NFL Exhibition Roundup : Steelers Routed by Bears

Mike Tomczak, solidifying his bid for a starting spot, threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes Saturday night as the Chicago Bears routed the Pittsburgh Steelers, 50-14, in a National Football League exhibition game at Chicago.

The Bears (2-0) took a 31-0 halftime lead in handing the Steelers their second straight loss. Chicago’s starting defense, which didn’t give up a touchdown in a 10-3 victory over the Miami Dolphins last week, shut out the Steelers in the first half before giving way to reserves in second half.

Tomczak, who is in a four-way battle for the starting quarterback job, hit Willie Gault on a 31-yard touchdown pass midway through the first quarter. He connected with Tim Wrightman on an 8-yard scoring pass early in a 24-point second quarter.

Playing less than two quarters, Tomczak completed 8 of 9 passes for 134 yards.

St. Louis 28, Seattle 21--Stump Mitchell ran for two touchdowns, and Neil Lomax hit Roy Green with a 26-yard touchdown pass as the Cardinals won at St. Louis.

The Seahawks’ Ray Butler caught two touchdown passes, a 35-yarder from Dave Krieg on the last play of the first half and a 20-yarder from Jeff Kemp.

The game marked the NFL debut of rookie linebacker Brian Bosworth, who signed a 10-year, $11 million contract with the Seahawks last week. Bosworth, who played five series, made two tackles--including a stop of Vai Sikahema on a fourth-and-one play.

Dallas 13, San Francisco 3--Tony Dorsett rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown in the opening nine minutes as the Cowboys won at San Francisco.

Dorsett, who played only in the first quarter, had runs of 17 and 24 yards in a 70-yard touchdown drive and scored on a two-yard run. On the 24-yard play, he bounced away from a pack of defenders after it appeared he was stopped for no gain.

Minnesota 37, Indianapolis 13--Wade Wilson passed for 283 yards, including a tiebreaking 53-yard touchdown pass to Buster Rhymes at the end of the first half, to lead the Vikings past the Colts at Minneapolis.

Wilson completed 9 for 18 passes, and connected 3 times with Anthony Carter for 124 yards. Wilson also ran three yards for a touchdown.

N.Y. Giants 24, Cleveland 10--Backup quarterback Jeff Rutledge broke a 10-10 tie with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Ottis Anderson, then added a 15-yard scoring pass to Solomon Miller as the Giants beat the Browns at East Rutherford, N.J.

Rutledge, who had 2 of his first 3 passes intercepted last week, completed all 7 of his passes for 108 yards.

Kansas City 13, Atlanta 10--Nick Lowery kicked a 48-yard field goal with 12 seconds left to give the Chiefs the victory at Kansas City.

Atlanta’s Ali Haji-Sheikh missed a 35-yard field goal attempt for Atlanta with 1:22 left.

Houston 16, New Orleans 13--Tony Zendejas kicked three field goals, and Warren Moon passed for a touchdown as the Oilers blew a lead, then rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Saints at New Orleans.

New Orleans quarterback Bobby Hebert passed for 216 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Mike Clark that tied the score, 13-13, late in the third quarter.

Tampa Bay 29, N.Y. Jets 27--Steve DeBerg threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Phil Freeman with 3:38 left to lift the Buccaneers past the Jets at Tampa.

Don Smith of Tampa Bay ran for two touchdowns and New York’s Ken O’Brien threw touchdown passes of three yards to Kurt Sohn and one yard to Jojo Townsell.

Detroit 23, Cincinnati 9--Eddie Murray kicked three field goals, and cornerback Bobby Watkins returned a fumble 81 yards for a touchdown to lead the Lions past the Bengals at Pontiac, Mich.

Washington 33, Green Bay 0--Reserve quarterbacks Doug Williams and Mark Rypien each passed for a touchdown, and Packer quarterbacks threw five first-half interceptions as the Redskins rolled to victory at Madison, Wis.