NFL preseason results | Thursday
Texans 20, Patriots 9
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — C.J. Stroud had a short and at times shaky NFL debut, Davis Mills threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to rookie Tank Dell and the Houston Texans beat the New England Patriots in the teams’ preseason opener.
Stroud, drafted second overall out of Ohio State, played the first two series and went 2 of 4 for 13 yards with an interception. He rushed twice for 6 yards and was sacked once.
Mills — who started 15 games last season — took over for Stroud and finished 9 of 12 for 99 yards while playing the balance of the opening half. His touchdown pass capped a seven-play, 62yard drive that ended with Dell juggling and pulling in the score from his back.
Dalton Keene added a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Case Keenum had a 5-yard TD pass to Alex Bachman in the fourth. Dell ended his night with five catches for 65 yards.
The Patriots gave most of their projected starters the night off, including quarterback Mac Jones.
Backup Bailey Zappe started in his place and went 12 of 14 for 79 yards, playing the entire first half and one series in the third quarter. His best throw of the night was a 27-yard dart to Tyquan Thornton.
Rookie quarterback Malik Cunningham, who went undrafted out of Louisville, added a late 9-yard touchdown run. Patriots rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez had three tackles and forced a fumble.
Stroud is vying with Mills to be Houston’s starter. The Texans have mostly split first-team snaps between the two during training camp.
Mills, despite a record of just 5-29-1 as a starter the past two seasons, looked much more comfortable Thursday. Meanwhile, Stroud spent most of his limited snaps under nearly constant pressure from the Patriots defense.
Starting on his own 25 following a game-opening touchback, Stroud came out throwing and completed an 8-yard pass to Nico Collins on the Texans’ first play from scrimmage.
After a few short runs by Devin Singletary gave Houston a new set of downs, Stroud was dropped for a 15yard sack when he was unable to avoid the grasp of Daniel Ekuale.
Stroud was flushed out of the pocket and scrambled for 4 yards on the next play. Facing third-and-21, he dropped back to pass again, throwing in the direction of Dell. But Jalen Mills read the play from the start, stepped in front and picked it off.
The Patriots took over on Houston’s 24. but wound up settling for a 44-yard Nick Folk field goal after their first drive of the night was stalled by Denzel Perryman’s sack after three plays.
Stroud’s second series was mostly a replica of his first.
He misfired on a throw to open the series, completed a short pass to Steven Sims and then had another short scramble before Houston was forced to punt again.
Seahawks 24, Vikings 13
SEATTLE — Drew Lock threw a pair of touchdowns passes, including a 19-yard strike to Jake Bobo late in the third quarter, and the Seattle Seahawks beat the Minnesota Vikings in the preseason opener for both teams.
With starting quarterback Geno Smith serving as a spectator – along with most of the starters for both teams – Lock showed that the Seahawks should feel comfortable about their backup QB.
Lock completed 17 of 24 passes for 191 yards. His one mistake was a tipped pass intercepted by Minnesota’s Jaylin Williams in the third quarter. Lock threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Easop Winston Jr. in the first half, and gave Seattle a 17-13 lead by hitting Bobo in the final seconds of the third quarter. Bobo badly beat Andrew Booth Jr. off the line of scrimmage and hauled in pass near the goal line.
Bobo has impressed during training camp and could be the latest undrafted rookie wide receiver to earn a spot on Seattle’s roster.
Third-string QB Holton Ahlers added a 30-yard TD pass to Matt Landers in the fourth quarter.
Nick Mullens played a solid first half for the Vikings, solidifying his spot as Kirk Cousins’ backup. Mullens completed 14 of 20 passes for 139 yards and a 4-yard touchdown toss to tight end Nick Muse, who made a terrific leaping catch over Seattle cornerback Tre Brown. Mullens led a pair of scoring drives, and Greg Joseph hit field goals of 26 and 54 yards. Joseph was just 4 of 10 on kicks from 50 or more yards last season and is getting pushed with rookie Jack Podlesny from Georgia in camp.