NFL roundup: Cutler makes Chicago debut

CHICAGO (AP) - Jay Cutler showed why his arrival in Chicago has created such a stir.

Playing a game with the Bears for the first time at Soldier Field, Cutler was sharp from the outset Saturday night in leading a 17-3 victory over the New York Giants.

Cutler completed 8 of 13 passes for 121 yards during his three series, leading TD drives of 80 and 92 yards and throwing for a score as Chicago built a 17-0 lead.

Cutler outplayed Eli Manning, who left after four series. Manning completed 7 of 10 passes for 62 yards. He was sacked twice, fumbled once - the Giants recovered - and was also called for intentional grounding.

On Cutler's first offensive series at Soldier Field, Cutler completed his first pass, a 27-yarder to his former Vanderbilt teammate Earl Bennett. He then hit a 10-yard pass to Devin Hester before a drop and an overthrow left him 2-for-4 on the opening series, one that ended with Robbie Gould's 44-yard field goal.

Redskins 17, Steelers 13

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) - Pittsburgh's first-team offense scored a touchdown without Ben Roethlisberger and the Washington Redskins managed to get their first points of the preseason, albeit with the help of a fake punt and a fourth-string quarterback.

Rookie Chase Daniel, fighting the odds to earn a roster spot, threw two touchdown passes long after the starters had left the game, overcoming another difficult night for Washington's first-team offense.

Willie Parker had a 3-yard touchdown run for the Steelers, whose starting defense looked in regular season form on a goal line stand on the opening drive. Pittsburgh limited Washington's Jason Campbell to one completion in a little more than one quarter of play.

Dolphins 27, Panthers 17

MIAMI (AP) - Chad Pennington threw well from the pocket - and the flanker position. The wildcat was back Saturday night, contributing to a strong showing by Miami's first-team offense.

The Dolphins (2-0) scored 10 points in Pennington's three series. He went 8 for 11 for 105 yards, throwing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Ronnie Brown and hitting Patrick Cobbs for a 35-yard gain out of the wildcat.

The Dolphins' variation of the single wing also produced 18 yards in four running plays, with running back Brown taking the snap each time.

Carolina (0-2) committed only one turnover after having five in its opener, a loss to the New York Giants. But the Panthers' run defense was soft for the second game in a row.

The Panthers' first team converted two third-and-long situations on a 70-yard drive that ended with Williams' touchdown. That was Carolina's only score in three series with Jake Delhomme, who finished 5 for 7 for 47 yards.

Buccaneers 24, Jaguars 23

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Troy Williamson is giving the Jacksonville Jaguars something they've been missing for years: a deep threat.

Williamson, a first-round bust in Minnesota who is looking to secure a roster spot in Jacksonville, caught two deep passes from David Garrard and finished with 147 yards receiving in a 24-23 preseason loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday night.

Although Jacksonville's offense was mostly stagnant the rest of the night - the Jaguars were 3 for 14 on third down - Williamson's two plays were a positive sign.

Williamson, in the starting lineup because of Mike Walker's ankle injury, caught four passes for 74 yards in Jacksonville's preseason opener Monday night.

Tampa Bay's Byron Leftwich, playing in Jacksonville for the first time since the Jaguars dumped the former first-round draft pick following the 2007 preseason, moved the Buccaneers into Jacksonville territory in each of his three possessions. Browns 27, Lions 10

CLEVELAND (AP) - Derek Anderson looked worthy of being a No. 1 quarterback. Rookie Matthew Stafford hardly looked like a No. 1 pick.

Anderson led Cleveland to its first offensive touchdown in seven games and stayed tight with Brady Quinn in their too-close-to-call quarterback competition, helping the Browns beat Stafford and the Detroit Lions 27-10 in their home exhibition opener on Saturday night.

Joshua Cribbs had an 84-yard TD punt return in the first half as the Browns (1-1) built a 20-0 lead. Rookie James Davis added an 81-yard TD run and 116 yards on 12 carries for Cleveland.

After coming off the bench last week behind Quinn in Green Bay, Anderson got the start from coach Eric Mangini and finished 8 of 13 for 130 yards with one interception.

Stafford, selected first by Detroit in April's draft, threw an interception on Detroit's first play and went 5 of 13 for 34 yards. Like Mangini, Lions coach Jim Schwartz, who inherited a team that went 0-16 last season, has not yet settled on a starting QB. Daunte Culpepper, competing with Stafford, went 10 of 16 for 86 yards.

Packers 31, Bills 21

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Green Bay's new-look defense forced turnovers on three of Buffalo's first four possessions.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers hit seven straight passes to begin the game for Green Bay, finishing 8 of 9 for 98 yards and two touchdowns. The only potential bad news for the Packers came in the form of injuries to safety Nick Collins and backup quarterback Matt Flynn.

Starter Trent Edwards was 7 of 11 for 45 yards and an interception for the Bills, who were without injured receiver Terrell Owens. Bills backup Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a TD and an interception. He was 12 for 16 for 112 yards.

Running back Marshawn Lynch was held to six yards on six carries as the Bills had trouble moving the ball without Owens and were held scoreless until late in the third quarter.

49ers 21, Raiders 20

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Alex Smith completed three of nine passes and threw an interception in what might have been his last chance to beat out Shaun Hill for Francisco's starting quarterback job.

Rookie Nate Davis led the Niners to three scores in the fourth quarter, with Kory Sheets' 5-yard run giving San Francisco a 21-14 lead. Charlie Frye scored on a 14-yard run for Oakland but threw an incompletion on the 2-point conversion attempt with 3:30 to go.

The game came the same week that coach Tom Cable was accused of breaking assistant Randy Hanson's jaw in an attack that is being investigated by the police and the NFL.

Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft, is running out of time to convince coach Mike Singletary that he should be the starter this season. Expected to be San Francisco's franchise quarterback, Smith instead has struggled when healthy before missing much of 2007 and all of last season with an injured shoulder.

Saints 38, Texans 14

HOUSTON (AP) - Mike Bell made the most of Reggie Bush's absence.

Bell had 10 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown to help the Saints to a win over the Texans.

Bell, a former starter in Denver who had just 45 yards rushing in the past two seasons, is vying to be the Saints' third running back. On Saturday he and Pierre Thomas split time with the first team while Bush was out with a strained calf.

Drew Brees was 9 of 14 for 87 yards and a touchdown after missing three days of practice last week to attend his mother's funeral.

Houston's Andre Johnson had four receptions for 38 yards and New Orleans receiver Marques Colston had six receptions for 66 yards.

Chargers 17, Cardinals 6

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - San Diego's defense got the best of Kurt Warner and Arizona's first-team offense.

The Cardinals starters managed just a field goal, set up by a game-opening 89-yard kickoff return by diminutive rookie LaRod Stephens-Howling, in San Diego's 17-6 victory.

Stephens-Howling, a 5-foot-7 seventh-round pick out of Pittsburgh, also had a 63-yard kickoff return.

Warner completed 6 of 13 for 80 yards in Arizona's first home game since its Super Bowl appearance. He was intercepted by Antonio Cromartie, who stepped in front of Larry Fitzgerald for one of two picks the Chargers had in their own end zone to thwart Cardinals scoring threats.

Seahawks 27, Broncos 13

SEATTLE (AP) - Kyle Orton's second preseason game as the Broncos' starter was mostly a reassuring answer to his dismal debut. He completed 16 of his first 19 throws with a touchdown before he relapsed into another mistake.

Matt Hasselbeck was even better, completing 16 of 23 throws with two touchdowns in his two quarters. He also withstood the first hits on his recuperating back in nine months during the Seahawks' win over Denver.

Hasselbeck, who missed nine games with a bad back last season, plopped a 34-yard touchdown pass into the arms of rookie Deon Butler on the opening possession. He closed his night with a sharp two-minute drive that ended with a 2-yard scoring throw with new wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh.