The NFL is back with the first full schedule of preseason beginning Thursday. How did the rookies look? What about players returning from injury? Here’s the biggest takeaway for each team:
While rookie quarterback Josh Allen continued to show flashes of potential in his preseason debut Thursday, he did not seem ready yet to leapfrog Nathan Peterman or AJ McCarron to be the starter. Peterman went 9-for-9 for 119 yards and a touchdown to open the game before an interception, while McCarron went 7-for-10 for 116 yards in the second quarter. The Bills do not want to rush Allen’s development and neither McCarron nor Peterman gave them a reason to do so Thursday night. — Mike Rodak
A solid first test for the Carolina quarterbacks as new offensive coordinator Norv Turner attempts to make Cam Newton into a more efficient player and find a young backup capable of winning. Newton, with a career 58.5 completion percentage, completed 66.6 percent of his pass attempts and engineered a scoring drive. Garrett Gilbert and Taylor Heinicke combined for the same percentage in the win at Buffalo. — David Newton
Aside from a Kyle Fuller pick-six that came after Bengals receiver John Ross slipped, there wasn’t much to write about. The first-team offense looked out of sorts as Mitch Trubisky — 2-for-4 for 4 yards — was sacked once in two series of work. Aside from Fuller’s highlight, the defense struggled to make much noise as the Bengals moved up and down the field with relative ease early in the game. New coach Matt Nagy has plenty of things to show his players on tape as they head into next week’s preseason contest in Denver. — Nick Friedell
There’s a lot to like about this Bengals’ offense. Outside of an Andy Dalton pick-six that could be attributed to John Ross slipping on his route, the first-team offense impressed. Joe Mixon broke two tackles and spun around for a touchdown, A.J. Green was his usual impressive self, and young receivers like Ross, Tyler Boyd and Josh Malone showed there’s a lot of potential for this team to right the ship after being one of the worst offenses in the league last year. — Katherine Terrell
After not missing a single extra point attempt all last year, kicker Chandler Catanzaro missed a PAT in the Bucs’ preseason opener against the Dolphins. A 53-yard attempt in the fourth quarter also sailed wide right, but he did manage to make 26- and 27-yard attempts. — Jenna Laine
Seeing his first game action since December 11, 2016, quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed 4 of 6 passes for 32 yards. He only played one series, but he looked confident and functionally mobile. Most importantly, he came out healthy, and protection held up. A step in the right direction. — Jenna Laine
The Browns have themselves some quarterbacks. Plural. No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield was impressive, showing playmaking ability in and out of the pocket while completing 11 of 20 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns. He displayed nice touch, command and instincts. Mayfield is obviously the Browns’ future, but current starter Tyrod Taylor also had a strong outing. Taylor completed all five of his passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. Coach Hue Jackson is going to have a decision to make. It’s really a matter of when he turns to Mayfield, not if. — Ryan Isley
Saquon Barkley needed just one play in Thursday’s preseason opener against the Browns to show what he can add to the Giants offense. His 39-yard run on his first carry put his elusiveness (he avoided three tackles) and big-play ability on full display. That should have coach Pat Shurmur scheming and make the Giants’ offense scary, especially when Barkley eventually gets on the field in Week 1 with Odell Beckham Jr., who did not play in the contest. — Jordan Raanan
The preseason opener deepens the quarterback intrigue behind Ben Roethlisberger. Josh Dobbs looks ready to make things interesting after showcasing his big arm on a touchdown strike to camp standout Damoun Patterson. Mason Rudolph appeared in control of the offense and made some solid throws but couldn’t find the end zone and struggled with ball security, a theme for him early in training camp. And Landry Jones is still very much the leader for the top backup job unless it’s taken from him over the final three weeks. — Jeremy Fowler
Eagles rookie tight end Dallas Goedert continues to look the part. He had four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown in the preseason opener. He’s had a strong training camp as well. If Goedert stays on this track, coach Doug Pederson is going to find a role for the second-round pick out of South Dakota State. — Tim McManus
The backup QBs took center stage in New Orleans’ preseason opener while Drew Brees took the night off. Veteran newcomer Tom Savage was just OK as he started and completed a conservative 10 of 14 passes for 70 yards with no TDs and no INTs. Second-year pro Taysom Hill was more dynamic, completing 8 of 9 passes for 72 yards and running seven times for 52 yards and a TD. But he started a little shaky and may have relied on his legs a little too much. — Mike Triplett
The Jaguars traded for QB Cody Kessler in March to back up Blake Bortles and they have to feel pretty good about that move tonight. Kessler went 14-of-17 for 139 yards and a TD. Bortles has been durable, but not having the experienced Chad Henne was a bit of a gamble. This team is built to make a Super Bowl run and now they should feel a lot better if Bortles were to miss any extended time. — Mike DiRocco
The Redskins couldn’t hold onto a 17-0 lead. But that’s irrelevant to individual performances by their young players in particular. Running back Derrius Guice and nose tackle Tim Settle in particular jumped out with individual flashes and receivers Maurice Harris and Robert Davis had moments. So, too, did linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton, corners Greg Stroman and Danny Johnson, and safety Kenny Ladler. However, it’ll be injury updates to Guice and defensive end Matt Ioannidis that will determine the success or failure of their preseason opener. — John Keim
No Tom Brady, no Rob Gronkowski and no sign of the Patriots that have been a perennial Super Bowl contender in Thursday night’s preseason opener against Washington. With Brady and Gronkowski among those getting the night off, the offense was led by Brian Hoyer and it struggled mightily in the first half, with Bill Belichick saying there was about 38 seconds of good football. The biggest bright spot was running back Jeremy Hill, who increased his chances to make the team over Mike Gillislee. Meanwhile, the defense looked similar to the last time it took the field in the Super Bowl, as a lack of speed showed up, and showed that the unit has a lot of work to do to get where it wants to be. — Mike Reiss
Jared Goff and Todd Gurley wore sweats on the sideline during the Rams’ loss. Sean McVay elected to sit not only his top playmakers, but his entire starting lineup (with the exception of right guard Jamon Brown, outside linebacker Samson Ebukam and specialists) in the preseason opener. After two joint practices with the Ravens earlier in the week, McVay said he wanted to avoid the risk of potential injuries. But the backups struggled — especially on offense. Sean Mannion played the first half (3-for-13 for 16 yards, INT), and Brandon Allen (10-for-15 for 73 yards, TD) in the second. The biggest bright spot came from the running back position, where second-year pro Justin Davis and rookie John Kelly are competing for the No. 3 spot. Both looked sharp and Kelly broke for a 40-yard run late in the game. The defense appeared out of sync as it allowed 403 total yards. — Lindsey Thiry
Ravens first-round pick Lamar Jackson looked more comfortable than his NFL debut a week ago, leading Baltimore to scores on half of his eight drives against the Rams (three field goals and one touchdown). His best play was a highlight-reel, 9-yard run in which he faked out two Rams defenders to reach the end zone. Jackson still needs to be more consistent with his throws. He completed 7 of 18 passes (39 percent) for 119 yards. But the Ravens have to be pleased with how Jackson limited his mistakes. This was a solid step forward for Jackson, who is looking to beat out Robert Griffin III to become Joe Flacco‘s primary backup for the start of the regular season. — Jamison Hensley
Quarterback Deshaun Watson saw game action for the first time since he tore his ACL in early November. He only played one series and completed only one pass for 4 yards, but achieved the most important goal for the Texans: exiting the game without an injury. — Sarah Barshop
Any concern over what the Chiefs might get this season from their cornerbacks won’t be eased by the game against the Texans. Houston’s backup quarterback, Brandon Weeden, was 9-of-11 for 97 yards and two touchdowns, some of that work coming against Kansas City’s starters. Third corner David Amerson had a particularly rough game. He had two penalties against a backup, Sammy Coates. One was for holding and the other for pass interference that went for 27 yards. The Chiefs lost five of their top six cornerbacks from last year in terms of playing time. The most notable loss was their top corner, Marcus Peters, who was traded to the Rams. — Adam Teicher