NFL preseason: Top moments from Colts vs. Panthers to wrap up weekend

The NFL preseason continues to fill the football-shaped hole in our hearts as the 2021-22 regular season inches closer.

Most of the action took place prior to Sunday, but there was still one tilt to keep the football-starved fans fed, as the Indianapolis Colts hosted the Carolina Panthers.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 21, CAROLINA PANTHERS 18

All eyes were on Colts quarterback Jacob Eason in Sunday's game, with the second-year man the presumed fill-in for starter Carson Wentz heading into the regular season.

Sam Ehlinger also got into game action, as the Colts gave their in-house options an opportunity to stake a claim at being the team's QB with Wentz on the mend.

Both young quarterbacks had some good moments, with Eason setting a pretty high bar in the first half by going 15-for-21 for 183 yards.

Although he didn't have any touchdown passes, Eason didn't throw any picks, either. Plus, he orchestrated a TD drive to close out the half and make the score 15-10 at the time.

Eason wasn't flawless, however. He held on to the ball on a few too many occasions and allowed the Panthers to rack up three sacks in the first half.

Meanwhile, running back Chuba Hubbard and quarterback P.J. Walker both enjoyed first-half success against the Colts. 

Hubbard broke free for a ridiculous, 59-yard run after seemingly being bottled up on third-and-1 in the second quarter.

Walker hit on back-to-back passes following Hubbard's run to give Carolina its first touchdown of the game, making it 15-3 at the time.

As mentioned, Eason rallied the Colts before halftime to cut the score to 15-10 before giving way to Ehlinger.

Given the second half to make an impression, Ehlinger went 10-for-15 for 155 yards and tossed an early interception.

Ehlinger also showed positive flashes in his half of work, including finding fellow rookie Tyler Vaughns for a highlight-reel catch midway through the fourth quarter.

The Colts punched it in on the ground following the catch and made the two-point conversion to knot the game at 18 apiece with 7:43 remaining.

Indianapolis was on the move late in the game, as the Colts sought to break the tie. Ehlinger was making it happen with his quick feet on a couple of scrambles. He ended up gaining 30 yards on the ground on eight carries.

The drive set up what turned out to be a game-winning field goal by Eddy Pineiro.

After an action-packed slate Friday, it was more of the same Saturday, with a dazzling, 10-game lineup that made for arguably one of the most electric days of preseason football, with debuts for the first four quarterbacks taken in the 2021 NFL Draft — Justin Fields, Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance — as well as for Jordan Love and Kellen Mond. 

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Here are the top moments from Saturday's NFL slate.

Chicago Bears 20, Miami Dolphins 13

Up first, the Bears defended their home turf against the Dolphins, and the No. 11 pick in the draft, Fields, stole the show when he rallied the Bears from a 13-point deficit to secure the win. 

The 22-year-old made his NFL debut when he entered the game in the second quarter, and Bears fans absolutely erupted with excitement at Soldier Field. 

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After a bit of a slow start, Fields led Chicago on a 77-yard scoring drive to open the third quarter, capped by an 8-yard touchdown run.

Fields' second score of the day came when he faked out the Dolphins' defense and connected with tight end Jesse James on a 30-yard pass.

The former Ohio State standout finished the day 14-for-20 for 142 passing yards, along with five rushes for 33 yards. Veteran quarterback Andy Dalton finished 2-for-4 for 18 passing yards.

On the other side, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa showed off his arm strength early, connecting with Mike Gesicki for a 50-yard completion on Miami's second drive of the game.

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The 23-year-old Tagovailoa, who previously spoke to the media about his struggles under center last season, looked more confident this time around. He went 8-for-11 for 99 passing yards and one interception.

Also in the first quarter, Tagovailoa's former Alabama teammate and No. 6 overall pick Jaylen Waddle made his NFL debut with this 24-yard punt return.

Denver Broncos 33, Minnesota Vikings 6

Next up, the Broncos also proved successful on the road, with a dominant 33-6 victory against the Vikings. Another QB who showed out Saturday was Drew Lock, who launched an 80-yard TD to K.J. Hamler midway through the first quarter to get things started for Denver.

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Lock built on that momentum in the second quarter, finishing the day 5-for-7 with 151 passing yards and two TDs, while Teddy Bridgewater, who is competing for the starting job after being traded by the Carolina Panthers in April, finished 7-for-8 with 74 passing yards and one TD.

Rookie cornerback Patrick Surtain, who was selected ninth overall in this year's draft, kept his head on a swivel, allowing zero catches in Saturday's matchup. The 21-year-old continued to impress when he intercepted this pass from third-string QB Jake Browning and raced 30 yards down the sideline for his first NFL TD.

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Cleveland Browns 23, Jacksonville Jaguars 13

No Baker Mayfield, no problem for the Browns.

The incumbent starter wasn't in action for Cleveland, but third-string QB Kyle Lauletta did his best impersonation, going 19-for-27 for 212 passing yards and two TDs, including this dime to Davion Davis.

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On the other side, No. 1 overall pick Lawrence made his highly anticipated debut as the Jaguars' starter Saturday. Despite getting off to a rocky start, the 21-year-old kept cool under pressure and displayed poise in the pocket with this third-down throw to Marvin Jones Jr. for a gain of 35 yards.

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In the first half, Lawrence went 6-for-9 for 71 passing yards, connecting with Jones (three receptions, 52 yards), Laviska Shenault Jr. (two receptions, 14 yards) and Chris Manhertz (one reception, five yards) before being subbed out for Gardner Minshew midway through the second quarter. Minshew started his preseason with a sack courtesy of Cleveland's Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

The Jaguars struggled, gaining 85 total yards and going no further than the Browns' 43-yard line in the first half, which left them in a 13-point hole heading into halftime. Third-string QB C.J. Beathard finally got Jacksonville on the board in the fourth quarter, followed by a second score from fourth-string Jake Luton as the final seconds ticked down, but it wasn't enough to pull off a comeback.

Baltimore Ravens 17, New Orleans Saints 14

With Saturday's win over the Saints, the Ravens have an 18-game preseason winning streak dating to 2015, the longest preseason winning streak by any team in the past 25 years, per Adam Schefter. 

It wasn't all smooth sailing, but Baltimore was once again able to secure a win against New Orleans. The Ravens' defense forced three turnovers on the Saints' first four drives, but their offense struggled early, with no first downs in the first quarter. Still, Baltimore was first on the board after Justin Tucker nailed a 56-yard field goal at the top of the second.

Trace McSorely and Tyler Huntley were at the helm for the Ravens, and Taysom Hill, Jameis Winston and Ian Book — who each threw one interception — shared snaps for the Saints.

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In the end, the Ravens' top-tier defensive plays — such as this interception from Geno Stone — proved too much for the Saints, who had three fumbles and three picks, compared to Baltimore's two fumbles and one interception.

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Cincinnati Bengals 19, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14

The Joe Burrow-less Bengals took on the reigning Super Bowl champion Buccaneers, and former LSU star and No. 5 draft pick Ja'Marr Chase — the first player in Bengals history to wear No. 1 — made his debut with this 16-yard reception from backup QB Brandon Allen.

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Cincinnati led 7-6 at halftime, but Tampa Bay came back in a big way in the second half to get within arm's reach, 16-14. It all came down to the final minute, and with 21 seconds left in the game, Austin Seibert made a 38-yard field goal to make it a five-point game, and things ended there. 

Cincinnati attacked with both the running and passing game, rushing for 118 yards and passing for 185, compared to Tampa Bay's 29 yards on the ground and 130 yards in the air.

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New York Jets 12, New York Giants 7

It was another QB debut when this year's second overall pick, BYU product Wilson, took the field for the Jets, who nearly shut out the Giants on Saturday. The 22-year-old rookie got off to a solid start, connecting with Corey Davis on this picture-perfect pass that brought Jets fans to their feet.

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Overall, Wilson had a quiet night, finishing 6-for-9 for 63 passing yards. The Jets ended with 227 passing yards between Wilson, James Morgan (5-for-9, 45 yards) and Mike White (13-for-19, 127 yards), while the Giants had a mere 58 yards, with their first and only score coming midway through the fourth. They did, however, record five sacks on the night.

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Houston Texans 26, Green Bay Packers 7

The Texans dominated Green Bay — which was missing a third of its team in the preseason opener, including Aaron Rodgers — as Love made his debut under center. He went 12-for-17 for 122 passing yards, with the Packers’ singular TD.

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On the other side, Tyrod Taylor went 4-for-4 for 40 yards in his lone first-quarter series, and rookie QB Davis Mills, the Texans' third-round pick from Stanford, went 11-for-22 for 112 passing yards and led two scoring drives. Ka'imi Fairbairn scored four field goals for Houston, and Jaleel Johnson showed out with two fumble recoveries.

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Kansas City Chiefs 19, San Francisco 49ers 16

No. 3 overall pick Lance went 5-for-14 for 128 passing yards and one TD in his debut for the 49ers against the Chiefs, including this 80-yard bomb to Trent Sherfield on his second pass of the game. 

The longest pass Jimmy Garoppolo has thrown in his seven-year career is 76 yards, fueling the Niners' starter debate. Garoppolo finished the game 3-for-3 for 26 passing yards.

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The Chiefs were trailing the 49ers 16-13 with less than a minute and a half to play when Shane Buechele, who finished 8-for-11 for 76 passing yards, ran in K.C.'s lone rushing TD to take the lead and wrap up the game.

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Las Vegas Raiders 20, Seattle Seahawks 7

The Raiders defeated the Seahawks in front of nearly 65,000 fans Saturday at Allegiant Stadium, thanks largely to Nathan Peterman's whopping 227-yard passing performance. He went 29-for-39 and added six carries for 32 yards.

Las Vegas shot out to a 13-0 lead heading into halftime, but the Seahawks came out strong in the second half, as DeeJay Dallas scored with this 43-yd TD from Alex McGough less than four minutes into the third quarter.

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Midway through the fourth, B.J. Emmons extended the Raiders' lead with this leaping, 2-yard rush, good for a TD that sealed the Seahawks' fate.

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Los Angeles Chargers 13, Los Angeles Rams 6

To close things out, the two L.A. teams were neck-and-neck for most of the game, with things knotted up at six apiece heading into halftime. Midway through the third quarter, Darius Bradwell ran in a TD for the Chargers to take back the lead over the Rams.

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Bryce Perkins went 7-for-10 for 42 yards, including this 4-yard pass to a wide-open Trishton Jackson for the Chargers' second score of the night. Jackson made this stellar run look easy, stiff-arm and hurdle included.

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