Associated Press
CHARLOTTE ó With Joe Flacco nearly perfect and Baltimore’s defense as ferocious as ever, the Ravens appear ready for the regular season.
The Carolina Panthers can only hope their injured players return quickly to shore up problems on both sides of the ball.
Flacco threw for 247 yards and a touchdown, the Ravens defense shut down Carolina’s first unit, and Baltimore beat the Panthers 17-13 on Saturday.
The third exhibition game, where both teams played their starters into the third quarter, proved one-sided when the regulars were on the field. The Panthers, playing without their top two running backs and three starters on defense, were overwhelmed early by Flacco, who completed 23 of 28 passes.
The second-year quarterback directed first-half touchdown drives of 80 and 90 yards. He showed poise in the pocket the few times he was pressured, dumping balls to running backs and tight end Todd Heap, who caught the go-ahead 9-yard TD early in the second quarter.
Derrick Mason caught six passes for 71 yards and Kelley Washington moved to the front of the crowded receivers race by catching three passes for 66 yards.
Jake Delhomme didn’t throw an interception in his first home appearance since committing six turnovers in a playoff loss to Arizona. He connected twice with Steve Smith for 37 yards in Smith’s first preseason action since bruising his shoulder, but the first team didn’t reach the end zone.
Delhomme finished 11-of-16 for 180 yards, with 48 coming against the Ravens’ second-stringers.
In other games …
Seahawks 14, Chiefs 10
KANSAS CITY, Mo. ó Matt Hasselbeck threw for 216 yards and two touchdowns with newly signed Edgerrin James watching on the sideline, leading the Seattle Seahawks to a 14-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night in a game in which the Chiefs lost quarterback Matt Cassel to a leg injury.
Jets 27, Giants 25
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ó Mark Sanchez, in his first game since being named New York’s starting quarterback, completed a spectacular 31-yard touchdown pass play to Chansi Stuckey and put 20 points on the board in 21/2 quarters as the Jets took the annual New York braggin’ rights game.
Sanchez overcame a slow start and a little early pressure to complete 13 of 20 for 149 yards for the Jets, who gave Rex Ryan his first victory as a head coach.
Steelers 17, Bills 0
PITTSBURGH ó Ben Roethlisberger played a nearly flawless first half in his first game since injuring his right foot, James Farrior had a 22-yard interception for a touchdown and Buffalo’s starting offense struggled yet again as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Bills 17-0 in a preseason game Saturday night.
Roethlisberger led two scoring drives while going 15 of 19 for 168 yards and 103.5 passer rating before sitting out the second half.
Browns 23, Titans 17
CLEVELAND ó Brady Quinn threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards and outplayed Derek Anderson in perhaps their final auditions for coach Eric Mangini to be Cleveland’s starting quarterback, and the Browns beat the Tennessee Titans.
Quinn and Anderson entered the third preseason game in a virtual dead heat. Earlier this week, Mangini described their summer-long competition as “very close” and it remains that way.
After coming off the bench last week, Quinn got the start and finished 11 of 15 for 128 yards.
Saints 45, Raiders 7
OAKLAND, Calif. ó Drew Brees completed 14 of 17 passes for 179 yards and drove the Saints to touchdowns on all three drives he played, leading New Orleans over Oakland.
Lions 18, Colts 17
DETROIT ó Drew Stanton threw a 21-yard pass to rookie Dan Gronkowski and a 2-point conversion to John Standeford with 4:13 left to give the Detroit Lions a win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Falcons 27, Chargers 24
ATLANTA ó San Diego’s Philip Rivers led touchdown drives in two of his three possessions in his first game since signing a contract extension, before the Atlanta Falcons’ backups rallied to beat the Chargers.
49ers 20, Cowboys 13
ARLINGTON, Texas ó Dallas rode Felix Jones and Marion Barber for most of a 94-yard touchdown drive, the highlight series during the first-half battle between the first-team units.