Quinn makes a strong showing in his pro debut for Browns

Brady Quinn’s pro debut was nearly picture perfect. He threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes in his first NFL exhibition game and looked better than any Cleveland quarterback in the Browns’ 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Saturday night at Cleveland.

The former Notre Dame standout entered the game with 9:20 remaining and the Browns trailing, 23-7. He completed a screen pass to Chris Barclay that went for 30 yards on his first play. He completed five passes in a row before his first miss. On a second-and-three play at Detroit’s four, he rolled to his right and threw a four-yard touchdown pass to fellow rookie Efrem Hill. The next time Cleveland got the ball, Quinn drove the Browns 92 yards in 1:52, throwing a six-yard touchdown pass to Jerome Harrison with 18 seconds left. Quinn completed 13 of 20 for 155 yards.

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The quarterbacks played well in the exhibition game between the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals. Houston’s Matt Schaub completed nine of 12 passes for 108 yards and ran five yards for a score and the Texans went on to win, 33-20, in the home debut of new Cardinals Coach Ken Whisenhunt. Arizona’s Matt Leinart completed all seven of his passes for 70 yards, including a five-yard touchdown to Edgerrin James.

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Brett Favre directed the Green Bay Packers to 17 points in their first four drives and they scored early and often in a 48-13 victory over the Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay, Wis.

It was the most prolific exhibition scoring output since the days of leather helmets for the Packers, who beat the Cedar Rapids Crush, 75-0, in 1938.

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Drew Brees led New Orleans to a touchdown in his only series, completing all six of his passes in the Saints’ 27-19 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. The NFL’s leading passer last season, Brees had his way with the league’s worst pass defense.

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Byron Leftwich completed six of 12 passes for 81 yards, and the host Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-19.

But Leftwich was sacked once, hit a couple more times and nearly half his yardage came on a short pass to Maurice Jones-Drew, who bounced off Adam Hayward’s tackle and raced 38 yards to the two.

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The attacking defensive front being implemented by new Dallas Coach Wade Phillips locked up Denver’s starting offense for two quarters, paving the way for the Cowboys to beat the Broncos, 31-20, at Dallas. The Cowboys pressured quarterback Jay Cutler into going seven of 13 for only 58 yards.

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With starter Jason Campbell on the sidelines because of a bruised knee suffered in the first quarter, Todd Collins completed a seven-yard pass to Brandon Lloyd for the game’s only touchdown in the Washington Redskins’ 12-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Washington.

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Quarterback Tim Couch’s return to the NFL lasted nearly three weeks. The Jacksonville Jaguars released the overall No. 1 draft pick by Cleveland in 1999 after a handful of practices and one exhibition game.

Couch, who hadn’t played in the NFL since the 2004 exhibition season, wanted a chance to revive his career after undergoing two shoulder operations. The Jaguars signed him to a two-year deal on July 29. He completed two of four passes for 11 yards last week at Miami.

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Vinny Testaverde re-signed with the New England Patriots for his 21st NFL season. The 43-year-old quarterback signed with them last Nov. 14 and played in three regular-season games. In the season finale he extended his streak to 20 seasons with at least one touchdown pass.