Westbrook’s 43-yard TD catch helps Jaguars top Falcons, 13-7
ATLANTA — Rookie Dede Westbrook returned from an injury with six catches for 115 yards and a touchdown, all in the first half, helping the Jacksonville Jaguars close the preseason with a 13-7 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night.
Westbrook, a fourth-round draft pick from Oklahoma, entered the game leading the NFL with 173 yards receiving in the preseason despite missing last week’s game against Carolina with soreness.
Westbrook strengthened his case for a roster spot by showing off his big-play potential against the Falcons (0-4). Westbrook beat Falcons cornerback Akeem King for a 43-yard touchdown catch on the final play of the first quarter and had another 43-yard catch in the second quarter.
Final roster evaluations were the emphasis as the teams held out a combined 66 starters and top backups.
Brandon Allen played the full game at quarterback for Jacksonville (2-2) and threw for 265 yards with the touchdown to Westbrook and three interceptions, including two in the end zone.
Atlanta’s Bidi Wreh-Wilson intercepted a fade pass for Westbrook from the 4 in the first quarter. Sharrod Neasman stopped another drive in the end zone when he intercepted a pass from Allen tipped by Chris Odom.
Matt Simms, third on Atlanta’s depth chart, completed 11 of 15 passes for 195 yards.
Bills 27, Lions 17
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman continued making his offseason-long case to secure the backup job in a preseason-ending 27-17 win over the Detroit Lions.
The fifth-round draft pick out of Pittsburgh finished 9 of 11 for 81 yards. Peterman played two series, which ended with Jonathan Williams scoring on a 21-yard run and Stephen Hauschka hitting a 30-yard field goal.
There was additional emphasis on Peterman’s performance after starter Tyrod Taylor and veteran backup T.J Yates were sidelined by concussions sustained in a 13-9 loss at Baltimore on Saturday.
Peterman jumped ahead of Yates in taking over the primary backup spot after Buffalo’s preseason opener. He finished the preseason going 43 of 79 for 453 yards and a touchdown.
Jets 16, Eagles 10
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Josh McCown and New York’s first-team offense got the start in the preseason finale as the Jets held on to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 16-10 on Thursday night.
The 38-year-old McCown hadn’t played since the opening series of the preseason against Tennessee as the Jets gave youngsters Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty extended looks.
But coach Todd Bowles announced Monday that McCown would be the Week 1 starter at Buffalo, and had most of his starting offense on the field for the first two possessions against the Eagles.
Steelers 17, Panthers 14
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rookie Joshua Dobbs threw for one touchdown and ran for the winning score, and the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Carolina Panthers 17-14 in the preseason finale for both teams.
Dobbs led the Steelers 53 yards on five plays in just 43 seconds and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 2 seconds left after rolling out to the right to lift the Steelers to a win.
Dobbs, the Steelers’ third-string quarterback behind Ben Roethlisberger and former Oklahoma standout Landry Jones, finished 16 of 23 for 212 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown pass to Justin Hunter.
Giants 40, Patriots 38
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. — Aldrick Rosas hit a 48-yard field goal as time expired, and the New York Giants earned a 40-38 win over the New England Patriots.
The Giants scored 34 points in the first half, but the Patriots outscored them 24-3 over the final 29 minutes before Rosas’ field goal.