USA TODAY International Edition
Winless preseasons not a good omen
Five teams 0-for after three weeks
The third weekend of the NFL’s preseason, widely considered the dress rehearsal stage for many teams — though quite a few continued to rest star players — is in the books. Here’s what we learned:
1. Might be time to worry in Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle and Tennessee. Those clubs are winless, and no NFL team has ever finished 0-4 in the preseason and gone on to win the Super Bowl since the NFL implemented the 16game regular-season schedule in 1978.
2. Interesting (worthless?) stat of the day: San Francisco QB Jimmy Garoppolo is 7-0 as a starter in the regular season but 4-4 in preseason.
3. There continues to be plenty of buzz around new Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. But K.C.’s first-string offense played into the third quarter Saturday and scored only 10 points against the Bears, who rested most of their starters.
4. Steelers RB James Conner caught six passes Saturday after snaring zero in his rookie season. Further evidence Pittsburgh might be able to survive without no-show Le’Veon Bell?
5. Raiders RB Chris Warren, son of former Seahawks star RB Chris Warren, leads the NFL with 250 preseason rushing yards. The younger Warren was undrafted but is making a case for a spot behind Marshawn Lynch and Doug Martin.
6. Philadelphia’s first-team offense has zero points in 10 drives this preseason, though it has been missing starters such as LT Jason Peters, WR Alshon Jeffery ... and QB Carson Wentz.
7. Eagles QB Nick Foles threw two interceptions in one half Thursday. He threw three in six starts (including the playoffs) during last season’s Super Bowl run.
8. Second-year Browns DE Myles Garrett seems ready to emerge as a legit defensive player of the year candidate.
9. Garrett’s sack of Foles for a safety gave Cleveland two points. The Browns offense managed just three.
10. Adam Humphries’ 109-yard “kick six” — the Bucs receiver brought a missed 62-yard field goal attempt by Lions K Matt Prater all the way back — has been the play of the preseason so far.
11. The preseason’s best moment occurred Sunday, when Bills fans gave Bengals QB Andy Dalton a standing ovation eight months after he engineered an upset in Baltimore that vaulted Buffalo into the playoffs for the first time this century.
12. Bills rookie QB Josh Allen got his first preseason start Sunday. Buffalo didn’t score in his half of action, largely because Allen was running for his life behind suspect blocking. It seems a disservice to start Allen in Week 1 given his lack of big-game experience and a weak supporting cast that would likely force him to overcompensate.
13. Adrian Peterson, 33, needed just three practices and one preseason game (56 yards on 11 carries) to put a virtual lock on the Redskins’ starting running back job. Washed up? Pfft.
14. QB Josh McCown, who started 13 games for the Jets in 2017, threw one pass this preseason. He was going to have to get used to watching Sam Darnold sooner or later.
15. Rams QB Jared Goff hasn’t taken a snap this preseason ... so that tells you even more about preseason.
16. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers didn’t play this week but threw pregame passes to former teammate Jordy Nelson in Oakland. Meanwhile, Raiders QB Derek Carr threw to Green Bay WR Davante Adams, a teammate of Carr’s at Fresno State.
17. Coach Mike McCarthy held out Rodgers and several other key starters because he didn’t want them playing on Oakland’s infield baseball dirt, according to former Packers WR (turned NFL Network analyst) James Jones.
18. Elsewhere, the Saints scored 36 points on the Chargers’ soccer field.
19. Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. still hasn’t played in a game since breaking his ankle last season.
20. Slide, Cam ... it’s preseason. The Panthers quarterback wound up with a shiner after failing to “bring this plane in as smoothly as possible” while diving for a first down Friday.
21. Vikings RB Dalvin Cook rushed for 1 yard on two carries in his first game since suffering a torn ACL last October. Good to see the rust coming off.
22. Texans DE J.J. Watt recorded one tackle in his own return to the field after missing 24 games over the past two seasons. “I liked that I came off under my own power,” Watt said afterward when I asked about his performance.
23. On the other side of the ball, Houston’s Deshaun Watson was decleated by Rams DL Ndamukong Suh. Watson was OK, but the Texans’ O-line could be an issue in front of a young quarterback coming off an ACL tear.
24. 49ers CB Richard Sherman also returned to action Saturday as his comeback from an Achilles tear continues to progress.
25. Colts QB Andrew Luck had his best game of the preseason (8-for-10, 90 yards, TD), but questions remain about the quality of his supporting cast.
26. Assuming WR Marqise Lee’s knee injury was as bad as it looked, the Jaguars don’t have a player who caught more than 42 passes last season.
27. In more positive news, Jacksonville’s first-team defense has not allowed a preseason touchdown.
28. However, Jags CB Jalen Ramsey did get a workout Saturday from Falcons QB (and 2016 league MVP) Matt Ryan, the same man Ramsey deemed overrated in a recent “GQ” article.
29. Bears WR Kevin White, who has missed 43 of 48 regular-season games because of injury after being drafted seventh overall in 2015, scored his first NFL TD Saturday.
30. Bengals WR John Ross, the ninth overall pick in 2017, caught his first TD on Sunday after failing to register a reception in his rookie season.
31. Despite connecting on 7 of 10 passes Saturday, Ravens rookie QB Lamar Jackson has a 47.2% completion rate. Said coach John Harbaugh, “He handled himself well.”
32. Standing on the opponent’s sideline will get you a delay-of-game penalty. Thanks to Dolphins LB Kiko Alonso for the knowledge.