Rookie Finley shines again for Bengals
Washington firstround pick Dwayne Haskins made strong throws but also his share of mistakes, and fellow rookie Ryan Finley continued to make his case to be Cincinnati’s backup quarterback in the Bengals’ 23-13 victory over the Redskins on Thursday night in Landover, Maryland, in each team’s second exhibition game.
Haskins, the recordholder out of Ohio State, 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 starter. Mccoy has yet to play in the preseason while he recovers from a broken leg last year.
After already passing Jeff Driskell on Cincinnati’s depth chart, Finley again showed why he’s now the favorite to back up Andy Dalton. The fourth-round pick out of North Carolina State completed his first nine passes and was 20 of 26 for 150 yards with two touchdowns.
Dalton was 5 of 9 for 36 yards and an interception in three series Bengals kick returner Darius Phillips gets sandwiched between Redskins players Myles Humphrey (54) and Jimmy Moreland during the first half. before giving way to Finley. Redskins defensive lineman Daron Payne tipped Dalton’s third-down pass in the red zone, and safety Montae Nicholson picked it off and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown.
The first six plays of the game featured seven flags, and the penalty parade continued all night. The Bengals and Redskins combined for 22 penalties.
Bengals receiver Alex Erickson returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is confident his talent and work behind the scenes can overcome the chances he’s missing to develop chemistry with quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Dealing with a hip injury, Beckham sat out one-on-one, seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills Thursday in the second and final joint practice the Browns held with the Indianapolis Colts in Westfield, Indiana, leading up to Saturday’s exhibition game between the teams at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Beckham hasn’t participated in a team drill during a padded training camp practice since Aug. 6, and he’s not expected to play Saturday.
He isn’t panicking about running out of opportunities to get on the same page with his new quarterback before the season opener Sept. 8 against Tennessee.
“We talk every day,” Beckham said Thursday. “We talk football. We talk about just the little ins and outs of football. Even when I’m watching him make other throws, I’m still coming to ask him what is it that (he is) seeing.
“So it’s not something I’m worried about.”
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was held out of Thursday night’s exhibition game against the Baltimore Ravens because of back tightness.
The Packers said the decision to keep him on the sideline was “precautionary.”
Rodgers sat out Green Bay’s 28-26 win over Houston last week.