Jordan Love threw a touchdown pass to Christian Watson in his third and final series of the game for host Green Bay as the Packers defeated Seattle 19-15 Saturday in the last preseason game for both teams.
It was Love’s last tune-up 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. Love completed 9 of 15 for 63 yards and had three carries for 21 yards against a Seattle defense consisting mostly of reserves.
Green Bay pulled ahead for good on Nate McCrary’s 1-yard touchdown run with 1:56 remaining. McCrary’s touchdown came four plays after a 52-yard completion from Alex McGough to rookie Jadakis Bonds from Hampton University.
Benny Sapp sealed the victory by picking off East Carolina product Holton Ahlers’ pass in the end zone with 13 seconds left.
Jets 32, Giants 24: 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 beat the New York Giants.
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 the matchup of New York clubs.
Rodgers went 5 for 8 for 47 yards, including 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, a Hampton native, redeemed himself for the pick-six 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: Miami’s game at 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 Jacksonville’s Dequan Jackson, who was flagged for unnecessary roughness. The entire Miami bench emptied, and Jaguars players also came onto the field as Davis was 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 Green Bay 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: Will Grier had a hand in four touchdowns as host Dallas beat Las Vegas.
With star quarterback Dak Prescott calling the plays, Grier threw for 305 yards and 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.
Buccaneers 26, Ravens 20: 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 home 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 Bucs (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 completed 6 of 9 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.
Broncos 41, Rams 0: 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 in Denver.
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.
Playing after halftime for the Broncos, former James Madison star Ben DiNucci completed 11 of 15 for 117 yards and a touchdown, and he ran four times for 22 yards.
Los Angeles (0-3) sat Matthew Stafford and several other starters for 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.
Bills 24, Bears 21: Quarterback Josh Allen led a scoring drive to start the game, and backup quarterback Kyle Allen took over to finish Buffalo’s win in Chicago.
Buffalo’s starter went 5 of 7 for 49 yards on a 72-yard touchdown drive to start the game, then Kyle Allen took over at quarterback and was 18 of 34 for 162 yards with a touchdown in pursuit of the backup quarterback job.
The Bears had quarterback Justin Fields in the lineup for three drives, but he left after moving the ball to the 9-yard line on the third possession so rookie Tyson Bagent could finish the drive in his bid to win the Bears’ backup quarterback job.
Chicago’s Isaiah Ford, a former Virginia Tech wide receiver, blocked a punt.
Chiefs 33, Browns 32: Deshaun Watson led Cleveland on back-to-back touchdown drives before Kansas City’s backups overcame two pick-sixes from their quarterbacks and rallied for a home win.
Struggling kicker Cade York had given Cleveland the lead with a 40-yarder with 4:23 to go, but the Chiefs went the other way to set up Harrison Butker’s 44-yarder for the final margin. York had another field-goal attempt blocked in the final minute.
Watson played four series and was 5 of 10 for 92 yards with a TD pass. Former Virginia Cavalier Juan Thornhill and Caleb Biggers had the pick-sixes for the Browns.
Justyn Ross, Ihmir Smith-Marsette and La’Mical Perine had touchdown receptions for Kansas City.
Cleveland’s Jakeem Grant Sr., who had returned after tearing his Achilles tendon last summer, was carted off with what coach Kevin Stefanski called “a significant” knee injury while returning the opening kickoff.
Cardinals 18, Vikings 17: David Blough had a touchdown pass and a rushing score in a second-half rally by Arizona in Minnesota.
Zach McCloud had three of Arizona’s six sacks of Minnesota rookie Jaren Hall. Blough spent last season on the practice squad with the Vikings and was vying for a spot on an unsettled Cardinals depth chart. Kyler Murray is rehabbing from a torn ACL last season.
Hall, from Brigham Young, had his most efficient performance to date in his bid to make the team behind Kirk Cousins and Nick Mullens.
Friday
Lions 26, Panthers 17: Bryce Young completed 7 of 12 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown in his final tuneup before the regular season, though Carolina lost at home to Detroit.
The No. 1 pick in the draft looked sharp leading scoring drives on his only two possessions, the second culminating in his first TD pass — a 16-yard strike to veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen for a 10-0 lead. Young scrambled three times for 21 yards and two first downs.
Teddy Bridgewater played the entire first half and led four first half scoring drives for Detroit.
Titans 23, Patriots 7: Malik Willis shook off a rough start while throwing for 211 yards and two touchdowns for host Tennessee.
New England rested many of its starters and managed just 79 yards of offense. Tennessee had six sacks. Titans rookie quarterback Will Levis missed his second straight game with an injured left thigh.
Saturday, though, Titans coach Mike Vrabel said he didn’t think he had seen enough to choose either Levis or Willis as Ryan Tannehill’s backup for the Titans’ opener Sept. 10.
Chargers 23, 49ers 12: Brock Purdy ran for a 5-yard touchdown during a brief tune-up for the season opener for San Francisco before Los Angeles backups beat the host 49ers.
The teams took different approaches, with San Francisco playing Purdy and several other starters for two drives, while the Chargers used almost exclusively second- and third-string players.
