By Rich Tandler
1. After the game, Niles Paul had a boot on his left foot due to a toe injury. He said that he pushed off of it during a return and he felt it pop. The rookie receiver said that the boot was just a precaution and that he should be able to go next week. Mike Shanahan, however, said that Paul’s turf toe will cost him a couple of weeks.
2. Through the first 18 minutes of play, Roy Helu had carried nine times for 40 yards. He finished the game with 10 carries for 41. The margin in the game was not more than two touchdowns until 7:45 was left in the game.
3. Helu’s 14 receptions broke a team record that was set in 1985 and was tied two other times. Art Monk broke the previous team record of 12 receptions in a single game that was held by Laveranues Coles, Clarence Harmon, Bobby Mitchell, and Ricky Sanders when he caught 13 passes against the Bengals on Dec. 15, 1985. The next season, running back Kelvin Bryant tied the mark against the Giants. In 1990, Monk again caught 13 passes in gam against the Lions.
4. If the final score of 19-11 sounded unusual, that’s because it is. Only three other games in NFL history have finished with that score. The most recent was the Steelers beating the Titans last year. The other two took place in 2000 and 1961.
5. Jammal Brown’s injury that cost him most of the game after the first quarter was to his groin, not his hip. Rarely can a groin injury be called positive news but it is good that he does not have further problems with the hip, which was an issue last year.
6. Leonard Hankerson certainly made the most of his first game as an NFL starter, at least in terms of playing time. He played 63 of the 64 offensive snaps. The rookie third-round draft pick was targeted five times and make four receptions for 34 yards.
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