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There aren’t many quarterback competitions left. The Las Vegas Raiders already solved theirs. The Denver Broncos probably got an answer, too. Maybe the Pittsburgh Steelers are the only team still trying to figure it out.
In the second week of preseason, the quarterback played well and some teams must be a little more nervous about the position as the regular season approaches. Below are 10 takeaways from the second week of preseason:
Denver Broncos
Caleb Williams is probably the most impressive rookie quarterback this preseason, but Bo Nix has a case. Nix was very accurate on Sunday night for the second straight game. He had surprising speed on some of his throws and looked great throwing on the move. He completed 8 of 9 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Nix was a pick that was criticized by many when Denver took him 12th overall in the NFL Draft, but he looks comfortable in Sean Payton’s offense. One of the benefits of drafting Nix was his 61 career college starts. He should have been ready to play right away.
Nix has looked good in both preseason games and seems certain to be named the starting quarterback for the regular-season opener. That’s something Drake Maye and Michael Penix Jr., drafted higher than Nix, won’t be able to say. (J.J. McCarthy was also unlikely to start in Week 1, but his season-ending knee injury was the deciding factor in the Vikings’ favor.)
Payton didn’t name a starter after Sunday night’s game, but said he thought Nix played well.
“I thought he was very accurate,” Payton said, according to the team’s transcript. “Obviously, I thought he made eight of nine passes. He does a good job of distributing the ball, understanding zones, man-to-man, what coverage concepts we’re getting. Overall, I was pleased.”
Las Vegas Raiders
One wonders if Aidan O’Connell’s last pass cost him the Raiders’ starting quarterback job.
O’Connell had a pretty decent night filling in for Gardner Minshew II, who struggled. Then O’Connell threw an intercepted pass for a touchdown and his night was over. On Sunday, the Raiders announced that Minshew will be their starter for Week 1. Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said what happened Saturday night wasn’t the deciding factor, though it’s fair to wonder.
“A lot of things were taken into consideration. It wasn’t based on last night,” Pierce said. via the team’s site“There are a lot of factors. We believe Gardner gives us the best opportunity to get off to a good start.”
Everyone knows the situation the Raiders are in is not ideal and probably wasn’t expected. They had to rush when six quarterbacks went in the first 12 picks of the NFL Draft and they had the 13th pick. It wouldn’t be a surprise if there is a quarterback change during the season.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers’ offense has been really bad in the preseason. Russell Wilson or Justin Fields have played 13 possessions and the Steelers have scored three total points on those drives. Wilson didn’t look good in his first preseason appearance Saturday night, throwing for 47 yards on five drives. Fields at least made some plays running the ball, but he’s a flawed passer and that hasn’t changed.
Still, Tomlin appears to favor Wilson based on his defense of his struggles after the game. One point Tomlin did make was that the offensive line’s play wasn’t good enough.
“Again, it’s a bit of an incomplete study because you don’t get a chance to watch him play or watch us play or establish a rhythm and personality when you’re not winning possessions, and we weren’t,” Tomlin said. “The first three drives of the game were three-and-outs, and you’re not going to get a chance to establish a rhythm or play the way you’d like to as an individual or as a collective.”
We’ll see if the Steelers still have competition and if both quarterbacks play in the third preseason game. Wilson appears to be the starter, but his game on Saturday wasn’t too exciting.
The Cowboys are still evaluating Trey Lance, the third pick in the 2021 NFL Draft who went to the 49ers without playing much. He didn’t play great against the Rams in the preseason opener, but he looked better in the second game. He completed 15 of 23 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown. Every positive performance is important for Lance, because he doesn’t have a great NFL resume.
“I definitely felt more comfortable coming out, I just need to get going a little bit quicker, in the third quarter for sure,” Lance said. via the team’s site“I left some plays up in the air, but I learned a lot from it and it’s fun competing with these guys.”
This was interesting: The Dolphins opened up running back De’Von Achane and threw him the ball for a 26-yard gain. Achane is one of the most interesting players in the NFL after a monster rookie season, in terms of efficiency, and if the Dolphins get creative with him in the passing game, he could have a special season.
The second week of preseason was another example of how little some coaches care about games. The Browns had 39 players inactive for Saturday’s game. Considering only 48 players can dress on Sundays in the regular season, the Browns didn’t really use any players. someone which could be a factor early this season.
It could be good for the Browns to see Deshaun Watson in action. Watson is coming off season-ending shoulder surgery and reviews of his play in training camp have been mixed. It looks like Watson could see some action in the third preseason game, which could calm some nerves.
It’s fine to have an honest discussion about Caleb Williams’ second preseason game. Yes, the highlights were exciting and Bears fans should be excited about that. It’s also fine to point out that for much of the time he was on the field, the offense did very little.
In the first quarter, the Bears had three possessions, no first downs and eight total net yards. Not counting a defensive pass interference penalty, the Bears had 17 yards on five plays on their fourth drive. That was against the Bengals’ backups on defense. The fifth drive was a good one, and it was the right decision to keep Williams and the starters on the field to build momentum and confidence to finish the day.
The slow start should be a reminder that it won’t always be easy for Williams. He’s an exciting rookie with a great skill set, but he’s still a rookie learning how to play quarterback in the NFL. He’ll be fine, but don’t expect perfection.
Daniel Jones’ interceptions in his first preseason action this year weren’t ideal, but the Giants don’t seem worried. Coach Brian Daboll said the Giants wanted to emphasize play-action passes and deep throws down the field, and Jones executed that well at times, particularly in the second quarter. The interceptions don’t count toward his record, and the Giants will live with them in the games that don’t count.
“That’s what these games are for, too,” Daboll said. via team transcription“You have to evaluate it, but obviously you have to have a plan. It’s a little different than what I would say a regular season game is, where you plan and do things like that. I wanted to make sure we had enough plays where we were throwing the ball down the field, giving opportunities to throw it down the field. Again, there were some good things, it was good to have him here and then there are a couple of things that we’ll learn from and that’s what these things are for.”
The Saints needed a strong performance from their starting offense after some struggles in the opener. It wasn’t great, but they did manage a touchdown.
Derek Carr was 7-of-9 for 47 yards, displaying the same short-passing tendencies that frustrated Saints fans last season. Chris Olave caught three passes, running back Jamaal Williams had 32 yards on five carries and Taysom Hill lined up in the backfield a lot and caught handoffs, including a touchdown run from the fullback position. At least the Saints’ starters looked more accurate than they did in their first preseason game.
There has been some curiosity about how the Texans will split snaps and targets at receiver, as they have three good receivers in Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell. The answer appears to be that Collins is the No. 1, Diggs will be in two-receiver sets and Dell will play a lot as the No. 3 option. Through two weeks when Stroud is on the field, Collins has played 90% of the snaps, Diggs 81% and Dell 57%. By Dave Richard on CBS SportsThat seems a reasonable prediction of how things will play out when the games count.
