Tom Brady on target, New England beats Tampa Bay Buccaneers

By Associated Press

Aug 16, 2013 | 8:50 PM

Tom Brady on target, New England beats Tampa Bay Buccaneers — New England quarterback Tom Brady's knee didn't give him any problems in the Patriots' preseason victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday. (Jared Wickerham / Getty Images)

Tom Brady put to rest worries about his knee. His nearly perfect arm was never a concern.

Two days after spraining his left knee, the New England star completed his first 11 passes before missing his last one and threw his first touchdown pass to new top wide receiver Danny Amendola. Brady played the first two series, then rested as the Patriots went on to a 25-21 exhibition victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday night at Foxborough, Mass.

Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman worked two possessions, was sacked three times and completed only two of three passes for eight yards before rookie Mike Glennon took over.

In other preseason games:

• Drew Brees passed for 202 yards and a touchdown while leading five scoring drives at New Orleans, and the Saints survived a sloppy second half for a 28-20 victory over the Oakland Raiders. New Orleans' new defense under coordinator Rob Ryan sacked Matt Flynn (12 of 16, one touchdown) five times in the first half.

• Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (seven for 16, 62 yards) struggled against his former team, and backup San Francisco quarterback B.J. Daniels threw a late touchdown pass to give the 49ers a 15-13 victory at Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs' Quintin Demps returned a kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown.

• Rookie quarterback EJ Manuel took another step toward securing the Buffalo Bills' starting job, and the defense stuffed the Minnesota Vikings, 20-16, at Orchard Park, N.Y. Manuel went 10 of 12 for 92 yards and a touchdown through three series in the second half.

Vikingsstar player Adrian Peterson continues to be rested through the preseason.

Chargers' miscues

Two exhibition games into the Mike McCoy era and the San Diego Chargers don't look that much different than they did in the final years of the Norv Turner era.

The Chargers (0-2) committed four turnovers and had some big special teams breakdowns in a 33-28 loss at Chicago on Thursday night.

Philip Rivers, who had 22 turnovers last year, threw an interception and lost a fumble while being sacked. Backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst lost a fumble, and rookie Keenan Allen muffed a punt.

"You can't turn the ball over four times on the road. It's tough enough in this league to win on the road and if you do that you put yourself in a very bad position," McCoy said Friday.

The Chargers had a punt blocked and gave up a 100-yard kickoff return by Michael Ford, setting up a three-yard scoring run by Michael Bush.

San Diego's Ryan Mathews, who needs a big bounce-back season, looked good gaining 45 yards on nine carries. Rookie right tackle D.J. Fluker took out two defenders on Fozzy Whittaker's three-yard touchdown run.

Etc.

Browns rookie outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo remained at the Cleveland Clinic on Friday, a day after suffering a bruised lung in the first half of an exhibition win against Detroit. Coach Rob Chudzinski said running back Dion Lewis will need surgery to repair his broken leg. ... Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Le'Veon Bell (aggravated left knee injury) practiced in a limited capacity. ... Indianapolis tight end Dwayne Allen got rid of the walking boot on his injured right foot. The Colts remain hopeful he will be healthy enough to return for the Sept. 8 season opener against Oakland.

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