NFL PRESEASON ROUNDUP
Published 11:41 pm Saturday, August 23, 2008
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora was carted off the field with a knee injury in the second quarter of the New York Giants’ 10-7 preseason loss to the Jets on Saturday night.
The injury overshadowed a first-half quarterback duel between Brett Favre and Eli Manning that ended up being a penalty-filled snoozer.
The Giants said Umenyiora’s left knee “locked up” with 10:48 left in the half on an incomplete pass by Favre on third down. He couldn’t put any weight on the leg. X-rays were negative, but further examinations were planned Sunday.
Brett Ratliff threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Paul Raymond with 6:08 remaining to put the Jets ahead. Drew Coleman’s interception of Andre’ Woodson with 1:06 left sealed the victory.
Favre, in his second start since being acquired from Green Bay, finished 9-of-12 for 96 yards and had a pretty touchdown pass negated by a penalty. Manning was 10-of-17 for 113 yards, but had a scoring drive late in the second half short-circuited when he took a big sack on third down.
Other games
Lions 26, Browns 6: At Detroit, Brady Quinn was lackluster in his first NFL start and Cleveland was roughed up. Detroit’s Kevin Smith overcame a sluggish start with a 35-yard touchdown run and backup kicker Dave Rayner improved his chances of finding a job with four field goals. Quinn was 14-of-24 for 106 yards without a score, turnover or a pass longer than 16 yards, playing in place of the injured Derek Anderson.
Panthers 47, Redskins 3: At Charlotte, N.C., Jason Taylor limped off the field with a worrisome knee injury and Washington quickly unraveled against Carolina’s 1-2 punch of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. The running backs combined to rush for 201 yards and two touchdowns, and Jake Delhomme threw for two scores. Taylor, the six-time Pro Bowl pick, was injured when his right knee bent awkwardly as he got caught in the middle of the pile following Williams’ 5-yard run midway through the second quarter. The team called it a sprain and the defensive end, acquired from Miami last month, didn’t return.
Saints 13, Bengals 0: At Cincinnati, New Orleans sacked Carson Palmer three times in the first half, knocking him out of the game with a bloody nose and a cut lip. Palmer left the game when Kevin Kaesviharn got to him on a third-down safety blitz with 2 seconds left before halftime. The Bengals managed all of 94 yards in the half and never advanced farther than the Saints’ 47-yard line during the game.
Dolphins 24, Chiefs 0: At Miami, Ted Ginn Jr. had a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown and caught three passes for the Dolphins. The speedy Ginn, taken No. 9 overall in the 2007 draft, is finally displaying the go-to skills of a top NFL receiver. He finished with 29 yards receiving in his third solid performance of the preseason, getting a big boost with the arrival of quarterback Chad Pennington. Pennington threw for 94 yards on 11-for-15 passing, including a 17-yard throw to Anthony Fasano that put the Dolphins ahead 17-0 at the half.
Jaguars 23, Buccaneers 17: At Tampa, Fla., Tampa Bay’s Jeff Garcia was intercepted twice, but threw a second-quarter touchdown pass before departing. Garcia missed most of training camp because of a strained right calf that also sidelined him for Tampa Bay’s first two preseason games. Garcia completed 11 of 18 passes for 79 yards, including a 10-yard TD throw to Michael Clayton on his final play.
Steelers 12, Vikings 10: At Minneapolis, the Vikings kept the pressure on Ben Roethlisberger, surrounded Willie Parker and held Pittsburgh’s starting offense to three points. Jeff Reed kicked four field goals, the last a 37-yarder with 4 seconds remaining. Minnesota held out quarterback Tarvaris Jackson (knee) and receivers Bernard Berrian (toe) and Sidney Rice (illness).
Rams 24, Ravens 10: At St. Louis, the Rams’ first-string offense ended its long slump with two touchdowns. Marc Bulger’s 4-yard pass to rookie Keenan Burton with six minutes to go in the second quarter gave the Rams’ starters their first score in three preseasons under coach Scott Linehan. Bulger directed another 91-yard drive at the end of the half, leaning on Burton and fellow rookie Donnie Avery before third-string running back Travis Minor’s 1-yard catch with 27 seconds to go. Third-stringer Joe Flacco, the Ravens’ first-round pick this year, played the entire game and failed to generate much until the second half while going 18-for-37 for 152 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions.
