OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Coming into the third exhibition game, the New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders talked about how this game would be a dress rehearsal for the season.

Consider Drew Brees and the Saints’ first-team offense ready, while the Raiders may not have enough time to fix what’s wrong in Oakland.

Brees completed 14 of 17 passes for 179 yards and drove the Saints to touchdowns on all three drives he played, leading New Orleans to a 45-7 exhibition victory over the Raiders on Saturday.

“I just felt like we accomplished what we wanted to there with regards to playing with our tempo and our intensity,” Brees said. “We were able to get into a rhythm. When you walk away with three touchdowns on three possessions, that’s what you want to do.”

Those three drives went so well that coach Sean Payton pulled most of his starters early in the second quarter instead of playing them into the third quarter as planned.

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

“I felt great. I felt like I hadn’t missed a lot,” Moore said. “It was great being out there, getting hit and having fun in the game.”

Moore’s 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.

“Everything that could have possibly went wrong, went wrong today,” Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell said. “It was very embarrassing today. It was disrespectful to our fans, ourselves and our family to go out and perform that way.”

The Saints were able to move the ball with ease even without top running backs Pierre Thomas (knee) and Reggie Bush (calf). Mike Bell started, but Lynell Hamilton got the bulk of the work with 16 carries for 95 yards. P.J. Hill added 89 yards and two touchdown runs.

Brees drove the Saints 80 yards on the opening drive, culminating in Heath Evans’ 4-yard run. Brees capped the next drive when he stepped up in the pocket and hit Devery Henderson on a 40-yard pass behind safety Hiram Eugene.

New Orleans added two more scores before halftime behind backup Mark Brunell, taking a 31-0 lead when Hill scored on a 1-yard run with 1:21 left in the half. That was set up by a 71-yard pass from Brunell to Robert Meacham.

The Saints outgained Oakland 344-60 in the first half, posting 19 first downs to three for the Raiders. New Orleans finished with 536 yards of total offense.

“It looked good on the scoreboard but let’s look at it in the film room,” tight end Jeremy Shockey said. “We came all the way to California not for the wine but to get some good work in. ”

This game was remarkably similar to some of the Raiders’ worst losses a year ago, when they fell behind by 21-0 or worse in four games on the way to a 5-11 record. That made Oakland the first team in NFL history to lose at least 11 games in six straight seasons.

After winning the final two games last year and bringing back Tom Cable as coach this season, things were supposed to be different for the Raiders. Cable has just over two weeks to fix what’s wrong before the opener against San Diego on Sept. 14.

Russell completed two passes for 47 yards to open Oakland’s first drive before being sacked by Roman Harper and losing a fumble in Saints territory. The Raiders went three-and-out on their next three drives and had only one more first down and 13 more yards in the half.

“I’ve never felt so lousy after a game, period,” Raiders tight end Zach Miller said. “The way our offense played was embarrassing so we’re going to fix it.”

Russell finished 12-for-18 for 153 yards and was sacked three times playing into the third quarter.

The Raiders got their only score on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Garcia to Jonathan Holland that made it 45-7 with 6:06 to play.

Lions 18, Colts 17

DETROIT (AP) — Daunte Culpepper and Matthew Stafford seemed to do enough Saturday to keep the Detroit Lions’ quarterback competition wide open. Heck, even Peyton Manning thought they did well.

Culpepper threw for a touchdown and Stafford passed for 160 yards to help Detroit beat the Indianapolis Colts 18-17 in an exhibition game.

Three-time MVP Manning has said Stafford – the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft – would be best served to play right away as he did, but left Ford Field away impressed with Detroit’s top two QBs.

“I thought both of them looked good,” Manning said. “It seems like the race is going to go down to the wire.”

Lions coach Jim Schwartz chose to begin the first and third preseason games with Culpepper under center, but wouldn’t discuss plans for the exhibition finale Thursday night at Buffalo.

Schwartz did say, though, he is planning to use his top players more than most coaches do in the fourth exhibition.

“We’re still in evaluation mode,” Schwartz said. “We’re going to approach it the same way we did these other three games.”

Culpepper completed seven of 12 passes for 67 yards, deftly avoiding the rush to make some throws and showing enough poise to connect with his third option on the TD – Bryant Johnson for a 3-yard score.

“I feel great,” said Culpepper, who was a Pro Bowl-caliber QB in Minnesota before a knee injury in 2005. “I honestly feel like I did before I got hurt.”

Stafford was 13-of-19 and threw an interception, which his coach blamed on Johnson for not being more aggressive.

The strong-armed QB made a 40-yard throw to fellow rookie Derrick Williams and a 37-yarder to Calvin Johnson, showing why Detroit drafted the former Georgia star.

“I feel like I’ve played well,” Stafford said. “I don’t know what they’re going to do. It’s not up to me.”

Drew Stanton followed Culpepper and Stafford, and led Detroit (2-1) to the winning points with 4:13 left. He threw a 21-yard pass to rookie Dan Gronkowski and a 2-point conversion to John Standeford.

While Detroit’s QB situation is murky, Manning is still in charge for the Colts, just as he’s been since they drafted him first overall in 1998.

The reigning MVP was 12-of-15 for 123 yards, including a 6-yard TD to Dallas Clark, who had six receptions for 63 yards.

“Both drives at the beginning of both halves were quality,” Manning said. “On the two drives where we did not get points it was more us than them. It was us self-destructing.”

Colts rookie Curtis Painter, playing in place of sore backup Jim Sorgi, completed nine of 14 passes for 145 yards and an interception that should’ve been caught by receiver John Matthews.

Indianapolis (1-2) put several banged-up players on the inactive list, but coach Jim Caldwell wasn’t in the mood to make excuses for the Lions’ 412 yards of offense.

“Regardless of who goes in there and plays for us, we expect them to play as well as anyone else, whether he’s a starter or not,” Caldwell said. “For the most part, we just didn’t get it done.”

Caldwell was encouraged cornerback Marlin Jackson and safety Antoine Bethea were healthy enough to play.

Seahawks 14, Chiefs 10

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Matt Hasselbeck threw for 216 yards and two touchdowns with newly signed Edgerrin James watching on the sideline, leading the Seattle Seahawks to a 14-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night in a game in which the Chiefs lost quarterback Matt Cassel to a leg injury.

James, the NFL’s active rushing leader, signed with Seattle on Tuesday, but spent the game in sweats, pen and notepad in hand. Hasselbeck put on a good show for his new teammate, leading the Seahawks on scoring drives to end the first half and open the second.

Kansas City had a woeful night on offense – its only TD came on defense – and lost two starters in the game’s first three minutes: Cassel and cornerback Brandon Flowers (shoulder). Receiver Devard Darling also had to be helped off in the second quarter, favoring his left leg.

Cassel was the biggest blow. He was injured the first time he dropped back to pass, dragged down from behind by Brandon Mebane after the pocket collapsed. Cassel called timeout, then limped down the tunnel toward the locker room and didn’t return. It’s not clear if he’ll even be available for next week’s preseason finale against St. Louis.
Steelers 17, Bills 0

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 Buffalo’s 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 can’t 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 – Buffalo’s starters have only 303 yards, 15 first downs, a field goal and five turnovers.
Browns 23, Titans 17

CLEVELAND (AP) — 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 Cleveland’s 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 didn’t have an interception, but one poorly thrown ball was dropped by Tennessee cornerback Tenard Davis.

While Cleveland’s quarterbacks were under the microscope, Tennessee’s 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.

Jets 27, Giants 25

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Mark Sanchez, in his first game since being named New York’s starting quarterback, completed a spectacular 31-yard touchdown pass play to Chansi Stuckey and put 20 points on the board in 2½ quarters as the Jets took the annual New York braggin’ rights game.

Sanchez overcame a slow start and a little early pressure to complete 13 of 20 for 149 yards for the Jets, who gave Rex Ryan his first victory as a head coach.

Thomas Jones scored on a 1-yard run, Jay Feely kicked two field goals and Erik Ainge threw a late 70-yard scoring pass to Aundrae Allison for the Jets, who survived two potential game-tying 2-point conversion attempts by the Giants in the final minutes.

Eli Manning threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jacobs for the Giants.
Falcons 27, Chargers 24

ATLANTA — San Diego’s Philip Rivers led touchdown drives in two of his three possessions in his first game since signing a contract extension, before the Atlanta Falcons’ backups rallied to beat the Chargers.

The Chargers led 21-10 as the first-team offense ran smoothly even with LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates watching from the sideline. Rivers completed 10 of 15 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown. He signed a six-year, $93 million extension Monday.

The Chargers frustrated the Falcons’ defense with big third-down plays.

Darren Sproles, who started at running back for Tomlinson, scored on a 10-yard run to cap San Diego’s opening drive. Rivers added a 48-yard screen pass for a touchdown to Michael Bennett.

Tomlinson and Gates participated in pregame warmups before the team announced they would not play.

Atlanta’s Matt Ryan was 14 for 20 for 140 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brian Finneran in the first quarter.
Ravens 17, Panthers 13

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Joe Flacco threw for 247 yards and a touchdown, the Ravens defense shut down Carolina’s first unit, and Baltimore beat the Panthers.

The third exhibition game, where both teams played their starters into the third quarter, proved one-sided when the regulars were on the field. The Panthers, playing without their top two running backs and three starters on defense, were overwhelmed early by Flacco, who completed 23 of 28 passes.

The second-year quarterback directed first-half touchdown drives of 80 and 90 yards. He showed poise in the pocket the few times he was pressured, dumping balls to running backs and tight end Todd Heap, who caught the go-ahead 9-yard TD early in the second quarter.

Jake Delhomme didn’t throw an interception in his first home appearance since committing six turnovers in a playoff loss to Arizona. He connected twice with Steve Smith for 37 yards in Smith’s first preseason action since bruising his shoulder, but the first team didn’t reach the end zone.
49ers 20, Cowboys 13

ARLINGTON, Texas — Dallas rode Felix Jones and Marion Barber for most of a 94-yard touchdown drive, the highlight series during the first-half battle between the first-team units in a preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers won the battle of the backups in the second half, winning on a 9-yard touchdown run by Kory Sheets with 33 seconds left.

The Cowboys outplayed the 49ers when the starters were in, with Tony Romo getting the offense into scoring position on three of four drives, but led only 10-3 at halftime.

Shaun Hill and the 49ers sure could’ve used Michael Crabtree. Playing in the hometown of their holdout wideout, the 49ers had only 36 yards over their first three drives. They even used their version of the Wildcat formation twice to try getting something going, with little success. On their final drive of the half, Hill finally completed some passes to a receiver – three to Arnaz Battle – and got a 42-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the second quarter.

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