LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Keyon Martin returned an interception for a touchdown, Tyler Loop kicked a 61-yard field goal and the Baltimore Ravens completed an unbeaten preseason with a 30-3 rout of the Washington Commanders on Saturday.
It was Washington that snapped Baltimore’s record streak of 24 preseason wins two years ago. That was the start of four losses in five exhibition games for the Ravens, but then they went 3-0 this year.
None of this means all that much. Star quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Jayden Daniels weren’t playing, and the Commanders didn’t play backup Marcus Mariota either. Sam Hartman threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the second quarter for Washington.
Receiver Terry McLaurin, currently in a contract dispute with the Commanders, was at the game but did not play.
Martin, who contributed a safety in the team’s previous preseason game against Dallas, picked off a pass and ran it back 26 yards to give Baltimore a 24-3 lead.
Washington, which is trading running back Brian Robinson to San Francisco, gave Chris Rodriguez a few carries early. He gained 34 yards on five attempts.
Aside from that, the Commanders showed little offensively. Cooper Rush completed all five of his passes for Baltimore, and Rasheen Ali opened the scoring with a 9-yard run. D’Ernest Johnson made it 14-0 with a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
BROWNS 19, RAMS 17
CLEVELAND (AP) — Andre Szmyt hit a 37-yard field goal as time expired to lift Cleveland to a preseason victory over Los Angeles.
Jordan Waters scored on a 2-yard run with 2:08 remaining to put the Rams up 17-16, setting the stage for the Browns’ late drive.
Tyler Huntley came in after Shedeur Sanders struggled. He drove the Browns 46 yards in six plays, which was capped off by Szmyt’s winning kick.
Szmyt could end up being Cleveland’s kicker after Dustin Hopkins continued to struggle. Hopkins missed his second extra point of the preseason in the second quarter.
Joe Flacco had a touchdown pass and Dillon Gabriel directed two scoring drives as the Browns went 3-0 in the preseason for the second time in five seasons. It is not an indicator of success though as Cleveland went 8-9 in 2021.
Dresser Winn went the distance for the Rams and completed 15 of 23 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown. Waters finished with 41 yards on six carries.
BRONCOS 28, SAINTS 19
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Bo Nix passed for 110 yards and a touchdown to Courtland Sutton in three possessions, and Denver defeated New Orleans.
Saints rookie Tyler Shough ran for an 11-yard touchdown on a read-option play as he and second-year pro Spencer Rattler continued their competition to be New Orleans’ starting quarterback.
Rattler started and completed 5 of 8 passes for 43 yards, leading two drives that culminated with Blake Grupe field goals and one which stalled on failed QB keeper on fourth-and-1.
Shough was 12 of 20 for 102 yards and led two scoring drives, the first ending with one of three field goals that Blake Grupe hit from beyond 47 yards for the Saints (0-2-1).
However, Shough’s performance was marred by a lost fumble on a sack by Que Robinson in Saints territory. The turnover led to a Denver TD on Audric Estime’s 5-yard run.
Denver’s first-team offense put together a pair of scoring drives in the Superdome, where Broncos coach Sean Payton called plays from the home sideline between 2006 to 2021.
Nix’s 14-yard pass to Sutton on fourth-and-5 helped set up Wil Lutz’s first of three field goals for the Broncos (3-0).
COLTS 41, BENGALS 14
CINCINNATI (AP) — Third-stringer Riley Leonard completed 15 of 20 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown as Indianapolis beat Cincinnati.
Neither team played its starters. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who completed 18 of 24 passes for 185 yards and three TDs this preseason, sat this one out, as did his backup, Jake Browning.
Desmond Ridder, a University of Cincinnati product, started for the Bengals (1-2) and completed 8 of 20 passes for 75 yards with an interception and a rushing TD.
Colts safety Daniel Scott picked off Ridder’s pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to put Indy (1-2) ahead 10-0 in the first quarter.
Ridder’s 1-yard sneak, set up by Kendall Milton’s 41-yard run, got the Bengals within 10-7 in the second quarter.
TEXANS 26, LIONS 7
DETROIT (AP) — Kyle Allen threw a 33-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass late in the first quarter to rookie Isaac TeSlaa, solidifying their roles with Detroit in a 26-7 loss against Houston.
Allen has established himself as Jared Goff’s backup, beating out Hendon Hooker, and TeSlaa earned a spot in the receiver rotation behind Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams.
Texans rookie Graham Mertz, meanwhile, made a bid to earn a spot on a 53-man roster or at least an invite to be on a practice team.
Mertz, a former Florida and Wisconsin quarterback, was 14 of 16 for 145 yards with a 6-yard touchdown pass to former Lions receiver Quintez Cephus in the second quarter. He ran two times for 20 yards.
Kedon Slovis, who was on Houston’s practice squad last year as a rookie, completed 11 of 16 passes for 111 yards with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Jackson in the fourth quarter.
The Texans (2-1) kept C.J. Stroud on the sideline, a week after he led two drives in a preseason win over Carolina, and did not play No. 2 quarterback Davis Mills.
PACKERS 20, SEAHAWKS 7
GREEEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Malik Willis bounced back from an early interception and threw a touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs as Green Bay defeated Seattle.
Green Bay forced four turnovers and sacked rookie Jalen Milroe five times.
With the Seahawks resting starting quarterback Sam Darnold and backup Drew Lock, Milroe played the whole game and lost three fumbles. The third-round pick from Alabama went 13 of 24 for 148 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 31 yards on seven carries.
The Packers played many of their regulars for much of the first quarter as they built a 10-0 lead. One Green Bay starter who didn’t play was quarterback Jordan Love, who practiced on a limited basis this week as he recovers from surgery on his left (non-throwing) thumb.
Love was one of 19 Packers who weren’t in uniform Saturday.
Willis, who won each of the two games he started in place of an injured Love last year, threw a deep pass into coverage that was intercepted by Ty Okada on the opening possession. On the next series, Willis led a 14-play, 96-yard drive.
His 1-yard TD pass to Doubs capped a drive that included a 39-yard completion to rookie first-round pick Matthew Golden. Willis also ran around right end for a 6-yard gain on fourth-and-2 from the Seattle 42.
DOLPHINS 14, JAGUARS 6
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa threw a 25-yard touchdown pass and was sacked twice in his only action of the preseason, and Miami beat Jacksonville.
Mike Boone ran for a 7-yard touchdown for Miami (2-0-1), and Jacksonville’s Cam Little kicked field goals of 59 and 43 yards.
While the Jaguars (0-2-1) rested their starters, many of the Dolphins’ regulars played into the second quarter in the preseason finale for both teams.
Tagovailoa played the first three drives and sat after connecting with Malik Washington early in the second quarter to put Miami ahead 7-0. Washington caught Tagovailoa’s pass inside the 20-yard line, turned to the outside then shifted inside before sprinting to the end zone.
Tagovailoa completed 4 of 8 passes for 49 yards. After the TD, he connected with reserve tight end Pharaoh Brown for a 2-point conversion.
Zach Wilson replaced Tagovailoa and directed Miami’s second touchdown drive, which ended on Boone’s run with 8:29 remaining in the third quarter.
Rookie Quinn Ewers took over for Wilson in the fourth quarter and completed 7 of 8 passes for 66 yards.
BILLS 23, BUCCANEERS 19
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Shane Buechele threw for 278 yards and one touchdown and Buffalo beat Tampa Bay.
Reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen didn’t play for the Bills (1-2), finishing his first preseason without seeing any game action.
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield also didn’t take any snaps in exhibition games for the first time in his career.
With both teams resting starters, players competing for snaps, backup positions and roster spots battled for 60 minutes — except for Buccaneers rookie safety Shilo Sanders.
He was ejected for throwing a punch at Zach Davidson in the second quarter. Sanders, the son of Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, is battling for a roster spot after going undrafted out of Colorado, where he played for his father. He was also penalized for pass interference earlier in the game.
49ERS 30, CHARGERS 23
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Trey Lance’s return to the Bay Area led to three straight punts for Los Angeles, who went on to lose to San Francisco in the final exhibition game for both teams.
Curtis Robinson returned a interception of DJ Uiagalelei 32 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 6:06 remaining to give San Francisco the win.
Lance played his first game at Levi’s Stadium since the 49ers traded him to Dallas two summers ago. San Francisco traded three first-round picks to draft Lance third overall in 2021, but he started only four games before being shipped away after falling behind Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold on the 49ers’ depth chart.
Lance is in his first season with the Chargers as he tries to earn the backup role behind Justin Herbert. After showing some flashes in his first three games this preseason, Lance wasn’t able to do much against a 49ers defense that had only a handful of starters.
He threw incomplete passes on third down to end the first two drives with a three-and-out punt. The Chargers drove into San Francisco territory on his final possession before a false start by David Sharpe on fourth-and-3 from the 38 led to a punt.
Lance finished 5 for 8 for 38 yards.
Taylor Heinicke, who is battling for the backup job, went 3 of 5 for 31 yards on two drives, leading the Chargers to one field goal.
CARDINALS 20, RAIDERS 10
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Clayton Tune threw a touchdown pass and ran for 47 yards, leading Arizona over Las Vegas in the preseason finale for both teams.
The Raiders (0-2-1) played several starters on their opening offensive and defensive drives, and each unit had success against the Cardinals’ backups. The Las Vegas defense forced a punt without allowing a first down and then the offense went on a touchdown drive that took less than five minutes.
Geno Smith capped the nine-play, 60-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Dont’e Thornton Jr., who fought off Denzel Burke at the front pylon to make the catch and give Las Vegas a 7-0 lead.
Smith completed 2 of 3 passes for 26 yards and the touchdown, backup Aidan O’Connell was 3 of 4 for 36 yards before leaving with a right wrist injury and third-string rookie Cam Miller was 12 of 24 for 102 yards.
Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty gained five yards on two carries. Zamir White ran for a team-high 42 yards on nine carries. The Raiders’ defense had five sacks.
Tune handled the entire game for Arizona, and the third-string quarterback finished with 83 yards passing. He connected with Simi Fehoko on a 10-yard touchdown late in the first quarter, tying the game at 7-all.
The Associated Press
