Ducks make noise in NFL preseason Week 2, Gabriel caught in media sensationalism

With just two weeks to go until the Ducks kick off against Montana State, Pro Ducks owned Saturday in NFL preseason games for Week 2.

Bucky Irving latched on to a 15-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter in Tampa Bay's 17-14 win over the Steelers.

Tez Johnson caught four passes for 24 yards and broke loose on a 37-yard punt return in the first quarter with a nifty cut.

For the Steelers, first-round draft pick Derrick Harmon posted three tackles and a sack.

In Denver, second-year pro Troy Franklin grabbed a pair of touchdown passes in the Broncos' 27-7 win over the Cardinals. His 27-yard TD catch from former Auburn Tiger Jarrett Stidham made it 14-7 in the first.

In the third quarter the two hooked up again, this time on a 17-yard score.

Bo Nix did not play, the Broncos dividing snaps between backups Stidham and Sam Ehlinger.

Justin Herbert threw just five passes for the Chargers in a 23-22 loss to the Rams, good for 46 yards, playing only the opening series while leading the Bolts on a 9-play, 51-yard drive for an opening field goal.

Herbert hit Ladd McConkey for 17 yards and KeAndre Lambert-Smith for 29 in his brief stint. The deep pass on an out route was a thing of beauty, a throw few quarterbacks can make.

Defensively, former Duck Trikweze Bridges tallied 8 tackles in the Chargers secondary and defensive tackle Jamaree Caldwell had three. Troy Dye posted a tackle and knocked away a pass.

Dillon Gabriel clarifies remarks taken out of context during sideline interview

Dillon Gabriel got caught in a minor media firestorm after his first pro start in Philadelphia.

The third-round draft pick and Browns rookie completed 13-18 passes for 143 yards in the game, won by Cleveland 22-13, but during a sideline interview by the NFL Network, Gabriel said, "There's entertainers and there's competitors... and my job is to compete."

Social media went berserk, taking Gabriel's comment as a swipe at teammate Shedeur Sanders. In the press conference after the game the former Duck explained that he was talking about the media and the outsized attention given to the team's quarterback competition, a phrase he's used before in that context.

Even Adam Schefter and the NFL's X feed ran with the quote without the original question from NFL Network reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala, which was, "You gave us some fabulous wisdom on how you tune out the noise and don't let it infiltrate yourself; will you share that with everybody at home?"

Gabriel was talking about outside noise, not his teammate. In the postgame press conference he was asked about it again.

Imagine having to explain FEBU to a bunch of NFL beat writers, the Ducks' internal motto, "(Forget) Everybody But Us."

In NFL transactions, Johnny Johnson III was waived a second time by the Houston Texans, and Chad Cota was waived by the Browns this week.

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