Preseason Action from Friday, August 17

Arizona Cardinals defeated the New Orleans Saints 20-15:

  • Sam Bradford played for three offensive series and finished a perfect 6-for-6 on pass attempts for 61 yards.
  • David Johnson was also on the field for three drives and he carried the ball six times for 22 yards and a touchdown.
  • Other notable performers for Arizona were a pair of rookies in Josh Rosen and Christian Kirk . Rosen completed 10-of-16 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown, while Christian Kirk caught four balls for 49 yards and a score.
  • The only notable performance on the Saints side was Mark Ingram ; he rushed seven times for 36 yards. Ingram is suspended for the first four games of the season, but he should be ready to go after that.

Buffalo Bills defeated the Cleveland Browns 19-17:

  • Josh Allen showed flashes of what made him the 7th overall pick in this year’s draft as the rookie completed 9-of-13 passes for 60 yards and a score.
  • Nick O’Leary was a standout performer for Buffalo as he reeled in four passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. O’Leary will be the Bills number two tight end, but he has improved each year of his career thus far from 37 receiving yards in 2015, to 114 in 2016, to 322 last season. He will look to take another step forward this year and would make for interesting stream option if Charles Clay suffers an injury at any point.
  • Over on the Browns side, all three of their running backs looked fantastic. Carlos Hyde carried the ball nine times for 64 yards and a score, Nick Chubb rushed 11 times for 53 yards and a score, and lastly Duke Johnson  finished with four carries for 27 yards. In total, the three backs combined for 24 carries and 144 rushing yards (6.0 YPC). It was a nice bounce back game for Chubb who only totaled 11 yards on the ground despite 15 carries in the Browns first preseason game.
  • Baker Mayfield wasn’t as electric in this game as he was in the first one, but he still finished a solid 7-for-13 with 75 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions.

Carolina Panthers grabbed a win over the Miami Dolphins 27-20:

  • Christian McCaffrey was explosive in this game and showed the fantasy world why they shouldn’t overly worry about C.J. Anderson . CMC had five carries for 92 yards and a score, backed by a 71 yard touchdown scamper, and he also caught four balls for 28 yards.
  • For the Dolphins, Kenyan Drake continues to show why he should be the team’s lead back, as he rushed eight times for 54 yards and also caught three passes.
  • Ryan Tannehill was efficient in this one and finished with 107 passing yards on 14-of-17 passing.

New York Giants defeated the Detroit Lions 30-17:

  • The Giants were led by a pair of young backs in second year player Wayne Gallman and rookie Robert Martin.
  • Gallman rushed five times for 26 yards and a touchdown, while also catching two passes for an additional nine yards and a touchdown. Martin carried the ball seven times for 47 yards and a score. Despite the strong showings, they are still behind rookie sensation Saquon Barkley and veteran Jonathan Stewart on the Giants depth chart.
  • LeGarrette Blount rushed 11 times for 37 yards.
  • Rookie Kerryon Johnson had four carries for nine yards.
  • Ameer Abdullah had two carries for seven yards. 

Kansas City Chiefs were winners over the Atlanta Falcons 28-14:

  • Patrick Mahomes looked the part of a fantasy breakout player in this one; he was 8-of-12 passing for 138 yards and a score while also adding in two carries for 16 yards.
  • Tyreek Hill was on the same page with Mahomes, with four receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown all from his starting QB.
  • On the flip side of things, Sammy Watkins and Mahomes couldn’t find a groove. Watkins was targeted three times but failed to haul in a catch and Mahomes lone interception came on a pass intended for Watkins.
  • On the Falcons side, Matt Ryan and rookie receiver Calvin Ridley both looked good in this one. Ryan finished 5-for-7 with 90 yards and a touchdown, while Ridley caught three balls for 49 yards and a score.

Preseason Action from Today, August 18

Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14-10:

  • In a game that only had one score per quarter, the Jaguars scored with less than two minutes left to take home the victory.
  • Leonard Fournette only managed 12 yards on eight carries, but he did plunge in a one-yard score. Fournette is a master on the goal line and fantasy owners can reasonably expect 10+ touchdowns from him this year.
  • Blake Bortles threw for 159 yards on 12-of-20 attempts, but he did get picked off by Harrison Smith in the first quarter.
  • Kirk Cousins only played four series for the Vikings and he finished with just 12 passing yard on eight attempts.
  • The most productive day came from Mike Boone – currently listed at the fifth string running back for MIN – he rushed 13 times for 91 yards and a score. The Jaguars improve to 1-1 in the preseason, while the Vikings fall to 1-1 (not that records in preseason mean anything).

Position Battles to Watch Tonight

Broncos Running Back 1: Devontae Booker , Royce Freeman , De’Angelo Henderson, David Williams , and Phillip Lindsay have all taken snaps with the first team offense for Denver, who will separate themselves tonight?

Chargers Kicker: Caleb Sturgis appears to be the favorite to win the job over Roberto Aguayo , as he should be, but will nagging soreness open the door for Aguayo?

Bengals Wide Receiver 2: Can explosive second year receiver John Ross make any noise towards becoming the Bengals second option in the passing attack behind A.J. Green ?

Seahawks Running Back 1: Chris Carson is running away with lead back duties; will he put an even bigger stamp on it tonight?

Texans Wide Receiver 3: Bruce Ellington and Braxton Miller are in a battle for targets behind starters DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller, can either of them separate themselves from the other?

Injury News

AJ McCarron suffered a hairline collarbone fracture and it will likely knock him out of the running for the Bills starting QB duties. This is a big door opener for rookie Josh Allen to be the Bills starting QB week 1 as his only competition is now Nathan Peterman .

Dalvin Cook (knee) sat out the Vikings preseason game today, but it was for precautionary reasons as the team is looking to avoid unnecessary setbacks. Nothing to worry about here.

Jerick McKinnon (calf) will be held out for the remainder of the preseason.

Tyler Lockett (toe) will sit out tonight’s preseason contest, but it is not a major issue or concern.

Spencer Ware (knee) sat out last night’s preseason game as he continues to slowly work his way back from last season’s torn MCL and PCL.