NFL Pre-Season Roundup: Steelers beat sloppy Bills, Dolphins rout Texans

STEELERS 27, BILLS 15

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kenny Pickett guided a pair of quick touchdown drives in less than a quarter's work and Pittsburgh breezed past sloppy Buffalo.

The second-year quarterback connected on a third-down pass during the first possession for Pittsburgh (2-0) to set up a 62-yard touchdown sprint by backup running back Jaylen Warren. Pickett then found Pat Freiermuth for a 25-yard score on the first snap after a 54-yard punt return by Calvin Austin.

The Bills (1-1) were not quite as crisp in safety Damar Hamlin's return to his hometown. Hamlin received a warm ovation and exchanged hugs with several Steelers — including Pickett, a college teammate of Hamlin's at Pitt — during the opening coin toss. Hamlin had three tackles in the first half as he continues his comeback from a near-death experience on the field in Cincinnati in January.

DOLPHINS 28, TEXANS 3

HOUSTON (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa threw an interception on his first play of the preseason for Miami against Houston. His second drive went much better.

Playing in his first game since sustaining a concussion on Christmas Day, Tagovailoa led a 14-play, 93-yard drive _ capped by a 2-yard scoring run by Raheem Mostert _ to give the Dolphins an early lead in a 28-3 victory.

Tagovailoa sat down after that, ending his day 5 of 7 for 61 yards for the Dolphins (1-1).

Houston rookie C.J. Stroud was much sharper than he was in his NFL debut last week when he had a pass picked off on his first possession and finished with 13 yards passing on two drives. Playing the entire first half Saturday, the second overall pick was 7 of 12 for 60 yards and helped the Texans (1-1) to a field goal.

JAGUARS 25, LIONS 7

DETROIT (AP) — C.J. Beathard threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Parker Washington late in the first half and Jacksonville beat Detroit.

Beathard filled in for Trevor Lawrence as most of the starters for both teams watched the preseason game to avoid injuries.

Beathard, a backup in his sixth NFL season, was 12 of 20 for 138 yards. He threw an interception along with the touchdown pass to Washington that put Jacksonville (2-0) ahead 12-0.

Teddy Bridgewater was shaky in his first action for Detroit (1-1). Bridgewater, signed this month to be Jared Goff's backup, was sacked on his first snap and completed 5 of 11 passes for just 34 yards.

SEAHAWKS 22, COWBOYS 14

SEATTLE (AP) — Geno Smith looked sharp in his two drives, Drew Lock led Seattle to a pair of second-quarter touchdowns, and the Seahawks beat the Dallas Cowboys 22-14 on Saturday night.

Seattle (2-0) gave a number of its starters on both sides of the ball a little bit of playing time in the second week of the preseason, while Dallas (0-2) left the majority of its starters on the sideline as spectators yet again.

Smith had two drives behind his starting offensive line and the second possession ended in a 57-yard field goal from Jason Myers. Smith was 5 of 6 for 46 yards in his limited action.

Lock took over in the second quarter and continued to show the Seahawks would be in good hands if they need their backup. Lock was 5 of 6 for 119 yards, including a 48-yard strike to first-rounder Jaxon Smith-Njigba that set up DeeJay Dallas’ 1-yard TD run.

SaRodorick Thompson also rushed for a 1-yard touchdown and Seattle led 17-7 at halftime. Lock played just a couple of series and appeared a little gimpy after taking a low hit from Sam Williams that drew a roughing penalty.

Dak Prescott’s backup, Cooper Rush, played into the second quarter and was 9 of 14 for 96 yards and threw a 6-yard touchdown to Rico Dowdle. Deuce Vaughn continued to show his electric elusiveness, scampering 14 yards for a touchdown the first time he touched the ball early in the third quarter to pull Dallas within 17-14.

But Dallas would get no closer. Will Grier was 13 of 18 for 136 yards, but was intercepted at the goal line by Seattle’s Tre Brown two plays into the fourth quarter. Brown got extensive play time after major injuries left him sidelined for most of the past two seasons. Grier also took a 20-yard sack on fourth-and-3 at the Seattle 28 inside the final two minutes.

Backup Seattle wide receiver John Hall also blocked a Dallas punt for a safety.

The two teams will see each other later in the season on a Thursday night in late November in Texas. Seattle coach Pete Carroll said if the Cowboys were an opponent earlier in the season, playing them in the preseason would be problematic, but wasn't concerned with the regular season game not happening until Week 13.

49ERS 21, BRONCOS 20

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy and Russell Wilson led their teams to field goals on their only drives of the game and San Francisco beat Denver on a field goal by rookie Jake Moody on the final play.

Moody, drafted in the third round, bounced back after missing two field goals last week and an extra point earlier in the game to convert the 32-yarder after Trey Lance drove the Niners down the field in the closing minutes.

Lance overcame an interception on his first drive to throw a 22-yard TD pass to Cameron Latu and then two big passes to Ronnie Bell to set up the winning kick. Lance finished 12 for 18 for 173 yards. Purdy got his first game action since injuring his elbow in the NFC title game loss at Philadelphia.

San Francisco improved to 1-1, and Denver fell to 0-2.

COLTS 24, BEARS 17

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Sam Ehlinger directed two fourth-quarter touchdown drives and Jake Funk's late 4-yard TD run lifted Indianapolis past Chicago.

Neither of the two feature attractions — Bears quarterback Justin Fields or Colts rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson — played. The two coaches — Chicago's Matt Eberflus and Indianapolis' Shane Steichen — also opted against using most key players after the teams held two joint practices this week.

But Gardner Minshew and Ehlinger, the Colts' backup quarterbacks, and Tyson Bagent, Chicago's undrafted rookie, all played well. Both teams are 1-1.

DOLPHINS 28, TEXANS 3

HOUSTON (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa threw an interception on his first play of the preseason for Miami against Houston. His second drive went much better.

Playing in his first game since sustaining a concussion on Christmas Day, Tagovailoa led a 14-play, 93-yard drive _ capped by a 2-yard scoring run by Raheem Mostert _ to give the Dolphins an early lead in a 28-3 victory.

Tagovailoa sat down after that, ending his day 5 of 7 for 61 yards for the Dolphins (1-1).

Houston rookie C.J. Stroud was much sharper than he was in his NFL debut last week when he had a pass picked off on his first possession and finished with 13 yards passing on two drives. Playing the entire first half Saturday, the second overall pick was 7 of 12 for 60 yards and helped the Texans (1-1) to a field goal.

TITANS 24, VIKINGS 16

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Malik Willis rushed for 91 yards and threw a touchdown pass while playing the entire game for Tennessee, and the Titans dominated at the line of scrimmage against Minnesota.

Rookie Tyjae Spears had a 33-yard touchdown run, Julius Chestnut rushed for 98 yards and a score and the Titans (1-1) racked up 281 yards on the ground to give resting star Derrick Henry a good show.

Willis, the 2022 third-round draft pick, has been competing with rookie Will Levis for the backup role to Ryan Tannehill. Levis was injured Thursday in a joint practice with the Vikings, giving Willis an extended opportunity.

Rookie DeWayne McBride had a touchdown run and Greg Joseph made all three of his field goal tries for the Vikings (0-2), who didn't play a single starter.

PATRIOTS 21, PACKERS 17 (GAME INCOMPLETE)

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — New England's preseason game with the Green Bay Packers was called off early Saturday night after Patriots rookie cornerback Isaiah Bolden was carted off the field in the fourth quarter.

Bolden, a seventh-round pick from Jackson State, appeared to collide with teammate Calvin Munson while attempting to make a hit on a pass completion to Green Bay's Malik Heath. As medical officials treated Bolden, both teams left their respective sidelines and got on the field, with some players getting on one knee.

After Bolden was carted off the field, the teams conferred and decided not to continue the game. The game stopped with the Patriots leading 21-17 with 10:29 left in the fourth quarter. Both teams are 1-1.

Before Bolden's injury, New England's Mac Jones made his first appearance of the preseason before Bailey Zappe took over and rallied the Patriots to the lead.

CHIEFS 38, CARDINALS 10

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes saw his first extended action of the preseason, throwing for 105 yards and a touchdown and Kansas City rolled past Arizona.

The reigning MVP for the defending Super Bowl champs completed 10 of 15 passes, playing the entire first quarter.

The Chiefs' first-team offense wasn't very crisp during its first two drives, fighting through a few dropped passes and penalties. But Kansas City found the end zone on its third try when Mahomes rolled out to his right and hit Justin Watson for an 18-yard touchdown strike and a 7-0 lead.

Rookie receiver Rashee Rice — a second-round pick out of SMU — caught eight passes for 96 yards.

Kansas City (1-1) is expected to be among the NFL's best teams again this year, while Arizona (1-1) is a popular pick to be among the worst. Franchise quarterback Kyler Murray is likely out for the first several weeks of the season while he recovers from a torn ACL suffered last year.

BUCCANEERS 13, JETS 6

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Baker Mayfield might have won Tampa Bay's starting quarterback job without even taking a snap in the Buccaneers' preseason victory over New York.

Mayfield was held out and remained on the sideline during Tampa Bay's second preseason game — a possible sign he has moved ahead of Kyle Trask in the competition to open the season under center.

Trask, listed with Mayfield as the starter on the Buccaneers' unofficial depth chart, led two scoring drives that gave Tampa Bay (1-1) a 10-6 halftime lead.

The third-year quarterback went 16 of 23 for 122 yards, including a 33-yard TD toss to rookie Trey Palmer, in the first half. But he had to re-enter the game with 1:03 left in the third quarter when third-stringer John Wolford was carted off the field and taken to the hospital with a neck injury.

Zach Wilson started for New York (1-2) and played the first half as he continues to get work in the preseason as the backup to Aaron Rodgers.

RAIDERS 34, RAMS 17

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo completed all four of his passes for 39 yards while leading a touchdown drive in his Raiders debut, and Las Vegas went on to beat Los Angeles.

Garoppolo played only the opening series for the Raiders (2-0), who signed the longtime 49ers quarterback in March as their replacement for Derek Carr. The 10-year veteran has beaten the Rams more often than any quarterback during Sean McVay's career, and Garoppolo didn't make a significant mistake while leading a comfortable drive ending in Brandon Bolden's 7-yard TD run.

Stetson Bennett went 15 of 24 for 142 yards and rushed for a touchdown while playing the first three quarters for the Rams (0-2). The two-time national champion at Georgia made several sharp throws, but also several mistakes — none bigger than the massive miscommunication with Tyler Johnson that led to a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown by Isaiah Pola-Mao in the second quarter.