The NFL preseason enters its second week like a batch of French fries: You wouldn’t go out thinking that, but if you’re hungry at home, you can make yourself a nice feast. As always in August, the results of the matches don’t matter – what happens in them does. We’ve listed 5 things for you to keep an eye on for Week 2 matches, which starts this Thursday and runs until next Monday, broadcast on ESPN channels.
Click here and see when your team will play.
1) Is a Lance still a novel?
It’s not just that Trey Lance has officially lost the San Francisco 49ers’ starting job to Brock Purdy—he’s been so underperforming in practice and in the Week 1 game that the race for Purdy’s immediate reserve is still wide open, with Sam Darnold struggling. for the vacancy.
By all appearances, Kyle Shanahan’s quarterback plan will be the same as it was in Week 1 – Lance starting and playing the first half, Darnold playing the second. Time is running out: If Lance continues to perform inconsistently and show serious flaws in his game as he did last Sunday, don’t be surprised if Darnold becomes QB2 in San Francisco.
2) Will numbers lie again?
Justin Fields finished the first week of the preseason with 3 completions on 3 attempts, 129 yards and two touchdowns. These are incredible stats, of course – apart from the fact that both of his long touchdowns were screens and he did nothing but complete very short passes (in fact, frankly, the pass to DJ Moore was pretty bad).
We know the Chicago Bears’ offense is far more talented than it has been in the past two years, and we’re excited about the pieces the team has. It’s natural to expect an evolution from Fields, just as the third-year pressure is real and makes this season a make-or-break affair. Great that there were two touchdowns, but the numbers were a lie and we need to see more things to be confident.
3) Less rusty freshmen
The performances of Bryce Young, CJ Stroud and Anthony Richardson were distinct throughout the first week, but one thing was clear: there is a lot to learn before we start trusting them more.
Young fell victim to a paper offensive line that suffered against the Jets’ reserves, Richardson showed his inexperience by alternating good plays with some very bad decisions, and Stroud wasn’t exactly brilliant in decision making either. All absolutely normal for rookie quarterbacks playing in the NFL their first week – let’s see how they do with less rust.
4) Mayfield vs. trask, the return
The great truth is that this battle is already practically defined by the difference in talent between the two, however, the coaching staff wants to give both an equal chance: Mayfield was the starter in Week 1, Trask will be the starter in Week 2. Definitive titleholder has not yet been announced.
Spoiler: even if he has his flaws, Mayfield is much more of a quarterback. Expect him to be announced as the winner of the battle soon.
5) Elliott and Cook take the field?
Interesting moves took place earlier in the week, with two big-name running backs finding new teams and in the same division. Ezekiel Elliott is now a member of the New England Patriots, while Dalvin Cook joined the New York Jets. The two signed short, one-year contracts, longer than expected for veteran running backs.
See also
It’s not clear if we’ll see them participate in some snaps with their new teams, but it can be expected that they will – the immediate adaptation for running backs is easier and a few 3 or 4 carries should do well to get the rust off. After long careers with the Cowboys and Vikings, we’ll have to get used to seeing them in different jerseys.
To know more:
Previews 2023: New Orleans Saints, Carr and Guts
5 reasons to trust the Dolphins in 2023
Previews 2023: Ravens invested heavily to no longer be supporting
Saints showed positive version in the first week of preseason
Do you want to have all ProFootball content quickly on your cell phone or computer without wasting time? Access our group on WhatsApp and receive everything as soon as it goes live. Just click here!
Prefer Telegram? No problem! Access our channel here and receive all the content there!
Want an opportunity to subscribe to our site? Take advantage of R$ 9.90/month in the monthly plan, cancel whenever you want! Click here to subscribe!
2023-08-17 03:40:30
#watch #preseason #Week
