Preseason roundup: Manning flawless as Colts romp to victory over Lions
Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts offense haven’t lost their touch.
The Super Bowl MVP appeared to be in midseason form Saturday night in Indianapolis, throwing three first-half touchdowns and helping the defending champions control the ball in a 37-10 rout of the Detroit Lions. It was just Indianapolis’ second win in 13 preseason games.
In what was likely the final regular-season tuneup for Indy’s starters, Manning completed 23 of 27 passes for 233 yards and three TDs – all in the first half – and converted six plays for first downs when he needed at least 10 yards. Manning and the Colts showed no signs of taking a step backward after winning their first Super Bowl title.
Manning is now 31 of 40 for 331 yards and no interceptions in three weeks of preseason play.
Jets 20, Giants 12: At East Rutherford, N.J., Kellen Clemens came off the bench in the second half and engineered two third-quarter touchdown drives against the Giants’ backups to lead the visiting Jets to a win in the annual preseason game between the New York rivals.
The Jets scored twice in a little more than four minutes to take command. Danny Ware had a go-ahead 16-yard touchdown run and Clemens completed consecutive passes of 45 and 34 yards before scoring on a 1-yard sneak.
Bears 31, 49ers 28: Rex Grossman played the first half and passed for 211 yards and two touchdowns and defending NFC champion Chicago held off visiting San Francisco.
It wasn’t all good for the Bears quarterback, though. He fumbled a snap and had an interception returned 52 yards for a TD.
Buccaneers 31, Dolphins 28: Backup QB Bruce Gradkowski brought visiting Tampa Bay from behind twice in the fourth quarter with a pair of TD passes and the Buccaneers edged Miami.
Texans 28, Cowboys 16: Matt Schaub connected with Andre Johnson early in the second quarter and found speedy rookie Jacoby Jones just before halftime to lead Houston over visiting Dallas. The Cowboys hadn’t allowed a touchdown in their first two preseason games.
Redskins 13, Ravens 7: Lightning delayed the start for more than an hour, then another storm halted the game with 11:38 left in the third quarter, giving visiting Washington a win over Baltimore.
Browns 17, Broncos 16: Rookie Brady Quinn threw a pass in the left flat that Joshua Cribbs turned into a nifty 20-yard touchdown to break a 10-10 tie in the third quarter and visiting Cleveland held on for a victory over Denver.
Chargers 33, Cardinals 31: Nate Kaeding kicked a 37-yard field with 6 seconds remaining to lift visiting San Diego to a victory over Arizona.
Philip Rivers completed 20 of 29 passes for 282 yards and a pair of touchdowns to wide receiver Vincent Jackson for San Diego.