Jordan Love throws long TD pass on Green Bay's 3rd play, Packers down Browns 23-10

CLEVELAND (AP) — Jordan Love has never felt better about a three and out.

Love made the most of limited playing time, throwing a 65-yard touchdown pass to Dontayvion Wicks on Green Bay's third play as the Packers rolled to a 23-10 exhibition win over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday.

Love, who s igned a four-year, $220 million contract extension at the start of training camp last month, completed both pass attempts in his one series. Sean Clifford replaced the 25-year-old Love.

“I'm happy with it,” Love said of his brief appearance. “It ended with a touchdown. That was the goal.”

The Packers have faith in Love following in the footsteps of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers to continue Green Bay's lineage of great quarterbacks. He led the Packers to 10-9 record last season in his first year as a starter.

On Green Bay's first possession, Love waited for Wicks to get behind safety Ronnie Hickman before hitting him in stride for an easy, quick-strike score.

“We had a great play dialed up for that situation, one on one with Wicks and the safety a little bit off of him,” Love said. “He ran a great route, kind of lulled him to sleep at the top and I was able to get a pass to him.”

A fifth-round pick from Virginia last year, Wicks came on strong at the end of his rookie season, scoring four TDs in a three-game stretch before being blanked in the divisional playoff loss to San Francisco.

While the Packers got Love some work, the Browns rested starting quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is coming off right shoulder surgery.

Watson has thrown almost every day in camp and appears to be on track to start the Sept. 8 season opener against Dallas. But the Browns are remaining cautious with Watson, who has been limited to just 12 games in his first two seasons with Cleveland.

Backup QB Jameis Winston started for the Browns and played just one series in his debut for Cleveland, which signed him as a free agent in March. He went 4 of 5 for 30 yards.

“I thought he operated well,” coach Kevin Stefanski said. "I know we talk about that word operation, but it’s getting your team from the huddle to the line of scrimmage, making the correct run checks, pass checks, that type of thing. I thought he did a nice job.”

Stefanski chose to sit many of his starters, including star defensive end Myles Garrett, the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year, wide receiver Amari Cooper and Pro Bowl left guard Joel Bitonio.

Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur took a different approach, choosing to give many of his starters at least some playing time.

“We just wanted to get their feet wet a little bit,” LaFleur said. “Knock some rust off. It's always good not only to go out there and play but just the preparation mentally to play a game.”

THE OTHER QBS

Clifford may have solidified his spot as Green Bay's No. 2 QB, completing 10 of 19 passes for 111 yards. The former Penn State standout attempted just one pass as a rookie in 2023.

Seventh-round pick Michael Pratt went 5 of 7 for 46 yards.

One of Cleveland's few bright spots was Dorian Thompson-Robinson. He went 14 of 18 for 134 yards. Thompson-Robinson, who made three starts as a rookie last season, is battling Tyler Huntley for the No. 3 job.

KICK STAND

Green Bay's kicking competition between Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph remained highly competitive.

Carlson, who struggled at times as a rookie in 2023, made field goals of 46 and 33 yards and converted his only extra-point attempt. Joseph booted a 35-yarder and made a PAT.

Dustin Hopkins will handle Cleveland's kicking, but the 33-year-old didn't play. Cade York, who was cut by the Browns last season before they traded for Hopkins, kicked a 55-yard field goal.

INJURIES

Packers: Rookie RB MarShawn Lloyd went out with a hamstring injury. The third-round pick from USC had one carry for 8 yards. ... CB Robert Rochell was treated in the medical tent during the second quarter for an apparent shoulder issue.

Browns: Second-year backup C Luke Wypler suffered a broken right ankle and will undergo surgery, Stefanski said. ... Hickman injured his back on the Wicks TD and didn't return. ... WR David Bell went out with a quadriceps injury.

UP NEXT

Packers: At Denver on Aug. 18.

Browns: Host Minnesota for two practices this week before facing them in an exhibition on Aug. 17.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Green Bay Packers quarterback Sean Clifford hands off to running back Emanuel Wilson (31) for a 5-yard rushing touchdown during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Cleveland Browns, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Green Bay Packers running back Emanuel Wilson (31) breaks through the Cleveland Browns line for a 5-yard rushing touchdown during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Green Bay Packers, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston looks downfield during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Green Bay Packers, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Cleveland Browns quarterbacks Jameis Winston (5) and Deshaun Watson (4) watch from the sideline during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Green Bay Packers, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Green Bay Packers running back Emanuel Wilson breaks through the Cleveland Browns line for a 5-yard rushing touchdown during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb talks to teammates during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Green Bay Packers, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Browns defensive back Myles Garrett stretches before an NFL preseason football game against the Green Bay Packers, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson talks with head coach Kevin Stefanski during pregame of an NFL preseason football game against the Green Bay Packers, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson poses with his girlfriend Jilly Anais during pregame of an NFL preseason football game against the Green Bay Packers, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Cleveland Browns quarterbacks Jameis Winston (5), Deshaun Watson (4) and Tyler Huntley talk during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Green Bay Packers, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love throws during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Cleveland Browns, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese health authorities reported that at least three people were killed and more than a dozen others wounded in an Israeli strike on Beirut on Friday, the first such Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital in months.

The Israeli strike came after Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with rockets and the region awaited the revenge promised by the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah for this week’s mass bombing attack on pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members.

The target of Israel’s airstrike in Beirut’s crowded southern suburbs during rush hour, as people were leaving their work and students heading home from school, wasn't immediately clear. Lebanon's Health Ministry didn't elaborate on the identities of the victims.

Lebanese news stations broadcast footage of wounded people being pulled from the ruins of a flattened building as ambulances rushed to the scene of the strike.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel hit a Beirut suburb with an airstrike Friday, not long after Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets following a vow by the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah to retaliate against Israel for a mass bombing attack, the Israeli military and the militant group said.

The Israeli military said it had carried out a “targeted strike” in Beirut. It offered no further immediate details, but explosions could be heard coming from the city’s southern suburbs.

Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV reported that a drone fired several missiles on the heavily-populated area known as Dahiyeh.

A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media, confirmed to The Associated Press that an airstrike struck the area, without giving further details.

The strike came after Hezbollah pounded Israel with 140 rockets, which the Israeli military said came in three waves targeting sites along the ravaged border with Lebanon.

Following the attacks, the Israeli military said that it had struck areas across southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, but didn’t provide details of damage.

Hezbollah said that its attacks had targeted several sites along the border with Katyusha rockets, including multiple air defense bases as well as the headquarters of an Israeli armored brigade they said they’d struck for the first time.

The Israeli military said that 120 missiles were launched at areas of the Golan Heights, Safed and the Upper Galilee, some of which were intercepted. Fire crews were working to extinguish blazes caused by pieces of debris that fell to the ground in several areas, the military said.

The military didn’t say whether any missiles had hit targets or caused any casualties.

Another 20 missiles were shot at the areas of Meron and Netua, and most fell in open areas, the military said, adding that no injuries were reported.

Hezbollah said that the rockets were in retaliation for Israeli strikes on villages and homes in southern Lebanon, not two days of attacks widely blamed on Israel that set off explosives in thousands of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies.

On Thursday, Israel said its military had struck “hundreds of rocket launcher barrels” in southern Lebanon, saying that they “were ready to be used in the immediate future to fire toward Israeli territory”

The army also ordered residents in parts of the Golan Heights and northern Israel to avoid public gatherings, minimize movements and stay close to shelters in anticipation of the rocket fire that eventually came Friday.

Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily fire since Oct. 8, a day after the Israel-Hamas war’s opening salvo, but Friday’s rocket barrages were heavier than normal.

Nasrallah on Thursday vowed to keep up daily strikes on Israel despite this week’s deadly sabotage of its members’ communication devices, which he described as a “severe blow.”

At least 20 were killed in the attacks and thousands were wounded when pagers, walkie-talkies and other devices exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The sophisticated attacks have heightened fears that the cross-border exchanges of fire will escalate into all-out war. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the attacks.

In recent days, Israel has moved a powerful fighting force up to the northern border, officials have escalated their rhetoric, and the country’s security Cabinet has designated the return of tens of thousands of displaced residents to their homes in northern Israel an official war goal.

Fighting in Gaza has slowed, but casualties continue to rise.

Overnight, Palestinian authorities said that 15 people were killed in multiple Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.

Those included six people, including an unknown number of children, in an airstrike early Friday morning in Gaza City that hit a family home, Gaza’s Civil Defense said. Another person was killed in Gaza City when a strike hit a group of people on a street.

Israel maintains that it only targets militants, and accuses Hamas and other armed groups of endangering civilians by operating in residential areas. The military, which rarely comments on individual strikes, had no immediate comment.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says that more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count, but says a little over half of those killed were women and children.

Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

More than 95,000 people have also been wounded in Gaza since Oct. 7, the Health Ministry said.

The war has caused vast destruction and displaced about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million.

Ambulances arrive at the scene of an Israeli missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

People stand on top of a damaged car at the scene of a missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People and rescuers gather at the scene of an Israeli missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People gather near a damaged building at the scene of an Israeli missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People gather at the scene of an Israeli missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People gather at the scene of an Israeli missile strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept a rocket fired from Lebanon, in northern Israel, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)