NFL Week 3 Game Recaps

Carolina picked up its first victory of the season by edging NFC South rival Tampa Bay, 26-24. Kasay finished 4-for-4 for the day, with additional kicks of 49, 50 and 51 yards, for the Panthers (1-2), who saw the return of All-Pro receiver Steve Smith. Smith missed the first two games of the season because of hamstring problems. He finished with seven catches for 112 yards. Smith's return opened up room for Keyshawn Johnson, who had seven catches for 97 yards and a touchdown while also running for a score on a reverse. Jake Delhomme completed 22- of-36 passes for 272 yards. Chris Simms completed 13-of-24 passes for 139 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Buccaneers (0-3), who have started a season with three straight losses for the second time in three years. Simms battled through cramps in the third quarter before returning in the fourth quarter. After the game, he was admitted to a local hospital. Carnell Williams rushed 19 times for 48 yards and a touchdown and Alex Smith had four catches for 72 yards in defeat.

Final Score: NY Jets 28, Buffalo 20

Orchard Park, NY - Kerry Rhodes recorded two sacks of J.P. Losman, forcing a pair of fumbles, and New York capitalized as the Jets bested the Buffalo Bills, 28-20, at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Victor Hobson recovered a fumble and ran it back for a touchdown while Kevan Barlow and Cedric Houston each rushed for a score for the Jets (2-1), who won in Buffalo for the first time since a 37-31 overtime victory on September 8, 2002. Chad Pennington completed 19-of-29 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown while Laveranues Coles, who was active despite battling a calf injury, hauled in 10 catches for 78 yards. Losman, who surpassed his 83 yards from last week in the first quarter, went 22-for-38 for 328 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a rushing score. Coming into the game Losman had thrown for 247 yards total. Willis McGahee ran for a career-high 150 yards on 26 carries and Lee Evans caught eight passes for 107 yards for the Bills (1-2), who have lost two of their last three home openers. The Jets are the first team in NFL history to beat a team with a 300-yard passer and a 150-yard runner.

Final Score: Green Bay 31, Detroit 24

Detroit, MI - Brett Favre completed 25-of-36 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Green Bay Packers past the Detroit Lions, 31-24, at Ford Field. Ahman Green added 131 total yards and a score for the Packers (1-2), who have won 10 of the last 12 meetings. Rookie wideout Greg Jennings hauled in three passes for 101 yards, including a 75- yard TD scamper. Detroit's Jon Kitna passed for 342 yards and two touchdowns on 25-of-40 passing. Roy Williams caught seven passes for 138 yards and a TD for the Lions (0-3), who have lost their first three games for first time since 2002. Kevin Jones added 81 yards and a touchdown on the ground in defeat.

Final Score: Washington 31, Houston 15

Houston, TX - Mark Brunell set an NFL record for most consecutive passes completed in a single game, starting out 22-for-22, to lead Washington past Houston, 31-15, at Reliant Stadium. Ladell Betts rushed for a career-high 124 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown for the Redskins (1-2), who avoided their worst start to a season since 2001. Clinton Portis, who missed last week's game against Dallas because of a shoulder injury from the preseason, rushed for 86 yards on 16 attempts. Portis added 78 receiving yards on a pair of catches from Brunell, who finished 24- for-27 with 261 yards and one touchdown. David Carr completed 19-of-29 passes for 208 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Texans (0-3), who are still in search of their first win of the season after losing the season opener to Philadelphia and last week's contest to Indianapolis. Ron Dayne rushed for 58 yards on 14 carries and Andre Johnson caught 11 passes for 152 yards in defeat.

Final Score: Indianapolis 21, Jacksonville 14

Indianapolis, IN - Peyton Manning accounted for two second- half touchdowns -- one through the air and one on the ground -- to lead Indianapolis past Jacksonville, 21-14, in an AFC South battle at RCA Dome. Manning completed 14-of-31 passes for 219 yards and also rushed for a two-yard touchdown for the Colts (3-0), who have now won 11 straight division games. Marvin Harrison made six catches for 94 yards and Dallas Clark made a 30-yard TD reception. Byron Leftwich threw for 107 yards on 16-of-28 passing with a touchdown pass, but was intercepted twice. His second pick came with under one minute remaining in the game as Jacksonville (2-1) attempted to mount a game-tying drive. Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor put together a solid 1-2 punch on the ground for the Jaguars, who have lost three straight against the Colts. Jones-Drew rushed for 103 yards on 13 carries while Taylor added an additional 74 yards rushing.

Final Score: Miami 13, Tennessee 10

Miami, FL - Olindo Mare kicked a 39-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to lift the Miami Dolphins to a 13-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans at Dolphin Stadium. Daunte Culpepper threw for 168 yards and ran for Miami's lone touchdown. The Dolphins (1-2) also forced three Tennessee turnovers, the last coming in the final two minutes to seal the victory. Kerry Collins completed 19-of-33 passes for 269 yards with a touchdown and a pair of costly interceptions for the Titans (0-3), who have lost their first three games for the first time since 2001.

Final Score: Chicago 19, Minnesota 16

Minneapolis, MN - Rex Grossman hit Rashied Davis with a 24- yard touchdown pass with 1:53 left, lifting the Chicago Bears over the Minnesota Vikings, 19-16, at the Metrodome. Grossman finished 23-of-41 passing for 278 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for the Bears (3-0), who tallied the only offensive touchdown of the game. Davis had 48 yards on three receptions and Muhsin Muhammad finished with 118 yards on nine catches. Brad Johnson completed 21-of-31 passes for 194 yards and Chester Taylor recorded 89 total yards of offense, but the duo teamed up for a costly turnover late that led to Minnesota (2-1) having its two- game win streak to start the season come to an end. Travis Taylor had 82 yards on six catches and Antoine Winfield recorded the only TD for Minnesota, returning an interception seven yards for a score.

Final Score: Cincinnati 28, Pittsburgh 20

Pittsburgh, PA - Carson Palmer threw four touchdown passes to help the Cincinnati Bengals rally from behind in the fourth quarter and topple the Pittsburgh Steelers, 28-20, in an AFC North showdown at Heinz Field. T.J. Houshmandzadeh returned from a heel injury and caught nine passes for 94 yards with a pair of touchdowns, and Chris Henry also hauled in two TD receptions for Cincinnati (3-0), which fell 31-17 to Pittsburgh in the AFC Wild Card round last year after Palmer suffered a major knee injury on his first pass attempt. The signal-caller did struggle at times in this game, finishing 18-of-26 for 193 yards with a pair of interceptions, but made several big plays late to lead his team to a win. Ben Roethlisberger ended just 18-of-39 for 208 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions for the Steelers (1-2), who were coming off a 9-0 loss at the hands of Jacksonville on Monday night. Willie Parker rushed for 133 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 31 carries in defeat.

Final Score: Baltimore 15, Cleveland 14

Cleveland, OH - Matt Stover's 52-yard field goal with 20 seconds left lifted Baltimore to a 15-14 comeback win over Cleveland. Steve McNair threw for 264 yards on 23-of-41 passing with one touchdown for the Ravens (3-0), who won their opening three contests for the first time in franchise history. Derrick Mason caught seven balls for 132 yards, and Jamal Lewis carried 21 times for 86 yards. Charlie Frye completed 21-of-33 passes for 298 yards with one touchdown, but threw a costly interception in the end zone late in the fourth quarter. Braylon Edwards hauled in five passes for 116 yards and a touchdown for the Browns (0-3), who played without starting running back Reuben Droughns, who was out with a shoulder injury. In his absence, Jason Wright ran for only 31 yards on 15 carries.

Final Score: St. Louis 16, Arizona 14

Glendale, AZ - Marc Bulger threw for 309 yards and a touchdown as St. Louis held on to beat NFC West rival Arizona, 16-14. Torry Holt caught eight passes for 120 yards and a score for the Rams (2-1), who were coming off a loss to San Francisco last week. Isaac Bruce added three catches for 79 yards, while Steven Jackson ran 24 times for 62 yards. Kurt Warner completed 19-of-28 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown and three critical interceptions for the Cardinals (1-2), who were looking to start 2-0 at home for the first time since 1987. Warner also fumbled a snap late in the fourth quarter with Arizona in range for the game-winning field goal. Edgerrin James rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown, while Anquan Boldin had 10 catches for 129 yards.

Final Score: Philadelphia 38, San Francisco 24

San Francisco, CA - Brian Westbrook scored three touchdowns to guide the Philadelphia Eagles past the San Francisco 49ers, 38-24, at Monster Park. Westbrook rushed for 117 yards and two scores on the ground while adding four receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles (2-1), who were coming off a gut-wrenching 30-24 overtime loss to the Giants, which saw them blow a 17-point fourth-quarter lead. Donovan McNabb finished 18-of-33 for 296 yards with a pair of TD tosses and zero interceptions, while defensive tackle Mike Patterson scored on a 98-yard fumble return in the third quarter to keep the Eagles well ahead. Alex Smith ended 27-of-46 for 293 yards with a touchdown for San Francisco (1-2), which defeated St. Louis at home last week. Rookie Michael Robinson added two rushing touchdowns in replacement of Frank Gore, who left in the third quarter with an abdominal strain and did not return.

Final Score: Seattle 42, NY Giants 30

Seattle, WA - Matt Hasselbeck threw a career-high five touchdown passes to lead the Seattle Seahawks over the New York Giants, 42-30, at Qwest Field. Hasselbeck finished 24-of-33 for 227 yards with three interceptions for the Seahawks (3-0), who exploded offensively after two lackluster performances to open the season. Shaun Alexander added a rushing score and Darrell Jackson had two TD receptions for Seattle, which lead by as many as 39 points before the Giants scored a bunch of points in the final minutes. Bobby Engram, Nate Burleson and Will Heller also caught TD passes as the Seahawks are 3-0 to start the year for the second time in three seasons. Eli Manning finished 24-of-36 passing for 275 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions for New York, which got off to a shaky start for the second week in a row. However, instead of a dramatic comeback like last week in Philadelphia, the Giants dug themselves such a big hole they couldn't get out, despite 27 fourth-quarter points.

Final Score: Denver 17, New England 7

Foxboro, MA - Javon Walker had three catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Denver Broncos past the New England Patriots, 17-7, at Gillette Stadium. Jake Plummer completed 15-of-30 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns for the Broncos (2-1), who defeated the Patriots in the AFC Divisional Playoff game last season. Tatum Bell ran for 123 yards on 27 carries for the Broncos while Rod Smith hauled in six passes for 44 yards. Denver has now won its last two games after dropping the season opener to the St. Louis Rams. New England running back Corey Dillon left the game in the second quarter with a right arm injury and did not return. Dillon had only 16 yards rushing while rookie Laurence Maroney took over running back duties for the Pats and finished with just 18 yards rushing to go along with five catches for 61 yards. Tom Brady threw for 320 yards and a touchdown on 31-of-55 passing for the Patriots (2-1), who continually had trouble moving the ball against the Broncos defense. Doug Gabriel finished with six catches for 65 yards and a touchdown in the first loss of the season for New England.

Final Score: New Orleans 23, Atlanta 3

New Orleans, LA - Curtis Deloatch recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown in the opening minutes of the game, as the Saints rode an emotional wave from the start to a 23-3 victory over Atlanta in the first game played at the Superdome in more than a year. A little more than a year after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city of New Orleans and the Superdome, the Saints and their fans received a big boost of energy on a special Monday night. Not only did the Saints win their first three games of the season for the first time since 2002, but more importantly the night served as a healing of sorts for the lives lost and the devastating damage left behind by the storm. It marked the first regular season game at the Superdome since December, 26, 2004, a Saints victory over Atlanta. Drew Brees completed 20- of-28 passes for 191 yards, while Deuce McAllister rushed 19 times for 81 yards for the Saints (3-0). Reggie Bush had 13 carries for 53 yards. Marques Colston had seven receptions for 97 yards. Michael Vick was limited to 137 yards passing on 12-of-31 attempts for the Falcons (2-1). Vick rushed six times for 57 yards, while Warrick Dunn carried the ball 13 times for 44 yards. Alge Crumpler had five catches for 49 yards for Atlanta.

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