NFL EXHIBITION ROUNDUP : Colts Lose George, Bengals Win

The Cincinnati Bengals found their offense, and the Indianapolis Colts may have lost theirs.

Boomer Esiason completed 17 of 24 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown as the Bengals defeated the Colts, 20-0, Saturday night at Cincinnati.

Quarterback Jeff George left the game during the Colts’ second possession with a torn ligament in his right thumb that could sideline him for several weeks.

“A guy came in on me,” George said. “I hit my hand on his helmet or chest. I knew something was wrong and immediately ran off the field.”

George completed both of his passes for 24 yards. Without him, Indianapolis (1-2) sputtered on offense behind Tom Tupa and Mark Herrmann.

New Coach Dave Shula of the Bengals (1-2), was thrilled with his home debut.

“It was exciting, a great way to get started here at home,” said Shula, 33, the youngest coach in the NFL.

“It sends a message to our fans that we’re on our way to getting things turned around.”

Bengal rookie Ostell Miles carried 14 times for 68 yards and Cincinnati wound up with 103 yards rushing and 309 passing.

N.Y. Jets 20, N.Y. Giants 14--The Jets held off the Giants at the Meadowlands and have won their first four exhibition games for the first time in 26 years.

The Jets built on a 3-0 halftime lead when Brad Baxter scored on a five-yard run and Jason Staurovsky added a 28-yard field goal to make it 13-0 lead early in the third quarter.

Ken O’Brien threw an eight-yard pass to Terance Mathis for the Jets’ final score.

Phil Simms hit Chris Calloway on a 28-yard scoring pass for the Giants (2-1) seven seconds into the fourth quarter. The Giants scored again with 53 seconds left on Louis Tillman’s one-yard run.

Giant quarterback Jeff Hostetler sustained a bruise of the pelvis and back spasms when hit on consecutive plays late in the half.

Detroit 42, New England 9--Mel Gray caught an 18-yard scoring pass from Rodney Peete and returned a kickoff 95 yards for another touchdown as the Lions beat the Patriots at Pontiac, Mich.

The Lions (1-2) sacked New England quarterbacks 10 times for losses of 73 yards and also had two interceptions.

Peete completed five of six passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Andre Ware completed five of nine for 107 yards, including a 41-yard scoring play to Willie Green, and scored on a four-yard run. Erik Kramer connected with Jeff Campbell on a 35-yard touchdown pass play.

Hugh Millen, playing the first half for the Patriots (0-3), completed 19 of 31 passes for 152 yards but had two intercepted.

Dallas 17, Denver 3--A fluke touchdown pass by Troy Aikman and rookie Chad Hennings’ fumble recovery that resulted in another score led the Cowboys past the Broncos at Irving, Tex.

Denver safety Tyrone Braxton batted a pass by Aikman into the air and Kelvin Martin ran under it for a 16-yard touchdown play.

The Cowboys’ (2-2) second touchdown came in the fourth quarter after rookie Tommy Maddox fumbled and Hennings returned it 13 yards to the Denver seven. Tommie Agee scored two plays later on a one-yard run.

The Broncos (1-3) lost John Elway because of a mild concussion in the first half after he completed 10 of 18 passes for 120 yards with two interceptions.

Miami 22, Tampa Bay 7--Doug Pederson threw two touchdown passes in the final quarter to help the Dolphins past the Buccaneers at Miami.

Pederson teamed with fullback James Saxon for a 23-yard scoring pass to put Miami (3-1) ahead, 13-7. Four minutes later, Pederson threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams.

Mazio Royster, a rookie from USC, scored for the Buccaneers (1-2) on a one-yard run.

Houston 33, New Orleans 3--Warren Moon threw two touchdown passes to Haywood Jeffires as the Oilers routed the Saints at New Orleans.

Moon, who led the Oilers (4-0) to a 20-3 halftime lead, completed 10 of 18 passes for 113 yards. Cody Carlson, who replaced Moon, completed 10 of 15 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown.

The Saints (2-1) suffered three interceptions, lost one of three fumbles and were penalized four times for 35 yards in the first half.

Seattle 17, Phoenix 10--Kelly Stouffer passed to Paul Green for two touchdowns in the first half touchdowns and the Seahawks beat the Cardinals at Seattle.

The Seahawks (2-1) held Phoenix quarterback Timm Rosenbach in check in the first half en route to a 14-3 halftime lead.

Rookie Tony Sacca threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Edwards for the Cardinals (2-1) with 2:07 left. Sacca had Phoenix at the Seattle one-yard-line when the game ended.