BUFFALO: RYAN FITZPATRICK, who was named the Bills starting quarterback in Week 3, has 13 touchdowns passes in six games. Fitzpatrick is on pace (30) to become the second Buffalo quarterback to register 30+ touchdown passes in a season, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer JIM KELLY (33 in 1991)…Third-year WR STEVE JOHNSON leads the team with six touchdown receptions and is on target (12) to surpass BILL BROOKS (11 in 1995) for the most in a season in franchise history…On special teams, rookie kick returner C.J. SPILLER has one kick-return touchdown and can challenge TERRENCE MC GEE (three) for the most kick-return touchdowns in a single-season in franchise history.
CINCINNATI: Major offseason acquisition WR TERRELL OWENS has reached 1,000 receiving yards nine times in his career and is pace (770; 1,540) to join Pro Football Hall of Fame WR JERRY RICE (14) and Titans WR RANDY MOSS (10) as the only players to have at least 10 seasons with 1,000 receiving yards in NFL history…QB CARSON PALMER has 2,103 passing yards and is on track (4,206) for the most passing yards in a season in Bengals history. Palmer holds the single-season club record with 4,131 passing yards in 2007…CB LEON HALL is tied for first in the AFC with four interceptions and is on track (eight) for a new career-high (six in 2009).
CLEVELAND: RB PEYTON HILLIS, who was acquired via trade by the Browns in March, leads the team with 644 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. Hillis is on pace (1,288 rush yards, 14 rush TDs) to join JIM BROWN, LEROY KELLY and MIKE PRUITT as the only running backs in franchise history to have 1,000 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns in a season…TE BENJAMIN WATSON leads the team in receptions (31) and receiving yards (360) and can challenge to become the third Browns tight end to reach 800 receiving yards in a season, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer OZZIE NEWSOME and KELLEN WINSLOW.
DENVER: QB KYLE ORTON is on a franchise-record pace for passing yards in his second season in Denver. Orton ranks third in the NFL with 2,509 passing yards and is on track (5,018) to surpass JAY CUTLER (4,526 in 2008) for the most passing yards in a season in Broncos history and become only the third player in NFL history with 5,000 passing yards in a season. Orton’s go-to target WR BRANDON LLOYD leads the NFL with 878 receiving yards and is on pace (1,756) to surpass ROD SMITH (1,602 in 2000) for the most receiving yards in a season in franchise history…LB D.J. WILLIAMS leads the team with 72 tackles and is on target to record 100+ tackles for the fourth consecutive year.
HOUSTON: The NFL’s leading rusher through Week 9 resides in Houston. Second-year RB ARIAN FOSTER has an NFL-best 864 rushing yards and a league-high nine rushing touchdowns. The former undrafted free agent in 2009 can become the first running back since LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON in 2007 to lead the NFL in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in a season…All-Star WR ANDRE JOHNSON has 14 career games of 10 receptions and 100 receiving yards and needs two such games this season to surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer JERRY RICE (15) and MARVIN HARRISON (14) for the most in NFL history.
INDIANAPOLIS: Four-time MVP QB PEYTON MANNING has 2,478 passing yards and is on pace (4,956) to join Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks DAN FOUTS (1980-81) and WARREN MOON (1990-91) as the only players in NFL history to have consecutive seasons with 4,500 passing yards. Manning has 382 career touchdown passes and can join BRETT FAVRE (506) and Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (420) as the only players in NFL history to reach 400 career TD passes…WR REGGIE WAYNE leads the NFL with 60 receptions and is on track (120) to reach 100 receptions in back-to-back seasons (100 in 2009)…All-Star DE DWIGHT FREENEY is on pace (five; 10) to reach double-digit sacks in three consecutive seasons for the second time in his career.
JACKSONVILLE: QB DAVID GARRARD has 13 touchdown passes in seven games and is on track (27) to surpass MARK BRUNELL (20 in 1998 and 2000) for the most touchdown passes in a season in franchise history…TE MARCEDES LEWIS has been a go-to target for Garrard in the end zone. Lewis leads the team with seven touchdown receptions, the most by a tight end in a season in franchise history…On the ground, RB MAURICE JONES-DREW is in his fifth season and is on target (645; 1,290) to reach 1,200 rushing yards for the second consecutive year.
KANSAS CITY: The Chiefs are in first place in the AFC West with a 5-3 record and aim to win their first division title since 2003. RBs JAMAAL CHARLES (719; 1,438) and THOMAS JONES (570; 1,140) lead the NFL’s top rushing attack and are on track to become the first duo in Chiefs history to reach 1,000 rushing yards apiece in a season...Fourth-year WR DWAYNE BOWE has totaled seven touchdown receptions and is on pace (14) to surpass CHRIS BURFORD (12 in 1962) for the most touchdown receptions in a season in franchise history…On defense, LB TAMBA HALI has eight sacks and can challenge former Chief JARED ALLEN (15.5 in 2007) for the second-most sacks in a season in Chiefs history (DERRICK THOMAS, 20 in 1990).
MIAMI: Acquired via trade by the Dolphins in April, WR BRANDON MARSHALL has been a welcome addition in Miami. Marshall, who has reached 100 receptions in each of the past three seasons, is on target (52; 104) to join MARVIN HARRISON as the only players to have 100 receptions in four consecutive seasons in NFL history. The All-Star receiver leads the team with 618 receiving yards and is on pace (1,236) to become the first Dolphins player with 1,200 receiving yards in a season since 1994 (IRVING FRYAR, 1,270)…LB CAMERON WAKE leads the AFC with 8.5 sacks and can challenge former Dolphin JASON TAYLOR (18.5 in 2002) for the most sacks in a season in franchise history.
NEW ENGLAND: The Patriots have started the season with at least six wins in their first eight games for the fourth time in five years…QB TOM BRADY is on pace (14; 28) for his sixth season with 25+ touchdown passes, which would tie Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback JOE MONTANA for the fourth-most 25+ TD pass seasons in NFL history…RB BEN JARVUS GREEN-ELLIS has a career-best six rush touchdowns and is on track (12) to become the first Patriots player to record double-digit rush touchdowns since COREY DILLON in 2006 (13)…Rookie TE AARON HERNANDEZ has 34 receptions for 436 receiving yards and is on track for the most catches (GREG BATY, 37, 1986) and receiving yards (RUSS FRANCIS, 636, 1975) by a rookie tight end in club history.
NEW YORK JETS: Jets newcomer LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON has 599 rushing yards and is on pace (1,198) to join Pro Football Hall of Fame running backs EMMITT SMITH (11), WALTER PAYTON (10), BARRY SANDERS (10) and former Jet CURTIS MARTIN (10) as the only players with at least nine 1,000-yard rushing seasons…Third-year TE DUSTIN KELLER is tied for a team lead with five touchdowns receptions and is on pace to tie RICH CASTER (10 in 1972) for the most touchdown catches by a tight end in franchise history…DE JASON TAYLOR (130.5) needs three sacks to surpass LAWRENCE TAYLOR (132.5) and LESLIE O’NEAL (132.5) for the eighth-most sacks since 1982.
OAKLAND: The Raiders have a 5-4 record and aim to reach the postseason for the first time since a trip to Super Bowl XXXVII in 2002. Former 2008 first-round pick, RB DARREN MC FADDEN ranks second in the AFC and fourth in the NFL with 757 rushing yards in seven games and is on track (1,514) to join Pro Football Hall of Famer MARCUS ALLEN (1,759 in 1985) as the only players in franchise history to post a 1,500-yard rushing season…On defense, second-year DE MATT SHAUGHNESSY (five) and newcomer LB KAMERION WIMBLEY (five) can challenge to become the first Raiders duo to reach 10 sacks in a season since DERRICK BURGESS (11) and WARREN SAPP (10) in 2006.
PITTSBURGH: Under the guidance of MIKE TOMLIN, the Steelers are tied for first place in the AFC North and are off to a 6-2 start for the fourth consecutive season…RB RASHARD MENDENHALL (seven) is on pace to tie FRANCO HARRIS (14 in 1976) for the most rushing touchdowns in a season in franchise history…WR MIKE WALLACE (507) is on target to register 1,014 receiving yards, which would be the first 1,000-yard season of his career…On defense, the Steelers have allowed an NFL-low 15.4 points per game through Week 9 and aim to lead the league in the category for the second time in the past three seasons (13.9 in 2008). LB JAMES HARRISON (seven) seeks to become the first Pittsburgh player to have three consecutive seasons with double-digit sacks.
SAN DIEGO: QB PHILIP RIVERS is operating at a historic pace in his fifth season as a starter. Rivers leads the NFL with 2,944 passing yards and is on track (5,233) to surpass Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback DAN MARINO (5,084 in 1984) for the most passing yards in a season in NFL history. The All-Star quarterback also leads the league with 19 touchdown passes and can challenge his own team record of 34 TD passes in 2008…Rivers’ top receiving threat TE ANTONIO GATES (nine) needs five touchdown catches to set a record for the most by a tight end in a single-season in NFL history. Gates posted 13 TD receptions in 2004, tied for the most ever among tight ends (VERNON DAVIS, 13 in 2009).
TENNESSEE: QB VINCE YOUNG leads the AFC with a 103.1 passer rating and aims to improve that mark with the arrival of All-Star WR RANDY MOSS. Moss (14,778), needs 222 receiving yards to join JERRY RICE (22,895), TERRELL OWENS (15,721) and ISAAC BRUCE (15,208) as the only players in NFL history with 15,000 career receiving yards…RB CHRIS JOHNSON ranks second in the NFL with eight rushing touchdowns and is on pace (16) to challenge RB EARL CAMPBELL’s franchise record of 19 in 1979…On defensive, S MICHAEL GRIFFIN is tied for an AFC-best with four interceptions and is on target to surpass his career-high of seven in 2008.
