From first kickoff to final field goal, just about everything a football fan can imagine happened in Week 3 of the NFL schedule.
Three overtime games. Long touchdowns by offenses, defenses and special teams. Upsets across the nation.
Oh yeah, plenty of suspect officiating calls, too.
One that the replacement officials got right, rookie Justin Tucker’s 27-yard field goal that barely sneaked inside the right upright, lifted Baltimore past New England 31-30 Sunday night in a rematch of last January’s AFC title game won by the Patriots.
Titans 44, Lions 41, OT
At Nashville, Tenn., the Titans’ defense ended Music City Mayhem when it stopped backup quarterback Shaun Hill on fourth-and-1 at the Tennessee 7 after Rob Bironas put the Titans ahead with a 26-yard field goal in overtime. Hill was supposed to try to draw Tennessee (1-2) offside, but instead the ball was snapped.
The Titans blew a 20-9 halftime lead in a crazy game featuring big plays, scoring swings and some suspect officiating. Detroit scored 18 straight points, then Tennessee answered with 21 points before the Lions (1-2) scored the final 14 of regulation — in 18 seconds, a league record. Detroit recovered an onside kick and got an assist from officials who did not review a possible turnover.
Chiefs 27, Saints 24, OT
At New Orleans, Ryan Succop kicked a team-record six field goals, one to force overtime in the final seconds and another from 31 yards to lift Kansas City (1-2) and keep New Orleans winless.
Succop’s 43-yard field goal with 3 seconds left completed a methodical comeback by Kansas City after the Saints cashed in on a pair of Chiefs turnovers to go ahead 24-6 in the third quarter.
A 91-yard TD run by Jamaal Charles highlighted his 233 yards rushing and 55 yards receiving.
Jets 23, Dolphins 20, OT
At Miami, both teams tried to give this one away, and the Jets (2-1) got the victory only after Nick Folk received a reprieve.
Folk’s blocked field-goal attempt was negated by a Dolphins timeout, and his second try was a successful 33-yarder with 6:04 left in overtime.
Mark Sanchez hit Santonio Holmes for a 38-yard gain to set up the kick.
Texans 31, Broncos 25
At Denver, Houston looked like the cream of the AFC for most of the day as Matt Schaub outplayed Peyton Manning, throwing four touchdown passes against a confused Denver defense.
Schaub finished 17 for 30 for 290 yards to help Houston move to 3-0 for the first time in franchise history.
Falcons, 27, Chargers 3
At San Diego, the Falcons (3-0) moved to 6-0 all-time in San Diego and also are 6-0 in West Coast games under coach Mike Smith. All three of this season’s wins have come against AFC West teams in a scheduling quirk.
Matt Ryan threw touchdown passes and safety Thomas DeCoud had two interceptions and a fumble recovery for unbeaten Atlanta. Ryan completed 30 of 40 passes for 275 yards, with his first interception of the season, and a passer rating of 107.8. The Falcons’ NFL-high turnover differential is plus-10.
Cardinals 27, Eagles 6
At Glendale, Ariz., Arizona’s defense showed why it is among the stingiest in the league.
Arizona (3-0) sacked Michael Vick five times in winning its seventh straight home game, the second-longest streak in franchise history. The Cardinals got a 93-yard touchdown return with a fumble by James Sanders off one of those sacks to end the first half.
Vikings 24, 49ers 13
At Minneapolis, as good as San Francisco looked in its opening two wins, it was no match for surprising Minnesota (2-1) on Sunday. Christian Ponder threw two touchdown passes to tight end Kyle Rudolph and ran for another score.
The Vikings began the game boldly with a fourth-and-goal touchdown pass by Ponder to Rudolph. They finished strong by forcing three turnovers and two punts by the 49ers (2-1) in the fourth quarter.
Bengals 38, Redskins 31
At Landover, Md., the Bengals (2-1) blew a 24-7 first-half lead, but two touchdown passes by Andy Dalton in the fourth quarter won it. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns.
A 6-yard throw to tight end Jermaine Gresham broke a 24-24 tie, then Dalton hit Andrew Hawkins for a 59-yard score with 7:08 left.
Raiders 34, Steelers 31
At Oakland, Calif., the Raiders (1-2) rallied in the renewal of a classic rivalry.
Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 43- yard field goal on the last play as Oakland scored the final 13 points after wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey was knocked out and hospitalized by a scary hit.
Jaguars 22, Colts 17
At Indianapolis, the Jaguars (1-2) shocked the Colts (1-2) with 45 seconds left. Blaine Gabbert connected with Cecil Shorts III on an 80-yard touchdown pass to win it.
Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 177 yards.
Cowboys 16, Bucs 10
At Arlington, Texas, the Cowboys’ offense sputtered again and Tony Romo had three turnovers, two on plays reversed by replay.
But the Cowboys (2-1) scored twice in the first half when starting in Tampa Bay (1-2) territory after turnovers, and the defense that held Tampa Bay to 166 total yards.
Bears 23, Rams 6
At Chicago, the Monsters of the Midway were back.
Major Wright returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown and Chicago had six sacks of Sam Bradford while holding St. Louis (1-2) to 160 total yards.
Bills 24, Browns 14
At Cleveland, the Browns (0-3) joined New Orleans as the only winless clubs as Buffalo overcame the loss of C.J. Spiller, the NFL’s leading rusher, to snap an eight-game road slide.
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three touchdown passes as the Bills (2-1) turned to their passing game after Spiller was lost in the first quarter with a left shoulder injury.
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