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NOTES

Browns’ Taylor won’t miss game

CLEVELAND

The Browns escaped a preseason quarterback swap.

Tyrod Taylor isn’t expected to miss any time — and is still in line to start the Sept. 9 season opener against Pittsburgh — after dislocating his left pinky and bruising his hand in Thursday’s 5-0 win over Philadelphia.

Taylor’s injury initially appeared serious after he awkwardly landed on his non-throwing hand and wrist while bracing his fall after firing an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal. He immediately grabbed his hand and ran to the sideline before being taken to the locker room for treatment and evaluation. He returned and played in three more series.

“Tyrod had a dislocated pinky but obviously they were able to get that back in place real quickly,” coach Hue Jackson said on a conference call Friday. “It takes 15 seconds to do that. He has a bruised hand. He’s sore. But he’s going to be fine.”

Taylor’s hand was wrapped as he made an appearance at a men’s apparel store Friday night. He was relieved the injury wasn’t serious, and said he’s dealing with soreness but plans to practice Saturday.

“Everything came back negative, which is a good sign and we were able to put the finger back in place,” he said. “It’s my left hand, at the end of the day. So deal with it. It’ll be sore for a couple of days, but it’s nothing that’s going to stop me.”

GAME RECAPS

Panthers down Patriots

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Cam Newton walked into the interview room sporting a black eye and questioning his own judgment after an unexpected crash landing.

The Panthers’ eighth-year quarterback escaped a potentially serious injury when he scrambled out of the pocket and dove headfirst on a third-and-9 play in the first quarter, only to get upended by cornerback Jonathan Jones causing the 2015 MVP to land on his head.

Newton was forced to leave the game to be evaluated for a concussion, but returned four plays later and helped lead Carolina to a 25-14 win over the New England Patriots to remain unbeaten in the preseason.

“I was thinking to myself it’s the preseason, what do I do? What do I do?” Newton said while describing the run. “I was like I want to get a first down, but I want to bring this plane in as smoothly as possible.”

The landing was anything but smooth.

Newton finished 11 of 17 for 142 yards passing and led three scoring drives — all resulting in field goals — as the Panthers built a 9-3 lead at halftime.

Tom Brady’s night wasn’t nearly as eventful for the Patriots (2-1).

It was a quiet game for the five-time Super Bowl champion, who completed 12 of 18 passes for 102 yards in the first half and got the Patriots in field goal range twice. But drops and costly mistakes proved pivotal for the Patriots, who were limited to 130 yards in the first half.

Giants edge Jets

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.

Sam Darnold led the New York Jets on two touchdown drives, moving closer to securing the starting quarterback job in a 22-16 loss to the New York Giants on Friday night.

The No. 3 overall draft pick made his second consecutive start, finishing 8 of 16 for 86 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Terrelle Pryor.

Darnold is competing with Teddy Bridgewater and Josh McCown for the Jets’ starting job, but the rookie is being given every chance to be under center when New York opens the regular season at Detroit on Sept. 10.

“I think consistency is the biggest thing for me,” Darnold said. “So far, I think I’ve been really consistent. At the same time, obviously there’s little things I can always get better at.”

Bridgewater came in on the Jets’ second offensive possession of the second half, while McCown never played. Bridgewater was 11 of 15 for 104 yards.

Darnold got off to a solid start, leading an 11-play, 75-yard drive on the Jets’ opening series that was capped by Bilal Powell’s 10-yard touchdown run.

Associated Press