Four games are in the books from the critical Week 3 of the preseason. The Patriots were unable to escape their game unscathed, losing
Julian Edelman
to a torn ACL.
Eighteen more teams looked to avoid a similar fate Saturday and get out of the preseason with their core players healthy. Follow along all day and night for updates on all the action on the day.
Scores and schedule
Philadelphia Eagles
38,
Miami Dolphins
31 (GameTracker)
Carolina Panthers
24,
Jacksonville Jaguars
23 (GameTracker)
New England Patriots
30,
Detroit Lions
28 (GameTracker)
Seattle Seahawks
26,
Kansas City Chiefs
13 (GameTracker)
Baltimore Ravens
13,
Buffalo Bills
9 (GameTracker)
New York Giants
32,
New York Jets
31 (GameTracker)
Arizona Cardinals
24,
Atlanta Falcons
14 (GameTracker)
Indianapolis Colts
19,
Pittsburgh Steelers
15 (GameTracker)
Cleveland Browns
13,
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9 (GameTracker)
Los Angeles Chargers
21,
Los Angeles Rams
19 (GameTracker)
New Orleans Saints
13, Texans 0 (GameTracker)
Dallas Cowboys
24, Raiders 20 (GameTracker)
Denver Broncos
20, Packers 17 (GameTracker)
Chicago Bears
at
Tennessee Titans
, Sun., 1 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
Cincinnati Bengals
at
Washington Redskins
, Sun., 4:30 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
San Francisco 49ers
at
Minnesota Vikings
, Sun., 8 p.m. ET (GameTracker)
The numbers don’t tell the whole story: DeShone Kizer deserves to start
The Browns’ second-round pick, DeShone Kizer, made his first start of the preseason against the Buccaneers and a glance at the stat sheet might make it seem like it’s business as usual with the organization’s latest attempt to unearth a franchise quarterback.
If Brock Osweiler had finished 6 of 18 with an interception and a 28.2 passer rating we’d all be talking about how he’s still one of the league’s worst players. But Kizer really did show glimpses of why coach Hue Jackson is such a big fan, even if he doesn’t want to rush the rookie onto the field.
Kizer was solid during his first drive, completed several big third-down conversions, and would have kept the drive going if not for a Kenny Britt dropped pass. Put another way: There’s a lot to like. So much so that Kizer should be the regular-season starter. Partly because he’s been the Browns’ best passer throughout the preseason, partly because the organization needs to know whether Kizer is the long-term solution at the position. And if he’s not, the team can turns its efforts to (again) finding its next franchise quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft, which could be one of the best classes to come along in a decade.
In simple terms: As long as a franchise is without its franchise quarterback, losing will become commonplace. Neither Osweiler nor Cody Kessler changes that in 2017, though Kizer might in the years to come.
Paxton Lynch leaves game with shoulder injury
Broncos first-year coach Vance Joseph named Trevor Siemian his starting quarterback on Monday, but the team still has long-term plans for 2016 first-round pick Paxton Lynch. Lynch relieved Siemian after halftime of Saturday’s Week 3 preseason game against the Packers but he left after just eight plays — and back-to-back sacks, the last of which ended with him landing awkwardly on his throwing shoulder.
Lynch was replaced by Kyle Sloter, who tossed a late third-quarter touchdown:
Lynch joined teammates Demaryius Thomas (groin), Zach Kerr (knee) and safety Will Parks (hip), who all suffered injuries against the Packers.
Christian Hackenberg struggles early, Bryce Petty looks good late
The “Jets are in midseason form” jokes are already tired but, well, the Jets, who look to be the NFL‘s worst team on paper, really to look to be in midseason form based on the first few series of Saturday’s Week 3 preseason matchup with the Giants.
The (relatively) good news: The Giants don’t look much better. Here is Eli Manning tossing an interception:
Not-so-fun fact: The Giants’ offensive line gave up nine sacks in the first two preseason games.
Meanwhile, Christian Hackenberg got the start for the Jets, and while the embattled second-year quarterback appears destined for backup duty in a few weeks, it’s hard to blame him for this safety. Running back Matt Forte never had a chance, which is typically what happens to ball carriers when Jason Pierre-Paul goes unblocked.
But if you really want to blame Hackenberg for something, how about this poor decision that turned into six more points for the Giants:
Sadly, there’s more: Hackenberg threw another pick-six, though it’s hard to blame him after hitting wideout Robby Anderson in the hands. But because these are the 2017 Jets, Anderson took a hard hit, and the ball found its way into Janoris Jenkins’ arms. Thirty-five yards later and Jenkins was celebrating in the end zone.
If the Jets turn to Hackenberg in the regular season, there appears to be a pretty good chance he scores more points for the opposition than for his team.
Mercifully, the Jets gave Hackenberg the second half off.
In related news: 2015 fourth-round pick Bryce Petty replaced Hackenberg and promptly threwtwo touchdown passes. Of course, these are the Jets, the NFL’s most hapless team, and Petty was injured late in the fourth quarter, which forced Hackenberg back into the game. But there is a silver lining: Hackeberg tossed a touchdown pass, his first of the 2017 preseason.
It’s not much but it’s something.
Dak Prescott looks to be immune to the sophomore slump
One of the big preseason storylines for the Dallas Cowboys is the question of whether quarterback Dak Prescott will suffer the dreaded sophomore slump. Why this has become such a big question mark when the Cowboys are bringing back nearly the exact same offensive group, we don’t know; but if his preseason performance is any indication, the Cowboys really do not have anything to worry about.
Dak completed 7 of 8 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown in his first preseason action against the Colts last week, and in the Cowboys’ warmup game against the Raiders on Saturday night, Prescott stayed just as hot. He finished the first half 11 of 14 for 113 yards and another score, this one to tight end Jason Witten after a play-fake that fooled every one of the Raiders’ linebackers.
If that play looks familiar, it should. Dak and Witten connected on essentially the same route during the Cowboys’ playoff game against the Packers back in January. (The play in question is at 1:41 in the video below.)
That run-pass option is a staple of red zone offense these days, and it’s even more dangerous for a team with a quarterback that is both a threat to run himself and an excellent decision-maker. Add in the precision route-running of Witten and you’ve got an easy recipe for quick-strike scores.
Chargers dominate (meaningless) Fight for L.A.
The Chargers entered Saturday’s matchup with an 0-2 record. The Rams, meanwhile, were 2-0. Two teams from the same city going in different directions. Or at least that would be the storyline if this wasn’t the preseason, where the biggest concern is keeping your players healthy.
But if we’re going to read into 30 minutes of football — one that had the Rams play without nine of their defensive starters — it’s that Philip Rivers and the Chargers are the victors in the Fight for L.A. — at least when compared to the Rams.
And here’s the moving-pictures proof:
Meanwhile, Rams second-year quarterback Jared Goff was intercepted by Jason Verrett:
And Goff was also introduced to Mr. Bosa and Mr. Ingram:
Just how good was Rivers? Consider this:
But the true winner in the Fight for L.A. remains the … Oakland Raiders. At least according to Raiders owner Mark Davis, who plans to move the team to Los Angeles in 2020.
“You know, it’s kind of funny,” Davis told the Los Angeles Daily News’ Vincent Bonsignore earlier this month. “They’re talking about the fight for Los Angeles. And Raiders fans have been telling me we already won that fight, and that the Rams and Chargers are fighting for the No. 2 and 3 spots.”
The Raiders called L.A. home from 1982-1994 and remain wildly popular in the area.
“A good portion have come from Los Angeles and Southern California,” Davis explained, “Without stepping on any toes, we’re going to market ourselves in Los Angeles area. And San Diego. We’re reaching out to Raider Nation in Southern California. It’s strong there.”
In case you’re wondering: The Raiders play the Chargers in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve.
John Brown smokes Atlanta’s secondary — twice
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians has not been thrilled with the performance of his wide receiver corps this offseason. Less than two weeks ago, he ripped into the group, stating that, “We might have two” that could play in the NFL.
Not included among those two was speedster John Bruce, who Arians said he was concerned about because he hadn’t been available to play or practice. Brown got onto the field for the Cardinals’ dress rehearsal game Saturday evening and did not disappoint.
First, Brown capped a 12-play, 90-yard drive that spanned the end of the first and beginning of the second quarter with this gorgeous 28-yard connection with Carson Palmer.
The Cards kicked a field goal on their next possession, and then the Falcons fumbled on the opening play of their ensuing drive. One play later, Brown was in the end zone again, this time hitting paydirt via a similarly-placed fade route from backup quarterback Drew Stanton.
Arians and Arizona will surely take more where that came from.
Tyrod Taylor’s evening lasts two series
Week 3 is typically the game starters play for at least the first half, and coaches have even been known to game plan. But Taylor was sacked by several Ravens defenders on a third-down play and banged his head on the turf in the process.
He was helped off the field, was evaluated on the sidelines, and then made his way to the locker room with trainers. The Bills announced that Taylor was in the concussion protocol. Fifth-round rookie Nathan Peterman will see more action than expected with the first-team offense as a result.
Several stars set to miss regular-season dress rehearsal
Giants receiver
Odell Beckham
is not expected to see the field on Saturday after suffering an ankle sprain Monday that could reportedly keep him out of action in Week 1 of the regular season. Falcons running back
Devonta Freeman
is also slated to miss Saturday’s game while recovering from a concussion. It’s unclear if the Texans plan to play
DeAndre Hopkins
after the receiver missed practice this week.
More key players expected to miss Saturday’s action:
Bills: WR Jordan Matthews
Browns: QB Brock Osweiler
Buccaneers: DT Gerald McCoy
Colts: QB Andrew Luck
Giants: WR Brandon Marshall
Rams: WR Cooper Kupp
Ravens: RB Danny Woodhead, QB Joe Flacco, WR Breshad Perriman
Previously in Week 3 of the preseason
On Friday, in addition to the Patriots losing Julian Edelman to a knee injury, the Chiefs saw
Spencer Ware
with a serious-looking knee injury. Unlike with the Patriots receiver, Ware is expected to have avoided a torn ACL, but if his injury turns out to be just a knee sprain, it’s still possible he’ll be sidelined several weeks into the regular season, opening the door for
Kareem Hunt
. For more on those injuries as well as the performances of
Tom Brady
,
Russell Wilson
,
Eddie Lacy
,
Patrick Mahomes
and more, check out Friday’s daily roundup.
On Thursday, no one was able to grab hold of the Jaguars starting quarterback reins in an uneven performance for both
Chad Henne
and
Blake Bortles
,
Jay Cutler
second game with the Dolphins was also filled up and downs and
Carson Wentz
look great during his work with the first-team offense. You can read about those stories and everything else from Thursday’s action in our daily roundup.