The Green Bay Packers’ kicking competition is going down to the wire.

Greg Joseph improved his chances of unseating incumbent Anders Carlson by making a 55-yard field goal and a 36-yarder Saturday and the Packers beat the Baltimore Ravens 30-7 in a preseason finale without most of the starters from either team.

Carlson made a 54-yarder in the first quarter but pushed a 32-yarder wide right in the final period.

“We’ll wait and see,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said about the kicking competition after the game.

After Carlson struggled as a rookie last season, the Packers brought in Joseph to compete with him. Joseph has played for the Cleveland Browns (2018), Tennessee Titans (2019) and Minnesota Vikings (2021-23).

“I’ve controlled what I can control,” Joseph said. “Anything further, it’s no point in losing sleep over because it’s out of my control.”

Both teams rested their top players to make sure they stayed as healthy as possible for the start of the regular season. The Ravens still got some bad luck with running back Owen Wright breaking his foot and center Nick Samac also getting carted off the field.

Samac, a rookie seventh-round pick from Michigan State, had been getting some first-team reps in camp while 2023 Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum deals with a neck issue.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh expressed confidence after the game that Linderbaum and tight end Mark Andrews, who got hurt in a car accident last week, will be ready for the start of the regular season.

Cowboys’ CB Bland out 6-8 weeks

Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland, who set an NFL record last season by returning five interceptions for touchdowns, will miss six to eight weeks because of a stress fracture in his foot.

Bland will have surgery for the injury, the team said Saturday. He reported discomfort in the foot during training camp in California this past week and underwent imaging that revealed the stress fracture.

The loss of Bland comes with the Cowboys getting ready for the return of 2021 All-Pro Trevon Diggs, who missed all but two games last year after tearing a knee ligament. Diggs led the NFL with 11 interceptions in 2021.

Bland was an All-Pro in his second season after leading the NFL with nine interceptions.

Browns QB Watson dealing with sore arm

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson did not play in Cleveland’s preseason finale Saturday.

Watson, who is coming off season-ending right shoulder surgery, dealt with some soreness in his arm during practice on Wednesday. The team said he took his full reps with the first-team offense during Thursday’s workout, which was closed to the media.

Coach Kevin Stefanski had planned to play Watson but now appears to be taking a cautious approach. A team spokesman said Watson is still on track to start Cleveland’s home opener on Sept. 8 against Dallas.

Watson had surgery in November to repair a broken socket bone in his throwing arm, ending his second season with Cleveland after just six starts.

The Browns signed him to a five-year, $230 million contract in 2022; he has played in only 12 games because of an 11-game NFL suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy and the injury.