Jags’ Bortles solid in opener against Saints
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Blake Bortles completed 6 of 9 passes for 53 yards and scored on a short bootleg in Jacksonville’s 24-20 loss to New Orleans in the exhibition opener for both teams Thursday night.
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.
Bortles had a five-interception performance during a training camp practice in 2017 and continued to struggle during joint practices with New England. He was benched two weeks into the preseason and had to earn the starting job.
A year later, his starting spot is as solid as just about anyone’s on the team.
Steelers 31, Eagles 14
PHILADELPHIA – Landry Jones and Josh Dobbs each tossed touchdown passes and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the preseason opener.
The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles rested several starters, including quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Nick Foles. Nate Sudfeld threw a pair of touchdown passes and two interceptions.
Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown sat for the Steelers and Le’Veon Bell still hasn’t signed his franchise tender.
Browns 20, Giants 10
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.
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.
Buccaneers 26, Dolphins 24
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – 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 that ended with a missed field goal in his only series, and the Miami Dolphins lost their exhibition opener to Tampa Bay.
Tannehill, seeing his first action since December 2016, was off-target on his final two throws and finished 4 for 6 for 32 yards.
New Buccaneers kicker Chandler Catanzaro made a 26-yard field goal with 23 seconds left to cap a 67-yard drive and give them the win.
Bengals 30, Bears 27
CINCINNATI – Andy Dalton made a solid debut in Cincinnati’s revamped offense, throwing for a pair of touchdowns as the Bengals beat the Chicago Bears.
Dalton went 6 of 8 for 103 yards, completing four passes of at least 20 yards. He also had an interception that wasn’t his fault – John Ross fell on his route and Kyle Fuller returned the pickoff 47 yards to the end zone.
Panthers 28, Bills 23
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Bills receiver Kelvin Benjamin’s feud with former teammate Panthers quarterback Cam Newton continued before and during Carolina’s preseason-opening win against Buffalo.
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 touchdown reception from Nathan Peterman on Buffalo’s first possession.
Ravens 33, Rams 7
BALTIMORE – Joe Flacco threw a touchdown pass on his only series of the game, rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson ran for a score and the Baltimore Ravens rolled to a preseason victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
Baltimore (2-0) led 17-0 after the first period and cruised to the finish against the Rams (0-1), who rested offensive stars Jared Goff and Todd Gurley.
After sitting out the Hall of Fame Game last week, Flacco went 5 for 7 for 71 yards during a 10-play drive.
Patriots 26, Washington 17
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Colt McCoy outplayed Brian Hoyer in a scrimmage of backup quarterbacks, while Tom Brady and Alex Smith stayed on the sidelines counting their money.
On the day that the Patriots reportedly sweetened Brady’s contract with $5 million in incentives, the reigning NFL MVP sat out the team’s exhibition season opener.
Packers 31, Titans 17
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Marcus Mariota looked sharp orchestrating yet another new offensive system for the Tennessee Titans.
Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams needed just one series to show he was in midseason form.
Mariota was 2 of 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.
Texans 17, Chiefs 10
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Patrick Mahomes finished 5 of 7 for 33 yards on two drives in the Kansas City Chiefs’ loss to the Houston Texans in the preseason opener for both teams.
Houston’s Deshaun Watson, who’s coming back from a torn ACL, was used sparingly. He threw only one pass – a 4yard completion to wide receiver Bruce Ellington – during a five-play drive to midfield that featured four handoffs.
Colts 19, Seahawks 17
SEATTLE – 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 the Colts’ 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 completed 6 of 9 passes for 64 yards, most of that coming on the opening drive when he hit 5 of 7. Luck completed passes to five receivers and threw from a clean pocket on most of his dropbacks, even with starting left tackle Anthony Castonzo not playing.