INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Stetson Bennett passed for 188 yards and two touchdowns in a strong start to the preseason, leading the Los Angeles Rams to a 31-21 victory over the Cowboys on Saturday night in new Coach Brian Schottenheimer's debut.
Blake Corum rushed for short TDs to cap the Rams' first two offensive drives behind Bennett, the two-time national champion at the University of Georgia attempting to secure his job as the Rams' third-string quarterback for another season.
Looking much sharper than he did a year ago against the Cowboys, Bennett went 16 for 24 and hit Cody Schrader and Brennan Presley for touchdowns in the second half. Bennett's only interception resulted from an exceptional play made by Dallas' Israel Mukuamu on a long pass.
Joe Milton passed for 143 yards before injuring his elbow in the fourth quarter of a solid debut with the Cowboys, throwing a touchdown pass to Rivaldo Fairweather with 8:48 to play. The second-year pro, who had one interception while going 17 for 29, is looking to cement his job as Dak Prescott's backup.
Will Grier replaced Milton for the final series and rushed for a TD with 2:31 left.
STEELERS 31, JAGUARS 25
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Travis Hunter's professional debut included 10 snaps on offense, eight on defense and no highlights.
The Heisman Trophy winner and second overall pick in the NFL Draft was relatively quiet in Jacksonville's loss to Pittsburgh. He caught two passes for 9 yards, with a long gain of 6, and missed an open-field tackle.
Hunter did, however, have a front-row seat for the most exciting play of the night: former University of Arkansas kicker Cam Little drilled a 70-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, a kick that would have broken the NFL record had it happened during the regular season.
Little and the Jaguars celebrated as the half ended. Holder Logan Cooke lifted both arms shortly after the ball took flight. Little leaned forward a little and then raised an arm as it cleared the crossbar.
Cooke pushed Little to start the party, and then Hunter greeted Little on the field with a midair body-bump.
Baltimore's Justin Tucker holds the NFL mark, having made a 66-yarder at Detroit in 2021.
Little, a sixth-round draft pick in 2024, made 27 of 29 field-goal attempts as a rookie and all 27 extra points. His long was 59 yards.
He seemed to know his latest one was good from the onset. He watched intently and pumped his fist as it slid a little left and cleared the bar by several yards -- far enough that the ball boy caught it.
CARDINALS 20, CHIEFS 17
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Patrick Mahomes needed just 48 seconds on the field to get his preseason off to a good start.
Mahomes -- a three-time Super Bowl champ entering his ninth season with Kansas City -- took advantage of a short field after Arizona fumbled the opening kickoff, hitting Jason Brownlee for a 1-yard touchdown and an early 7-0 lead.
Arizona rallied for a win in the preseason opener for both teams.
The TD pass was Mahomes' only completion of the game, ending a brief, effective outing. Backup Gardner Minshew took over on the next series and ran for a 2-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Harrison Butker made a 58-yard field goal.
Mahomes' final line: 1-for-1 passing for 1 yard and one touchdown. The three-time defending AFC champions were playing for the first time since losing last season's Super Bowl 40-22 to the Philadelphia Eagles.
While Kansas City got off to a good start, Arizona's starters were a little sloppy.
The Cardinals fumbled their first two kickoff returns, though they recovered the second one. Kyler Murray -- playing in his first preseason game since 2021 -- was intercepted on the offense's opening drive on a pass intended for second-year receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
Murray's second drive was hindered when tight end Tip Reiman was called for a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness. The miscue was part of the reason the Cardinals had to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Chad Ryland.
Murray played two drives, completing 7 of 8 passes for 96 yards and the interception. Tight end Trey McBride caught one pass for 21 yards and Harrison had a catch for 15 yards.
BUCCANEERS 29, TITANS 7
TAMPA, Fla. -- Cam Ward's pro debut was solid, if unspectacular.
The first overall pick in this year's NFL Draft completed 5 of 8 passes for 67 yards, but more importantly was composed and looked comfortable running Tennessee's offense in the Titans' loss to Tampa Bay.
Two days after working against the Bucs defense in a joint practice at Tampa Bay's training facility, Ward played three offensive series, including an impressive second-quarter touchdown drive that gave the Titans a glimpse of what the franchise is counting on to be a bright future with him at quarterback.
The 6-2, 219-pound rookie completed three passes to Calvin Ridley to account for all but 15 yards on the 11-play, 65-yard TD drive Tony Pollard finished with a 1-yard scoring run. That came after the Tennessee offense spent more than 14 minutes of the opening quarter on the sideline while Tampa Bay was building a 10-0 lead and a whopping 143-5 advantage in total yardage while running 22 plays to Tennessee's 3.
Ward began his team's only scoring drive with a 27-yard completion over the middle to a wide-open Ridley and later led his target cutting across the middle again with a nice throw for a 13-yard gain into Tampa Bay territory. The rookie got away with his worst throw of the night when Bucs cornerback Josh Hayes made a nice adjustment on a sideline throw intended for receiver Elic Ayomanor but was unable to hang on to the ball for an interception.
Ward, who had no turnovers and was not sacked, left the game after leading one more drive that ended with a punt. Backup Brandon Allen (Fayetteville, Razorbacks) entered to kneel down on the final play of the first half, then shared playing time after halftime with Tim Boyle.
JETS 30, PACKERS 10
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Justin Fields ran for a 13-yard touchdown in his lone series and the New York Jets defeated Green Bay in the preseason opener for both teams.
New Jets Coach Aaron Glenn, the former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator, said he wanted to win this game even though it was a mere exhibition. Fields and an opportunistic defense helped make that happen.
Fields joined the Jets in March on a two-year, $40 million contract after making a combined 44 starts with the Chicago Bears (2021-23) and Pittsburgh Steelers (2024). He engineered a 10-play, 79-yard drive in his first game with his new team.
On third-and-5, Fields ran his way out of a collapsing pocket, made a move to get past Keisean Nixon's diving tackle attempt and got into the right corner of the end zone. Fields also went 3 of 4 through the air for 42 yards, including a 24-yard completion to Andrew Beck.
At a glance
NFL EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
SATURDAY'S GAMES
NY Giants 34 Buffalo 25
Minnesota 20, Houston 10
LA Rams 31, Dallas 21
Pittsburgh 31, Jacksonville 25
Tampa Bay 29, Tennessee 7
Arizona 20, Kansas City 17
NY Jets 30, Green Bay 10
Denver 30, San Francisco 9
SUNDAY'S GAMES
All times Central
Miami at Chicago, noon
New Orleans at LA Chargers, 3 p.m.
Los Angeles Rams safety Nate Valcarcel (43) tackles Dallas Cowboys tight end Tyler Neville (46) during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Rams safety Nate Valcarcel (43) tackles Dallas Cowboys tight end Tyler Neville (46) during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dallas Cowboys safety Israel Mukuamu (24) intercepts a pass intended for Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Konata Mumpfield (15) during the second half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
Dallas Cowboys safety Israel Mukuamu (24) intercepts a pass intended for Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Konata Mumpfield (15) during the second half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Xavier Smith (19) makes a catch over Dallas Cowboys safety Markquese Bell (14) during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Xavier Smith (19) makes a catch over Dallas Cowboys safety Markquese Bell (14) during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton III (10) throws against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton III (10) throws against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)