After he made his first of two 52-yard field goals Friday night, Seattle Seahawks kicker Blair Walsh turned toward the Minnesota sidelines and appeared to stare down and pointed at Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer.

At least, that is what was captured by the TV cameras in the Seahawks’ 20-13 preseason win.

But no, said Walsh, who was cut by the Vikings last fall after five seasons in Minnesota, that is not what happened at all.

“It wasn’t directly at (Zimmer),” Walsh said. “And it was in jest because they were taunting me. I hoped their taunts were in jest, but I didn’t know their intent and I didn’t appreciate getting really yelled at by guys who I’d been friends with for five years. So my response was simply to look at them like I wasn’t having it.”

What did his former Vikings teammates say to him?

“Nothing I’m going to repeat here,” Walsh said.

The Seahawks kicker seemed disturbed by the fact that his stare down with the Vikings had become one of the big stories of the evening.

“I hate that the little sideline thing, you get a story from it,” Walsh said. “But, I don’t know, I felt a little bit off by the taunting and I didn’t like it. I wasn’t mad, I wasn’t frustrated. I just wanted to let them know that I’m here.”

Minnesota released Walsh after nine games in 2016, but his struggles with the Vikings dated back to the 2015 season, when he missed a 27-yard field goal in the Vikings’ wild-card playoff game against Seattle in January 2016. The miss gave Seattle a 10-9 win and knocked the Vikings out of the playoffs.

Seahawks LT Fant 
out for season

Seattle left tackle George Fant tore his right ACL in Friday night’s win. Fant was rolled into by teammate Justin Britt and immediately fell to the turf in pain. Seattle coach Pete Carroll said Fant will need surgery and expected to be done for the season.

Fant’s injury likely means significant changes for Seattle’s offensive line. Luke Joeckel was set to be the starting left guard, but may be an option at left tackle with the entire right side of the line still unsettled.

Quiet night for Hollisters

Bend’s Jacob Hollister had one catch for four yards and twin brother Cody Hollister had no catches in the New England Patriots’ 27-23 loss at Houston on Saturday night. Jacob Hollister, who had 116 receiving yards in the Patriots’ preseason opener, was targeted just once. Cody Hollister, who sat out the preseason opener, was targeted three times.

49ers lose turnover battle

Denver forced four turnovers in the first half as the Broncos beat the San Francisco 49ers 33-14 on Saturday night in Santa Clara, California.

San Francisco’s Brian Hoyer was 8-of-11 for 89 yards and an interception with a 58.5 passer rating. Third-round draft pick C.J. Beathard passed for 110 yards and a touchdown in his attempt to beat out Matt Barkley for the backup job.

The teams combined for 22 penalties for 176 yards, although it could have been much worse. During a punt return in the third quarter, five flags were thrown on the same play, including four on the Broncos. When the dust settled, the penalties offset and the play was rerun.

Carr returns for Raiders

Derek Carr threw two touchdown passes for Oakland in his first game since breaking his leg last season in the Raiders’ 24-21 preseason loss Saturday night.

Marshawn Lynch returned to the field for the first time since retiring following the 2015 season. He delighted his hometown crowd when he burst through the line for a 6-yard run on his first carry and added another 4-yard run before calling it a night.

While some fans in Oakland have expressed bitterness of the team’s impending move to Las Vegas in 2020, the Raiders are sold out for the entire season and drew a sellout crowd of 53,659 for their first home game of the preseason.