Late Games, week 17

There are seven late games on for this week, following the same general theme as the early games for those with playoff implications.

First off, the Green Bay Packers host the Chicago Bears. After going scoreless through the first quarter, Robbie Gould got Chicago on the board with a 30 yard field goal. Mason Crosby answered for Green Bay in the third quarter with a 23 yard field goal. Aaron Rodgers gave the Packers a lead with a 1 yard touchdown pass to Donald Lee, and Crosby made the extra point. The 10-3 scoring favoing the Packes over the Bears was the final, with Green Bay jumping up to 10-6, and Chicago falling to 11-5.

Second on the list, the Washington Redskins host the New York Giants. The Giants got the first points with a Lawrence Tynes 20 yard field goal. New York extended their lead with Brandon Jacobs 2 yard touchdown run, and Tynes was there to provide the extra point to make it 10-0. Rex Grossman helped get Washington on the board with a 1 yard touchdown pass to Fred Davis, and Graham Gano made the point after to take the score to 10-7 at halftime. Eli Manning got the Giants going again in the third quarter with a 92 yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham, with Tynes making the extra point on the big touchdown. The Redskins found the end zone again with Grossman passing to Anthony Armstrong for 64 yards and the score, and Gano added the extra point. The Giants would hold on to defeat the Redskins 17-14, improving to 10-6, and dropping Washington to 6-10.

Following that, the Houston Texans host the Jacksonville Jaguars. Houston struck first, with Arian Foster running 2 yards in for the touchdown, followed by a Neil Rackers extra point. Rackers struck with a field goal as well, from 26 yards. Jacksonville got on the board in the second quarter with Rashad Jennings 3 yard touchdown run, followed by a Josh Scobee extra point. Derrick Ward answered by running 35 yards for a touchdown, and Rackers was good with the extra point. The Jaguars came back with a 39 yard field goal by Scobee. Jacksonville tied the game at 17 with Trent Edwards touchdown pass to Marcades Lewis of 7 yards, and Scobee made the extra point. The Texans took a 20-17 lead into halftime with Rackers kicking a 33 yard field goal. Houston extended its lead in the third quarter with Matt Schaub throwing a touchdown to Owen Daniels for 5 yards, followed by a Rackers extra point. Foster ran a touchdown of 35 yards in the fourth quarter, with Rackers coming through with another extra point. Houston would defeat Jacksonville 34-17, improving to 6-10, and dragging the Jaguars to 8-8.

Heading to Pennsylvania, where the Philadelphia Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys. After going scoreless in the first quarter, Philadelphia struck in the second quarter with Kevin Kolb passing to Chad Hall for 4 yards and the touchdown, followed by a David Akers extra point. Dallas tied the game when DeMarcus Ware returned a Kolb fumble 17 yards for the touchdown. David Buehler made the extra point. Things were quiet in the third quarter, but Akers kicked a fourth quarter field goal of 43 yards and another of 22 yards. Stephen McGee gave the Cowboys the lead with a touchdown pass of 4 yards to Jason Witten, and Buehler added the extra point. The Cowboys would hold onto the 14-13 lead and defeat the Eagles, improving to 6-10 for the year, dropping Philadelphia to 10-6.

Back west a bit, the Indianapolis Colts host the Tennessee Titans. Adam Vinatieri opened the scoring for Indianapolis, kicking a 48 yard field goal, but Rob Bironas answered for Tennessee with a 26 yard field goal. Vinatieri added a 44 yard field goal for the Colts in the second quarter. Bironas picked up the tying points again for the Titans, kicking a 42 yard field goal. The Colts got the first touchdown of the game in the second quarter, with Peyton Manning connecting with Reggie Wayne for 7 yards, and Vinatieri supplied the extra point. This is rare, because due to Indianapolis' recent success, Manning generally does not play in week 17. Tennessee found an equalizer with Kerry Collins finding Kenny Britt for a 21 yard touchdown, with Bironas adding the point after. The Colts were displeased, taking the lead back on a Manning touchdown of 30 yards to Pierre Garcon, followed by a Vinatieri extra point. Collins helped to retie the game with a 15 yard touchdown pass to Chris Johnson, and Bironas tacked on an extra point, tying the game at 20. Vinatieri saved it for the Colts, kicking a last second field goal of 43 yards to win 23-20, improving to 10-6 and going to the playoffs, while dropping the Titans to 6-10.

To Denver, where the Broncos host the San Diego Chargers. Tim Tebow got things started for Denver, finding the man with the utmost respect to his former teams, Brandon Lloyd, for 14 yards and the touchdown, with Steve Hauschka making the extra point. San Diego tied it with Ryan Mathews 27 yard touchdown run, and the following Nate Kaeding extra point. The Chargers took the lead on a field goal by Kaeding from 42 yards, and extended that lead with his 45 yard kick, followed by yet another from 47 yards out. Mathews ran a touchdown in for 12 yards in the third quarter, with Kaeding adding another extra point. Kaeding also added a 37 yard field goal in the third quarter. Tebow threw a touchdown pass to Eric Decker to cut the deficit for the Broncos, the 6 yard score being capped off by a Hauschka extra point. Mathews added a third touchdown run, from 31 yards this time, and Kaeding was good with extra point once more. Denver answered to make it 33-21 with a kickoff return by Cassius Vaughn of 97 yards, with Hauschka providing the extra point. Tebow ran a touchdown in late in the game as well, from 6 yards, with Hauschka adding another point after, bringing the score to 33-28 San Diego. This was the final, with the Chargers jumping up to 9-7 and the Broncos falling to 4-12.

Lastly, the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. San Francisco got on the board with Alex Smith connecting with Ted Ginn, Jr. for 37 yards. Jeff Reed was good on the extra point, and the second quarter field goal he added on from 39 yards. Arizona got on the scoreboard with John Skelton passing to Larry Fitzgerlad for 10 yards and the touchdown, followed by a Jay Feely extra point. The 49ers extended their lead with Smith's pass to Vernon Davis for 59 yards and the touchdown, followed by a Reed extra point. Brian Westbrook added two 6 yard touchdown runs for San Francisco, with Reed supplying both extra points. Tarell Brown helped the 49ers get defensive for a touchdown, intercepting Richard Bartel for 62 yards and the score, with Reed providing the extra point. The 38-7 score favoring the 49ers over the Cardinals was the final, with San Francisco improving to 6-10 and dropping Arizona to 5-11.