Giants 19, Patriots 14

East Rutherford, N.J. – No Tom Brady. No Eli Manning.

New England and New York took no chances with their quarterbacks in their preseason that matched February’s Super Bowl opponents.

David Carr took advantage of Manning’s rare night off and threw two touchdown passes for the Giants.

Titans 23, Packers 21

Green Bay, Wis. – Aaron Rodgers took the rest of the night off after throwing a touchdown pass on his first snap of the night for Green Bay.

The Titans’ victory came despite continued inconsistent play by quarterback Vince Young, who made a few big plays but failed to capitalize on several scoring chances despite playing with good field position against the Packers’ defensive reserves.

Falcons 10, Ravens 9

Baltimore – The top two quarterbacks selected in the 2008 NFL draft started their team’s final preseason game – for vastly different reasons.

Matt Ryan played two series Thursday night to get a feel for being Atlanta’s starting quarterback. Joe Flacco started out of necessity for Baltimore, and his so-so performance did little to bring any clarity to the Ravens’ messy quarterback situation.

Bengals 27, Colts 7

Indianapolis – Cincinnati didn’t need Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson or T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

The Bengals scored touchdowns on their first two series and never gave the Colts a chance to rally.

Cincinnati kept a handful of starters out of the game, including its three biggest names, and Rudi Johnson, who never made it onto the field.

Jaguars 24, Redskins 3

Landover, Md. – Gregg Williams showed up the team that let him go, his Jacksonville Jaguars defense stopping cold a Washington Redskins first-string attack that once again looked far from ready for the regular season.

The Jaguars held the Redskins’ starters to 14 total yards in three first-quarter drives, and David Garrard, Cleo Lemon and Todd Bouman all threw a touchdown pass for Jacksonville.

Lions 14, Bills 6

Orchard Park, N.Y. – The Bills played one starter, safety Ko Simpson, and the Lions played seven, including fullback Jerome Felton, who scored on a 9-yard reception from Dan Orlovsky in what proved to be a glorified scrimmage even by preseason standards.

Cowboys 16, Vikings 10

Irving, Texas – Terrell Owens and freshly reinstated Adam “Pacman” Jones didn’t even bother to put on their football pants.

T.O. wore warmup pants and Jones was in shorts while watching from the sideline with the rest of the Dallas starters as the Dallas beat Minnesota in the preseason finale that amounted to a glorified tryout for both teams.

Buccaneers 16, Texans 6

Houston – With three catches this preseason, Dexter Jackson probably isn’t the receiver Tampa Bay has been looking for to play opposite Joey Galloway.

The speedy rookie is finding other ways to contribute.

Jackson returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter as the Buccaneers’ backups beat Houston’s backups.

Jackson, a second-round draft pick from Appalachian State, is a dynamic former track star whom the Buccaneers hope to use in a variety of ways.

Dolphins 14, Saints 10

New Orleans – Ronnie Brown returned from a thumb injury in good enough form to make a case for sharing carries with Ricky Williams this season.

Brown rushed 12 times for 47 yards and powered his way into the end zone on a 1-yard run to help Miami win its third straight preseason contest.

Jets 27, Eagles 20

Philadelphia – Brett Favre slung a few passes during pregame drills and called it a night.

With Favre sitting out, fourth-string quarterback Erik Ainge led the Jets to victory in the preseason finale.

Ainge drove the Jets 67 yards for the go-ahead score on their first possession of the third quarter. A 39-yard catch-and-run by Jesse Chatman started the drive. Ainge then tossed a 6-yard TD pass to David Ball to give the Jets a 17-13 lead.

Steelers 19, Panthers 16

Pittsburgh – Jeff Reed kicked his fourth field goal of the game and his eighth in less than a week, a 43-yarder on the last play, to clinch the victory for Pittsburgh.

Bears 16, Browns 10

Cleveland – Brady Quinn looked better prepared for the season opener in case Derek Anderson isn’t ready, leading Cleveland on two scoring drives in a losing cause.

Quinn finished 7-of-9 for 65 yards in his two series. The second-year quarterback completed mostly short passes and seemed to make all the right reads while leading the Browns to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.

Kyle Orton, recently picked to start the season at quarterback over Rex Grossman, went 4-of-7 for 51 yards with one interception in two possessions as the Bears (1-3) avoided their first winless preseason since 1998.