Garoppolo shines in 49ers’ win over Mahomes, Chiefs
49ers 27, Chiefs 17
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was impressive in his return to Arrowhead Stadium, and Chiefs counterpart Patrick Mahomes may have been even better, in their third preseason game Saturday night.
Garoppolo was 14 of 20 for 188 yards while playing the entire first half in a much better showing than his preseason debut against Denver last week. Garoppolo led the 49ers deep into Kansas City territory four times, throwing a TD pass to Matt Breida and getting two field goals from Robbie Gould.
Mahomes finished 8 of 10 for 126 yards, highlighted by a 62-yard catch-and-run to Damien Williams in which the Chiefs’ injury-prone running back raced right by the woebegone linebacker covering him.
Cowboys 34, Texans 0
ARLINGTON, Texas — Deshaun Watson didn’t get the longer preseason look he wanted against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Houston Texans couldn’t get their quarterback off the field fast enough, especially after running back Lamar Miller sustained what NFL.com reported was a torn ACL on the second play. Watson didn’t return for a second series after getting dropped twice in three plays.
Dak Prescott scrambled and threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Michael Gallup while playing the first two series for Dallas. Prescott was 2 of 5 for 22 yards, the three incompletions his first of the preseason.
Saints 28, Jets 13
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Drew Brees threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Michael Thomas to cap his only drive in his preseason debut, and New Orleans defeated New York.
Brees didn’t take a snap in the Saints’ first two exhibition games, but Sean Payton gave the 40-yearold quarterback a brief regularseason warmup in this one.
He finished 4 of 6 for 68 yards and was done for the night, along with the rest of the offensive starters.
Sam Darnold’s night for the Jets (1-2) lasted quite a bit longer as the second-year quarterback played midway into the second quarter, despite three projected starting offensive linemen — center Ryan Kalil and guards Kelechi Osemele and Brian Winters — sitting out.
Darnold was 8 of 13 for 97 yards and a touchdown pass.
Bears 27, Colts 17
INDIANAPOLIS — Chuck Pagano, Andrew Luck’s first coach, returned to Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time since his firing shortly after the 2017 season.
The new Bears defensive coordinator made a splash.
Despite both teams sitting all of their starters, including Indianapolis quarterback Jacoby Brissett, the Bears used their second defensive touchdown to take the lead for good late in the third quarter.
Trailing 10-0 early in the second quarter, safety Deon Bush ripped the ball out of the air from rookie tight end Hale Hentges and scored on a 91-yard interception return. After two field goals from Eddy Pineiro made it 17-13, linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe returned a fumble 22 yards to give the Bears a 20-17 lead.
Rams 10, Broncos 6
LOS ANGELES — Brandon Allen passed for 162 yards and Jalen Greene caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from John Wolford with 12:38 to play in Los Angeles’ preseason victory over Denver.
Wolford, who went 6 of 12 for 64 yards, is competing for the Rams’ No. 3 quarterback spot with Allen, who had the job last season. Allen went 12 of 19 and mostly looked sharp.
Almost every Rams player expected to make a significant contribution this season skipped this game in keeping with coach Sean McVay’s total disinterest in risking his starters’ health for meaningless exhibitions.
Seahawks 23, Chargers 15
CARSON, Calif. — Russell Wilson directed a pair of first-half touchdown drives, going 6 of 9 for 73 yards, and Seattle beat Los Angeles in the preseason matchup.
Wilson has directed the Seahawks to a pair of TDs and a field goal in five possessions in two preseason games.
Philip Rivers and Keenan Allen did not suit up for a third straight game, with Chargers coach Anthony Lynn sticking to his pre-trainingcamp plan of resting his veterans.
Former Hampton High and Virginia Tech star Tyrod Taylor was on the run most of the time, finishing 6 of 9 for 61 yards in three possessions. Taylor also was the Chargers’ leading rusher, with 34 yards on six carries.