Mayfield spurs Browns past Barkley, NYG
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Baker Mayfield and Saquon Barkley lived up to early expectations as the top two picks in the NFL draft in their first action as the Cleveland Browns beat the New York Giants 20-10 on Thursday night.
Replacing starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor late in the first quarter, Mayfield hit 11 of 20 passes for 212 yards, two touchdowns, and converted two fourthdown plays with his feet. The Heisman Trophy winner who was the No. 1 overall pick found tight end David Njoku on a 10-yard TD pass to cap a 14-play, 72-yard drive on his second series. Mayfield finished his debut with a completion on a 54-yard slant and run to fellow rookie Antonio Callaway.
Barkley, the No. 2 pick, took a handoff from Eli Manning on the opening play from scrimmage and turned no apparent hole into a 39-yard run. He finished with 43 yards on five carries.
STEELERS 31, EAGLES 14: In Philadelphia, Artesia’s Landry Jones and Josh Dobbs both tossed TD passes as Pittsburgh beat Philadelphia, which rested quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Nick Foles.
The Eagles’ Nate Sudfeld threw a pair of touchdown passes and two interceptions.
Jones completed all four of his throws for 83 yards, including a 71-yard TD pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster.
PANTHERS 28, BILLS 23: In Orchard Park, N.Y., Buffalo receiver Kelvin Benjamin’s feud with exteammate Cam Newton, Carolina’s QB, continued before and during the Panthers’ win.
First, the two exchanged words on the field about 90 minutes before kickoff. Then they each played key roles in touchdowns drives in the first quarter.
Benjamin caught four passes for 59 yards, including a 28-yard TD reception from Nathan Peterman on Buffalo’s first possession. Newton responded on the next possession, completing four of five passes for 67 yards as part of an 85-yard TD drive.
COLTS 19, SEAHAWKS 17: In Seattle, Colts QB Andrew Luck returned to game action for the first time since the final week of the 2016 season, leading Indianapolis on a pair of field-goal drives in just over a quarter in Indianapolis’ victory over Seattle.
The reintroduction of Luck as the Colts’ leader started with a 17-yard swing pass to Marlon Mack on the first play. Luck was 6-for-9 passing for 64 yards, most of that coming on the opening drive. Luck completed passes to five receivers and threw from a clean pocket on most of his dropbacks.
BENGALS 30, BEARS 27: In Cincinnati, Andy Dalton made a solid debut in Cincinnati’s revamped offense, throwing for a pair of touchdowns.
The Bengals were last in the league in offense last season, so they overhauled their leaky offensive line, and coordinator Bill Lazor injected more diversity into the playbook. It showed the first time out.
Chicago starting QB Mitchell Trubisky was in for two series that netted minus-1 yard on eight plays.
SAINTS 24, JAGUARS 20: In Jacksonville, Fla., Blake Bortles was 6-for-9 passing for 53 yards and scored on a short bootleg in Jacksonville’s loss.
Bortles was poised in the pocket and nearly perfect in one series of work, a significant improvement from the way his preseason started a year ago when he had a five interceptions during a camp practice.
New Orleans backup QB Tom Savage completed 10 of 14 passes for 70 yards in the first half.
BUCS 26, DOLPHINS 24: In Miami Gardens, Fla., Tampa Bay kicker Chandler Catanzaro made a 26-yard field goal with 23 seconds left to cap a 67-yard drive and give the Bucs a win.
Ryan Tannehill completed passes on the first four plays in his return from two serious injuries to his left knee, sparking a 40-yard drive.
RAVENS 33, RAMS 7: In Baltimore, Joe Flacco threw a TD pass on his only series of the game and rookie QB Lamar Jackson ran for a score as Baltimore rolled past Los Angeles.
The Ravens led 17-0 after the first period and cruised to the finish against LA. PATRIOTS 26, REDSKINS 17: In Foxborough, Mass., Washington’s Colt McCoy outplayed Brian Hoyer in a scrimmage of backup quarterbacks.
McCoy completed 13 of 18 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns as the Redskins opened 17-0 lead in the first half. Hoyer struggled against the Washington starters, but drove New England to a pair of second-half touchdowns. PACKERS 31, TITANS 17: In Green Bay, Wis., Marcus Mariota looked sharp orchestrating yet another new offensive system for Tennessee.
Mariota was 2-for-3 for 42 yards with a 4-yard scoring pass to Darius Jennings on the opening drive of Mike Vrabel’s first preseason game as Titans coach.
A Green Bay highlight was the 48-yard TD pass from Brett Hundley to WR Davante Adams.
TEXANS 17, CHIEFS 10: In Kansas City, Mo., KC’s Patrick Mahomes finished 5-for-7 for 33 yards on two possessions. Houston QB Deshaun Watson, who’s coming back from a torn ACL, threw one pass — a 4-yard completion — during a five-play drive.