Browns shine in debut
CLEVELAND — Baker Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to end his only series, superstar Odell Beckham Jr. never put on his helmet and the Cleveland Browns gave a brief preview of their offensive firepower during a 30-10 win over the Washington Redskins in an exhibition opener Thursday night.
Mayfield picked up where he left off following his “dangerous” rookie season, firing a 24-yard TD pass to Rashard Higgins as the Browns went no-huddle and drove 89 yards in just 2:13 to open the game.
They did it while Beckham, the Browns' major offseason acquisition, was kept on the sideline along with Pro Bowl receiver Jarvis Landry by first-year coach Freddie Kitchens.
Mayfield didn't need his top targets. He misfired on his first pass, but was otherwise flawless, going 5 of 6 for 77 yards and a perfect 158.3 rating before turning Cleveland's offense over to backup Drew Stanton.
While the Browns' quarterback situation is finally settled, the Redskins' is, well, incomplete.
Case Keenum, who is in a three-way competition with Colt McCoy and rookie Dwayne Haskins, started and threw a 46-yard TD pass — thanks to a miscommunication by Cleveland's defense — to receiver Robert Davis in the first quarter. He finished 4 of 9 for 60 yards.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — With LeSean McCoy resting, and Frank Gore limited to two series, rookie running back Devin Singletary got the Buffalo Bills off to a running start in their preseason-opening 24-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night.On Buffalo's fourth drive, Singletary showed off the shiftiness that to led the Bills drafting him in the third round. He accounted for 16 yards rushing and 21 receiving as part of a 46-yard drive that ended with Matt Barkley hitting Cam Phillips for an 8-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring 5½ minutes into the second quarter.The Colts struggled on offense while sitting out numerous starters, including starting quarterback Andrew Luck, who is nursing a strained left calf.Backup Jacoby Brissett finished 2 of 5 for 21 yards over three series, with both completions to offseason free-agent addition Devin Funchess.Indianapolis combined for two first downs and 44 yards over its first seven series. Backup Phillip Walker then ended the half by putting together a five-play 41-yard drive, capped by Cole Hedlund hitting a 42-yard field goal to cut Buffalo's lead to 14-3.
BALTIMORE — Lamar Jackson directed two scoring drives in three possessions and the Baltimore Ravens' defense throttled Jacksonville Jaguars backup quarterback Gardner Minshew in a 29-0 preseason victory Thursday night.The Jaguars played without quarterback Nick Foles, the 2018r Super Bowl MVP who was signed as a free agent in March. Foles was one of 32 players who were either injured or rested by coach Doug Marrone in the preseason opener, which came after the teams held two joint practices earlier in the week.Preparing for his second NFL season, Jackson played the first quarter and went 4 for 6 for 59 yards and a touchdown. Looking to pass rather than flash the speed that enabled him to rush for 695 yards last year, Jackson completed a 30-yarder to Chris Moore on his first throw of the night to set up a 52-yard field goal by Justin Tucker.Jackson's second crack at the ball resulted in a four-and-out, but not long after that he capped his brief night of work with a 6-yard TD pass to Willie Snead for a 10-0 lead.
DETROIT — Jakobi Meyers caught two touchdown passes in an impressive preseason debut, and the New England Patriots drubbed the Detroit Lions 31-3 on Thursday night.Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford didn't play, and plenty of other key players were also spectators, but Meyers stood out for New England. The undrafted rookie caught scoring passes from Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham in the second quarter. He finished with six catches for 69 yards.Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman (thumb) has been sidelined for the Patriots, and Phillip Dorsett is the only other returning receiver. Meyers seems to be taking advantage of his opportunity so far.Lions receiver Jermaine Kearse was carted off injured early in the first quarter, and that was the start of a dismal night for Detroit. The Lions didn't cross midfield until the latter half of the fourth quarter, when they finally drove for a field goal. The Patriots sacked Detroit quarterbacks nine times.The Lions finished the third quarter with only 41 net yards — and minus-11 passing.Hoyer went 12 of 14 for 147 yards and two touchdowns. His 14-yard strike to Maurice Harris made it 7-0 in the first quarter. Meyers then caught a 3-yard TD from Hoyer and a 5-yarder from Stidham.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Josh Rosen threw for 191 yards and directed three scoring drives of more than 60 yards to help the Miami Dolphins win their exhibition opener Thursday against the Atlanta Falcons, 34-27.Rosen went 13 for 20 with no touchdowns and one interception and played half the game. He's competing for the quarterback job with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, who worked the first two Dolphins series and led them to a field goal.Fitzpatrick completed 2 of 5 passes for 20 yards.Atlanta backup Matt Schaub threw for 172 yards and led the team to four scores in the first half. Schaub went 12 for 19 with no touchdowns or turnovers for the Falcons (0-2), who have lost 10 consecutive exhibition games since 2017.Matt Ryan took the night off, and other Atlanta first-teamers saw little or no action.Undrafted Preston Williams, who has been Miami's best rookie in training camp, had four catches for 97 yards. That included a one-handed catch for a 36-yard gain.The Dolphins sat a few of their first-teamers, and most were out of the game by the end of the first quarter.Running back Kenjon Barner broke two tackles and turned a short Schaub pass into a 37-yard gain that set up an Atlanta touchdown. Barner is competing for the backup job behind Devonta Freeman.Schaub went 7 for 8 for 77 yards on the Falcons' first possession, a 90-yard touchdown drive that took more than 8½ minutes. Schaub, 38, is the front-runner to be Ryan's backup for the fourth consecutive season.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Daniel Jones threw a touchdown pass in his only series and opened speculation on how long he will have to wait to replace Eli Manning in the Giants' 31-22 victory over the local rival Jets on Thursday night.The preseason opener for both teams was suspended for 59 minutes late in the first quarter when lightning and heavy rain rolled into the MetLife Stadium area.By that time, Jones had Giants fans on their feet. Taking over after Manning had a three-and-out series, the sixth pick overall in the draft hit all five of his passes, the final one a perfect 12-yard throw to Bennie Fowler III in the right corner of the end zone.Sam Darnold and the Jets had looked just as good on their opening series for new coach Adam Gase, going 75 yards in seven plays against a defense that many think is the Giants' weak link. Darnold hit passes of 32 and 28 yards before finding Jamison Crowder from 3 yards.Alex Tanney added a 51-yard touchdown pass to Russell Shepard, linebacker Jake Carlock scored on a 59-yard interception return and Kyle Lauletta hit TJ Jones with a 31-yard touchdown pass for the Giants, who were 5-11 last season. Aldrick Rosas added a 23-yard field goal.Eli McGuire caught a 7-yard pass from Trevor Siemian and Luke Falk threw a 2 yarder to Greg Dortch for the Jets' other touchdowns. Chandler Catanzaro, who missed two extra points, hit a 34-yard field goal for the Jets, who were 4-12 under Todd Bowles.
