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TAMPA, Fla. — Preseason finales give fringe players one more chance to shine and earn roster spots, which is why Friday night was so important for one-time Super Bowl quarterback Rex Grossman.
The former Chicago Bears starter threw two touchdown passes and also produced a pair of field goals, pacing Houston’s 27-20 victory over Tampa Bay and possibly earning a backup job behind Matt Schaub and Dan Orlovsky.
On a night when most starters on both teams rested, Grossman returned after missing more than two weeks with a hamstring injury. His only work during the preseason had been one pass attempt in the Texans’ opener.
The seventh-year pro, who led the Bears to the Super Bowl in 2006, teamed with Jacoby Jones on an 87-yard scoring play on his first pass, and finished 9 of 16 for 197 yards and no interceptions in three quarters.
Josh Freeman, Tampa Bay’s first-round draft pick, started, with Byron Leftwich and Luke McCown getting the night off after coach Raheem Morris settled on Leftwich as the No. 1 quarterback heading into the regular season.
The game also marked the debut of Greg Olson as the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator. Olson was promoted Thursday when former Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski was unexpectedly fired.
Cowboys 35, Vikings 31
MINNEAPOLIS — The Vikings’ preseason finale did nothing to help coach Brad Childress clear up his murky backup quarterback situation.
Tarvaris Jackson played well but only attempted four passes, and Sage Rosenfels threw an ugly interception in the loss to the Cowboys.
Jackson, Rosenfels and John David Booty are likely competing for two spots behind Brett Favre, with final cuts due Saturday. Jackson led two touchdown drives and was 2 for 4 for 42 yards, including a 36-yard TD pass to Jeff Dugan.
Rosenfels went 7 for 15 for 115 yards with an interception returned for a touchdown.
Cowboys coach Wade Phillips rested Tony Romo and most of his regular starters, and it showed. Dallas turned over the ball four times, leading to 21 Minnesota points.
Despite only being in purple for a little over two weeks and still working on chemistry with his receivers, Favre watched the entire game from the sideline with the rest of the starters.