickerson and Jim Brown. Peterson is one of only five players in NFL history to rush for at least 10,000 yards in his first seven seasons, joining Dickerson (11,226), LaDainian Tomlinson (10,650), Barry Sanders (10,172) and Emmitt Smith (10,160).
Ben Tate, Texans, had 22 carries for 102 yards and three touchdowns in Houston’s 34-31 loss to New England.
C.J. Spiller, Bills, had 15 carries for 149 yards and a touchdown in Buffalo’s 34-31 overtime loss to Atlanta.
Matt Forte, Bears, had 23 carries for 120 yards in Chicago’s 23-20 overtime loss to Minnesota.
Receiving
Josh Gordon, Browns, had 10 catches for 261 yards and two touchdowns in Cleveland’s 32-20 loss to Jacksonville. He became the first player in NFL history to record 200 yards receiving in consecutive games.
Alshon Jeffery, Bears, had 12 catches for 249 yards and two touchdowns in Chicago’s 23-20 overtime loss to Minnesota.
Eric Decker, Broncos, had eight catches for 174 yards and four touchdowns in Denver’s 35-28 win over Kansas City.
Roddy White, Falcons, had 10 catches for 143 yards in Atlanta’s 34-31 overtime win over Buffalo.
Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, Patriots. Gronkowski had six catches for 127 yards and a touchdown. Edelman added nine catches for 101 yards in New England’s 34-31 win over Houston.
Brian Hartline, Dolphins, had nine catches for 127 yards and a touchdown in Miami’s 23-3 win over the New York Jets.
Special Teams
Knile Davis, Chiefs, returned a kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown in Kansas City’s 35-28 loss to Denver.
Adam Vinatieri, Colts, tied a career high with five field goals in Indianapolis’ 22-14 win over Tennessee. His fifth field goal also equaled Jason Elam’s NFL record with a 16th 100-point season. He joined Morten Andersen as the only players to score 800 points with two teams. He is also the 10th player in league history to make four 40-yard field goals in a game.
Stephen Gostkowski, Patriots, made a pair of 53-yard field goals in the fourth quarter of New England’s 34-31 win over Houston.
Blair Walsh, Vikings, was 3 for 4 on field goals, including a 34-yarder in overtime in Minnesota’s 23-20 win over Chicago.
Defense
Julius Peppers, Chicago, had 2½ sacks in Chicago’s 23-20 overtime loss to Minnesota.
Olivier Vernon, Dolphins, had 2½ sacks in Miami’s 23-3 win over the New York Jets.
Quote of the Day
“There is no roof, no sky. We’re going up. Every person on this team, every coach on this team has the same mentality right now. I feel like it’s contagious. Fans are getting it. They feel like they can’t be beat.” – Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy after his team extended its winning streak to eight games.
Associated Press
