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Seven NFL players who stood out Thursday night

Thursday’s slate of six preseason NFL games showed us a bit more than what we saw during the opening weekend.

Cleveland Browns receiver Terrelle Pryor continues to display the ability to be a starter at that position. He took yet another step against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday.

Meanwhile, three different quarterbacks showed themselves to be more than ready for regular season action. These are among the seven NFL players that stood out Thursday night.

1. Terrelle Pryor, wide receiver, Cleveland Browns

You have to give Pryor some credit for how seamless his transition from quarterback to wide receiver has been. Entering the exhibition slate as one of Cleveland’s starting receivers, the former Ohio State signal caller has looked stellar in two games.

After putting up two catches for 57 yards in the team’s preseason opener, Pryor added a tremendous 50-yard touchdown reception Thursday night against the Atlanta Falcons.

It came against Falcons Pro Bowl corner Desmond Trufant and displayed all the traits we look for in a NFL receiver.

With Josh Gordon suspended the first four games of the season, Pryor has a real shot to make an impact. That’s only magnified by the lack of proven talent at receiver in Cleveland.

Now, through two preseason games, Pryor has caught three of the five passes thrown in his direction for over 100 yards. It’s this type of game-breaking ability that could make him a stud in 2016.

2. Philadelphia Eagles secondary

The Eagles’ secondary picked off Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Landry Jones four times in the first half on Thursday.

It started with a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown by Nolan Carroll and culminated in a Jaylen Watkins interception to end the half. For his part, Carroll looked great his entire time out there.

Overall, the Eagles yielded 207 total yards of offense while shutting out Pittsburgh en route to a 17-0 win.

We know full well that Pittsburgh wasn’t playing its starters in this one. Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown didn’t play. That surely had an impact here.

Either way, Philadelphia’s defense came through with a strong performance against its cross-state rival. Regardless of who was playing, that’s exactly what the team needed to do in preparation for the regular season.

3. Jimmy Garoppolo, quarterback, New England Patriots

After yet another slow start, Tom Brady’s short-term replacement proved himself once again on Thursday night.

Garoppolo completed 16-of-21 passes for 181 yards with a touchdown and zero picks in his second consecutive stellar outing. All said, he led New England to scores on his last four drives of the game, tallying 20 of the team’s 23 points in the process.

Much like New England’s preseason opener last week against the New Orleans Saints, it didn’t limit its playbook for the young backup.

Instead, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Co. used Thursday’s game as another fine tuning for the regular year. In this, Garoppolo was tasked with tossing the rock around the field much like we’ve seen from Brady over the past 16 seasons.

This will make it an easier transition for the Patriots as they face the first four regular season games without their future Hall of Fame quarterback. With 349 yards and a 105.6 rating in 39 attempts this preseason, Garoppolo is making sure of that.

4. Marvin Jones, wide receiver, Detroit Lions

Going up against his former squad, Jones had extra incentive to perform at a high level Thursday night. That’s exactly what he did, burning the Cincinnati Bengals first-team defense to the tune of four receptions for 65 yards on five targets.

Seen as the most impressive Lions’ receiver during the summer, there are some who have concluded Jones will unseat Golden Tate as the team’s top receiver following the retirement of Calvin Johnson.

If Jones’ performance on Thursday night is any indication, he’s clearly headed in the right direction.

Lions starter Matthew Stafford hit Jones on a 32-yard completion down the right sideline, setting up Detroit’s first score of the game. More than basic stats, this is a prime example of just how well the two have connected during the summer.

If this continues, we can expect a huge performance from Jones in his first season with the Lions.

5. Robert Griffin III, quarterback, Cleveland Browns

After what can be described as an uneven performance in his preseason debut with the Browns last week, RGIII put up a heck of an outing Thursday.

The former No. 2 overall pick completed 6-of-8 passes for 96 yards, including touchdown strikes to Terrelle Pryor and Gary Barnidge.

Overall, the Browns scored touchdowns on two of their five first-half drives with RGIII under center.

It might not seem like a great end result for the team. But considering what we’ve seen from Griffin III in D.C. and the Browns themselves over the past few seasons, this is definitely a nice start.

6. Andy Dalton, quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals

Courtesy of USA Today Images

In limited playing time thus far this preseason, Dalton has looked as sharp as ever. He completed 4-of-5 passes in the team’s opener against the Minnesota Vikings last week before seeing more action Thursday night.

Dalton led the Bengals on an eight-play, 74-yard scoring drive to open the game, completing all five passes for 63 yards. The big gain came on a well-executed 26-yard strike to rookie Tyler Boyd on third down.

Dalton’s biggest measuring stick this season will come during the playoffs. With that said, it’s nice to see him open up the preseason looking sharp. That’s something we have not seen in each of the past two years.

7. Eddie Lacy, running back, Green Bay Packers

Concerns over Lacy’s weight and conditioning have suddenly taken a back seat to an impressive on-field performance.

The enigmatic running back put up a heck of a performance against the Oakland Raiders on Thursday, tallying 45 yards on nine attempts. He added a one-yard touchdown for good measure.

It’s not as much about the stats as it is about how much more conditioned Lacy looks on the field. The surprising athleticism he displayed during his first two seasons was on full display Thursday.

This is going to be incredibly important for the Packers as they look to regain some balance on offense moving forward. Without much behind Lacy on the depth chart, the onus is surely on this former Pro Bowler. If Thursday is any indication, he will be just fine.

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