Panthers 34, Falcons 10
Bank of America Stadium; Charlotte, N.C.
Jonathan Stewart played for the first time this season and, as expected, that muddled the Panthers’ running-game touches even further. DeAngelo Williams led the team in carries (13 for 42 yards), but Stewart had one more yard (43) on nine rushes. Carolina’s two rushing scores, however, were scored by Mike Tolbert (6-24) — who found the end zone for the fourth straight game — and QB Cam Newton (5-22).
Extra points: Newton added 249 passing yards and a TD. … Meanwhile, the struggles continued for the Falcons’ Matt Ryan, who threw for a season-low 219 yards, a TD and three interceptions — giving him two scores and seven picks over the past two games. … Steven Jackson (76 total yards on 16 touches) took big strides from last week but had his first rushing TD as a Falcon wiped out by a penalty. … TE Tony Gonzalez broke out of a mini-slump with six grabs, 81 yards and a TD.
Cowboys 27, Vikings 23
AT&T Stadium; Arlington, Texas
DeMarco Murray returned for Dallas and averaged 7.75 yards per carry. The problem was, though, that he only got four rushes (for 31 yards) as the Cowboys ran the ball all of nine times in the game.
Extra points: Tony Romo, on the other hand, was 34-of-51 through the air for 337 yards and a two scores — one apiece to TE Jason Witten (8-102) and WR Dwayne Harris (2-13). … Dez Bryant was targeted a team-high 11 times but finished with a lackluster six receptions for 64 yards. … Christian Ponder got his second straight start for the Vikings and was decent with 236 passing yards, 29 rushing yards and a TD through the air and another on the ground. … Adrian Peterson (140 rushing yards, 37 receiving, TD) showed well in his return to Texas, while WR Greg Jennings (6-56) and TE Kyle Rudolph (2-35, TD) were Ponder’s most productive targets.
Titans 28, Rams 21
Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis
Chris Johnson seems to show up once a month, and Sunday was definitely his day as he scorched the Rams for 150 rushing yards — his first 100-yard game of the season — and two scores. He had ran for all of 110 yards on 46 carries over his previous four contests.
Extra points: Johnson wasn’t the only standout RB in the game as Rams rookie Zac Stacy rolled up 127 yards and two TDs on the ground as part of 178 total yards on 33 touches. … WR Chris Givens (4-55) led the home team in receiving, while TE Jared Cook (3-36, TD) scored against his former team and found the end zone for the first time since Week 1. …Neither QB did much here, but the Titans’ Jake Locker did avert a deeper disaster by rushing for a TD.
Jets 26, Saints 20
MetLife Stadium; East Rutherford, N.J.
The ground-and-pound Jets — led by former Saint Chris Ivory (18-139, TD) — trumped the air-it-out Saints on the scoreboard, but the fantasy owners of Drew Brees (382, 2 TDs) and Jimmy Graham (9-116, 2 TDs) had few gripes.
Extra points: With Santonio Holmes and TE Jeff Cumberland out and WR Jeremy Kerley (1-1) leaving in the second quarter with a shoulder injury, Geno Smith (8-of-19, 115 yards) had a rather thin group of targets, but he did salvage some fantasy points with 18 rushing yards and a score. … As for those N.Y. pass-catchers, none other than WR Greg Salas (2-57) and TE Zac Sudfeld (2-46) led the way. … For the Saints, struggling RB Darren Sproles had one catch for 2 yards before leaving with a concussion in the first quarter. … Even with Marques Colston (knee) inactive, rookie wideout Kenny Stills couldn’t follow up on his big Week 8, catching only three passes for 35 yards, and was eclipsed by fellow WRs Robert Meachem (4-93) and Lance Moore (6-70).
Redskins 30, Chargers 24 (OT)
FedEx Field; Landover, Md.
Alfred Morris delivered 121 rushing yards and a TD for his fantasy owners, but most were left thinking about what could’ve been as FB Darrel Young rushed for three TDs among his five carries for 12 yards.
Extra points: Robert Griffin III threw for 291 yards ran for 17 on six carries but was held without a TD for the third game this season. … His favorite target was wideout Pierre Garcon (7-172), while TE Jordan Reed (4-38 receiving, 1-18 rushing) cooled off after a pair of hot weeks. … For the Bolts, Philip Rivers threw for 341 yards and pair of scores, one of which went to rookie WR Keenan Allen (8-128). … Coming off back-to-back 100-yard rushing games, Ryan Mathews was limited to 34 on seven carries, and was outgained by fellow RB Danny Woodhead, 98-34 in total yards, courtesy of Woodhead’s involvement in the passing game (9 catches for 77 yards).
Chiefs 23, Bills 13
Ralph Wilson Stadium; Orchard Park, N.Y.
Facing its fourth backup QB in five weeks, the K.C. defense didn’t add to its league-leading sack total, but it did force three turnovers, taking two of them back for TDs on Sean Smith’s 100-yard interception return and Tamba Hali’s 11-yard fumble return. The opponent also failed to top 17 points for the ninth time in nine outings this season.
Extra points: Is Jamaal Charles cooling down? He gained 96 total yards (90 rushing) but was held below 100 for the first time all year and had his second straight TD-less game. … For the Bills, third-string QB Jeff Tuel completed only 18-of-39 passes for 299 yards, one TD and two picks with rookie wideouts Marquise Goodwin (2-64, TD) and Robert Woods (4-41) leading the way. Woods, though, left in the third quarter with a leg injury. … Both C.J. Spiller (season-high 155 total yards) and Fred Jackson (99 total yards) played well but couldn’t find the end zone.
Seahawks 27, Buccaneers 24 (OT)
CenturyLink Field, Seattle
Through the season’s first eight weeks, 29 RBs had rushed for 100 or more yards in a game. On Sunday, 11 topped the century mark, led by — just as everyone figured — Bucs’ backup Mike James (28-158) going against the suddenly not-so-stout Seattle D.
Extra points: Not surprisingly, Seattle counterpart Marshawn Lynch (21-125) also hit triple digits, while QB Russell Wilson got it done through the air (217 yards, 2 TDs) and on the ground (6-36, TD). … With Sidney Rice out for the remainder of the season and Percy Harvin not yet ready to start his, Doug Baldwin (6-75, TD on 10 targets) paced the Seattle WRs. … For the Bucs, TE Timothy Wright (4-58) and WR Tiquan Underwood (2-29) were on the receiving end of Mike Glennon’s two TD passes, while WR Vincent Jackson (2-11 on 4 targets) oddly was not more involved in theTampa game plan.
Eagles 49, Raiders 20
O.co Coliseum; Oakland, Calif.
So with Peyton Manning on bye you were forced to start Nick Foles at QB? Just know that everyone else in your league is seething after Foles tied an NFL record Sunday with seven TD passes and 406 yards in his return from a concussion.
Extra points: WR Riley Cooper (5-139, 3 TDs) benefitted the most from Foles’ monster day, but fellow wideout DeSean Jackson (5-150, TD) didn’t do too bad, either. … Philly’s LeSean McCoy only had 44 rushing yards on 12 carries but compensated with 36 yards and a TD on four receptions. … Oakland QB Terrelle Pryor threw for 288 yards and ran for 94 more on 10 carries but didn’t account for a TD and departed in the fourth quarter for precautionary reasons due to a knee issue. … Also unable to finish (again) was RB Darren McFadden (5-12 rushing, 1-3 receiving), who had a hamstring act up. … Rashad Jennings put up some nice numbers (102, rushing, 74 receiving, 1 TD) in his stead. … Rod Streater (5-98) paced the Silver & Black in receiving.
Patriots 55, Steelers 31
Gillette Stadium; Foxboro, Mass.
Rob Gronkowski (9-143, TD) finally looked Gronk, and it did wonders for the previously slumping Tom Brady (432 yards, 4 TD) who had only his second 300-yard game of the season and threw as many scoring passes as he had in the previous five games combined.
Extra points: Rookie wideout Aaron Dobson (5-130, 2 TDs) and WR Danny Amendola (4-122, TD) also topped 100 yards for the Pats, while Stevan Ridley (26-115) followed suit on the ground and scored twice to run his TD total to six over the past four games. … N.E. WR Kenbrell Thompkins was a healthy scratch. … Brady wasn’t the only hot QB here as Ben Roethlisberger threw for 400 yards and four scores — three of which went to wideout Jerricho Cotchery (7-96). … RB Le’Veon Bell carried 16 times for 74 yards but couldn’t get in on the scoring fest.
Browns 24, Ravens 18
FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland
Sorry, Ray Rice owners, it appears nothing got solved during the Ravens’ bye week. In fact, they got even worse Sunday as he was held to 38 total yards, including only 17 rushing on 11 carries — meaning he now had seven games of 75 total yards or fewer and six sub-50-yard rushing outings in eight contests this season.
Extra points: For the Browns, Jason Campbell threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns, but surprisingly, top pass-catchers WR Josh Gordon (3-44 on 7 targets) and TE Jordan Cameron (1-4, 5 targets) weren’t the main beneficiaries. Those honors went to previously struggling WRs Greg Little (7-122) and Davone Bess (3-24, 2 TDs). Little, though, left in the fourth quarter with an unspecified leg injury. … Willis McGahee again the led the Browns in rushing but once again he was far from a fantasy factor with only 31 yards and a fumble on 21 carries. … Joe Flacco threw for 250 yards and a pair of scores, while also leading Baltimore in rushing with 25 yards on three carries, but lost to Cleveland for the first in his career. … WR Torrey Smith (5-78) topped the Ravens in receiving.
Colts 27, Texans 24
Reliant Stadium, Houston
A big fantasy day finished with WR flourish as the Texans’ Andre Johnson (9-229) and the Colts’ T.Y. Hilton (7-121) each hauled in a trio of TD catches. The scores were Johnson’s first of the season. Meanwhile, the QBs, Houston’s Case Keenum (20-of-34, 350 yards in his second start) and Andrew Luck (18-of-40, 270 yards, 10th fourth-quarter comeback) weren’t too shabby, either.
Extra points: RB Arian Foster (hamstring) was active for the Texans and tried to give it a go but didn’t record a rushing attempt and had one pass thrown his way before hanging it up for the night early in the opening quarter. … Fellow RB Ben Tate gutted out 22 carries for 81 yards playing with cracked ribs. … As for the Indy ground game, Donald Brown (6-49) looked better than starter Trent Richardson (8-20) again, but Richardson was was able to get involved in the passing game with 33 yards on pair of catches. … While Hilton stood out in Reggie Wayne’s first missed Colts game in 12 years, Darrius Heyward-Bey (1-11 on 6 targets) did nothing. … Look for the Texans to have a new kicker next Sunday after Randy Bullock missed three FG attempts in the three-point loss and now is 13-of-21 this season.
