NFL officials' emphasis on calling taunting penalties this season has generated complaints from players, coaches and fans, but the league is not backing down from its stance. 

Multiple outlets reported the NFL sent a memo and video to its teams this week reiterating the new officiating philosophy. 

NFL officials have assessed 35 taunting penalties this season, ESPN reported, with 16 of them coming in the last three weeks. 

Perhaps the most controversial of those calls came in the November 8 game between the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Referee Tony Corrente flagged Bears linebacker Cassius Marsh for taunting following a third-down sack of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the fourth quarter, extending a Pittsburgh drive that ended in a field goal for a 26-20 lead in a game they won 29-27.

Though Marsh insisted he had simply performed the same sack celebration he has used for years, Corrente said he threw the flag because he saw Marsh turn toward the Steelers bench "and posture in such a way that I felt he was taunting them." 

Directing any sort of reaction at an opponent is a key trigger to the new points of emphasis, as NFL senior vice president of officiating training and development Walt Anderson reiterated in the video distributed this week. 

"Avoid any actions where you approach an opponent or his bench and gesture, posture or otherwise demonstrate any verbal or physical form of disrespect," Anderson said.

"Turn away. Take the opportunity to celebrate with your teammates and don't put officials in the position of having to make a judgment about whether or not your actions rise to the level of a foul. Remove all doubt and don't put yourself or your team at risk of a penalty."

The video included examples of what the league considers acceptable celebrations by players in addition to those that cross the newly established line. The ultimate point, according to the NFL, is to encourage sportsmanship not only among its players but among those watching them play. 

"It's an exciting game. It's a game that's very emotional, but there are times that some people are egregious with celebrating and it can be over the top," Bears head coach Matt Nagy told reporters recently. "I think probably the biggest message is 'let's calm this down a little bit' because people watch, and people want to see a little bit of respect and a little bit of doing things the right way.

"It doesn't mean you can't have fun, right? But there's young kids out there right now that are watching games and what happens is you go to some of these sporting events and you might see some imitation going on that's taking it over the top.

"I'm a firm believer in respect and just kids growing and watching, and we have a huge platform as leaders. I'm talking players and coaches.

"So let's understand what the rules are, let's do it the right way, let's still have fun - these guys are still having fun and not taunting, you can still have a great time - but let's stay within the rules when we do it. So that's probably why."

While Nagy and some other coaches have said they support the point of emphasis, New Orleans Saints head coach and NFL competition committee member Sean Payton expressed concern Thursday about the way it is being applied. 

"I think it's being over-officiated," he said on the Dan Patrick Show. "I don't think any of us who discussed it [on the competition committee] saw it going where it is now."

Cassius Marsh has accused Tony Corrente of "hip-checking" him prior to the official flagging the Chicago Bears linebacker for taunting in the fourth quarter of their defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The incident occurred shortly after Marsh followed a sack on opposing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with his custom spinning-jump kick celebration.

Marsh then made contact with Corrente having moved towards the Steelers' bench. The official produced a flag and the Bears were penalised 15 yards.

The Steelers would go on to a kick what would become a crucial field goal for a 26-20 lead, in a game they won 29-27 to move to 5-3 for the season.

Reflecting on the incident after the game, Marsh said: "On my way to the sideline, I got hip-checked by the ref. It's pretty clear. 

"If I was to do that to a ref or even touch a ref, we get kicked out of the game and possibly suspended and fined. I just think that that was incredibly inappropriate.

"I think that one was just bad timing. It's pretty clear to everybody who saw it that I wasn't taunting. 

"I've been doing the celebration my whole career. It's just sad to see stuff like that happen in a close game like that."

Corrente himself insists the contact with Marsh had no part to play in his decision to make the call.

"First of all, keep in mind that taunting is a point of emphasis this year," Corrente said in a pool report. 

"And with that said, I saw the player, after he made a big play, run toward the bench area of the Pittsburgh Steelers and posture in such a way that I felt he was taunting them.

"I didn't judge [the contact] as anything that I dealt with. That had nothing to do with it. It was the taunting aspect."

Justin Fields had led the rallying Bears (3-6) to a 27-26 advantage with less than two minutes remaining, dazzling with a 16-yard pass to Darnell Mooney during the closing stages as Roethlisberger and the Steelers were left with work to do.

Roethlisberger (21-of-30 passing for 205 yards and two touchdowns) fuelled a seven-play drive to get Chris Boswell into position for a game-winning field goal – the Steelers snapping a three-game skid against the Bears as Cairo Santos, who had made 40 consecutive field goals, four short of the all-time record, failed with a 65-yard effort in his reply.

"We're finding ways to win the game," Roethlisberger said. 

"Played well enough. Not great. But offensively speaking, we're just doing enough right now."

The Pittsburgh Steelers held on for their fourth consecutive NFL win after withstanding a late surge from the Chicago Bears 29-27.

Chris Boswell's 40-yard field goal lifted the Steelers (5-3) as Cairo Santos' last-gasp 65-yard effort fell short in Pittsburgh on Monday.

Justin Fields had led the rallying Bears (3-6) to a 27-26 lead with less than two minutes remaining, dazzling with a 16-yard pass to Darnell Mooney during the closing stages as Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers were left with work to do.

Roethlisberger (21-of-30 passing for 205 yards and two touchdowns) fuelled a seven-play drive to get Boswell into position for the game-winning kick – the Steelers snapping a three-game skid against the Bears as Santos, who had made 40 consecutive field goals, four short of the all-time record, failed in his reply.

No team in NFL history had more wins on Mondays than the Steelers entering the contest and they set out to extend that run after Najee Harris' 10-yard rush gave the hosts a 7-0 lead at the end of the opening quarter.

The Steelers continued to dominate – Roethlisberger throwing touchdown passes to Pat Freiermuth in the second and third quarters for a commanding 20-6 advantage heading into the final period.

T.J. Watt also reached 60 career sacks in his 69th appearance, with only three players reaching the mark in fewer games – Hall of Famers Reggie White and Derrick Thomas, and brother J.J. Watt.

Chicago erased the deficit behind Mooney, who rushed for a score and caught Fields' (17-of-29 passing for 291 yards, a TD and interception) throw in the fourth quarter, but the Steelers had all the answers in a tight finish.

Matt Nagy is back with the Chicago Bears after the head coach cleared COVID-19 protocol ahead of the Week 9 showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Nagy was absent from last week's 33-22 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers following a positive coronavirus test, leaving special teams co-ordinator Chris Tabor in charge.

But after eight days in quarantine, Nagy is set to return to the sidelines for Monday's clash with the Steelers as the slumping Bears (3-5) seek to snap a three-game skid.

"We just had our walkthrough," Nagy said on Thursday. "It was great to be able to get outside to get back out there with them.

"I was cleared on Tuesday, so I was back in the office Tuesday morning. I was able to get back in here and get back to some quote-unquote normalcy. It was awesome seeing all the coaches and really just kind of getting back on track."

Chicago have been outscored by 72 points this season. That is the Bears' worst point differential through their first eight games of a season since 2000 (minus-92 points), per Stats Perform.

The Bears have won their last three games against the Steelers – the most recent of which was a 23-17 overtime victory in Week 3 of the 2017 season.

Chicago are 19-7-1 all-time against Pittsburgh, but that includes Bears wins in each of the teams' first 10 meetings, all before 1950.

"There's definite urgency, and I think that that's OK," Nagy said. "You need to have that … We have this game coming up and we have a bye and then you have eight games after that. But the only thing that matters is making sure that we get that win. The wins change everything.

"Look at the Steelers. They started out 1-3. Here they are 4-3. They've won three in a row. They fought through it. They probably have pretty good leaders, probably have guys that care about playing. And they don't point fingers, they don't blame, they're not negative. They're positive. We've got a positive room in there. The players are positive. They care.

"We want to start a different streak. Let's win one and then win another and continue to go and see where it leads. That's kind of the mindset that we have."

The Pittsburgh Steelers overcame the loss of kicker Chris Boswell for the whole second half as they beat the Cleveland Browns 15-10 on Sunday.

D'Ernest Johnson rushed 10 yards for the game's first touchdown in the third quarter to put Cleveland seemingly in control at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The Steelers' chances were already damaged by the loss of Boswell to a concussion following a huge hit from Browns tackle Jordan Elliot, but Najee Harris' touchdown closed the gap to a point.

Ben Roethlisberger threw two yards on fourth down for Pat Freiermuth to earn the decisive score with a little over 11 minutes on the clock.

Browns defensive end Myles Garrett came in costume as the Grim Reaper to mark October 31, his cape inscribed with the names of his sacked quarterbacks, but it was the Steelers' trick play that proved far from a treat in the first half: Boswell took a direct snap from 28 yards and, after rolling right and throwing for the end zone, he took a powerful hit from Elliot.

After rookie Harris had dragged Pittsburgh back into contention following Johnson's score, Roethlisberger, who is now 24-3-1 in career starts against the Browns, made his mark.

The 38-year-old, who finished 22 of 34 for 266 yards, almost saw his two-yard pass fumbled by Freiermuth but the tight end recovered to land both feet in the end zone.

By contrast, Jarvis Landry's handling let him down as he was stripped by Joe Schobert with a little over six minutes left.

The 4-4 Browns will hope for better next time out against the 5-3 Bengals, who were stunned by a New York Jets 34-31 comeback win in which Mike White threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns on his first NFL start.

Rams rout Texans, Lions looking toothless

The Philadelphia Eagles ran in four touchdowns as they snapped a two-game losing streak to crush the Detroit Lions.

As coach of the NFL's only winless team after eight straight defeats, Dan Campbell will head into a bye week to try to arrest a terrible run of results that culminated in Sunday's 44-6 loss, in which the Lions only got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter.

The Houston Texans (1-7) are faring little better, their 38-22 loss to the Los Angeles Rams (7-1) looking only a little more respectable after they ran in 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, Davis Mills throwing for 310 yards and two touchdowns.

49ers down Bears through sensational Samuel

The San Francisco 49ers improved to 3-4 after a 33-22 defeat of the Chicago Bears in which Deebo Samuel set pulses racing with a spectacular 83-yard catch-and-run.

After being denied an apparent touchdown for being ruled out of bounds, Samuel's run still allowed Jimmy Garoppolo to score from two yards out just a handful of plays later to cut the Bears' advantage.

Not only did Samuel produce the Niners' longest play of the season, he passed Jerry Rice for the most receiving yards for the franchise across the first seven games of an NFL season.

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy will miss Sunday's game with the San Francisco 49ers as he remains in coronavirus quarantine.

Nagy tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, leaving special teams coordinator Chris Tabor to take charge of practice this week.

And it is Tabor who will take the reins on Sunday as the Bears look to improve to 4-4 in a meeting with the 2-4 Niners.

Tabor is in his 14th season as an NFL assistant and must use that experience to lead the Bears to victory in a game between two teams fighting to stay alive in the NFC playoff picture.

The Bears follow the Arizona Cardinals in being without their head coach for a game because of COVID issues.

Arizona defeated the Cleveland Browns in Week 6 in a game coach Kliff Kingsbury missed after testing positive.

The Bears won their most recent meeting with the 49ers in 2018 but have lost two of their previous three home games against San Francisco.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance returned to practice on Wednesday, though there is no immediate sign of him taking the starting job from Jimmy Garoppolo.

Lance missed the 49ers' Week 7 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts because of a knee sprain he suffered when starting in relief of the then injured Garoppolo in Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals.

Garoppolo was heavily criticised for his performance in the 30-18 loss to the Colts, which saw him complete 16 of 27 pass attempts for 181 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions as San Francisco lost a fourth straight game to drop to 2-4.

That has predictably led to calls for Lance, whom the 49ers selected after trading up to the third overall pick in this year's draft, to take the reins full-time.

He will not start against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, however, with head coach Kyle Shanahan waiting to see how Lance's knee reacts to practice before deciding how much he will be involved if at all.

"I don't think it's the right thing for him to start full-time right now, especially when I don't even know if he can get through practice today," Shanahan told a media conference. 

"So, I told you guys I understood why the questions are coming, but that's why I don't understand why that keeps coming, because I want to see if he's healthy today first. And then when he's healthy for at least more than one day, then we'll start to see when it's the best time for him."

However, Shanahan indicated he had been expecting an acceleration in Lance's development in the wake of his first start before injury curtailed his chance to build on that display, in which he went 15 for 29 for 192 yards and an interception while adding 89 yards on the ground.

"I think it was real unfortunate that, at the time he got to play, I thought he was ready to take off a little bit after that getting that experience," Shanahan added. 

"I thought that was going to be great for him to come back the next week, especially with Jimmy banged up a little bit, but he had an unfortunate injury, and it's lasting a little longer than expected.

"So, I'm excited to get him out there today. But he hasn't done anything in a couple of weeks, so we'll see where his progress is now."

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy has tested positive for coronavirus, he announced on Monday.

Nagy's positive COVID-19 result came after the Bears returned home from Sunday's 38-3 rout at the hands of reigning NFL Super Bowl champions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Chicago's special teams co-ordinator Chris Tabor will step in to run team meetings during Nagy's absence.

"This is something that for us, it's a reminder for all of us to be extremely cautious and to understand where we're at," Nagy told reporters via Zoom.

"We've seen it with other teams in the league and society in general, so we're working through that."

The Bears are 3-4 this season following back-to-back defeats against the Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers.

Elijah Wilkinson, Caleb Johnson, Jimmy Graham and Robert Quinn are the four players on the Bears' reserve/COVID-19 list.

Nagy added: "I feel pretty good. Again, you come in in the morning and it's something where every morning on Monday, you come in, you're following protocols, it's what we do.

"So when I got the call this morning from our head trainer, Andre Tucker, you try to be prepared. We're still working through some of the team.

"But that's a good sign for sure. We need to make sure that we do everything we're supposed to do here in regards to the protocols."

Tom Brady expressed his gratitude after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers superstar celebrated another milestone in the Super Bowl champions' crushing win over the Chicago Bears.

Brady became the first player in NFL history to throw 600 touchdown passes as the Buccaneers routed the Bears 38-3 on Sunday.

The record seven-time Super Bowl champion finished the game with 602 TD passes, having completed 20 of his 36 passes for 211 yards and four touchdowns.

Brady also tied Drew Brees for the most games with at least four touchdown passes after reaching 37.

"I just think of all the guys that are sharing it with me," Brady told reporters as the Buccaneers reached 6-1 – their best start in franchise history. "That's the reality. There's nothing about this sport that you do by yourself.

"It's the ultimate team sport. It challenges you physically, mentally, emotionally, every week, every day at practice – this is not a sport you can just mail it in.

"It takes 100 per cent of what you have every single day to be successful and I'm just grateful to have amazing team-mates, coaches, to be able to do it for as long as I have is a really incredible blessing in my life.

"I have great family. I've got my little baby girl, who's the biggest cheerleader in the world and her two brothers, who are great cheerleaders and mom who was out there today rooting ... great to have the family here and to win a football game feels really good."

Having moved to 599 TD passes on a four-yard toss to Bucs team-mate Chris Godwin, Brady connected with Mike Evans for a nine-yard score, although the latter was clearly unaware of the historical significance of the play.

Evans gave the ball to a fan in the crowd, leading to a member of Tampa's equipment staff negotiating with the spectator to ensure its return, with the ball likely headed to the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

"That was really cool," Brady told reporters. "I got it in the bag over there. Mike gave it away. He goes, 'Man, I'm sorry, man. I'll get it.' I said, 'It's alright. I'm sure they'll find a way to get it back.'

"But I don't actually keep too many things so ... in that circumstance, I just felt like that might be a good one to keep."

"[The fan is] gonna get something nice in return. So we'll get him a helmet or a couple jerseys or some other stuff. That was really cool of him to do that."

Tom Brady made history once again as Super Bowl champions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rolled past the Chicago Bears 38-3 in NFL action Sunday. 

With a nine-yard strike to Mike Evans in the closing seconds of the first quarter, Brady became the first NFL quarterback to throw 600 touchdown passes.

The 44-year-old – 20-of-36 passing for 211 yards – would finish the game with 602 for his career, all four of his TD tosses going for fewer than 10 yards and three of them landing in Evans' hands. 

Blaine Gabbert took over at quarterback for Brady midway through the fourth quarter with the game well in hand as the Buccaneers improved to 6-1. 

Brady's opposite number, Bears rookie QB Justin Fields, had a brutal day as he was sacked four times and threw three interceptions as Chicago failed to find the end zone. 

Stafford, Rams survive Lions scare

The matchup between Super Bowl contenders the Los Angeles Rams and the winless Detroit Lions finished with the expected result, but the Rams' 28-19 win was much closer than anticipated. 

The Rams (6-1) trailed 19-17 entering the fourth quarter and needed a five-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp early in the period to take the lead and a 47-yard Matt Gay field goal with just over a minute to play to seal the win. 

Stafford completed 28 of 41 passes for 334 yards and three TDs against the team he played for in the first 12 years of his career, while former Rams QB Jared Goff threw a pair of costly interceptions for the Lions (0-7).

Kupp became the first player in the Super Bowl era to have 800-plus receiving yards and nine-plus receiving touchdowns in his team's first seven games of a season.

While the Lions remained the only winless team in the league after Week 7, the Arizona Cardinals (7-0) maintained their status as the lone team with a perfect record, routing the Houston Texans 31-5 behind three TD passes by Kyler Murray. 

Another week, another piece of history for Tom Brady, who became the first player in NFL history to throw 600 touchdown passes in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' clash with the Chicago Bears.

Brady went into the Week 7 contest needing two touchdown throws to reach this latest milestone in his remarkable career.

Just before the end of the first quarter, the seven-time Super Bowl champion had the record on Sunday.

Having moved to 599 on a four-yard toss to Bucs team-mate Chris Godwin, Brady connected with Mike Evans for a nine-yard score, although the latter was clearly unaware of the historical significance of the play.

Evans gave the ball to a fan in the crowd, leading to a member of Tampa's equipment staff negotiating with the spectator to ensure its return, with the ball likely headed to the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Brady will also one day have a place in Canton but, for now, the 44-year-old superstar is engaged in the process of yet more legacy padding.

He found Evans for two more touchdown throws before half-time to give Tampa Bay a 35-3 lead at the break, defending Super Bowl champions the Buccaneers looking near-certainties to move to 6-1 as Brady seeks his eighth Lombardi Trophy.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski and Lavonte David when they face the Chicago Bears this Sunday.

Defending champions Tampa Bay look bound for another deep playoff run, the Bucs having started the year 5-1.

However, they will have to cope without a clutch of stars against the 3-3 Bears, with tight end Gronkowski (ribs) set to miss a fourth successive game.

Brown, who leads the Bucs with four receiving touchdowns, has an ankle injury, as does linebacker David, a second-team All-Pro last year.

Cornerback Richard Sherman (hamstring) is out, but the Buccaneers will receive a boost with secondary Antoine Winfield Jr. available having passed through the NFL's concussion protocol.

The Bucs have started 5-1 for the fifth time in franchise history, having made the playoffs in each of the previous four seasons (2005, 2002, 1997 and 1979).

Tampa Bay will look to go 6-1 for the first time, but head coach Bruce Arians is not underestimating the Bears and rookie quarterback Justin Fields.

"Real good week of practice, and obviously this is a team that I think is on the rise," Arians said. "It's going to take our best to make sure we beat them."

Kyle Shanahan needs to get the San Francisco 49ers winning again if their playoff potential is to be fulfilled, and this Sunday looks like a major opportunity.

To snap a three-game losing streak, the Niners (2-3) must get the better of an Indianapolis Colts side who, much like San Francisco themselves, have made an inconsistent start to the season.

By contrast, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are riding a three-game run of wins and have started 5-1 for just the fifth time in the history of the franchise, heading into a tussle with the Chicago Bears (3-3). Tom Brady has been a driving force so far as the Super Bowl winners carry on where they left off last season.

Patrick Mahomes has been hit and miss for the slow-starting Kansas City Chiefs, who will hope the NFL's highest-paid player can cut out throwing interceptions as they face the Tennessee Titans.

Indianapolis Colts @ San Francisco 49ers

If coach Shanahan's 49ers are to turn around their season, then facing a Colts side who have begun 2-4 seems like a pretty good place to start. Yet the Colts have dominated this series of late, winning on their last four meetings, albeit most recently in 2017 when they snatched a 26-23 overtime success. It would not be stepping out of line to predict this could be tight, given the 49ers have played nine consecutive games that have been decided by eight or fewer points, going back to last season.

That is the longest active streak of such close games in the NFL and the longest streak in team history, and the Niners do not have the best recent return when games go close, posting a 3-6 record in this sequence.

San Francisco fell 17-10 to the Cardinals in their most recent game, two weeks ago, while the Colts hot-footed their way to a 31-3 trouncing of Houston last Sunday. That came despite Indianapolis earning just 15 first downs for the entire game. It was the first time the Colts had won by 28 or more points while only having 15 or fewer first downs since 1972 against New England.

In his 21st career game, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns, meaning he surpassed 1,500 rushing yards, 500 receiving yards and chalked up his 15th rushing touchdown in the NFL. Only four running backs in NFL history have hit all three of those milestones in fewer games than Taylor, with two of those doing so with the Colts – Edgerrin James and Marshall Faulk.

San Francisco will hope to be recharged after a bye week. Deebo Samuel scored the fourth rushing touchdown of his career against the Cardinals, with Jerry Rice (10) the only wide receiver with more rushing touchdowns in 49ers history.

Chicago Bears @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After a dispiriting loss to the Green Bay Packers last time out, the Chicago Bears encounter a Tampa Bay team in sparkling recent form. Tampa Bay have started the season 5-1, doing so for the fifth time in franchise history, and on each of the previous occasions (2005, 2002, 1997 and 1979) they backed it up by reaching the playoffs. History could be made on Sunday, given the Buccaneers have never started a season with six wins through their first seven games.

Yet this is a game in which the Bears have traditionally, and recently, had the upper hand. Chicago have stacked up 40 wins in 60 all-time meetings against Tampa Bay, which is the most wins by any team against the Bucs. The Bears have also won the last two in the series, scoring victories in 2018 and 2020.

Tampa Bay can seemingly do no wrong when Brady is pulling the strings so masterfully. Brady leads the NFL with 2,064 passing yards, the second-highest total he has ever had through six games of a season – beaten only by his 2,163 passing yards at this stage in 2011. Prior to this year, no Tampa Bay quarterback had ever thrown for more than 1,800 yards through six games.

What have the Bears got to offer? Chicago are averaging 246.2 net yards per game, which is more than 20 yards per game less than any other team. The 1,477 yards is the fewest Chicago has had through six games since the 1993 season. Rookie quarterback Justin Fields needs to make something happen, but others must step up too. In his first career start, Khalil Herbert ran for 97 yards and a touchdown against Green Bay last time out.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Tennessee Titans

"He's trying to make things happen," said Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, explaining away the two interceptions thrown by Patrick Mahomes in Week 6 against Washington. For Mahomes, that was a second straight game with at least two interceptions. He is tied with Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence in second position on the list of the most interceptions thrown this season, with his tally of eight so far only topped by Zach Wilson of the Jets.

This is only the second run that Mahomes has endured of throwing two or more interceptions in consecutive games, the previous dating back to Week 5 and 6 of the 2018 season, and Reid will hope his radar is better set for the clash with the Titans. Mahomes is still doing an awful lot right in 2021, but the fact remains he threw just six interceptions last season.

The Chiefs' unsteady 3-3 opening is their worst of the Mahomes era, and it was 2015 when they got off to a slower start. On that occasion they followed a 1-5 opening with 10 consecutive wins, a single-season record for Kansas City that was matched last season.

Tennessee's bright start has featured some notable performances. The Titans ran for 146 yards and scored four rushing touchdowns in the 34-31 win over Buffalo on Monday night, taking them to 985 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns for the season. It is the first time in franchise history that the Bills have 10 or more rushing touchdowns and at least 975 rushing yards through six games.

Running back Derrick Henry has 10 rushing touchdowns so far, beating his career best of seven through six weeks in 2020. It puts him tied for the fourth most rushing touchdowns of all time through six weeks (Jim Brown 14, Shaun Alexander 12, Emmitt Smith 11).

Elsewhere...

The Detroit Lions face a tall order on the road against the Los Angeles Rams (5-1). Detroit are 0-6 for the first time since their 0-16 season in 2008 and have not scored more than 17 points in any of their last five games. Former Rams quarterback Jared Goff, now with Detroit, has thrown zero touchdown passes and an interception in each of his last two games.

The 5-1 Baltimore Ravens have recent history on their side ahead of a clash with the Cincinnati Bengals, having won five successive games in their head-to-head series, including the last three by a brutal average of 31.7 points.

Heading into a home game against the Houston Texans (1-5), the Arizona Cardinals are on a 6-0 roll. This has only happened twice before in franchise history, but never before in Arizona. The St Louis Cardinals in 1974 and Chicago Cardinals in 1922 are the teams who both started their seasons 6-0 as well.

Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts could match an NFL record as the Eagles (2-4) tackle the Las Vegas Raiders. Hurts has rushed for two touchdowns in each of his last two games. Billy Kilmer, for San Francisco in 1961, is the only quarterback to achieve the feat in three straight games.

The Green Bay Packers last lost at home to Washington in 1988, winning five in a row since with home-field advantage, and they put a 5-1 season record to the test when the teams meet again. Washington (2-4) are yielding an NFL-worst 31.0 points per game in 2021, matching the team's worst mark through six games of a season in the Super Bowl era (1998).

Tom Brady joked about Aaron Rodgers becoming a "shareholder" of the Chicago Bears, while taking a shot at his old rival, the New York Jets.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers superstar Brady sarcastically congratulated Green Bay Packers quarterback Rodgers on owning the Bears after the reigning MVP shouted "I still own you" at their fans after completing a fourth-quarter touchdown during Sunday's 24-14 NFL win.

The topic of ownership came up on Wednesday.

"I wanted to say congrats to Aaron Rodgers. Obviously, he's a great QB but I guess he's now a shareholder of the Bears," Brady quipped during his appearance on the Let's Go! podcast.

"I saw a clip of him really enthusiastically telling the crowd how happy he is to own Solider Field."

Podcast host Jim Gray joked that by that measure Brady owned the Jets, given his 29-7 career record against the New York franchise, but the 44-year-old and seven-time Super Bowl champion threw shade rather than be drawn it.

"Oh, no I'll just take the colour green. I don't need the Jets," the former New England Patriots quarterback said. "I'll just own the colour green, I think that's a little bit better."

Brady has thrown for 8,649 yards and 57 touchdowns against the Jets, who have not won the Super Bowl since 1968.

Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers told jeering Chicago Bears fans "I still own you" after the reigning NFL MVP inspired a 24-14 victory on the road.

Rodgers was at his brilliant best as he claimed his 22nd win over the Bears, the veteran quarterback throwing two touchdowns and running for another at Soldier Field.

His 22-5 record against the Bears ranks third-best for winning percentage (81.5) by a quarterback against a single opponent since 1950 (minimum 25 starts), behind Tom Brady (91.4 per cent against the Buffalo Bills) and Ben Roethlisberger (87.0 per cent against the Cleveland Browns).

As he left the field, Rodgers could be heard taunting Chicago supporters: "All my f****** life, I own you. I still own you. I still own you."

Rodgers finished 17-of-23 passing for 195 yards and no interceptions with a 128.0 passer rating as the Packers (5-1) won their fifth straight game.

The Super Bowl winner also reacted to one fan after his touchdown against the Bears.

"Sometimes you black out on the field – in a good way," Rodgers said. "I looked up in the stands and in the front row all I saw was a woman giving me the double bird.

"So I'm not sure exactly what came out of my mouth next."

"I love this rivalry. It's been a lot of fun over the years," Rodgers said. "That's what I told [Bears rookie] Justin [Fields] on the field. I said, 'Enjoy this. It's a special rivalry, unlike any other in our game.'"

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur added: "Listen, all I can say is: A lot of stuff gets said on the field that nobody ever hears.

"It's one of those moments of competition where things get said and ... I don't know what Aaron said about it, I'm sure you guys asked him. ... Again, it's a competitive game, and I think that's one of those moments where you see the competitor in Aaron come out."