KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2010 / SPORTS
NFL
19B
Mathews leads Chargers in preseason opener victory
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN DIEGO — Ryan Mathews had an impressive debut and the San Diego Chargers got along fine without holdouts Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill in a 25-10 preseason victory over the Chicago Bears on Saturday night.
Mathews, the first-round draft pick who will replace the departed LaDainian Tomlinson, gained 50 yards on nine carries and caught two passes for 11 yards. Philip Rivers threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Legedu Naanee, one of the receivers the Bolts will depend on in Jackson's absence.
It was the Chargers' first game since they took a face-plant in a 17-14 playoff loss to the New York Jets, which was Tomlinson's last game with San Diego. He was released in February and signed with the Jets. The Chargers were 13-3 last year, winning their fourth straight AFC West title.
The Bears are coming off a 7-9
finish, their third straight season out of the playoffs.
Restricted free agents McNeill, the left tackle, and Jackson, a Pro Bowl wide receiver, are holding out, upset that they haven't given long-term contracts. The Chargers have threatened to put them on the roster exempt list if they haven't signed their tenders by Friday, meaning they'll be suspended for three games once they sign. They are believed to be willing to sit out the first 10 games, returning for the final six to gain an accrued season.
The Chargers had six sacks.
Rivers played two series and wasn't sacked. Backup Billy Volek was sacked once, midway through the second quarter. Brandyn Dombrowski, the first-string left tackle in McNeill's absence, played two series.
Mathews' first carry, a 3-yard gain, came on San Diego's second series. His longest run was 18 yards from the Chargers' 4.
He was pushed back almost to the goal line, then bounced off a defender and broke free for the long run and a first down.
"Ryan's great," coach Norv Turner said. "He said that things slowed down for him as it went on. Obviously he's a guy who can break tackles and he's got great speed."
Rivers' TD pass to Naanee was set up by a 51 yard kickoff return by Richard Goodman, an undrafted rookie, after Robbie Gould's 38-yard field goal.
Linebacker Brandon Lang, another undrafted rookie, had a big game. His blocked punt late in the third quarter resulted in a safety, and he sandwiched Bears second-string quarterback Caleb Hanie along with Antwan Applewhite which led to a sack and forced fumble for Applewhite, with Paul Oliver recovering. Hanie stayed on the ground for a few minutes but left the field under his own power.
NFL
Roethlisberger and Leftwich watch as Dixon topples Detroit
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PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger never got off the bench in a return to Heinz Field that couldn't have been much quieter. Byron Leftwich probably wishes he had stayed on the sideline, too.
Leftwich, the quarterback who will replace the suspended Roethlisberger when the season starts, was ineffective despite playing much longer than expected, but the Pittsburgh Steelers still beat the Detroit Lions 23-7 behind backup Dennis Dixon on Saturday night.
Leftwich was outplayed by Matthew Stafford in the Lions quarterback's first game action since injuring a shoulder against Cincinnati on Dec. 6. After Stafford left following a 2-yard TD pass to Calvin Johnson, the Steelers came back from a 7-6 deficit as Dixon led scoring drives of 75, 79 and 68 yards with reserves playing.
A night that couldn't have been any shorter for Roethlisberger was much longer than expected for both teams as lightning and heavy rain stopped play for 1 hour, 13 minutes late in the second quarter.
When the rain finally let up, the teams played the final 1 minute, 37 seconds of the first half and then immediately began the second half with many in the crowd of 55,248 already long gone.
Coach Mike Tomlin has emphasized getting ready for the start of the season during training camp, which means Leftwich gets as much practice time with the regulars as Roethlisberger, who can't play until mid-October at the earliest. Leftwich was expected to play eight to 12 snaps, but instead played nearly twice that as Tomlin was displeased with the offense's first two series. Two running backs fumbled, Leftwich was sacked for 8 yards and also unintentionally spiked a pass as the starters gained only 16 yards in 12 plays.
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Stafford (8 of 11, 61 yards, 1 TD) was much more efficient than Leftwich (6 of 10, 43 yards) although the 68-yard drive that ended with Stafford's scoring pass was accomplished against mostly backup defenders.
Leftwich played until midway into the second quarter while leading a 61-yard drive against Lions reserves that ended with the second of Jeff Reed's three field goals. Reed converted from 35, 37 and 32 yards on a pristine Heinz Field grass field that has rarely looked so lush.
The Lions, 2-30 in the last two seasons, did little with Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton at quarterback. They drove to the Steelers' 7 early in the second half, but DeDe Dorsey fumbled and the Steelers ate up more than nine minutes of the quarter with a field goal drive.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger, right, and Byron Leftwich stand on the sidelines during a time-out in the first quarter of a preseason NFL game against the Detroit Lions in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
ST. LOUIS — Sam Bradford took the field to a big ovation. Soon enough, reality sank in for the centerpiece of the St. Louis Rams' rebuilding effort.
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No.1 draft pick Bradford looks shaky in NFL debut
NFL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford drops back to pass during the third quarter of a preseason NFL game against the Minnesota Vikings Saturday in St. Louis.
The No. 1 overall pick had an early case of the jitters, short-arming a pitch and bobbling a snap the first two plays, looked poised while hitting four of his first five passes, then ended with an extended rough patch in the Minnesota Vikings' 28-7 preseason-opening victory Saturday night.
Sage Rosenfels, chasing Tarvaris Jackson for the Vikings' quarterback job while Brett Favre waffles on his future, was a standout even though both starting wide receivers are out with injuries. Rosenfels threw for 157 yards and two touchdowns
in the second quarter against the Rams' second-teammers and added a 71-yarder to Marko Mitchell in the third quarter, finishing 23 of 34 for 310 yards.
were the NFLs puniest offense even with jackson while going 1-15 last season. Jackson and Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson both dressed but only watched.
One of the players most victimized by the Vikings was right tackle Jason Smith, the second overall pick last year who's been bothered by a broken toe much of training camp.
Jackson started but wasn't out there for long, taking six snaps on the opening series while going 2 of 4 for 11 vards.
Bradford completed only two of his last eight passes against Vikings second-teammers, finishing 6 of 13 for 57 yards while getting sacked four times. The Vikings gave the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner's surgically repaired right shoulder a battle test with Jayme Mitchell getting 1.5 sacks on consecutive plays in the second quarter.
St. Louis is 6-42 the last three seasons, a big reason the Edward Jones Dome was officially only two-thirds full with announced attendance of 40,801.
Bradford's debut probably should be graded on a curve, given Pro Bowl running back Steven Jackson did not take a snap and the Rams
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Bradford is the backup for now behind veteran A.J. Feeley. But Feeley was shaky, narrowly avoiding interceptions on two passes that could have been returned for touchdowns while going 3 of 6 for 19 yards.