Analysis
8/12/23
7 min read
NFL Preseason Week 1: Top Takeaways from Thursday, Friday Night Games
Football is back — sort of. The first week of preseason games has kicked off, so here are some storylines from Thursday’s and Friday’s slate of games to pay attention to.
TD Pass Highlights Jordan Love’s Night
For the past 31 seasons, the Green Bay Packers essentially have had just two starting quarterbacks – Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
Favre, a Hall of Famer, and Rodgers, a future Hall of Famer, threw a combined 917 touchdown passes during their time in Green Bay.
Now, it’s Jordan Love’s turn. After sitting behind Rodgers for the last three years, the 2020 first-round pick out of Utah State finally is the starter in Green Bay. For how long, well, that will depend on how well he plays.
Love started the Packers’ 36-19 preseason win over the Cincinnati Bengals Friday night. He played the first two series, completing 7 of 10 passes for 46 yards and a touchdown.
He called it a night after throwing a 9-yard TD pass to wide receiver Romeo Doubs on the Packers’ second possession. It was a precisely thrown pass that he lofted over the defender and into Doubs’ hands.
Most of Love’s passes against the Bengals were short, quick throws. His lone deep attempt was to wide receiver Christian Watson, and was broken up by Bengals safety Dax Hill.
His worst throw of the night came on the Packers’ first possession. He had rookie tight end Luke Musgrave wide open on a crossing pattern on a third-and-7 and overthrow him.
Rookie fifth-round pick Sean Clifford followed Love and played most of the rest of the game. He completed 20 of 26 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown but also threw two interceptions, including a Pick 6.
Russell Wilson Takes Beating In Opener
Russell Wilson is coming off the worst season of his career, and it’s pretty evident that his new coach Sean Payton doesn’t believe the best way for him to get his groove back is by spending this preseason on the sideline.
While most of the league’s starting quarterbacks were either sitting the first preseason game out or making a cameo appearance, Wilson, along with the rest of the Denver Broncos’ first-team offense, played well into the second quarter of their game against the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals won, 18-17, on a 2-point conversion with two seconds left.
The 34-year-old Wilson completed seven of 13 passes for 93 yards and a 21-yard touchdown to Jerry Jeudy. But for two drops, those numbers would’ve been better.
More significantly, the Broncos’ revamped offensive line didn’t give Wilson very good protection. The nine-time Pro Bowler took a pretty good licking from the Cardinals' defense. He was hit six times, including a couple that were pretty vicious. He also fumbled once but managed to recover it.
On his touchdown pass to Jeudy on a fourth-and-4 with seven minutes left in the second quarter, the Cardinals came with a cover-zero blitz that put Wilson on the ground. Yes, that’s right. A cover-zero blitz in the first preseason game.
The Broncos traded three players and five draft picks for Wilson last year. But he finished 25th in the league in passing, threw just 16 touchdown passes in 15 games and had a career-low 60.5 completion percentage.
Patriots Rookie DE Keion White Impresses
While there remain questions about the New England Patriots’ offense, most notably whether quarterback Mac Jones can bounce back from his awful 2022 season, there are no questions about the defense.
Ten starters return from a unit that finished eighth in total defense and tied for the third-highest sack total (54) in the league. Despite that, the Patriots used their first three picks in the April draft on defensive players – cornerback Christian Gonzalez in the first round, defensive end Keion White in the second round and linebacker/safety Marte Mapu in the third.
Gonzalez, the 17th overall pick out of Oregon, already has been penciled in as the Patriots’ season-opening starting right corner.
And White continued making his case for significant playing time with an impressive performance in the Patriots’ preseason opener Thursday, a 20-9 loss to the Houston Texans.
The 6-foot-5, 290-pound White played 27 snaps in the first half, lining up all over the defensive line. He did a good job against the run, recording three tackles and forcing a fumble by Texans running back Dare Ogunbowale.
White was a disruptive force against the pass, picking up a quarterback hit against the Texans’ heralded rookie, C.J. Stroud, and chasing him down and tackling him short of a first down on a third-and-4 scramble.
“It was a good experience,’’ White said. “I definitely have a lot that I need to learn and take from the game. My main focus was to just play a physical and dominant style of game. Put my hand down and go.’’
WR Dell Steals Show In Texans’ Debut
First-round picks C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson made their preseason debuts for the Houston Texans on Thursday. But it was another rookie – third-round wide receiver Nate “Tank’’ Dell – who stole the show.
The 5-foot-8, 165-pound third-round pick out of Houston had five catches for 65 yards, including an acrobatic 6-yard touchdown in the Texans’ 20-9 win against the New England Patriots.
“It was good to see Tank make some plays,’’ Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said after the game. “We’ve seen him make a lot of plays throughout training camp, including some of the same kind he made tonight. It was good to see him do the same thing in a game. He’s going to be an explosive playmaker for us.’’
Despite his small size, there should be opportunities for Dell this season. The Texans have just one wide receiver on their roster who has caught more than 43 passes in a season. That’s Robert Woods, the 31-year-old veteran they signed in March after trading away their leading receiver — Brandin Cooks.
The other top wideouts on the Texans’ depth chart are Nico Collins, who had just 37 receptions last year, and Noah Brown, who had a career-high 43 catches with Dallas in 2022. Both Collins (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) and Brown (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) are much bigger than Dell.
Stroud, who the Texans drafted No. 2 overall in April, had an inauspicious pro debut Thursday. He played just two series, completing two of four passes for 13 yards and throwing an interception.
Lock Makes Most Of His Chance
Geno Smith has a secure hold on the starting quarterback job in Seattle. But Drew Lock showed Thursday night why Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron like him.
With Smith getting the night off, Lock played three quarters in Seattle’s 24-13 preseason win against the Minnesota Vikings. He was impressive, completing 17 of 24 attempts for 191 yards and two touchdowns. He also had an interception on a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage.
Lock, a 2019 second-round pick by the Broncos, was acquired in last year’s blockbuster Russell Wilson trade. Lock started 18 games for the Broncos the previous two years with mixed results, but he looked to be the Seahawks’ starter last year until Smith beat him out.
Smith, who had started just five games in the previous seven seasons, resurrected his career in 2022, finishing fifth in passer rating (100.9), first in completion percentage (69.8) and fourth in touchdown passes (30). He led the surprising Seahawks to the playoffs and was the league’s Comeback Player of the Year.
Lock didn’t play a single snap as Smith’s backup last season. In the offseason, he re-signed with the Seahawks, agreeing to a one-year, $4 million deal with incentives.
Paul Domowitch covered the Eagles and the NFL for the Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer for four decades. You can follow him on Twitter at @pdomo.
