Cardinals give Rosen starting nod vs. Seahawks
Rookie Josh Rosen will take over as the Arizona Cardinals’ starting quarterback this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.
Rosen, the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft, replaced veteran Sam Bradford in Sunday’s 16-14 loss to the Chicago Bears with 4:31 left to play after three Arizona second-half possessions ended in turnovers.
Rosen couldn’t rally the Cardinals to a win, as he threw an interception to end his first drive and was sacked to end the second. But the rookie from UCLA completed four of seven passes for 36 yards and apparently showed coach Steve Wilks enough for him to make a change for the winless Cardinals (0-3).
“Josh plays with a lot of confidence. He gives us the opportunity to be successful,” Wilks said Monday.
Big Ben has big night
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 353 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 30-27 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Capping a tumultuous week in which star receiver Antonio Brown made headlines by shouting at an assistant coach on the sidelines and getting into a spat on social media, the Steelers (1-1-1) built a 20-point lead before holding on for their first win.
Vance McDonald scored on a 75-yard pass play and finished with four catches for 112 yards. Brown and Ryan Switzer also had first-half TD receptions for Pittsburgh, which led 30-10 at halftime.
The Steelers’ defense forced four turnovers, including three first-half interceptions of Ryan Fitzpatrick, the 35-year-old journeyman who threw for 819 yards and eight touchdowns
in two victories to begin Tampa Bay’s season.
Fitzpatrick led his team to 17 fourth-quarter points to make it close.
Time to move on
Baker Mayfield’s heard all about the Browns’ quarterback misery, the horrid
history of failures and flops since 1999.
From Tim Couch to Jeff Garcia to Derek Anderson to Johnny Manziel and so many others, 29 quarterbacks have started in Cleveland before Mayfield, who isn’t taking any pride in being No. 30.
“It’s 2018,” he said. “Don’t really care.”
But maybe 30’s a charm for Cleveland.
As expected, Browns coach Hue Jackson named Mayfield the team’s new starter on Monday, just days after the No. 1 overall pick replaced an injured Tyrod Taylor and dazzled in his pro debut by rallying the Browns to a 21-17 come-from-behind win over the New York Jets Cleveland’s first since 2016.
Taylor’s concussion forced the Browns to alter their plans and play Mayfield sooner than anticipated.
The Heisman Trophy winner didn’t disappoint.
“There was nothing that I saw that he wasn’t ready to handle,” Jackson said. “He went out there in some tough situations down 14 and late in the second quarter and handled all of that extremely well and went and played well. So he checked off every box from me.”
Under the national TV spotlight, Mayfield came in late in the first half and showed a seasoned veteran’s poise. He made quick decisions and even quicker throws while completing 17 of 23 passes for 201 yards in just more than one half.
Short yardage
• Defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson underwent surgery on his left ankle after the Green Bay Packers’ loss at Washington on Sunday and will be lost for the season.
• Falcons starting safety Ricardo Allen will miss the remainder of the season with a torn left Achilles tendon, dealing another blow to Atlanta’s already injuryravaged defense.
• Dolphins defensive end William Hayes will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL he suffered trying to avoid a roughing-thepasser penalty. Hayes was hurt when he sacked Oakland’s Derek Carr during Miami’s 28-20 win Sunday.