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Week 2 of the NFL preseason is a little different than in years past. Since the exhibition slate got reduced from four games to three starting in 2021, Saturday’s slate was when we’d likely see the most snaps played by starters among the many teams in action.
While some clubs chose to rest their best since the regular season is so close, there were plenty of fascinating subplots that played out among the big slate of contests.
Here’s a look at the biggest takeaways from Saturday. As you might’ve guessed, it’s heavily geared toward quarterback play.
As the regular season nears, check out our NFL playoff predictions to see who’ll win the Super Bowl
Maybe Matt Nagy is to blame for Mitchell Trubisky’s failures
The Mitchell Trubisky Redemption transpired when the former Chicago Bears quarterback returned to Soldier Field in the Windy City as a member of the Buffalo Bills.
Trubisky completed 20 of 28 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown in the Bills’ 41-15 rout, while the man who’ll eventually replace him in Chicago, Justin Fields, ran for his life behind backup offensive linemen.
Bears coach Matt Nagy mishandled Fields’ playing time, which led to him getting absolutely crushed to the point where his helmet flew off. Nagy is also botching his current QB situation. He may be the last person on Planet Earth to know that Fields should be starting over Andy Dalton, even in Week 1.
What’s worse, the Fields-Dalton fiasco is so painfully obvious, and Trubisky looked so good, that it’s getting to the point where it’s fair to doubt Nagy.
Like, maybe this alleged offensive guru is to blame for Trubisky’s failures. Perhaps Bills play-caller Brian Daboll and his staff just absolutely run circles around Nagy, Bill Lazor and Co. in Chicago.
It’s the preseason, so maybe Nagy is playing things close to the vest. However, Trubisky looked like the player the Bears desperately hoped he’d be when they drafted him. Oh well. Trubisky will be backing up Josh Allen in Buffalo this year. Maybe he’ll get another shot at a starting gig in 2022.
New York Jets’ Zach Wilson strategy paying off big time
As opposed to Chicago’s approach of treading with extreme caution, the New York Jets made no bones about it: Zach Wilson was their starter from Day 1.
The No. 2 overall pick didn’t need to get pushed by a veteran, or “earn” the gig. He was drafted so highly for a reason. New York wanted him to get as many reps as possible, and up to speed with the Jets’ offense.
That approach seems to be working out beautifully. Although the front office tried to sabotage the coaching staff a bit by quibbling over Wilson’s contract details, causing him to miss the start of training camp, all the work through OTAs, minicamp are paying off in the preseason.
Wilson just absolutely balled out against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. He completed nine of 11 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 154.7. The perfect score is 158.3 and is nearly impossible to achieve.
Those numbers don’t quite tell the story of how good Wilson was, though. He was playing against a lot of Packers backups, yet he was also without guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and wide receiver Elijah Moore. No matter. Wilson made the most of what he had to work with, and is certainly living up to the hype thus far.
Wilson got compared to the likes of Dan Marino and Patrick Mahomes by CBS commentator and former Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo earlier this week. That high praise, combined with the actual on-field results from Wilson, suggests big things on Broadway for the BYU product.
Tua Tagovailoa taking charge of Miami Dolphins offense
Perhaps Tua Tagovailoa was written off a little early by some. He was recovering from a major hip injury, dealing with the COVID protocols and getting benched multiple times for Ryan Fitzpatrick. Somehow, the Dolphins made it work and won 10 games, but it wasn’t a sustainable strategy.
Thus far in the preseason, Tagovailoa has taken command. This really feels like his team, and it seems like Miami is rallying around him.
The Phinsider’s Josh Houtz put together a cut of most of Tagovailoa’s throws against the Atlanta Falcons, and as you can see, he was decisive, trusting what he saw, and let the ball rip down the field on multiple occasions:
Yes, there was a lot of the quick passing game to help built Tagovailoa’s confidence, and the Falcons are admittedly shorthanded on defense. But come on. This is really what Miami was hoping to see in 2020.
Tagovailoa is getting more velocity on the ball, largely thanks to his lower body being stronger. He’s more comfortable in the offense despite transitioning to a new system, with two offensive coordinators. Quicker through his reads. He’s a lot more like the guy we saw tearing up SEC defenses at Alabama.
All that said, to reiterate, this is the preseason. When coverages are better disguised and the games really matter, we’ll find out how good Tagovailoa truly is. For now, he definitely looks the part. There’s no skittish movement in the pocket despite how messy it was often getting on Saturday. Dolphins fans should be pretty darn excited right now.
See where the Dolphins stack up in our latest NFL power rankings
Pittsburgh Steelers rookies may make Big Ben’s job much easier
We mentioned how bad Atlanta is on defense. The Detroit Lions are, like, potentially a whole other level down, along with the rest of their roster. They’re clearly in a rebuild.
If you were cheering for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2 of the NFL preseason and saw what transpired at Heinz Field, however, you’d have to be thrilled.
Najee Harris was selected in the first round out of Alabama. He’s a phenomenal tailback, tasked with turning around the league’s worst rushing attack from 2020. The Steelers also drafted Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth in Round 2, hoping he could be another weapon for aging QB Ben Roethlisberger.
Get a load of this: Harris took a short pass from Big Ben and made the Lions look hilariously inept:
Not only did Harris have the wherewithal to stay in bounds down the sidelines, but he had the field vision to turn what could’ve been a routine catch into a gain of 40-plus yards. How great is that last jab step at the end, too?
Meanwhile, Freiermuth could be challenging Eric Ebron for TE1 snaps before long.
OK that may be hyperbole. Ebron had four receptions for 59 yards, but Freiermuth reeled in two red zone touchdown catches from Roethlisberger, showing that he can be yet another asset in the scoring area, where Pittsburgh didn’t really have the luxury of running the ball last season.
Much of the Steelers’ fate is going to boil down to how their new-look offensive line holds up. Nevertheless, Harris and Freiermuth could be two more home-run draft picks by Pittsburgh GM Kevin Colbert.
Does Pittsburgh have the best D in the league? Click here for our NFL defense rankings
Teddy Bridgewater not backing down from Drew Lock in Denver Broncos QB battle
You love to see it: Competition bringing out the best in everyone. It’s a cliche uttered by basically every coach once the NFL preseason rolls around, but it’s really happening in Denver, as Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater go toe-to-toe to start under center.
After Lock started the exhibition opener and torched the Minnesota Vikings, Bridgewater got the nod against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday.
Teddy B had his back against the wall early, but converted a clutch 4th-and-5 with a 35-yard gain to Jerry Jeudy:
Then, on third down and goal to go, Bridgewater found KJ Hamler on a quick out for a two-yard score.
Had either of those money downs gone the other way, the duel with Lock may have been over. Instead, Bridgewater made it that much harder on the Broncos coaching staff to anoint a starter. And for good measure, he completed another downfield pass for 21 yards on the next possession to set up a one-yard TD plunge by Javonte Williams.
Lock entered the game and got sacked on his first two dropbacks, which wasn’t the greatest look. At least he bounced back before halftime, completing five of eight passes for 41 yards in a one-minute drill to lead Denver to a field goal.
Whether or not Bridgewater did enough to unseat the incumbent Lock remains to be seen. Lock’s physical tools and arm talent are superior. Still, there’s credence to Bridgewater taking the job if Denver’s defense winds up among the NFL’s best as expected.
Ball control and game managing with the Broncos’ loaded skill position cast may be all the QB spot calls for, so that may be where Bridgewater has the edge over the error-prone Lock.