Cutler shows off for the fans in Chicago
Jay Cutler wasted little time showing the fans at Soldier Field what they’ve been waiting to see ever since he joined the Chicago Bears.
Cutler came out and led the Bears to points on their first three possessions -- his only three series of the game-- as Chicago moved out to a quick 17-point lead and beat the New York Giants, 17-3, Saturday night.
Playing a game with the Bears for the first time on his new home field, Cutler completed eight of 13 passes for 121 yards, led touchdown drives of 80 and 92 yards and threw for a score.
His subpar performance a week ago in the exhibition opener against Buffalo was quickly forgotten.
“It’s preseason. Everyone got a little excited last week when we didn’t produce, but we looked OK tonight,†Cutler said.
“There’s still room for improvement, so we’re going to go back to work.â€
Cutler outplayed Eli Manning, who left after four series. Manning completed seven of 10 passes for 62 yards. He was sacked twice, fumbled once and was also called for intentional grounding.
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at Cleveland 27, Detroit 10 -- Derek Anderson led the Cleveland Browns to their first offensive touchdown in seven games and stayed tight with Brady Quinn in their too-close-to-call quarterback competition.
After coming off the bench last week behind Quinn in Green Bay, Anderson got the start from Coach Eric Mangini and finished eight for 13 for 130 yards, with one interception.
Matthew Stafford, selected first by Detroit in April’s draft, threw an interception on Detroit’s first play and was five for 13 for 34 yards. Daunte Culpepper, competing with Stafford, was 10 of 16 for 86 yards.
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at Washington 17, Pittsburgh 13 -- Redskins rookie Chase Daniel, fighting the odds to earn a roster spot, threw two touchdown passes long after the starters had left the game to lead the Redskins.
Willie Parker had a three-yard touchdown run for the Steelers. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger watched the game from the sideline, unable to play after injuring his Achilles’ tendon during practice when a teammate stepped on his foot.
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at Miami 27, Carolina 17 -- The Dolphins scored 10 points in Chad Pennington’s three series. He was eight for 11 for 105 yards, throwing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Ronnie Brown and connecting with Patrick Cobbs for a 35-yard gain out of the Wildcat formation.
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Tampa Bay 24, at Jacksonville 23 -- Troy Williamson, a first-round bust in Minnesota who is looking to secure a roster spot in Jacksonville, caught two deep passes from David Garrard and finished with 147 yards receiving in the loss.
For the Buccaneers, Byron Leftwich completed six of 12 passes for 63 yards and led the first-team offense to a field goal. Luke McCown was six for nine for 51 yards, with two touchdown passes. But both of his drives came with short fields.
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at San Francisco 21, Oakland 20 -- Alex Smith completed three of nine passes and threw an interception in what might have been his last chance to beat out Shaun Hill for the 49ers’ starting quarterback job.
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at Green Bay 31, Buffalo 21 -- Quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed seven consecutive passes to begin the game for the Packers, finishing eight of nine for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
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New Orleans 38, at Houston 14 -- Mike Bell had 10 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown to lead the Saints while subbing for Reggie Bush, who has a strained calf.
San Diego 17, at Arizona 6 -- The Cardinals’ starters managed just a field goal, set up by a game-opening 89-yard kickoff return by rookie LaRod Stephens-Howling. Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson gained 18 yards in eight attempts.
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at Seattle 27, Denver 13 -- Matt Hasselbeck completed 16 of 23 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
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Elsewhere: Michael Vick will make his Philadelphia Eagles debut Thursday against Jacksonville if all goes well over the next three days of practice, Coach Andy Reid said. “Right now that’s the plan. But we’ll see how it goes,†Reid said.
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