The NFL preseason is almost over, but we still have two more days of football to digest. We have eight games on Saturday, highlighted by a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl as the Los Angeles Rams battle the Cincinnati Bengals.
Things kicked off Thursday night as the Kansas City Chiefs won in front of their home fans over the Green Bay Packers and the Houston Texans blanked the San Francisco 49ers.
Each of the NFL’s 32 teams will approach this week differently. Some will play their starters a little, some will play their starters more, and some not at all. In reality, this week is more about the reserves as coaching staffs around the league figure out who will make their 53-man roster.
Below, we’ll break down the highlights from all 16 preseason games. Keep this post bookmarked as it will be your one stop shop for everything you need to see.
business hours
Thursday
Chiefs 17, Packers 10 (Recap)
Texas 17, 49 years 0 (Overview)
Friday
Panthers 21, Bills 0 (Recap)
Cowboys 27, Seahawks 26 (Recap)
Saints 27, Chargers 10 (Recap)
Raiders 23, Patriots 6 (Takeaways)
Saturday
Falcons 28, Jaguars 12 (Recap)
Bengals 16, Rams 7 (Recap)
Titans 26, Cardinals 23 (Recap)
Bears 21, Browns 20 (Recap)
Dolphins 48, Eagles 10 (Takeaways)
Ravens 17, Commanders 15 (Recap)
Colts 27, Buccaneers 10 (Recap)
Broncos 23, Vikings 13 (Recap)
Sunday
Giants at Jets, 1 p.m. ET, NFLN
Lions at Steelers, 4:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Tom Brady leads Buccaneers in FG on single preseason drive
Brady was able to go on a drive this preseason, finishing with 11 tackles before calling it a shutout before the regular season opener. After being away from the Buccaneers for 11 days during camp, Brady completed 6 of 8 for 44 yards on a 66-yard drive that ended in a 30-yard field goal by Ryan Succop.
Brady was able to find Julio Jones on a 20-yard completion and found Cameron Brate – who is expected to be the No. 1 tight end. 1 – twice in the car. The Buccaneers’ offense moved down the field on Brady’s lone series, enough reps to get the quarterback ready for Week 1.
Justin Fields throws three TDs in the first half
The Bears’ second-year quarterback was sharp in the first half of Saturday night’s game against the Browns, going 14 of 16 for 156 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 11 yards as the Bears took a 21-6 halftime lead.
Treylon Burks returns to play, scores TD
The Titans’ first-round pick didn’t make an impact in Tennessee’s first two preseason games, but Saturday night was different. Burks caught a pass on the first play of the game and recorded another reception later in the first quarter. However, he then left the race with a wrist injury and was considered doubtful to return.
Burks ended up returning in the second quarter and caught a 14-yard touchdown for his first NFL score.
Wild pick six
Elijah Campbell shouldn’t have scored on this play, but he did. The defensive back took advantage of a bad throw by Reid Sinnett and fought tooth and nail to recover the ball for a touchdown.
He was met by Sinnett and a pack of Eagles at the 10-yard line, but kept moving his feet and found himself in the end zone.
The Titans’ starting quarterback is focusing on him the presence of the pocket as he makes the jump in the NFL, but his legs make him special. Check out this play, where Willis ran right up the middle for a 50-yard gain.
Not only is the Liberty product quick, but he is clearly dangerous with the moves he can make in the open field. He has good vision and knows when to cut or drop.
The Ravens have a new wide receiver, and he could be someone who makes an immediate impact on offense. Former Chiefs wideout Demarcus Robinson absolutely embarrassed Washington quarterback Danny Johnson on this drive, and it resulted in a 67-yard touchdown.
This was also Anthony Brown’s first pass of the game. Are the Ravens a new quarterback factory?
Tua goes out on fire
How Tyreek Hill will fare in Miami’s offense compared to how he fared in Kansas City is a big story heading into this season. There’s a narrative that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t have the strongest arm, but he and new coach Mike McDaniel are trying to combat that notion.
On the first play of the Dolphins’ final preseason game, Tagovailoa found Hill marching down the field for a 51-yard gain.
It took the Dolphins just four plays to score the first touchdown of the game. Tagovailoa completed all three of his pass attempts for 72 yards, and he hit River Cracraft for an eight-yard score.
Punt block kick
That’s how you make a case for the 53-man roster. Quinton Bell proved he can be a force on special teams with this blocked punt as the Falcons extended their lead before halftime.
Newbie hawk link
As Ridder threw an interception on the first play of the game Saturday, he jumped to lead a 15-play, 75-yard drive on the Falcons’ next possession. On second-and-goal, Ridder found another rookie running back Tyler Allgeier for the score.
The Falcons have versatile Cordarrelle Patterson and Damien Williams at running back, but some expect Allgeier to play a role in his first NFL season.
Interruption in the first game of the game!
Rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder started Saturday for Atlanta’s third and final preseason game, and unfortunately, he threw an interception on the first play of the game!
Check out this read from Jaguars Safety Daniel Thomas:
Ben DiNucci throws winning TD for Cowboys
The Cowboys were able to take their preseason finale over the Seahawks thanks to Ben DiNucci throwing the game-winning touchdown pass to Peyton Hendershot. The 14-yard touchdown pass gave the Cowboys a 27-26 lead with 4:07 left as Dallas overcame 10 penalties to secure the victory.
DiNucci is a longshot to make the Cowboys, but he could end up somewhere in the NFL next week.
Brandon Smith makes a toe TD catch for the Cowboys
Brandon Smith is a good shot to make the Cowboys’ 53-man roster, but he’s still impressing the coaching staff with this highlight reel catch. This 8-yard catch in the back of the end zone by Will Grier tied the game with the Seahawks in the third quarter.
Smith leads Dallas with three catches, making the most of his last opportunity.
Sam Darnold rushes for TD, exits with ankle injury
Sam Darnold, now the No. 2 quarterback in Carolina, had his fair share of rushing scores for the Panthers last season. His 1-yard run put Carolina up 21-0 over Buffalo with 7:06 to play in the third quarter.
Darnold had a career-high five touchdowns last season for the Panthers — or as many as he had his first three seasons combined with the Jets.
It was not good news for Darnold, who left the field after suffering an ankle injury and will not return.
Drew Lock connects on a nice TD pass
The Drew Lock experience is in full effect. After throwing an interception on his first drive of the game, Lock earned another opportunity to show off his arm strength. Fighting for the starting quarterback job in Seattle, Lock hit Penny Hart on a 35-yard touchdown pass. Shots don’t get much better than this in the third week of the preseason.
Lock has an opportunity to take the job from Geno Smith, who started this game for Seattle. Coach Pete Carroll says he will name a starter after the third preseason game.
Mark Ingram gets his second TD in the opening quarter
Mark Ingram is the NFL’s leading active rusher and still has a prominent role with the Saints, rushing for two touchdowns in the first quarter as New Orleans jumped out to a 14-0 lead over the Los Angeles Chargers — who are playing the majority. of their backups.
This touchdown run was from 2 yards out.
Mayfield won the starting quarterback job in Carolina and is putting the exclamation point on this training camp with a 19-yarder to Shi Smith for the touchdown. Smith has been mentioned as Mayfield’s favorite target by some of the local writers in Carolina, emerging as a contender not only for a roster spot — but for regular-season games as well.
Mayfield has two touchdown passes in the first quarter. This could be it.
To the surprise of some, the Texans’ starting quarterback took the field for the start of the second half. After two pedestrian first quarters in which he threw an interception, Mills led a six-play, 77-yard drive that ended with a touchdown — a 16-yarder to Chris Moore.
This is a nice bullet pass in the middle of the field. Houston has high hopes for its second-year signal-caller.
It’s the Bushman’s world, we’re just living in it
Matt Bushman is having a big night and he recorded 73 receiving yards on his first three catches. He scored his second touchdown of the game early in the third quarter on a play that looked like a turnaround waiting to happen.
The must-see interception
What at first appeared to be a great catch by the Texans turned into an interception by the 49ers in the blink of an eye. Credit to both defensive backs in this game for fighting for the ball. Samuel Womack III picked it off and then Tarvarius Moore kind of pulled it back inside.
Whose man was he?!
Chiefs tight end Matt Bushman ran a simple corner route, and it resulted in a 54-yard touchdown. The safety wasn’t looking his way and the cornerback thought he was giving the tight end to his teammate. This play will look ugly when the Chiefs review the film.
The Packers got off to a slow start Thursday night — going three-and-out on their first two possessions. Things started to click on their third drive, however, as Green Bay went 83 yards down the field in 11 plays to score the game’s first touchdown.
It was the undrafted rookie from Iowa who got into the end zone for the Packers. Check out this EXPLOSIVE run by Tyler Goodson covered by the spin move.
Texans’ Dameon Pierce continues hot start
Houston’s rookie has been one of the stars of the preseason. After an impressive Week 1 outing, Pierce did not play last weekend. Texans coach Lovie Smith said he kept Pierce out because they saw so much of him in the first preseason game. according to the Pro Football Networkwhich could mean he is the RB1.
Pierce did play Thursday night, though, and in the Texans’ opener, he ran six times for 37 yards as Houston went 85 yards down the field in 11 plays and scored a touchdown. Who scored for Texas? I’ll give you a guess.
“Choir huddle” honors Len Dawson
Earlier this week, the legendary Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson has died aged 87. The former No. 5 overall pick was a Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl MVP, NFL Man of the Year and a Chiefs legend. To open the Chiefs’ preseason game Thursday night, Patrick Mahomes took the field and lined up his offense in the famous “chorus formation” to honor Dawson.
After the delay of game penalty, which was declined by the Packers, Mahomes left the field.