National Football League

The Latest: NFL's sole remaining unbeaten team is Minnesota

Published Oct. 9, 2016 8:30 p.m. ET

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The Latest on the fifth week of the NFL season (all times Eastern):

7:05 p.m.

The Atlanta Falcons' 23-16 victory over the Denver Broncos leaves the Minnesota Vikings as the NFL's only remaining unbeaten team.

Minnesota, Denver and the Philadelphia Eagles all were undefeated entering Sunday's action.

In Sunday's early-afternoon action, the Vikings improved their record to 5-0 with a 31-13 triumph over the Houston Texans, but the Eagles lost 21-20 to the Detroit Lions.

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5:50 p.m.

Dak Prescott has thrown a touchdown pass and run for another score to give the Dallas Cowboys a 21-0 halftime lead over the Cincinnati Bengals.

In other late afternoon action, Devonta Freeman rushed for the game's only first-half touchdown to give the Falcons a 13-3 lead over the Denver Broncos. That game is now in the third quarter.

Rookie quarterback Paxton Lynch is making his first career start for Denver in place of an injured Trevor Siemian.

At halftime, the Buffalo Bills lead the Los Angeles Rams 16-13 and the San Diego Chargers lead the Oakland Raiders 10-9. Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 56-yard field goal in the final play of the first half.

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4:50 p.m.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will keep the rookie record for pass attempts without an interception for now after the run finally ended for Philadelphia's Carson Wentz.

Prescott completed a 13-yard pass to Brice Butler for his 135th attempt without an interception to start his career. He completed his first four passes to get the record.

Wentz's streak ended at 134 straight attempts with an interception in the final minute of the Eagles' 24-23 loss to Detroit. Both quarterbacks have been trading the record in recent weeks.

While Wentz fell short of Tom Brady's overall NFL record of 162 straight passes without an interception to start a career, Prescott will take aim at that. Prescott started the day tied with Warren Moon for the second-longest overall streak. Now Wentz is in that No. 2 spot.

-Schuyler Dixon reporting from Arlington, Texas.

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4:35 p.m.

Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall kneeled during the anthem before Denver played the Atlanta Falcons.

In addition, Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr., linebacker Todd Davis and offensive guard Max Garcia ran over to the goal line to bow their heads at the start of the anthem, before hopping up and returning to the sideline and listen.

At the Chargers-Raiders game, Oakland's Malcolm Smith and Bruce Irvin raised their fists during the end of the anthem before their game against San Diego. Five Chargers also raised fists: offensive linemen Joe Barksdale, Chris Hairston, D.J. Fluker and Tyreek Burwell, and linebacker Joshua Perry.

Los Angeles Rams defensive end Robert Quinn raised his right fist during the anthem before his team's game with the Buffalo Bills. Quinn has done the same thing for every game this season. He's inactive and not in uniform for Sunday's game.

-Schuyler Dixon reporting from Arlington, Texas, Pat Graham reporting from Denver, Greg Beacham reporting from Los Angeles.

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4:05 p.m.

The defensive line showdown expected at the Coliseum isn't happening, thanks to injuries on both sidelines.

The Los Angeles Rams will be without three starters on their vaunted line Sunday after Robert Quinn, Michael Brockers and William Hayes all were ruled out with various injuries. Buffalo Bills star Marcell Dareus' season debut also will have to wait another week after he was declared inactive.

Coach Jeff Fisher had expressed hope that his stars would heal quickly, but Quinn and Brockers apparently were unable to go. Ethan Westbrooks, Eugene Sims and Cam Thomas moved into the starting lineup.

Dareus missed the first four games for his latest violation of the league's substance abuse policy, but then injured his hamstring in practice Friday. Adolphus Washington moved into the starting lineup.

-Greg Beacham reporting from Los Angeles.

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4:20 p.m.

Tom Brady made a successful return from his four-game suspension by throwing for 406 yards with three touchdown passes to Martellus Bennett in a 33-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

In other early afternoon games, the Minnesota Vikings remained unbeaten after defeating the Houston Texans 31-13 while the Detroit Lions edged Philadelphia 24-23 to hand the Eagles their first loss of the season.

Marcus Mariota threw three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth score in a 30-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins. The Washington Redskins edged Baltimore 13-10 after the Ravens' potential go-ahead touchdown pass to Breshad Perriman was overturned via replay. The Indianapolis Colts rallied to beat the Chicago Bears 29-23 and Ben Roethlisberger threw four touchdown passes as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New York Jets 31-13.

In the late afternoon games, Paxton Lynch makes his first career start as the Denver Broncos put their undefeated record on the line against the Atlanta Falcons, the Los Angeles Rams host the Buffalo Bills, the Cincinnati Bengals visit the Dallas Cowboys and the Oakland Raiders host the San Diego Chargers.

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3:35 p.m.

The Houston Texans are hurting beyond just the scoreboard.

Already without cornerback Kareem Jackson (hamstring) for the game, two more starters in the secondary went down in the second quarter at Minnesota.

The Houston players sidelined were safety Quintin Demps (calf) and cornerback Johnathan Joseph (concussion). They've been ruled out to return to a defense that already is missing superstar defensive end J.J. Watt (back) for the season.

In the third quarter, right guard Jeff Allen departed for concussion evaluation. Then backup tight end Ryan Griffin hurt his neck while awkwardly making a tackle after Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo intercepted Brock Osweiler. Griffin was down on the turf for several minutes before being escorted off the field and taken off by cart.

The Vikings lead 24-6.

-Dave Campbell reporting from Minneapolis.

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3:25 p.m.

Broncos rookie quarterback Paxton Lynch is preparing for his first NFL start.

Denver deactivated starting quarterback Trevor Siemian on Sunday. Siemian sprained his left AC joint in Denver's win at Tampa Bay last weekend. The Broncos are hoping he'll be healthy enough to start Thursday night at San Diego after a short week.

Lynch performed well in relief of Siemian last weekend, throwing for 170 yards and a touchdown while operating a narrowed playbook after Siemian got hurt when he was flung to the turf on his non-throwing shoulder.

The Broncos moved up to select Lynch with the 26th overall draft pick in April, but the Memphis star didn't really challenge Siemian for the starting job in training camp.

However, his footwork and throwing mechanics have improved and the Broncos feel good about putting him in against the Atlanta Falcons.

-Arnie Stapleton reporting from Denver.

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3:15 p.m.

New England Patriots rookie cornerback Cyrus Jones was ejected from Sunday's game at Cleveland early in the third quarter for unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for unnecessary roughness.

Jones, a second-round draft pick from Alabama, was involved with Browns receiver Andrew Hawkins while a pass to Terrelle Pryor was completed on the other side of the field. Referee Bill Vinovich announced the 15-yard penalty on Jones and that he was ejected.

- Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland

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2:50 p.m.

The Cleveland Browns have announced quarterback Cody Kessler won't return to Sunday's game with the New England Patriots.

Kessler left the game with chest and rib injuries. He was driven to the ground by Patriots linebacker Dont'a Hightower while attempting a pass late in the first quarter. Kessler's throw to Duke Johnson was behind the running back and went out of bounds in the end zone, giving New England a safety.

Kessler has been thrust into Cleveland's lineup because of injuries to starters Robert Griffin III (shoulder) and Josh McCown (collarbone).

- Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland

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2:40 p.m.

In his return from a four-game suspension, Tom Brady has thrown two touchdown passes to Martellus Bennett as the New England Patriots have a 23-7 halftime lead over the Cleveland Browns.

Brady is making his 2016 debut Sunday after serving a suspension for his role in the use of underinflated footballs during a playoff game. The Patriots went 3-1 without him.

In other games at halftime, Matthew Stafford has thrown three touchdown passes to give the Detroit Lions a 21-10 lead over the unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles. Marcus Mariota has two touchdown passes and one touchdown run as the Tennessee Titans lead 21-14 at Miami.

The Pittsburgh Steelers lead the New York Jets 14-13, the Indianapolis Colts lead the Chicago Bears 16-13, the Minnesota Vikings lead the Houston Texans 24-6 and the Baltimore Ravens have a 10-6 edge over the Washington Redskins.

The first half of the early games has featured three touchdowns on punt returns - an 85-yarder by Washington's Jamison Crowder, a 79-yarder by Minnesota's Marcus Sherels and a 74-yarder by Miami's Jakeem Grant.

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2:35 p.m.

Miami Dolphins rookie Jakeem Grant scored his first NFL touchdown on a 74-yard punt return, and then came out of the game against Tennessee with an ankle injury.

Grant later returned to the game. His score tied the game and provided a much-needed lift for the Dolphins, who were outgained 195 yards to 26 in the early going.

- Steven Wine reporting in Miami.

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2:30 p.m.

The Philadelphia Eagles have already given up their highest scoring total of the season.

In fact, the Detroit Lions have scored a touchdown every time they've had the ball so far Sunday.

The Lions lead the Eagles 21-10 at halftime after Philadelphia hadn't allowed more than 14 points in any of its first three games. Theo Riddick has a pair of TDs for Detroit.

The Lions went 75 yards in 11 plays for their first touchdown, 53 yards in nine plays for another, and then drove 71 yards in 12 plays for the third TD. That third drive lasted 7:13.

- Noah Trister reporting from Detroit

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2:10 p.m.

One of the main attractions of the Redskins-Ravens game was the matchup between Washington standout cornerback Josh Norman and Ravens receiver Steve Smith.

Well, Smith twisted his ankle making a catch and headed immediately to the sideline. A few plays later Norman lay prone on the field for several minutes before walking off slowly.

Both players were ultimately taken to the locker room for treatment, though Norman has since returned to the game.

- David Ginsburg reporting in Baltimore.

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1:55 p.m.

The Cleveland Browns may have lost another quarterback.

Rookie Cody Kessler left Sunday's game against New England with chest and rib injuries. He was driven to the ground by Patriots linebacker Dont'a Hightower while attempting a pass late in the first quarter. Kessler's throw to Duke Johnson was behind the running back and went out of bounds in the end zone, giving New England a safety.

Kessler had to be helped up and after being checked by doctors he was taken to Cleveland's locker room for tests. The team said his return is questionable.

Kessler has been thrust into Cleveland's lineup because of injuries to starters Robert Griffin III (shoulder) and Josh McCown (collarbone). Kessler threw a 16-yard TD pass before getting hurt.

Terrelle Pryor quarterbacked the first two plays of Cleveland's nest series before Charlie Whitehurst took over.

- Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland.

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1:40 p.m.

Indianapolis Colts running back Frank Gore passed former NFL career rushing leader Jim Brown on the league's rushing list on Sunday.

Gore needed 20 yards to move into No. 9 on the career list. He made it with a 16-yard run with 1:17 left in the first quarter.

Gore now has 12,323 yards. Brown is the fifth Hall of Famer that Gore has passed this season.

- Mike Marot reporting from Indianapolis.

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1:20 p.m.

Philadelphia Eagles defensive backs Malcolm Jenkins and Ron Brooks stood on the sideline with their right fists in the air while the national anthem played in Detroit. They hugged each other afterward.

At the Dolphins-Titans game, wide receiver Kenny Stills, defensive back Michael Thomas as well as running back Arian Foster knelt during the anthem on the Miami Dolphins sideline.

Four of the Tennessee Titans, including linebacker Wesley Woodyard and defensive tackle Jurrell Casey, raised their fists in unison at the end of the anthem.

- Larry Lage reporting from Detroit and Steven Wine reporting from Miami.

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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