NFL EXHIBITION

Warm greeting for Eagles’ Reid

Philadelphia Coach Andy Reid talks with Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger before Thursday night’s preseason game in Philadelphia. The game was two days after a funeral for Reid’s oldest son, who was found dead Sunday at the Eagles’ training camp.
Philadelphia Coach Andy Reid talks with Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger before Thursday night’s preseason game in Philadelphia. The game was two days after a funeral for Reid’s oldest son, who was found dead Sunday at the Eagles’ training camp.

— Andy Reid was welcomed back to the sideline with a standing ovation and chants of “Andy! Andy! Andy!”

Then the Philadelphia Eagles gave their grieving coach a small reason to smile.

Alex Henery kicked a 51-yard field goal with 12 seconds left to lift the Eagles to a 24-23 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in their exhibition opener Thursday night.

After the Steelers went up on Daniel Hrapmann’s 42-yarder with 1:57 left, Trent Edwards led the Eagles back on an 11-play drive to set up Henery’s kick.

Reid coached the Eagles just two days after his 29-yearold son’s funeral. Garrett Reid, the oldest of five children for Andy and Tammy Reid, was found dead Sunday morning in his dorm room at Lehigh University where he was assisting the team’s strength and conditioning coach during training camp.

Andy Reid returned to the Eagles for a walk through Wednesday morning, saying it was “the right thing to do” and his son would’ve wanted him to coach.

Rookie Nick Foles threw two long touchdown passes to help the Eagles overcome a 13-0 third-quarter deficit.

Ben Roethlisberger was sharp in his only series for the Steelers. He led the offense on a 16-play scoring drive in the first game under new offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

Michael Vick’s results weren’t quite so good.

Vick escaped injury after banging his left thumb on center Jason Kelce’s helmet and took a seat on the bench after the offense went three-and-out in his only two drives. Vick got hurt on his final throw and was wincing in pain when he came off the field. X-rays on Vick’s thumb were negative.

Reid was standing alone in front of the rest of the team along the sideline when Vick walked over and stood by his coach’s side for a moment of silence before the game. The crowd cheered Reid after the short tribute.

Later in the first quarter, a message from Reid thanking fans for their support was shown on the video board.He received a standing ovation from the crowd followed by the “Andy, Andy, Andy” chants.

REDSKINS 7, BILLS 6

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Washington rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III capped his much-anticipated preseason debut with a touchdown in a victory over Buffalo.

Overcoming a muffed hand off, Griffin capped his third and final series of the game by completing three passes for 58 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown to Pierre Garcon. He finished 4 of 6 for 70 yards while showing flashes of the potential the Redskins saw in drafting the Baylor product with the No. 2 pick.

PATRIOTS 7, SAINTS 6

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Will Smith crunched Tom Brady from behind, forcing a fumble in the first quarter. It may be the Saints’ defensive end’s biggest play for a while.

One of four players punished in the New Orleans bounty scandal, Smith was suspended for the first four regular-season games. So Thursday night’s sack of New England’s star quarterback was a highlight in the Patriots’ lackluster victory in their exhibition opener.

RAVENS 31, FALCONS 17

ATLANTA - Baltimore backup Curtis Painter threw three second-half touchdown passes to lead the Ravens to a victory over Atlanta

Atlanta’s Matt Ryan led two touchdown drives, including a scoring pass to Julio Jones, before Painter took over.

Ryan completed 9 of 13 passes for 155 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. He was 5 for 5 for 71 yards, including the 7-yard touchdown pass to Jones, on the opening drive for Atlanta.

Joe Flacco completed 9 of 12 passes for 88 yards and 1 touchdown for Baltimore.

CHARGERS 21, PACKERS 13

SAN DIEGO - Shannon Eastin became the first woman to officiate an NFL game and San Diego slogged to a sloppy victory over Green Bay.

Eastin broke the NFL’s on-field gender barrier by serving as the line judge for the seven-man crew of replacement officials. She helped oversee a predictably ugly exhibition opener by both teams filled with fumbles, interceptions and missed assignments.

Philip Rivers had a touchdown, an interception and a fumble in limited action for the Chargers.

Aaron Rodgers had an interception and a fumble in three series for the Packers.

BRONCOS 31, BEARS 3

CHICAGO - Peyton Manning was intercepted near the goal line on the game’s opening possession and watched from the sideline the rest of the night as Denver beat Chicago.

Sports, Pages 17 on 08/10/2012

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