Top storyline for each Week 4 NFL preseason game

With one week remaining until the start of the regular season, teams are preparing for their final tune up for the real thing.

Unfortunately, some teams were handed major losses during the exhibition slate. Their summer finales will be spent trying to figure out what to do next.

In our final preseason installment, let’s check out the top storyline for each Week 4 NFL preseason game.

New England Patriots at New York Giants: All eyes on Jimmy Garoppolo

Through the first three preseason games, Garoppolo has performed at a high level. He’s completing 67 percent of his passes for over 400 yards without an interception.

That latter stat is most telling. The third-year signal caller has not thrown a pick in 54 passes this summer.

It’s going to be interesting to see how New England plays it out come Thursday night. Will Tom Brady get one final cameo before sitting out the first four games of the season?

If not, how long will Garoppolo play with the first string? That’s going to be the biggest takeaway heading into the team’s preseason finale.

New York Jets at Philadelphia Eagles: Jets’ backup quarterback battle

Let’s face a reality here really quickly. Ryan Fitzpatrick is 33 years old and has had one good season as a starter in the NFL. And while the Jets must be confident in his ability to repeat last year’s career performance, the team also has to be prepared for regression.

Unfortunately for the Jets, none of the other quarterbacks on the roster have stood out in camp. Geno Smith acted as New York’s second-stringer in its regular tune up last week, but he completed just 3-of-5 passes for 14 yards. In fact, there had been reports that his roster spot wasn’t safe (more on that here).

Meanwhile, Bryce Petty hasn’t necessarily done much to separate himself from the pack. He threw a pretty bad interception against the Giants, and is only completing 56 percent of his passes during the preseason.

How the Jets play this Thursday night will tell us where each backup quarterback stands. After all, Fitzpatrick himself is unlikely to see the field much, if at all.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Atlanta Falcons: Myles Jack

The rookie second-round pick has been super impressive during his first preseason. He’s second on the Jaguars with eight tackles and has been given a ton of play with the first team. In reality, Jack has been the story of Jacksonville’s summer thus far.

In what will be his final tune up for the regular season, we’re going to want to see if the UCLA product will continue his ascension up the ranks of young defenders.

It’s definitely going to be a nice little test with the likes of Devonta Freeman and Julio Jones taking to the field to start Thursday’s preseason finale. More than anything, this one scribe wants to see Jack in coverage against the elusive running back. That’s one area he’s struggled during the summer.

Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins: Ending preseason on a high note

This is more about the Titans and what they’ve been able to accomplish during the preseason. It hasn’t been perfect, but the team seems to be in good standing heading into the regular year.

Second-year quarterback Marcus Mariota has continued to excel with new-found weapons on offense. He’s completing nearly 75 percent of his passes in three preseason games.

He’s also been aided by the two-heading running back monster that is DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry. The two have combined to put up over 300 yards and four touchdowns on just 46 attempts in three games.

If Mariota can continue to get this type of balance on offense, he’s going to have a breakout season for what should be an improve Titans team.

Though, all eyes should be on Henry come Thursday night. The reigning Heisman winner will likely see a bulk of the action with the first team — something that will help him prove his worth to the Titans heading into his rookie season.

Buffalo Bills at Detroit Lions: Marvin Jones or Golden Tate?

It remains to be seen how long Detroit’s starters will play Thursday, but there is definitely a battle to be won here. It’s not a battle to decide who will start. Instead, it’s all about figuring out who Matthew Stafford’s top receiver is going to be.

Most figured Tate would take over the mantle as the team’s top receiver with Calvin Johnson retired. After all, here’s a dude that’s caught 189 passes for over 2,100 yards during the past two seasons.

Though, reports from training camp indicated that Jones, a free-agent signing from the Cincinnati Bengals, was performing at a high level.

That’s also been the case during three preseason games. Jones has caught eight passes for 106 yards on 12 targets. Meanwhile, Tate has tallied six catches for 70 yards on nine targets.

More than this, it appeared that Jones was involved more in the first-team offense last week against the Baltimore Ravens.

While it’s too early to provide a snap judgement here, it will definitely be interesting to see how this plays out Thursday evening. At the very least, we’re going to want to see who Stafford is more comfortable with in the limited action he sees.

Indianapolis Colts at Cincinnati Bengals: Can the Colts find a backup running back?

Un-drafted rookie free agent Josh Ferguson was expected to have a big preseason for Indianapolis. He’s responded by putting up 13 yards on 18 attempts. Meanwhile, veterans Robert Turbin and Jordan Todman have tallied a combined 68 yards on 23 attempts.

Needless to say, that’s not the type of production Indy expected behind 33-year-old veteran Frank Gore. In fact, it forced the team to sign Stevan Ridley off the street.

With Gore unlikely to play at all Thursday against Cincinnati, the Colts will hold an open competition for the primary backup job.

Whoever performs at a high level will earn the job. And whoever struggles the most will likely be without a spot on the 53-man roster altogether. Yeah, there’s a lot at stake here.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Carolina Panthers: Is Pittsburgh ready?

Ben Roethlisberger has attempted 17 passes in three preseason games. Le’Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams have a combined seven rush attempts to their name. Meanwhile, Antonio Brown has caught four passes on just as many targets.

There’s something to be said about making sure your star players don’t get injured. There’s also something to be said about getting in the necessary preseason snaps.

With Bell suspended for the first three games of the season, most in Pittsburgh would have liked to see Williams get more play. The same can be said about the Big Ben to Brown connection.

Heading into the preseason finally Thursday night, it will be interesting to see how head coach Mike Tomlin plays this. Will he be content with the reps these stars already have under their belt?

Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Redskins running back situation

With Matt Jones still sidelined to a shoulder injury, Washington’s backup running backs will get their chance on center stage Thursday. It’s no small thing with Jones’ history of injuries.

It’s also taken up a notch now that Alfred Morris is carrying the ball for the division-rival Dallas Cowboys.

Scat back Chris Thompson is expected to be Jones’ primary backup this season. Though, at 5-foot-8 and less than 200 pounds, it remains to be seen whether he can shoulder the load should Jones miss extended action at some point this season. Thompson has gone for 18 yards on just five attempts during the preseason.

It is, however, un-drafted rookie free agent Rob Kelley that’s impressed the most during the preseason. He’s put up 99 yards and a score on 22 attempts.

He’s impressed so much that head coach Jay Gruden recently called the Tulane product an “overlooked gem.”

With Jones out of action Thursday, Kelley should see ample playing time. It will be interesting to see if he can unseat Thompson as the team’s primary backup.

Baltimore Ravens at New Orleans Saints: Injuries on top of injuries

Benjamin Watson is lost for the season to a torn Achilles. He was expected to be the Ravens’ top receiving tight end after signing with the team in free agency. With Watson now out, who is going to step up behind him at tight end?

The expectation here is that Dennis Pitta, who has played in a total of seven games since the end of the 2012 campaign, will be ready for the regular season.

Joining Pitta in the mix will be former second-round pick Maxx Williams. He also been sidelined to injury during the preseason. One of these two tight ends will have to step up in order to help Joe Flacco in his return from a torn ACL.

Staying on offense, rookie running back Kenneth Dixon suffered a torn MCL last week and is expected to miss the first couple weeks of the season (via ESPN).

We’re definitely going to want to see how the likes of Buck Allen and Terrence West perform in his stead against New Orleans.

All this is just a continuation of the injury-plagued campaign Baltimore suffered through in 2015. More than anything, the hope here is that everyone exits the Superdome healthy Thursday night.

Chicago Bears at Cleveland Browns: Robert Griffin III

Is it possible that Griffin III has turned the corner and is prepared to revert back to old form? If so, that would be a mighty huge shake up for a Browns organization that hasn’t enjoyed a vast amount of riches at quarterback over the past two decades.

Thus far in the preseason, Griffin III is completing 60 percent of his passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns. He’s also averaging a rock solid 9.4 yards per attempt.

More than the basic stats, we have to be impressed by how well the former No. 2 overall pick has connected with the likes of Terrelle Pryor and Josh Gordon. He’s hit Pryor on a 50-yard touchdown while connecting with Gordon on a 44-yard strike.

First-year Browns head coach Hue Jackson has indicated that his starters will play Thursday against Chicago. It’s definitely going to be interesting to see how all this comes together heading into the regular season.

Green Bay Packers at Kansas City Chiefs: Home team’s wide receiver situation

We know Jeremy Maclin is going to be the Chiefs’ No. 1 receiver. What he did last season to help Alex Smith in the passing game is nothing short of amazing.

The former Philadelphia Eagles first-round pick tallied 87 receptions for 1,088 yards and eight scores in his first season with the Chiefs.

Though, we’re still left wondering who Smith’s secondary receiver is going to be. Veteran Rod Streater ranks second among Chiefs’ wide receivers with five catches during the preseason. Meanwhile, incumbent starter Albert Wilson has put up just three receptions for 17 yards during the summer.

In reality, Wilson has been downright horrendous during the preseason. He’s going to have to put up a solid performance against Green Bay to secure that starting job. If not, someone else will likely step up.

Los Angeles Rams at Minnesota Vikings: Replacing Teddy

This is such an unfortunate situation for the defending NFC North champions to be in. Heading into the 2016 regular season, Minnesota will be without Teddy Bridgewater for the entire season.

The third-year quarterback tore his ACL and dislocated his knee cap in practice on Tuesday. A disastrous injury for both the player and the team (more on that here).

With Teddy sidelined for at least the 2016 season, 36-year-old backup Shaun Hill will assume the starting role. After that, there’s absolutely nothing decided here. Undrafted rookie free agent Joel Stave, Taylor Heinicke and Brad Sorensen are the other quarterbacks on the roster.

Hill is expected to sit Thursday with Stave likely seeing the field as the starter. That’s pretty much where Minnesota is at heading into the regular season.

While we can’t take too much away from a meaningless preseason finale, it will surely be interesting to see how these quarterbacks perform against Los Angeles. It could help dictate whether Minnesota goes after a veteran in free agency or via a trade.

Houston Texans at Dallas Cowboys: Dak Prescott’s final tune up

Now that it looks like the rookie fourth-round pick will be Dallas’ starting quarterback to open the season, it’s going to be interesting to see how the team handles him Thursday.

If head coach Jason Garrett and Co. knew what was best for them (they do), they’d likely make sure Prescott exits stage left healthy. This can only be guaranteed with him taking a backseat to Jameill Showers Thursday night in Dallas.

There’s also another train of thought that suggests Prescott needs all the experience he can get heading into Week 1. After dazzling to the tune of a 78 percent completion rate with seven touchdowns in three preseason games, that might also make some sense.

Either way, the Cowboys find themselves at a crossroads heading into the regular season. Prescott is going to be the starter. That much is known. It’s now going to be up to him to lead the Boys with Romo sidelined (more on that here).

Denver Broncos at Arizona Cardinals: Paxton Lynch to play entire game

This is a tremendous showcase for Denver. It has no real interest in watching Mark Sanchez play. And by naming Trevor Siemian the starter, there’s no reason to play him in the fourth preseason game.

All of this means that Lynch, a rookie first-round pick from Memphis, will play the entire game for the defending champs.

No matter how well Lynch performs, it won’t be enough to unseat Siemian as the starter. A strong outing could, however, push Sanchez out of town while confirming Lynch’s status as the No. 2 quarterback.

Considering we’ve yet to see Siemian throw a regular season pass in the NFL, it could also narrow the gap between the two — enabling Lynch to take over early in the season should his counterpart struggle out of the gate.

Seattle Seahawks at Oakland Raiders: Seattle’s running back situation

Thomas Rawls is expected to be Seattle’s Week 1 starter, but he’s yet to suit up during the summer after suffering a late-season ankle injury as a rookie last year. That’s opened up the door for other young Seahawks running backs to step up.

Interestingly, it’s been un-drafted rookie free agent Troymaine Pope and former castoff Christine Michael that have put others on notice. In fact, their performances forced Seattle to release rookie seventh-round pick Zac Brooks.

When you factor in Rawls’ injury history and the retirement of Marshawn Lynch, it’s readily apparent that this is no small battle Seattle has going on heading into the regular season.

San Francisco 49ers at San Diego Chargers: Reception Colin Kaepernick receives

The entire national anthem controversy has taken on a new level recently. We’ve heard the Republican Presidential nominee comment on it.

Heck, the White House Press Secretary took time out of his daily briefing to give the Obama Administration’s stance on the drama (more on that here).

In between all this, we’ve seen players come out both in support and against the embattled 49ers quarterback.

Seemingly playing the ultimate troll job, first-year head coach Chip Kelly decided that it makes sense to start Kaepernick on Thursday night. He will be doing so with one last opportunity to earn the starting gig.

It will also come in a military-heavy city with the Chargers paying homage to the American armed forces.

Can you say drama and intrigue? This might very well be the most-interesting preseason game we get to view all summer. It will also be called on to conclude the exhibition slate late Thursday evening.