St. Louis — The Chicago Bears lost their second preseason game, 17-13, to the St. Louis Rams - but more importantly, they lost starting quarterback Rex Grossman for three to four months when the former Florida standout broke his left ankle.
Rams backup quarterback Jamie Martin threw two touchdown passes in St. Louis' preseason opener. Starter Marc Bulger went 3-for-5 for 38 yards to start the first quarter.
Adrian Peterson had a 9-yard touchdown run for the Bears (1-1), playing their second game in five days; their first was a 27-24 win over Miami in the Hall of Fame game.
Grossman, the Bears' first-round pick in 2003, was hurt with 11:08 to go in the first half on a 4-yard completion to Darnell Sanders after being flushed out of the pocket by Jeremy Loyd and Trev Faulk, who spun Grossman around and dumped him.
Grossman got back to his feet but began limping and signaled for a trainer. He then sat down and grabbed his left knee in pain, slamming his helmet on the cart before being taken off the field.
The Bears used four quarterbacks last year and have used at least three in six of seven seasons.
Grossman was 6-for-11 for 52 yards before leaving a scoreless game. Backup Chad Hutchinson produced Chicago's only first-half score, finishing the drive on which Grossman was injured capped by Peterson's run.
Bears linebacker Joe Odum also left in the second quarter because of a concussion sustained in a helmet-to-helmet tackle.
The first-round picks for both teams missed the game. Bears running back Cedric Benson remained a holdout, and Rams offensive tackle Alex Barron didn't arrive in camp until game day after agreeing to a five-year contract two days earlier.
Buccaneers 20, Titans 17, OT
Nashville, Tenn. - Steve McNair tested his surgically repaired chest and Tennessee's new offense, and he is very happy with the early results for both.
McNair scrambled and even took a hit that had fans holding their breath until he popped back up. But Matt Bryant kicked a 33-yard field goal 3:02 into overtime, and the Buccaneers beat the Titans.
Jets 10, Lions 3
East Rutherford, N.J. - Jay Fiedler and Joey Harrington each looked comfortable running their teams' new offensive systems.
Fiedler, filling in for starter Chad Pennington, capped a 98-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run in the New York Jets' preseason victory over Detroit. Harrington was 9-for-9 for 100 yards.
Seahawks 34, Saints 15
New Orleans - Seattle need not worry about whether Seneca Wallace can be trusted to take over the role of No. 2 quarterback. Wallace, tapped as Matt Hasselbeck's backup after Trent Dilfer was traded to Cleveland, scored on a slashing 24-yard scramble and passed for another touchdown in the Seahawks' victory.
Patriots 23, Bengals 13
Cincinnati - Rookie quarterback Matt Cassel led four scoring drives as defending champion New England beat Cincinnati.
Cassel never started a college game while backing up Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at Southern California, and now he is battling 42-year-old Doug Flutie for New England's No. 3 quarterback spot behind Tom Brady and Rohan Davey.
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