ST. LOUIS — Sam Bradford took the field to a big ovation. Soon enough, reality sank in for the centerpiece of the St. Louis Rams’ rebuilding effort.

The No. 1 overall pick had an early case of the jitters, short-arming a pitch and bobbling a snap the first two plays, looked poised while hitting four of his first five passes, then ended with an extended rough patch in the Minnesota Vikings’ 28-7 preseason-opening victory Saturday night. Sage Rosenfels, chasing Tarvaris Jackson for the Vikings’ quarterback job while Brett Favre waffles on his future, was a standout.

Dolphins 10, Bucs 7

MIAMI — In the matchup of new receivers for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins, rookie Mike Williams outplayed Pro Bowler Brandon Marshall.

The Bucs’ Williams caught a deep pass for a 30-yard gain to set up the only score by either first-team offense Saturday night, while Miami’s Marshall dropped both passes thrown his way in the Dolphins’ 10-7 victory.

Browns 27, Packers 24

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Jake Delhomme’s Cleveland Browns debut was a smashing success, just like what the Green Bay Packers have come to expect from Aaron Rodgers.

Delhomme led the Browns to a touchdown in his only drive and Rodgers threw one of his own in Cleveland’s 27-24 win on Saturday night in the exhibition opener decided on Phil Dawson’s field goal as time expired.

Cardinals 19, Texans 16

GLENDALE, Ariz.— Houston’s Matt Schaub had a short, highly efficient night and teammate Mario Williams didn’t look like someone slowed by a hip injury, especially to Arizona quarterback Matt Leinart.

Schaub completed 5 of 6 passes for 78 yards, directing Houston to a field goal on its first possession and throwing a 44-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson on the second before retiring for the game in a 19-16 preseason loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday. night.

Rookie John Skelton directed two late touchdown drives against the Texans’ reserves to give Arizona the victory.

Williams, battling a hip problem, sacked Leinart twice as Houston took a 16-0 lead.

Leinart completed 6 of 7 for 49 yards but, in addition to the sacks, misconnected with Tim Hightower on a handoff, for a fumble. Leinart’s backup, former Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson, threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Beanie Wells but was intercepted twice.