NEW ORLEANS — Jordan Palmer hit Kevin Elliott with an 11-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 13 seconds left, lifting the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 27-24 preseason victory over the New Orleans Saints on Friday night. NEW ORLEANS —
NEW ORLEANS — Jordan Palmer hit Kevin Elliott with an 11-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 13 seconds left, lifting the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 27-24 preseason victory over the New Orleans Saints on Friday night.
Even before that score, Jacksonville saw continued progress from second-year quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who outperformed Drew Brees of the Saints during the first half.
Gabbert completed 13 of 16 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns, the first a 16-yard strike to rookie Justin Blackmon, who was making his preseason debut.
Brees was 10 of 13 for 133 yards and one touchdown, an 8-yard pass to Devery Henderson.
Undrafted rookie Travaris Cadet had 90 yards from scrimmage and a TD for New Orleans.
LIONS 27, RAVENS 12
BALTIMORE — Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes, Calvin Johnson had five catches for 111 yards and a score, and Detroit topped Baltimore.
Stafford went 12-for-17 for 184 yards in four possessions. He failed to produce a score in three drives last week against Cleveland, then came up empty in his first two series against Baltimore before guiding touchdown drives of 93 and 70 yards.
Stafford threw an 18-yard TD pass to Johnson and connected with Titus Young for a 24-yard score to help Detroit take a 17-9 halftime lead.
Operating under first-year coordinator Dean Pees, Baltimore’s defense gave up 254 yards in the first half. The Ravens are trying to rebound from an offseason injury to linebacker Terrell Suggs and the loss of free agents Cory Redding and Jarret Johnson.
Baltimore’s points came on four field goals, two apiece by Billy Cundiff and Justin Tucker. Joe Flacco went 7 for 12 for 79 yards and led the Ravens to a pair of field goals before leaving early in the second quarter.
The Ravens had two kick returns for touchdowns called back because of penalties.
PANTHERS 23, DOLPHINS 17
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cam Newton outplayed rookie Ryan Tannehill in a matchup of young quarterbacks as Carolina defeated Miami.
Newton looked extremely sharp, completing 8 of 11 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers jumped all over the injury-depleted Dolphins defense early, scoring on their first three possessions to take a 17-0 lead.
Last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year threw a touchdown pass to DeAngelo Williams, and Jonathan Stewart scored on a 2-yard plunge for the Panthers. Newton had been expected to play into the second quarter, but he was removed with 1:12 left in the first after a solid night’s work.
Tannehill, making his first preseason start for the Dolphins, played the entire first half and led six possessions — four of which ended in three-and-out. He found himself under heavy duress for most of the game as the Panthers sacked him three times and batted down three balls at the line of scrimmage.
He finished 11 of 23 for 100 yards passing.
TITANS 30, BUCCANEERS 7
TAMPA, Fla. — Chris Johnson ran for two touchdowns, and Rob Bironas kicked three field goals as Tennessee capitalized on early turnovers and beat Tampa Bay.
The Titans got an early boost from their defense and made the most of two first-half turnovers by the Bucs.
Tennessee second-year quarterback Jake Locker didn’t have an ideal outing in his first NFL start, completing 4 of 11 for 21 yards and an interception.
But his counterpart, Josh Freeman, also looked shaky, completing 4 of 10 for 21 yards in five series of work.
Bucs running back LeGarrette Blount left the game in the first half with a left leg injury.
Locker was looking to impress the coaching staff enough in hopes of earning the starting job over veteran Matt Hasselbeck, but he got off to a rocky start.
Pinned inside his own 10 on the Titans’ second series of the game, Locker had his second pass intercepted by free safety Ahmad Black and returned to the 2.
VIKINGS 36, BILLS 14
MINNEAPOLIS — Christian Ponder threw a first-quarter touchdown pass in a sharp three-possession appearance, and Minnesota breezed past Buffalo, which received a decent performance from backup quarterback candidate Vince Young.
Young’s competitor for the No. 2 spot behind Ryan Fitzpatrick is former Vikings draft pick Tyler Thigpen, who threw an interception late in the fourth quarter that was returned 20 yards for a touchdown by rookie linebacker Audie Cole. On the next play from scrimmage, Cole picked off Brad Smith’s pass to the same place on the field and ran 30 yards for a score.
Rookie Blair Walsh made five of his six field goal attempts for the Vikings, who got 64 yards rushing on two scrambles by backup quarterback Joe Webb. Ponder was 10 of 13 for 136 yards and no turnovers.
Young went 8-for-14 for 123 yards, including a 64-yard strike to T.J. Graham to open the second half, and set up a short touchdown run by Tashard Choice. He had no turnovers.
CARDINALS 31,
RAIDERS 27
GLENDALE, Ariz. — John Skelton made a brief appearance in his battle with Kevin Kolb for Arizona’s starting quarterback job and threw a 3-yard toss to Anthony Sherman as part of a 17-point second quarter by the Cardinals in a win over Oakland.
Skelton entered after Oakland fumbled the ball away at its 23. He completed 3 of 3 passes for 23 yards.
Kolb was 3 of 3 for 22 yards in Arizona’s opening touchdown drive but was sacked in the end zone for a safety. He completed 3 of 6 passes and was sacked three times.
Raiders backup quarterback and former Cardinals starter Matt Leinart left the game in the third quarter with a finger injury to his right (nonthrowing) hand after he took a late hit from Arizona’s Ricky Lumpkin.
Oakland had a 184-52 advantage in yards at halftime but trailed 24-11, thanks to two turnovers that resulted in 10 Arizona points. Another Cardinals TD came on a blocked punt as Arizona won for the first time in three preseason games.
