The last week of the regular season is upon us, and with that, some teams have nothing to play for, and others are playing for the chance to get in the heralded playoffs for a chance at the Super Bowl. There are eight games early on the somewhat-butchered flex schedule today, starting off with...
The New England Patriots hosting the Miami Dolphins. New England opened the scoring with Tom Brady connecting with Rob Gronkowski for 13 yards, followed by a Shayne Graham extra point. BenJarvus Green-Ellis provided a 1 yard touchdown run as well, and after the Graham extra point, the Patriots had a 14-0 lead. Graham added a field goal for New England, from 28 yards. After Miami's Brandon Fields punted, Julian Edelman returned it 94 yards for a touchdown, with Graham making his extra point. Brady found Alge Crumpler in the third quarter for 10 yards and the touchdown, with Graham adding the point after. Coming in to relieve Brady for the rest of the regular season was Brian Hoyer, who found Brandon Tate for 42 yards and the touchdown, with another Graham extra point. The Dolphins did get on the board late in the fourth quarter, as Tyler Thigpen connected with Davone Bess for 21 yards and a touchdown, followed by a Dan Carpenter extra point. The 38-7 score favoring the Patriots was the final, who improved to 14-2, and dropped the Dolphins to 7-9.
Next up is the Detroit Lions hosting the Minnesota Vikings. Detroit opened the scoring in the second quarter with Dave Rayner kicking a 55 yard field goal. Shaun Hill extended the Lions lead with his touchdown pass of 7 yards to Nate Burleson, and Rayner added an extra point. Rayner added a 37 yard field goal in the third quarter. Minnesota got on the board with Jared Allen intercepting Hill for 36 yards and a touchdown, followed by Ryan Longwell's extra point to trim the Lions lead to 13-7. Longwell cut the lead down farther, adding a field goal for the Vikings of 27 yards. Maurice Morris got Detroit going again with a 5 yard touchdown run, followed by Rayner adding an extra point. Longwell added a 48 yard field goal, producing the eventual final that had Detroit toppling Minnesota 20-13, finishing their seasons at 6-10 each.
Following that game, the Atlanta Falcons hosted the Carolina Panthers. Atlanta put the first points on the board with Matt Ryan finding Tony Gonzalez for 6 yards, followed by a Matt Bryant extra point. The Falcons extended their lead on a punt return by Eric Weems of 55 yards after Carolina's Jason Baker punted. Matt Bryant supplied the point after. The Falcons kept scoring with Ryan finding Roddy White for 14 yards, followed by a Bryant extra point. John Kasay got the Panthers on the board in the third quarter with a 23 yard field goal, answered by Bryant, who was good from 47 yards out. Michael Turner helped Atlanta pour some more points on with a 3 yard touchdown run, followed by a Bryant extra point. Carolina added on a touchdown from Jimmy Clausen to Jeff King for 2 yards, with Kasay adding the point after, bringing us to the final of 31-10 Falcons. Atlanta went to 13-3, and Carolina fell to 2-14.
Heading to Kansas City, with the Chiefs hosting the Oakland Raiders. Kansas City dented the scoreboard first with a field goal from Ryan Succop, good from 30 yards. Oakland answered with Jason Campbell passing to Chaz Schilens for 5 yards and the score, followed by a Sebastian Janikowski extra point. Janikowksi added a 38 yard field goal to make it 10-3 Raiders before halftime. Jamaal Charles ran in for a touchdown of 5 yards, followed by a Succop extra point, but Oakland reclaimed the lead on a Michael Bush touchdown run of 26 yards, with a Janikowski extra point making it 17-10 Raiders. Jacoby Ford extended the lead for Oakland with his 10 yard touchdown run, and Janikowski added the extra point. The Raiders added another touchdown, this one coming defensively in the hands of Stanford Routt, who intercepted Matt Cassel for 22 yards and the touchdown. Janikowski made the extra point to put the score at 31-10. This was the final, and Oakland jumped up to 8-8, while Kansas City fell to 10-6.
Into Cleveland, with the Browns hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh drew first blood with Ben Roethlisberger connecting with Mike Wallace for a touchdown of 56 yards. Shaun Suisham added the extra point. The Steelers extended their lead to 14-0 with Rashard Mendenhall running 1 yard for the touchdown, followed by a Suisham extra point. Phil Dawson put Cleveland on the board with his 19 yard field goal. Pittsburgh replied with another 1 yard touchdown run from Mendenhall followed by another Suisham extra point. The Steelers added on with Roethlisberger finding Heath Miller for 4 yards and the touchdown, and made it 28-3 thanks to Suisham's extra point. Suisham kicked a 41 yard field goal late in the second quarter. Getting tricky in the third quarter was Pittsburgh, with wideout Antwaan Randle El connecting on a touchdown pass with Hines Ward for 3 yards, followed by a Suisham extra point once more. Suisham added a 24 yard field goal. The Browns registered a late touchdown in the fourth quarter, as Colt McCoy connected with Brian Robiskie for 20 yards, but the two point attempt from Seneca Wallace to Benjamin Watson failed, putting the score at 41-9 Steelers, which was the final, giving Pittsburgh a bump up to 12-4 and dropping Cleveland to 5-11.
Back east with the New York Jets hosting the Buffalo Bills. Nick Folk put New York up first with his 28 yard field goal. The Jets got defensive on their second touchdown, with Marquice Cole intercepting Buffalo quarterback Brian Brohm for 35 yards, and Folk added the extra point. Mark Brunell helped make it 17-0 for the Jets by connecting with Santonio Holmes for 17 yards, and Folk was true on the extra point. The Bills got even for the earlier interception with their own, thanks to Jairus Byrd picking off Brunell for 37 yards and the touchdown, followed by Rian Lindell adding an extra point. Brunell answered by tossing a touchdown to his own team, finding Braylon Edwards for 52 yards, with Folk adding the extra point to make it 24-7. Extending the New York lead was Kellen Clemmens, who ran a touchdown in for 10 yards, providing another Folk extra point opportunity, which was successful. Another rushing touchdown was added on for the Jets, 16 yards by John Conner, with Folk making it 38-7 with the extra point. The Jets cruised to a victory of the most recently mentioned score over the Bills, finishing the season at 11-5, and dropping the Bills to 4-12 for the end of the year.
Down south to where the New Orleans Saints host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Connor Barth put the visiting Tampa Bay up first with his 43 yard field goal. Drew Brees found the answer for New Orleans in passing 4 yards to Jimmy Graham, followed by a Garrett Hartley extra point to make it 7-3. The Buccaneers took the lead on Josh Freeman's 2 yard touchdown pass to Dezmon Briscoe, with the 10-7 score being produced after the Barth extra point. Hartley evened the score at 10 with his 45 yard field goal, but Barth answered with a 32 yard kick of his own and an extra point on the Freeman 18 yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams, putting Tampa Bay up 20-10. Hartley put the Saints within a touchdown with his 38 yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but was answered by Barth kicking a 48 yard field goal. The Buccaneers went on to beat the Saints 23-13, improving to 10-6, and the Saints falling to 11-5, with both teams watching later today for playoff hopes.
Lastly for the early games, the Baltimore Ravens host the Cincinnati Bengals. Billy Cundiff put the Ravens up first with a 25 yard field goal. Cundiff added a 47 yard field goal in the second quarter for Baltimore. Ray Rice helped make it 13-0 in the third quarter with a 7 yard touchdown run, capped off by a Cundiff extra point to make it 13-0. Cincinnati visited the end zone for the first time today when Carson Palmer connected with Jerome Simpson for 11 yards, and Clint Stitser added the extra point. The 13-7 scoring of the Ravens over the Bengals was the final, with Baltimore ending the regular season at 12-4, and Cincinnati falling to 4-12.
That's all for the morning games. Sandwich post to soon follow, along with late games at their conclusion.
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