20 Nov 2012 08:55 AM EST
-by Daniel Mogollon, Staff Writer; Image: Andre Johnson races to the end zone, scoring the game-winning TD in OT. (Image Source: Getty Images)
Fantastic Finishes
The Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers all won in overtime on Sunday, with the Green Bay Packers taking the lead for good with just 1:55 remaining in regulation when QB Aaron Rodgers connected with WR Randall Cobb for a 22-yard TD at Detroit. The four fantastic finishes on Sunday brings the total of games decided either in overtime or in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter to 36 on the season.
Tampa, who trailed 21-10 in the fourth quarter at Carolina, won on the first drive of overtime when QB Josh Freeman found TE Dallas Clark in the end zone for the game winner. The Texans also won on a TD, but did so with just 2:01 remaining in the extra period after WR Andre Johnson took a Matt Schaub pass and raced most of the 48 yards down the sideline to pay dirt. The Cowboys won in more traditional OT fashion when K Dan Bailey put one through the uprights to give Dallas their second straight win.
Prolific Passers
Denver QB Peyton Manning connected on a troika of scoring strikes giving him 423 TD passes in his career, breaking the tie he had with Dan Marino for second all time. Manning also earned his 148th career win, which moves him into a tie with John Elway for the second most regular season W's by a starting QB, passing Marino, who had 147.
In Houston's 43-37 OT win, QB Matt Schaub threw for 527 yards, which tied Warren Moon for the second most passing yards in a single game. Norm Van Brocklin set the NFL record back on September 29, 1951 with 554 passing yards.
Prodigious Pass Catchers
Of Schaub's 527 passing yards, more than half went to Andre Johnson, who caught 14 balls for 273 yards and the game-winning TD. Johnson needed the final score to better rookie Justin Blackmon of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who caught seven passes for 236 yards and a TD. This was the first time ever in league history that two players had at least 235 receiving yards in the same game.
Second-year pro A.J. Green caught six passes for 91 yards and a TD, as his Bengals handled the KC Chiefs rather easily 28-6. The former Georgia star has now caught a TD in nine straight games, which ties him with Lance Alworth for the third longest such streak. Jerry Rice has the all-time record with 12 straight games in 1987, followed by Elroy [Crazylegs] Hirsch, who caught a scoring strike in 10 consecutive games in 1951.
WR Santana Moss of the Washington Redskins caught a 61-yard TD pass in their victory proving the old man still has it. Moss became the first player in the history of the NFL to have three TD receptions of 60 yards or better, as well as a rushing score of at least 60 yards in the same season.
In today's NFL, many TEs are emerging among the most prolific pass catchers in the league, no one more so than New England's Rob Gronkowski, who had seven receptions for 137 yards and 2 TDs, as the Patriots dismantled the Indianapolis Colts 58-24. Gronk now has 10 TDs this season, making him the first TE in NFL history to have three straight seasons with double-digit receiving TDs. In fact, in his third season the Arizona product has 37 career receiving TDs, which only trails Randy Moss [43] and Jerry Rice [40] for the most TD grabs through three NFL campaigns.
Rookie Watch
Washington QB Robert Griffin III was 14 of 15 passing for 200 yards with four TDs and a passer rating of 158.3, as the Redskins dispatched division rival Philadelphia 31-6. His 93.3 completion percentage is the highest by a QB, who also threw four-plus TDs in a game since Steve Young in 1994.
Tampa RB Doug Martin continues to produce as a runner and a pass catcher. The first-round pick rushed 138 yards and caught four passes for another 23 yards at Carolina. Martin now has 1,019 yards from scrimmage in the last six games, making him the third rookie in NFL history to have 1,000 scrimmage yards over a six-game span. The other two are Eric Dickerson in 1983 and Edgerrin James in 1999.
Daniel Mogollon is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of American. He is also a voter for the Thorpe and the Rotary Lombardi Award, as well as the Latino Sports MVP Awards.
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