Bryce Young didn’t play in the first two preseason games, and that was concerning to some.
The first pick of last year’s NFL Draft didn’t have a great rookie season for the Carolina Panthers, though he wasn’t put in a good situation. This season, with a new coach and upgraded teammates, was supposed to be different. But Young didn’t play the first two games. There hadn’t been any live game reps for Young and the starters in coach Dave Canales’ scheme.
Canales played Young in the preseason finale and it turns out the timing was perfect.
If Young and the Panthers needed a boost of confidence going into the regular season, they got it in a 31-26 win over the Buffalo Bills. Young completed 6-of-8 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. He took a seat after that drive. He got some work and leaves the preseason with a positive result.
More than the stats, Young looked comfortable. He hit rookie tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders on a nice strong throw over the middle. He had an impressive play to avoid a sack and then took a hit, which the Panthers coaches probably didn’t like but it might be good to get that first hit of the season out of the way. The Panthers went for it on fourth-and-3 and Young bought time, scrambling to his left, then made a difficult throw on the move to Diontae Johnson for the first down. On the next play he moved to his right and hit Adam Thielen for another completion.
Young finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Matthews, which might have been his easiest throw of the drive. The Bills had a coverage bust and left Matthews open.
One preseason drive against backups doesn’t tell us that much about Young and whether he can rebound from a bad rookie season. But for the fans that wanted to see Young get some action in the preseason, they had to be happy with the results.
Two passes shouldn’t be enough to sway any opinions, but the Steelers offense needed something positive this preseason and finally got it.
Russell Wilson completed both of his passes on his only series and Cordarrelle Patterson rushed for a 31-yard touchdown on Wilson’s only drive, which was notable for the Steelers this preseason. Before Saturday Wilson and Justin Fields had played a combined 13 preseason possessions and the Steelers had just three total points in those drives. Two completions probably locked up Wilson’s starting spot for Week 1. One of the passes was a nice one to George Pickens for 31 yards. Wilson got plenty of protection, which has been an issue this preseason for Pittsburgh too. The Steelers lost 24-17 to the Detroit Lions but finding some positives on offense was the biggest takeaway.
The Steelers have had some offensive line injuries and might be without running back Jaylen Warren at the start of the season due to a hamstring injury. The quarterback play has been uninspiring. Pittsburgh’s defense will again be very good but the offense has been shaky in the preseason. One touchdown drive by Wilson doesn’t change everything, but at least there’s something good from that group coming out of August and into the regular season.
Cam Akers was a forgotten man for most of the offseason. That can happen suddenly for running backs.
Two seasons ago Akers had a good season with the Los Angeles Rams, rushing for 786 yards and seven touchdowns. It was good to see after his hasty return from an Achilles injury to help the Rams win a Super Bowl the season before. Then last season Akers was usurped by Kyren Williams, was traded for a cheap price to the Minnesota Vikings and didn’t have much impact there. He signed with the Houston Texans in July to little fanfare.
Akers helped himself this preseason. He has ran hard and well for the Texans. Dameon Pierce came into the preseason as Joe Mixon’s backup but Akers is making a bid to take that spot. Mixon and Pierce got the preseason finale off, which is an indication Pierce is ahead of Akers, but Akers played well in a 17-15 win over the Rams. He rushed for 53 yards on seven carries. In the Texans’ previous preseason game he had 29 yards on just six carries.
Akers isn’t guaranteed a spot on the Texans’ roster. But for a 25-year-old back that was forgotten most of the offseason, the preseason could have him back on the radar whether it’s with the Texans or someone else.
Other games
Green Bay Packers 30, Baltimore Ravens 7: Neither team played starters and many key backups sat too. Veteran Ravens backup quarterback Josh Johnson finished a strong preseason by completing 5-of-7 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown.
Minnesota Vikings 26, Philadelphia Eagles 3: Both teams sat starters but there was some intrigue in the backup quarterback battle for the Eagles. Kenny Pickett had the edge over Tanner McKee, who looked good at times this preseason. Pickett went 6 of 9 for 58 yards in the finale. McKee was 15 of 21 for 115 yards but also had an interception and lost a fumble on a strip sack. It looks like Pickett did nothing to lose his QB2 job.
Los Angeles Chargers 26, Dallas Cowboys 19: Cowboys quarterback Trey Lance looked better in the second preseason game than the first, and the third one was weird. Lance had 323 passing yards and two touchdowns and 90 yards rushing, including an impressive 46-yard touchdown run. That was the good. The bad was five interceptions and two fumbles, though the Cowboys recovered both fumbles. One of the interceptions was a pick-6 in which Lance never seemed to see linebacker Tre’mon Morris-Brash in coverage, then got ran over as Morris-Brash scored the touchdown.
Needless to say, it’s not going to matter much how many yards Lance has passing and rushing if he throws five interceptions. The preseason showed he still has a long way to go.
New York Jets at New York Giants: Neither team played starters. That means Aaron Rodgers didn’t play at all in the preseason. That wasn’t surprising considering Jets coach Robert Saleh said he didn’t want Rodgers on the field in the preseason, but it still could be questioned if the Jets get off to a slow start. Rodgers hasn’t played in a game since tearing his Achilles in the first drive of the regular-season opener last season.
Cleveland Browns at Seattle Seahawks: The preseason ended with Deshaun Watson never seeing the field. Watson, who had a sore shoulder this week, sat in the finale. The Browns announced Watson wouldn’t play a few hours before the game. Watson, who is coming off a season-ending shoulder injury, had mixed reviews from training camp observers. He’ll be a mystery when the Browns kick off the regular season against the Cowboys in Week 1.
Final thoughts
• The Rams don’t play backup quarterbacks in the preseason, and with Jimmy Garoppolo serving a two-game PED suspension in Weeks 1 and 2, Stetson Bennett sat out Saturday’s preseason finale. Bennett had an up-and-down preseason with two touchdowns and five interceptions, though he did throw a game-winning touchdown in the final seconds of the first preseason game against Dallas.
• Bills running back Frank Gore Jr. made his statement to make the 53-man roster. He rushed for 101 yards on 18 carries. He also got a shoutout on X formerly Twitter from his proud and famous dad.
• Bills linebacker Joe Andreessen has been one of the stories of the preseason, an undrafted player from the University of Buffalo trying to make the team. He grew up a Bills fan growing up in nearby Lancaster, and he had eight tackles in Saturday’s finale and now waits to see if he made the 53-man roster. The Bills are looking for linebacker depth after losing Matt Milano to a torn biceps.
