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Home , AFC South, Duluth Eskimos, Ferrell Edmunds, Indianapolis Colts, Joseph Addai, Phillip Lindsay

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 12/10/19 http://twitter.com/nfl345

AFC SOUTH BATTLE HIGHLIGHTS WEEK 15 SLATE

To help celebrate the NFL’s 100th season, each week will feature an NFL 100 Game of the Week. Each game is a nod to a momentous game played, a fierce rivalry that spans decades, a matchup of original teams and/or a game in which history was made. The NFL has designated the COLTS- matchup as the NFL100 Game of the Week because the contest features the teams from XLIV. On Feb. 7, 2010, in Miami, Fla., the Saints dedicated their 31-17 victory to the New Orleans community, ravaged four years earlier by Hurricane Katrina. Trailing 10-6, Saints surprised everyone by calling for an onside kick to open the second half, and the Saints recovered to set up a go-ahead, 16-yard pass from to PIERRE THOMAS. The Colts went back on top, 17- 13, with a 4-yard touchdown run by , but the Saints shut out Indy’s high-powered offense over the game’s final 21 minutes. Brees guided New Orleans on a nine-play touchdown drive to take a fourth-quarter lead, hitting from 2 yards out, and returned an 74 yards for a touchdown, the final points in the Saints’ first world championship.

AFC SOUTH FIGURES TO GO DOWN TO WIRE: The TITANS (8-5), who’ve vaulted into the heart of the AFC playoff race with four straight wins, host the TEXANS (8-5) on Sunday (1:00 PM ET, CBS). The two organizations that sit knotted atop the AFC South not only share roots in the city of Houston, they also meet twice in the season’s final three weeks, including a Week 17 rematch at NRG Stadium. And don’t count out the (6-7), who are still in the hunt thanks to a 3-2 record.

 Tennessee last week completed 21 of 27 passes (77.8 percent) for 391 yards and three with one interception for a 140.4 in the Titans' 42-21 win at Oakland. Tannehill joined (three games in 2011) as the only players to complete at least 75 percent of their passes with a passer rating of 130 or higher (minimum 10 attempts) in three consecutive games in a single season in NFL history. Tannehill also joined (five games in 2015) as the only players with four consecutive games with at least two passing touchdowns and a passer rating of 125 or higher in NFL history.

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL: Through the first 14 weeks of the 2019 season, five teams – the (9-4), (10-3), (9-4), (8-5) and (11-2) – are in playoff position after missing the postseason a year ago. From 1990-2018 – a streak of 29 consecutive years – at least four teams have qualified for the playoffs in every season that were not in the postseason the year before. In 2018, seven of the 12 playoff teams missed the postseason the year before.

DIVISION-WINNING REBOUNDS: The NFL in 2002 expanded to 32 teams and realigned into eight divisions. Since that time, in 15 of the past 16 years, at least two teams have won their divisions the season after missing the playoffs. Heading into Week 15, two teams – GREEN BAY in the NFC North and SAN FRANCISCO in the NFC West – lead their respective divisions after missing the postseason in 2018.

BREES, BRADY IN RACE FOR MANNING’S RECORD: In Week 15, New England quarterback (536) will get the first shot at the NFL’s career passing touchdowns record, held by (539), when the Patriots travel to Cincinnati Sunday (1:00 PM, CBS). Saints quarterback DREW BREES (537) will follow on (8:15 PM ET, ESPN) when New Orleans hosts the Colts. Since 1950, eight players have held the career mark, one of the game’s most hallowed records.

The players that have held the NFL’s career passing touchdowns record, since 1950:

TOUCHDOWN PASSES, SEASONS HELD PLAYER END OF CAREER RECORD OUTRIGHT Sammy BaughHOF 187 1950-61 Bobby LayneHOF 196 1962-63 Y.A. TittleHOF 212 1963-66 Johnny UnitasHOF 290 1966-75 Fran TarkentonHOF 342 1975-95 Dan MarinoHOF 420 1995-2007 Brett FavreHOF 508 2007-14 Peyton Manning 539 2014- NOTE – With 187 touchdown passes, Baugh and Layne were tied at the end of the 1961 season

 Brees last week threw five touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown against San Francisco. Brees has 11 career games with at least five touchdown passes, the most such games in NFL history. He also became the fourth player in the Super Bowl era with five passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in a single game, joining (Week 1, 1985), AARON RODGERS (Week 7, 2019) and (Week 11, 1991).

FOOTBALL IS FAMILY: The BUFFALO BILLS (9-4) and PITTSBURGH STEELERS (8-5) meet on Sunday Night Football (8:20 PM ET, NBC) in a game with significant AFC playoff implications. The game is also significant to the Edmunds family and in NFL history. Pittsburgh , 24, and safety , 22, will square off against their brother, Bills , 21.

Sunday’s contest is expected to be the first known NFL game in 92 years with three brothers on the same field. The last time it is believed to have occurred was the end of the 1927 season when JOE, COBB and BILL ROONEY played for the .

In the 2018 NFL , Tremaine (No. 16, Buffalo) and Terrell (No. 28, Pittsburgh) became the first pair of brothers to be selected in the first round of the same draft. The Edmunds’ father, , was a two-time selection at during his seven-year NFL career with the and .

BEARS-PACKERS REACHES 200: The and GREEN BAY PACKERS renew one of the richest rivalries in sports history on Sunday (1:00 PM ET, FOX). Sunday’s contest is the 200th meeting in the series, including postseason.

 Bears quarterback has thrown three touchdown passes in each of his past two games, wins over the Lions and Cowboys, respectively. Meanwhile, in his past eight games at against Chicago, Green Bay quarterback AARON RODGERS has 23 passing touchdowns and two for a passer rating of 116.0.

The career leaders in the Bears-Packers series, including postseason, in notable categories:

PLAYER CATEGORY MARK Aaron Rodgers Passer rating (min. 100 att.) 105.2 Brett FavreHOF Passing touchdowns 53 Brett FavreHOF Passing yards 7,660 Walter PaytonHOF Rushing yards 2,484 Donald Driver Receptions 88 Don HutsonHOF Receiving yards 1,461 Walter PaytonHOF Scrimmage yards 2,922 Mason Crosby Points scored 185

LAST-SECOND WIN IN STARTING DEBUT: The and rookie quarterback , who has won his first two starts, head to Kansas City to meet the on Sunday (1:00 PM ET, CBS). On December 1, Lock led the Broncos to a dramatic walk-off win over the Chargers, 23-20, in his first NFL start. The last quarterback to do that prior to Lock was his opponent Sunday, Chiefs quarterback , who made his first NFL start at the end of his 2017 rookie season on the same field in Denver. Mahomes and the Chiefs beat the Broncos, 27-24, as time expired on December 31, 2017,

 Lock, making his first-career road start last week, passed for 309 yards with three touchdowns and one interception for a 136.0 passer rating in the Broncos' 38-24 win at Houston. He became the first rookie in the Super Bowl era to pass for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in his first career road start.

 Denver running back had 55 scrimmage yards (51 rushing, 4 receiving) and a rushing touchdown on Sunday. Lindsay, who had 1,278 scrimmage yards as a rookie in 2018, has 1,004 scrimmage yards this season and is the third undrafted player with at least 1,000 scrimmage yards in each of his first two seasons in the common-draft era.

NFL SCHEDULE, DECEMBER 12, 15-16 (All times Eastern)

Thursday Sunday (cont.) FOX/NFLN at Ravens 8:20 PM AMAZON at Washington Redskins 1:00 PM FOX Sunday at 4:05 PM CBS Seattle Seahawks at 1:00 PM FOX Minnesota Vikings at 4:05 PM CBS at 1:00 PM CBS at Oakland Raiders 4:05 PM CBS at 1:00 PM FOX at Cowboys 4:25 PM FOX Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers 1:00 PM FOX at San Francisco 49ers 4:25 PM FOX Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 PM CBS Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers 8:20 PM NBC Miami Dolphins at 1:00 PM CBS Monday at 1:00 PM CBS Indianapolis Colts at New Orleans Saints 8:15 PM ESPN