There’s no doubt we learned from Week 2. The Buffalo Bills look incredibly deep, a couple of veteran players may be on the verge of losing their rookie jobs, and unfortunately we’ve also seen some season-ending injuries. It’s fair to wonder how much we can really glean from exhibition football, and more preparation time runs ugly instead of growing gracefully. I’ve had to report on Old Takes Exposed myself before and I’m not afraid to do it again. With that said, here’s one thing I learned about each NFL team in Week 2 of the preseason. For Week 1 prep tutorials for each NFL team, click here. Down 24-3 in favor of the Ravens and nearing the end of the third quarter, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury realized he had to make a change … at the play-caller. Star quarterback Kyler Murray took over the headset and immediately engineered a 16-play, 74-yard touchdown drive down the sideline. After Arizona picked off a pass on Baltimore’s next play from scrimmage, the Cardinals scored another touchdown thanks to excellent field position. Suddenly, the Cardinals were just one touchdown short of the preseason kings. While Jarrett Guarantano couldn’t make the comeback for the Cards, it was a pretty exciting end to a preseason game. “He was fired up,” Kingsbury said of Murray the playmaker. “He was a lot more excited than he gets when he throws one. I don’t know what it’s about.” Marcus Mariota is the new starting quarterback in Atlanta and I think he is an underrated story this season. The former No. 2 overall pick showed potential during his time in Tennessee, but injuries and inconsistency opened the door for Ryan Tannehill to take over. After spending time as Derek Carr’s backup in Vegas, he’s back for another shot as a starter. The Heisman Trophy winner helped the Falcons score 10 points on the first two drives of Atlanta’s second preseason game and the quarterback connected on some deep passes as well. Mariota is in a favorable situation with his former offensive coordinator as head coach and several former Titans teammates on the roster. Check out this touchdown from Monday night:
Baltimore Ravens: Impressive quarterback play
We’d like to talk about rookie Isaiah Likely again this week, but we already used him as our primary package last week. Sorry for accurately predicting the future. This week, let’s talk about the Ravens quarterback play. I’m sure general managers around the league are interested in Tyler Huntley and it might just be a matter of time before he ends up as a starter somewhere else. Huntley completed 13 of 14 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown in Week 2, while his backup, Anthony Brown, completed 10 of 13 passes for 91 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. So collectively, the Ravens completed 23 of 27 passes for 217 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. That’s impressive and a big reason why Baltimore hasn’t lost a preseason game since 2015(!) When the Bills selected former Boise State receiver Khalil Shakir in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, CBS Sports NFL Draft expert Chris Trapasso gave the pick an “A” grade. Trapasso said he is special after the catch and can make tough grabs. Two preseason games, and he certainly looks like an “A” option. This weekend, Shakir caught all three of his targets for 59 yards — leading both teams in receiving. Last week, he caught all five of his targets for 92 yards — again leading his team and the opposition in receiving yards. Literally every target sent his way has been successful and his process as a receiver is natural. Upgrading the offensive line has been the main priority for the Panthers this season. On paper they were successful, as Carolina signed offensive guard Austin Corbett, center Bradley Bozeman and selected left tackle prospect Ikem Ekwonu with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. It’s still too early to hit the panic button, as Corbett and Bozeman didn’t suit up this week and Ekwonu is a rookie still figuring it out, but at the very least, Carolina’s offensive line depth doesn’t look good. Against the New England Patriots, PJ Walker was sacked four times and rookie Matt Corral was sacked once. Those stats don’t do it justice, though, as both quarterbacks were under pressure all night. Corral ended up suffering what is expected to be a season-ending injury. Hopefully when the Panthers starters are out there in Week 1, the line looks a lot better. But if one or two of those guys get hurt, it could completely derail the offense.
Chicago Bears: Special teams look special
The Bears had a borderline perfect outing in their 27-11 victory over the Seattle Seahawks — winning in all three facets of the game. Special teams certainly stood out, however, as the Bears outplayed the Seahawks by returning kicks and punts. Rookie Velus JOnes Jr. returned a kick for 48 yards and a punt for 31 yards, Nsimba Webster returned a kick for 58 yards, Cairo Santos converted on both of his field goal attempts and all three extra point attempts, punter Trenton Gill succeeded four of his eight punts inside the 20 and the punt coverage team even scored a touchdown. The Bears did give up an onside kick late in the fourth quarter, but overall, it was a standout performance from this unit. Klay Johnston has bounced around a bit since being selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft, but he played in seven games for the Bengals last year and even made a tackle in the Super Bowl. He led Cincy with six total tackles last week against the Cardinals, but exploded Sunday night. Against the New York Giants, Johnston totaled 20 tackles and one sack. He was around the ball all night and is clearly a competitor. The future Browns slot wideout shined in his first NFL action. Bell missed time with a foot injury, but returned and led Cleveland with 46 receiving yards on three catches. Even with Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones, I think Bell can play a role in Year 1. It’s not like he set the world on fire this weekend, but he looks like a player where YAC comes naturally to him . Bell also looks like a guy who can work the short middle of the field — running quick slats or drag routes that make life easier for a backup quarterback. I mean, that’s easy. The Cowboys took the USFL MVP, formerly of the New Jersey Generals, and it paid dividends. On Saturday night, Kavontae Turpin recorded a 98-yard punt return and then an 86-yard punt return — all before halftime. Something I didn’t know about Turpin is that this is actually his first opportunity in the NFL. He wasn’t an undrafted guy who got a chance at training camp once or twice or three times like many of the players in the USFL. Truly, a potential gem in the rough. “He’s so dynamic,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said. “You go back to his college days and clearly, in my opinion, he was the best player I saw in the USFL coming out. I’ve been so impressed with him since day one. He got here day one, he picked the offense up and jumped right in there . He’s very dynamic on special teams.”
Denver Broncos: Interesting tight end rotation
The Broncos’ 42-15 loss to the Bills is probably something we should forget right away, as not much went right for Denver. We could debate how the ground game was absolutely woeful (32 yards on 17 carries), but what stood out to me — and seemingly everyone — is that Albert Okwuegbunam was playing snaps in the fourth quarter. After the Noah Fant trade, many fans saw it as a chance for Albert O, but then the Broncos drafted Greg Dulcich out of UCLA in the third round. Albert O is the very good matchup, but what if Dulcich thrives in that role once the regular season begins? Could they coexist? I’m also interested to see how Eric Saubert and Eric Tomlinson are used moving forward as well. Tom Kennedy may be the star of the preseason. He caught eight passes for 104 yards in Week 1 and followed that up with five catches for 24 yards and two touchdowns last week. The undrafted Bryant even earned a shout-out from a legendary wide receiver. Kennedy has been with the Lions organization since 2019 and actually suited up for 12 games last year. What he has accomplished so far this season has certainly caught the eye of Dan Campbell and the rest of the coaching staff. We need more coverage on “Hard Knocks” this week. Rookie wide receiver Romeo Doubs was the first headliner to come out of Packers camp, and he shined in both of Green Bay’s preseason games. He caught three passes for 45 yards and a touchdown last week, and recorded three receptions for 24 yards and another touchdown Friday night. He hasn’t been perfect by any means and has dropped a few passes, but check out that touchdown in one-on-one coverage in the red zone. This is the kind of game that builds confidence in quarterbacks. Christian Watson is the wide receiver the Packers hope can develop into a legitimate starter, but Doubs will have a spot on that depth chart. “It’s not going to be perfect,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “There’s going to be some lessons along the way. He’s a guy who’s pretty resilient. He’s not fazed by a negative game. He just keeps playing. That’s what excites you about him. “He was able to separate, which is hard to coach…
