Cassel is sharper than Schaub as Vikings defeat Raiders in opener
Matt Cassel led a crisp touchdown drive with Minnesota’s first-team offense, and the Vikings broke in their temporary new home stadium by beating the Oakland Raiders, 10-6, in the exhibition opener on Friday night at Minneapolis.
Teddy Bridgewater relieved Cassel at quarterback after two series, and the rookie’s debut was mixed at best: six for 13 for 49 yards, two sacks and one fumble the Vikings recovered.
Matt Schaub’s first time in silver and black wasn’t exactly smooth, either. The former Texan completed three of seven for 21 yards as the Raiders went three-andout in his three possessions. Other exhibitions
Blake Bortles was solid in his preseason debut, throwing for 117 yards and leading a second-half drive for a field goal to help the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 16-10. The third overall pick in this year’s draft completed seven of 11 passes, including a 31-yarder down the middle of the field to Mike Brown to set up a 26-yard field goal that gave the Jaguars a 10-3 lead late in the third quarter. ... Miami’s Ryan Tannehill and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan produced touchdowns on their only possessions and the Falcons held off the Dolphins, 16-10. Tannehill was six for six for 62 yards, including a six-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Gibson, to open the game. Ryan answered by completing all of his seven attempts for 53 yards on Atlanta’s opening drive. ... Mark Ingram had eight carries for 83 yards and a 22-yard touchdown in the first half and the New Orleans Saints won their preseason opener without Drew Brees, beating the St. Louis Rams, 26-24. Sam Bradford didn’t play either, held out by the Rams as a precaution coming off knee surgery. ... Anthony Dixon ran for a touchdown, Dan Carpenter had two field goals and the Buffalo Bills defeated the Carolina Panthers, 20-18. Panthers rookie Kelvin Benjamin had turned in the play of the game, a stumbling, diving 32-yard touchdown reception in his NFL debut. ... Jay Cutler, Jordan Palmer and Jimmy Clausen threw touchdown passes and the Chicago Bears beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 3428. The Bears rattled Nick Foles in the early going, intercepting two passes. Etc.
Dolphins starting safety Reshad Jones and New York Giants offensive lineman Eric Herman were suspended for the first four games of the regular season for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances.