NFL Exhibition Roundup : Jets’ O’Brien Throws for Two Touchdowns to Help Beat Bengals

Ken O’Brien threw for two touchdowns, and Michael Harper had two long kickoff returns, one of 97 yards for a score, to lead the New York Jets to a 28-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at East Rutherford, N.J.

Cincinnati led, 7-0, when Harper, a free agent from USC who was out of football last season, took Jim Breech’s kickoff at the 3. He cut left through a big hole at the 20 and veered to the left sidelines. Harper outraced Tim McGee, a sprinter from the University of Tennessee, for the touchdown.

Harper added a 52-yard kickoff return to the Cincinnati 42 after the Bengals moved to within four points in the final period. That set up the clinching touchdown, a 41-yard pass play from backup quarterback Pat Ryan to Dennis Bligen.

Chicago 38, Indianapolis 21--Mike Tomczak threw three touchdown passes in the second half as the Bears raised their exhibition record to 3-0 at Chicago.

Tomczak threw scoring passes of 12 yards to David Williams, 1 yard to Dennis Gentry and 11 yards to E. J. Jones.

The Colts gained only 50 yards rushing. They had no drives with more than two first downs until the last two minutes.

Minnesota 29, Denver 27--Steve Bono threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Allen Rice with 56 seconds left to rally the Vikings to victory at Minneapolis.

Rookie Vince Evans broke free on a 60-yard touchdown run with 3:51 left in the game on a 4th-and-1 play to pull the Vikings within 27-22.

Bono, a third-stringer from UCLA who played only in the last half of the fourth quarter, completed a 17-yard pass to Jim Gustafson on 4th-and-10 to reach the Bronco 12, setting up Rice’s TD catch.

Denver quarterback John Elway hit 9 of 14 passes for 117 yards, including touchdowns plays of 31 yards to Clint Sampson and 24 yards to Butch Johnson, as the Broncos took a 27-15 lead.

Houston 23, Buffalo 20--Tony Zendejas kicked three field goals, and cornerback Steve Brown returned an interception of an Art Schlichter pass 25 yards for a touchdown to lead the Oilers at Houston.

Trailing 23-10 after three quarters, Buffalo rallied in the fourth quarter behind rookie quarterback Brian McClure. Scott Norwood kicked a 36-yard field goal and McClure hit Walter Broughton with a six-yard touchdown pass with 1:51 to go in the game.

N.Y. Giants 22, Green Bay 14--Phil Simms completed 11 of 15 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown, while Eric Schubert added a pair of field goals for the Giants at Milwaukee.

Tight end Zeke Mowatt, seeking to regain his starting job with the Giants after missing the 1985 season with a knee injury, caught seven passes for 112 yards.

Atlanta 20, Tampa Bay 17--Mick Luckhurst kicked a 29-yard field goal for the Falcons with only three seconds left at Tampa.

Tampa Bay quarterback Steve Young, who played only in the fourth quarter, put Atlanta in position for the winning kick when he threw an interception. He completed one of four passes for 10 yards.

William Andrews, starting for the first time for Atlanta after missing two years with a knee injury, carried nine times in the first period for 34 yards.

New England 38, New Orleans 34--Rookie quarterback Steve Calabria hit tight end Greg Baty with a 21-yard scoring pass in the final minute as the unbeaten Patriots survived a four-touchdown final period by the Saints at New Orleans.

Reuben Mayes, rookie running back from Washington State, scored twice for New Orleans, on a 16-yard pass from Bobby Hebert and a 4-yard run.

Kansas City 27, St. Louis 26--Nick Lowery kicked a 32-yard field goal with five minutes left for the Chiefs at St. Louis.

Two extra-point tries missed by St. Louis provided Kansas City with its winning margin. Cards holder Scott Brunner bobbled a center snap in the second quarter, and the Chiefs broke through to block rookie John Lee’s conversion try with 9:58 left.