The Latest: Houston star J.J. Watt breaks left leg
The Latest on Week 5 of the NFL (all times Eastern):
10:45 p.m.
Houston star J.J. Watt broke his left leg Sunday night in the Texans’ home game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The team announced that he sustained a tibial plateau fracture.
The defensive end was injured while being blocked midway through the first quarter and fell to the ground.
Watt remained on his hands and knees for a couple of minutes while trainers checked on him. They flipped him onto his back and were looking at his left leg. He was then helped to his feet and looked to be in a lot of pain and didn’t appear to be able to put any weight on the leg as he was helped off the field by two Texans officials.
The three-time Defensive Player of the Year returned this season after missing the last 13 games of last season after his second back surgery.
He remained on the sideline under a tent for a few minutes before being taken to the locker room on a cart.
About 30 minutes later, television footage showed Watt walking on crutches to an ambulance before sitting on a stretcher, being moved into the ambulance and taken away.
Houston linebacker Whitney Mercilus also also injured in the first quarter and was ruled out with a chest injury.
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7:45 p.m.
Aaron Rodgers hit Davante Adams with a 12-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds left, giving the Green Bay Packers a thrilling 35-31 road win over the Dallas Cowboys.
The win came on the same field where the Packers won a divisional playoff game nine months ago and put them in sole possession of first place in the NFC North.
Cam Newton, who came under fire last week for making sexist comments to a female reporter, threw for a season-high 335 yards and three touchdowns in Carolina’s 27-24 win over Detroit. Russell Wilson passed for 198 yards and a touchdown in Seattle’s 16-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
In other games, the New York Jets beat Cleveland 17-14; Indianapolis beat San Francisco 26-23 in overtime; Miami beat Tennessee 16-10; Cincinnati beat Buffalo 20-16; the Los Angeles Chargers beat the New York Giants 27-22; Jacksonville beat Pittsburgh 30-9; Philadelphia beat Arizona 34-7; and Baltimore beat Oakland 30-17.
The unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs visit the Houston Texans on Sunday night.
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4:55 p.m.
Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby missed his first two extra points against the Dallas Cowboys — the first time in his career he has missed more than one PAT in a game.
Crosby’s first kick clanged off the left upright in the first quarter, and the second was wide left in the second quarter. The Packers trailed the Cowboys 21-12 at halftime.
Crosby missed two point-after kicks in 2014, the year before the NFL made the kick a 33-yarder. He made all 36 kicks the first year of the longer distance, but missed three last season.
In a 34-31 divisional playoff win over the Cowboys on the same field in January, Crosby made two kicks from 50-plus yards in the final 1:33. That included a 51-yarder as time expired for the win.
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4:50 p.m.
The New York Giants lost four receivers to injury against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, including superstar Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham hurt his left ankle when he landed awkwardly trying to catch a high pass late in the Giants’ 27-22 loss. He required a cart to get off the field.
Sterling Shepard and Brandon Marshall also suffered injuries to their left ankles, and Dwayne Harris hurt his foot on a kick return.
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4:25 p.m.
Baltimore Ravens running back Terrance West went down with a calf injury on the opening drive against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday and is doubtful to return.
West got hurt on a 13-yard run and had to be helped off the field.
Baltimore scored on the drive when tight end Vince Mayle ran 2 yards on an end around.
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3:45 p.m.
Charlotte Observer reporter Jourdan Rodrigue was not working in the Ford Field press box during the Panthers-Detroit Lions game.
“Taking some time off,” Mike Persinger, the executive sports editor of The Charlotte Observer, wrote in an email.
Rodrigue asked Cam Newton about wide receiver Devin Funchess’ route running on Wednesday and Carolina’s quarterback laughed and said, “It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes. It’s funny.”
Newton apologized for the sexist comments he made the next night in a Twitter video post.
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3:35 p.m.
A CBS reporter has clarified his televised report saying quarterback Colin Kaepernick told him he would stand during the national anthem if he played in the NFL again, saying he didn’t discuss the issue with the player when they spoke.
Jason La Canfora said in a series of tweets on Sunday that he was relaying previous reporting about Kaepernick and did not ask whether the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback would sit or stand during the anthem.
The reversal came after anchor James Brown asked La Canfora on “The NFL Today”: “And kneeling, he said?”
La Canfora responded: “He’s not planning on kneeling. He’s going to donate all his jersey sales and he’s planning on standing for the anthem if given the opportunity, J.B.”
La Canfora tweeted later that he does not know what Kaepernick would do during the anthem.
Relying on unnamed sources, ESPN reported in March that Kaepernick would stand during the anthem if he played again. But Kaepernick has not spoken publicly about what he would do.
Kaepernick said on Twitter: “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on. Winston S. Churchill.”
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3 p.m.
The Browns have their first lead of 2017.
Cleveland was the only team not to be ahead in a game at any point this season before Sunday, when backup quarterback Kevin Hogan replaced rookie DeShone Kizer and threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to rookie David Njoku to put the Browns up 7-3 in the third quarter against the New York Jets.
With Kizer standing on the sideline, Hogan went 5 for 5 for 52 yards on Cleveland’s scoring drive.
Kizer went 8 of 17 for 87 yards and threw an interception near the goal in the second quarter. Kizer has a league-high nine picks this season.
Coach Hue Jackson had vowed to stick with Kizer, the second-round pick from Notre Dame. But with Cleveland winless through four games, Jackson is looking for anything to get his team turned around.
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2:40 p.m.
Peyton Manning tells Colts fans that he came to Indianapolis to win a lot of games and he’s thankful to have played in the city during a halftime ceremony in which his No. 18 jersey was retired.
Manning then walked onto the field, took a snap from his longtime center Jeff Saturday and threw one last pass to former Reggie Wayne in the end zone.
“I don’t think we’ll ever have a team as beloved as this one or a player as beloved as this one,” team owner Jim Irsay said before handing Manning a blue sports coat with a horseshoe on it for his induction into the team’s Ring of Honor.
The crowd — which never really got to say goodbye to Manning before he was released in March 2012 — roared.
“I came here almost 20 years ago to play quarterback and to try and win a lot of football games,” he said as both teams returned to the field to warm up for the second half. “I thank God every day that I’m an Indianapolis Colt.”
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2:18 p.m.
It took five weeks, but Christian McCaffrey has scored his first NFL touchdown Sunday against the Detroit Lions. McCaffrey, who caught 22 passes in Carolina’s 3-1 start, caught a shovel pass from Cam Newton and ran 6 yards for a touchdown that tied the game at 10 in the second quarter. McCaffery was used at running back, wide receiver and punt returner in the first half against Detroit.
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1:30 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence has left the 49ers-Colts game after about a dozen San Francisco players took a knee.
The former Indiana governor flew in so he could watch Peyton Manning’s jersey retirement ceremony on Sunday. Manning will become the first Indianapolis-era player in Colts history to have his number retired and will also be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor.
But Pence didn’t stick around long.
Pence said on Twitter : “I left today’s Colts game because @POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem.”
The White House also issued a statement from Pence, in which he says Americans should rally around the flag. Pence said: “I don’t think it’s too much to ask NFL players to respect the Flag and our National Anthem.”
Pence is a noted sports fan and it’s second major event he’s attended in his home state since taking office in January. He also attended May’s Indianapolis 500, a family tradition.
But Pence couldn’t come to Manning’s statue unveiling Saturday afternoon, which was attended by a number of luminaries including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Instead, Pence spent most of Saturday honoring victims of the Las Vegas shooting before returning to his home state.
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1:10 p.m.
Myles Garrett wasted no time making an impact, recording a sack on his first play as a pro for the Browns.
The top overall pick in this year’s draft, Garrett missed Cleveland’s first four games with a high ankle sprain. After sitting out Sunday’s first two plays, Garrett came in on third down and sacked New York quarterback Josh McCown for an eight-yard loss.
The Browns are hoping the 21-year-old year Garrett can not only help them get their first win, but turn around a franchise that has had just one playoff appearance since 1999.
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1:10 p.m.
A fan banner in the upper deck at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati says: “Just Play Football.”
A pro-Trump banner was briefly displayed criticizing players and owners, signed with #MakeAmericaGreatAgain before the Bengals hosted the Buffalo Bills.
During the anthem, a fan held a cardboard sign that said “Cincy Stands For The Anthem.” It’s the first game at Paul Brown Stadium since President Donald Trump tweeted that players should be fired if they protest during the anthem, prompting a pushback from players and some team owners. Bills and Bengals players all stood.
In Indianapolis, about a dozen San Francisco 49ers players took a knee while the rest stood with their hand over their heart. Two players appeared to take a knee when the line “land of the free” played.
In Detroit, umpire Barry Anderson stood on the sideline and locked arms with Lions players before a game against the Carolina Panthers.
As the Giants hosted the Los Angeles Chargers, most of the Giants linked arms and everyone for Los Angeles stood.
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12 p.m.
Top overall pick Myles Garrett is active and starting for the winless Browns.
Cleveland (0-4) hosts the New York Jets (2-2), who will be without running back Matt Forte.
Garrett missed Cleveland’s first four games with a sprained right ankle, but the rookie defensive end is in the lineup Sunday as the Browns, who are just 1-19 in two seasons under coach Hue Jackson, take on the New York Jets.
The 21-year-old Garrett was very impressive during the exhibition season and the Browns are hoping his return can give them a spark.
He was able to make it through a full week of practice without any trouble. He announced his return this week on Twitter and says he wants to declare his presence with a sack.
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11:50p.m.
The Packers and Cowboys have been one of the NFL’s most entertaining, meaningful rivalries for decades. They face off Sunday in one of the highlights of Week 5 in the NFL.
Green Bay receiver Jordy Nelson leads the league with five touchdown catches. He says the game has a lot of history and gives fans reason for good conversation.
Cowboys tight end Jason Witten says the game is important because the Packers have played well in critical games in recent years.
The Seahawks and Rams also play in a key game in the NFC West. The Rams offense has been strong behind running back Todd Gurley and quarterback Jared Goff.
Kansas City is the only unbeaten team left in football. The Chiefs face the Texans in Houston on Sunday night.
Carolina and Detroit both go into their game at 3-1, and Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has been a focal point for much of the week because of a snide remark to a female reporter.
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