Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
QBs Watson, Garoppolo put on early show in Texans’ win
Both toss TDs; 49ers’ starter on point with 10-for-12 exhibition
HOUSTON — Deshaun Watson led a touchdown drive in his lone series of the Houston Texans’ 16-13 preseason win over the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday.
Watson was 5 of 8 passing for 73 yards for Houston (2-0), capped by a 1-yard touchdown to Bruce Ellington.
It was a much lengthier outing for Watson than in the Texans’ preseason opener in Kansas City when he attempted one pass in his return to game action after missing the second half of his rookie season with a torn ACL.
Watson’s efficiency matched a nice opening drive from Jimmy Garoppolo, who threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Trent Taylor for San Francisco (1-1) and finished 10 of 12 for 136 yards.
Garoppolo’s night ended after his second drive when a deep pass to Dante Pettis bounced off Pettis’ hands and was intercepted by Johnson Bademosi.
Backup quarterbacks Brandon Weeden for Houston and C.J. Beathard for San Francisco struggled to move the ball as efficiently as the starters did on the opening drives, and the game was tied 7-7 at halftime.
Weeden completed 7 of 15 passes for 50 yards, while Beathard was 10 of 17 for 82 yards.
With San Francisco down two running backs, Boise State product Jeremy McNichols got the start, rushing for 28 yards on 10 carries.
Joe Webb threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Vyncint Smith with 27 seconds left for the Texans.
■ Buccaneers 30, Titans 14 — At
Nashville, Tenn., Jameis Winston completed eight of his first nine passes and left with a 151.4 passer rating for Tampa Bay (2-0).
Winston, who will serve a threegame personal-conduct suspension to open the second, was 13 of 18 for 226 yards and three touchdowns.
Ryan Fitzpatrick started for the Bucs and was 5 of 13 for 46 yards.
Marcus Mariota played two series in the first quarter for Tennessee (0-2), finishing 4 of 7 for 80 yards, with a 47-yard TD to Taywan Taylor off a screen pass. Taylor totaled four catches for 95 yards and two scores.
■ Chargers 24, Seahawks 14 —
At Carson, Calif., Philip Rivers was 6 of 7 passing for 62 yards, and Melvin Gordon rushed for a touchdown to cap a 70-yard opening drive for Los Angeles (1-1).
Russell Wilson was 13 of 21 for 193 yards while playing the entire first half, leading two field-goal drives for Seattle (0-2).
JJ Jones returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown late in the first half for the Chargers, and Geno Smith threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams in the second half.
■ Jaguars 14, Vikings 10 — At Minneapolis, Yannick Ngakoue had an 11-yard sack that helped Jacksonville’s defense hold Kirk Cousins and Minnesota’s starting offense to three completions and three points.
Cousins was 3 of 8 for 12 yards, and running back Latavius Murray fumbled twice for the Vikings (1-1), who totaled six sacks — two by Ifeadi Odenigbo.
Blake Bortles played the entire first half for the Jaguars (1-1) and was 12 of 20 passing for 159 yards, with an interception by Harrison Smith.
Minnesota fullback Johnny Stanton, a UNLV product, was carted off with a potentially serious left ankle injury.
■ Bengals 21, Cowboys 13 — At Arlington, Texas, Dak Prescott was 10 of 15 passing for 86 yards, leading two scoring drives in three possessions, capped by a scrambling 6-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Williams for Dallas (0-2).
Cincinnati (2-0) totaled two first downs in three possessions led by Andy Dalton, who finished 5 of 7 for 41 yards.
One of the first downs was on Dalton’s 13-yard scramble after the Bengals had started with two threeand-outs.
Four-time Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin exited with a knee injury for the Cowboys.
■ Bears 24, Broncos 23 — At Denver, Case Keenum led Denver (1-1) on two scoring drives on his three possessions, finishing 8 of 13 passing for 78 yards.
Chase Daniel threw two touchdown passes in the final five minutes for Chicago (1-2), including a 12-yarder to tight end Ben Braunecker with 1:53 left.
Chad Kelly was 7 of 9 passing for 90 yards for the Broncos, capping his first drive of the night with a 16-yard touchdown toss to rookie Courtland Sutton.