Aaron Rodgers throws a TD pass for the Jets in his first preseason appearance since 2018
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson to cap the second and final series of his preseason debut with the New York Jets, helping his new squad to a 32-24 victory over the Giants on Saturday night.
Playing in the preseason for the first time since 2018 when he was with Green Bay, the four-time NFL MVP came out throwing in the regular-season tuneup against the Giants’ backups. The Jets (2-2) were the visiting team at MetLife Stadium in this matchup of New York clubs.
Rodgers went 5 for 8 for 47 yards and the perfectly placed pass to Wilson in the front left corner of the end zone. He was replaced by Zach Wilson on the next series.
Brandin Echols ended the Giants’ third offensive series by intercepting Tommy DeVito and returning it 67 yards for a touchdown.
DeVito, the third-stringer behind starter Daniel Jones and backup Tyrod Taylor, redeemed himself for the pick-6 two series later. DeVito and the Giants (1-2) converted four third-down plays on a 14-play, 81-yard drive that finished with Jashaun Corbin’s 1-yard TD run.
DeVito finished 19 of 29 for 210 yards, including a late 30-yard TD pass to David Sills.
JAGUARS 31, DOLPHINS 18
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Miami’s game against Jacksonville was stopped with 8:32 left in the fourth quarter after Dolphins receiver Daewood Davis took a hard hit and was carted off the field in an immobilized position.
Davis was taken to a hospital for evaluation, the Dolphins announced, adding that he was conscious and had movement in all his extremities.
Davis ran a slant route and was trying to catch a pass from James Blackman when he took a hard hit from Jacksonvile’s Dequan Jackson, who was flagged for unnecessary roughness. The entire Miami bench emptied, and Jaguars players also came onto the field as Davis laid face-down on the turf for several minutes.
It was the second straight week an exhibition game was ended early because of a scary injury; New England’s game at Buffalo on Aug. 19 was called off after Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden was carted off the field.
Trevor Lawrence played two series for the Jaguars (3-0), completing 8 of 10 passes for 92 yards. Tua Tagovailoa went 4 of 6 for 67 yards in his two series for the Dolphins (1-2).
COWBOYS 31, RAIDERS 16
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Will Grier had a hand in four touchdowns as Dallas beat Las Vegas.
With star quarterback Dak Prescott calling the plays, Grier threw for 305 yards with two TDs and ran for 54 yards with two more scores in what might have been his final act with the Cowboys (1-2) after two seasons behind backup Cooper Rush.
A day earlier, the Cowboys appeared to fill Grier’s third-string role by acquiring Trey Lance in a trade with San Francisco.
Damien Williams had a 24-yard touchdown run for the Raiders (2-1), who were playing a few hours after NFL rushing champion Josh Jacobs ended his contract stalemate by agreeing to a one-year deal. Las Vegas’ six-game preseason winning streak ended.
The starters sat for both teams, including quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo a week after his Las Vegas debut. Third-string Las Vegas QB Aidan O’Connell was 17 of 26 for 178 yards, and Kristian Wilkerson had 10 catches for 122 yards.
PACKERS 19, SEAHAWKS 15
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Jordan Love threw a touchdown pass to Christian Watson on his third and final series of the day and Green Bay beat Seattle.
Love had his final tuneup before he begins his first full season as the Packers’ starting quarterback following the trade of four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets. He went 9 of 15 for 63 yards and had three carries for 21 yards against a Seattle defense consisting mostly of reserves.
Overall, Love went 21 of 33 for 193 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in three preseason starts for the Packers (2-1).
The Seahawks (2-1) rested quarterback Geno Smith and most of their starters on both sides of the ball.
Backup Drew Lock led Seattle’s offense for virtually the entire game, going 16 of 25 for 150 yards with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jake Bobo, a rookie undrafted free agent from UCLA whose impressive preseason could earn him a spot on Seattle’s 53-man roster.
CHIEFS 33, BROWNS 32
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Deshaun Watson led Cleveland on back-to-back touchdown drives before Kansas City rallied late.
Watson played sparingly in the Browns’ first three preseason games, so coach Kevin Stefanski gave him the entire first quarter against Kansas City (2-1). He was 5 of 10 for 92 yards, including a 53-yard toss to Amari Cooper on a broken play.
Juan Thornhill picked off Chiefs backup Shane Buechele and returned it 34 yards for a score against his former team, then Caleb Biggers added a 27-yard interception return off Blaine Gabbert as Cleveland (1-2-1) built a 29-16 lead by halftime.
Browns kicker Cade York, whose job could be on the line after a tough preseason, gave them the lead with a 40-yard field goal with 4:23 to go. But the Chiefs quickly drove the other way, and Harrison Butker was good from 44 yards to regain the lead. York’s 43-yard try with less than a minute left was partially blocked and never had a chance.
The Browns had several injuries. Jakeem Grant Sr. was carted off with a knee injury on the opening kickoff. Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott hurt his hip and linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk injured his knee.
BUCCANEERS 26, RAVENS 20
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield looked comfortable in his final tuneup as Tampa Bay’s new starting quarterback, throwing a touchdown pass while playing less than a quarter in a win over Baltimore.
Mayfield was selected as the starter over third-year pro Kyle Trask earlier in the week and played two series. The No. 1 overall pick from the 2018 draft completed all six of his passes for 43 yards, including an 11-yard TD throw to Chris Godwin for the Buccaneers (2-1).
As expected, Lamar Jackson did not play for the Ravens. Josh Johnson started at quarterback for Baltimore (1-2) and played into the second quarter. He was 6 of 9 passing for 95 yards and one TD before being replaced by Anthony Brown, who played most of the final three quarters and completed 12 of 21 passes for 171 yards and no TDs.
Trask played nearly the entire game for the second straight week. He completed 19 of 31 passes without an interception, finishing with 192 yards passing and a 6-yard TD to tight end David Wells.
COMMANDERS 21, BENGALS 19
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Cincinnati’s Jake Browning strengthened his case to back up Joe Burrow, and potentially start Week 1, during a loss to Washington.
Browning was 6 of 6 for 42 yards and a touchdown pass to Andre Iosivas in the first half. Trevor Siemian, who has been competing with Browning for the No. 2 job behind Burrow, had a solid performance marred by an interception late in the first half.
Siemian finished 14 of 23 for 133 yards, playing into the fourth quarter for the Bengals (0-2-1).
Veteran Jacoby Brissett, the backup to Commanders starter Sam Howell, played the first three series, completing 10 of 15 passes for 96 yards with a 39-yard touchdown completion to Mitchell Tinsley.
Tinsley, an undrafted free agent, had three catches for 89 yards and may have earned a spot on Washington’s 53-man roster.
Jake Fromm played the majority of the game and threw for 144 yards and two TDs for the Commanders (3-0).
CARDINALS 18, VIKINGS 17
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — David Blough had a touchdown pass and a rushing score in a second-half rally as Arizona beat Minnesota.
Blough went 11 for 22 for 93 yards and no turnovers for the Cardinals (2-1). Davion Davis caught the touchdown pass from Blough, who is vying for a spot on an unsettled Cardinals depth chart with Kyler Murray still in rehab mode from a torn ACL in his right knee late last season.
Zach McCloud, who joined the team only four days ago, had three of Arizona’s six sacks of Minnesota rookie Jaren Hall.
Hall, a fifth-round draft pick out of BYU, had his most efficient performance to date in his bid to make the team behind Kirk Cousins and Nick Mullens. Hall went 16 for 27 for 178 yards, one touchdown and one interception and rushed six times for 21 yards.
The Vikings (0-3), who had more than three dozen players not in pads and watching from the sideline, had their meaningless preseason losing streak stretch to 10 straight games.
BILLS 24, BEARS 21
CHICAGO (AP) — Josh Allen warmed up for the regular season by leading a scoring drive and Buffalo beat Chicago.
Allen was 5 of 7 for 49 yards on Buffalo’s first possession. He left the game after Damien Harris’ 2-yard touchdown run ended the 72-yard drive.
Kyle Allen took over and make a strong case to win the backup quarterback job for the Bills (2-1) over Matt Barkley. Allen led the Bills on three scoring drives, including a 29-yard TD pass behind the Bears’ secondary to Quintin Morris in the second quarter for a 14-3 lead.
Bears quarterback Justin Fields played three drives in his second appearance of the preseason. On the final one, he completed a 40-yard pass to wide receiver DJ Moore.
Fields went 2 of 6 for 51 yards in his longest playing stint of the preseason. He also ran for 16 yards on three carries for the Bears (1-2).
Tyson Bagent, competing with P.J. Walker for Chicago’s backup quarterback job, finished 7 of 14 for 43 yards and ran four times for 23 yards.
BRONCOS 41, RAMS 0
DENVER (AP) — Undrafted rookie Jaleel McLaughlin scored his fourth touchdown of the preseason and tight end Albert Okwuegbunam caught seven passes for 109 yards and a TD, leading Denver to a rout of Los Angeles.
Jarrett Stidham directed the Broncos (1-2) to scores on their first five drives as they built a 27-0 halftime lead. Stidham was 17 of 28 for 236 yards, one TD and no interceptions or sacks in his half of play.
The Rams (0-3) sat Matthew Stafford and several other starters the entire preseason. The Broncos sat Russell Wilson and most of their starters, too.
McLaughlin capped Denver’s opening drive with a 1-yard TD run. That came one play after Rams defensive back Trey Tomlinson was disqualified for grabbing receiver Marvin Mims Jr.’s facemask and pulling him to the ground just inside the 1.
Brett Maher kicked field goals of 46 and 33 yards, Tony Jones Jr. scored from a yard out and Stidham threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Albert Okwuegbunam.
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