Punter Sanchez excited to be back with Colts
The Indianapolis Colts were thrilled to have punter Rigoberto Sanchez back in action less than three weeks after he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Sanchez wants to keep details about the location private.
He couldn’t contain his excitement, either, pumping his arms and blowing kisses to the crowd as he jogged onto the field for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans.
Sanchez initially became concerned when he struggled warming up to do kickoff duty at practice Nov. 25. He was advised to undergo an MRI, which detected the tumor. Sanchez punted in that week’s game, a loss to Tennessee. The next day he announced he was having surgery Dec. 1.
A FIRST FOR ELLIOTT >> Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was inactive for Sunday’s game against the 49ers with a calf injury the two-time rushing championship has been battling for several weeks.
It’s the first game Elliott has missed because of injury in his five-year career. LONG-DISTANCE SPECIALIST >> Detroit Lions kicker Matt Prater tied the NFL record for most field goals of 50 yards or longer.
Prater made a 53-yard field goal with 4:09 left in the third quarter Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. That gave Prater the 58th field goal of his career of 50 yards or longer, tying the mark first set by Sebastian Janikowski for the most in NFL history.
Prater is in his 14th season in the NFL, and he is 58 of 78 on field goals 50 yards or longer for his career. He is 5 of 8 for this season.
SAFETY FIRST >> The Baltimore Ravens ended their game Monday night against the Cleveland Browns with a safety on the final play, and their first points in Sunday’s matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars came on an early safety.
Ja ck sonv ille st a r t ed its first possession on its 1-yard line following an interception. On second down, Gardner Minshew was sacked in the end zone for a 2- 0 lead.
SACKMASTER >> Seattle’s Jamal Adams’ sack of Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins in the first quarter gave him 91/2, adding to his single- season record for a defensive back since the NFL began tracking the stat in 1982. Adams also became the first DB in that time to have a sack in four consecutive games.
OH CANADA >> Cowboys long snapper L.P. Ladouceur set an NFL record for regularseason games by a Canadian-born player, appearing in his 251st game on a first- quarter punt against the 49ers.
The 39-year-old Montreal native broke kicker Eddie Murray’s record of 250 games from 1980-2000. Ladouceuer joined the Cowboys for the fourth game of the 2005 season and has played every game since then. The 2014 Pro Bowler also has been in nine playoff games.