NFL PRESEASON

NFL PRESEASON

Saturday’s other games

Dolphins 18, Jaguars 17

MIAMI — About the only thing new quarterback Trent Green led the Miami Dolphins offense to Saturday night was a smattering of boos. Green struggled in his Dolphins debut, underthrowing receivers and managing just 60 yards on 6-for-15 passing with one interception in Miami’s win in the exhibition opener for both teams. Green, the Dolphins’ biggest offseason acquisition, took every snap in the first half and led the Dolphins to just four first downs in six possessions. He exited amid boos from the crowd at Dolphin Stadium in four of his last five drives, and led Miami to only one scoring drive — a 26-yard field goal by Jay Feely. Patrick Cobbs’ 3-yard touchdown run, followed by his two-point conversion run, provided the winning score for the Dolphins with 3:46 left — on a drive led by rookie quarterback John Beck, who was 3-for-5 for 23 yards in the series. Josh Scobee missed a 43-yard field from the dirt with 42 seconds left to seal Miami’s victory. Scobee made an NFL-best 14 field goals last season between 40 and 49 yards. Earlier this week, Cameron seemed to stir up some quarterback controversy, or maybe just some competition. Green and backup Cleo Lemon were listed in the first-team column as co-starters on Cameron’s depth chart before the game. The only thing separating them was a slash between their names, and the team’s exhibition opener didn’t seem to spell any separation. The loudest ovation of the night went to Beck when he entered early in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars, who ranked second in the NFL in rushing last season with Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, have said that this training camp is all about fine-tuning the passing game. They didn’t shy away from throwing in their first of four exhibition games. Byron Leftwich was 7-for-11 passing for 78 yards and a touchdown for Jacksonville.

Panthers 24, Giants 21

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — With or without Michael Strahan, the New York Giants defense has a lot of work to do after being exposed by the Carolina Panthers. Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith combined for an opening-drive touchdown pass and receiver Taye Biddle caught touchdown passes of 23 and 85 yards to lead the Panthers in the matchup of teams looking to rebound from .500 records in 2006. For the Giants, the preseason opener was a preview of what life may be like without Strahan, the seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end who is holding out of training camp while he decides whether to play a 15th NFL season. The performance was ugly to be honest, even taking into consideration that New York is adjusting to new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s aggressive system. The Panthers went 81 yards in 13 plays on their opening drive with DeShaun Foster ripping off several good cutback runs that eventually set up Delhomme’s 5-yard TD toss to Smith, the catalyst of the Carolina offense.

Associated Press