Eagles lose another QB, top Jaguars,
Eagles 24, Jaguars 10: Cody Kessler’s return to Jacksonville lasted seven plays and ended with a slow walk to the visitors’ locker room.
Philadelphia’s third-string quarterback was knocked out of the team’s preseason victory against the Jaguars on the opening drive Thursday night. Defensive end Datone Jones came unblocked off the edge and walloped Kessler in the back.
Kessler was escorted to the sideline, evaluated for a head injury in the locker room and then placed in the concussion protocol. The team already was without backup Nate Sudfeld, who broke his left wrist in the team’s preseason opener against Tennessee. Starter Carson Wentz rested for the second straight game. He watched from the sideline in uniform, but without pads and a helmet.
Rookie Clayton Thorson, the only other QB on the roster, played three-plus quarters and completed a 38-yard touchdown pass to former college quarterback and Alliance of American Football receiver Greg Ward on fourth down in the second quarter.
Thorson beat the blitz by lofting a deep ball toward the left sideline. Ward was a couple of steps behind safety C.J. Reavis, made an acrobatic catch and then outran two defenders to the end zone. It was another big play in the past three weeks for the 5-foot-11 wideout who threw for 8,704 yards and accounted for 91 touchdowns in four years at Houston.
Ravens 26, Packers 13: Lamar Jackson directed two scoring drives during a limited appearance, had an impressive touchdown run erased by a penalty and sparked the host Ravens to a victory over the Packers, who played without quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers developed back stiffness and was a late scratch , a move the team labeled as a “precaution.” After being held out of Green Bay’s first preseason game against Houston, the seven-time Pro Bowl star was slated to start for the first time under rookie head coach Matt LaFleur.
Instead, DeShone Kizer, Tim Boyle and Manny Wilkins struggled against a defense that last year was ranked No. 1 in the NFL.
Rodgers has played 165 regular-season games since breaking into the league in 2005, so there was really no pressing need to get him into a game three weeks before the Sept. 5 opener against Chicago.
Jackson, on the other hand, needed the work. Coming off a rookie season in which he didn’t start until mid-November, Jackson is seeking to master a new playbook devised by first-year coordinator Greg Roman.
Green Bay got its lone touchdown in the third quarter on a 7-yard pass from Boyle to rookie Darrius Shepherd.
Jets 22, Falcons 10: Matt Ryan and Sam Darnold both appear ready for the regular season.
Ryan looked sharp in his preseason debut for the host Falcons, completing nine straight passes, and Darnold led New York on another scoring drive in the Jets’ victory.
After sitting out the first two exhibition games, Ryan played most of the first half. He completed 10 of 14 passes for 118 yards, a performance that was even more impressive considering Brian Hill and Justin Hardy dropped back-to-back passes in the back of the end zone that should have been touchdowns, sparking boos from the meager crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Jets are certainly pleased with Darnold, who followed up a marvelous drive in the preseason opener by completing 5 of 7 passes for 46 yards. He guided New York on a 66-yard touchdown drive to start the game, capped by Ty Montgomery’s 1-yard scoring run.
Le’Veon Bell sat out again for the Jets. He could make his New York debut next week.
Atlanta’s backup quarterback, Matt Schaub, took over for Ryan and led the Falcons (0-3) on their lone touchdown drive to close out the first half.
Bengals 23, Redskins 13: Washington first-round pick Dwayne Haskins made strong throws and his share of mistakes, and fellow rookie Ryan Finley continued to make his case to be Cincinnati’s backup quarterback in the Bengals’ victory over the Redskins in each team’s second preseason game in Landover, Md.
Haskins threw a 55-yard TD pass to camp standout Robert Davis and was 7 of 14 for 114 yards with a fumble. The 15th overall pick took two sacks but showed poise under pressure and was more effective than veteran Case Keenum, who played the first three drives and was 3 of 7 for 52 yards.
Keenum, Haskins and longtime backup Colt McCoy are competing to be the Redskins’ Week 1 starter.