Preseason Ends Well For Some, Not So Much For Others – NFL Roundup

UNDATED (AP) — For the final night of the NFL preseason, nearly all 32 coaches were unanimous in one hope: nobody gets hurt.

Among the final preseason game highlights in which few regulars even played a down:

— Brian Hoyer drove Cleveland's starting offense to a rare preseason touchdown before turning things over to rookie Johnny Manziel (man-ZEHL') in the Browns' 33-13 exhibition win over the Chicago Bears. Manziel threw a TD pass, finished 6 of 17 for 83 yards, ran for 55 and did some typical Johnny Football improvising.

— Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien each threw for two touchdowns in their competition to back up starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas Chiefs 34-14.

— Brock Osweiler is ready for a third season as Peyton Manning's backup in Denver. Osweiler led four scoring drives in the final tuneup for another year behind Manning, and the Broncos beat the Dallas Cowboys 27-3.

— T.J. Yates made a strong case to be Atlanta's backup quarterback, throwing for 243 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-14 win over Jacksonville. Yates was 15 for 20.

— Lions third-string quarterback Kellen Moore threw two touchdown passes in a 23-0 win over Buffalo on Thursday night in which Bills rookie receiver Sammy Watkins reinjured his ribs.

__ Teddy Bridgewater threw a touchdown in his first NFL start, Joe Banyard ran for 111 yards and the Vikings wrapped up a perfect preseason with a 19-3 win over Tennessee.

UNDATED (AP) — Acknowledging he "didn't get it right" with a two-game suspension for Ravens running back Ray Rice, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (guh-DEHL') has announced tougher penalties for players accused of domestic violence. The new sanctions include a six-week suspension for a first offense and at least a year for a second.

In a letter sent to all 32 team owners Thursday and obtained by The Associated Press, Goodell never mentions Rice by name but makes clear references to the Baltimore player who was charged with assault after being caught on video dragging his then-fiancee off a casino elevator.

Goodell told teams to distribute the memo to all players. In it, he says domestic violence and sexual assault are wrong, illegal and have no place in the NFL.

In other NFL news:

— Dimitri Patterson disputes the New York Jets' version of his mysterious absence. The suspended cornerback says in a statement to ESPN that the Jets' claims that he went missing for 48 hours without notifying the team are "completely false." Patterson was suspended Tuesday for the rest of the preseason after the Jets say he left the team and went missing last Friday night before the preseason game against the Giants.

— A person familiar with Josh Gordon's situation says the suspended wide receiver wants to play for Calgary in the Canadian Football League, but is prohibited from doing so. Under CFL rules, a player suspended by the NFL and under contract is not eligible to play in Canada. But if the Cleveland Browns released Gordon, he would be able to play elsewhere. Gordon's suspension for another violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy was upheld.