Ravens Bomb Giants 37-27; Maddox Flops
The Baltimore Ravens found an offense Saturday, and their defense probably helped put an end to the New York Giants’ short-lived quarterback controversy.
Michael Jackson caught a go-ahead touchdown from Vinny Testaverde 12 seconds before halftime and the Ravens rolled up 427 yards in offense in defeating the New York Giants 37-27 at East Rutherford, N.J.
Baltimore’s defense limited Tommy Maddox and the New York offense to one first down in the first half. He got the surprise start over Dave Brown by coach Dan Reeves.
Broncos 40, Panthers 28
Aaron Craver ran for two touchdowns and Jason Elam was successful on all four field-goal attempts of at least 40 yards in Denver’s win in home.
Denver intercepted four passes, including two by cornerback Ray Crockett and one by rookie cornerback Tory James. Denver cornerbacks had no interceptions in 1995.
49ers 16, Chargers 13 (OT)
Jeff Brohm threw for a tying touchdown on the last play of regulation and Jeff Wilkins, who missed three field goals and botched an extra point, converted a 43-yard field goal with no time left in overtime as San Francisco beat visiting San Diego.
San Francisco had a chance to win earlier in OT but Wilkins’ 33-yard field goal try was partially blocked by Troy Sienkiewicz.
Chiefs 44, Saints 6
Donnell Bennett and Greg Hill each scored on short runs, and Kansas City’s defense made it eight straight exhibition quarters without yielding a touchdown as the Chiefs downed penalty-plagued New Orleans at Kansas City.
The Chiefs led 14-3 at halftime and made it a rout in a sloppy, mistake-filled second half played during intermittent heavy rain.
Oilers 16, Colts 12
Donald Hollas completed a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Matt Nyquist with 3:25 to play, rallying Houston past Indianapolis before the smallest crowd to see an Oilers game in the Astrodome.
The Oilers, trying to draw crowds in Houston despite planning a move to Tennessee, sold 17,195 tickets to their first game in the Astrodome this season, but only 12,851 fans attended the game.
The Oilers have played their home games in the Astrodome since 1968.
Buccaneers 16, Falcons 0
Trent Dilfer passed another preseason test, throwing for 172 yards and one touchdown in Tampa Bay’s win over visiting Atlanta.
The lowest-rated starting quarterback in the NFL last season, Dilfer continued to sparkle in a new system installed by first-year coach Tony Dungy and offensive coordinator Mike Shula.
Atlanta (0-2) sputtered offensively without quarterback Jeff George, who reported to training camp earlier in the week but did not play.
Cardinals 13, Bengals 10
Kent Graham broke a preseason string of seven consecutive quarters without a touchdown for Arizona, and Greg Davis kicked a game-winning, 31-yard field goal as the Cardinals beat Cincinnati.
The Cardinals (1-1) won before 22,490 fans, their worst home crowd since they moved to Arizona in 1988 and the smallest for the franchise since 22,449 watched a 1987 regular-season game against Tampa Bay in St. Louis.