On 2 June 1611 Smolensk had finally fallen to the Poles. After enduring 20 months of siege, two harsh winters and dwindling food supplies, the Russians in Smolensk finally reached their limit as the Polish-Lithuanian troops broke through the city gates. The Polish army, advised by the runaway traitor Andrei Dedishin, discovered a weakness in the fortress defenses, and on 13 June 1611 Cavalier of Malta Bartomiej Nowodworski inserted a mine into a sewer canal. The explosion created a large breach in the fortress walls. The fortress fell on the same day.:563 The remaining 3,000 Russian soldiers took refuge in the Assumption Cathedral and blew themselves up with stores of gunpowder to avoid death at the hands of the invaders.:563 Although it was a blow to lose Smolensk, the defeat freed up Russian troops to fight the Commonwealth in Moscow, and the Russian commander at Smolensk, Mikhail Borisovich Shein, was considered a hero for holding out as long as he had. He was captured at Smolensk and remained a prisoner of Poland-Lithuania for the next nine years.

How many days after Smolensk fell to the Poles did Cavalier of Malta Bartomiej Nowodworski insert a mine into a sewer canal?
A: 11

After a hard-fought road game, the Steelers traveled to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. The Bengals started off the scoring in the first quarter when Randy Bullock kicked a 23-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. The Steelers tied it up when Chris Boswell nailed a 45-yard field goal, leaving the score at 3-3, but the Bengals regained the lead late in the first quarter on Andy Dalton's 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 10-3. In the second quarter, the Bengals moved up by double digits as Jeremy Hill ran for a 4-yard touchdown to make it 17-3. The Steelers drew closer as Boswell made another field goal to make it 17-6, but Bullock put the Bengals back up by two touchdowns with a 23-yard field goal to make it 20-6. The Steelers closed the first half out with their third field goal of the game, as Boswell kicked a 49-yard effort to make the halftime score 20-9. Those three points would be the first three of 15 straight as they would shut out the Bengals in the second half, starting with field goals from 40 and 49 yards out to reduce the deficit to 20-15. In the fourth quarter, the Steelers moved even closer when Boswell kicked his sixth field goal of the game from 30 yards out to make it 20-18. They completed the comeback attempt when Ben Roethlisberger found Eli Rogers on a 24-yard touchdown pass with 7:29 remaining; however, the two-point conversion was unsuccessful, which made the score 24-20, which would end up being the final score. With the win, the Steelers improved to 9-5. The team also won five games in a row for the first time since 2009. The Steelers finished the season 5-3 away from home.

How many yards was the shortest field goal?
A: 23

Hoping to increase their winning streak after a win against the Saints, the Falcons played inside their dome for an NFC duel against the San Francisco 49ers. In the first quarter the Falcons trailed early with QB Alex Smith making a 12-yard TD pass to TE Vernon Davis. The Falcons problems continued when Michael Koenen's punt was blocked and recovered in their own endzone by DB Taylor Mays, putting the 49ers up 14-0. Then the Falcons replied with QB Matt Ryan completing an 8-yard TD pass to WR Harry Douglas. Then the Falcons took the lead with three field goals from kicker Matt Bryant. He made a 37-yard field goal near the end of the 2nd quarter and a 31-yard field goad in the 3rd. Under two minutes to play with the Falcons trailing 14-13, Ryan threw an interception to the 49ers' Nate Clements who appeared to be headed to the end zone and clinch the win. However wide receiver Roddy White chased him down and stripped the football which was recovered by Atlanta's Harvey Dahl. Ryan then engineered a drive in the other direction and Bryant kicks a 43-yard field goal with two seconds left giving the Falcons another win.

How many yards longer was Matt Bryant's longest field goal than his shortest?
A:
12