The Latest: Cowboys' Bryant active, looks ready to play
The Latest on Week 9 of the NFL season (all times Eastern):
10:05 p.m.
Latavius Murray scored on two 1-yard runs and Sebastian Janikoswki kicked two field goals to help the Oakland Raiders take a 20-10 halftime lead over the Denver Broncos in the biggest game at the Coliseum in years.
After 13 straight years without a playoff berth, the Raiders reached the halfway point of the season tied for first place in the AFC West with the Broncos, leading to a hyped environment for the first meeting of the season between the two teams Sunday night.
Oakland rode that energy to a strong start. The defense forced three-and-outs on the first four drives for Denver and Derek Carr and the offense moved the ball efficiently against the Broncos heralded defense to take the half.
- Josh Dubow, reporting from Oakland, California
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8:35 p.m.
Denver linebacker Brandon Marshall has ended his national anthem protest.
Marshall stood during the anthem Sunday night before the Broncos game in Oakland. Marshall had kneeled in protest during the anthem for the first eight games this season.
He said on his Instagram account before the game he is ending the protest because he is encouraged by discussions he has had with the Denver police about use of force policies. He says there is still more work to be done despite his decision to stand.
- Josh Dubow reporting from Oakland, California
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7:55 p.m.
If you had the over in the Tennessee-San Diego, then congrats.
Melvin Gordon totaled 261 yards, including a career-high 196 on the ground, and the Chargers beat the Titans 43-35 in the highest-scoring game of the day. The over/under was 47.
Chargers defensive backs Dwight Lowery and Brandon Flowers scored on turnovers by Marcus Mariota, keeping the Titans winless in San Diego since 1990.
The Chargers (4-5) won two days before the team will ask voters to approve a billion-dollar subsidy for a new downtown stadium to replace aging Qualcomm Stadium. The measure was polling well short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to pass.
Gordon, who leads the NFL with 11 touchdowns, scored on a 1-yard run with 5:28 left in the third quarter to give the Chargers a 26-21 lead. He ran 32 times, and broke a 47-yard run in the closing minutes. He also caught four passes for 65 yards.
Mariota threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. He also ran for a score, but his turnovers were as much the difference as Gordon's big game.
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7:50 p.m.
Mark Ingram and Tim Hightower showed there are plenty of running back fantasy points to go around against the San Francisco 49ers defense.
After a week in which Hightower was touted as getting a boosted role in the Saints offense, Ingram had the more spectacular day, with 28 points in standard leagues, including a rushing and receiving touchdown. Hightower got more carries and had a TD himself, totaling 15 fantasy points and tying Matt Forte with the seventh highest total at the position during the Sunday afternoon games.
Several wide receivers disappointed, including Dez Bryant and Marvin Jones, who had one catch each.
Aaron Rodgers put up 25 fantasy points in Green Bay's loss to Indianapolis, two points less than Matt Ryan's four TD effort on Thursday night.
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7:45 p.m.
Frank Gore ran for two touchdowns, Jordan Todman returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a score and the Indianapolis Colts beat the Green Bay Packers 31-26.
Andrew Luck shook off two interceptions in the first quarter to finish with 281 yards passing and a score. The Colts, who had allowed an NFL-worst 31 sacks coming into the game, gave up just two against what had been tough Packers pass rush.
Indianapolis (4-5) heads into a bye week with perhaps its most complete win of what has been a tough season. Todman's early score set the tone at Lambeau Field.
Familiar problems surfaced again for the Packers (4-4), who lost their second straight game.
- Genaro Armas reporting from Green Bay.
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7:20 p.m.
Drew Brees threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns, and the New Orleans Saints beat the lowly San Francisco 49ers 41-23. It was the second time this season the Saints topped 40 points and the fifth time they've eclipsed 30.
The Saints (4-4) have grabbed back some momentum and returned to the race in the NFC South. They won for the fourth time in five games following a 0-3 start and eighth in the last 10 regular-season meetings with San Francisco (1-7).
Colin Kaepernick threw for 398 yards and two scores in the loss.
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7:10 p.m.
The Carolina Panthers have their first road win of the season.
Cam Newton threw for 225 yards and a touchdown, Graham Gano kicked two field goals and the Panthers held on to beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-10 on Sunday.
Newton connected with Greg Olsen for a 9-yard score in the first quarter, and Gano made it a 10-point advantage twice in the fourth with a pair of field goals. Carolina's much-maligned defense made it hold up from there.
The defending NFC champion Panthers (3-5) had previously lost road games at Denver, Atlanta and New Orleans.
The Rams (3-5) dropped their third straight at home.
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6:50 p.m.
Squirrel time!
A furry critter has livened up the crowd at Lambeau Field in what has been a tough game so far Sunday for the Green Bay Packers.
The squirrel first made its appearance in the first half, then returned late in the third quarter. With the Packers driving at about the Colts 12, the squirrel dashed along the goal line, forcing the officials to call timeout.
The squirrel finally went out of bounds, but not before causing a stir on social media with many fans joking the animal was seeing more of the end zone than the Packers.
The Packers settled for a 27-yard field goal after the timeout.
- Genaro Armas reporting from Green Bay.
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6 p.m.
There's a lot of scoring going on in the late games. In three of the four anyway.
Carolina leads 7-0 at Los Angeles at halftime thanks to Cam Newton's 9-yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen. New Orleans and Indianapolis also are leading on the road, both up by double digits.
The Saints are up 31-20 at San Francisco, using a balanced attack to pull ahead at the break. Drew Brees has two TD passes, and Mark Ingram and Tim Hightower each has a rushing score. Colin Kaepernick has thrown for 286 yards and two scores to keep the 49ers in it.
The Colts have a surprising 24-10 advantage at Lambeau Field, with Jordan Todman scoring on a 99-yard kickoff return, Frank Gore finding the end zone from 7 yards out and Andrew Luck connecting with Donte Moncrief just before the half. Indy scored 13 seconds into the game and again with 11 seconds left in the first half.
Aaron Rodgers has a 26-yard TD pass to Jordy Nelson. Rodgers took advantage of a free play to find Nelson in the end zone, and Nelson ripped the ball away from Darius Butler.
San Diego dominated Tennessee early, but leads just 19-14 at the break. Philip Rivers has two TD passes for the Chargers. Melvin Gordon has 100 yards rushing. Marcus Mariota has two TDs for the Titans.
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5:30 p.m.
Los Angeles might be relatively new to the NFL, but its fans know what they want: The Coliseum crowd began to chant ''We want Goff!'' while the Rams' offense struggled in the first half against Carolina.
The Rams traded up to draft Jared Goff with the No. 1 pick, but coach Jeff Fisher still hasn't used the rookie quarterback in a game.
Case Keenum followed up his four-interception game against the Giants with an ineffective first half against the Panthers, completing just 7 of 15 for 91 yards. Los Angeles' offense was booed several times in the half.
- Greg Beacham reporting from Los Angeles
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5:15 p.m.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has thrown two interceptions in the first quarter against Green Bay, both to safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
The second pick with 1:32 left came while Luck was under pressure outside the pocket after overthrowing tight end Jack Doyle.
The Packers capitalized with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson on the last play of an entertaining quarter to get within 14-10 of the Colts.
- Genaro Armas reporting from Green Bay.
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4:45 p.m.
Home teams went 4-2 in early games Sunday, with the lone losing hosts being winless Cleveland and slumping Minnesota.
Dallas routed the Browns 35-10, with Dak Prescott throwing three touchdown passes and fellow rookie Ezekiel Elliott running for 92 yards and two scores. Detroit edged the Vikings 22-16 in overtime, ending the game on Matthew Stafford's 28-yard TD pass to Golden Tate.
Eli Manning had four TD passes to lead the New York Giants over Philadelphia 28-23.
Ben Roethlisberger returned from knee surgery and rallied Pittsburgh in the second half at Baltimore, throwing for a TD and running for a score, but it wasn't enough. The Ravens won 21-14. Mike Wallace finished with four catches for 124 yards, including a 95-yarder for a TD.
Kenyan Drake's 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was the difference for Miami, which beat the New York Jets 27-23.
And banged-up Kansas City, which played without quarterback Alex Smith, running back Jamaal Charles and receiver Jeremy Maclin, held on to be turnover-prone Jacksonville 19-14.
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4:30 p.m.
San Diego Chargers players Joe Barksdale, D.J. Fluker, Chris Hairston and Joshua Perry held up their right fists during the national anthem. A number of Tennessee Titans quickly held up their right fists at the end of the song, led by Jurrell Casey and Wesley Woodyard.
Earlier in the day, Miami Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills and safety Michael Thomas took a knee during the national anthem just like they've done at every game this year.
- Bernie Wilson reporting from San Diego.
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4:25 p.m.
The Indianapolis Colts are off and running on the opening kickoff against the Green Bay Packers after returner Jordan Todman went 99 yards for a touchdown.
Josh Ferguson had the block on Ha Ha Clinton-Dix at around the 30 that sprung Todman. It was the first kickoff return for a touchdown against Green Bay since Nov. 9, 2014, when the Chicago Bears' Chris Williams returned one for a score.
- Genaro Armas reporting from Green Bay.
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4:00 p.m.
The Los Angeles Rams got good injury news before their game against Carolina when top cornerback Trumaine Johnson was activated.
The Rams' highest-paid player hadn't been in uniform since spraining an ankle in the Rams' last home game a month ago, and they can use all the help possible to slow down Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.
- Greg Beacham reporting from Los Angeles
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3:50 p.m.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was ejected after complaining to officials for not calling a pass interference penalty, then whipping his towel at the official as if it was a flag.
The Pro Bowl tight end was hit with two personal foul penalties and sent to the locker room with the Chiefs leading 16-7 early in the fourth quarter. Both of the penalties were enforced, resulting in 30 yards of penalties and taking the Chiefs out of field-goal range.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid grabbed Kelce as he was walking off the field and gave him a stern talk. After the ejection, Kelce whipped his gloves into the crowd as he exited the field.
- Dave Skretta reporting from Kansas City.
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3:45 p.m.
New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is back in the game after a brief exit. Fitzpatrick left the game at Miami late in the third quarter after being shaken up on a late by tackle Jordan Phillips following a throw.
The Dolphins were penalized. Fitzpatrick walked off the field accompanied by trainers and went to the locker room. He was replaced by Bryce Petty.
- Steven Wine reporting from Miami.
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3:10 p.m.
Ravens fans gasped as quarterback Joe Flacco left the game after landing awkwardly while sliding to avoid a tackle.
Flacco hopped to the sideline and into the Baltimore locker room. It appeared that he reinjured his left knee.
It turns out he merely broke the protective brace on the knee, and returned to cheers after missing three plays.
Flacco had knee surgery last year and missed the final nine games of the year.
- David Ginsburg reporting from Baltimore.
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2:50 p.m.
Jets defensive linemen Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson sat out the first quarter of their game at Miami and entered at the start of the second period.
A team official said their absences at the start weren't injury-related but declined to say whether they were a disciplinary measure.
- Steven Wine reporting from Miami.
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2:45 p.m.
Dallas, Baltimore and the New York Giants built double-digit halftime leads Sunday.
The Cowboys are up 21-10 at Cleveland, the league's only winless team. Dak Prescott has two TD passes, and fellow rookie Ezekiel Elliott has 65 yards rushing and a score.
Ben Roethlisberger is back for Pittsburgh, but he's not back to form. Baltimore leads the Steelers 10-0 at halftime, partly thanks to Joe Flacco's 95-yard TD pass to Mike Wallace.
Eli Manning has three touchdown passes, two to Odell Beckham Jr., and the New York Giants lead Philadelphia 21-10 after two quarters. Eagles rookie Carson Wentz has thrown two interceptions.
Miami and the New York Jets have exchanged the lead, and the Dolphins are up 14-13 at the break. Jay Ajayi, looking for his third straight 200-yard rushing game, has 26 yards on 10 carries. The bulk of his yardage came on a 20-yard TD run. Matt Forte has 73 yards and a touchdown on the ground for the Jets.
Detroit leads reeling Minnesota 10-3 thanks to Matthew Stafford's 1-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin. The Vikings have dropped two in a tow since a 5-0 start, and offensive coordinator Norv Turner resigned earlier in the week.
The Jaguars also had an offensive coordinator change, with Nate Hackett replacing Greg Olson. The Jags got on the scoreboard late in the first half and trail banged-up Kansas City 10-7 at the half. The Chiefs are playing without quarterback Alex Smith, running back Jamaal Charles and receiver Jeremy Maclin.
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