BALTIMORE — Long after Steve McNair donned a baseball cap to watch the game's final 50 minutes, the other quarterbacks began the process of showing why they belong in the NFL.

Or they don't.

The Heisman Trophy winner showed his inexperience. The top draft pick couldn't produce a touchdown. And the guy who spent his summer in Amsterdam played better than all of them, offering proof his time in NFL Europa was very much worthwhile.

McNair led Baltimore 93 yards to a touchdown on his only drive of the game, and the Ravens coasted past the Philadelphia Eagles 29-3 Monday night in the preseason opener for both teams.

"Really, really solid start. The things I'm most pleased about: One, no injuries. No. 2, no turnovers and only three penalties," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "That's pretty unique for a first preseason game. I was pretty pleased with the way the guys handled themselves in their first outing."

The Eagles, in contrast, played poorly and got banged up in the process.

Running back Ryan Moats fractured his ankle and will probably be lost for the season; defensive end Jerome McDougle strained his triceps; and defensive tackle LaJuan Ramsey sustained a high ankle sprain.

Starting quarterback Donovan McNabb did not play for Philadelphia, but that didn't make the lopsided defeat any easier for coach Andy Reid to swallow.

"It was not a very good performance, all the way around, from the first unit down to the last unit," he said.

The most interesting facet of the game was the performance of three young quarterbacks: Baltimore's Troy Smith and Drew Olson, who are competing to be the backup to McNair and Kyle Boller; and Philadelphia's top draft pick, Kevin Kolb.

Smith, the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner, played the third quarter and went 3-for-11 for 34 yards. Olson, a former UCLA star and a product of NFL Europa, gained the upper hand in the competition by going 7-for-9 for 84 yards and a touchdown.

Sure, Olson was competing against third-stringers. Still, he produced 13 points on his three drives before running out the clock the last time he got his hands on the ball.

Asked if there was pressure to perform, Olson said, "I'd lie to you if I said I didn't feel it. But you try to put it in the back as much as you can and try to just go out there and play and be as smooth and calm as you can."

Kolb, a four-year starter for the University of Houston, played the entire second half and went 11-for-20 for 77 yards.

SAN FRANCISCO — Alex Smith and Jay Cutler both acknowledge they're still works in progress. Those works got a tiny bit closer to completion in their preseason opener.Smith went 4-for-5 for 58 yards passing while leading two first-quarter scoring drives for the 49ers, and Cutler led a 67-yard TD march to open the Broncos' 17-13 victory Monday night.Both teams have postseason expectations, and both Cutler and Smith believe they're more ready to handle the pressure than they were when the clubs met in their regular-season finales last New Year's Eve.The 49ers' 26-23 overtime victory kept Cutler's Broncos out of the playoffs just five weeks after he became the starter, while Smith finished up his second straight losing season. Both quarterbacks seemed a good deal more polished in their short appearances at Candlestick Park."I felt a lot more comfortable than I've ever played," Smith said. "Knowing what's happening and reading defenses, everything is really slowing down. I felt really comfortable about that."