Green Bay Packers safety Benny Sapp III intercepts a pass intended for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Kwamie Lassiter II in the fourth quarter during a Week 1 NFL preseason game at Paycor Stadium. The Packers won 38-19 on Aug. 11, 2023.Kareem Elgazzar/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
TAMPA, Fla. – Baker Mayfield continued his bid to follow Tom Brady as Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback and jump-start his career with a solid, if not overly impressive pre-season debut for the Buccaneers in a 27-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday night.
The 2018 No. 1 overall pick is competing with Kyle Trask for the starting job that opened when Brady retired after last season.
Mayfield, who played without six starters on offence, including three veteran linemen and receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, was 8 of 9 for 63 yards and one touchdown over five series against a mix of Pittsburgh starters and reserves.
Trask, a 2021 second-round draft pick who appeared in just one regular-season game in two years as the No. 3 quarterback behind Brady and Blaine Gabbert, was sacked three times while going 6 of 10 for 99 yards with one interception.
Steelers starter Kenny Pickett, who worked one series, completed six of seven passes for 70 yards on a 10-play, 83-yard drive and finished with a 33-yard TD throw to George Pickens.
Mason Rudolph tossed a 67-yard TD pass to Calvin Austin III for Pittsburgh, which also used Mitchell Trubisky and Tanner Morgan.
Packers 38, Bengals 19
CINCINNATI – Jordan Love, the replacement for Aaron Rodgers, played only part of the first quarter but was in command as the Packers went on to beat the Bengals in the teams’ pre-season opener.
He completed 7 of 10 passes for 46 yards and a lofted a perfect throw to Romeo Doubs for a 9-yard touchdown.
Sean Clifford, a rookie out of Penn State, got most of the playing time for Green Bay after Love took a seat. He directed three touchdown drives but was also intercepted twice by Bengals safety Tycen Anderson, who brought the first one back 43 yards for the Bengals’ only first-half TD. Clifford finished 20 for 26 for 208 yards and a touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Davis.
For the Bengals, Joe Burrow sat out with a calf strain – he likely wouldn’t have played anyway – as Jake Browning and Trevor Siemian split the reps at quarterback.
Emanuel Wilson ran for two touchdowns, including a breakaway 80-yarder, for Green Bay.
Commanders 17, Browns 15
CLEVELAND – Deshaun Watson looked less rusty in his first action for the Browns this pre-season, and Jacoby Brissett had a TD run in his return to Cleveland as Washington won an exhibition delayed more than an hour at the start by a storm.
Watson took the Browns (1-1) on a 67-yard drive to Washington’s 1-yard line in his one series. His performance – 3 of 3 for 12 yards, 20 yards rushing – was far better than his pre-season debut a year ago, when he completed just one pass at Jacksonville just days before being suspended by the NFL.
Washington’s Sam Howell, who’s trying to hold onto his starting job, threw a 26-yard touchdown pass – against mostly Cleveland backups – to Jahan Dotson. He finished 9 of 12 for 77 yards.
Howell was replaced by Brissett, who went 4-7 in 11 starts for Cleveland in 2022 while Watson was out. The 30-year-old scampered 12 yards for a score in the second quarter to put the Commanders ahead 14-2.
Browns rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw a TD pass to David Bell. Kellen Mond’s 20-yard scoring pass to Mike Harley Jr. with 1:39 left brought Cleveland within 17-15.
It was Washington’s first game under new owner Josh Harris, who intends to take the franchise in a positive direction after Dan Snyder’s troubled tenure.
Falcons 19, Dolphins 3
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Dee Alford scored on a 79-yard punt return, Breon Borders returned one of Atlanta’s three interceptions for a score and the Falcons defeated Miami.
After Alford broke multiple tackles for the touchdown with 4:36 left in the game, Skylar Thompson was intercepted by Borders on a throw that was too high for Chris Coleman. Borders returned the pick 26 yards for a touchdown. Younghoe Koo then missed his second extra-point attempt of the game.
Atlanta’s Logan Woodside was 14 of 22 with 146 yards. Desmond Ridder, the Falcons’ projected starter, didn’t play.
Thompson and fellow backup Mike White struggled as regular starter Tua Tagovailoa watched from the sideline. Thompson went 10 of 16 after starting the second half. White was 9 of 14 with 85 yards in two quarters.
Godwin Igwebuike had 13 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown for the Falcons.
Lions 21, Giants 16
DETROIT – Adrian Martinez scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 1:51 left to give Detroit a pre-season victory over New York.
After Graham Gano’s third field goal gave the Giants a 16-14 lead with 7:59 to play, Martinez led the Lions on a 69-yard drive. New York stopped former Steelers running back Benny Snell Jr. twice from the 1, but Martinez – an undrafted rookie who had 49 TD runs in 45 college games for Nebraska and Kansas State – dived over the goal-line for the score.
Tommy DeVito’s desperation pass was intercepted by Brandon Joseph to clinch the game.
Maurice Alexander returned a punt 95 yards for a touchdown at 2:37 of the third quarter for the Lions, and Sudfeld hit Jameson Williams for a 2-point conversion. Sudfeld led the Lions to a field goal and a 14-13 lead late in the third quarter. He finished 15 of 28 for 194 yards and two interceptions.
Cardinals 18, Broncos 17
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Denver’s Russell Wilson capped a lengthy pre-season outing with a touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy before Arizona rallied to win.
Cardinals third-string quarterback David Blough led the winning drive, hitting Brian Cobbs for an 18-yard touchdown pass with two seconds left to pull within 17-16. Arizona then converted its 2-point attempt when Emari Demercado pushed the pile and fell into the end zone.
Wilson – who played most of the first half – completed 7 of 13 passes for 93 yards and also absorbed several big hits, including a sack by Dennis Gardeck. Wilson didn’t have much time to throw, particularly in the first quarter, but ended his outing on a good note after finding a wide-open Jeudy over the middle for a 21-yard touchdown strike on fourth down with 6:54 left in the second.