Week 1 of the NFL preseason was a nice way for players to get their feet wet. Starters played sparingly, if at all. It was more about 40 players or so on each team battling for spots on the 53-man roster.
This week won’t be a whole lot different. Historically, teams play their starters the most during Week 3 of the preseason. Even then, there’s a lot of storylines to go around.
Given what we saw from multiple rookie quarterbacks last week, some of the top storylines are continuations from then. Meanwhile, we’re going to keep a keen eye on the quarterbacks set to take it to the road in both New England and Houston this week.
These are among the top storylines for each Week 2 NFL preseason game.
Philadelphia Eagles at New England Patriots: Eagles’ quarterback situation
It’s not yet panic time for the Eagles, but signing Christian Hackenberg off the streets seems to suggest something is up on this front. Coming off a torn ACL he suffered late last year, Carson Wentz is expected to be held out throughout the duration of the preseason. Even if he’s good to go come Week 1, there has to be some concern about how he might look.
Backup quarterback and reigning Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles was held out of the preseason opener with spasms in the neck/back area. He recently returned to practice. But again, it’s a concern. Hence, the Hackenberg signing. For now, the likes of Nate Sudfeld and Joe Callahan will share reps against New England. The two combined to complete 18-of-32 passes for 219 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions last week.
New York Jets at Washington Redskins: Sam Darnold, QB1?
Fresh off a tremendous preseason debut against the Atlanta Falcons last week, Darnold is receiving first-team practice reps ahead of the likes of veterans Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater. It might be too early to read too much into this, but the Jets themselves were blown away with what they saw from Darnold during training camp after he finally reported. There hasn’t been a negative thing come from the organization in regards to what he’s done thus far.
It will certainly be interesting to see how New York plays this in Week 2 of the preseason. Last week saw McCown get the start with Bridgewater replacing him in the first quarter. Darnold then saw nearly three full quarters of action. Should the USC product take second-team reps or start against the Redskins, it could be a clear indication that the Jets expect him to be under center in Week 1.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Green Bay Packers: Steelers’ youngsters
Who didn’t impress among the group of young Steelers skill-position players last week against Philadelphia? Rookie quarterback Mason Rudolph completed 7-of-12 passes for 101 yards, leading the team to four scoring drives on five possessions. James Conner went for 25 yards on four attempts in the backfield. Rookie James Washington added two receptions for 44 yards, including a 35 yarder from Rudolph. Meanwhile, studly receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster added this 71-yard touchdown catch from Landry Jones.
That’s certainly a lot of positives behind the big three of Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. And in reality, it could make this Steelers team extremely dangerous on offense. That’s scary for opposing AFC North competition. We’ll be watching to see if all four find a way to continue this excellence at Lambeau in Week 2 of the preseason.
Kansas City Chiefs at Atlanta Falcons: Looking for more from Patrick Mahomes
The time is now for Mahomes to show out. Kansas City moved on from Alex Smith this past offseason quicker than a Raiders fan asking for a handout at Arrowhead. The idea was to replace him with a more dynamic player in that of this second-year quarterback. Certainly, Mahomes has more talent. But he’s yet to really show it.
The former top-10 pick’s training camp started with turnover after turnover, leading some to believe he might not be ready for prime time action on a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Sure that’s going to happen. Youngsters will make mistakes. But it’s time for Mahomes to step up. He failed to do that in Week 1, throwing for 33 yards on seven attempts while leading the Chiefs to 29 total yards on two drives.
New York Giants at Detroit Lions: Giants’ backup quarterback situation
We focused on this a tad this past weekend, but it certainly warrants repeating. New York finds itself in an extremely questionable situation behind Eli Manning at quarterback. Second-year quarterback Davis Webb was expected to take a giant leap. If the preseason opener is any indication, he’s actually regressed from his rookie campaign. Meanwhile, it’s hard to imagine the Giants relying on rookie mid-round pick Kyle Lauletta being its primary backup.
One preseason game doesn’t begin to tell us the story. New York isn’t going to panic during the summer. Even then, more struggles from Webb this week against the Lions might force New York to rethink its quarterback depth chart. Whether that’s giving Lauletta second-team reps or looking for a veteran addition remains to be seen.
Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns: All of the quarterbacks
As you can tell, most of the storylines for Week 2 of the preseason surround quarterbacks. And for good reason. There’s a lot happening on that front. None more so than in both Buffalo and Cleveland. Each team saw multiple quarterbacks impress a great deal during their preseason openers. Now is the time to see if that cycle can repeat itself.
Seemingly taking a step behind A.J. McCarron and Nathan Peterman on the Bills’ depth chart, can rookie Josh Allen follow up an uneven Week 1 performance to make this a three-way competition once again? Remember, McCarron and Peterman dominated in the opener. In Cleveland, Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes in relief of Pro Bowler Tyrod Taylor. Is the reigning Heisman winner really in a position to challenge Taylor for the starting gig? All eyes will be on the quarterbacks inside of FirstEnergy this weekend. That’s for sure.
Miami Dolphins at Carolina Panthers: Getting Ryan Tannehill more reps
As with Andrew Luck in Indianapolis, it’s pretty darn important that Tannehill continues to get reps during the exhibition slate after having not thrown a regular season pass since Week 14 of the 2016 season.
The former first-round pick completed 4-of-6 passes for 32 yards, leading Miami into field goal scoring range, in the team’s preseason opener last week. It’s now time for the Dolphins to take the training wheels off their franchise quarterback. Throw him out there for multiple series, and see how much more fine turning he’ll need before Week 1.
Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints: Jonathan Williams dynamic
This former Buffalo Bills mid-round pick showed well in his preseason debut with the Saints last week. Williams recorded 26 yards on four attempts, including a game-winning four-yard score late in the final stanza against Jacksonville. With Mark Ingram suspended the first four games of the season and potentially on the trade block, Williams stands a chance to earn a spot on the 53-man roster.
Outside of that solid performance last week, Williams is reportedly “making a run up the depth chart” during training camp. That could offer another dynamic for a Saints offense that promises to be among the best in the NFL. We’re certainly intrigued to see if Williams gets run against Arizona’s first-team defense this week.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Minnesota Vikings: All of the drama
Star cornerback Jalen Ramsey and embattled pass rusher Dante Fowler Jr. are both suspended for this game. In fact, neither will even take the trip to practice with the Vikings in Minnesota. This stems from Ramsey getting into with the local media and Fowler’s spat with teammates during practice this past weekend.
While neither player will cause drama this weekend, it will be interesting to see how their teammates react to the media. Ramsey is a team leaders. Despite just entering his third NFL season, he’s looked up to. He set a tone via social media and in his press conference on Sunday. Sadly, that’s going to be the biggest storyline in a game that pits two serious Super Bowl contenders against one another.
Oakland Raiders at Los Angeles Rams: Executing the new offense
The Raiders’ first-team offense had their ups and downs in Jon Gruden’s return to the sideline last week against Detroit. Derek Carr missed miserably on a couple passes, but it seemed his receivers were running open. That’s a good sign, as last season’s design was disastrous. Meanwhile, Marshawn Lynch broke off a 60-yard touchdown run, only to see it called back on a hold from rookie left tackle Kolton Miller.
Based on the one possession we saw last week, the components are in place for Oakland’s offense to be vastly improved this season. But one series is not anywhere near enough of a sample size. Set to take on a potentially dominant Rams defense this week, we’re interested to see how long Carr and Co. play. We’re equally intrigued to see how well they perform.
Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys: Dallas’ new slate of receivers
Rookie wide receiver Michael Gallup showed well in his preseason debut, catching a long touchdown strike from Dak Prescott. Veteran acquisition Tavon Austin caught two passes for 25 yards on three targets, but was bottled up in coverage by linebacker Reuben Foster.
With no Dez Bryant in the mix and after having seen Terrance Williams relegated to second-team duties in the preseason opener, there’s a battle raging for position on the Cowboys’ wide receiver depth chart behind Allen Hurns and Cole Beasley. This week’s game against a good Bengals defense will be a tremendous test for the duo mentioned above. That’s for sure.
San Francisco 49ers at Houston Texans: Extended playing time for the QBs?
We didn’t see a lot of Jimmy Garoppolo and Deshaun Watson in their preseason debuts last week. For the 49ers, it was more about seeing what backup C.J. Beathard could offer (not much). In Houston, the Texans are bringing Watson along slowly after he suffered a torn ACL during his rookie campaign.
Flush with playoff expectations, both teams need to give their franchise quarterbacks more reps in Week 2 of the preseason. That’s a bit more important for Watson, as he tests his knee in live-game action. Though, this is also Garoppolo’s first preseason in Kyle Shanahan’s system. San Francisco can’t feel comfortable with him heading into the regular season having thrown just a couple handfuls of passes.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tennessee Titans: Looking for more from Ronald Jones
Having struggled from both a pass-protection standpoint and caching the ball out of the backfield during training camp, this rookie second-round pick continued to remain inconsistent in his preseason debut. Head coach Dirk Koetter did note vast improvements in pass protection, but still graded Jones’ night as “average.”
Peyton Barber might be the RB1 right now, but Jones is going to be given every opportunity to snag that title from him over the final three preseason games. It’s now time that the USC product runs with it. That will continue against the Titans in Tennessee this weekend.
Chicago Bears at Denver Broncos: Getting the first-team offenses rolling
Through two preseason games, Trubisky has completed 2-of-4 passes for four yards. Given that he sat out the Hall of Fame Game, this is somewhat by design. Even then, first-year heads coach Matt Nagy needs to give his sophomore quarterback more playing time before Week 1. When we say more, we mean 40-plus pass attempts over the final three exhibition games.
On the other side, Denver was merely throwing free agent signing Case Keenum out there for a cup of coffee in his preseason opener against Minnesota last week. Keenum completed 1-of-4 passes for five yards in his only drive, leading to a punt. Sure the battle for the No. 2 spot between Paxton Lynch and Chad Kelly has received more play in the press. That’s fine. But none of this will matter if Keenum fails to show himself heading into Week 1.
Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Chargers: Is Shaquem Griffin this good?
The short-form answer to this question is a resounding yes. Making his preseason debut against Indianapolis last week, the darling of this year’s draft recorded nine tackles (six solo) and was legitimately all over the field. He has a keen sense for the ball and is about as athletic as any linebacker we’ve seen enter the league in some time.
Griffin might have been downgraded heading into the draft due to a disability. However ridiculous it is to believe he’ll be an elite-level NFL player, Griffin flashed in his preseason opener after dominating in college. How he performs in Week 2 of the preseason against Los Angeles is one of the league’s top storylines.
Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts: All eyes on Luck
Not only did Luck play in Indy’s preseason opener, he performed extremely well against Seattle. In his first action since Week 17 of the 2016 season, the former No. 1 pick didn’t display any signs that his shoulder was still ailing him. He had zip on the ball and showed the elite-level accuracy that made him a franchise quarterback in the first place.
It’s not yet known how much more action Luck will see after suiting up for the first quarter last week. But we’re expecting a few more opportunities for the former Pro Bowler to show himself heading into a Week 3 preseason slate in which he’ll play at least two quarters of action.