Peyton Manning brought the Denver Broncos so far . . .
But he couldn’t help the Seattle Seahawks’ playing keep-away.
After Denver’s furious fourth-quarter rally to tie the Super Bowl rematch Sunday, the Seahawks hogged the football in overtime, methodically marching downfield to secure a 26-20 victory at home with a six-yard run and plunge over the goal line by Marshawn Lynch.
The victory ensured Seattle wouldn’t slip too far behind Arizona in the topsy-turvy NFC West, after the undefeated Cardinals claimed first place by knocking off San Francisco, 23-14.
The game was a defensive masterpiece for the Cardinals, who shut out the 49ers, 17-0, in the second half.
Arizona quarterback Drew Stanton, making his second start in place of the injured Carson Palmer (shoulder), threw a pair of touchdown passes to rookie John Brown, and absorbed some huge hits to walk away with a victory for the second consecutive week.
The Cardinals are off this week, their bye coming at an ideal time.
Meanwhile, Arizona Coach Bruce Arians just keeps winning, with his team emerging victorious in 10 of its last 12 games, dating to last season. And that’s with a backup quarterback the last two weeks.
“Next man up” is a well-worn cliche in the NFL. If there’s an injury, the next man has to step up and perform.
But Arians has firsthand experience with that, winning NFL coach-of-the-year honors in Indianapolis in 2012 after replacing Chuck Pagano, who was diagnosed with leukemia.
Arians said he’s so passionate about that concept “because I was the next man up once.”
Calling the victory “huge,” Arians said: “We talk about making a statement in our division, winning our divisional games at home, making this a tough place to come to, and that was a big victory for us. Obviously, 2-1 was not the end of the world, but to go undefeated in September, for us, is a huge step forward with all the things that have gone on in the last two weeks. I love the resiliency of our football team.”
Running out of runners
A week after a home win against Seattle, San Diego pulled off an impressive encore, traveling across the country to beat undefeated Buffalo. The Chargers are 2-1 for the third time in four years.
But the victory came at a cost, with the Chargers losing running back Danny Woodhead, who suffered an ankle injury on his first carry. Starter Ryan Mathews went down with a knee sprain against the Seahawks.
Donald Brown came in and contributed 89 yards of offense, 62 on the ground, but San Diego is woefully thin at the position. After the game, quarterback Philip Rivers said he expects Woodhead to miss at least a few weeks.
Good news for the Chargers? They play host to winless Jacksonville on Sunday, with rookie Blake Bortles starting at quarterback for the Jaguars.
No love lost
The NFC East has been on the decline in recent years, especially with the inconsistency of Washington, Dallas and the New York Giants.
But it was certainly interesting Sunday, when Philadelphia edged Washington in a 37-34 shootout that included a fourth-quarter brawl that resulted in the ejection of Redskins defensive lineman Chris Baker and Eagles left tackle Jason Peters.
The fight was sparked by Baker’s blindside hit on Eagles quarterback Nick Foles after an apparent interception. The pick was overturned by video replay, but Foles was overturned by Baker, who absolutely clobbered him and likely will be assessed a hefty fine.
Asked about the play, Eagles Coach Chip Kelly said: “We were talking about the interception. Is it an interception, is it not an interception? We can’t challenge it. What was the ruling on the field? And then all of a sudden a hockey game broke out.”
Not even Peyton’s place
In his team’s 44-17 thumping of Jacksonville, Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck achieved something Manning never did.
Luck completed 31 of 39 passes (79.5%) for 370 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He and the legendary John Unitas are the only Colts to have a completion rate of at least 75% for 350 yards with at least four touchdowns and no interceptions.
OK, it’s an obscure stat. But before he’s done, Luck is going to leave a considerable imprint on franchise history.
Well received
Three quarterbacks doubled as receivers Sunday and made big catches.
Two of the catches counted.
Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton made Bengals history by becoming the club’s first quarterback to reel in a touchdown pass, scoring on an 18-yard catch-and-carry from receiver Mohamed Sanu in a 33-7 rout of Tennessee.
“I was joking with the guys this week: Who’s going to catch the first TD pass, me or one of the other guys?” said Dalton, who, in fact, scored the first touchdown.
Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson made a nice grab, too, making a 17-yard catch from receiver Jermaine Kearse.
Then, there was Cleveland’s Johnny Manziel. The Browns used some trickery to get the ball in his hands against Baltimore — and it almost worked.
Manziel replaced starter Brian Hoyer for a play and had a handoff. The rookie made his way to the sideline on the next play but stopped just short of leaving the field. With his back to the action, he pretended to have a conversation with offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
The ball was snapped, Manziel ran a short route up the sideline, and caught a pass from Hoyer. Johnny Football gained 39 yards before he was shoved out of bounds . . . but the big gain was wiped out when running back Terrance West was called for an illegal shift.
You’re up, rook
Oakland’s Derek Carr was the only rookie quarterback to open the season as a starter, but a couple others are right on his heels.
In Jacksonville, Bortles started the second half of a 44-17 blowout loss to Indianapolis, giving fans there a reason to keep watching a yawner of a game. All the Jaguars’ points came with the rookie at the helm, not starter Chad Henne, and Bortles finished 14 of 24 for 223 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. After the game, the Jaguars named Bortles their starter.
“It was definitely good to go out there and not be like, ‘Oh, my God, what am I doing here?'” said Bortles, the No. 3 pick and first quarterback drafted last spring. “It was good to go out there and get that experience.”
Minnesota rookie Teddy Bridgewater will be taking over for Matt Cassel for the foreseeable future. Cassel suffered multiple broken bones in his foot in a 20-9 loss at New Orleans. Bridgewater entered early in the second quarter and finished 12 for 20 for 150 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
Double agent
Washington receiver DeSean Jackson scored an 81-yard touchdown against Philadelphia, his old team. Back in 2010, he scored on an 88-yard reception against the Redskins.
That means Jackson is the third player in NFL history to make an 80-plus-yard touchdown catch both for and against a franchise.
Hall of Famer Charlie Joiner did it, and so did Art Powell.
Still a mystery
After his team’s 23-21 victory at Cleveland, Baltimore Coach John Harbaugh addressed an ESPN report that he’d wanted to release Ray Rice in February, immediately after the running back assaulted his future wife. The report said the coach was overruled by Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti and GM Ozzie Newsome.
Harbaugh didn’t flatly deny the report, and his answer left the door cracked open.
“I can tell you this, we work together in our organization,” he said. “Every single football decision we make, we work together. You get together, you hash it out. Everybody’s got their opinions. It’s not black and white. . . . When we walk out of that room, we are united.”
Hubris hurts
Goofball of the day award goes to Detroit linebacker Stephen Tulloch, who suffered a knee injury . . . while celebrating a sack of Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers.
Tulloch looked as if he was mocking Rodgers’ celebration of strapping on an imaginary title belt, and his knee buckled as he landed a little leap. Tulloch, who fell to the ground in pain, tried to return to the game but didn’t last long.
You might remember that it was Tulloch who mocked Denver quarterback Tim Tebow a few years ago by dropping to a knee and “Tebowing” after a sack.
“I’ve played nine years in the league and I’ve never missed a game,” the Lions linebacker said Sunday. “I’ve been fortunate enough to take care of my family and do some good things in the league. I made a play on the quarterback to help my team and unfortunately I got up and in the celebration, and it happened.
“I’m not embarrassed.”
That invites the question: Why not?
Follow Sam Farmer on Twitter @LATimesfarmer
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