– The best of the NFL: Detroit`s Barry Sanders gained only 23 yards in the Lions` loss to Seattle. But they were enough to claim the NFL rushing title because Buffalo`s Thurman Thomas didn`t gain any.
Sanders wound up with 1,304 yards. Thomas, who carried the ball only five times against the Redskins, totaled 1,297 to lead the AFC. Thomas sat out the second half. But he wound up leading the league in yards from scrimmage with 1,829, 46 more than Sanders.
Sanders is the first Detroit player to win the league rushing title since Byron ”Whizzer” White in 1940. White went on to become a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
Other bests:
Houston QB Warren Moon`s 33 TD passes easily led the league. The Bills`
Jim Kelly`s QB rating of 101.2 led the league; the Giants` Phil Simms led the NFC at 92.7.
San Francisco`s Jerry Rice caught nine passes Sunday for an even 100, and also led the league with 1,502 receiving yards and 13 scoring passes.
Kansas City`s Derrick Thomas led the league with 20 sacks, one more than Buffalo`s Bruce Smith.
Kansas City`s Nick Lowery, who kicked five field goals against the Bears, led the league in scoring with 139 points. Top punter: Mike Horan of Denver.
– Boomer and Brooks: Boomer Esiason and James Brooks reached milestones in the Bengals` win over Cleveland.
Esiason completed 10 of 16 passes for 154 yards, giving him more than 3,000 yards passing for the sixth consecutive season. Only Dan Marino and John Elway have six in a row, too.
”I don`t really care about statistics,” said Esiason. ”The players around the league that are that way are selfish. They`re not playing the right game. They should be playing tennis or boxing.”
Brooks rushed 17 times for 84 yards to give him his third 1,000-yard rushing season.
– So long, adios, see ya: Browns tight end Ozzie Newsome completed his 13th and probably last season by catching one pass for six yards, leaving him 20 yards short of becoming the 15th player in NFL history to reach 8,000 yards receiving. ”There`s a real good possibility this was it,” said Newsome, who expects to move into the Browns` front office.
Also retiring, Denver`s Sammy Winder, who started and rushed for 80 yards in his final game with the Broncos.
It was also the final game for middle linebacker Scott Studwell, the Vikings` all-time leading tackler. The 36-year-old veteran of 14 seasons finished with 1,307 solos and 672 assists for 1,979 total tackles.
– Milestones: The 49ers` Rice caught nine passes for 118 yards against Minnesota to become only the fourth player ever with 100 receptions in a season.
– Extra points: Buffalo`s 13-3 record is the best for the team since the AFL- NFL merger and the best since the Bills were 12-2 in 1964, when HUD Secretary Jack Kemp was their quarterback.
The 49ers increased their own NFL record for consecutive road victories to 18.
The Redskins` Art Monk extended his streak to 116 games with at least one reception, the fourth-best of all time. Monk finished the season with 9,935 career receiving yards.
Dolphins second-year running back Sammie Smith had a career-high 29 carries against the Colts. Smith`s 29 rushes were five more than the entire Indianapolis team.
Dallas rookie Emmitt Smith, who needed 97 rushing yards for 1,000, managed only 34 yards on 16 attempts.
The Brown (3-13) and Patriots (1-15) officially became the worst teams in the histories of their respective franchises. The Patriots finished the season with 181 points, the fewest in the NFL since the 16-game schedule went into effect in 1978. Buffalo`s 200 points in 1985 was the previous low.
