Ajayi running in fast company
Joins Campbell, Simpson, Williams with second straight 200-yard game
As the NFL’s newest rushing star, Jay Ajayi is carrying the Miami Dolphins toward respectability.
Ajayi tied a league record by surpassing 200 yards rushing for the second game in a row, helping Miami rally past the Buffalo Bills 28-25 Sunday.
Ajayi rushed for 214 yards in 29 carries after totaling 204 yards a week earlier in a win over Pittsburgh. He scored on a 4-yard run, and busted a 53yarder when the Dolphins were pinned at their 3 and trailing in the fourth quarter.
The Dolphins (3-4) used an extra lineman much of the time to clear big holes for Ajayi, who tied the record for consecutive 200-yard games held by O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams.
“It’s surreal to me,” Ajayi said. “The backs I’m in company with — that’s huge. Those are Hall of Fame guys, guys I look up to.”
Ajayi, a second-year pro from Boise State, is the only NFL rusher with a 200-yard game this year. He ran for 187 yards as a rookie and totaled 117 in Miami’s first five games this year before his breakout. “I know this — every time No. 23 kept getting the ball, he was popping a run,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said. “I was leaning on him.”
Bills safety Aaron Williams n missed the second half with a head and neck injury when blocked illegally by receiver Jarvis Landry, who was flagged for unnecessary roughness.
Landry led with his shoulder, launched into Williams and hit him high. Williams remained on his back for a couple of minutes before he slowly rose and was led to the locker room. The veteran safety missed most of last season when he underwent neck surgery following an injury that threatened his career.
When asked if the hit was dirty, Landry said, “Call it what you want. It’s football.”
Down Browns: Winless Cleveland (0-7) not only lost again, this time 31-17 to the Bengals, but also lost another quarterback. Cody Kessler suffered a concussion on a shovel pass in the second quarter.
Undrafted rookie Kevin Hogan out of Stanford — Cleveland’s sixth quarterback in seven games — completed 12 of 24 for 100 yards with a pair of interceptions. Hogan ran seven times for a team-high 104 yards, including a 28-yard TD run that was the longest by a quarterback in Browns history.
“I felt very comfortable out there,” Hogan said. “I felt good in the huddle, leading the guys and getting to the right plays.”
So, now what? Hogan joins Robert Griffin III, Josh McCown, Kessler, Charlie Whitehurst and Terrelle Pryor as Cleveland’s quarterbacks through the first seven games. Coach Hue Jackson said there’s a chance McCown could be available against the Jets next week despite a sore left shoulder. There’s no telling Kessler’s fate with the concussion.
“These quarterbacks only have so many of these hits in their body, you know?” Jackson said. “Pretty soon, guys don’t get up all the time, and that’s what’s been happening. It’s just been happening way too much, so on we go.”
That was quick: Geno Smith’s return to the Jets’ starting lineup came to a premature end, with the quarterback exiting a 24-16 win over Baltimore with a right knee injury in the second quarter. The start was Smith’s first of the year, and he was replaced by Ryan Fitzpatrick, who started the previous 22 games for New York before being bench after last week.
Smith will have an MRI this week. Before the injury, Smith finished 4 of 8 for 95 yards and a touchdown. Fitzpatrick, who had thrown an NFL-leading 11 interceptions before he was benched, was an efficient 9 of 14 for 120 yards and a touchdown — and no interceptions.
Good company: Bengals receiver A.J. Green had eight catches for 169 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown on a desperation pass on the last play of the first half, against Cleveland. Green has nine games with at least 150 receiving yards and a touchdown catch, the fourthmost among players in their first six seasons. Only Hall of Famers Lance Alworth (13) and Jerry Rice (11), and Randy Moss (10) had more such games in their first six NFL seasons.
Record kick: Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri has another record to his credit.
Vinatieri kicked two field goals against the Tennessee Titans, extending his streak without a miss to 43 consecutive field goals for an NFL record. He tied former Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt (42 made between 2002 and 2004) with a 28-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Then Vinatieri took the record to himself with a 33-yarder with 3:46 left in the third quarter, which gave Indianapolis a 20-13 lead.
Bronco homecoming: Brock Osweiler swears he meant no disrespect to Denver or Peyton Manning when he said at his introductory news conference in Houston that he chose the Texans over the Broncos in free agency because they gave him the “best opportunity to be successful.”
With his homecoming on tap Monday night, a game pitting two flawed 4-2 division leaders, Osweiler acknowledged it might not have been the wisest choice of words. But he’s not apologizing for saying it, just expressing regret that it came off wrong in some quarters.
After spending four seasons as Peyton Manning’s backup and presumed successor, Osweiler shockingly left the Super Bowl champs for a four-year, $72 million offer from Houston 48 hours after Manning’s tearful retirement.
His “best opportunity to be successful” comment was seen as one last jab at the team that had benched him for the playoff run.
Osweiler explained that while he felt he fit in very nicely with Gary Kubiak’s West Coast offense in Denver, where he went 5-2 as the starter last season, he felt his skills were better suited for Bill O’Brien’s more traditional downfield passing scheme.
“It seemed like a phenomenal opportunity as a quarterback to play in a system like this,” Osweiler said.