NFL Late Games week 3

There are 6 late games on today, and we begin our coverage in...

St. Louis, with the Rams hosting the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore wasted little time in striking, making a statement with Joe Flacco and Torrey Smith combining 3 times for touchdowns, a 74 yard catch and run, a 41 yard catch and run, and an 18 yard reception. Billy Cundiff had the extra point on all three scores. Cundiff would later add two field goals in the second quarter, a 21 yard chip shot and a 31 yard kick. The Ravens lead 27-0 at halftime. Baltimore got going again in the third quarter with a Cundiff field goal of 38 yards. St. louis got on the board with Sam Bradford passing 34 yards to Brandon Gibson for a touchdown, and Josh Brown was responsible for the extra point. Baltimore got defensive with their fourth quarter touchdown, as Haloti Ngata picked up Bradford's bobble and took it in 28 yards for the score, as Cundiff supplied the extra point. The Ravens won 37-7, going to 2-1 while dropping St. Louis to 0-3.

Out west, the Oakland Raiders welcome the New York Jets. Darren McFadden opened the scoring for Oakland on a 2 yard rush for a touchdown, and Sebastian Janikowksi made the extra point. New York replied with Mark Sanchez taking the ball home himself, a 1 yard touchdown run, and Nick Folk tied the game with the extra point. The Jets took the lead with a Sanchez pass to LaDainian Tomlinson for 18 yards and a touchdown, with Folk taking the extra point. Folk also drilled a 21 yard field goal. McFadden brought the game a little bit closer for the Raiders with a 70 yard touchdown run, and Janikowski added an extra point, and he tied the game at 17 going into halftime with a last second 54 yard field goal. Oakland took the lead in the third quarter on a Denarius Moore rush of 23 yards, and the Janikowski extra point made it 24-17. In the fourth quarter, Michael Bush ran 1 yard for a Raider touchdown, and another Janikowski PAT made it 31-17. New York grabbed a touchdown (figuratively) as Sanchez threw a ball that Plaxico Burress grabbed (literally) and 16 yards later found paydirt, followed by a Folk extra point. Janikowski extended the Oakland lead with a 49 yard field goal. The Raiders maintained their lead of 34-24, and won the game, improving to 2-1 and taking the Jets off the undefeated list down to the same mark.

Down the coast, the San Diego Chargers host the Kansas City Chiefs. The first quarter was silent, but San Diego made some noise with Ryan Mathews running 2 yards for a touchdown, and Nick Novak making the extra point. Novak also kicked a 35 yard field goal, making it a 10-0 Chargers lead at the half. Kansas City found points in the third quarter as Matt Cassel connected for a 4 yard touchdown pass with Dwayne Bowe, and Ryan Succop handled the extra point. Mathews struck again for the Chargers with a 4 yard TD rush, and Novak kicked the extra point. The Chiefs pulled within a touchdown as Succop nailed a fourth quarter field from 33 yards. Novak erased this with a 41 yard field goal for San Diego. Kansas City got a little closer with Cassel finding Leonard Pope for a 1 yard touchdown, and Succop added the extra point. The Chargers would hold on for a 20-17 win, going up to 2-1 while dropping the reeling Chiefs to 0-3.

Back to the Midwest region, the Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay quickly took control with Aaron Rodgers finding Jermichael Finley for a 6 yard touchdown pass. Mason Crosby handled the extra point. Those two would meet again in the second quarter on a 7 yard TD pass, and Crosby made the extra point again. Chicago got on the board with a Jay cutler touchdown pass to Dane Sanzenbacher, a 4 yard strike finished off by a Robbie Gould extra point. Crosby extended the Packers lead with a 37 yard field goal. Gould replied for the Bears with a 25 yard field goal. Green Bay led 17-10 going into the locker rooms. The Packers got three more off of Crosby's foot, as he kicked a 28 yard field goal in the third quarter. Rodgers and Finley also met for the third time today, a 10 yard touchdown connection capped off by Crosby on the extra point. Chicago made it 27-17 with Cutler connecting with Kellen Davis for 32 yards and a touchdown, and Gould had the PAT. This was a final, with the Packers going to 3-0 and sending their rivals to 1-2.

Up to the Northwest, where the Seattle SeaChickensHawks welcome the Arizona Cardinals. Seattle got on the board with Steven Hauschka kicking a 30 yard field goal. Arizona replied with a 44 yard field goal kick by Jay Feely, and he added the PAT on Kevin Kolb's 12 yard TD pass to Larry Fitzgerald. Hauschka made a 52 yard field goal in response for the Seahawks. The Cardinals take a 10-6 lead into the half. Seattle got the lead with Tavaris Jackson rushing 11 yards to score, and Hauschka added the extra point. After a silent third quarter, the Seahawks maintained their lead and won 13-10. They go to 1-2 and drop their Arizona rivals to the same record.

Finally, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers welcome the Atlanta Falcons. Tampa Bay got on the board with Connor Barth's 49 yard field goal. Matt Bryant answered for Atlanta in the second quarter with a 26 yard field goal. The Buccaneers regained the lead on a 1 yard rush by Josh Freeman, with Barth supplying the extra point. Barth also scored a 26 yard field goal. Tampa Bay led 13-3 at halftime. The Buccaneers got another three points with a Barth field goal of 28 yards in the third quarter. The Falcons got closer with a Matt Ryan touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez, good for 10 yards, and a Bryant extra point, and even more so after his 33 yard field goal. They couldn't finish the comeback, losing 16-13 to the Buccaneers, as Tampa Bay went to 2-1 and Atlanta dropped to 1-2.