NFL preseason Week 2 takeaways: QB competitions, rookie overreactions and more

Week 2 of the preseason is usually the most informative week of exhibition play. For some teams, it’s the last week that players at the top of the roster actually play, and position battles start to get settled. Teams around the league also held joint practices, and performances from those practices are also part of the evaluation. The Philadelphia Eagles’ offense is a work in progress, the Cleveland Browns quarterback “battle” is winding down, and Rueben Bain Jr. might make the NFL look shortsighted. Read on as we break it all down.

Notes from the Raiders-Texans, Vikings-Ravens and Eagles-Patriots joint practices

The Las Vegas Raiders’ run defense was terrible, but the Houston Texans’ offensive line, bolstered by first-round pick Keylan Rutledge, looked physical — the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. The Texans still have some shuffling to do on the offensive line. For example, Rutledge could start at center or guard. The bar isn’t high, but this could be the best Texans line in a long time.

Running back David Montgomery, who the Texans traded for, is a massive upgrade, while Woody Marks appears to have gained some weight and could be a more physical runner this season. The effectiveness of Houston’s offensive line could have huge ramifications for the league because of how good the Texans’ defense is. If the offense can run the ball well enough to be average, this team looks like a Super Bowl contender.

I spoke with The Athletic’s Alec Lewis, who covers the Minnesota Vikings, about their joint practices with the Baltimore Ravens. Both offenses struggled, as Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Ravens head coach Jesse Minter dialed up pressure. The Ravens corners looked fantastic against the Vikings’ talented receiving corps. The Ravens corners have struggled in recent seasons. If Ravens 2024 first-round pick Nate Wiggins can take the next step in his development, and Marlon Humphrey can bounce back, it’ll allow Minter to open up the playbook. With the Los Angeles Chargers, he had to protect his corners with scheme, so it’ll be interesting to see how his defense fares if he can trust his corners to play with more aggression.

The Eagles’ running game looked good on the first day of joint practices with the New England Patriots but fell off on the second day. I spoke with a source on the Patriots staff, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they don’t have permission from the team to comment publicly. That source said that Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ passing game struggled in the joint sessions. Hurts either was late, didn’t see open targets or threw interceptions in the middle of the field.

This could become an issue because in new Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s offense, Hurts will be asked to attack the middle of the field off of play-action more than ever before in his career. It seems as if Saquon Barkley and the Eagles’ offensive line might have to carry this offense early in the season.

There are a couple of reasons athletic quarterbacks rarely throw to the middle of the field. One is that they have less practice throwing into some of those tight windows because, for most of their careers, they could just run when things got muddy. Another is that they are often a bit shorter, which makes it harder to see over the offensive line. Like Hurts, the Vikings’ Kyler Murray is being asked to perform in a new offense this season. Before a joint practice last week, Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell talked about a play in which Murray reluctantly admitted that he couldn’t see the play develop.

“It’s going to happen from time to time, depending on the angle and how the protection and rush patterns work,” he said. “That’s going to be part of it, but he also has a lot of experience understanding space based upon the defense they play, and what we’re trying to do from a standpoint of attacking voids and vacancies.”

O’Connell said he showed the Vikings quarterbacks the clip of Drew Brees talking about how he couldn’t see over the middle of the field in his Hall of Fame induction speech. Trusting your read and throwing blind at times is a big adjustment for quarterbacks who haven’t done it their whole lives. We’ll see if Hurts and Murray can adjust, but it’s also up to their coaches to put their players in position to succeed as they deal with some growing pains.

A rough outing for J.J. McCarthy

While we’re on the subject of Vikings quarterbacks, McCarthy looked awful in Saturday’s preseason game against the Ravens. He missed on several passes, including a sure touchdown to Myles Price, who had no one near him on a rub concept. The throw could have been made with a little touch because of how open Price was, but McCarthy threw the ball fast and high. Throwing with touch has been one of McCarthy’s biggest shortcomings as a pro. To make matters worse, McCarthy left the game with an unspecified injury after taking a big hit at the end of the first quarter, leaving the door open for Carson Wentz to supplant him as the backup.

Can we stop with the Sonny Styles overreactions?

Styles, the Washington Commanders’ No. 7 pick at inside linebacker, has been fine against the run, and with his athleticism in coverage, he’ll give quarterbacks fits. Some observers who don’t seem to understand linebackers’ responsibilities are posting clips of routine plays on social media and claiming that Styles has been playing poorly.

My biggest criticism of his game is that he is a bit robotic in his run fits, and he struggles to get off blocks. He’s going to play the gap that he’s responsible for, and sometimes he gets there too early rather than adjusting to where the ball is at times. He should improve upon this aspect of the game as he gains experience, but he’s been fine. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.

Watch out for the Jets’ passing game

The New York Jets’ offense might surprise people. Geno Smith was one of the biggest letdowns of last season with the Raiders, but it appears as if he will have much improved blocking with the Jets’ line, which consists of several high draft picks. Here are a couple of examples showing how Smith’s pockets looked at the top of his drop.

To go along with a talented offensive line, the Jets have weapons. Breece Hall is injured, but when he returns, he’s expected to be a dynamic, big-play back in the running and passing games. Garrett Wilson is a star who hasn’t had anyone to throw to him, and the Jets have a couple of excellent tight ends in Mason Taylor and this year’s first-round pick Kenyon Sadiq.

However, the biggest X-factor could be receiver Adonai Mitchell, who was a throw-in in the Sauce Gardner trade. Mitchell got open a few times against Steelers corner Jamel Dean, who is one of the most underrated cover corners in the league. Mitchell gets open with ease, but he can struggle to finish plays. On a 21-yard completion in Friday’s 17-0 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, he ran a crafty route and finished with a toe-tap on the sidelines. If Mitchell breaks out, the Jets’ offense could be explosive.

Rueben Bain’s revenge

Reportedly, Bain was a menace in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ joint practices with the Jets last week, in which he had three would-be sacks. In Bain’s debut Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs, he dropped back a little too much for my liking but also showed why the teams who passed on him in this year’s draft might have overthought his short arms.

On one rush, he looped inside on a defensive line game, which he’ll do a fair amount in head coach Todd Bowles’ scheme, and all of that movement will mitigate some of his length deficiencies. On his one edge rush opportunity, he got underneath Chiefs tackle Kahlil Benson, lifted him off his feet and created an instant pressure. Benson has nearly 35-inch arms, but Bain got into his body with lightning quickness. Benson went undrafted in April, but he has looked good enough in camp to get some consideration as a starter. We still need to see more from Bain, but the No. 15 pick appears to have a chance to make scouts look foolish for doubting him.

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A grim QB competition in Cleveland

Are there any true “winners” in the Browns’ quarterback competition? Coming into Week 2 of the preseason, Deshaun Watson seemed to have a lead based on his play during camp. However, Shedeur Sanders clearly outperformed Watson on Saturday against the Buffalo Bills. To be fair to Watson, there weren’t many open receivers for him to throw to, and his lone interception came on an outstanding play by Bills cornerback Jordan Dunbar, who floated into an area that not many quarterbacks would have expected him to be. Dunbar didn’t intercept the pass, but he caused it.

The issue with Sanders is that he still holds onto the ball and doesn’t throw with anticipation. Last season, he had the longest average time to throw in the league at 3.19 seconds, and his ATT in Saturday’s game was 3.12 seconds.  Several of his completions against Buffalo could have been thrown sooner, as the Browns’ offensive line dominated in pass blocking and allowed Sanders to operate from some great pockets. He has to learn to release passes before receivers break open. He also has below-average arm strength and tends to throw wobbly passes. Both of his interceptions this preseason weren’t bad decisions; they were just passes that got away from him.

Watson likely will begin the season as the starter despite his postgame comments criticizing Browns fans for booing him, which showed a serious lack of self-awareness. Regardless, the ceiling isn’t very high for either quarterback. Sanders, at least, offers the hope of development.

RB2s carving out roles for themselves

Mike Washington Jr.

Raiders coaches have complimented Washington’s work ethic as the rookie running back learns the playbook. That’s a good sign, because in addition to his willingness to learn, the fourth-round pick possesses some off-the-charts physical traits. Washington is 6-2 and 228 pounds and ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the combine. In the preseason, he’s averaging 7.9 yards per carry and has had runs of 53 and 33 yards.

He had a miscommunication with quarterback Fernando Mendoza that led to a pick-six, but preseason games are for making mistakes and learning from them. Raiders coach Klint Kubiak has said he wants to give Ashton Jeanty a Christian McCaffrey-like workload, but Washington appears to have earned some additional snaps with his big-play ability. He gets to the edge in a hurry, which is a prerequisite for an outside-zone system. (Jeanty also left Sunday’s practice with an apparent injury.)

Don’t expect this to be a Kenneth Walker III-Zach Charbonnet situation like Kubiak created in Seattle, but having another reliable back could help Jeanty stay fresh.

Kaelon Black

Black has been injured for much of the San Francisco 49ers’ training camp. He was healthy enough to play Thursday against the Chargers, though, and he showed why he’s the clear No. 2 back and why he could be productive if McCaffrey misses time. On several runs, Black pried open small slivers of space rather than waste time dancing for daylight. He reminds me of the Vikings’ Jordan Mason, who is also a bigger back with good vision. But unlike Mason, Black has more to offer in the passing game as a blocker and receiver.

Seth McGowan

The Indianapolis Colts’ running back is 6 feet and 223 pounds with a 97th percentile vertical jump and 98th percentile broad jump, which indicate explosive athletic ability. Although he only ran for 27 yards on eight carries in Saturday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons, McGowan didn’t have great blocking, and he created yards after contact. The rookie has had a strong training camp and appears to have locked up the No. 2 running back position in Indianapolis.