Colts top Lions, lose Ehlinger to knee injury
DETROIT — Rookie Sam Ehlinger was knocked out of the preseason finale with a knee injury, delivering another hit on the Indianapolis Colts’ depth chart at quarterback in a 27-17 win over the Detroit Lions on Friday night.
With Carson Wentz recovering from foot surgery, Ehlinger is competing with second-year quarterback Jacob Eason to possibly take the team’s first snap in two weeks when the season opens.
Ehlinger, the sixth-round pick out of Texas, was hurt in the first half after he was 3 for 3 for 63 yards, including a 60-yard pass after escaping a sack, and had a 14-yard run. Eason was 10 of 14 for 74 yards.
To keep Eason healthy for Week 1, the Colts let 28-year-old Brett Hundley finish the game under center and he took full advantage.
Hundley threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Deon Jackson and the rookie running back rushed for a tying, 2-point conversion. A few snaps later, linebacker Curtis Bolton intercepted David Blough’s pass to set up Rodrigo Blankenship’s 42-yard field goal — his fourth of the game — that put Indy ahead 20-17.
Jackson converted a third down with a 42-yard touchdown run up the middle with 1:50 left, sealing a 3-0 preseason for the Colts.
Detroit fell to 0-3 under firstyear coach Dan Campbell.
JETS 31, EAGLES 31
James Morgan threw a 49-yard Hail Mary to Kenny Yeboah as time expired and Josh Adams ran in the 2-point conversion to lead New York to a tie in a preseason finale in East Rutherford, N.J., that was played without most of the teams’ starters Friday night.
The scores capped a stirring — and entertaining — comeback that had the Jets players and coaches celebrating wildly on the sideline as if they had won a playoff game.
Most of the projected starters for both teams sat out — including quarterbacks Jalen Hurts for Philadelphia and Zach Wilson for New York — after the squads held joint practices at the Jets’ facility on Wednesday and Thursday.
PANTHERS 34, STEELERS 9
Sam Darnold completed 19 of 25 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns, and host Carolina routed Pittsburgh in the preseason finale for both teams.
Darnold, who saw his most extensive action of the preseason, spent most of the first quarter under duress despite playing against a defense that was resting all of its starters.
Dwayne Haskins started and struggled, completing just 9 of 16 passes for 108 yards with one interception and one late touchdown on Pittsburgh’s final drive.
CHIEFS 28, VIKINGS 24
Patrick Mahomes was nearly perfect Friday night, throwing for 117 yards and two scores in his only two chances with the ball and leading host Kansas City past Minnesota in its preseason finale.
Mahomes was sharper than he’d been his first two exhibitions, finishing 8 of 9 with the only miss a throwaway with nobody open. Mahomes capped his first series against Minnesota with a 35-yard throw to Tyreek Hill, who’d run right by former Chiefs cornerback Bashaud Breeland, then capped the second with a short TD pass to tight end Blake Bell.
Mahomes’ counterpart, Kirk Cousins, wasn’t nearly as effective for Minnesota. He led the Vikings to a field goal on his first offensive series but went threeand-out on each of the next two, finishing 5 of 7 for 57 yards. Cousins looked out of sync with his receivers and took a big loss on a sack by Anthony Hitchens.
Chiefs backup Chad Henne didn’t play Friday night, so Shane Buechele got plenty of work. The rookie was sharp driving KC for a TD and a 21-3 halftime lead, but Buechele also threw a pick-six to Parry Nickerson in the fourth quarter.