Here are Matt Williamson’s takeaways from the five preseason games played on Thursday night.
Philadelphia Eagles 24, Jacksonville Jaguars 10
First-round left tackle Andre Dillard is quick to set up in protection with good hand usage for a rookie. He is light on his feet and balanced. It did appear as though Dillard had a bad breakdown in protection that led to Cody Kessler taking a huge shot from Datone Jones on a free run. Clayton Thorson then replaced Kessler, but it was Eagles running back Miles Sanders that stood out in this contest. He ran through some large holes at times, but also created yardage on his own and displayed an impressive burst while stringing moves together. There is a lot to work with in Sanders.
Gardner Minshew started for Jacksonville. Led by Vinny Curry, Philadelphia’s defensive front had their way with the Jaguars offensive line early in the game. That said, Minshew hung tough in the pocket and played well despite adverse conditions. Meanwhile, Alex McGough did some simply spectacular things, especially late in the down. Let’s not just brush off McGough going forward.
New York Jets 22, Atlanta Falcons 10
Sam Darnold picked up where he left off last week throwing strikes on New York’s first drive. He showed upper level quarterbacking on a beautiful back-shoulder throw. The ball came out quick, crisp and accurate as Darnold led the Jets to an opening drive touchdown. Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, but Darnold has “breakout star” written all over him. It is also obvious now that Darnold’s three primary wide receivers are Robby Anderson, Jamison Crowder and Quincy Enunwa. Adding Le’Veon Bell to that mix and Chris Herndon after his suspension and you have a rather formidable group for Darnold to distribute the ball to. Also, in Bell’s stead, Ty Montgomery looks to have revived his career and is clearly now the number two in New York’s backfield after another strong showing. And of course, Montgomery, like Bell, brings a lot to the table in the passing game.
The biggest thing to take away from Atlanta on Thursday night is injuries. We saw an average defense get hit hard by injuries this time of year last year and quickly become a poor overall unit. The potential loss of Damontae Kazee and Kendall Sheffield aren’t as noteworthy as those from a year ago, but if they are serious, the Falcons secondary and nickel back situation could be very thin.
Baltimore Ravens 26, Green Bay Packers 13
The Ravens mixed and matched personnel groupings and formations with Lamar Jackson at quarterback. We saw a lot of traditional power formations meshed well with RPO and option football, often with multiple tight ends on the field. As he did last week, Jackson mostly looked to throw rather than run with the football, but there were still times when he showed his outstanding wheels including on a dynamic touchdown run that was called back because of penalty. This was a succinct showing by this offense overall while eating up clock. Also, don’t be surprised when Justice Hill becomes a featured player in this Ravens offense. His supreme athletic ability shows up down after down. Hill will complement Mark Ingram perfectly.
Packers backup quarterback DeShone Kizer is an easy guy to criticize. He doesn’t throw with much touch or feel while displaying just average accuracy at best. But he was under siege in this game against many of Baltimore’s top defenders and did handle that pressure rather well.
Cincinnati Bengals 23, Washington Redskins 13
Flags flew on nearly every play of the opening drive of this game and greatly aided Cincinnati’s offensive progress. We did see more Rams-like concepts from Cincinnati, who were also penalized all night, with a lot of play action and presnap motion and a flat-out nasty stiff arm by Joe Mixon. But alas, Monte Nicholson intercepted a tipped Andy Dalton pass and took it 96 yards for a touchdown. Ryan Finley replaced Dalton in the second quarter and was very sharp. Accuracy is the name of Finley’s game and we saw that in a big way in Washington. Finley also had a long touchdown called back on a very questionable offensive pass interference call. Could Finley be starting for Cincinnati by November? Remember, they can move away from Dalton at little cost after this year and maybe the Bengals will want to see what they have in the rookie if the season gets away from them.
It won’t be Dwayne Haskins’ path to success in the NFL, but it was good to see him make some plays with his legs against the Bengals. But it was his 55-yard touchdown pass to Robert Davis on third and long that was the headline for Haskins. Not every starting NFL quarterback makes that throw. Haskins played extensively in this game, with very promising results. It also appears that Washington really wants to push the ball downfield when Haskins is behind center. Starting him in Week 1 of the regular season isn’t the worst idea.
Oakland Raiders 33, Arizona Cardinals 20
Oakland running back Josh Jacobs got the start and quickly showed why he was a first round pick. His cutback ability, quick feet and power stood out on Oakland’s opening drive. Former wide receiver-turned-tight end Darren Waller is very interesting. He competes as a blocker, but never will be great in this department. That being said, Waller’s body control and athleticism are very obvious. Also, this was also quarterback Mike Glennon’s best performance in a long time.
Another Raiders first round pick, Jonathan Abram, also showed up in an impressive fashion in this contest. He flies around the field with aggression and passion. As he learns to play within himself, Abram can be a tone setter for this defense that is looking for identity. Lamarcus Joyner also made play after play. Joyner will bring a ton to his new squad in many capacities including providing leadership to Abram in particular. The safety position was a weakness for Oakland last year, but should be a strength in 2019.
Kyler Murray didn’t explode onto the scene in this game like he did a week ago and the Cardinals were heavily penalized early on, but his poise, even under much pressure, was obvious. He is remarkably calm for such a young quarterback and makes good reads with an already excellent understanding of this offense. Still, it was a long night without question for Arizona’s offense and the Raiders defense deserves quite a bit of praise for what they did Thursday night. And the Cardinals offensive line (as well as their defense) deserves much criticism.
A former scout for Pitt, Akron, and the Cleveland Browns, Matt Williamson worked with ESPN’s Scouts, Inc. for years. He is a contributor to Touchdown Wire and currently works for the Steelers Nation Radio Network.
