NFL: Colts' Andrew Luck throws for TD on first pass

Andrew Luck knows life in the NFL can't be this easy for a rookie.

The No. 1 overall draft pick threw his first NFL pass for a long touchdown, just like Peyton Manning in 1998, then led Indianapolis to two more touchdowns. Luck one-upped his predecessor by winning Sunday's preseason opener 38-3 over St. Louis — Indy's first preseason-opening win since 1994.

"To get a win, get in the game and put some drives together is great," said Luck, who connected with Donald Brown for a 63-yard TD on his first pass. "But I realize, and the guys in the locker room realize, it's a preseason game and things will be different as the season goes along."

Luck might have the toughest job in football this season — replacing Manning, the longtime face of Indy's franchise. The rookie from Stanford wound up 10 of 16 for 188 yards with two TD passes and a quarterback rating of 142.6. Three of the incompletions were drops, and two were throwaways.

"I know we picked him up off the turf a couple times, but he's a big, strong, athletic guy and he can take a hit," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said.

Around the league

Packers • Green Bay signed running back Cedric Benson, who left Cincinnati after spending four seasons with the Bengals, leading them in rushing each year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Packers have been plagued by injuries in their running game. Green Bay went 15-1 last season despite finishing 27th in rushing. James Starks is bothered by turf toe, Brandon Saine (hamstring) has not practiced, Alex Green is coming off knee surgery, and Ryan Grant was not re-signed.

Patriots • Receiver Plaxico Burress visited New England for a workout this weekend. Burress spent last season with the Jets after finishing a 20-month prison sentence on a gun charge. New York did not re-sign Burress, who turned 35 on Sunday. He had 45 catches for 612 yards and eight for touchdowns last season.

Dolphins • Six-time Pro Bowl receiver Chad Johnson was released by Miami on Sunday, one day after he was arrested in a domestic battery case involving his wife. Johnson was released from jail on $2,500 bond earlier Sunday after his wife accused him of head-butting her during an argument in front of their home in Davie, Fla. Johnson was charged with simple domestic battery, a misdemeanor. The confrontation came barely a month after Johnson married Evelyn Lozada, who is on the reality TV show "Basketball Wives." The 34-year-old Johnson had been battling for a spot on the team after a disappointing 2011 season with New England.

Jaguars • Jacksonville released veteran receiver Lee Evans, who signed as a free agent in April after he was released a month earlier by Baltimore. —

Preseason

Sunday's game

• Indianapolis 38,St. Louis 3

Monday's game

• Dallas at Oakland,6 p.m., ESPN