Chargers upend Rams in St. Louis

San Diego rolls to 30-13 triumph without league MVP Tomlinson

St. Louis wide receiver Isaac Bruce is tripped up by San Diego safety Marlon McCree after catching a pass for 25 yards during the Rams' 30-13 loss to the Chargers on Saturday night.

? If the San Diego Chargers can save LaDainian Tomlinson for the regular season, the St. Louis Rams figure they can preserve their star running back, too.

Tomlinson, the NFL MVP, didn’t dress for the Chargers’ 30-13 preseason victory Saturday night and hasn’t been on the field in August since 2005. St. Louis’ Steven Jackson, who led the league with 2,334 yards rushing and receiving last year, might as well have not dressed, either.

Jackson was on the field for the first play, a pass from Marc Bulger to Torry Holt, and then called it a night. In two games, Jackson has two receptions for 8 yards, but no carries.

The Chargers (1-1) didn’t need Tomlinson. Darren Sproles returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown in the final minute of the first half and Philip Rivers threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Vincent Jackson in the first quarter.

The Rams averted a shutout on backup quarterback Gus Frerotte’s 7-yard pass to Marques Hagans with 8:26 to go. Left-footed Kevin Lovell, the backup kicker behind Jeff Wilkins, who also hasn’t appeared in the preseason, hit field goals of 44 and 42 yards.

Tomlinson’s backup, Michael Turner, had nine carries for 48 yards. Jackson’s backup, second-round pick Brian Leonard, had 17 carries for 49 yards and two receptions for 18 yards.

Lions 23, Browns 20

Cleveland – Brady Quinn’s pro debut was nearly picture perfect.

With flashbulbs popping 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 he 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

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).

Cowboys 31, Broncos 20

Irving, Texas – Tony Romo was 11-of-18 for 122 yards with an interception, and Marion Barber III ran 11 times for 57 yard and two touchdowns for Dallas.

The Cowboys were up 24-6 at halftime, when both teams turned things over to backups.

Dallas (2-0) flustered Denver quarterback Jay Cutler into going 7-of-13 for only 58 yards.

Texans 33, Cardinals 20

Glendale, Ariz. – 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.

Jaguars 31, Buccaneers 19

Jacksonville, Fla. – Byron Leftwich was 6-of-12 for 81 yards for Jacksonville.

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 – 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.

The Saints (1-2) scored on their first three drives against Cincinnati’s starting unit.

Steelers 12, Redskins 10

Landover, Md. – Connor Hughes kicked three field goals in the fourth quarter, including the winner from 19 yards with 1:31 left for Pittsburgh (2-1).

Washington quarterback Jason Campbell left in the first quarter because of a bruised knee, and linebacker Marcus Washington departed in the second quarter after dislocating his right elbow.

Packers 48, Seahawks 13

Green Bay, Wis. – Brett Favre was 7-for-12 for 74 yards and a touchdown, leading Green Bay (2-0) to 17 points in its first four drives.

Favre connected with receiver James Jones for a 16-yard touchdown pass to begin the second quarter, and Jones also caught a touchdown pass from backup Aaron Rodgers later in the quarter.

Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and both starting offensive tackles sat out. Tailback Shaun Alexander played less than a quarter, carrying only three times for three yards.

49ers 26, Raiders 21

San Francisco – If Daunte Culpepper can just hold on to the ball, he might be ready to become the Oakland starting quarterback. Alex Smith and the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive starters also looked well prepared before their backups won the annual Battle of the Bay. Culpepper passed for 75 yards and threw touchdown passes to John Madsen and Zack Crockett, but 49ers rookie Thomas Clayton scored on a one-yard plunge with 47 seconds left.