Cutler looks sharp; Eagles beat Dolphins 38-31

PHILADELPHIA — Carson Wentz and Jay Cutler are ready for the regular season. Most of their teammates still need more work.

Wentz threw touchdown passes to both of his new receivers, Mychal Kendricks returned an interception 31 yards for a score and the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Miami Dolphins 38-31 on Thursday night.

Playing his second game since coming out of retirement to replace injured Dolphins starter Ryan Tannehill, Cutler was 5 of 8 for 105 yards and one TD . His surgically repaired right shoulder looked fine on a 72-yard pass to DeVante Parker.

Wentz connected with Torrey Smith on a 50-yard TD down the right side on a third-and-8 on Philadelphia’s opening series for a 7-0 lead. Smith, who was signed along with Alshon Jeffery in free agency to bolster the receiving group, didn’t have a catch in the first two games.

Wentz then hit Jeffery for a 20-yard gain and found him again for a 15-yard TD pass over the middle on his fourth and final series. Wentz finished 6 of 10 for 129 yards, two TDs and one interception. Coming in, there were concerns Jeffery wasn’t on the same page with Wentz because he has missed a lot of practice time.

“I felt really confident in our chemistry going back to the spring, but it was nice to do it in a game here in front of the fans,” Wentz said.

Jay Ajayi had a pair of 2-yard TD runs for the Dolphins and Cutler tossed a 1-yard TD pass to Julius Thomas.

“It seems like his pocket presence is coming back,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said of Cutler. “It was a step in the right direction.”

Eagles reserves led by No. 3 quarterback Matt McGloin had a six-play, 53-yard TD drive against Miami’s starters. Corey Clement capped it with a 3-yard TD run that tied it at 21.

“They got a good feel for us and they made a couple plays,” Dolphins cornerback Byron Maxwell said.

Mychal Kendricks then intercepted Matt Moore’s tipped pass and returned it for a score to put Philadelphia ahead 28-21.

The teams were quite familiar with each other after scrimmaging twice this week.

“That helped me a lot, really sped up my clock,” Cutler said.