HOUSTON -- Pro Bowl receiver DeAndre Hopkins couldn't quit smiling Sunday after the Houston Texans' 34-24 exhibition victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
He's beginning to see just how good this offense can be now that new quarterback Brock Osweiler is settling into his role.
"The mindset that we have when we go out there is that we can't be stopped and today kind of showed that," Hopkins said.
Osweiler threw for 146 yards and a touchdown and Houston intercepted two of Carson Palmer's passes to help the Texans improve to 3-0 in the preseason. The Cardinals are 0-3.
Osweiler led the Texans to scores on three of his four drives. He connected with Fuller on a 26-yard touchdown pass that extended Houston's lead to 24-10 before sitting down with about three minutes left in the first half.
It was Osweiler's second successful outing after he and Houston's starting offense struggled in the team's first preseason game.
"We're constantly improving, we're fixing mistakes and we're getting better each week," Osweiler said. "That's really what you want to see at this point in time."
While Osweiler was solid, Houston's starting defense starred. Andre Hal intercepted Palmer's second pass of the day to set up Houston's first score, a 1-yard touchdown run by new running back Lamar Miller.
Palmer's second drive was his only clean one, and it ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by David Johnson.
Vikings 23, Chargers 10
MINNEAPOLIS -- Teddy Bridgewater was sharp in his return from a sore arm, completing 12 of 16 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown in the first half for the Minnesota Vikings in the official unveiling of their new stadium.
After sitting out last week, Bridgewater found Kyle Rudolph for a 27-yard score to cap a crisp 2-minute drill and led the Vikings to points on three of five possessions. Bridgewater even juked strong safety Adrian Phillips to further a 22-yard run that set up one of three field goals by Blair Walsh.
"The shoulder's feeling great," Bridgewater said. "I had some fun out there playing with the guys, and I can't wait to get back out there."
Melvin Gordon, aiming to rebound from a rough rookie season, cruised through the middle of Minnesota's starting defense for a 39-yard touchdown after Philip Rivers audibled to a run upon sensing a blitz. San Diego lost running back Branden Oliver, though, to an Achilles tendon injury on his right leg that required a cart to take him off. The loss of Oliver, the primary kickoff returner and a contributing backup behind Gordon and Danny Woodhead, left the Chargers in a somber mood.
"I went up there as a friend and just prayed for him," Woodhead said. "That's the only thing you can do in that situation."
With sunlight streaming in from the floor-to-ceiling glass on the west side and through the translucent, space-age roof, the Vikings enjoyed a gleaming debut for U.S. Bank Stadium in front of a sold-out crowd of 66,143.
"It's a beautiful place," coach Mike Zimmer said, as purple-clad fans watched his postgame press conference from a lounge area the team walks through to reach the field. "It's just getting used to everything."
Broncos 17, Rams 9
DENVER -- Trevor Siemian thinks he's done enough to win the Denver Broncos' starting quarterback job.
If he feels the same way, coach Gary Kubiak isn't saying just yet.
"I'm going to make a decision this week ... but I've got a lot of things going on, so I'll take my time, do it the right way," Kubiak said after watching Siemian throw his first TD pass of the preseason in Denver's win over the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday night.
Siemian was more impressive than his stat line -- 10 of 17 for 122 yards, one TD and one arguable interception -- showing off his strong right arm and just the kind of patience, poise and precision required of Peyton Manning's successor as Denver defends its Super Bowl title.
"I feel confident," Siemian said when asked if this was his job. "Ultimately, that's up to Kubes."
Asked if he felt he'd done enough, Siemian said, "I do, but again, that's not my call."
Aside from his 1-yard TD strike to Virgil Green, he had a beautiful pass to Demaryius Thomas streaking down the Rams sideline for a 43-yard gain that set up the go-ahead score.
"I'm impressed," Kubiak said. "I think he's very calm. I can tell by the way he handles the team in the huddle, he's got control of what's going on. What I see is I see a guy getting better every time out."
Chiefs 23, Bears 7
CHICAGO -- Alex Smith looked sharp in leading three scoring drives in the first half and the Kansas City Chiefs got a preseason victory over the Chicago Bears on Saturday.
Smith completed 20 of 30 passes for 181 yards before Nick Foles came in to start the third quarter. The defense strangled Chicago's offense, and the Chiefs (1-2) came away with the win after dropping their first two exhibitions.
Kansas City has one more tune-up against Green Bay before opening against San Diego on Sept. 11. But in what is generally the final dress rehearsal for the starters, the Chiefs dominated.
"I certainly feel like we're ready as far as game speed, as far as getting the trials, getting enough plays," Smith said. "I felt like we got in a lot of different situations -- the goal line, short yardage, red zone, got a little two-minute today. That's kind of what you want, I feel like, in the preseason."
Kansas City got two second-quarter field goals from Cairo Santos and a 1-yard touchdown run by Spencer Ware in the closing seconds of the half to take a 13-0 lead. But the score didn't reflect just how lopsided the game was.
The Chiefs outgained the Bears 239-20 in the half, had 16 first downs compared to Chicago's two and dominated time of possession 21:54 to 8:06.
Kansas City had 177 yards passing compared to minus-7 for the Bears through the first two quarters.
Sports on 08/29/2016