Collins and Brunell Are Both Injured

Two young quarterbacks who led expansion teams to conference championship games last season--Carolina’s Kerry Collins and Jacksonville’s Mark Brunell--were injured in exhibition games Saturday night.

Collins, who at age 24 has started 25 of Carolina’s 34 games and led the Panthers to the NFC championship game, suffered a broken jaw in his team’s 23-13 loss to the Denver Broncos at Charlotte, N.C.

Brunell, who at age 26 has started 29 of Jacksonville’s 35 games and led the Jaguars to the AFC championship game, injured his right knee in his team’s 38-16 victory over the New York Giants at East Rutherford, N.J.

Collins will be sidelined indefinitely, while Brunell’s status will be determined after he undergoes an MRI exam today.

Brunell was hit by Giant linebacker Jessie Armstead in the second quarter as he planted his leg on the artificial turf. He was replaced by former USC quarterback Rob Johnson, who threw touchdown passes of 60 yards to Jimmy Smith and 35 yards to Will Moore as the Jaguars improved their record to 2-0. The Giants are 1-1.

Brunell recently signed a five-year $31-million contract that included a $10-million bonus. He was the only quarterback to take every snap in 1996 and led the NFL in passing yards (4,367).

Collins was injured in the second quarter when he took a hard shot under the chin from Bill Romanowski as he threw a pass. On the same play, Carolina’s All-Pro tight end Wesley Walls suffered a bruised right knee after making the reception. He is not expected to miss any significant playing time. The Panthers fell to 0-2.

Denver (2-1) got a solid performance from second-year quarterback Jeff Lewis in place of John Elway, who could be sidelined for regular-season opener because of a ruptured right biceps tendon. Lewis completed eight of 18 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown.

Bubby Brister, trying to return to the NFL after a one-year absence, relieved Lewis in the second half and was five of eight for 55 yards. Brister directed a 16-play 90-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.

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The San Diego Chargers (2-0) showed how varied and quick striking their new offense can be in a 23-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts (1-1) at San Diego.

Stan Humphries threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Pro Bowl receiver Tony Martin and Gary Brown scored on a 62-yard run after an inside handoff out of the shotgun formation for the Chargers.

Brown, who finished with 101 yards in eight carries, can earn a $1-million bonus if he runs for 1,000 yards in the regular season. He was out of football last year because of an injury and being overweight. Brown gained 1,002 yards for Houston in 1993, when new Charger Coach Kevin Gilbride was the Oilers’ offensive coordinator.

Humphries, whose touchdown pass also came out of the shotgun, left after spraining his right ankle midway through the second quarter. He was taken in for precautionary X-rays, which were negative. Humphries was two of nine for 88 yards.

Indianapolis tailback Marshall Faulk, a former San Diego State star, had six carries for eight yards and caught five passes for 32 yards.

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Second-string quarterback Jeff Brohm’s one-yard touchdown pass to Chadd Fann with 12:32 remaining was the go-ahead score for the San Francisco 49ers (1-1) in their 21-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks (1-2) at San Francisco. It was new 49er Coach Steve Mariucci’s home debut.

Steve Young played into the second quarter for the 49ers, completing seven of 14 passes for 33 yards, including a six-yard touchdown to Jerry Rice.

Seattle’s second-string quarterback Warren Moon was nine-of-15 passing for 78 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown to Joey Galloway.

Seattle’s two first-round draft picks--tackle Walter Jones and cornerback Shawn Springs--saw their first action after signing contracts earlier this week. San Francisco’s top draft pick, quarterback Jim Druckenmiller, also played for the first time.

Jones held his own against defensive end Chris Doleman but didn’t pick up a safety blitz by Merton Hanks that resulted in one of five sacks by the 49ers. Springs broke up a couple of passes intended for J.J. Stokes, while Druckenmiller completed five of seven passes for 47 yards.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-2) were stopped six times inside the Atlanta one-yard line in the final two minutes of a 17-12 loss to the Falcons (1-1) in Atlanta. It was the home debut for new Falcon Coach Dan Reeves.

Scott Milanovich’s 13-yard pass to Willy Tate on third-and-9 gave Tampa Bay a first down at the Atlanta 3. Reggie Brooks got one yard on two consecutive carries to the before Milanovich threw incomplete on third down. Milanovich also threw an incomplete pass on fourth down, the Buccaneers were awarded a first-and-goal when the Falcons’ Marcus Winberly was called for interference.

Brooks was then stopped four consecutive times from the 1 and Atlanta ran out the final 36 seconds.

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Second-string quarterback Doug Nussmeier threw two touchdown passes as the New Orleans Saints (2-0) were 26-7 winners over the Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) at New Orleans.

Although the Saints did not score a touchdown with their first string, they showed signs of the ball-control offense new Coach Mike Ditka wants, holding the ball for 15:47 of the first half and outgaining the Chiefs 202 yards to 96.

New Orleans’ starting quarterback Heath Shuler was eight of 14 for 136 yards.

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The Tennessee Oilers (0-2) played their first game in their new hometown of Nashville and were 18-12 losers to the Washington Redskins (2-0).

The Oilers (0-2) attracted only a few thousand more fans than for last week’s exhibition opener at Memphis (24,722 to 22,811), but the fans were much more enthusiastic on a rainy night.

Tennessee had trouble holding onto the ball and Al Del Greco provided all of the scoring with four field goals. When quarterback Dave Krieg fumbled in the fourth quarter, the Redskins wound up with a safety as James Allen pushed the ball out of the end zone. Krieg also had a fourth-quarter pass that was intercepted in the end zone.

Washington’s James Thrash returned a third-quarter kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown.

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Cornerback Jason Sehorn and fullback Charles Way signed multiyear contracts with the New York Giants.