Cardinals, Falcons and Texans have something in common
UNDATED (AP) — The NFL season is three weeks old and three teams have managed to make it through without a loss
The Cardinals blew past the visiting Eagles 27-6 in a matchup of previously unbeaten teams. Kevin Kolb passed for 222 yards and two TDs against his old team. And James Sanders returned a Michael Vick fumble 93 yards for a touchdown.
The Falcons went cross country and beat the Chargers 27-3 to get to 3-0 and drop San Diego to 2-1.Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan threw touchdown passes to three different receivers. Ryan completed 30 of 40 passes for 275 yards and threw his first interception of the season. Safety Thomas DeCoud had two interceptions and a fumble recovery for the Falcons, who’ve opened with three victories over AFC West teams.
In other Week 3 action:
— Baltimore nipped visiting New England 31-30 under the lights. Justin Tucker booted a disputed 27-yard field goal as time ran out. Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith caught two touchdown passes less than 24 hours after his younger brother was killed in a motorcycle accident.
— After starting the season with decisive victories over playoff teams Green Bay and Detroit, the San Francisco 49ers stumbled in Minnesota, losing 24-13. Ex-Viking receiver Randy Moss had a quiet afternoon with three catches for 27 yards.
— Chicago’s defense came up big in a 23-6 win over visiting St. Louis. The Bears held the Rams to just 160 yards of offense while sacking Sam Bradford six times.
— DeMarco Murray’s 11-yard touchdown run and three field goals from Dan Bailey lifted Dallas past Tampa Bay 16-10 in the Cowboys’ home opener.
— Jacksonville earned its first victory by edging Indianapolis 22-17. Blaine Gabbert connected with Cecil Shorts III on an 80-yard TD pass with 45 seconds left for the game-winning score.
— Tennessee stunned Detroit 44-41 in overtime. Rob Bironas (bih-ROH’-nihs) kicked a 26-yard field goal in overtime for the game-winner.
— In another overtime game, the New York Jets rallied to beat Miami 23-20 on a Nick Folk 33-yard field goal. Mark Sanchez hit Santonio Holmes for a 38-yard gain to set up the game-winning kick.
— Cincinnati improved to 2-1 by outscoring Washington 38-31, the Redskins’ seventh straight home loss. On the game’s very first snap, the Bengals lined up rookie receiver Mohamed Sanu behind center, and he promptly tossed a 73-yard touchdown to A.J. Green.
— The old, bumbling New Orleans “Aints” of the past are back. The Saints were unable to protect an 18-point, third-quarter lead, and fans in the Superdome watched in dread as Kansas City’s Ryan Succup booted his club-record sixth field goal to lift the previously winless Chiefs to a 27-24 overtime victory.
— Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 43-yard field goal on the last play as the Oakland Raiders to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-3. Oakland scored the final 13 points after wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey was knocked out and hospitalized by a scary hit.
— In the Battle of Lake Erie, Buffalo dropped Cleveland to 0-3 with a 24-14 win. Ryan Fitzpatrick tossed three TD passes.
Players siding with refs…AP source: 2 sides met Sunday
NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL players’ union has sent an open letter to team owners calling on the league to end the lockout of on-field officials.
The players hint that the lockout could violate the collective bargaining agreement that ended their own lockout last year. They cite a lack of a safe working environment.
The union also asks why Commissioner Roger Goodell issues suspensions and fines “in the name of player health and safety” while the regular officials the league entrusts to maintain health and safety are locked out.
Meanwhile, two people familiar with the talks say that the NFL and the locked out officials’ union met on Sunday.
It was uncertain whether progress was made in an attempt to reach a new collective bargaining agreement, or when further negotiations would take place.
Another long Sunday for replacements
UNDATED (AP) — Suspect officiating decisions during several games contributed to a chaotic third Sunday of the NFL season.
Replacement officials admitted making two mistakes in Minnesota’s victory over San Francisco, while several other games included questionable calls that could have affected the outcomes.
Referee Ken Roan said he twice granted 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh video challenges after Harbaugh called timeout in the fourth quarter. Neither challenge should have been allowed once Harbaugh asked for time.
In the Lions-Titans and Bengals-Redskins games, officials marched off too much yardage on penalties.
The Redskins were penalized 20 yards instead of 15 for unsportsmanlike conduct in the final seconds of their 38-31 loss.
Trying to keep up…Tigers fall game back of White Sox
UNDATED (AP) — The two contenders for the AL East title both suffered streak-breaking losses on Sunday, keeping the Yankees one game ahead of the Orioles.
New York got beat by visiting Oakland 5-4 for their first loss in eight games.
Cliff Pennington’s RBI single in the sixth inning after a key error by backup shortstop Eduardo Nunez snapped a 4-4 tie.
Meanwhile, Cody Ross doubled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and Andrew Bailey escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth as Boston ended Baltimore’s six-game winning streak 2-1. Boston avoided a sweep at Fenway Park and ended a four-game skid.
Also in the AL:
— Ryan Dempster allowed two runs and six hits over six-plus innings and Mike Napoli and Geovany Soto homered to lead the Texas Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners. That keeps the Rangers’ four-game lead over the Oakland A’s in the AL West intact.
— B.J. Upton hit his eighth home run in 14 games and Tampa Bay blanked the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-0. Mark Hellickson pitched a solid 5 2/3 innings to earn his first win in more than a month, helping the Rays notch their fifth straight victory.
— Jamey Carroll hit an RBI single in the 10th inning and the Minnesota Twins beat Detroit 2-1, winning both games of a doubleheader to prevent the Tigers from tying or passing the slumping White Sox. Earlier in the day, Joe Mauer drove in four runs as the Twins rallied against Max Scherzer and pulled away for a 10-4 win in the first game.
— Jered Weaver kept the Los Angeles Angels within striking distance in the AL wild-card chase. He won his league-leading 19th victory on Sunday with a 4-1 decision over the struggling White Sox, who’ve dropped five straight.
— Carlos Santana hit two homers and drove in five runs as Cleveland routed Kansas City 15-4. It’s the Indians’ highest-scoring game of the season.
In the NL:
— Adrian Gonzalez slugged a pair of home runs in the L.A. Dodgers’ 5-3 win over the NL Central champion Cincinnati Reds. The Dodgers are three games out of the league’s final wild card spot.
— Tim Hudson tossed two-hit ball over 7 1/3 innings of a 2-1 win at Philadelphia that has Atlanta on the brink of claiming a playoff spot. Hudson improved to 16-6 and sent the Braves home with a shot at winning at least an NL wild-card berth.
— St. Louis won for the sixth time in seven games, holding its lead in the NL wild-card race with a 6-3 victory over the Cubs in Chicago. Kyle Lohse moves to 16-3 by giving up three runs and five hits in six innings. The Redbirds remain 2½ games ahead of Milwaukee for the second wild-card spot.
— The Brewers pounded out 15 hits in a 6-2 victory over the Nationals in Washington. The Nationals magic number to clinch the East Division title remains at six.
— Yonder Alonso’s two-run single in the seventh inning snapped a tie and helped the San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 6-4, one day after the Giants clinched the NL West for the second time in three years.
— A.J. Burnett allowed one run in eight innings for his 16th win as Pittsburgh pummeled Houston 8-1. Josh Harrison had a career-high four hits for the Pirates, who snapped a five-game losing streak. Burnett is the first Pittsburgh pitcher since 1991 to win more than 15 games.
— Ruben Tejada singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning to give the Mets a 3-2 victory over the visiting Marlins. David Wright’s first-inning homer accounted for New York’s other two runs. It’s the seventh straight time the Mets have beaten the Fish.
New No. 2
NEW YORK (AP) — Oregon has slipped past LSU to No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25 behind Alabama after the Ducks rolled to a victory and the Tigers struggled to remain unbeaten.
Oregon routed Arizona 49-0 on Saturday night in Eugene. No. 3 LSU hung on to win at Auburn 12-10.
Alabama got 59 of 60 first-place votes from the media panel, with LSU receiving the other.
Florida State remains No. 4 after its 49-37 victory against Clemson, and Georgia holds steady at No. 5. No. 6 South Carolina gives the Southeastern Conference four of the top six teams in the nation.
Kansas State moved up eight spots to No. 7 after beating Oklahoma 24-19, the Wildcats’ best ranking since September 2006.
The Sooners dropped from sixth to 16th.
Big payday for Snedeker
ATLANTA (AP) — Brandt Snedeker played the round of his life and claimed the biggest payoff in golf.
Snedeker needed to win the Tour Championship to beat out Rory McIlroy for the FedEx Cup. He made three big birdies on the back nine at East Lake en route to a 2-under-par 68 to finish 10-under for the tournament, three strokes better than runner-up Justin Rose.
Snedeker collects $1.44 million for winning his second title of the year. And he won $10 million for capturing the FedEx Cup, which comes with a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
McIlroy and Tiger Woods, both of whom could have won the FedEx Cup with a victory Sunday, faded early and were never a factor.
Hamlin weaves his way to victory
LOUDON, N.H. (AP) — Denny Hamlin got a mistake-free trip at New Hampshire and won his series-high fifth Sprint Cup race of the season. He started 32nd after his crew had the wrong pressure in his tires during Friday’s qualifying. Hamlin has won three of the last five Sprint Cup races.
Jimmie Johnson finished second and took the lead in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Polesitter Jeff Gordon was third.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota 10 Detroit 4 (first game)
Minnesota 2 Detroit 1 (second game), , 10 Innings
Oakland 5 N-Y Yankees 4
Boston 2 Baltimore 1
Tampa Bay 3 Toronto 0
Cleveland 15 Kansas City 4
L.A. Angels 4 Chi White Sox 1
Texas 3 Seattle 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
N-Y Mets 3 Miami 2
Atlanta 2 Philadelphia 1
Milwaukee 6 Washington 2
Pittsburgh 8 Houston 1
St. Louis 6 Chi Cubs 3
Arizona 10 Colorado 7
San Diego 6 San Francisco 4
L.A. Dodgers 5 Cincinnati 3
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Buffalo 24 Cleveland 14
Cincinnati 38 Washington 31
Tennessee 44 Detroit 41, OT
Jacksonville 22 Indianapolis 17
Kansas City 27 New Orleans 24, OT
N-Y Jets 23 Miami 20, OT
Minnesota 24 San Francisco 13
Chicago 23 St. Louis 6
Dallas 16 Tampa Bay 10
Atlanta 27 San Diego 3
Arizona 27 Philadelphia 6
Houston 31 Denver 25
Oakland 34 Pittsburgh 31
Baltimore 31 New England 30