NFL Roundup: Texans stifle Niners

HOUSTON (AP) -- Matt Schaub looked much sharper in Houston's second preseason game. Trindon Holliday looked as electrifying as he did in the opener.

Schaub threw a touchdown pass to Lestar Jean, Holliday returned a punt for another score and Houston's defense stifled San Francisco in the Texans' 20-9 win over the 49ers on Saturday night.

Schaub completed 11 of 14 passes for 128 yards in two quarters, near-perfect in his second game since fracturing his right foot in Week 10 last season. The 5-foot-5 Holliday, who returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score in the Texans' preseason opener, sprinted 87 yards for a score in the fourth quarter.

The Texans (No. 6 in the AP Pro32) held the 49ers to 267 yards and stopped the 49ers twice on fourth down. Alex Smith completed 5 of 9 passes for 49 yards for the 49ers (No. 4). He was sacked twice by the Texans' first-string defense.

Jean, competing to be the Texans' No. 3 receiver, caught a 9-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the half. An undrafted free agent in 2011, Jean had four catches for 42 yards. Andre Johnson , seeing his first action of the preseason, caught two passes, one for 43 yards.

The 49ers led the league in rushing defense last season and bottled up Arian Foster until the NFL's leading rusher in 2010 weaved 24 yards to the San Francisco 12 late in the first half. Foster carried 10 times for 46 yards in the first half.

Brandon Jacobs left in the first quarter with a left knee injury after a hit by Texans cornerback Kareem Jackson, and second-round pick LaMichael James limped off in the fourth quarter.

San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh said Jacobs will "miss a little time," but that his injury isn't serious. He said James is fine and expected back at practice on Monday.

Randy Moss made three catches for 24 yards, his first receptions of the preseason.

Schaub went 4-for-4 on Houston's opening drive, and Shayne Graham booted a 48-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. Graham is competing with fifth-round draft pick Randy Bullock for the placekicker's job.

Jacobs, acquired from the New York Giants in the offseason, was injured on his first carry, limped off with the aid of trainers and was taken to the locker room on a golf cart.

Chargers 28, Cowboys 20

SAN DIEGO -- Shareece Wright 's electrifying 73-yard interception return set up Jackie Battle 's go-ahead, 2-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, and backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst threw two touchdown passes as the San Diego Chargers rallied from a dismal start.

The Chargers (1-1) overcame three turnovers, including two interceptions by Philip Rivers , to rally from a 10-0 deficit. The Bolts have five turnovers in two exhibitions.

Cornerback DeAndre Presley deflected a pass from Cowboys third-string quarterback Stephen McGee, and Wright plucked the ball out of the air. He ran down the right sideline before cutting the middle of the field before he was dragged down by John Phillips at the 2-yard line. After an incompletion by Whitehurst, Battle bulled into the end zone to give the Chargers their first lead of the night, 14-13.

The Cowboys (No. 15 AP Pro 32) will remain in San Diego for joint practices with the Chargers (No. 16) on Monday and Tuesday.

Wright also sacked McGee and forced a fumble that Darryl Gamble recovered.

Whitehurst played well after replacing Rivers. He started the Chargers' comeback with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Brown on the first drive of the second half. Brown hurt his left ankle on the play and was carted off the field. He didn't return.

The Chargers got some breathing room midway through the fourth quarter when Whitehurst hit rookie Mike Willie on a 38-yard touchdown pass for a 21-13 lead. Jacob Hester added a 4-yard touchdown run with 3:02 left.

Dallas closed to 28-20 in the final minute on Rudy Carpenter 's 15-yard scoring pass to Dwayne Harris.

Seahawks 30, Broncos 10

DENVER -- Peyton Manning bounced right back up.

Manning's home debut for the Denver Broncos was a mixed bag in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He led two scoring drives but threw two more interceptions and watched his teammates drop plenty of passes and cough up the ball.

Manning played the first half and gave the Broncos (1-1) a 10-9 lead despite three turnovers, including an interception in the red zone for the second straight week.

He looked great on a 2-minute drive, but that stalled when tight end Jacob Tamme , his old pal from Indianapolis, dropped a wide-open touchdown pass 6 seconds before halftime.

The biggest positive for the four-time MVP who's returning from a neck injury that required four surgeries and sidelined him all of last year is that he took his first big hit in 19 months and got right back up.

Blasted by defensive end Bruce Irvin with 1:28 left in the half, Manning shook it off and completed a 22-yard pass to Brandon Stokley on his next play.

Terrell Owens had a disappointing debut for the Seahawks (2-0), failing to catch any of the five passes thrown his way.

Bears 33, Redskins 31

CHICAGO -- Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall looked sharp from the start, and the Chicago Bears beat Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins.

In their first appearance together for the Bears (tied for 11th in the AP Pro32), Cutler and Marshall picked up where they left off when they starred together with the Denver Broncos . They connected on a 41-yard pass on Chicago's first play from scrimmage to set up the first of two first-quarter touchdown runs by Michael Bush , and the defense contained Griffin.

Making matters worse for the Redskins (No. 25), they lost Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Orakpo (shoulder) and safety Brandon Meriweather (knee) to injuries late in the first quarter. But for the Bears, it was a promising night even if they couldn't protect the lead.

They racked up 262 yards in the first half, after managing just 41 through the first two quarters in a preseason-opening loss to Denver.

Rams 31 Chiefs 17

ST. LOUIS -- Sam Bradford threw touchdown passes on his first two drives, and the St. Louis Rams made improvements on the other side of the ball in the annual Governor's Cup game.

Lance Kendricks and Danny Amendola scored on catches of 23 and 8 yards, and Steven Jackson ran for 49 yards on seven carries in a 151-yard first quarter that handed the backups a two-touchdown cushion.

The Rams (1-1) totaled 215 yards in a 38-3 loss last week at Indianapolis.

Bradford was 6 for 9 for 102 yards for St. Louis (No. 28 AP Pro32). Matt Cassel played the first half for Kansas City (1-1) and was 13 for 18 for 142 yards.

Rookie Greg Zuerlein 's 52-yard field goal capped a 17-point first half for the Rams, who trailed the NFL with a 12.1-yard scoring average last season while going 2-14. They scored 13 or fewer points in 12 games.

Peyton Hillis scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter, and Jeremy Horne caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Brady Quinn in the waning minutes for the Chiefs (No. 18).

Kansas City committed four turnovers, including three lost fumbles, and played from behind the entire game. Last week the Chiefs beat Arizona 27-17 at home and got two touchdowns in two possessions by the first string. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe didn't make the trip a day after signing a franchise tender.

Although the Chiefs have beaten the Rams five straight times since 1997 in the regular season, the Rams lead the preseason series 9-5 since moving to St. Louis in 1995. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon attended the game.

The attendance was announced at 53,272, although the 66,000-seat capacity stadium appeared to be about half-filled at kickoff.

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