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2026 Preseason Notes:
Week 1
Titans 19, 49ers 13
The Titans used their starters for a quarter and a half in the first preseason game. There were some positives and negatives from Cam Ward's performance, so let's begin with the good moments he had against the 49ers. His opening drive went 96 yards for a touchdown, capped off by a Tony Pollard rushing score. Ward made a couple of nice throws on the drive to move his team down the field and put Pollard in position to score.
However, the positives end there. Ward missed Wan'Dale Robinson on an easy throw on the initial possession, and on the second drive, Ward was whistled for a horrible intentional grounding penalty because he held the ball forever and seemed to lack any sort of awareness in the pocket. Ward later missed an open Carnell Tate on a throw that the announcers deemed a "layup."
Ward also dealt with a lot of pressure, as Tennessee's offensive line couldn't block San Francisco's backups. Yes, the 49ers played their backups to begin this game, and yet Ward couldn't complete half of his passes. Tennessee's offense looked absolutely dreadful when factoring in that they were battling reserves in this contest.
Here were Ward's targets:
Elic Ayomanor: 1
Gunnar Helm: 1
Calvin Ridley: 1
Wan'Dale Robinson: 5
Tyjae Spears: 1
Carnell Tate: 2 (1 end zone)
It's difficult to find a positive for a receiver in a game in which a quarterback completed fewer than half of his throws, but Wan'Dale Robinson definitely deserves to be mentioned as a positive coming out of this game. Robinson saw five targets from Cam Ward, and yet no other Tennessee receiver who started the game saw more than two targets. In fact, Robinson was only one of two starters who saw multiple targets in this game. Ward struggled in this contest, but he looked most comfortable throwing to Robinson, who should have a solid year from a PPR perspective.
Titans rookie running back Nicolas Singleton had a couple of nice runs in this game, but he was destroyed in pass protection. He was plowed over by a defender, resulting in Will Levis taking a crushing sack. Singleton will need to improve in this regard to get on the field more often.
The 49ers, as mentioned, played their backups in this game. However, there is one player who really stood out, and that was No. 33 overall pick De'Zhaun Stribling. He had a monster game, catching six passes. He made one reception that was a beautiful catch downfield near the sideline, where he somehow stayed in bounds. He made an even crazier play after that, converting a third down by keeping his toe in bounds and his heel off the ground, which would have put him out of bounds. The play was challenged, and the announcers even thought that he stepped out of bounds, but Stribling somehow remained in bounds because his heel never touched the ground. Stribling looked great in this game, and remember, he battled Tennessee's starters, so this result definitely should be factored in as a major positive for Stribling heading into the season.
NFL Preseason Announcers: The play-by-play announcer confused a second-and-1 with a second-and-14 somehow. I've never heard an announcer be that off before.
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Chargers 27, Texans 7
Neither the Texans nor the Chargers played their starters in this game, but we got a good look at Trey Lance, who was on the field for a half. Lance began the game well with some nice completions to KeAndre Lambert-Smith, but he missed Lambert-Smith for a touchdown on the initial possession. Lance then had a series of potential dropped interceptions. Two were clear dropped interceptions, while the third saw a defensive back get one hand on a potential pick. In between, Lance also threw way behind one of his targets.
Lance showed some potential on a possession near the end of the first half when he fired a laser to rookie receiver Brenen Thompson. However, later on the possession, Lance heaved an interception deep in Houston territory when the defensive back read his eyes easily. This was not an encouraging performance for Lance, who was battling Houston's backups. He continued to show some upside, but there's way too much downside with him, so he's looking like a mere career backup at this point.
It must be noted that two particular Chargers played in this game. Those were Kimani Vidal and Oronde Gadsden II. There's been some talk that Vidal might take some touches away from Omarion Hampton, but given that he played in this game with the other backups, that's unlikely to happen. Also, Gadsden playing is interesting considering that he was a big factor in the Chargers' offense last year. The Chargers signed David Njoku, so it sounds like he is going to be the primary tight end, whereas Gadsden has been practicing on special teams. Gadsden is certainly one to avoid at his ADP considering the situation.
There's not much to say about the Texans, who played Davis Mills a bit and then Graham Mertz the rest of the way. However, rookie tight end Marlin Klein made a huge play with a 31-yard downfield reception, where the announcers claimed that not even Dalton Schultz could make that sort of play. Klein also drew an interference flag. The announcers raved about Klein's potential in this offense, though as a rookie, he is probably going to be a little bit limited until 2027.
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Patriots 13, Colts 13
Both the Patriots and the Colts sat their starters in this game, so there's not much to discuss. However, the Colts played a couple of young quarterbacks worth mentioning, so let's delve into them.
Anthony Richardson played the entire first half and had some struggles to begin the game. He missed on an early throw, a short, routine pass that should have been completed easily. He then had a pass way off the mark that was bobbled and dropped into the hands of a Patriots defender.
Richardson, however, had some nice rushes. The coaches designed running plays for him, and he took advantage, even scoring an apparent touchdown on one play, though replay showed that he was barely out of bounds before he crossed the goal line. The Colts then fumbled on the next play, so they couldn't score on the drive. Richardson also fumbled later in the game on a scramble where a defender popped the ball out of his hands.
The good news for Richardson is that Riley Leonard wasn't any better. Leonard really struggled in this game. He had an underthrown duck that was intercepted. He also tossed some balls into the ground and had passes batted at the line of scrimmage.
NFL Preseason Announcers: For many years, Patriots broadcasts have featured a segment from the employees at Bob's Discount Furniture. This is the first time in memory that they didn't get opinions from the furniture salesmen. Let's pour one out for those guys, who put in some hard work over the years.
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Bengals 16, Lions 14
The Bengals not only played their starters in this game, but they had Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase out on the field for two whole drives to begin this contest. They did this last year during the preseason as well because they wanted to stop performing so poorly to begin the year. However, this did not work that well. They beat the Browns in Week 1 last year, but were outgained by about 200 yards and were lucky that Cleveland made some unforced errors that prevented them from winning the game.
The Bengals looked as slow as ever, as they scored just three points against Detroit's backups in two possessions. Burrow took a bad sack on one of the drives where he held the ball forever, and then the other possession stalled before a long field goal was made by Evan McPherson.
To be fair, there were heavy rain conditions in this game that made moving the ball very difficult. However, the opponent was so bad that the Bengals should have scored a touchdown on at least one of their drives.
Ja'Marr Chase: 1
Mike Gesicki: 1
Andrei Iosivas: 1
Samaje Perine: 1
Drew Sample: 1
There's nothing worth noting about the Lions, who played their deep backups the entire evening.
NFL Preseason Announcers: The announcers had some weird moments in this game. One of them shouted, "They're keeping the offense on the field!" when it was third down. They also called Burrow "one of the all-time greats," which is a bit presumptive. I love Burrow, and he could get there one day, but to declare him as such now is ridiculous.
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Steelers 28, Packers 9
The Packers decided that they needed to play their starters for some reason. They can't be too happy with the result, as the first-team unit wasn't able to score a touchdown against Pittsburgh's backup defensive unit. "No Cookie" Jordan Love missed an easy throw right away, but rebounded with a nice connection to Jayden Reed. His one drive was unimpressive overall, but it was a very small sample size.
Here were Love's targets:
Marshawn Lloyd: 1
Jayden Reed: 2
Christian Watson: 1
Josh Wylie: 1
Jayden Reed will be more involved this year because he's now playing in two-receiver formations, which he had never done prior to this season. It's no coincidence that Reed was the only starter with multiple targets in the preseason opener.
Josh Jacobs was one of the few starters who rested. Marshawn Lloyd started instead. He had a nice 5-yard run on his first opportunity, but didn't do much else after that. With Jacobs possibly facing suspension, Lloyd must be rostered.
The Steelers didn't play any of their starters. Mason Rudolph was the first quarterback on the field. He then gave way to Will Howard. Third-round rookie Drew Allar then took over a bit in the second half. He immediately completed a 74-yard pass to Kaden Wetjen, though that was mostly WetJen, as Allar connected on a slant to the fourth-round rookie that was in the air for 10 yards. Wetjen then blazed by every Green Bay defender and was tackled at the 1-yard line. Allar missed an easy throw in the red zone after that, but then ran for a touchdown on the next lay.
Allar's next drive featured some quality strikes. He eventually rolled left and found Wetjen for a touchdown. The next possession saw Allar drew an interference flag on a deep throw, setting up another score.
Allar had a great game overall. He threw off his back foot on a couple of occasions, but wasn't penalized for it. The Steelers should feel encouraged, but let's remember that Allar's biggest flaw entering the NFL was what's between his ears. He battled a vanilla defense that didn't challenge him, so things will be much different versus complex defense. Still, this was a positive outcome for him.
Germie Bernard had a nice debut as well. He caught all but one of his targets, and that lone exception appeared to be a touchdown, but a defender pushed him out of bounds while he was in the air.
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Panthers 33, Cardinals 30
Neither the Cardinals nor the Panthers played their starters in this game. Even Jeremiyah Love sat out despite being a rookie. That meant that all eyes were on third-round rookie quarterback Carson Beck, who was starting for Arizona. Beck didn't put together a scoring drive on his first possession, although he scrambled for a first down on the initial third down of the game. On his next third down, Beck threw an accurate ball, but the pass was dropped thanks to rookie cornerback Will Lee breaking up the play.
Beck, however, rebounded on the next possession with a 35-yard pass when receiver Jalen Brooks beat Lee. Beck then zinged a pass to Brooks for a gain of about 20 yards, and then had a nice throw to running back Corey Kiner, who was tackled inches shy of the goal line, setting up Kiner's touchdown run on the ensuing play.
Beck wasn't done after that. He had a great deep pass to Brooks, hitting him in stride for a 49-yard connection. He then showed great touch on a fade pass to Simi Fehoko for a touchdown. Beck played one drive in the third quarter, where he had a deep throw that looked like it would be completed for a 30-yard gain, but his receiver dropped it.
Beck finished the night on that possession, and he showed some great ability. However, it should be noted that he was playing against a vanilla Carolina defense that didn't give him any complicated looks, which is where Beck would probably struggle in real-game action. Still, Arizona should be optimistic about his performance in his debut appearance.
Kenny Pickett started for the Panthers in this game, but didn't play very much. He drew a deep pass interference penalty to receiver Bryson Tremayne on his first possession, but then threw well short on third-and-9. Pickett just dinked and dunked while he was on the field and didn't really show anything of note.
Undrafted rookie Haynes King played most of the game for the Panthers. King is known for his mobility, and he showed off his scrambling ability on numerous occasions. However, he was a surprise as a passer. He showed nice touch on a touchdown pass on an early drive and then made some very accurate throws right before halftime. However, King made a huge mistake at the end of the drive when he missed a wide-open receiver in the end zone. This was a classic example of King's poor mechanics, which he desperately needs to improve.
King, however, rebounded at the end of the third quarter when he converted a third-and-15 with a 16-yard completion. On the final drive, King fired an accurate ball on third-and-10 for an 11-yard completion. He then made a great scramble to move into the red zone. On the final play of regulation, King scrambled and barely reached the ball over the goal line to score the decisive touchdown.
King showed some very good passing ability in this game, surprising Chris Collinsworth, the color commentator on the broadcast. He's still a work in progress and really needs to improve his mechanics, but he showed some potential in his NFL preseason debut.
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2025 Preseason Notes:
Week 1 |
Week 2 |
Week 3
2025 Fantasy Football Stock Pages:
Week 1 |
Week 2 |
Week 3
More 2026 Fantasy Football Articles:
Fantasy Football Rankings
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings:
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks - 8/13 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs - 8/13 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers - 8/13 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends - 8/13 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: Kickers - 8/13 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: Defenses - 8/13 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Mock Drafts:
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets:
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 - 8/13 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 PPR - 8/13 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 Half-PPR - 8/13 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 2-QB - 8/13 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 Touchdown League - 8/13 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Custom - 8/13 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football: Dynasty Rankings - 8/13 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Articles:
2026 Fantasy Football Stock Report: OTAs, Training Camp - 8/13 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Values - 8/11 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Sleepers - 8/10 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Busts - 8/10 (Walt)
2026 Fantasy Football Round-by-Round Strategy Guide - 8/5 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Rankings - Aug. 13
2027 NFL Mock Draft - June 16
NFL Picks - Feb. 9
NFL Power Rankings - Jan. 26
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