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Anthony Barr hits Aaron Rodgers
NFL

High-profile injuries continue in NFL as Rodgers hurts collarbone

The Green Bay QB suffered a broken collarbone in the Green Bay Packers’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

ANOTHER WEEK AND more prominent injuries in the NFL as Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers headlined the casualty list.

The latest was a potential season-ending injury to Packers quarterback Rodgers, who broke his right collarbone early in the first quarter of Sunday’s 23-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Rodgers was hit by Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr as he threw a pass, driven into the turf at US Bank Stadium in what was a legal hit.

Also getting injured on a similar hit was Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston, who was knocked out in the second quarter of a 38-33 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

X-rays on Winston’s right shoulder were negative and he will have an MRI on Monday to determine how much time he might miss.

There have been a rash of injuries this season, with many of them to marquee players. Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt and team-mate outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus are done for the season, as are New York Giants receivers Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall and Dwayne Harris, New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman, Cardinals running back David Johnson and linebacker Markus Golden, Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry and receiver Chris Conley, and Philadelphia Eagles running back Darren Sproles.

Those are just a few of the players with serious injuries and does not include players like Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen, who was placed on injured reserve with a broken foot. The Panthers do hope to get him back, which is the same hope the Denver Broncos have for outside linebacker Shane Ray, who tore a ligament in his left wrist.

ANOTHER MILESTONE FOR BRADY

The Patriots are 4-2, but they will have to do something to fix their defence if they hope to defend their Super Bowl title. After Jets quarterback Josh McCown threw for 354 yards in the 24-17 loss, the Patriots are the first team in NFL history to allow a 300-yard passer through the first six games of a season.

New England’s victory gave Tom Brady his 187th win during the regular season for the most all-time by a quarterback.

Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt was bottled up for just 21 rushing yards on nine carries, but did have five receptions for 89 yards to give him 110 yards from scrimmage. Hunt is the first rookie running back ever with over 100 yards from scrimmage in his first six NFL games.

Hunt is in competition with Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson for Rookie of the Year honours and Watson did his part on Sunday. Watson threw for three touchdowns in a 33-17 victory over the winless Cleveland Browns. He now has 15 touchdown passes to set a new record for most TD passes through six weeks.

New Cardinals running back Adrian Peterson ran for 134 yards in the 38-33 over the Bucs. It was the first 100-yard game for Peterson since week 16 of the 2015 season and 53 more yards than he had in four games with the New Orleans Saints.

Once Winston left with the Bucs trailing 21-0, Ryan Fitzpatrick led a rally to get Tampa Bay back into it. Fitzpatrick threw three touchdowns, his first three for the Bucs, to join Chris Chandler, Gus Frerotte and Vinny Testaverde as the only QBs to throw at least one touchdown pass for seven different NFL teams.

The San Francisco 49ers had another hard-luck loss with a 26-24 defeat to the Washington Redskins. The 49ers are the first team in NFL history to lose five straight games by three or fewer points.

KERLEY SETS PACE IN LOSS

Jeremy Kerley’s diving 30-yard catch set up the Jets’ first touchdown as New York jumped out to a 14-0 lead over the Patriots.

Chicago’s Tarik Cohen became the first Bears running back to throw a TD pass since Adrian Peterson in 2007. He was also the first Bears rookie RB to throw a TD pass since Gale Sayers did it in 1965.

Michael Campanaro’s 77-yard punt return forced overtime against the Bears and was one of two special teams touchdowns by the Baltimore Ravens, but the Bears did win it in the extra period.

How did the Jacksonville Jaguars respond to Los Angeles Rams receiver Pharoh Cooper returning the opening kick-off for a touchdown? They got a 75-yard touchdown run by Leonard Fournette on the very next play, but the Rams pulled away for a 27-17 victory.

Janoris Jenkins’ pick-six gave the Giants a 17-3 lead over the Broncos en route to their first win of the season.

BRADY REVELS IN NFL RECORD

Brady on setting the record for most regular-season wins: ”I wish we would have done better, but we won.”

Referee Tony Corrente on overturning Austin Seferian-Jenkins’ touchdown: “He lost the ball. It came out of his control as he was almost to the ground…  He didn’t survive the recovery and didn’t survive the ground during the recovery is what happened here… It was pretty obvious.”

Peterson on his first game with the Cardinals: ”This is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for … When I got that call I was rejuvenated… ”I feel like the sky is the limit.”

SUNDAY’S RESULTS

  • Miami Dolphins 20-17 Atlanta Falcons
  • Chicago Bears 27-24 Baltimore Ravens (overtime)
  • Houston Texans 33-17 Cleveland Browns
  • Minnesota Vikings 23-10 Green Bay Packers
  • New Orleans Saints 52-38 Detroit Lions
  • New England Patriots 24-17 New York Jets
  • Washington Redskins 26-24 San Francisco 49ers
  • Arizona Cardinals 38-33 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • Los Angeles Rams 27-17 Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Pittsburgh Steelers 19-13 Kansas City Chiefs
  • Los Angeles Chargers 17-16 Oakland Raiders
  • Denver Broncos 23-13 New York Giants

Isaiah Thomas out to prove the Celtics wrong and the rest of the week’s best sportswriting

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