Smith struggles and 49ers fall to Chargers
San Francisco’s Alex Smith punctuated his homecoming with two turnovers Thursday night that helped the Chargers defeat the sloppy 49ers, 16-13, in an exhibition finale at San Diego.
San Francisco third-string quarterback Shaun Hill threw three interceptions and receiver Brandon Williams fumbled. San Diego scored 13 points off turnovers.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and tight end Antonio Gates sat out so that new Coach Norv Turner, the 49ers’ offensive coordinator last year, could look at other players. LaDainian Tomlinson didn’t take a snap in the exhibition season to avoid the risk of injury.
NFC rushing champion Frank Gore didn’t play either, despite lobbying Coach Mike Nolan for a few snaps. Gore’s broken hand is healed, but Nolan preferred to treat him the same way the Chargers treat Tomlinson in the exhibition season.
Smith, who was a teammate of Reggie Bush’s at nearby Helix High, played four series and had turnovers in his last two. The first pick overall in the 2005 draft, he was intercepted by Clinton Hart late in the first quarter, then was sacked by Tim Dobbins and fumbled, with Jacques Cesaire recovering. Those turnovers set up field goals by Nate Kaeding, who finished with three.
“It’s something I’ll learn from, obviously,” said Smith, who completed three of eight passes for 23 yards.
“I definitely feel comfortable. We weren’t showing a whole lot. But there are some things to take from this.”
Jeff Reed kicked four field goals and Tyrone Carter returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown with a minute left in Pittsburgh’s 19-3 victory over Carolina at Charlotte, N.C. The Steelers forced six turnovers in new Coach Mike Tomlin’s final exhibition tuneup. . . . The Denver Broncos were forced to punt four times in their first five possessions but still managed to keep Arizona winless in the exhibition season with a 21-3 victory at Denver. The Cardinals’ Matt Leinart struggled in his only series, completing two of six passes for 13 yards.
Former USC quarterback Matt Cassell started for New England and guided the Patriots to a 27-20 victory over the New York Giants at Foxborough, Mass. . . . Rookie Trent Edwards directed a 90-yard drive that set up a tiebreaking field goal with 1:46 left and Buffalo defeated Detroit, 16-14, at Detroit.
Jacksonville had 30 players, including quarterback Byron Leftwich, who were inactive or rested. But backup quarterback David Garrard was effective and the Jaguars rallied and beat Washington, 31-14, at Jacksonville, Fla. . . . Rookie running back Pierre Thomas may have played himself into an NFL roster spot by rushing 16 times for 81 yards and the only touchdown in New Orleans’ 7-0 victory over Miami at New Orleans.
Brooks Bollinger passed for 109 yards and a touchdown in just under two quarters of Minnesota’s 23-14 victory over Dallas at Minneapolis. Dallas’ Matt Moore completed nine of his first 10 passes and finished with 94 yards and a touchdown. . . . Larry Johnson carried three times for 12 yards in his first action since ending his holdout, but Kansas City’s offense struggled in a 10-3 loss to St. Louis at St. Louis. The Chiefs were held to a 40-yard field goal by former UCLA kicker Justin Medlock late in the fourth quarter.
Mike Nugent kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the New York Jets to a 13-11 victory over Philadelphia in a game that quarterbacks Donovan McNabb and Chad Pennington sat out. . . . Brady Quinn was efficient at Chicago, leading Cleveland to a touchdown and a victory 19-9 victory over the Chicago Bears. The Bears lost rookie tight end Greg Olsen to a knee injury late in the first half. He will have an MRI.
Vince Young threw for a touchdown and ran for another for a second consecutive week, LenDale White had 77 total yards, and the Tennessee Titans beat Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers, 30-14, at Nashville. . . . Luke McCown threw for 203 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, and Bruce Gradkowski threw a 31-yard scoring pass to Paris Warren with three minutes left to lift Tampa Bay to a 31-24 victory over the Houston Texans at Tampa, Fla.