Thursday's NFL Preseason Capsules

Games played on Aug. 28, 2014

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) - Lions third-string quarterback Kellen Moore threw two touchdown passes in a 23-0 win over Buffalo on Thursday night in which Bills rookie receiver Sammy Watkins reinjured his ribs.

The first-round pick did not return after being struck in the left side by linebacker Ashlee Palmer on Buffalo's second drive.

Buffalo (1-4) continued to sputter on offense and could now be without Watkins for its opener at Chicago on Sept. 7. Watkins did not play against Tampa Bay last Saturday after bruising his ribs a week earlier at Pittsburgh.

Moore hit Jeremy Ross for a 1-yard touchdown and Corey Fuller for a 25-yard score at the end of the second quarter. The Lions' defense combined for four sacks and three interceptions.

Detroit (3-1) rested most of its starters, including quarterback Drew Stafford, receiver Calvin Johnson and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

BENGALS 35, COLTS 7

CINCINNATI (AP) - Rookie Jeremy Hill ran for 90 yards and was Cincinnati's top receiver as well.

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton and Colts quarterback Andrew Luck sat it out, as did most of the starters for both teams. Dalton didn't even pull up his black socks, leaving them around his ankles on an 85-degree evening - he knew there was no point.

Cincinnati (2-2) pulled off several big plays in the second half against Colts (0-4) backups.

Dane Sanzenbacher returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown. Safety Danieal Manning intercepted Chandler Harnish's pass and ran it back 33 yards for a score. Cobi Hamilton turned a short catch into a 50-yard TD.

Hill, a second-round pick who backs up Giovani Bernard, carried 20 times and caught six passes for 70 yards.

FALCONS 24, JAGUARS 14

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - T.J. Yates made a strong case to be Atlanta's backup quarterback, throwing for 243 yards and two touchdowns.

Yates had shown little in the team's first three exhibitions, completing 39.4 percent of his passes with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Second-year player Sean Renfree posted better numbers and seemingly had an edge in the competition to be Matt Ryan's backup.

But Yates shined against the Jaguars.

His highlight throw was a 67-yard touchdown strike to Freddie Martino in the second quarter, a deep ball that put Atlanta up 21-7. His other TD came on a swing pass to Antone Smith, who broke several tackles during the 66-yard catch and run.

Yates completed 15 of 20 passes and was sacked twice.

PACKERS 34, CHIEFS 14

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien each threw for two touchdowns in their competition to back up starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Flynn threw for 102 yards and Tolzien had 139 in splitting reps by quarter in the evening's most closely watched position battle.

Coach Mike McCarthy could keep both players anyway a season after Rodgers missed seven weeks with a collarbone injury.

The Chiefs' defense looked lost at times. Kansas City also had seven penalties in the first half, which ended with Green Bay up by 13.

EAGLES 37, JETS 7

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Cody Parkey took a leg up on Alex Henery in the Philadelphia Eagles' kicking competition. Parkey made field goals of 54, 53 and 25 yards.

The Eagles (2-2) and Jets (2-2) rested most of their starters and several backups. Michael Vick made a one-play cameo in his first game back in Philadelphia. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback will start the season as Geno Smith's backup.

Former Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez watched along with starter Nick Foles from the Eagles' sideline.

Parkey's performance increased the rookie kicker's chances of beating out Henery for a roster spot. Henery, a fourth-round draft pick in 2011, was 1 for 3 in the preseason after missing a costly field goal in a 26-24 playoff loss to New Orleans.

DOLPHINS 14, RAMS 13

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) - Matt Hazel caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Seth Lobato with 6:15 left. Daniel Thomas had a 5-yard touchdown run for Miami, which trailed 13-0 entering the final quarter.

Austin Davis threw for 162 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown pass to Austin Pettis, and Greg Zuerlein made a pair of long field goals for the Rams.

Davis completed 12 of 19 passes, albeit largely against second- and third-stringers, and finished the preseason 39 of 63 for 534 yards with four touchdowns and one interception.

Both teams held out plenty of regulars. Michael Sam was in on six tackles for the Rams, and Ethan Westbrooks had a sack for St. Louis. They're among the candidates for one of the final spots on St. Louis' defensive line, a particularly deep position for the Rams.

GIANTS 16, PATRIOTS 13

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - Josh Brown kicked a 37-yard field goal with 38 seconds to play and the Giants capped their first undefeated preseason since 2006.

The win was a gift from Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who went for a first down with a fourth-and-1 from his 39 with less than three minutes to play and the score tied.

No one wanted overtime in the preseason finale.

Patriots Rookie Jimmy Garoppolo threw his pass between two receivers and the Giants (5-0) ran off six plays to set up Brown's third field goal.

The Patriots (2-2) started just two regulars and trotted on Tom Brady to hold on the first of Stephen Gostkowski's two field goals. Other than that he stayed on the bench for the defending AFC East champions.


PANTHERS 10, STEELERS 0

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Fozzy Whittaker ran for a 2-yard touchdown, Graham Gano added a short field goal. The Panthers (2-2) held the Steelers (1-3) to just 185 total yards.

Both teams sat their star players.

Carolina backup quarterback Derek Anderson led the Panthers to a field goal drive to start the game. Anderson arrived in Pittsburgh overnight after he and his wife welcomed their first child.

Whittaker rushed for 91 yards in a game even more vanilla than usual. The teams meet again in Carolina on Sept. 24.

Steelers third-string quarterback Landry Jones started, but did little to assure himself of a roster spot.

REDSKINS 24, BUCCANEERS 10

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Colt McCoy threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns.

With coach Jay Gruden resting both Robert Griffin III and backup quarterback Kirk Cousins, McCoy played the entire game for the Redskins (3-1). He completed 22 of 29 passes while also throwing a pair of end-zone interceptions.

Ryan Grant scored on a 2-yard reception for the Redskins, and Lache Seastrunk turned a short pass into an 80-yard TD that gave Washington a 17-3 fourth quarter lead.

Third-stringer Mike Kafka played most of the game for Tampa Bay (1-3), throwing for 86 yards and one TD - a 25-yarder to Solomon Patton in the fourth quarter.

49ERS 40, TEXANS 13

HOUSTON (AP) - Rookie linebacker Chris Borland returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown and third-string quarterback Josh Johnson threw three TD passes.

Borland, a third-round draft pick out of Wisconsin, has been trying to move into the rotation to help fill the void left by All-Pro NaVorro Bowman, who's expected to miss half the season with a left knee injury.

Blaine Gabbert played the first half and went 4 for 11 for 60 yards, then Johnson took over.

Houston quarterbacks Case Keenum and Tom Savage both threw interceptions as they compete for the backup job behind Ryan Fitzpatrick.

RAVENS 22, SAINTS 13

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Justin Tucker hit five field goals and the Ravens wrapped up a perfect preseason.

Baltimore (4-0) found the end zone only once on Tyrod Taylor's 8-yard pass to Deonte Thompson, but that was enough against the Saints (3-1), who struggled to score while quarterback Drew Brees got the night off.

Brees' backup, Luke McCown, completed all four of his passes, including a short touchdown toss to Travaris Cadet on his only series. But New Orleans managed only two more field goals by Derek Dinke after Ryan Griffin relieved McCown in the first quarter.

Taylor started for the Ravens, completing 10 of 17 passes for 105 yards, a TD and an interception.


BRONCOS 27, COWBOYS 3

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Brock Osweiler led four scoring drives in the final tuneup for his third season as Peyton Manning's backup.

The loss gave the Cowboys their fifth winless preseason in franchise history.

With Manning and Dallas' Tony Romo watching in uniform from the sidelines, Osweiler played an efficient three quarters, directing three possessions that ended in rushing touchdowns.

Romo's backup Brandon Weeden came out before halftime of his second ragged game in four preseason outings. He threw an interception that led to Denver's first touchdown.

The Cowboys (0-4) missed the playoffs three of the other four times they didn't win in the preseason.

Kapri Bibbs rushed for two second-half scores for the Broncos (3-1).

VIKINGS 19, TITANS 3

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Teddy Bridgewater threw a touchdown in his first NFL start, Joe Banyard ran for 111 yards and the Vikings wrapped up a perfect preseason.

Blair Walsh kicked four field goals, and the Vikings' defense had three sacks.

Titans quarterback Jake Locker and Matt Cassel of the Vikings both dressed and warmed up. Locker didn't bring his helmet out for kickoff with Zach Mettenberger getting his first start, while the Vikings also went with their rookie. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson warmed up too, but he sat OUT a fourth straight preseason game.

They were smart decisions by both coaches as a storm drenched LP Field most of the first half with lightning less than 3 miles away delaying the kickoff of Temple at Vanderbilt.

BROWNS 33, BEARS 13

CLEVELAND (AP) - Brian Hoyer drove Cleveland's starting offense to a rare preseason touchdown before turning things over to rookie Johnny Manziel. Hoyer and Cleveland's offensive starters needed a boost after struggling in the preseason as they learn a new system. Hoyer went 6 of 8 for 69 yards on the opening drive against Chicago's backups before Ben Tate scored on a 1-yard run.

It was just the second TD for Cleveland's first-team offense this summer and a confidence builder for Hoyer, who barely beat out Manziel for the starting job.

Manziel threw a TD pass, finished 6 of 17 for 83 yards, ran for 55 and did some typical Johnny Football improvising.

Bears wide receiver Santonio Holmes caught a 32-yard TD pass from rookie David Fales and returned a punt 30.

CHARGERS 12, CARDINALS 9

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Nick Novak kicked four field goals for the Chargers.

Trips inside the 20-yard line were rare and neither team scored a touchdown, leaving the field goal kickers to fight it out. The Chargers did get to the Arizona 6 in the closing minutes, but third-string quarterback Brad Sorensen took a knee on three straight snaps.

Novak was good from 35, 39, 55 and 37 yards.

Arizona's Chandler Catanzaro kicked field goals of 42, 38 and 35 yards.

RAIDERS 41, SEAHAWKS 31

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Rookie Derek Carr threw three touchdown passes to make a case he should be Oakland's starting quarterback, leading the Raiders past the Seattle Seahawks.

Carr was almost perfect in the start in place of Matt Schaub, completing 11 of 13 passes for 143 yards, and led Oakland (2-2) to four touchdowns in four drives. Schaub was anointed the starter after being acquired in an offseason trade from Houston. Coach Dennis Allen hasn't deviated from that plan even as Schaub struggled in the preseason before resting this game with a sore throwing elbow.

Russell Wilson made the most of a brief cameo for the Seahawks (2-2), completing three passes for 77 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to Luke Wilson on a four-play drive to open the game. Former Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor, booed by his former fans, played his best game of the preseason, going 11 for 17 for 134 yards and a 33-yard touchdown pass to Phil Bates.