NFL preseason roundup: Buffalo Bills’ backups stage big rally late, beat Minnesota Vikings 27-23

Undrafted rookie Tyree Jackson hit David Sills for an 8-yard touchdown pass with 8 seconds left in rallying the Buffalo Bills to a 27-23 win over the Minnesota Vikings to close the preseason Thursday night in Orchard Park, New York.

Victor Bolden recovered Jackson’s fumble in the end zone and Marcus Murphy scored on a 79-yard punt return as the Bills scored three touchdowns in the final 3:53 to overcome a 23-6 deficit. The Bills finished 4-0 for the first unbeaten preseason in team history.

Colts 13, Bengals 6: Indianapolis fans wrapped up an unsettling preseason, moving on from Andrew Luck with the victory in a game missing starters and fans with a loss to host Cincinnati.

Luck retired a week earlier after a 27-17 loss to Chicago, frustrated by his inability to get healthy. His postgame announcement severely dented the Colts’ playoff chances and elevated Jacoby Brissett – 4-11 as a starter with Indianapolis – to lead the offense.

Falcons 31, Jaguars 12: Atlanta ended a 12-game preseason losing streak and seemingly found a solution to their kicking woes with a win in Jacksonville, Florida.

Matt Bryant is scheduled to try out for coaches and front office personnel at the team’s training facility Friday. Assuming the 44-year-old kicker is healthy, he’s expected to sign on for a 19th NFL season – his 11th with the Falcons.

Even before Giorgio Tavecchio missed his fifth field-goal attempt of the preseason, the Falcons had plans to bring Bryant back. Tavecchio was wide left from 53 yards late in the second quarter. He fell to 4 of 9 on field-goal attempts this preseason, also missing from 54, 52, 52 and 39 yards.

Steelers 25, Panthers 19: Mason Rudolph and Kyle Allen turned in solid efforts and appeared to solidify their No. 2 quarterback roles for their respective teams as Pittsburgh topped Carolina in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Pittsburgh’s Rudolph continued to outperform Josh Dobbs, completing 7 of 11 passes for 125 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown pass to Johnny Holton. The second-year quarterback from Oklahoma State led three drives resulting in a touchdown, field goal and a missed field goal to give the Steelers a 16-10 halftime lead.

Jets 6, Eagles 0: Taylor Bertolet kicked two field goals for the game’s only scores, but missed three other attempts in his bid to make New York’s roster as New York blanked Philadelphia in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Trevor Siemian started at quarterback for the Jets with Sam Darnold and New York’s starters getting the night off. With the backup job wrapped up, Siemian went 5 of 5 for 37 yards in his only series before giving way to Luke Falk.

Buccaneers 17, Cowboys 15: Vincent Testaverde’s first NFL pass was badly overthrown on a simple toss in the flat, and the second was intercepted. At least the son of Vinny Testaverde could say he played in a preseason victory as Tampa Bay beat Dallas in Arlington, Texas.

The Cowboys pulled within two late in the fourth quarter on Jalen Guyton’s 69-yard catch and run for a touchdown from fourth-string quarterback Taryn Christion.

Browns 20, Lions 16: Rookie Austin Seibert appeared to lock up Cleveland’s kicking job after a summer-long battle, and visiting Detriot finished 0-4 in the preseason with a loss to Cleveland.

Seibert kicked field goals of 36 and 33 yards and made two extra points.

Ravens 20, Redskins 7: Dwayne Haskins completed 10 of 17 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown and showed flashes of why Washington considers him their quarterback of the future, but Baltimore came out on top in Landover, Maryland.

The Ravens finished the preseason undefeated for the fourth consecutive year and extended their exhibition winning streak to 17 games.

Giants 31, Patriots 29: Rookie Jarrett Stidham bolstered his bid to be Tom Brady’s backup by throwing two touchdown passes for New England before visiting New York scored on the final play in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Packers 27, Chiefs 20: One play stood out during the Packers’ victory over Kansas City in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and it happened on a dead ball in the fourth quarter.

After Packers running back Dexter Williams scored the deciding touchdown with 6:24 to play and Sam Ficken nailed the PAT, a fan raced onto the field as the two teams prepared for the ensuing kickoff.

Dolphins 16, Saints 13: Jake Rudock passed for 229 yards and one touchdown as visitng Miami beat New Orleans. The Dolphins announced after the game that Ryan Fitzpatrick will be the team’s starting quarterback in Week 1.

Emmanuel Butler caught a 12-yard touchdown pass for New Orleans, demonstrating why Saints coaches appear to be preparing the 6-foot-4 undrafted rookie out of Northern Arizona for a regular role in the passing game.

Titans 19, Bears 15: Dalyn Dawkins rushed for 117 yards and caught two touchdown passes and visiting Tennessee defeated Chicago. With Derrick Henry sitting out for the Titans alongside other starters, Dawkins took advantage. With the Titans trailing 15-12, he sneaked out of the backfield and toward the sideline to catch a 3-yard TD pass from Logan Woodside on third-and-goal with 1:25 remaining.

Rams 22, Texans 10: In the battle for the Rams’ third-string quarterback job, John Wolford played well and Brandon Allen struggled as visiting Los Angeles defeated Houston.

Los Angeles took a 15-10 lead late in the third quarter after an interception from Ramon Richards set up a scoring drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by Justin Davis.

Broncos 20, Cardinals 7: Malik Reed had a pair of sacks and Denver downed visiting Arizona in front of a sparse crowd. Reed, an undrafted rookie from Nevada who earned a spot as Von Miller’s backup with a terrific training camp, finished the preseason with a team-best four sacks.