Fantastic finishes: 5 NFL games down to the wire
Monday, October 13, 2008 10:21 AM PDT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) —Ryan Longwell made a field goal with nine seconds left to give Minnesota a comeback win over Detroit.
Nine seconds? Bor-ing!
Four other games were decided even later on a wild Sunday, including an NFL first for Arizona: a blocked punt for a touchdown in overtime.
He could have been talking about the whole day. Houston beat Miami when Matt Schaub ran for a TD with 3 seconds left, and Atlanta and St. Louis both won on field goals as time expired. It was the first time since 1970 that four teams got the winning points with fewer than 10 seconds left in regulation.
Arizona’s game also had a field goal with the clock reaching zeros: Nick Folk made a 52-yarder to tie it for Dallas at 24. Then Sean Morey blocked Mat McBriar’s punt, Monty Beisel scooped up the ball and scored from 3 yards to give the Cardinals (4-2) a 30-24 victory over the Cowboys.
The game was wild from start to finish — Arizona’s J.J. Arrington took the opening kick 93 yards for a touchdown.
Dallas (4-2) scored 10 points in the final 2 minutes of regulation to reach overtime.
Atlanta’s Jason Elam atoned for a late fourth-quarter miss by booting a 48-yard field goal to give the Falcons a 22-20 win over Chicago.
In Landover, Md., Marc Bulger led the winning drive to set up Josh Brown’s 49-yard field goal that gave St. Louis (1-4) a stunning upset of the Redskins.
Houston (1-4) beat the Dolphins when Schaub ran for a TD on fourth down from the 3 to give the Texans a 29-28 win.
Minnesota trailing 10-9 with 2:22 to play, the Vikings (3-3). A 42-yard penalty gave the Vikings the ball at the 26. Longwell converted the kick five plays later to avoid what would have been a damaging loss for a team that has designs on making the playoffs.
Sunday’s Games
Atlanta 22, Chicago 20
Houston 29, Miami 28
Minnesota 12, Detroit 10
New Orleans 34, Oakland 3
St. Louis 19, Washington 17
N.Y. Jets 26, Cincinnati 14
Indianapolis 31, Baltimore 3
Tampa Bay 27, Carolina 3
Jacksonville 24, Denver 17
Green Bay 27, Seattle 17
Arizona 30, Dallas 24, OT
Philadelphia 40, San Francisco 26
San Diego 30, New England 10
Open: Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Tennessee
Today’s Game
N.Y. Giants at Cleveland, 6:30 p.m.
