		The Information you need!
		Search Archive:
	Login \| Contact Us \| Site Map \| Archives \| Photos \| Alerts Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Entertainment

Print this story | Email this story |

Comment (No comments posted.) |

Rate |

Text Size

NFL Preseason Capsules

By The Associated Press

Published: Sunday, August 30, 2009 2:23 AM CDT

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Ben Roethlisberger played a nearly flawless first half in his first game since injuring his right foot, James Farrior had a 22-yard interception for a touchdown and Buffalo's starting offense struggled yet again as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Bills 17-0 in a preseason game Saturday night.

Roethlisberger led two scoring drives while going 15 of 19 for 168 yards and 103.5 passer rating before sitting out the second half. He looked regular-season ready, finding Limas Sweed for 16 yards, Hines Ward for 19 and Heath Miller for 18.

In three games, the Steelers' top-ranked defense from a season ago has yet to allow a touchdown.

With starters playing the first half for both teams, the Steelers outgained the Bills 209-50 and led 12-3 in first downs and nearly 3 to 1 in time of possession. Wide receiver Terrell Owens, missing a third consecutive game with a sprained toe, probably can't return soon enough to an offense that is becoming a big worry as the Sept. 14 opener against New England draws closer. In four preseason games -- the Bills played in the Hall of Fame game -- Buffalo's starters have only 303 yards, 15 first downs, a field goal and five turnovers.

Browns 23, Titans 17

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Brady Quinn threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards and outplayed Derek Anderson in perhaps their final auditions for coach Eric Mangini to be Cleveland's starting quarterback, and the Browns beat the Tennessee Titans.

Quinn and Anderson entered the third preseason game in a virtual dead heat. Earlier this week, Mangini described their summer-long competition as "very close" and it remains that way.

After coming off the bench last week, Quinn got the start and finished 11 of 15 for 128 yards. He led the Browns to one TD and two field goals in his four series. Anderson went 7 of 11 for 77 yards and led the Browns to one field goal on two possessions. He didn't have an interception, but one poorly thrown ball was dropped by Tennessee cornerback Tenard Davis.

While Cleveland's quarterbacks were under the microscope, Tennessee's Kerry Collins looked best. Collins went 11 of 14 for 102 yards and threw a 6-yard TD pass to Justin Gage in the first quarter.

Saints 45, Raiders 7

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Drew Brees completed 14 of 17 passes for 179 yards and drove the Saints to touchdowns on all three drives he played, leading New Orleans over Oakland.

Brees completed his first eight passes, as he had receivers open all over the field. The return of last year's leading receiver, Lance Moore, from offseason shoulder surgery helped Brees' cause. He had four catches for 29 yards, including a 5-yarder in the back of the end zone on Brees' final pass.

That touchdown gave the Saints a 21-0 lead with 13:53 left in the half and brought an early end to Brees' day and loud boos from a Raiders crowd that has seen plenty of bad football during a six-year stretch when Oakland has lost an NFL-worst 72 games.

Lions 18, Colts 17

DETROIT (AP) -- Drew Stanton threw a 21-yard pass to rookie Dan Gronkowski and a 2-point conversion to John Standeford with 4:13 left to give the Detroit Lions a win over the Indianapolis Colts.

The third-string quarterback followed Daunte Culpepper and Matthew Stafford, both of whom seemed to make enough plays to keep their competition open going into Detroit's final preseason game next week.

Culpepper started and completed seven of 12 passes for 67 yards and a TD. Stafford, the No. 1 pick overall in the NFL draft, was 13-of-19 for 160 yards and an interception.

Three-time MVP Peyton Manning looked sharp, connecting on 12 of 15 passes for 123 yards in two-plus quarters for the Colts.

Jets 27, Giants 25

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Mark Sanchez, in his first game since being named New York's starting quarterback, completed a spectacular 31-yard touchdown pass play to Chansi Stuckey and put 20 points on the board in 2 1/2 quarters as the Jets took the annual New York braggin' rights game.

Sanchez overcame a slow start and a little early pressure to complete 13 of 20 for 149 yards for the Jets, who gave Rex Ryan his first victory as a head coach.

Thomas Jones scored on a 1-yard run, Jay Feely kicked two field goals and Erik Ainge threw a late 70-yard scoring pass to Aundrae Allison for the Jets, who survived two potential game-tying 2-point conversion attempts by the Giants in the final minutes.

Eli Manning threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jacobs for the Giants.

Falcons 27, Chargers 24

ATLANTA (AP) -- San Diego's Philip Rivers led touchdown drives in two of his three possessions in his first game since signing a contract extension, before the Atlanta Falcons' backups rallied to beat the Chargers.

The Chargers led 21-10 as the first-team offense ran smoothly even with LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates watching from the sideline. Rivers completed 10 of 15 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown. He signed a six-year, $93 million extension Monday.

The Chargers frustrated the Falcons' defense with big third-down plays.

Darren Sproles, who started at running back for Tomlinson, scored on a 10-yard run to cap San Diego's opening drive. Rivers added a 48-yard screen pass for a touchdown to Michael Bennett.

Tomlinson and Gates participated in pregame warmups before the team announced they would not play.

Atlanta's Matt Ryan was 14 for 20 for 140 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brian Finneran in the first quarter.

Ravens 17, Panthers 13

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Joe Flacco threw for 247 yards and a touchdown, the Ravens defense shut down Carolina's first unit, and Baltimore beat the Panthers.

The third exhibition game, where both teams played their starters into the third quarter, proved one-sided when the regulars were on the field. The Panthers, playing without their top two running backs and three starters on defense, were overwhelmed early by Flacco, who completed 23 of 28 passes.

The second-year quarterback directed first-half touchdown drives of 80 and 90 yards. He showed poise in the pocket the few times he was pressured, dumping balls to running backs and tight end Todd Heap, who caught the go-ahead 9-yard TD early in the second quarter.

Jake Delhomme didn't throw an interception in his first home appearance since committing six turnovers in a playoff loss to Arizona. He connected twice with Steve Smith for 37 yards in Smith's first preseason action since bruising his shoulder, but the first team didn't reach the end zone.

49ers 20, Cowboys 13

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Dallas rode Felix Jones and Marion Barber for most of a 94-yard touchdown drive, the highlight series during the first-half battle between the first-team units in a preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers won the battle of the backups in the second half, winning on a 9-yard touchdown run by Kory Sheets with 33 seconds left.

The Cowboys outplayed the 49ers when the starters were in, with Tony Romo getting the offense into scoring position on three of four drives, but led only 10-3 at halftime.

Shaun Hill and the 49ers sure could've used Michael Crabtree. Playing in the hometown of their holdout wideout, the 49ers had only 36 yards over their first three drives. They even used their version of the Wildcat formation twice to try getting something going, with little success. On their final drive of the half, Hill finally completed some passes to a receiver -- three to Arnaz Battle -- and got a 42-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the second quarter.

Seahawks 14, Chiefs 10

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Matt Hasselbeck threw for 216 yards and two touchdowns with newly signed Edgerrin James watching on the sideline, leading the Seattle Seahawks to a 14-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night in a game in which the Chiefs lost quarterback Matt Cassel to a leg injury.

James, the NFL's active rushing leader, signed with Seattle on Tuesday, but spent the game in sweats, pen and notepad in hand. Hasselbeck put on a good show for his new teammate, leading the Seahawks on scoring drives to end the first half and open the second.

Kansas City had a woeful night on offense -- its only TD came on defense -- and lost two starters in the game's first three minutes: Cassel and cornerback Brandon Flowers (shoulder). Receiver Devard Darling also had to be helped off in the second quarter, favoring his left leg.

Cassel was the biggest blow. He was injured the first time he dropped back to pass, dragged down from behind by Brandon Mebane after the pocket collapsed. Cassel called timeout, then limped down the tunnel toward the locker room and didn't return. It's not clear if he'll even be available for next week's preseason finale against St. Louis.


Hasselbeck leads Seattle as KC loses Cassel		Holliday, Rasmus power Cardinals past Nationals

Article Rating

Before commenting read the News Tribune Forum's policies and procedures.
Thanks.

To add your comments you must be registered and logged in

*Member ID:
*Password:

Do not use usernames or passwords from your financial accounts!

Note: Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required!

*Create a Member ID:
*Choose a password:
*Re-enter password:
*E-mail Address:
*Year of Birth:
	(children under 13 cannot register)
*First Name:
*Last Name:
Company:
*Home Phone:
Business Phone:
*Address:
*City:
*State:
*Zip Code:

Return to: Sports « | Home « | Top of Page ^

Online Poll