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Drew Brees threw for 413 yards and four touchdowns, and the Saints cruised past the Miami Dolphins, 38-17, in New Orleans on Monday night.

As of 12:01 a.m. EST on Tuesday, the federal government closed down. Congressional leaders in the House of Representatives and the Senate were unable to reach an agreement on a budget or a temporary fix, known as a continuing resolution, before the start of the new fiscal year on October 1.

We are beginning to see which teams will be chased — and who will be doing the chasing — throughout the 2013 NFL season. Here are five things we learned from Sunday's games:

Jimmie Johnson dominated the field and won a record eighth career race at Dover International Speedway on Sunday in NASCAR's Chase for the Championship.

Several ranked teams do battle against one another on the college football gridiron this Saturday, and the NFL has a few intriguing matchups on Sunday. Here's what to watch this weekend:

Peyton Manning passed for 374 yards and three touchdowns, and the Broncos easily beat the Oakland Raiders, 37-21, on Monday night in Denver.

Seven NFL teams remain unbeaten pending the Monday night game between Denver and Oakland, while six teams have yet to win in 2013. Here are the most important takeaways from Week 3.

Talk about a dream job.

Andy Dalton threw for 280 yards and a touchdown, and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-10, in Ohio on Monday night.

UPDATED 4:30 p.m. ET: Thirteen people are now confirmed dead, including shooter Aaron Alexis. An alleged second shooter is reportedly still on the loose.

Teams were already facing big games in the second week of the 2013 NFL season. Here are the five most interesting things we learned from Week 2:

Matt Kenseth raced past teammate Kyle Busch with 23 laps left and held on to win a rain-delayed Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Illinois on Sunday night.