Backup QBs lead Browns to victory as Hunt returns

INDIANAPOLIS — Cleveland Browns Coach Freddie Kitchens played it safe Saturday.

After watching two physical practices with the Indianapolis Colts and seeing one serious injury, he gave his top players the day off and allowed Garrett Gilbert and David Blough to go head to head for the No. 3 quarterback job. He even allowed Kareem Hunt to make a brief but meaningful return.

Gilbert threw two touchdown passes in the first half and Blough added another TD pass in the second half to give the Browns a 21-18 victory — their first preseason win over the Colts since 1979 when the franchise was still in Baltimore.

“I was very happy with Garrett. He came in and had control of the huddle, got the guys lined up, made some plays, made the plays he was supposed to make, and limited the mistakes,” Kitchens said. “I think given the circumstances, David Blough did also.”

Many key players weren’t on the field at all.

In addition to sitting their top two quarterbacks, Baker Mayfield and Drew Stanton, the Browns (2-0) also played without receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, running back Nick Chubb, defensive end Myles Garrett and cornerback Denzel Ward.

Indianapolis also held out many of its stars, including Andrew Luck and All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson, who are both injured, and Pro Bowl receiver T.Y. Hilton, who is not hurt.

Adam Vinatieri, the league’s career scoring leader, missed his second consecutive game with an injured knee.

PATRIOTS 22, TITANS 17

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jarrett Stidham threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Damoun Patterson with 4:12 left, rallying

the New England Patriots to a 22-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night.

Stidham picked up where he left off in his previous trip to Nissan Stadium. Stidham had five TD passes here helping Auburn rout Purdue in the Music City Bowl last December, and this time the rookie was 14 of 19 for 193 yards helping the Patriots (2-0) come back from a 17-8 halftime deficit.

Two days of practices against the Titans was enough for Patriots coach Bill Belichick to let Tom Brady watch a second straight exhibition with New England’s options at wide receiver thin because of injuries.

Marcus Mariota started for the Titans (1-1) and shook off a pair of three-and-outs before his best drive this preseason. He capped a 10-play, 87-yard drive with an 11-yard TD pass to his favorite target, three-time Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker, who broke his right ankle in the 2018 season opener.

STEELERS 17, CHIEFS 7

PITTSBURGH — Mason Rudolph guided a long first-half touchdown drive to perhaps nudge ahead of Josh Dobbs in the race to be the backup behind Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 17-7 on Saturday night.

Rudolph finished 10 of 15 for 77 yards while Dobbs completed 6 of 11 for 95 yards with a red-zone interception on a night the Steelers (2-0) opted to keep several key starters on the sideline, from quarterback Roethlisberger to Pro Bowl offensive linemen David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey to rookie linebacker Devin Bush.

Kansas City coach Andy Reid suggested Patrick Mahomes would play most of the first half. Not quite.

The reigning NFL MVP — who directed a touchdown in his lone drive in Kansas City’s preseason opener last week — did little during two series of work following a thunderstorm that forced the opening kickoff to be pushed back nearly an hour.

Mahomes completed just 2 of 5 passes for 11 yards, a far cry from his previous visit to Heinz Field, when he threw for six touchdowns in a Week 2 win last September that served as a harbinger of the season to come.

TEXANS 30, LIONS 23

HOUSTON — Deshaun Watson took advantage of one series in his preseason debut looking sharp in directing a 75-yard drive capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins to help the Houston Texans to a 3023 win over the Detroit Lions on Saturday night.

Watson, who sat out in a loss to Green Bay last week, was 5 of 7 for 60 yards and scrambled once for 7 yards. After being sacked an NFLhigh 62 times last season, the third-year player had plenty of time to throw while facing a Lions defense which opened the game with the bulk of its starters.

Hopkins, also making his preseason debut, had two receptions for 17 yards and shook off Detroit’s Quandre Diggs to get open and make the TD catch that put Houston up 7-0.

Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford didn’t play for the second straight week, with the Lions instead starting Josh Johnson.

Johnson was signed a week ago after backup Tom Savage suffered a head injury in the team’s preseason opener against the Patriots. Johnson was 9 of 18 for 85 yards with an interception.