nfl roundup | Weekend’s games

SUNDAY

Chargers 20, Cowboys 7

ARLINGTON, TEXAS

Tony Romo was sharp. Philip Rivers was sharper. Rivers led San Diego to scores on two of three drives, then Coach Norv Turner earned his club score another touchdown with two successful challenges on a single series. Rivers went 8 of 11 for 92 yards, with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Randy McMichael. Romo was 8 of 12 for 58 yards, with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten.

Jets 27, Bengals 7

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.

Plaxico Burress caught three passes for 66 yards, including an over-the-shoulder 26-yarder for a touchdown, in his first game in nearly three years. Jets quarterback MArk Sanchez finished 12 of 20 for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Cincinnati’s offense struggled badly early as rookie Andy Dalton, the second-round pick out of TCU, threw two interceptions.

SATURDAY

49ers 17, Raiders 3

SAN FRANCISCO

Alex Smith threw for 126 yards and an interception in San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh’s home debut, getting showered with a mix of boos and cheers. Smith was 8 for 13 and came up empty in the end zone again. He had a pass picked off by defensive end Matt Shaugnessy in the second quarter and could only lead the 49ers (1-1) to a field goal in one half of play. The 2005 No. 1 overall pick at least left healthy. Oakland starting quarterback Jason Campbell didn’t return after taking a couple of blows on a scramble play in the second quarter.

Broncos 24, Bills 10

DENVER

Brady Quinn leapfrogged Tim Tebow, at least for one night. Kyle Orton, who has rendered the quarterback drama in Denver a question of who will be his backup, led the Broncos on two touchdown drives. Quinn had a mostly solid performance, throwing a touchdown pass but also an interception, and Tebow had a sack and a big scramble in cleanup duty. After Orton completed 10 of 13 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown, Quinn came in and had an up-and-down performance with the second-stringers, completing 10 of 16 passes for 130 yards, one TD and one interception in the end zone just before halftime. Tebow was 1 for 2 for 10 yards with a sack. He ran once for 7 yards.

Vikings 20, Seahawks 7

SEATTLE

Marcus Sherels intercepted a deflected pass and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown, Donovan McNabb led a long drive that ended in the first of Ryan Longwell’s two field goals for Minnesota. Tristan Davis added a 35-yard TD run with 2:09 left for Minnesota’s first offensive touchdown of the preseason. McNabb led a 13-play drive that started at the 1 and ended in Longwell’s 36-yard field goal. Longwell added a 34-yarder. McNabb was 6 of 8 for 81 yards. Playing against his former team, Seattle’s Tarvaris Jackson was running for safety most of the night and struggled. He completed 11 of 21 passes for 75 yards and one interception that deflected off receiver Golden Tate’s hands and right to Sherels.

Texans 27, Saints 14

HOUSTON

Arian Foster ran for two touchdowns and Ben Tate rushed for 95 yards and another score in the first half for Houston.

Rams 17, Titans 16

ST. LOUIS

Sam Bradford threw an 83-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Gibson on St. Louis’ first play, and Josh Brown kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired to give the Rams the victory. Steven Jackson was limited to 10 yards on six carries and Sam Bradford had no other big plays in the first half and got banged around a bit. Tennessee starter Matt Hasselbeck was sharp, going 7 for 9 for 74 yards.

Associated Press