The Sports Xchange

Tampa Bay rookie quarterback Jameis Winston made his NFL debut on Saturday night and played the entire first half in a 26-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in a preseason game in Minneapolis.

Winston, the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, completed 9 of 19 passes for 131 yards with one interception and had several mishandled snaps but ran 8 yards for a touchdown on a third-down play. One of his completions was a 40-yard hookup with wide receiver Vincent Jackson.

Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater finished 7 of 8 for 86 yards and backup Shaun Hill was 8 of 9 for 104 yards, completing touchdowns passes to Cordarrelle Patterson and Adam Thielen.

Minnesota right tackle Phil Loadholt limped off the field after the second play from scrimmage reportedly with a season-ending Achillies injury.

Texans 23, 49ers 10

Quarterback Brian Hoyer connected with wide receiver Cecil Shorts III on a 58-yard touchdown pass to end Houston’s first drive and the Texans went on to defeat San Francisco in a preseason opener for both teams in Houston.

Hoyer completed 2 of 4 passes for 67 yards, including a two-point coversion to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Ryan Mallett, competing with Hoyer for the Texans’ starting quarterback job, started 8 of 8 and finished 10 of 11 for 90 yards.

San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick played only one series and connected on 1 of 3 passes for 14 yards. 49ers Backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert threw a touchdown pass in the first half.

Chiefs 34, Cardinals 19

Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer returned for his first game action since tearing an ACL last season, completing all four of his passes for 77 yards and leading an opening 80-yard touchdown drive against Kansas City in a preseason game in Glendale, Ariz.

Backup quarterback Chase Daniel led the Chiefs with three touchdown passes and was 17 of 29 for 189 yards in less than two quarters. Chiefs starter Alex Smith went 6 of 10 for 42 yards and was intercepted by Arizona cornerback Tyrann Mathieu.

The Cardinals opened a 10-0 lead before the Chiefs scored the next 31 points.

Kansas City defensive back Eric Berry played for the first time since being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphona last year.