Bradford will start for Rams

Sam Bradford will finish the preseason as the St. Louis Rams’ starting quarterback, at least partly because veteran A.J. Feeley might not be ready to play.

Bradford had a big game in his first start, going 15 of 22 for 189 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 36-35 victory at New England on Thursday night. The overall No. 1 draft pick from Oklahoma played the first half and completed his first six passes, earning another start on merit.

“Sam Bradford was leading the charge,” running back Steven Jackson said.

It was a big step forward from the first two preseason games when Bradford was 12 of 27 for only 81 yards and appeared a bit tentative.

“He was excellent,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said Friday. “He said it best I think after the game when he said he felt in rhythm.”

Spagnuolo said it’s unlikely that Feeley, who has a sprained thumb on his throwing hand, will be ready in time for the preseason finale on Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens. Feeley was named the starter before training camp, although it’s long been anticipated that Bradford will soon be the Rams’ No. 1 quarterback regardless of Feeley’s health.

Steelers to play all three quarterbacks

Ben Roethlisberger is expected to be the Steelers’ starter for the second straight week, though coach Mike Tomlin says his top three quarterbacks will play Sunday in Denver.

While Tomlin declined to identify which quarterback would open the game, Roethlisberger got extensive work with the starters in practice all week.

After Roethlisberger is pulled, Dennis Dixon will get his first significant playing time with the starters. Dixon has started only one NFL game, and he is expected to be Byron Leftwich’s backup when the season starts and Roethlisberger’s suspension begins.

On the field

Saints 36, Chargers 21: Rookie Chris Ivory, a former Washington State Cougar, turned a swing pass into a tackle-breaking, zigzagging, 76-yard score in New Orleans’ preseason victory over visiting San Diego.

Ivory’s 45 yards rushing and 76 yards receiving were the most of any player in the game.

Drew Brees set the tone for New Orleans with 240 yards passing and two touchdowns.

Philip Rivers led two touchdown drives for the Chargers. His 167 yards passing included a 9-yard TD toss to Malcom Floyd.

Eagles 20, Chiefs 17: Mike Kafka’s 18-yard pass to Riley Cooper in the closing seconds boosted visiting Philadelphia past Kansas City, making Todd Haley 0-7 in preseason games as the Chiefs’ head coach.

Chiefs rookie linebacker Cameron Sheffield was immobilized and had to be taken away on a cart after a helmet-to-helmet tackle on Mike Bell left him motionless on the field. The Chiefs said he had a neck injury and was being further evaluated.

Kafka, a rookie out of Northwestern, led the Philadelphia reserves on an 8-play, 80-yard drive against the Chiefs backups to pull out the win.

Redskins 16, Jets 11: Mark Sanchez connected with Dustin Keller for a 10-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, capping a 15-play drive that gave New York a lead before Washington came back to win a snoozer in East Rutherford, N.J.

Larry Johnson caught a screen pass from Richard Bartel and rumbled 15 yards for the winning score for the Redskins with 2:13 left.

Looking to rebound from a poor performance against Carolina last weekend, the Jets were hurt by turnovers and missed opportunities.

Falcons 16, Dolphins 6: Atlanta gave up only a field goal while Miami starting quarterback Chad Henne was in the game and beat the Dolphins in Miami.

Middle linebacker Curtis Lofton led the Falcons’ defensive charge with 11 tackles, two for losses. Washington State product Erik Coleman intercepted a pass in the end zone, and the Dolphins converted only one of eight third-down situations with Henne, who played one series into the third quarter.

Extra points

St. Louis Rams wide receiver Donnie Avery could miss the entire season after tearing a right knee ligament late in the first half of a preseason game Thursday. Avery led the Rams with 47 receptions last season. … A person with knowledge of the results has told the Associated Press that Colts linebacker Gary Brackett is not expected to miss significant time after X-rays on his injured right hand were negative. Brackett was injured Thursday when he appeared to hit his hand on a teammate’s helmet.