Carr tosses TD in Saints debut
NFL EXHIBITION
SAINTS 26, CHIEFS 24
NEW ORLEANS — When Derek Carr finished putting on his uniform before his preseason debut with the New Orleans Saints, he couldn’t help but be struck by the sight of himself in black and gold — instead of the Raiders’ silver and black he’d worn for all of his previous nine NFL seasons.
“It may look weird, but it felt right,” said Carr, the Saints’ top free agent acquisition. “I just feel refreshed. I feel rejuvenated. And to put that uniform on and come out and be a Saint, it felt really good.”
Carr threw a touchdown pass on his opening series and rookie Blake Grupe (Arkansas State) kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Saints to a 26-24 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in the opening exhibition game for both clubs.
Chiefs star QB Patrick Mahomes started but took just five snaps before Kansas City’s first drive ended with a failed fourth-and-1 play on a direct snap to reserve tight end Blake Bell.
“We were a little flat at the beginning. You can’t do that,” Chiefs Coach Andy Reid said. “You come to work ready to go.”
That’s what Carr did. He looked comfortable taking his first live snaps in his new offense, completing six of eight passes for 70 yards during his only drive.
After twice rolling away from pressure on first-down completions to tight end Juwan Johnson and running back Alvin Kamara, Carr capped the 12-play, 80-yard drive with a 4-yard pass to Keith Kirkwood as the receiver crossed the back of the end zone.
“I was fired up because now I get to move and work on my stuff in a live scenario,” Carr said. “It was satisfying because those are the realest reps it gets. Like, they can hit me out there.”
With backups in the game for both teams, the Saints rallied late.
After rookie Jake Haener’s 2-yard scoring pass to running back Ellis Merriweather pulled the Saints within 24-23 with 1:20 to go, New Orleans’ 2-point conversion attempt for the lead went awry on a botched shotgun snap.
But Saints defensive end Kyle Phillips tipped Chris Oladokun’s third-down pass and caught the deflection on the Kansas City 22 yard line to set up the winning kick.
“You can’t finish with a mistake and that’s a terrible way to end the thing,” Reid said. “It looks like the Saints have a good football team. We’ve got to make sure we get our stuff taken care of.”
Jameis Winston relieved Carr after the Chiefs’ fourthdown failure and drove New Orleans 48 yards in four plays for a 14-0 lead on a 29-yard pass over the top of the secondary to rookie receiver A.T. Perry. A sixth-round draft pick out of Wake Forest, Perry was New Orleans’ leading receiver with six catches for 70 yards.
Blaine Gabbert played most of the first half for Kansas City and pulled the Chiefs within 17-7 on a 1-yard fade to Richie James in the corner of the end zone. Saints defensive backs Alontae Taylor and Bradley Roby appeared to have a miscommunication on the play, leaving James uncovered.
James’ TD came a few plays after he’d beaten Taylor on a 43-yard catch deep into Saints territory.
Kansas City third-stringer Shane Buechele threw for 155 yards and a pair of scores, the first on a 15-yard pass over the middle to Justyn Ross.
Buechele put the Chiefs in front 21-17 when he escaped two near sacks, stepped forward and found Kekoa Crawford in the middle of the end zone.
RAIDERS 34, 49ERS 7
LAS VEGAS — Rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell passed for 141 yards and a touchdown in a highly efficient performance for Las Vegas as it beat San Francisco 34-7 on Sunday in the preseason opener for both teams.
O’Connell, third on the depth chart behind starter Jimmy Garoppolo and veteran Brian Hoyer, played the first three quarters.
The Raiders drafted O’Connell in the fourth round this year out of Purdue. He was known for his accuracy with the Boilermakers, setting a school record with a 66.7 career completion percentage. That skill was on display in this game as O’Connell completed 15 of 18 passes.
He outplayed his 49ers counterparts, Trey Lance and Sam Darnold, who are competing to back up starter Brock Purdy.
Lance faced a heavy Raiders pass rush, going three-and-out on his first three series. He played the first half and completed 10 of 15 passes for 112 yards, but was sacked four times and had two potential interceptions dropped. One near pick occurred in the end zone that San Francisco tight end Ross Dwelley dove to caught for Lance’s one touchdown throw.