In brief: Janikowski hits 61-yard field goal

NFL: Oakland’s Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 61-yard field goal on the final play of the first half against the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland on Sunday.

It’s the fourth-longest field goal in NFL history.

Janikowski kicked a low liner that barely cleared the cross bar. It was a career-long kick and a team record for the powerful left-footer.

Tom Dempsey of New Orleans (1970) and Jason Elam of Denver (1998) hold the league with record with 63-yarders. Matt Bryant of Tampa Bay (2006) kicked a 62-yarder.

Cleveland won 23-9.

Associated Press

Manning reaches 50,000 yards

NFL: Colts quarterback Peyton Manning became the fourth player in NFL history to pass for at least 50,000 yards, reaching the milestone against the New York Jets.

Manning surpassed the mark on a 24-yard completion to Austin Collie. He joins Brett Favre, Dan Marino and John Elway as the only quarterbacks to reach 50,000 yards.

In other milestones reached Sunday:

•Terrell Owens became the sixth player in NFL history to catch 1,000 passes, but his Buffalo Bills had too little offense in a lopsided 31-3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Owens had four catches for 39 yards and said he didn’t make a big deal about joining Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison, Cris Carter, Tim Brown, and Isaac Bruce as the only players with 1,000 receptions.

•Darren Sharper set an NFL record for most interception return yards in a season.

The Saints safety set the mark of 376 yards with his ninth interception of the season, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Josh Freeman.

With his 21-yard return, Sharper broke the mark of 358 yards set by Baltimore’s Ed Reed in 2004.

Sharper entered the season as the NFL’s active leader in interceptions. He now has 63, tying him for sixth all-time with Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott.

Associated Press

Stokley tossed after ref swat

NFL: Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley was ejected from Sunday’s game at Philadelphia after he accidentally swatted a referee during an argument.

Stokley argued he was interfered with on a third-and-1 pass over the middle. He started jawing with a ref, and threw his fist in the air in anger and inadvertently poked the ref’s finger.

Stokley was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and was ejected late in the first quarter.

Associated Press