Preseason Action from Saturday, August 18

Chicago Bears defeated the Denver Broncos 24-23:

  • Mitchell Trubisky finished 9-of-14 with 90 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
  • Popular breakout pick Trey Burton looked good in this one; he had four receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown. Burton finished last season with five touchdowns despite operating behind Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz .
  • Jordan Howard finished with 32 rushing yards on nine carries.
  • Broncos QB Chad Kelly strengthened his case for backup duties as he finished 7-for-9 with 90 yards and a touchdown. Despite being Mr. Irrelevant in the 2017 draft, Kelly has worked himself ahead of Paxton Lynch , a first round selection by the team in 2016.
  • Rookie running back Royce Freeman scored a touchdown, but finished with only 20 yards on six attempts.

Los Angeles Chargers were winners over the Seattle Seahawks 24-14:

  • Philip Rivers was sharp, finishing 6-of-7 with 62 yards.
  • Both the Chargers 2nd string QB – Geno Smith – and 3rd string QB – Cardale Jones – played well in this one. Smith finished 6-of-8 with 85 yards and a touchdown, he also added in two carries for 14 yards. Jones completed three passes on four tries for 27 yards and had 41 rushing yards on four tries.
  • Melvin Gordon continues to be a back that doesn’t gain many yards despite high volume; he finished with 10 carries for 35 yards, but did find the end zone.
  • Mike Williams made his lone catch count, it was a very impressive 25 yard touchdown grab on what turned into a virtual jump ball.
  • Russell Wilson played longer than you would have expected for a preseason game; he completed 13-of-21 passes for 193 yards.
  • Chris Carson had nine carries for 34 yards and caught one pass for an additional six yards. A bit of a ho-hum game for Carson, but it likely did not hurt his cause towards being the team’s starting running back to open up the year.

Los Angeles Rams took down the Oakland Raiders 19-15:

  • Neither team used any of their starters in this game.
  • Sean Mannion completed 10 passes for 84 yards on 16 attempts.
  • The Rams current 4th string running back, rookie John Kelly , rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts. He could potential vault himself up to third on the depth chart, but don’t expect much more than that before the season starts.
  • EJ Manuel was 10-of-16 for 89 yards and a touchdown, outplaying his competition for backup QB duties.

Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Dallas Cowboys 21-13:

  • Andy Dalton only played briefly, but was an efficient 5-of-7 for 41 yards.
  • Joe Mixon only had four carries and he didn’t much with them, producing just eight yards on the ground. His lone reception didn’t go very far either, a one yard gain.
  • John Ross had one catch for 29 yards and also caught a two-point conversion pass from Jeff Driskel . While not an explosive game, he likely helped his cause for WR2 duties, as Tyler Boyd had two catches for only two yards.
  • Dak Prescott completed 10-of-15 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown.
  • Rookie receiver Michael Gallup had two receptions for 16 yards.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers were victorious over the Tennessee Titans 30-14:

  • The Bucs passing attack was explosive in this one, especially the starters.
  • Jameis Winston finished with 226 passing yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-18 passing. He is suspended for the first three games of the regular season, but he has looked really good through two preseason games. He is a combined 24-for-31 with 328 passing yards and those two touchdowns.
  • DeSean Jackson grabbed two balls for 73 yards with a long of 54.
  • Mike Evans had two receptions for 54 yards.
  • While the passing game was lighting it up, rookie back Ronald Jones looked lost; he finished with four carries for two yards and had zero receptions. Peyton Barber will be the lead back for the Bucs to begin the year.
  • Marcus Mariota wasn’t asked to do much, but he finished 4-of-7 for 80 yards and a score.
  • Taywan Taylor had a huge game, catching four balls for 95 yards and two touchdowns.

Houston Texans picked up a win over the San Francisco 49ers 16-13:

  • Deshaun Watson finished with five completions on eight tries with 73 yards and a touchdown.
  • Bruce Ellington slightly separated himself from Braxton Miller to be the third option for targets. He had four catches for 50 yards and a touchdown, while Miller had three catches for 40 yards. Both players will have a role in the offense, but it will take an injury to either Hopkins or Fuller for them to see more than a handful of targets each week.
  • Jimmy Garoppolo threw an interception, but looked good outside of that, finishing 10-of-12 for 136 yards and a touchdown.
  • Marquise Goodwin has shown a very strong chemistry with Jimmy G and it continued in this one as he caught three balls for 61 yards. If he can stay healthy, he could be in for a big breakout year.

 

News

Chargers safety Jaylen Watkins suffered a torn ACL and will miss the 2018 season.

George Iloka was released by the Bengals ending a six year run with the team.

The Redskins are bringing in Adrian Peterson , Jamaal Charles , and Orleans Darkwa for workouts.

The Seahawks reportedly offered the Colts a 2nd round draft pick for QB Jacoby Brissett , but were turned down.

Demaryius Thomas was held out of yesterday’s preseason game due to a wrist injury.

Browns rookie receiver Antonio Callaway is dealing with a tight groin, he was unable to participate in team drills today.

Carlos Hyde left today’s practice early with an apparent shoulder injury.