Week 1 of the NFL preseason provided us more drama and intrigue than we anticipated. Sure there were some boring games on the docket and some of the top players in the league didn’t suit up. But rookie quarterbacks impressed to no end, while veterans at the same position struggled.
In the midst of this week’s preseason action, a couple blockbuster trades went down — both involving the Buffalo Bills. Did the Philadelphia Eagles’ performance on Thursday lead to the deal that sent Jordan Matthews to Buffalo? We will delve into that possibility below.
Here is the top takeaway from each Week 1 NFL preseason game.
Houston Texans at Carolina Panthers: Deshaun Watson looks like a star
We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. It was one meaningless preseason outing — a game that Watson himself didn’t even start. But if we were to take anything away from his first appearance on an NFL field, it’s simply that the reigning national champion looked like a star.
Watson completed 15-of-25 passes for 179 yards and added this score on the ground. Outside of one bad overthrow, Watson looked accurate as all get out. He was poised in the pocket and drew rave reviews from head coach Bill O’Brien. If Tom Savage is indeed going to be the Week 1 starter, he will have to work hard to fend off Watson between now and then.
Atlanta Falcons at Miami Dolphins: Falcons’ first-team clicking on all cylinders
Even with star receiver Julio Jones inactive, the defending NFC champs didn’t miss a step in their first preseason game. Matt Ryan completed all three of his passes, including this touchdown pass to the recently extended Devonta Freeman to cap off the only drive for Atlanta’s first-team offense. All said, Atlanta took it 36 yards on five plays to open the scoring.
Sure people will focus on the Falcons blowing a late-game lead. But that came with the team’s third and fourth stringers on the field. Ryan looked sharp in his only drive. Freeman showed why Atlanta made him the highest-paid running back in the game. For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, that’s all we should look at in the preseason.
Minnesota Vikings at Buffalo Bills: Getting Dalvin Cook involved early
Mike Zimmer and Co. didn’t shy away from giving their rookie second-round pick the ball early and often Thursday night. Their first three offensive plays (two runs, one pass) went to Cook, who gained 17 yards and a first down in the process. All said, the former Florida State product saw the ball nine times and gained 43 total yards.
This is the philosophy Minnesota will have to use if it wants to rebound after last season’s disappointing performance. Sam Bradford might be a decent game manager, but he can’t be the reason why this offense succeeds. It’s in this that Cook will have to play a huge role. Thursday’s opener showed the Vikings’ hand in this regard.
Washington Redskins at Baltimore Ravens: No rushing attack for road team
Despite Washington’s former general manager believing Matt Jones is the team’s most-talented running back, second-year player Robert Kelley opens the season as the starter. None of this really mattered Thursday, as the trio of Jones, Kelley and rookie Samaje Perine struggled to do anything of substance. The three combined for 16 yards on 12 rush attempts.
Sure, Kirk Cousins wants to prove he can be a franchise quarterback entering a contract year. But he’s going to need help from the team’s rushing attack. That’s only magnified with both DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garçon leaving in free agency. This most definitely did not happen in the preseason opener.
Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots: Jags youngsters look strong
Leonard Fournette put up 31 yards and a touchdown on nine rush attempts in his NFL debut. It wasn’t a awe-inspiring performance from Fournette, but he showed how his presence will help Jacksonville in the red zone. On defense, second-year linebacker Myles Jack recorded six tackles (three solo) and had one tackle for loss. Meanwhile, rookie linebacker Blair Brown had eight tackles to call his own.
Going forward, we’re going to want to see more out of Dante Fowler Jr. and other youngsters on the roster. We’re also going to want to make sure Fournette’s foot injury isn’t serious. But Thursday’s 31-24 win over the defending champion Patriots was a start.
New Orleans Saints at Cleveland Browns: DeShone Kizer shines
We shouldn’t anoint any rookie as franchise quarterback caliber after one start. But for the Browns, Kizer’s performance on Thursday gives the downtrodden team some hope that their two-decades long season of misery at quarterback could soon be coming to an end.
Kizer completed 11-of-18 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown in Cleveland’s 20-14 win over the Saints. This included an elite-level touchdown strike to Jordan Payton to put Cleveland up late in the final stanza. Very few current starting quarterbacks can make throws of that ilk in today’s NFL. To say it was impressive would be a major understatement. Now, we’re waiting on Browns head coach Hue Jackson to give his rookie second-round pick play against starting defenses as the preseason draws on.
Philadelphia Eagles at Green Bay Packers: Forcing a trade
Packers backup quarterbacks Brett Hundley, Joe Callahan and Taysom Hill picked apart the Eagles’ secondary to the tune of 22-of-36 passing for 214 yards and two touchdowns. It was just the latest example of a lackluster Eagles cornerback group embarrassing itself this summer. It started during training camp and definitely continued in Philadelphia’s preseason opener.
One day later, Philly sent Jordan Matthews and a third-round pick to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for corner Ronald Darby. It might not be enough for this team to overcome its issues against the pass, but it something the Eagles’ brass needed to do.
Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears: Ouch, Mike Glennon
Even after his disastrous performance Thursday, Bears head coach John Fox remains committed to Glennon as the team’s starter. How long that remains the case is not yet known, primarily because Glennon himself was brutal in his Bears debut. He completed 2-of-8 passes for 20 yards with zero scores and this horrible pick-six. Glennon also played a role in another turnover in his limited action under center.
On the other hand, rookie No. 2 overall pick Mitch Trubisky dominated the Broncos’ backups. The North Carolina product completed 18-of-25 passes for 166 yards with a touchdown and zero interceptions. He was poised in the pocket, showed tremendous scrambling ability and displayed pinpoint accuracy. It will most definitely be interesting to see how this quarterback situation plays out for the remainder of the summer. But Glennon absolutely didn’t do himself any favors Thursday.
Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants: T.J. Watt dominates
It took T.J. Watt a total of five minutes to record his first two NFL sacks. The rookie first-round pick absolutely dominated an over-matched Giants offensive line during his time on the field, ultimately recording five tackles (three solo), three quarterback hits, a pass defended and those two sacks. It lead to Watt’s older brother, J.J., showing his younger sibling some love on social media.
For a Steelers team that has struggled drafting pass rushers in the past, Watt’s performance Friday against the Giants has to be seen as a good sign. The Wisconsin product will surely have to continue this in the regular season for Pittsburgh to compete in the AFC, but his NFL debut was most definitely a good start.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Mixon shines in NFL debut
Mixon, a controversial second-round pick by the Bengals back in April, showed his stuff in a big way on Friday. The Oklahoma product put up 31 yards on six attempts, including a 13-yard run.
For Mixon, his performance comes at a time when former second-round pick Jeremy Hill is unofficially the Bengals’ starting running back. In reality, he outperformed Hill in every way in the team’s season opener. It’s going to be extremely interesting to see if Cincinnati decides to give Mixon extended run with the first-team offense moving forward in the preseason. If Friday’s performance is any indication, he’s earned that right.
San Francisco 49ers at Kansas City Chiefs: 49ers youngsters impress big time
San Francisco did yield a long touchdown-scoring drive to Alex Smith to open up Friday’s game. But that primarily came via cornerback Rashard Robinson, who blew multiple coverages in the first quarter prior to making this awesome interception.
With that said, it was the performance of San Francisco’s young front seven that stood out the most. Playing pretty much an entire three quarters, rookie first-round picks Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster dominated in every way.
Thomas and Foster recorded just two tackles each, but they were in on multiple plays throughout the game. For Thomas, it was all about stuffing the run and providing consistent pressure on the quarterback. On the other hand, Foster showed his elite-level sideline-to-sideline and coverage ability. Add in the two sacks 24-year-old pass rusher Aaron Lynch recorded, and there’s a lot to like about San Francisco’s young defense.
Tennessee Titans at New York Jets: Home team’s quarterbacks look strong
Don’t look now, but both Josh McCown and Christian Hackenberg played exceptionally well in the Jets’ preseason opener Saturday night. McCown, who will almost certainly begin the season as the starter, opened the game with an eight-play, 78-yard touchdown scoring drive that included this tremendous pass to Robby Anderson. All said, McCown completed 3-of-4 passes for 72 yards and a score.
Following that opening drive, it was all about Hackenberg. The Penn State product struggled mightily during the offseason program, but he showed some of the talent that made him a surprise second-round pick in 2016. While not flashy, Hackenberg completed 18-of-25 passes for 127 yards without an interception. He also displayed the intermediate accuracy that we had not seen before. Hack will have to fix the fumble issues, but his performance in the opener was somewhat surprising.
Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams: Stacking the box against Todd Gurley
It’s rather clear defenses still don’t respect Jared Goff. The Cowboys’ defensive scheme in Week 1 of the preseason magnified this even more. Running against eight-men fronts in his two series on the field, Gurley gained two yards on four attempts and lost yardage on three of those attempts.
Fortunately for the Rams, Goff looked extremely good in taking advantage of single coverage down the field. While he attempted just four passes on the night, Goff was able to lead a short touchdown drive after a Cowboys muffed punt. That drive saw him complete a tremendous pass to rookie Cooper Kupp, as the two have found a solid rhythm with one another. Goff will have to keep this up if Gurley is to rebound from last season’s disastrous performance.
Oakland Raiders at Arizona Cardinals: Raiders secondary is a mess
Rookie defensive backs Obi Melifonwu and Gareon Conley didn’t suit up in Saturday’s loss to the Cardinals. Getting them back on the field will be big for the Raiders, because the rest of this unit was downright horrible in the preseason opener. Veteran Sean Smith — someone who looked the part of a watered-down cover guy last season — was up to his old tricks Saturday. The high-priced free agent signing committed two penalties in just two series on the field. Even when he wasn’t drawing that yellow flag, Smith was beat multiple times by much speedier Cardinals receivers.
In the end, the likes of Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert completed a combined 16-of-24 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown against Oakland. That came after Carson Palmer led a game-opening touchdown-scoring drive of his own. Simply put, the Raiders secondary must improve a great deal between now and the regular season if they want to be considered serious Super Bowl contenders.
Detroit Lions at Indianapolis Colts: Sack leader Kerry Hyder suffers “significant injury”
One of the primary preseason objectives for teams around the NFL is to get through it without any significant injuries. Unfortunately for the Lions, it took less than a half in their first exhibition game for the injury bug to come calling. Last year’s sack leader, defensive tackle Kerry Hyder, went down in a heap in the first quarter. He was carted off the field with what appeared to be a serious leg injury. Now, following Detroit’s win over Indianapolis, it’s being reported that Hyder suffered a “significant Achilles injury” and could be lost for the season.
Already thin along the defensive line, this could be a major blow for Detroit. As a second-year player last season, Hyder recorded a team-high eight sacks. Not another member of the team racked up more than 4.5 sacks on the year. This could very well be a massive blow for the Lions’ playoff hopes in 2017.
Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Chargers: Potentially crippling blow for the Chargers
In the first quarter of Sunday night’s game, their first in Los Angeles, the Chargers were dealt a potentially crippling blow. Starting middle linebacker Denzel Perryman went down with a non-contact injury. He was seen grabbing the ankle/knee area before being carted off the field. At that point, Perryman seemed to mouth that it “popped” to trainers on the cart.
Los Angeles initially noted that he was questionable to return, but it appears the injury itself is much more serious than the team wants to believe.
A third-year pro from Miami (F), Perryman is set to play one of the most-important positions on the football field. As a MIKE, he’s responsible for play-calling duties. Let’s hope the injury is not as serious as it seems.