The NFL is barely a month old, and already there have been three major upsets.
On opening weekend, the Carolina Panthers visited San Diego as nine-point underdogs and shocked the Chargers, 26-24, on the final play.
In Week3, the Miami Dolphins traveled to defending AFC champion New England and riddled the Patriots, 38-13.
Sunday, 0-3 Kansas City was a nine-point underdog at home against 3-0 Denver but stunned the Broncos, 33-19.
Welcome to the world of parity.
The rebuilding Chiefs committed to youth this season, opting to sacrifice wins to develop their roster. With 15 rookies, the most in the NFL, they are fielding the youngest team and the youngest starting lineup in the league.
That youth took a spanking in the first three weeks, when the Chiefs were outscored 78-32 in losing to New England, Oakland and Atlanta. But that youth is starting to figure it out.
The Chiefs started two rookie cornerbacks, Chris Carr and Brandon Flowers, against the NFL's No.2 passing offense Sunday. Flowers recovered a fumble by Brandon Marshall in the first half and returned it 37 yards to the Denver 2, setting up a Larry Johnson touchdown run. Carr intercepted Jay Cutler in the second half to halt a Denver drive at midfield.
After Matt Prater kicked a field goal to cut Kansas City's lead to 23-16 with seven minutes left, undrafted rookie free agent Dantrell Savage returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards. That set up a Kansas City field goal, which restored a 10-point lead with time winding down.
The victory snapped the Chiefs' 12-game losing streak, which dated to November 2007.
“Those kids deserve a win,” Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said. “Our fans deserve a win, too. We haven't won a game in quite some time. I've never been in a drought like this before. Now we've got to try to build on this win.”
Short stuff
With 6 minutes, 58 seconds left and Dallas trying to stop Washington on a third-and-2 play at the 31 and force a long field-goal try, the Cowboys stopped the Redskins, but were flagged for having 12 men on the field because safety
Pat Watkins wasn't paying attention to the defensive personnel call. It came after a timeout.
The play allowed another 3:32 to run off the clock before the Cowboys could get the ball back after Shaun Suisham's 29-yard field goal gave the Redskins at 26-17 lead with 3:22 left.
“We were in single (coverage) and not to point no fingers, but Pat shouldn't have been on the field,” said Dallas' Adam Jones.
Saints rookie defensive tackle
Sedrick Ellis had his first career sack, against the 49ers.
Titans coach
Jeff Fisher improved to 124-104 as a coach and tied former Panthers coach
George Seifert in career wins for 25th in NFL history.
There were 91 passes thrown in the Cardinals-Jets game to 12 receivers. Five receivers scored touchdowns, and four finished with 100-yard games:
Anquan Boldin,
Larry Fitzgerald and
Steve Breaston of the Cardinals and
Laveranues Coles of the Jets.
Talk about a bad quarter. Arizona quarterback
Kurt Warner committed four turnovers in the second quarter, throwing two interceptions and losing two fumbles on sacks. Warner finished with six turnovers – three interceptions, three fumbles – in a 56-35 loss.
Fourth quarters were wild Sunday. San Diego scored 25 points, Buffalo 18 and Cleveland 17 in the fourth to rally for victories.
Denver's
Matt Prater became the third kicker in franchise history and the first since
Jason Elam in 2002 to hit a pair of 50-yard field goals in a game. He attempted four field goals at Kansas City but missed a 28-yard chip shot in a loss.
St. Louis has lost 17 of its past 20 games.
Denver coach
Mike Shanahan's 141 wins rank second among active coaches to Seattle's
Mike Holmgren, and he's one of seven active coaches with a winning percentage better than 60. But his record at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium is 4-12.
The Saints beat the 49ers despite being penalized 13 times for 123 yards. Both are game highs in the NFL this season.
Aaron Rodgers discovered what his predecessor,
Brett Favre, has known this entire decade – Tampa Bay has an incredibly feisty defense. The Bucs allowed eight first downs and 181 total yards in Rodgers' first start against Tampa Bay. Rodgers was sacked three times and threw three interceptions in a 30-21 loss.
New Orleans has won five straight against San Francisco.
Philadelphia running back
Brian Westbrook missed Sunday's game against Chicago with strained right ankle.
The Bills are 4-0 for the first time since 1992.
The Raiders wore white uniforms at home because of the heat.
New Orleans receiver
Devery Henderson caught an 81-yard pass from
Drew Brees against the 49ers but did not score a touchdown.
Nate Clements tackled him at the 2. The longest non-touchdown catch last season was an 83-yarder by Pittsburgh's Santonio Holmes.
Oakland's
Sebastian Janikowski attempted a 76-yard field goal at the end of the first half but was unable to reach the goal line with his kick. The NFL record for longest field goal is 63 yards.
Rams receiver
Torry Holt had four receptions, giving him 820 for his career, passing
Steve Largent for 16th place.
@Nyx.CommentBody@