Latest from NFL: Osweiler gets first NFL start for Broncos
The latest from NFL games around the league on the 11th Sunday of the season (all times EST):
8 p.m.
Mason Crosby's five field goals helped the Packers to a convincing 30-13 win at Minnesota that snapped a three-game skid and put the Packers in a tie with the Vikings atop the NFC North.
There aren't a lot of close division races heading into the stretch run. The only other tie is in the middling AFC North where Houston and Indianapolis are both 5-5.
In the AFC East, New England is 9-0 and can take a five-game lead over the Bills by beating Buffalo at home tomorrow night.
In the North, the Bengals can take a three-game lead over Pittsburgh with a win tonight over Arizona. Denver has a three-game lead over Kansas City in the West.
In the NFC, the Giants are 5-5 and one game ahead of Washington and Philadelphia in the East.
The Panthers are 10-0 and four games ahead of Atlanta in the South and the West-leading Cardinals take a 7-2 record into tonight's game against Cincinnati. Seattle is next at 5-5.
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6:42 p.m.
If only Tony Romo had Jason Witten's longevity streak or fortune when it comes to health, the Dallas Cowboys' Super Bowl drought wouldn't be so long.
Witten broke Bob Lilly's franchise record for consecutive games played with his 197th today in the Cowboys' 24-14 win in Miami.
Tony Romo returned from a broken collar bone that had sidelined him seven games and helped the Cowboys snap a seven-game losing skid.
Since Week 2 of last season, the Cowboys are 16-3 when Romo starts and 0-8 when he doesn't.
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5:58 p.m.
LaDainian Tomlinson has been inducted into the San Diego Chargers' Hall of Fame and his No. 21 retired.
Tomlinson, whose brilliant tenure with the Chargers included winning the 2006 NFL MVP Award and setting the single-season touchdown record, was inducted by former fullback Lorenzo Neal.
Tomlinson joins Hall of Famers Dan Fouts (14) and Lance Alworth (19), and the late Junior Seau as having his number retired by the Chargers.
Tomlinson thanked the Chargers organization, drawing boos from the crowd. The boos turned to cheers when L.T. mentioned the fans.
Fans are angry that Chargers chairman Dean Spanos wants to move the team to an industrial suburb of Los Angeles. Dean Spanos was not on the dais for the ceremony, but his sons, A.G. and John, were.
-Bernie Wilson reporting from San Diego.
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5:45 p.m.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater left the game late in the first half against the Green Bay Packers with an injured left shoulder.
The Vikings are calling his return probable.
Bridgewater hit the turf hard when he was tackled by Packers linebacker Mike Neal.
He left the game and jogged to the locker room, being replaced by backup Shaun Hill.
Bridgewater was 9 for 10 for 104 yards and a touchdown in the first half. He's also been sacked three times.
-- Jon Krawczynski reporting from Minneapolis.
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5:25 p.m.
Phillip Rivers has broken Hall of Famer Dan Fouts' Chargers record of 3,297 career completions.
Rivers came in needing four completions to break Fouts' record.
He got it with a seven-yard pass to Stevie Johnson, giving him 3,298. Rivers added to the record two plays later when he hit Johnson again for three yards.
Rivers is on pace to rewrite all of the team's season passing records.
--Bernie Williams reporting from San Diego.
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5:19 p.m.
The Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts both improved to .500 behind backup QBs and are tied atop the middling AFC South at 5-5.
T.J. Yates threw two TD passes to DeAndre Hopkins in Houston's 24-17 win over the Jets. Yates was signed last month and started in place of Bryan Hoyer, who was out with a concussion.
Matt Hasselbeck threw a pair of TDs while filling in for an injured Andrew Luck and the Colts beat the Falcons 24-21 on Adam Vinatieri's last-minute field goal.
In Chicago, Brock Osweiler won his first NFL start in place of an injured and ineffective Peyton Manning. He threw for 250 yards and two TDs in Denver's 17-15 win as the Broncos (8-2) snapped a two-game skid.
Cam Newton threw a career-high five touchdowns passes and the Panthers improved to 10-0 with a 44-16 win over Washington. Jameis Winston tied a rookie record with five TD passes in the Buccaneers' 45-17 rout of Philadelphia.
In other games, Detroit beat Oakland 18-13, Dallas beat Miami 24-14 and Baltimore edged St. Louis 16-13 but lost stars Joe Flacco (knee) and Justin Forsett (arm) to season-ending injuries.
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4:58 p.m.
More devastating injury news for the Baltimore Ravens.
Quarterback Joe Flacco will miss the rest of the season after tearing knee ligaments late in the fourth quarter of Baltimore's 16-13 win over the St. Louis Rams.
The Ravens also lost running back Justin Forsett to a broken right arm in the game.
Flacco has never missed a game since starting the season opener in 2008. His run of 122 straight starts will end next week.
He played the final series Sunday despite being injured and moved the offense to set up the winning field goal by Justin Tucker. Flacco went 27 for 44 for 299 yards.
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4:47 p.m.
Alex Smith has broken the Kansas City Chiefs' record for consecutive passes without an interception while playing against his hometown San Diego Chargers.
Smith, who played at nearby Helix High - where Reggie Bush was his teammate - came in needing six passes without a pick to break Steve DeBerg's record set in 1990.
Smith got it on a big one, a 47-yard completion to running back Charcandrick West on the Chiefs' second possession. That was his 234th consecutive pass without an interception.
That helped set up a 1-yard touchdown plunge by defensive tackle Dontari Poe for a 6-0 lead. The PAT failed.
--Bernie Wilson reporting from San Diego.
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4:34 p.m.
It's been a big day for several NFL quarterbacks.
Can Newton threw a career-high five touchdowns passes, and the Panthers improved to 10-0 on the season with a 44-16 win over Washington.
Jameis Winston tied a rookie record with five touchdown passes in Tampa Bay's 45-17 rout of Philadelphia.
Tony Romo made a successful return to action, Brock Osweiler won his starting debut and Matt Hasselbeck filled in nicely for Andrew Luck again.
Romo returned from a collarbone injury and threw for two TDs as the Cwboys won for the first time since he was hurt in Week 2, beating the Miami Dolphins 24-14.
Osweiler also threw for two TDs, leading Denver to a 17-15 win at Chicago. He was 20 of 27 for 250 yards.
Hasselbeck led the Colts to a 24-21 win over the Falcons.
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4:13
It's a happy 25th birthday for Brock Osweiler.
He led Denver to a 17-15 win over Chicago in his first NFL start today while subbing for an injured and ineffective Peyton Manning.
Osweiler, a fourth-year pro making his first start since the 2011 MACCO Bowl for Arizona State, threw TD passes to Demaryius Thomas and Cody Latimer. It was Latimer's first career touchdown.
The Bears scored their first TD on Jeremy Langford's short run with 29 seconds left but his 2-point conversion try failed when safety T.J. Ward was unblocked and tripped him up.
Thomas gathered in Robbie Gould's onside kick and Denver improved to 8-2, snapping a two-game skid.
3:39 p.m.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is in Minnesota for the NFC North showdown against Green Bay, planning to watch the first half from the seats on a brisk afternoon with a temperature in the low 30s.
The Vikings are playing their last season outdoors at their temporary home at the University of Minnesota before moving into their $1 billion new stadium downtown in 2016.
Goodell took part in a question-and-answer session with 75 selected season-ticket holders in the morning at the team's preview center across from the construction site. Then he toured the towering new facility with team owners and officials, before heading to the Packers-Vikings game.
--Dave Campbell reporting from Minneapolis
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3:24 p.m.
Jameis Winston has thrown five touchdown passes, tying the NFL rookie record for most in one game.
Matthew Stafford also had five TD passes for Detroit against Cleveland on Nov. 22, 2009. Both Winston and Stafford were the No. 1 overall pick.
Winston hadn't thrown more than two TDs in one game before tossing four in the first half to four different receivers against the Eagles.
His fifth came in the third quarter to Cameron Brate, an 8-yard toss.
-- Rob Maaddi reporting from Philadelphia.
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3:18 p.m.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for dancing and the ensuing short kick proved costly for the Dallas Cowboys in the final moments of the first half at Miami.
Tony Romo and Terrance Williams teamed up for a 31-yard scoring pass play that gave Dallas a 14-0 lead. Williams and Dez Bryant were then penalized for doing the dab, a dance that is becoming trendy in the NFL.
The penalty forced Dallas to kick off from its 20. Dan Bailey followed with a short, high 40-yard kick that was fielded by Miami's Zack Vigil and returned to the Dolphins 46.
That helped set up Ryan Tannehill's 12-yard TD pass to Jordan Cameron to pull Miami within 14-7 with 16 seconds remaining in the half.
---Steven Wine reporting from Miami.
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3:09 p.m.
Brock Osweiler's big feet cost the Denver Broncos a touchdown
The 6-foot-8 quarterback handed off to Ronnie Hillman on fouth-and-1 from the Chicago 2, but his right foot tripped up Hillman, who stumbled short of the first down.
That left the Broncos clinging to a 10-6 lead late in the third quarter.
The Broncos failed to capitalize on Danny Trevathan's interception, Denver's first takeaway since Week 6 in Cleveland.
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3 p.m.
After a listless first half, the Oakland Raiders finally scored thanks to a key penalty on a Detroit defensive back.
Nevin Lawson was called for holding, negating an interception thrown by Oakland's Derek Carr, and the Raiders eventually scored on a 1-yard run by Latavius Murray in the third quarter. Oakland still trails 9-7.
The Lions controlled the first half but managed only three field goals by Matt Prater.
Calvin Johnson reached another milestone, catching the 700th pass of his career.
- Noah Trister reporting from Detroit.
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2:48 p.m.
Ed Reed is now a member of the Baltimore Ravens Ring of Honor.
Reed was drafted by Baltimore in 2002. Although he spent a small portion of his career with Houston and the New York Jets, he retired as a Raven last May after signing a one-day contract.
The team paid homage to the nine-time Pro Bowl free safety Sunday at halftime of its game against the Rams. Reed also was part of the pre-game introductions.
The ceremony was attended by many of previous inductees, including Jonathan Ogden, Jamal Lewis, Todd Heap and Michael McCrary.
---Dave Ginsburg reporting from Baltimore.
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2:34 p.m.
Cam Newton had never thrown four TD passes in a game before today.
He's accomplished that feat in the first half against the Washington Redskins.
Newton has thrown TD passes to Jonathan Stewart, Mike Tolbert, Ted Ginn Jr. and Greg Olsen to give the Panthers a 28-14 lead.
Newton's previous career high was three TD passes in a game.
The four TDs is a franchise record.
-Steve Reed reporting from Charlotte, North Carolina
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2:28 p.m.
Tampa Bay's Doug Martin has 174 yards against the Eagles on 11 carries and it's only the middle of the second quarter.
Martin has runs of 58 and 84 yards, but was tackled short of the end zone on both. The Buccaneers lead the Eagles 21-14.
Martin's career-best was 251 yards rushing as a rookie at Oakland on Nov. 4, 2012. Adrian Peterson has the NFL record with 296 yards rushing for Minnesota against San Diego on Nov. 4, 2007.
-- Rob Maaddi reporting from Philadelphia.
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2:10 p.m.
Falcons fullback Patrick DiMarco has tripled his career touchdowns in the first half against the Indianapolis Colts.
Used mainly as a blocker, DiMarco was left wide open in the end zone on a 15-yard touchdown catch late in the first quarter.
Then, he pushed Atlanta to a 14-0 lead with a 1-yard scoring reception in the second period.
DiMarco came into the game with only one TD in his four-year career - a 1-yard scoring catch against Minnesota last season.
-Paul Newberry reporting from Atlanta.
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2 p.m.
The Atlanta Falcons clearly spent their bye week putting in more plays for Roddy White.
The leading receiver in team history has been nearly invisible this season, coming into Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts having been targeted only 30 times, with a mere 17 receptions.
But White was targeted five times in the opening quarter, more than he has in any game since he was the intended receiver eight times in the season opener against Philadelphia.
White has two catches for 17 yards.
-Paul Newberry reporting from Atlanta.
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1:50 p.m.
Washington running back Alfred Morris has left the Redskins' game against the Carolina Panthers in the first quarter with a rib injury.
Morris was getting his ribs taped by trainers on the sideline and appears as though he may return. The team has officially said his return is questionable.
Morris, who has rushed for 404 yards in nine games this season, was injured on the team's first offensive possession.
He's been replaced by rookie Matt Jones.
-Steve Reed reporting from Charlotte, North Carolina
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1:30 p.m.
This wasn't the way Tony Romo envisioned his return to action.
Romo's first completion back in pouring rain was left-handed toss out of end zone to avoid a safety. It was complete but short of the first down.
It was raining so hard, he went to the sideline to use a towel while the officials discussed a penalty.
Romo is playing in his first game since Sept. 20.
He missed seven games - all Dallas losses - with a broken left collarbone. Since Week 2 of 2014, the Cowboys are 15-3 when Romo starts and 0-8 when he doesn't.
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1:15 p.m.
Brock Osweiler's off to a good start in his first NFL start.
The longtime backup to Peyton Manning drove Denver on its first opening touchdown drive this season.
He hit Demaryius Thomas on a 48-yarder to give the Broncos a quick 7-0 lead after the Broncos had forced Chicago to go three-out-out on the Bears' first drive.
Osweiler is starting in place of Manning, whose franchise record 57-game starting streak came to an end because of a variety of injuries.
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12:55 p.m.
Peyton Manning's longtime backup Brock Osweiler is preparing to make his first NFL start today in Chicago. The Denver Broncos quarterback is celebrating his 25th birthday and making his first start since the 2011 MAACO Bowl for Arizona State.
Manning stayed behind in Denver to continue getting treatment on a variety of injuries.
Another backup is making his first start of the season today as Mark Sanchez gets the nod in Philadelphia because Sam Bradford has a concussion and injured left shoulder.
And in Atlanta, Matt Hasselbeck gets his third start of the season for the Colts with Andrew Luck sidelined with a lacerated kidney he sustained on a hard hit two weeks ago from Denver's Vance Walker and Danny Trevathan.
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