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2025 Preseason Notes:
Week 1
2025 Fantasy Football Stock Pages:
Week 1
Chargers 27, Saints 13
Neither team played their starters in this game, except for whichever quarterback wins the Saints’ competition. Spencer Rattler handled the snaps in the opening quarter-and-a-half. Tyler Shough then took over just prior to halftime and saw the same amount of action.
This was a rough performance for Rattler, who constantly tossed short checkdowns on third down. He hurled a 6-yard pass to Juwan Johnson on a third-and-10, then lobbed a 3-yard pass to a player on third-and-7. He fired behind his target on another third down, and he also lost a fumble on a strip-sack. Rattler’s longest completion, which accounted for 21 of his 53 yards, was the result of a busted coverage. He led the Saints to zero points. Yikes.
Shough was an improvement, though really only by default. His passes were much crisper, as he threw some quick slants when he entered the game. He also launched a deep touchdown to Mason Tipton, which was a 54-yard score. Shough made another great play when he rolled out of pressure and zipped a 16-yard sack to his receiver. This all sounds good, but there were negatives. Shough heaved a pick-six where he stared down his receiver, and he also took a very long sack because he held onto the ball for an eternity.
There was another young quarterback who played in this game. Trey Lance entered the game in the second quarter and performed well. He made an impressive 11-yard back-shoulder throw and was able to utilize his legs to pick up numerous firt downs.
There was no one else of note in this game. Omarion Hampton didn’t play, which is a great sign for his impending production. Conversely, the two Charger rookie receivers took the field. Unfortunately for the Chargers, neither Tre Harris nor KeAndre Lambert-Smith caught passes on three combined targets.
NFL Preseason Announcers: I don’t think I’ve ever heard an announcer less interested in broadcasting the game than play-by-play guy Noah Eagle. It sounded like he was half-asleep.
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Dolphins 24, Bears 24
Tua Tagovailoa had never played in an opening preseason game before this contest. He pushed to play, so Mike McDaniel gave him one drive. Tagovailoa threw short on a third down near midfield, but moved the chains on the next play when he hit Malik Washington. He then converted two more third downs to Malik and Tahj Washington. He drove his team all the way down to the 1-yard line, but his offensive line couldn’t push the Chicago backups, leading to three stuffed runs at the goal line.
Here were Tagovailoa’s targets:
Dee Eskridge: 1
Malik Washington: 3
Tahj Wasington: 1
Tagovailoa wasn’t the only starting backfield member opting to play in this game, as De’Von Achane was given four carries. The stat sheet shows three carries, but one of his runs, which was a burst to the outside for a nice gain, was negated by an illegal formation on the offense. Achane’s best run was a burst behind his right guard for a gain of 11 yards.
Jaylen Wright was the second running back on the field after Achane exited. That’s the good news because it seemed like Alexander Mattison was gaining some momentum in training camp. The bad news is that Wright was stuffed at the goal line on three occasions on the opening drive. Somehow, Miami’s starting offensive line couldn’t push Chicago’s backups to get Wright into the end zone. The Dolphins are projected to have a woeful offensive line.
Dolphins rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers had a woeful performance. He made a nice throw on a fourth-and-5, but couldn’t even complete 33 percent of his passes. He also lost two fumbles. He threw some helpless ducks out of bounds in this horrendous debut. It’s mind boggling that the Longhorns went with him over Arch Manning last year.
The Bears didn’t use their veteran starters, including Roschon Johnson. They played their rookies, however. Colston Loveland was the first of them to see action, catching a checkdown on third-and-16, which went for eight yards. Luther Burden caught two passes, with one being a 16-yarder in which he ran a great route to get open to move the sticks on third down.
Kyle Monangai was the most impressive rookie in Chicago’s preseason opener. He played the entire opening half. He began with a tough 13-yard run and then broke out of a tackle to turn a loss into a short gain. He later showed nice patience to pick up a 5-yard gain to get down to the 2-yard line, ultimately setting up a passing touchdown for his team. I don’t know if Monangai can pass D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson this year, but he’s someone to monitor if things appear to be headed in that direction.
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Broncos 30, 49ers 9
I’m not sure what Sean Payton was thinking, but he had his starting offense, including Bo Nix, play into the secon quarter. We had a long look at Nix and the other starters, but an injury in this meaningless action could have derailed the season.
Nix was inconsistent. He barely completed half of his passes and didn’t throw for much yardage. He endured a drop by Courtland Sutton, but he was off the mark on some throws. Several of his completions were checkdowns; four of his 11 throws went to his running backs. This wasn’t a good look for Nix against San Francisco’s backup defense.
Here were Nix’s targets:
J.K. Dobbins: 2
Troy Franklin: 3
R.J. Harvey: 2
Marvin Mims: 1
Courtland Sutton: 3 (1 end zone)
The primary takeaway from this game concerned the Denver running backs. R.J. Harvey started over J.K. Dobbins, which contradicted a report from Benjamin Allbright, one of the least-accurate reporters in the business. Harvey looked great at times in his preseason debut. He had an early 7-yard run where he forced a missed tackle. He also sprinted for an 11-yard gain where he used his speed to bounce to the outside. This, however, didn’t work on another occasion where he tried to bounce outside and took a 2-yard loss because he didn’t see a better running lane. Harvey is a great athlete and a quality pass-catcher, but he’s new to the position, so he doesn’t have a high running IQ. Perhaps he will eventually, but it’s not all there yet. Harvey also did not play a single third down. Those snaps went to Dobbins. Harvey deserves a stock-up arrow because he drew the start over Dobbins and saw more action than him, but there are definitely flaws in his game, which puts him well behind Omarion Hampton and TreVeyon Henderson.
Another young rising star for the Broncos plays receiver. Troy Franklin has gotten lots of buzz from training camp, and he carried that over into this game. He hauled in three of his four targets, with the only misfire from Bo Nix being a deep shot that was knocked away by a defender. Franklin’s best play was when he snatched the ball out of the air to convert a fourth-and-5. Franklin appears to be the heavy favorite to be the No. 2 receiver in this offense, as he played ahead of all the other options.
The 49ers didn’t play their starters. One player worth noting is fourth-round rookie Jordan Watkins, who caught a 50-yard bomb from Mac Jones on the opening drive. With so many San Francisco receivers banged up, Watkins could contribute this year.
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Cardinals 20, Chiefs 17
Patrick Mahomes prefers playing in the preseason. This ended up costing the Chiefs last year when they lost Marquise Brown to an injury, but Mahomes believes that playing meaningless contests prepare him for the opening week of the regular season.
Mahomes played one drive, and yet, he threw for just eight yards and scored a touchdown on his only pass. If you’re confused about how this happened, the Cardinals lost a fumble on the opening kickoff, allowing the Chiefs to score quickly on a very short field.
Here were Mahomes’ targets:
Jason Brownlee: 1
Whereas Mahomes barely saw the field, Kyler Murray played two drives. The initial possession ended with an interception, as Murray fired the ball right to a defender with no Arizona player in the area. It was an odd result, so there may have been a miscommunication. The second possession saw Murray settle in with some accurate passes and some scrambles, and the drive concluded with a field goal.
Here were Murray’s targets:
Trey Benson: 1
Greg Dortch: 2
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 2
Trey McBride: 1
Tip Reiman: 1
Michael Wilson: 1
Marvin Harrison Jr. caught only one pass, a 15-yard snare over the middle of the field. The announcers discussed how Harrison packed on weight this summer. However, one of the announcers also said that Harrison was “highly productive” last year. I guess he wasn’t comparing him to Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr., and Ladd McConkey.
James Conner played the entire opening drive before giving way to Trey Benson on the second possession. Benson also played with the backups. Conner said that there will be a 1A/1B committee between him and Benson this year, but we didn’t see any evidence of this in the preseason opener.
NFL Preseason Announcers: I was excited to hear a Cardinals broadcast because that meant Ron Wolfley would be in the booth. I forgot, however, that Wolfley retired, so this was a boring telecast where we didn’t hear someone compare players to phone booths with pickles for ears.
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Rams 31, Cowboys 21
Neither team played their starters, but we got to see plenty of Joe Milton and Stetson Bennett, both of whom played more than a half of action.
Milton had a rough performance. His ball placement was woeful on far too many passes. We saw this immediately, as a potential interception of his was dropped on the opening drive. Milton then threw way behind Jonathan Mingo on the second possession. He was nearly pick-sixed in the second quarter. Milton had some nice runs, but his passing needs lots of work.
Bennett, meanwhile, was a better passer in this contest. He made a poor throw early when he took a deep shot off his back foot, causing him to miss a receiver for a long touchdown. However, he connected on a deep throw to another receiver later on the possession.
Blake Corum and Jarquez Hunter battled for the backup running back job. Corum dropped a pass early, but made up for it with two touchdowns on the first two drives. Hunter was more productive.
NFL Preseason Announcers: The Rams broadcast took an odd approach by having their sideline reporter talk from the booth. It’s unclear why they decided to take the sideline reporter off the sideline.
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Buccaneers 29, Titans 7
Cam Ward saw his first NFL action against the Buccaneers. He played two drives, with one being much better than the other. Things began poorly for Ward, as he was guilty of a three-and-out. He threw an inaccurate pass on second down and then got flushed out of the pocket with pressure on the ensuing play. Ward threw the ball late across his body rather than tossing it out of bounds. The pass fell incomplete because no one was around it, but something like that could have gotten him into trouble.
Ward settled in on the second drive. He began firing precise passes for the most part, though there was one exception when a potential interception was dropped. Ward, however, shook it off and eventually led his team to a touchdown, coming from a short plunge by Tony Pollard.
Here were Ward’s targets:
Elic Ayomanor: 1
Van Jefferson: 1
Tyler Lockett: 2
Chig Okonkwo: 1
Calvin Ridley: 3
Calvin Ridley had a strong performance in the initial preseason game. He caught all three of his targets for 50 yards. Those numbers came on just two drives. Ridley has a major upgrade at quarterback, so he should have a strong bounce-back year.
Pollard received the entire workload with the starters. In fact, Tyjae Spears was on the field with the backups just prior to halftime of the preseason opener. Anyone who believes that Spears will take Pollard’s job without an injury occurring has to be discouraged by what they saw in this game.
As for the Buccaneers, they didn’t use any of their veteran starters. Emeka Egbuka played one drive and caught a 21-yard pass from Kyle Trask. Egbuka was targeted on a deep pass, but a defender made a good play to break up the pass along the sideline.
The Tampa announcers were shocked that Rachaad White received so much work in this game. Bucky Irving was nowhere to be found, while White received a heavy workload with the backups. This is just speculation, but I believe the Buccaneers were showcasing White for a potential trade. They have no reason to keep White; he’s entering his contract year, and Sean Tucker is an excellent backup for Irving.
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Steelers 31, Jaguars 25
The Steelers sat their starters, but the Jaguars gave Trevor Lawrence and his enhanced receiving corps one drive to operate. The possession culminated with a field goal.
It was obvious that Liam Coen’s plan was for Lawrence to release the ball quickly to get the ball into the hands of his dynamic play-makers. Lawrence targeted Travis Hunter and Brian THomas Jr. on five of his seven passes.
Here were Lawrence’s targets:
Travis Etienne: 1
Travis Hunter: 3
Brenton Strange: 1
Brian Thomas Jr.: 2
Parker Washington: 1
Travis Hunter saw three targets out of Trevor Lawrence’s seven passes during the opening drive. Hunter converted a third-down reception and later made some defenders miss after making a catch at the line of scrimmage. Hunter finished with just nine receiving yards, but it’s clear that he’ll be a featured weapon in this new offense.
Hunter, by the way, did not play cornerback to begin the ensuing drive. If the plan is for him to play both receiver and cornerback on a full-time basis, we didn’t see it in this game. Hunter saw action at cornerback eventually, but he wasn’t on the field to start a defensive drive because he was catching his breath.
It was highly disappointing to see the Jaguars start Travis Etienne over Tank Bigsby in the first preseason game. Etienne had a nice 10-yard reception where he made defenders miss, but predictably struggled as a runner. Bigsby and Bhayshul Tuten both posted better numbers – coincidentally, the same six carries for 24 carries line – but they both ran behind Etienne. This is a surprising development because all reports indicated that Bigsby outperformed Etienne in training camp practices.
One final note on the Jaguars: Second-year kicker Cam Little drilled a 70-yard field goal just prior to halftime. No, that’s not a typo. This would have been an NFL record had it occurred in a regular-season game, crushing Justin Tucker’s win from 66 by a good four yards.
The Steelers sat their starters, but Kaleb Johnson saw plenty of action, beginning on the opening drive. The only notable thing he did was force a missed tackle on Travis Hunter.
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Jets 30, Packers 10
This was a rare occasion in which two starting offenses took the field in the same game. One team’s starters marched down the field and scored a touchdown, while the other punted twice. Anyone who didn’t see the game might suspect that the Justin Fields-led Jets punted twice, but that was not the case.
Fields zipped right down the field without much effort. He completed three of his four passes, looking accurate in the process. His touchdown came on the ground; he escaped a potential sack and sprinted into the end zone for six. This was a small ample size, but Fields looked great.
Here were Fields’ targets:
Andrew Beck: 2
Tyler Johnson: 1
Garrett Wilson: 1
While the Jets offense thrived, the Packers struggled. The team was guilty of three drops in the first 20 minutes alone. “No Cookie” Jordan Love was off the mark on some of his passes. His sole completion was a quick slant to Matthew Golden for seven yards.
Here were Love’s targets:
Romeo Doubs: 2
Matthew Golden: 2
Malik Heath: 1
Luke Musgrave: 1
As mentioned earlier, Matthew Golden caught a quick slant for a gain of seven yards in his preseason debut. This helped moved the chains on third down. Golden also drew a pass interference flag on Sauce Gardner. Golden’s stats may not show it, but he was the one positive for the Packer offense against the Jets.
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Vikings 20, Texans 10
J.J. McCarthy took the field for the first time since tearing his ACL last August. We saw McCarthy have little regard for the injury when he converted a first down while using his legs on a fourth-and-5. Then again, McCarthy was in that situation because he sailed the ball way over the head of Lucky Jackson on the previous snap. McCarthy had a mixed performance. He made a nice throw to Jordan Addison on an intermediate out, but missed some attempts he should have made. Keep in mind, however, that he didn’t have Justin Jefferson at his disposal.
Here were McCarthy’s targets:
Jordan Addison: 4
C.J. Ham: 1
Lucky Jackson: 1
Jordan Mason: 1
Like Jefferson, Aaron Jones sat. Jordan Mason started and had some quality runs. He’s expected to share the workload with Jones, perhaps at a 50-50 split, or something close to it.
The Texans, meanwhile, didn’t use their offensive starters. I was bullish on Woody Marks when he didn’t start the first preseason game. Dare Ogunbowale got the nod instead, so I thought that the Houston coaches were sitting Marks. That would be the most positive news possible for the rookie runner. Unfortunately, Marks came in after Ogunbowale. Marks has sleeper potential, but the fact that he’s behind Ogunbowale right now is not a good sign for his fantasy outlook.
Two rookie receivers of note both caught a couple of passes: Jayden Higgins for the Texans, and Tai Felton for the Vikings. Higgins’ usage was disappointing; both of his receptions weren’t too far from the line of scrimmage.
NFL Preseason Announcers: Minnesota’s play-by-play guy is nuts. He loves yelling at the most random times. We heard it to start the game when he yelled, “Here’s the kickoff and BOOM!!!” That nearly shattered my eardrums.
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Giants 34, Bills 25
Russell Wilson was the only starting quarterback to see action in this game. He played one drive, leading the Giants offense to a field goal versus Buffalo’s starting defense. Wilson completed all but one of his seven passes, but mostly dinked and dunked.
Here were Wilson’s targets:
Daniel Bellinger: 1
Theo Johnson: 3
Wan’Dale Robinson: 1
Tyrone Tracy: 2
Jaxson Dart took the field following Wilson’s sole drive. He played ahead of Jameis Winston, who eventually took over for Dart in the third quarter. Dart posted solid numbers as you can see below, though that’s a bit misleading because 29 of his passing yards was the result of Montrell Washington picking up tons of yards after catching a short pass and breaking a tackle. Dart also had a potential interception off a deflection dropped by a defender. Dart turned things around, however, hitting a pretty deep touchdown to Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Dart had mixed results in his preseason debut, though he drew some praise from one of the Bills announcers. The analyst said that Dart made all the right decisions in his first NFL action.
Tyrone Tracy handled most of the workload on the opening drive. He broke a tackle on a reception and nearly picked up a first down. He then converted a fourth-and-inches opportunity on the next play.
Theo Johnson saw three targets from Russell Wilson on just one drive alone. Johnson is a young, athletic tight end who provides great value in the final rounds.
The Bills played Mitchell Trubisky for most of the afternoon, so there’s not much to say about them. Dalton Kincaid caught a 10-yard pass on third-and-long. Ray Davis drew the start over James Cook, but didn’t have much running room.
Taron Johnson suffered what appeared to be a concussion in this game, though he was ultimately cleared. This happened on the second drive, which begs the question: Why was Johnson on the field for two possessions?
NFL Preseason Announcers: I don’t think the people running this broadcast have heard of a replay because I don’t think I saw one the entire broadcast because I constantly had to rewind to see what happened. Instead, the three men in the booth spent the entire three hours talking about the new stadium that’s being built in Buffalo.
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Patriots 48, Redskins 18
TreVeyon Henderson generated all the discussion on social media following his performance in his preseason debut. Henderson was electric against the Redskins. He started by taking the opening kickoff return for a touchdown, thanks to his blazing speed. He then took the field on the opening drive after Rhamondre Stevenson received a couple of touches and broke free for an 18-yard scamper, showing incredible burst. Henderson also caught three passes, with one of the catches going for 10 yards following a broken tackle. Henderson looks like a monster and could be a league-winning player if chosen in the fifth, or even the fourth round. The Patriots have the second-easiest schedule in the NFL, so that’s another positive for Henderson.
You can stack Henderson with Drake Maye because the rookie runner will catch 70-plus passes as a rookie. Maye played two drives, with his first possession ending in a turnover when the ball slipped out of his hands as he was getting sacked. Maye ended up scoring a touchdown on his second of two scrambles. Thanks to his rushing upside, Maye makes for a fantastic mid-round fantasy quarterback sleeper.
Here were Maye’s targets:
TreVeyon Henderson: 3
Mack Hollins: 1
Austin Hooper: 1
A word on Stevenson: The veteran, who was benched twice last year, will play a factor in this offense, but only like David Montgomery in Detroit. However, Stevenson isn’t as good as Montgomery, so the split between Henderson and Stevenson will be wider than it was between Gibbs and Montgomery.
The Redskins sat their starters, but we got to see impressive rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The seventh-rounder had a solid showing, particularly when he broke a tackle and ran for a gain of nine yards.
NFL Preseason Announcers: This was a perplexing broadcast, and not just because both McCourty twin brothers were in the booth. This game stopped for 10 minutes in the second quarter so Tom Brady could address the crowd from the sideline as Brian Hoyer interviewed him about how great New England fans are. And if that wasn’t odd enough, the Patriots brought in a furniture salesman from Bob’s Discount Furniture, who reminisced about the “good old days” when Malcolm Butler used to play for the team.
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Browns 30, Panthers 10
With most of the Cleveland quarterbacks either banged up or too old, Shedeur Sanders played for about three quarters of this game. He had some nice scrambles early to shock those who are foolish enough believe that he’s a stationary quarterback. One run went for 10 yards. Sanders also made an early mistake where he air mailed a ball over an open target’s head.
Sanders, however, settled in and performed much better as the evening progressed. He made a quality touch pass on his first touchdown, and on an ensuing drive, he escaped the pocket and used great touch to hit his target for a 29-yard again. He zipped a touchdown pass a few plays later.
Sanders was better than many anticipated, given that he somehow slipped to the fifth round. He deserves a chance to receive first-team reps at some point in practice.
Many were anticipating the debut of Dylan Sampson as well, given that Sampson is slated to eventually start in the wake of Quinshon Judkins’ domestic violence arrest. We didn’t get to see much of Sampson, however, as he carried the ball twice and received only one target. This can be seen as a positive, given that it likely means that the Browns view him as a big part of the offense.
Though many were watching for Sanders and Sampson, the most relevant rookie in this game was Tetairoa McMillan, the eighth-overall pick from the 2025 NFL Draft. We saw some positives and negatives from him. Beginning with the former, McMillan made a terrific over-the-shoulder catch for 30 yards on a deep fade pass from Bryce Young. McMillan made a 13-yard reception a bit later.
On the negative end of the spectrum, McMillan was guilty of two drops, one of which would have been good for a touchdown. McMillan’s focus was one of the minuses in his draft profile, so he needs to make sure he doesn’t go down the same road as Quentin Johnston.
Bryce Young played two series and looked pretty good. A potential touchdown pass of his was dropped by McMillan, but he ended up with a score on the same drive when he found Jalen Coker in the end zone. Coker was playing more snaps than usual because Xavier Legette was ejected for fighting a Cleveland defender.
Here were Young’s targets:
Jalen Coker: 1 (1 end zone)
Chuba Hubbard: 1
Tetairoa McMillan: 2
Adam Thielen: 3 (1 end zone)
Rico Dowdle was involved in Carolina’s primary rushing attack. Chuba Hubbard started and played a bunch, but then he disappeared when Dowdle took the field. I assumed Hubbard’s night was done, but he returned later when the Panthers were near the goal line. I like Hubbard, but there’s a chance Dowdle becomes an annoying player for Hubbard fantasy owners.
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Lions 17, Falcons 10
This game was cut short when Lions safety Morice Norris was taken off the field in an ambulance. Norris’ head snapped back when attempting to make a tackle early in the fourth quarter. The Falcons refused to snap the ball, and then the officials ended the game. Hopefully the situation isn’t as dire as it looked, and Norris is able to make a quick recovery.
This contest as a whole was worthless. Both teams sat their starters. The Lions went with Hendon Hooker, who dinked and dunked most of the time. Easton Stick drew the start for the Falcons and was better than Hooker in every non-scrambling way.
The only meaningful fantasy player in this game was Lions rookie Isaac TeSlaa, who caught a touchdown on a fade pass into the end zone from Kyle Allen.
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Seahawks 23, Raiders 23
Ashton Jeanty made his NFL preseason debut in this game, and it was a complete dud. Jeanty lost yardage on his three carries because he had nowhere to run. Jeanty was stuffed for a big loss on one occasion and didn’t have any obvious running lanes on his other attempts. Perhaps this is a reminder that the Raiders don’t have very good blocking.
Geno Smith barely played in this game, taking the field for a quick drive before exiting. He nearly connected on a deep pass to Dont’e Thornton, but the pass fell incomplete out of bounds.
Here were Smith’s targets:
Jakobi Meyers: 1
Dont’e Thornton: 1
Tre Tucker: 1
Rookie receiver Dont’e Thornton has turned heads in practice, but would it translate to live game action? Thornton was targeted once on a deep pass from Smith, but the pass fell incomplete out of bounds. Thornton snatched a 17-yard reception from Aidan O’Connell on the next drive. However, he was targeted on one of O’Connell’s two interceptions. It wasn’t Thornton’s fault, as O’Connell’s pass was woefully underthrown.
We didn’t get to see much from the Seahawks, who rested all of their starters. However, one player stood out. Rookie Tory Horton, who had been enjoying a terrific camp, was outstanding in his preseason debut. Horton made numerous big plays, using his nice size (6-2) and shiftiness to impress. His stats could’ve been even better had a reception he made out of bounds counted. Horton, who would have been a second-round pick had he not come with any injury concerns, could emerge as Seattle’s No. 2 receiver.
Seattle could have much better run blocking this year because of Robbie Ouzts. The rookie fullback was a monster in this game, shoving defenders around with ease, as he opened up running lanes for George Holani, the most productive running back in this contest.
Good news, bad news for rookie quarterback Jalen Milroe. The good news is that he made a couple of nice passes in this game, including one where he fired a dart while rolling out of the pocket. He also had some terrific scrambles. The bad news is that he played behind Drew Lock, though I don’t expect that to last very long.
NFL Preseason Announcers: Seattle had a brutal broadcast. The team decided that its sideline reporter should be the play-by-play announcer, while the color analyst ranted about AI for some time.
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Eagles 34, Bengals 27
Zac Taylor isn’t the brightest coach, and he has come to the conclusion that his team’s struggles in Weeks 1-2 have been the result of the starters not playing in the preseason. Perhaps Taylor should consider the Rams, who often thrive in Weeks 1-2 despite never having their starters play in the preseason.
Taylor had Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and company on the field for the entire opening quarter. Burrow threw behind Tee Higgins on his initial pass, but was surgical after that. Burrow completed every single pass following the initial misfire.
Here were Burrow’s targets:
Chase Brown: 3
Ja’Marr Chase: 5 (1 end zone)
Tee Higgins: 1
Tanner Hudson: 1
Charlie Jones: 1
Ja’Marr Chase is expected to have a massive season, and he was off to a great start in this game. He made an amazing toe-tap catch along the sideline and later scored a touchdown where he caught a pass and zoomed past the bewildered defenders. Chase had a second touchdown negated by penalty. Granted, Chase was battling Philadelphia’s backups, but he looked great.
Don’t be worried about Tahj Brooks stealing any touches from Chase Brown. Some people are concerned about this happening, but Brown was on the field for every snap with the first-string offense. His best play occurred when he broke a tackle on a reception. He looked like every bit of the second-round fantasy pick that he’s been this summer.
Speaking of Brooks, the talented rookie runner got plenty of work when Brown left the game. He didn’t have a big performance, but he had a 10-yard gain negated by a hold.
The Eagles didn’t use any of their starters. Tanner McKee started and played well versus Cincinnati’s starting defense. McKee made just one mistake where he was nearly picked toward the end of the opening half when he didn’t see the defender, but he was precise otherwise. Known as the “Irish Assassin,” McKee could be one of the better backup quarterbacks in the NFL.
The star for the Eagles was Johnny Wilson. The 2024 sixth-round pick was battling Cincinnati’s starters, yet he made two great leaping catches. He then snared a ridiculous back-shoulder reception. Wilson may emerge as Philadelphia’s third receiver.
With the starters out, Will Shipley drew the start for the Eagles. He had a 38-yard burst against Cincinnati’s defensive starters. What’s noteworthy is that he played ahead of A.J. Dillon, although Dillon looked like he had more burst than we’ve seen in years.
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Ravens 24, Colts 16
Anthony Richardson has enjoyed a great training camp, so the Indianapolis coaches were hoping to see him continue his higher level of play in the preseason. He started in this game, but didn’t last very long, as we were reminded of how perilous it is for starters to see action in meaningless games.
Richardson completed a couple of passes on the opening drive, though one nice gain to Tyler Warren was called back by penalty. The drive concluded with a dropped interception and then a field goal. The second drive was a disaster, as Richardson was destroyed by David Ojabo and left the game holding his arm. It’s unclear how severe this injury is at the moment.
Here were Richardson’s targets:
Ashton Dulin: 1
Adonai Mitchell: 1
Tyler Warren: 2
Daniel Jones entered the gam much earlier than he anticipated, and he also nearly had an interception on a miscommunication with Adonai Mitchell. Jones then took a sack on third down because he held on to the ball too long.
Jones’ second possession was much better, as the former Giant hit Warren for a big gain. He ultimately led his team on a couple of field goal drives.
Here were Jones’ targets:
Ashton Dulin: 5 (3 end zone)
Anthony Gould: 1
Will Mallory: 1
Adonai Mitchell: 5
Andrew Ogletree: 2
Tyler Warren: 2
Tyler Warren looked like a monster in his preseason debut. He began with a nice gain on a tight end screen, though the gain was nullified by an illegal man downfield. He later made a big play on a catch from Daniel Jones. Warren has a good chance to continue what Sam LaPorta and Brock Bowers have accomplished the past two years.
The Ravens didn’t play their starters in the preseason opener, but one viable fantasy player stood out. That was Keaton Mitchell, who scored a long touchdown on the opening drive. Mitchell is an explosive runner who can go the distance whenever he touches the ball. He’s worth a late-round pick in case Derrick Henry gets hurt.
NFL Preseason Announcers: The Ravens sideline reporter interviewed Lamar Jackson in the second quarter. He did that dumb thing sideline reporters do when they state a fact before asking a question. The Ravens reporter said, “You’re only 28…” and to that, Jackson, for some reason, suddenly looked shocked as if he forgot he was only 28.
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Chargers 34, Lions 7
Jim Harbaugh is an insane person, so he had several starters on the field for the first drive of this game. This, however, did not include Justin Herbert and Ladd McConkey, but we got to see Omarion Hampton run a few times. Hampton was stuffed on his initial attempt, but then had a nifty 8-yard scamper where he eluded defenders. That was it for Hampton, whose two carries went for eight yards.
Herbert sat, so Trey Lance played the entire opening half. Lance had some disastrous preseason performances in the past, but he was much better in this game. He made a great, downfield touch pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith. He later fired a dart down the seam to a tight end just prior to halftime. Lance made some mistakes, like he held on to the ball too long on some occasions, but he looked much better than usual.
Lambert-Smith, in addition to reeling in the deep ball from Lance, caught a touchdown from Lance as well on a short toss right before intermission. Tre Harris also played, but couldn’t reel in a single pass on one target.
The other significant rookie receiver was Isaac TeSlaa, who hauled in some intermediate passes from Kyle Allen. However, TeSlaa was targeted on one of Allen’s interceptions.
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