PATRIOT 25, BUCCANEERS 21
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Two days after spraining his left knee, Tom Brady completed his first 11 passes before missing his last one and threw his first touchdown pass to new top wide receiver Danny Amendola in the New England Patriots' exhibition victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday night.
Brady played the first two series, then rested.
Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman also started and worked two possessions, but the former Kansas State quarterback had a much rougher time against the team they'll face in the third game of the regular season. He was sacked three times and completed only two of three passes before rookie Mike Glennon took over.
Brady left Wednesday's joint practice with Tampa Bay (0-2) after he was knocked down by his own left tackle, Nate Solder, who was shoved backward by defensive end Adrian Clayborn.
An MRI on his knee was negative and he participated fully in the walkthrough Thursday. Then he picked apart the Bucs' starting defense on his first possession and a group sprinkled with backups on his second.
Amendola, signed as a free agent from St. Louis, caught six passes for 71 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown on the game's first series. Brady completed all eight of his passes for 72 yards, even adding a 2-point conversion pass to rookie tight end Zach Sudfeld after Amendola's touchdown.
Then Brady connected on his first three throws on his next possession, reaching 107 yards passing for the night, before missing Amendola on third-and-7. Brady has played four series in two games, starting with a 31-22 win over Philadelphia, and completed 18 of 20 passes for 172 yards.
49ERS 15, CHIEFS 13
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith struggled against his former team, and backup San Francisco quarterback B.J. Daniels threw a late touchdown pass to lift the 49ers last the Chiefs.
Phil Dawson hit all three of his field-goal attempts for the 49ers (1-1), two of them 55-yarders, while the Chiefs' Quintin Demps returned a kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown.
Smith was just 7 of 16 for 62 yards while playing the full first half, but he did help Kansas City to two field goals. The 49ers didn't go easy on him, either: Tony Jerod-Eddie was flagged for delivering a helmet-to-helmet hit on Smith in the second quarter.
Colin Kaepernick, who took over Smith's starting job in San Francisco last season, only played the first offensive series. He threw a pair of passes with one completion for minus-3 yards. The Chiefs (0-2) played without Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles, who strained his right foot in practice Monday.
SAINTS 28, RAIDERS 20
NEW ORLEANS — Drew Brees passed for 202 yards and a touchdown while leading five scoring drives, and the New Orleans survived a sloppy second half to beat Oakland.
Brees' scoring strike was a 16-yarder to rookie Kenny Stills, who made the most of his second straight game playing with the first-team offense. Brees completed 78 percent of his passes (14 of 18), including a 56-yarder to Nick Toon, setting up Mark Ingam's 2-yard TD run.
New Orleans' new defense under coordinator Rob Ryan thrived, sacking Matt Flynn five times in the first half. The Saints (2-0) led 23-0 before the Raiders (1-1) scored on Flynn's lone TD pass, an 18-yarder to Denarius Moore, late in the first half. Flynn was 12 of 16 for 124 yards.
BILLS 20, VIKINGS 16
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Rookie EJ Manuel took another step toward securing Buffalo's starting quarterback job, and the defense stuffed Minnesota.
Manuel went 10 of 12 for 92 yards and a touchdown through three series in the second half. Kevin Kolb was 13 of 21 for 111 yards and an interception in the first half.
Jerry Hughes had two sacks starting in place of defensive end Mario Williams, sidelined by soreness. Backup linebacker Jamie Blatnick recovered a fumble for a touchdown for Buffalo (2-0).
The Vikings (0-2) struggled on offense without their star player, Adrian Peterson, who continues to be rested through the preseason. They combined for 74 yards offense and four first downs in the first half.
