Kizer shows winning touch with late TD pass

CLEVELAND — DeShone Kizer provided a glimpse of the future when he heaved a 45-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Jordan Payton with 1:52 remaining in Thursday night’s 20-14 victory over the New Orleans Saints in the preseason opener at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The perfectly thrown pass, placed right into Payton’s hands on the left side of the end zone, came on fourth down at the two-minute warning.

That was the encore. Kizer already had dazzled the few remaining fans with a 52-yard pass to a tightly covered Richard Mullaney to the 1 on his previous drive. The pass set up a TD run by Terrence Magee, but Kizer failed on a twopoint pass intended for Matthew Dayes that kept the Saints ahead 14-13.

The TD pass was nothing but air, and placed perfectly so that only Payton could get it, and not cornerback Erik Harris, who was right on his back.

The two big plays are a major reason why Hue Jackson will continue to try to get his raw rookie ready to play. Overall, Kizer completed 11 of 18 attempts for 184 yards, with one TD and no interceptions for a 114.1 rating. He also rushed three times for 13 yards.

Kizer, who played the entire second half after Brock Osweiler and Cody Kessler split the first, struggled in other facets of the game, sometimes holding the ball too long and taking unnecessary sacks. But he also showed off his mobility.

Osweiler, given a chance to make a case for the starting job, failed to put any points on the board in his four drives — despite marching to the 3 against the Saints’ second-team defensive line.

Osweiler, who finished 6 of 14 for 42 yards, hasn’t worked with the first team in camp, and the lack of chemistry was evident. He went three-and-out on his first three drives.

Cody Kessler put a touchdown on the board on one of his three drives, but the defense spotted him at the Saints 21 after a takeaway. Dayes scored on a 1-yard run to make it 7-3.

Overall No. 1 draft pick Myles Garrett wanted to come out and “send a message through this first game,” and the rookie defensive end did just that. On the Saints’ opening drive, he combined with Chris Kirksey to stop running back Alvin Kamara for no gain. The Saints punted two plays later.

On the Saints’ second drive, Garrett blew past the left tackle and dropped running back Daniel Lasco for a 2-yard loss. Garrett didn’t get a sack, but he showed his speed and explosiveness.