The Chicago Bears lost their second preseason game 17-13 to the St. Louis Rams -- but more importantly, they lost starting quarterback Rex Grossman for three to four months when the former Florida star broke his left ankle.
Rams backup quarterback Jamie Martin threw two touchdown passes in St. Louis' preseason opener Friday night. Starter Marc Bulger went 3-for-5 for 38 yards to start the first quarter.
Adrian Peterson had a 9-yard touchdown run for the Bears (1-1), playing their second game in five days; their first was a 27-24 win over Miami in the Hall of Fame game.
PHOTO: AP
Grossman, the Bears' first-round pick in 2003, was hurt with 11:08 to go in the first half on a 4-yard completion to Darnell Sanders after being flushed out of the pocket by Jeremy Loyd and Trev Faulk, who spun Grossman around and dumped him.
Grossman got back to his feet but began limping and signaled for a trainer. He then sat down and grabbed his left knee in pain, slamming his helmet on the cart before being taken off the field.
Grossman was 6-for-11 for 52 yards before leaving. Backup Chad Hutchinson produced Chicago's only first-half score, finishing the drive on which Grossman was injured capped by Peterson's run.
Vikings 27, Chiefs 16
At Minneapolis, Daunte Culpepper and the Minnesota offense gave a glimpse of the way they're going to have to move the ball without Randy Moss.
Culpepper opened the preseason by guiding an efficient 65-yard touchdown drive, leading the Vikings over Kansas City.
Completing his first five passes to five receivers, Culpepper found new No. 1 target Nate Burleson for a 33-yard score to cap a drive that lasted only 3 minutes, 8 seconds. Culpepper finished 5-for-6 for 84 yards.
Kansas City's Priest Holmes, whose damaged right knee cost him eight games last season, played only seven snaps. But he looked sharp, rushing four times for 42 yards. Backup Larry Johnson, who will share more of the load this year, carried eight times for 37 yards. other kicks -- including a 51-yarder in the third quarter that cut the lead to 20-9.
Seahawks 34, Saints 15
At New Orleans, Seneca Wallace, tapped as Matt Hasselbeck's backup after Trent Dilfer was traded, scored on a slashing 24-yard scramble and passed for another touchdown in Seattle's victory over New Orleans.
The third-year reserve out of Iowa State played from early in the second quarter through the third, completing 12 of 20 passes for 137 yards. His TD pass was a perfect toss that dropped softly over the shoulder of former Saints receiver Jerome Pathon for a 28-yard score.
The game was largely an exercise in humility for the Saints, who finished 2004 on a four-game winning streak, then talked throughout the offseason about looking even better and being eager to get back on the field. They turned the ball over three times in the first half, all leading to Seattle touchdowns. The Seahawks had a 24-3 lead by halftime.
Deuce McAllister fumbled three plays into the game when he was stripped behind the line of scrimmage by Niko Koutouvides.
Jets 10, Lions 3
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Jay Fiedler and Joey Harrington both looked comfortable running their teams' new offensive systems.
Fiedler, filling in for starter Chad Pennington, capped a 98-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run in New York's preseason victory over Detroit.
Fiedler completed 7 of 9 passes for 69 yards -- but had an interception on his second throw -- in two series leading new coordinator Mike Heimerdinger's offense.
Harrington, criticized last season for his inconsistency, was flawless running new Lions offensive coordinator Ted Tollner's offense, going 9-for-9 for 100 yards.
Mike Nugent gave the Jets a 10-3 lead with his first NFL field goal, a 40-yarder with 2:18 left in the game.
The Lions had a chance to win it, driving the ball down to the 7 with 3 seconds left, but Dan Orlovsky's throw to rookie Mike Williams in the corner of the end zone was knocked away by Kerry Rhodes. The rookie safety also intercepted a pass from Lions backup Jeff Garcia.
Patriots 23, Bengals 13
At Cincinnati, rookie quarterback Matt Cassel led four scoring drives as defending champion New England beat Cincinnati in the preseason opener for both teams.
Cassel never started a college game while backing up Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at Southern California and now he is battling 42-year-old Doug Flutie for New England's No. 3 quarterback spot behind Tom Brady and Rohan Davey.
He took over with 4 minutes left in the first half and led a 14-play, no-huddle drive that ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jason Anderson.
Cassel started the second half with a 16-play drive that ended with a 29-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri, then led another with Vinatieri kicking a 42-yarder. He handed off to Kyle Eckel for a 4-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter for the final score.
Bengals starter Carson Palmer played the first three series but was just 4-of-11 for 37 yards. He failed to connect with Chad Johnson on two downfield attempts.
Brady didn't play for the Patriots on the 94-degree night.
Buccaneers 20, Titans 17, OT
At Nashville, Tennessee, Steve McNair tested his surgically repaired chest and Tennessee's new offense, and he is very happy with the early results for both.
McNair scrambled and even took a hit that had fans holding their breath until he popped back up. But Matt Bryant kicked a 33-yard field goal 3:02 into overtime in Tampa Bay's victory.
Rob Bironas, competing against Ola Kimrin for the open kicker job, made a 53-yard field goal with 19 seconds left that tied the game at 17 and forced overtime. The Titans couldn't move the ball after winning the toss and had to punt.
The Bucs set up Bryant by taking advantage of a 33-yard pass interference call on Titans cornerback Antoine Harris. Earnest Graham, starting in place of top draft pick Carnell Williams, then ran for 24 yards.
McNair was 7-of-10 for 67 yards passing with one interception with Tennessee trailing 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.
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