Things kicked off on Thursday night as the Kansas City Chiefs won in front of their home fans over the Green Bay Packers and the Houston Texans shut out the San Francisco 49ers. Each of the NFL’s 32 teams will handle this week differently. Some will play their chips a little, some will play their chips more, and some not at all. In fact, this week is more about the reserves as coaching staffs around the league figure out who will make their 53-man rosters. Below, we’ll break down highlights from all 16 preseason games. Bookmark this post as it will be your one stop shop for everything you need to see.
Program
Thursday Chiefs 17, Packers 10 (Recap)Texans 17, 49ers 0 (Recap) Friday Panthers 21, Bills 0 (Recap)Cowboys 27, Seahawks 26 (Recap)Saints 27, Chargers 10 (Recap)Raiders 23, Patriots 6 (Takeaways) Saturday Falcons 28, Jaguars 12 (Recap)Rams at Bengals (Gametracker)Cardinals at Titans (Gametracker)Bears at Browns (Gametracker)Eagles at Dolphins (Gametracker)Commanders at Ravens (Gametracker)Gametracker)Buccaneers at Collectors (9pm) (Gametracker) Sunday Giants at Jets, 1 p.m. ET, NFLNLions at Steelers, 4:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Justin Fields throws three TDs in the first half
The Bears second baseman was sharp in the first half of Saturday night’s game against the Browns, going 14 of 16 for 156 yards and three touchdown passes. He also ran for 11 yards as the Bears led 21-6 at halftime.
Treylon Burks returns to game, scores TD
The Titans’ first-round pick hasn’t made an impact in Tennessee’s first two preseason games, but Saturday night was different. Burks caught a pass on the first play of the game and recorded another reception later in the first quarter. However, he then left the match with a wrist injury and was deemed doubtful to return. Burks finally returned in the second quarter and ran a 14-yard touchdown for his first NFL score.
Wild pick six
Elijah Campbell shouldn’t have scored on this play, but he did. The defensive back took advantage of a bad throw by Reid Sinnett and fought tooth and nail to get the pick back for a touchdown. He was met by Sinnett and a herd of Eagles at the 10-yard line, but kept his feet moving and found himself in the end zone. The Titans rookie quarterback is focusing on his presence in the pocket as he makes the jump to the NFL, but it’s his feet that make him special. Check out this play, where Willis ran right up the middle for a 50-yard gain. Not only is the Liberty product quick, but he’s downright dangerous with the moves he can make in the open field. He has good vision and knows when to cut back or get off. The Ravens have a new wide receiver and it could be someone who makes an immediate impact on offense. Former captain DeMarcus Robinson completely embarrassed Washington cornerback Danny Johnson on that drive, resulting in a 67-yard touchdown run. This was also Anthony Brown’s first pass of the game. Are the Ravens a new soldier factory?
Tua goes out into the fire
How Tyreek Hill will fare in Miami’s offense compared to how he did in Kansas City is a big story heading into this season. There’s a narrative that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t have the strongest arm, but he and new coach Mike McDaniel are trying to combat that notion. On the first play of the Dolphins’ final preseason game, Tagovailoa found Hill running down the field for a 51-yard gain. It took the Dolphins just four plays to score their first touchdown of the game. Tagovailoa completed all three of his pass attempts for 72 yards and hit River Craft for an eight-yard score.
Punt block landing
That’s how you make a case for the 53-man roster. Quinton Bell proved he can be a force on special teams with this punt block touchdown as the Falcons extended their lead before halftime.
Connection from rookie to Falcons
While Ridder had an interception on the first play of the game Saturday, he recovered a fumble to lead a 15-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on the Falcons’ next possession. On second down, Ridder found another rookie running back Tyler Allgeier for the score. The Falcons have versatile Cordarrelle Patterson and Damien Williams at running back, but some expect Allgeier to play a role in his first NFL season.
Cut to the first game of the game!
Rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder started for Atlanta’s third and final preseason game on Saturday, and unfortunately, he threw an interception on the first play of the game! Check out this read from Jaguars Safety Daniel Thomas:
Ben DiNucci throws the winning TD for the Cowboys
The Cowboys were able to get through the preseason finale over the Seahawks thanks to Ben DiNucci throwing the game-winning touchdown pass to Peyton Hendershott. The 14-yard touchdown pass gave the Cowboys a 27-26 lead with 4:07 left as Dallas overcame 10 penalties to secure the victory. DiNucci is a longshot to make the Cowboys, but he could end up somewhere in the NFL next week.
Brandon Smith has a TD catch for the Cowboys
Brandon Smith is a longshot to make the Cowboys’ 53-man roster, but he’s impressing the coaching staff with this highlight-reel touchdown catch. That 8-yard catch in the back of the end zone by Will Grier tied the game with the Seahawks in the third quarter. Smith leads Dallas with three catches, making the most of his last chance.
Sam Darnold rushes for TD, exits with ankle injury
Sam Darnold, now the No. 2 quarterback in Carolina, had his share of rushing scores for the Panthers last season. His 1-yard score put Carolina up 21-0 over Buffalo with 7:06 to play in the third quarter. Darnold had a career-high five rushing touchdowns last season for the Panthers — or as many as he had in his first three league seasons combined with the Jets. It wasn’t all good news for Darnold, who was carted off the field with an ankle injury and will not return.
Drew Lock connects on beautiful TD pass
The Drew Lock experience is in full force. After throwing an interception on his first drive of the game, Locke earned another chance to show off his arm strength. Battling for the starting quarterback position in Seattle, Locke hit Penny Hart on a 35-yard pass. Throws don’t get much better than this week 3 of the preseason. Lock has a chance to take the job from Geno Smith, who started this game for Seattle. Coach Pete Carroll says he will name a starter after the third preseason game.
Mark Ingram gets his second TD in the first quarter
Mark Ingram is the NFL’s current leading rusher and continues to have a prominent role with the Saints, rushing for two touchdowns in the first quarter as New Orleans blew a 14-0 lead over the Los Angeles Chargers — who play the majority. of their backups. That touchdown run was from 2 yards out. Mayfield won the starting quarterback job in Carolina and puts an exclamation point on this training camp with a 19-yard strike to Shi Smith for a touchdown. Smith has been mentioned as Mayfield’s favorite target by some of the local writers in Carolina, emerging as a candidate not only for a roster spot — but also for regular-season snaps. Mayfield has two touchdown passes in the first quarter. This might be it for him. To the surprise of some, the Texans’ starting quarterback took the field to start the second half. After a torrid first two quarters in which he threw an interception, Mills led a six-play, 77-yard drive that ended with a touchdown — a 16-yard strike to Chris Moore. This is a nice bullet pass in the middle of the field. Houston has high hopes for the second-year signal caller.
It’s the Bushman’s world, we just live in it
Matt Bushman has a big night and recorded 73 receiving yards on his first three catches. He scored his second touchdown of the game early in the third quarter on a play that looked like a turnaround waiting to happen.
A must-see interception
What at first appeared to be a great catch by the Texans turned into an interception by the 49ers in the blink of an eye. Credit to both defensive backs in this game for battling for the ball. Samuel Womack III bent it and then Tarvarius Moore somehow brought it in.
Whose man was he?!
Chiefs tight end Matt Bushman ran a simple corner route that resulted in a 54-yard touchdown. The safety wasn’t looking his way, and the cornerback thought he was giving the tight end to his teammate. This play will look bad when the Chiefs evaluate the film. The Packers got off to a slow start Thursday night — going three-and-out on their first two possessions. Things started to click on their third drive, however, as Green Bay drove 83 yards down the field in 11 plays to score the game’s first touchdown. He was the undrafted rookie out of Iowa who got into the end zone for the Packers. Check out this EXPLOSIVE run by Tyler Goodson covered in the spin move.
Texans’ Dameon Pierce continues hot start
Houston’s rookie running back has been one of the stars of the preseason. After an impressive Week 1 outing, Pierce did not play last weekend. Texans coach Lovie Smith said he kept Pierce out because he was seen a lot in the first preseason game, according to the Pro Football Network, which could mean he’s an RB1. Pierce did play Thursday night, though, and on the Texans’ opening drive, he rushed six times for 37 yards as Houston drove 85 yards down the field in 11 plays and scored a touchdown. Who scored for the Texans? I will give you…
