Raiders’ Defense Stiffens in Victory

Reggie Barlow returned a punt for a touchdown, and Oakland’s defense looked vastly improved Saturday as the Raiders held off San Francisco, 17-10, in an exhibition game before a half-filled Coliseum at Oakland.

The Battle of the Bay turned into the Battle of the Backups, considering all the scoring drives were led by Marques Tuiasosopo and Rick Mirer of the Raiders (1-2), and Tim Rattay of the 49ers (1-3). Starting quarterbacks Rich Gannon and Jeff Garcia both played into the second quarter, and each took a pounding.

Oakland’s defense, embarrassingly porous in a 24-14 loss at Tennessee last week, limited the 49ers to 65 yards rushing and frequently hurried Garcia or left him sprawled on the ground.

Sebastian Janikowski missed field-goal attempts of 36 and 33 yards and has made three of eight attempts in exhibitions for the Raiders.

Sam Farmer

Atlanta 21, Dallas 19--Atlanta’s Michael Vick and Dallas’ Quincy Carter left after taking jarring hits at Irving, Texas.

Washington 40, Tampa Bay 10--Shane Matthews threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Rod Gardner, and Greg Scott returned a fumble 66 yards for a touchdown for the Redskins at Tampa, Fla.

Pittsburgh 34, Detroit 22--Tommy Maddox, playing in place of Steelers’ quarterback Kordell Stewart, threw two first-half touchdowns at Detroit.

Indianapolis 19, Buffalo 7--The Colts needed 3:07 to produce their first touchdown of the exhibition season, then settled for four field goals by Mike Vanderjagt at Indianapolis.

New Orleans 31, Cincinnati 23--Aaron Brooks led three crisp scoring drives for the Saints at Cincinnati.

New York Jets 28, New York Giants 7--Vinny Testaverde threw for one touchdown and backup Chad Pennington hit Santana Moss and Kevin Swayne for scores for the Jets at East Rutherford, N.J.

Miami 24, Houston 3--Ricky Williams scored the first touchdown in the first game played at Reliant Stadium and the Dolphins won at Houston.

Denver 19, Arizona 13--The Broncos overcame four turnovers, three of them fumbles by rookie running back Clinton Portis, to win at Tempe, Ariz.

Seattle 17, Kansas City 14--Matt Hasselback passed for his first touchdown of the exhibition season in the first half for the Seahawks at Seattle.

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Former Miami Dolphin receiver O.J. McDuffie officially announced his retirement, ending a nine-year NFL career marred in recent years by a recurring toe injury.... Former Pro Bowl wide receiver Antonio Freeman signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles for a reported $1.7 million.