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Twelve games in Week 3 were decided by no more than seven points.

That was the highest number in NFL history, matching totals from 2003 (Week 12) and 1993 (Week 15), according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Expansion has increased the chances over the years, but with so many close games in Week 3, I wanted to quickly touch upon kicking dynamics heading into Week 4:

• 49ers: Former longtime Philadelphia Eagles kicker David Akers returns to Philly with the San Francisco 49ers. He has made all seven field-goal tries this season, including two from 50-plus yards, both in clutch situations. He has touchbacks on 52.9 percent of kickoffs, best in the NFC West. Akers has been outstanding and the 49ers have leaned on him heavily while playing conservatively on offense.
• Cardinals: Jay Feely, who missed twice amid tough weather conditions during a 13-10 defeat at Seattle last week, faces one of his former teams when the New York Giants visit University of Phoenix Stadium. Feely is tied for the NFL lead with three misses this season. He missed only three last season, connecting on 24 of 27 attempts. Feely has touchbacks on 33 percent of kickoffs, which ranks third in the division. That is up from 22.9 percent last season.
• Seahawks: Seattle's Steven Hauschka has made all three of his attempts as a budget replacement for Olindo Mare, who cashed in with Carolina in free agency. Hauschka has one touchback in nine kickoffs for an 11.1 percentage that ranks last among players with more than two kickoffs. Mare has made all five field-goal attempts while producing touchbacks on half his kickoffs.
• Rams: Josh Brown has two of his three games indoors, an advantage over his divisional counterparts. He has touchbacks on 45.5 percent of kickoffs. Brown has made all four field-goal tries from inside 30 yards, missing one of two from 40-49.

The chart shows field-goal stats for kickers playing for and against NFC West teams in Week 4. The "missed from" column includes abbreviations for field goals missed short, wide right, wide left and blocked. Note: I added the Redskins' kicker to the list; thanks to Los Angeles Rams of St. Louis for pointing out the omission.
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Add this one to the fantasy football near-miss file.

Watching Oakland flounder on offense against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6 nearly convinced me to start the Denver Broncos' defense against the Raiders in Week 7.

Nearly.

The Broncos' defense allowed seven touchdowns and a field goal during a shocking 59-14 defeat.

I went with the Kansas City Chiefs' defense against Jacksonville instead and picked up 15 points, enough to produce a 123-point week when 90 points was median score in the ESPN.com Blog Network Gridiron Challenge. It's a small step in the right direction after three rough weeks.

The Raiders' historic offensive performance demonstrated, again, how unpredictable the NFL can be from week to week.

More evidence: The highest-scoring team for Week 7 carried a no-longer-plausible name: "NFC WEST CHAMPION 49ERS". Roddy White (34), Michael Turner (26), Washington Redskins defense (25), Joe Flacco (22), Aaron Rodgers (20), Frank Gore (15), Anquan Boldin (15), Vernon Davis (13) and Matt Bryant (7) combined for 177 points. Nice work.

Overall, "The Waveicles" held onto the top spot among the more than 3,500 entries. One small complaint: How can Drew Brees produce 22 points while throwing four interceptions? Seems like one of the worst performances of a player's career shouldn't produce so well from a fantasy standpoint.

Finally, some friendly advice for Tim Graham (AFC East): Leaving players idle during bye weeks surrenders points you'll never get back, a lesson I learned last season.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

OT Kicks Since 2001 FGM FGA Pct. Average Distance Iced 18 31 58.1 41.9 Not Iced 32 44 72.7 43.8 Totals 50 75 66.7 43.0

Grant Ruby asks via Facebook: Sando, you're a stat geek (I say that with reverence). Wondering if you have any stats on 'icing' the kicker. Statistically speaking, does a kicker do any better/worse after a timeout by the opposing team?

Mike Sando: If you think I can be a stat geek, you ought to meet the people from ESPN Stats & Information. I posed your question to them and they produced a list since 2001 showing all kicks of at least 35 yards in the final 2 minutes or overtime when the score was tied or the kicking team trailed by no more than 3 points. These seemed like reasonable parameters.

Icing the kicker seemed most effective during overtime. Kickers made 18 of 31 tries -- 58.1 percent -- from an average of 41.87 yards when opponents iced them in overtime. Kickers made 32 of 44 tries -- 72.7 percent -- from an average of 43.84 yards when opponents did not attempt to ice them in overtime.

The percentages were nearly identical for iced and non-iced kicks during the final 2 minutes of regulation.

NFC West Kickers in OT Iced Not Iced All Joe Nedney 1-1 3-3 4-4 Josh Brown 0-0 1-1 1-1 Olindo Mare 0-1 1-1 1-2 Neil Rackers 0-0 0-0 0-0 Totals 50 75 66.7

The 49ers' Joe Nedney has made more overtime field goals without a miss -- four -- than any other kicker since 2001.

No kicker during that time has attempted more than three field goals in overtime after an opponent called timeout. Eleven kickers made their only attempt during those situations. Among those without a miss, only Shaun Suisham attempted more than one. He made both tries. Robbie Gould and Jay Feely were the only kickers with more than two attempts in those situations. Gould made 2 of 3. Feely made 1 of 3.

The first chart shows results for all overtime kicks since 2001, by iced or not iced.

The second chart breaks out NFC West kickers during those sudden-death situations.

The third chart ranks kickers since 2001 who have made at least three kicks without a miss from 35-plus yards to tie or take the lead in overtime or the final 2 minutes of regulation.

Most Prolific Clutch Kickers Since 2001 Iced Not Iced All Matt Bryant 2-2 5-5 7-7 Jeff Reed 5-5 1-1 6-6 Paul Edinger 3-3 2-2 5-5 John Carney 3-3 2-2 5-5 Totals 13-13 10-10 23-23

The Steelers' Jeff Reed must have Prestone in his veins. He's made all five clutch kicks from 35-plus yards when opponents tried to ice him. Reed, Matt Bryant, Paul Edinger and John Carney have made all 13 tries since 2001 when opponents tried to ice them. They combined to make 23 of 23 kicks whether or not they were iced.

Adam Vinatieri has made 11 of 12 kicks whether or not he was iced in these situations. Feely has made 8 of 15, giving him three more misses than anyone since 2001. Martin Gramatica (5-9), Phil Dawson (4-8) and Wilkins (3-7) were the only others with more than three misses.

Former Rams kicker Jeff Wilkins had the most misses when iced, making only 1 of 5 in those situations (he made both tries when he was not iced). Feely was the only other kicker with more than two misses in those situations. He made 3 of 6.

Kickers Better When Iced Since 2001 Iced Not Iced Difference Rob Bironas 3-4 0-1 +75% Doug Brien 2-3 0-2 +67% Neil Rackers 1-1 2-5 +60% Bill Gramatica 3-3 2-3 +33% Josh Scobee 3-3 2-3 +33% Joe Nedney 2-2 4-6 +33% David Akers 3-4 2-4 +25% Jason Elam 3-3 7-9 +22% Totals 20-23 19-33 +29 %

The fourth chart shows kickers with at least four total clutch attempts who have proven more effective after opponents tried to ice them.

Like the third chart, this one shows all kicks of at least 35 yards in the final 2 minutes or overtime when the score was tied or the kicking team trailed by no more than 3 points. These eight kickers made 20 of 23 attempts when iced, but only 19 of 33 attempts when given no extra time to think about it.

A few kickers were more accurate when not iced. Matt Stover was perfect on nine tries when opponents did not ice him. He made 3 of 5 attempts when iced. Overall, the six kickers on this list -- all with at least two iced misses -- made 42.3 percent of these pressure kicks when iced and 78.3 percent when not iced.

Kickers Worse When Iced Since 2001 (minimum 2 iced misses) Iced Not Iced Difference Jeff Wilkins 1-5 2-2 -80% Phil Dawson 0-2 4-6 -67% John Kasay 1-3 6-7 -52% Matt Stover 3-5 9-9 -40% Mike Vanderjagt 3-5 3-4 -15% Jay Feely 3-6 5-9 -5% Totals 11-26 29-37 -36%

For download: Mark Francescutti and Ben Lerner of ESPN Stats & Information provided an Excel file breaking down all kickers across these situations. I created a master sheet putting all the information in one place.

Download the final creation here.

And if there's anything else you've always wanted to know, ask away in the comments and I'll see what we can find out.

Thanks to Grant for asking this one.