NFL Roundup: Week 3

Some observations, comments and opinions about Sunday's NFL games.

Washington 31, Houston 15
Mark Brunell completed an NFL-record 22 straight passes and Clinton Portis (164 total yards) made his presence felt in the victory over the 0-3 Texans. Backup RB Ladell Betts had 124 yards rushing as the Redskins (1-2) finally got their offense on track.

New York Jets 28, Buffalo Bills 20
Jets QB Chad Pennington had another solid day and despite the big day from Bills RB Willis McGahee (150 yards), the New York defense did just enough to come out of Buffalo with the victory.

Green Bay 31, Detroit 24
Yes the Packers aren't that good of a team, neither are the Lions for that matter, but can we finally put the Brett Favre is washed up theories to bed. The guy threw for over 300 yards, three touchdowns and tossed his 400th career touchdown pass. Awesome.

Indianapolis 21, Jacksonville 14
The Jaguars held Peyton manning in check for most of the game, but the Colts (3-0) offense had enough to beat Jacksonville (2-1) in the battle of AFC South powers. Jacksonville got 103 yards from rookie RB Maurice Drew, but the Jags have a similar situation to last year - great defense, but can't score points.

Chicago 19, Minnesota 16
Battle of the top two teams in the NFC North. Bears QB Rex Grossman rebounded from a crucial mistake to lead Chicago to the impressive victory in Minnesota. Grossman threw an interception for a touchdown, but later hit Rashied Davis for the game winner with 1:37 left on the clock.

Miami 13, Tennessee 10
Ugly win but the Dolphins will take it. Miami's offense still can't get untracked and Daunte Culpepper looks like he hasn't fully recovered from the knee injury. Look for Vince Young to start this week ahead of Kerry Collins.

Cincinnati 28, Pittsburgh 20
The Bengals capitalized on Steelers mistakes and got revenge after last seasons playoff loss the injured Carson Palmer. The defending Super Bowl champs now find themselves in a deep hole early in the season. The Steelers (1-2) are two games back of Cincinnati and Baltimore in the AFC North.

Carolina 26, Tampa Bay 24
Good battle in what could be construed as an elimination game in the NFC South. Both teams came in 0-2 and needing a win. Panthers kicker John Kasay made four field goals, including the game winner with two seconds left, to get the victory. Bucs QB Chris Simms was hit so hard during the game that he was taken to the hospital where he had his spleen removed. He should make a full recovery. Steve Smith returned for Carolina and caught seven passes for 112 yards.

Baltimore 15, Cleveland 14
The Ravens go to 3-0 on the season thanks to solid defense and kicker Matt Stover. The win marked the first time the Ravens have started a season 3-0. Stover kicked the game winner with 20 seconds remaining. The Baltimore defense held the Browns (0-3) to 38 yards rushing.

Seattle 42, New York Giants 30
Matt Hasselbeck threw for five touchdowns as the Seahawks (3-0) jumped out to a 42-3 lead and withstood a furious New York (1-2) rally in the second half to preserve the victory. The win was the 12th straight for Seattle at home.

St. Louis 16, Arizona 14
Marc Bulger was 21-of-31 for 309 yards and a touchdown to lead the Rams (2-1) to the NFC West win over the Cardinals (1-2). With Arizona on the Ram 18, Kurt Warner fumbled the snap from center with 1:46 to go and St. Louis MLB Will Witherspoon recovered to preserve the victory.

Philadelphia 38, San Francisco 24
Brian Westbrook touched the ball only 12 times, but he finished with 164 total yards and three touchdowns to lead the Eagles (2-1) to a road victory over the 49ers (1-2). The win puts Philadelphia in sole possession of first place of the NFC East.

Denver 17, New England 7
Despite starting the season 2-0, the Patriots have struggled offensively so far in 2006. On Sunday night, seven points was all New England could muster as the Broncos came to Foxboro Stadium and left a winner. Bronco receiver Javon Walker and three receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns.

There was clearly some separation on Sunday with some key games being played. Chicago and Seattle are the front runners in the NFC in the early part of the season, regardless of who wins the Monday night game between Atlanta and New Orleans. Philadelphia appears to have bounced back, but the difference is in the defenses. Seattle and Chicago's defenses are a little bit better than the rest of the contenders.

In the AFC, Cincinnati and Indianapolis have emerged as the big dogs with San Diego and Baltimore not far behind. Jacksonville needs to put points up and you can never count out Denver, especially if they get home field. And we can't forget Pittsburgh either.

The Louisiana Superdome re-opens for Monday night football as Drew Brees and the Saints take on Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons in a matchup of two teams unbeaten in the NFC South. If the Saints want to make the Superdome celebration a good one, the defense must stop the rushing attack of the Falcons, led by Vick and Warrick Dunn.


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