NFL Exhibition Roundup : Laufenberg’s Pass With :04 Left Beats Patriots, 37-36

Reserve quarterback Babe Laufenberg threw a 25-yard scoring strike to Clint Didier with four seconds remaining Friday night to rally the Washington Redskins to a 37-36 victory over the New England Patriots in a National Football League exhibition game at Washington.

The Redskins raised their record to 3-0, while the Patriots fell to 1-2.

Laufenberg, formerly of Crespi High School and Indiana University, is battling former UCLA quarterback Jay Schroeder for the backup job behind Joe Theismann.

Laufenberg threw passes of 20 and 10 yards to rookie wide receiver Joe Phillips and of 20 yards to Michael Morton to set up the pass to Didier. The drive went 80 yards in six plays and took 1:03.

Laufenberg was 12 of 21 for 200 yards in the second half to overshadow a tremendous effort by New England backup Steve Grogan. Grogan led New England from a 23-12 deficit to a 36-30 lead with less than two minutes left.

Taking over for Tony Eason in the second half, Grogan connected on 16 of 24 passes for 180 yards.

New England’s Tony Franklin kicked his fifth field goal of the night, a 38-yarder with 1:07 left, for the 36-30 lead.

Laufenberg had put the Redskins ahead with a 75-yard scoring pass to former USFL wide receiver Gary Clark with 7:40 left in the game.

Theismann, seemingly in midseason form, connected on 9 of 11 passes for 197 yards in the second quarter, including a 79-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Art Monk.

St. Louis 14, Pittsburgh 6--Stump Mitchell scored both touchdowns for the Cardinals, one on a 64-yard run, at St. Louis.

The Cardinals are 2-1, the Steelers 1-2.

Quarterback Neil Lomax played most of the first three quarters for St. Louis, completing 8 of 19 passes for 98 yards.

Pittsburgh starter Mark Malone completed 9 of 20 passes for 133 yards. Receiver Weegie Thompson caught 6 passes for 104 yards.

Detroit 31, Cincinnati 17--Eric Hipple passed for one touchdown and ran for two others to lead the Lions at Pontiac, Mich.

Hipple completed 15 of 22 passes for 164 yards.

It was the first NFL exhibition win for new Lion Coach Darryl Rogers as the team evened its record at 1-1-1. The Bengals are 1-2.