PITTSBURGH -Ben Roethlisberger played a nearly flawless first half in his first game since injuring his right foot, James Farrior had a 22-yard interception for a touchdown and Buffalos starting offense struggled yet again as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Bills 17-0 in a preseason game Saturday night.

Roethlisberger led two scoring drives while going 15 of 19 for 168 yards and 103.5 passer rating before sitting out the second half. He looked regular-season ready, finding Limas Sweed for 16 yards, Hines Ward for 19 and Heath Miller for 18.

In three games, the Steelers top-ranked defense from a season ago has yet to allow a touchdown.

With starters playing the first half for both teams, the Steelers outgained the Bills 209-50 and led 12-3 in first downs and nearly 3 to 1 in time of possession. Wide receiver Terrell Owens, missing a third consecutive game with a sprained toe, probably cant return soon enough to an offense that is becoming a big worry as the Sept. 14 opener against New England draws closer. In four preseason games – the Bills played in the Hall of Fame game – Buffalos starters have only 303 yards, 15 first downs, a field goal and five turnovers.

Browns 23, Titans 17

CLEVELAND – Brady Quinn threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards and outplayed Derek Anderson in perhaps their final auditions for coach Eric Mangini to be Clevelands starting quarterback, and the Browns beat the Tennessee Titans.

Quinn and Anderson entered the third preseason game in a virtual dead heat. Earlier this week, Mangini described their summer-long competition as very close and it remains that way.

After coming off the bench last week, Quinn got the start and finished 11 of 15 for 128 yards. He led the Browns to one TD and two field goals in his four series. Anderson went 7 of 11 for 77 yards and led the Browns to one field goal on two possessions. He didnt have an interception, but one poorly thrown ball was dropped by Tennessee cornerback Tenard Davis.

While Clevelands quarterbacks were under the microscope, Tennessees Kerry Collins looked best. Collins went 11 of 14 for 102 yards and threw a 6-yard TD pass to Justin Gage in the first quarter.

Saints 45, Raiders 7

OAKLAND, Calif. – Drew Brees completed 14 of 17 passes for 179 yards and drove the Saints to touchdowns on all three drives he played, leading New Orleans over Oakland.

Brees completed his first eight passes, as he had receivers open all over the field. The return of last years leading receiver, Lance Moore, from offseason shoulder surgery helped Brees cause. He had four catches for 29 yards, including a 5-yarder in the back of the end zone on Brees final pass.

That touchdown gave the Saints a 21-0 lead with 13:53 left in the half and brought an early end to Brees day and loud boos from a Raiders crowd that has seen plenty of bad football during a six-year stretch when Oakland has lost an NFL-worst 72 games.

Lions 18, Colts 17

DETROIT – Drew Stanton threw a 21-yard pass to rookie Dan Gronkowski and a 2-point conversion to John Standeford with 4:13 left to give the Detroit Lions a win over the Indianapolis Colts.

The third-string quarterback followed Daunte Culpepper and Matthew Stafford, both of whom seemed to make enough plays to keep their competition open going into Detroits final preseason game next week.

Culpepper started and completed seven of 12 passes for 67 yards and a TD. Stafford, the No. 1 pick overall in the NFL draft, was 13-of-19 for 160 yards and an interception.

Three-time MVP Peyton Manning looked sharp, connecting on 12 of 15 passes for 123 yards in two-plus quarters for the Colts.

Posted on August 30th, 2009 by admin
Filed under: NFL football news