Clik here to view.
Four preseason games were played on Saturday, with rookies Johnny Manziel and Jadeveon Clowney making their debuts.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer may have made the start for Saturday's preseason opener against the Detroit Lions, but rookie Johnny Manziel was the big story of the day. He was going to be the big story regardless of what he actually did on the field. Whatever the case, he had a decent start, all things considered.
Taking over about halfway through the second quarter, Manziel threw plenty of short passes and showed his desire to run with the ball if there was nobody open (or, more accurately: if he didn't notice the players who were open). He finished with 63 yards on seven completions. But his play wasn't the only thing to happen Saturday.
Four games were played on Saturday night. Get caught up with the scores, notable injuries and standout performers below:
Injuries
Pittsburgh Steelers left guard Ramon Foster went down with an injury early on in that game. Foster is a starter on the offensive line, but it looked like an eye poke, so he shouldn't miss any significant time. He did leave the game and was replaced by Chris Hubbard, who was doubtful to play at all with an ankle injury.
Backup center Chris Spencer was injured for the Tennessee Titans and had to leave the game. Spencer sustained the injury early in the second quarter and had to be taken to the locker room on the cart. He was unable to put any weight on his left leg while being helped to the sideline. Brian Schwenke is the starter and is healthy.
Detroit Lions 13, Cleveland Browns 12
The Detroit Lions downed the Cleveland Browns, 13-12, thanks to a late comeback in the preseason opener on Saturday.
Hoyer started this game for the Browns, and he played through the entire first quarter and into the second. He completed 6-of-14 passes for 92 yards with no touchdowns or picks. He played well enough to not lose any ground to Manziel in the quarterback competition, and the Browns managed a pair of field goals with him at the helm.
Billy Cundiff accounted for two more field goals in the second half, extending Cleveland's lead to 12-6. He was a perfect 4-for-4 on the day, with the long being a 43-yarder. The Lions almost brought things back with a huge return in the fourth quarter. Steven Miller looked close to breaking away for a touchdown before he was upended around midfield by a charging Chris Ogbonnaya.
In the end, the Lions ended up bringing it back anyway thanks to a Kellen Moore touchdown pass to Corey Fuller. Moore finished with 11 completions on 13 attempts for 121 yards and the touchdown, and was clearly the standout performer in this game.
New York Giants 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 16
The New York Giants managed a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second game of the day. New York was on top until the fourth quarter, when the Steelers took a narrow lead. But the Giants responded with a 12-play, 80-yard drive capped off by a Curtis Painter touchdown pass to take the 20-16 win.
Eli Manning's day ended after just two passes, neither of which were complete. He was also sacked once for an eight-yard loss. That drive ended in a 3-and-out, but the second drive went just a little bit better. Running back Rashad Jennings took the first handoff of the drive and took it the full 73 yards for a touchdown to put the Giants up.
New York held that lead going into the fourth quarter, but the Steelers managed to take it back. Pittsburgh booted a pair of field goals in the third quarter, then another in the fourth. Finally, Howard Jones managed to recover a fumble for a touchdown that put the Steelers on top. The Giants would eventually respond with a touchdown of their own to take back the lead and the win.
Ben Roethlisberger completed one pass for 46 yards. That pass went to Dri Archer, who finished with two receptions for 50 yards. Jennings finished with five carries for 85 yards and the aforementioned touchdown for the Giants.
Tennessee Titans 20, Green Bay Packers 16
The Tennessee Titans were victorious over the Green Bay Packers in their game on Saturday. Tennessee walked away with a 20-16 victory thanks to a second-half comeback.
Unsurprisingly, quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn't start for the Green Bay Packers. Instead, Matt Flynn took the field first, while Jake Locker made the start for the Tennessee Titans. Flynn didn't have to do a whole lot on the opening drive, as running back James Starks took in a touchdown from 20 yards out to give the Packers an early lead.
Shon Greene, who is fighting for his starting running back spot, also scored a touchdown, his from 13 yards out. Unfortunately, the Titans missed the extra point -- something that's been a trend thus far in the preseason. Things evened out when the Packers scored another touchdown, this one a 12-yard rush from Raijon Neal. However, the Packers failed to execute on the two-point conversion.
When rookie back Bishop Sankey caught a 3-yard touchdown pass, the game was tied up. The Packers kicked a field goal in the fourth, but the Titans managed another touchdown, this one a 7-yard touchdown rush from Jackie Battle. That gave them the lead and ensured the victory.
Arizona Cardinals 32, Houston Texans 0
The Arizona Cardinals dominated the Houston Texans from start to finish in the final game on Saturday. Arizona managed two touchdowns and a field goal in the first quarter alone, and added two more field goals, a touchdown and then a safety in the final two minutes for the 32-0 shutout.
Obviously, the big story for Houston was the debut of rookie defensive end/outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney, the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, looked very solid in his debut, and he managed a big tackle for loss on running back Stepfan Taylor.
Of course, the other story is that the Texans defense looked particularly bad on the day, but the offense didn't fare much better. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two interceptions and neither Case Keenum nor rookie Tom Savage could do much on top of that. But the Arizona quarterbacks ... they had fun.
Carson Palmer completed all five of his passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. Drew Stanton completed 11-of-17 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown. Logan Thomas, a rookie taken in the fourth round, completed 11-of-12 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown, though he was sacked twice. The Texans defense will want to forget this game happened.
Standout player: Kellen Moore
Detroit Lions quarterback Kellen Moore looked a lot better than primary backup Dan Orlovsky did. Moore completed 11-of-13 passes for 121 yards, including the game-winning touchdown. Orlovsky completed 12-of-23 passes and didn't make any huge mistakes, but Moore definitely looked like the better quarterback today.