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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Cameron Meredith got a chance to show what he can bring to the Saints‘ offense.

Meredith caught two passes for 72 yards and a touchdown in a 28-0 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the teams’ preseason finale Thursday night. The former Bears wide receiver was one of the top free agents signed by the Saints Miles Wood Jersey , who brought him in even though he had major knee surgery last fall.

Meredith’s rehab from the injury has gone well, but he was limited in training camp and didn’t catch a pass in the first three preseason games. In this one, though, he had no restrictions.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better day,” Meredith said. “All these opportunities and plays that I was able to make tonight really help me going into (the regular season).”

Meredith caught a 56-yard pass from Taysom Hill to set up rookie Boston Scott’s 4-yard touchdown run for the game’s first score in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Hill threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Meredith for a 12-0 halftime lead.

Hill targeted Meredith throughout the first half, overthrowing him on a 2-point conversion attempt and a third-down pass into the end zone before Wil Lutz’s 34-yard field goal. That made it 15-0 for the Saints (3-1).

Next up for Meredith is a chance to team up with starting quarterback Drew Brees in the regular season.

In the third quarter, two linebackers competing for one of the final spots on the Saints’ roster teamed up for a touchdown. Colton Jumper blocked a punt, Jayrone Elliott picked up the ball and ran 2 yards for a touchdown.

Jonathan Williams ran 3 yards for a touchdown that completed the scoring in the fourth quarter.

“We finished the preseason well on both sides of the ball,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “I thought we won both lines of scrimmages, which is always important. Our special teams were outstanding. We blocked a punt while rushing six guys.”

The Rams (2-2), like the Saints, rested most of their starters in order to focus on players competing for the final roster spots. LA coach Sean McVay didn’t play any of his offensive starters in the preseason.

Third-year quarterback Brandon Allen started in place of Jared Goff and played into the third quarter William Karlsson Jersey , going 7 of 13 for 57 yards and an interception.

Rookie free agent Nick Holley, a converted quarterback from Kent State, started in place of Todd Gurley and rushed 11 times for 31 yards.

“Tonight was a tough night,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “We have a lot of tough decisions to make over the next couple of days. We feel good about where we are as a team in terms of our health. We’re doing our best to take steps one day at a time to be at our best on Sept. 10. We’re looking forward to getting started with these games that count.”

BRIDGEWATER WATCHES

Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, whom New Orleans acquired in a trade with the New York Jets on Wednesday, was on the Saints sideline but was not in uniform.

“I don’t mind waiting,” Bridgewater said. “I get to learn with one of the best players to ever play this game.”

He was brought in to back up Brees and perhaps someday replace the 39-year-old quarterback.

“(He makes) good decisions, accurate, smart, can move, can make the first guy miss,” Payton said. “He’s a winner. He won in college. He’s won in the NFL.”

NATIONAL ANTHEM

It did not appear that any players chose to sit, kneel or stay off the field while the national anthem was sung.

INJURIES

Rams: No injuries.

Saints: G Andrus Peat went to the locker room accompanied by a member of the training staff in the first quarter and did not return. He underwent surgery for a broken fibula and ligament damage in January. DT Taylor Stallworth was escorted to the sideline by trainers after being tended to in the fourth quarter.

UP NEXT

Rams: visit Oakland on Sept. 10.

Saints: host Tampa Bay on Sept. 9.
For the first time since 2014 Colton Sissons Jersey , the Denver Broncos spent their summer without a job-share arrangement at quarterback, something they expect to give them a big boost Sunday when they open against the Seattle Seahawks with Case Keenum under center .

"That's the best thing if you've got one quarterback you can go with," receiver Demaryius Thomas said. "Like, for example, Antonio Brown's been with Ben Roethlisberger since forever. That's why they're so good."

Gary Kubiak spelled Peyton Manning with Brock Osweiler in 2015, and that plan paid off during a special season in which Osweiler stepped up while Manning was sidelined with a bum foot and kept the Broncos' Super Bowl hopes alive until Manning's return.

Protracted quarterback competitions at training camp in 2016 and '17, however, seemed to hinder the team's rhythm and chemistry, two qualities that are so vital in a league where timing is everything.

In 2016, Trevor Siemian beat out veteran Mark Sanchez and rookie Paxton Lynch, and last year Siemian beat out Lynch again but not before the two shared a significant number of snaps with undrafted Kyle Sloter, who wasn't even in the mix for the Broncos' starting job.

Upon signing Keenum to a prove-it two-year free agent deal worth $36 million in March, general manager John Elway declared Keenum as the Broncos' undisputed starter .

The only question Zach Hyman Jersey , he said, was who would back him up.

While all the drama in QB-crazed Denver this summer centered around Chad Kelly leapfrogging Lynch, the first-rounder who was ultimately cut , for the backup job, Keenum was getting almost all the work with the No. 1 offense.

Thomas and an energized Emmanuel Sanders appreciated the consistency and both had terrific training camps. Thomas said that chemistry puts the offense way ahead of where it was at this time in the last few seasons.

"We've gotten enough run routes, passing plays in," he said with a smile. "So, it was a good thing."

Having an established starter also paid dividends for the O-line.

"Absolutely, you want one guy back there knowing that's your guy and where he sets up and how he controls the offense," left tackle Garett Bolles said.

This in many ways marks Keenum's first time being "The Guy."

Keenum led the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC championship game last season after injuries to Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater.

He started the Rams' opener back in 2016 but he would give way later that year to top draft pick Jared Goff before going to Minnesota and having a career year in which he threw for 3,457 yards with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The Broncos are his fourth team in six NFL seasons after Kubiak gave him his first chance with the Texans as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Houston in 2013.

His Denver debut got a little more daunting Wednesday when Seahawks safety Earl Thomas ended his lengthy holdout in time for the team's trip to Denver even without a new contract.

Although Seattle coach Pete Carroll wouldn't commit to whether Thomas will play in the opener at Denver this weekend, the Broncos have no choice but to prepare for his presence.

"Earl is a special player," Keenum said. "He's one of the best I've ever played against. I've played him a bunch Authentic Jameis Winston Jersey , watched him a bunch and he does some things on film that nobody else can do."

Missing all of the Seahawks' offseason program, training camp and the preseason makes Thomas no less formidable, either, Keenum suggested.

"He's a guy who you just need to know where he is at all times because he can play his assignment from almost anywhere on the field," Keenum said. "So ... I guarantee you he can step in and be right wherever he wants to be."

Thomas is a three-time first-team All-Pro and was the anchor for the Seattle defense that appeared in consecutive Super Bowls, winning the first in a wipeout of the Broncos.

Seattle used Tedric Thompson as its primary free safety during Thomas' holdout.

Regardless of whether it's Thompson or Thomas that they'll be facing Sunday, the Broncos have a healthy respect for Seattle's stingy defense even though it has lost fellow "Legion of Boom" members Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman.

The Broncos feel better about their offense, too, after Elway infused his roster with talented rookie receivers Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton, rookie running back Royce Freeman and second-year tight end Jake Butt, who missed last season on IR.

"I've got a lot of respect for 29," Keenum said of Thomas. "But we trust our guys running routes and catching the ball versus anybody out there."
AP Sports Writer Tim Booth contributed.
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