NFL PRESEASON | Friday’s games

Tampa Bay 13, Patriots 10

TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady spent most of the night on the sideline. Randy Moss didn’t play at all. New England opened the preseason with a loss to Tampa Bay, however it will be a bit longer before the Patriots get a chance to see their new passing tandem together in a game. Brady started and was in for 13 plays, while Moss, obtained in a draft day trade with Oakland, sat out as expected with a sore hamstring that’s slowed him during training camp. Jeff Garcia worked two 3-and-out series in his debut at quarterback for Tampa Bay, which won on Matt Bryant’s 32-yard field goal as time expired. Luke McCown, who didn’t play in 2006 after undergoing knee surgery and spending the first seven weeks of the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list, played in a game for the first time since the 2005 preseason and completed all seven of his passes for 68 yards and one touchdown for the Bucs. The fourth-year pro’s 11-yard scoring throw to Paris Warren gave the Bucs a 10-7 lead after McCown’s first drive of the night — a 13-play, 62-yard march against New England’s starting defense — produced Matt Bryant’s 36-yard field goal. Sammy Morris, who had nine first-half carries with starting running back Laurence Maroney sitting out the game, scored on a 2-yard run that finished a long drive led by Brady’s backup, Matt Cassel. Cassel completed four passes during the 13-play, 65-yard drive that kept most of Tampa Bay’s defensive starters on the field for nearly nine minutes. Brady played two series, going 5-of-7 for 34 yards and producing three first downs — all on New England’s second possession. The good-looking drive stalled at the Tampa Bay 39 when Gaines Adams — the Bucs’ No. 1 draft pick — pressured the quarterback and deflected a third-down pass.

Jets 31, Falcons 16

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Joey Harrington looked comfortable running the Atlanta Falcons’ offense. He’s not Michael Vick, but he showed he can scramble a little bit, too. Thrust into the starting quarterback job while Vick is away from the team and facing federal dogfighting charges, Harrington led one scoring drive in his three series in a loss to the Jets in the preseason opener for both teams. The former Detroit and Miami quarterback was 6-of-9 for 88 yards, including a 37-yard completion to Dwayne Blakley on a play that was kept alive when the traditional pocket passer avoided a pass rush with a nice scramble. While Harrington is nowhere near the mobile playmaker Vick is, he showed he can certainly play in new coach Bobby Petrino’s offense. Jets backup Kellen Clemens was also impressive, going 16-of-22 — including nine straight completions during one stretch — for 174 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Sean Ryan. Quarterback-wide receiver Brad Smith, a Chaney High graduate, was incomplete on the Jets’ only other pass attempt.

Rams 13, Vikings 10

MINNEAPOLIS — With stalled drives and a defensive touchdown, the Minnesota Vikings looked a lot like they did last season in their first exhibition game. St. Louis’ defense looked a lot different than last year’s edition. Kevin Lovell’s second field goal of the game, a 40-yarder as time expired, gave St. Louis the victory. Rookie Brian Leonard scored on a 10-yard touchdown run in the first half for the Rams. Dontarrious Thomas returned his second interception of the night 82 yards early in the third quarter for the Vikings’ lone touchdown. Ryan Longwell pulled a 42-yard field goal wide left, fumbling a chance to give Minnesota the lead at the 3-minute mark. Longwell didn’t miss a kick under 46 yards all last season. Tarvaris Jackson was sharp with 83 yards on 8-for-11 passing and 25 yards on two scrambles for the Vikings, an encouraging sign for a team that topped 21 points only four times last year during a 6-10 season. Even Troy Williamson, trying to regain some trust after a season filled with dropped balls, caught three of Jackson’s passes for 32 yards. But a Rams defense that gave up the second-most yards on the ground in the league last season was tough to run on, with first-round draft pick Adam Carriker seeing plenty of time at nose tackle. Minnesota failed to move the chains on five of seven third downs in the first half.

Bills 13, Saints 10

NEW ORLEANS — Reigning coach of the year Sean Payton opened up his play book enough to remind everyone why the Saints led the NFL in offense a year ago. The Saints weren’t able to finish their early drives, though, and the Bills’ reserves took advantage to grind out a victory. Payton had Drew Brees dropping back with play-action fakes or rolling out from a variety of formations, and the Pro Bowl quarterback completed 12 passes to seven receivers for 118 yards on only two offensive series. Both drives stalled inside the Bills’ 30, and new kicker Olindo Mare made one of two field goals as the other was blocked. Rian Lindell’s 54-yard field goal, which might have been good from 10 yards farther out, gave Buffalo (1-0) the lead for good with 3:23 to go. The Saints (0-2) were in range to tie it with a field goal, but Payton had the Saints run a regular play on fourth-and-12 from the Bills 34 and Tyler Palko threw an incomplete pass as he tried to escape the rush. The Saints’ top draft pick, receiver Robert Meachem, wasn’t one of Brees’ targets, but he had a pretty good night. Having missed time with minor injuries during rookie camp and minicamp, and having performed inconsistently throughout training camp, Meachem did not play with the first team. But he made his mark on the game while running routes for Palko, hauling in a difficult, over-the-shoulder catch in the corner of the end zone as the Saints tied the game at 10 in the fourth quarter. Earlier in the series, Meachem’s 18-yard catch on third down put the Saints in position to go for it on fourth-and-short, and Palko gained 19 yards on a bootleg to keep the drive going.

Associated Press