CLEVELAND (AP) -Brady Quinn’s pro debut was nearly picture perfect.
With flashbulbs popping all around the stadium, Quinn threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes in his first NFL exhibition game and looked better than any Cleveland quarterback in the Browns’ 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Saturday night.
The former Notre Dame star entered with the Browns down 23-7.
As No. 10 jogged onto the field with 9:20 remaining, Cleveland fans welcomed Quinn with a roaring ovation, and many of them stayed on their feet after Quinn hit Chris Barclay on a screen pass that went for 30 yards on his first play.
Quinn completed five passes in a row before his first miss. On second-and-3 at Detroit’s 4, he calmly rolled to his right and drilled a TD pass to rookie Efrem Hill, who got open near the sideline.
The next time Cleveland (1-1) got the ball, Quinn drove the Browns 92 yards in 1:52, hitting Jerome Harrison with a 6-yard TD pass with 18 seconds left.
Quinn, who missed 11 days of training camp before signing a five-year, $20.2 million contract, didn’t play in last week’s win over Kansas City.
Quinn finished 13-of-20 – with three spikes to stop the clock – for 155 yards.
Playing the entire first half, Jon Kitna finished 12-of-16 for 137 yards and hit Shaun McDonald with a 14-yard scoring pass just before halftime for the Lions (2-0).
Texans 33, Cardinals 20
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Matt Schaub was 9-of-12 for 108 yards and ran 5 yards for a score and Houston went on to beat Arizona in Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt’s home debut.
Matt Leinart, who coincidentally wears No. 7 for Arizona (0-2), went 7-for-7 for 70 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown pass to Edgerrin James.
Texans rookie Jacoby Jones returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown and backup Sage Rosenfels threw 40 yards to Charlie Smith for another score to help Houston (1-1) dominate the third quarter. Rosenfels was 8-for-13 for 125 yards.
Jaguars 31, Buccaneers 19
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Byron Leftwich was 6-of-12 for 81 yards for Jacksonville, but was sacked once and nearly half his yardage came after a missed tackle.
Leftwich was 2-of-6 for 12 yards in three series against Tampa Bay’s first-team defense. He played long after most of the Buccaneers’ starters were lifted and took advantage of the mismatch. Jacksonville (1-1) scored on all four drives against Tampa Bay’s backups in the first half.
Jeff Garcia gave Tampa Bay (1-1) an early lead when he scrambled right and found David Boston in the end zone. Garcia finished 6-of-6 for 43 yards, but he also was sacked once and fumbled a snap in three series.
Saints 27, Bengals 19
CINCINNATI (AP) – Drew Brees led New Orleans to a touchdown in his only series Saturday night, completing all six throws he made.
The NFL’s leading passer last season, Brees had his way with the league’s worst pass defense, one that Cincinnati (0-2) put a lot of moves and money into trying to upgrade in the offseason. The Saints (1-2) scored on their first three drives against Cincinnati’s starting unit.
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