PFF broke down the numbers immediately after every NFL preseason Week 2 game, including scores, rookie standouts, offensive line performances and more.
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CLV @ PHI | CAR @ NYG | CIN @ ATL | JAX @ DET | MIA @ HST | BUF @ PIT CHI @ IND | TB @ NYJ | KC @ ARZ | NE @ GB | TEN @ MIN | DEN @ SF
LV @ LAR | DAL @ SEA | NO @ LAC | BLT @ WAS
Philadelphia Eagles 18, Cleveland Browns 18
Offensive spotlight: Browns wide receiver Austin Watkins put on a show Thursday night, reeling in seven of his eight catchable targets for 139 yards, one touchdown and five first downs. While he did drop one pass, five of his receptions went for a gain of 15 or more yards, and he went a perfect 2-for-2 on his contested targets.
Defensive spotlight: Veteran linebacker Zach Cunningham played 37 snaps for the Eagles. He made his presence felt in the run game, where he produced three defensive stops, tackling the ball carrier just 1.33 yards past the line of scrimmage on average.
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New York Giants 21, Carolina Panthers 19
Offensive spotlight: Giants quarterback Daniel Jones led the team on a 75-yard touchdown drive to start the game and looked extremely comfortable on his 10 snaps. He went 8-of-9 for 69 yards and a touchdown, his lone incompletion the result of a pass breakup. He threw just 4.7 yards downfield on average but averaged 7.7 yards per attempt for the day.
Defensive spotlight: Linebacker Bobby Okereke played 21 snaps in his Giants debut, contributing four tackles — and two defensive stops — across run defense and coverage.
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Atlanta Falcons 13, Cincinnati Bengals 13
Offensive spotlight: Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder completed seven of his nine passes for 80 yards on the night, but he was also quite unlucky. His red-zone interception was the result of a deflected pass that fell kindly to a nearby defensive lineman, while he also had a pass dropped in the end zone.
Defensive spotlight: Bengals rookie cornerback D.J. Turner II was targeted three times on the night, and he allowed three catches for 45 yards and one first down. He made four tackles — and one defensive stop — and missed one tackle attempt in coverage.
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Jacksonville Jaguars 25, Detroit Lions 7
Offensive spotlight: Jaguars rookie running back Tank Bigsby once again showed why many think he can make an impact in the NFL. Seeing 13 carries in the game, Bigsby racked up 70 rushing yards — 41 of which came after contact. Fellow running back D’Ernest Johnson scored both of the team’s rushing touchdowns.
Defensive spotlight: James Houston showed out for the second week in a row, making plays throughout the game for the Lions. He was on the field late in the fourth quarter, securing the final of his four tackles for loss with three minutes left in the game and adding a sack.
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Miami Dolphins 28, Houston Texans 3
Offensive spotlight: Miami’s strong rushing performance in the preseason continued. Salvon Ahmed topped 100 yards on just 10 carries before getting another couple of carries and finishing at 99 for the day — or just 8.3 yards per attempt. Raheem Mostert also had 5.0 yards per carry, generating 4.3 of that after contact.
Defensive spotlight: With the stellar rookie performance from the likes of Sauce Gardner and Tariq Woolen last season, Derek Stingley Jr. enters his second season under some pressure to prove he was worthy of the praise he garnered at draft time. He was thrown at just once by the Dolphins despite extensive playing time, and that ball was not completed. Stingley also made a tackle in the run game.
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Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Buffalo Bills 15
Offensive spotlight: The Steelers' first-team offense was supposed to get a solid run out in this game but was on the sideline halfway through the first quarter after putting up 14 points, albeit aided by a short field. Kenny Pickett completed three of four attempts for 43 yards, including a perfect pass up the seam that was the entirety of the offense’s second scoring drive. Pickett put it perfectly on tight end Pat Freiermuth after a big Calvin Austin III return had set the offense up with a short field. The Steelers' starting offense has looked outstanding so far in the preseason.
Defensive spotlight: The Buffalo first-team defense saw a solid amount of playing time (20 snaps) but wasn’t able to slow down the Steelers' offense. Taron Johnson, Matt Milano, Tre’Davious White, Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde each saw 20 snaps, and Hyde made the most notable contribution of the group, notching a couple of defensive stops and three tackles. The Bills' secondary was banged up all last season, and they would like to see it performing better than this when healthy.
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Indianapolis Colts 24, Chicago Bears 17
Offensive spotlight: Colts wide receiver Juwann Winfree made a few key grabs, including the touchdown reception from Gardner Minshew over the outstretched fingers of Bears rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. Indianapolis signed former Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver James Washington this week, and he made a gorgeous one-handed catch down the left sideline for 42 yards on a nice ball from quarterback Sam Ehlinger.
Bears quarterback Nathan Peterman threw a dart to the back right corner of the end zone, where Daurice Fountain made a nice snag over a defender for the score. Fountain had four receptions for 59 yards and the touchdown, leading all receivers in yards.
Defensive spotlight: Colts second-year safety Trevor Denbow out of SMU had a tackle for loss and followed that up with a sack when left unblocked. Sixth-round rookie edge defender Titus Leo also added a sack and a tackle for loss.
Bears edge defender Terrell Lewis forced a fumble on a sack where he cleanly beat rookie tackle Blake Freeland and then showed good bend to sharply turn the corner and make the play.
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Kansas City Chiefs 38, Arizona Cardinals 10
Offensive spotlight: Mahomes led an explosive drive to end the first quarter, delivering strikes to Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Justyn Ross before showing some touch to feather the ball over a defender on an easy touchdown pass to Justin Watson after scrambling to his right.
For Arizona, it was good to see wide receiver Marquise Brown flash early with a 12-yard reception, showing off his shiftiness. Rookie quarterback Clayton Tune continues to show flashes, with an efficient touchdown drive in the two-minute drill to close out the first half.
Defensive spotlight: Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton produced a pass breakup to go along with a pressure and a tackle in the first half, and 2022 first-round edge defender George Karlaftis also tallied a pressure.
Cardinals linebacker-turned-edge defender Zaven Collins registered three quarterback pressures, and while linebacker-turned-safety Isaiah Simmons didn’t show up in the box score as much as he did on film, he was always near the play with good closing speed in coverage. Fellow safety Jalen Thompson tallied two defensive stops to lead all players in the first half.
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San Francisco 49ers 21, Denver Broncos 20
Offensive spotlight: Brock Purdy made his much-anticipated return following his elbow surgery this offseason. On his lone drive of the night, the second-year quarterback completed four of his five attempts for 65 yards, averaging an impressive 13 yards per attempt.
Defensive spotlight: Fred Warner reminded everyone why he’s the linebacker in football Saturday night. He’s the second-highest-graded defender from the game on first review (79.8) and had a pair of stops on just eight coverage snaps.
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Tennessee Titans 24, Minnesota Vikings 16
Offensive spotlight: Both teams rested the majority of their starters, including Derrick Henry on the Titans’ side. With Henry out, rookie third-round running back Tyjae Spears was arguably the most impressive starter on offense. After rushing for 5.3 yards per carry on six attempts last week, Spears continued to shine with 8.1 yards per carry on seven attempts in this game. Spears totaled 57 yards on the ground, with 53 of those yards coming after contact. He also added a 33-yard touchdown to open the scoring.
Defensive spotlight: The interior of the Vikings' defensive line suffered a big loss this offseason with the departure of Dalvin Tomlinson to the Cleveland Browns, so someone will need to step up and help fill the void this year. Seven-year veteran Sheldon Day didn’t play in 2022, but he has looked like a potential impact player over the past two weeks. Last week, he posted an 88.2 pass-rush grade. In Week 2, he landed a strip sack to add to his three total pressures as he started the game and played well into the third quarter.
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Las Vegas Raiders 34, Los Angeles Rams 17
Offensive spotlight: The Raiders gave us our first look at new starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo under center, and he drove the offense efficiently down the field for a touchdown score. Garoppolo threw four passes without an incompletion for 39 yards, including an 18-yard pass with pressure in his face to another new Raider, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.
The Rams gave Stetson Bennett the start at quarterback, and he played well into the third quarter as the favorite to back up Matthew Stafford in the regular season. Bennett had some ups and downs, including a pick-six near the end of the first half. He also showed off a lot of the flashes that have put him in this position to be the Rams’ primary backup, as he went 15-for-24 for 142 passing yards and ran in a four-yard touchdown himself.
Defensive spotlight: The Rams released Bobby Wagner, who played over 1,000 defensive snaps for them at linebacker in 2022, this offseason. With Ernest Jones expected to step into a much bigger role at the position in 2023, the answer as to who will start alongside him could be 2022 UDFA out of Iowa State Jake Hummel. Over the past two games, Hummel has been the starter with Jones out and has played an every-down role while Christian Rozeboom has rotated off in sub-packages. Hummel led the team in tackles and came up with a pick-six for the Rams’ lone touchdown of the first half.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13, New York Jets 6
Offensive spotlight: This game was Part 2 of the Bucs' 2023 quarterback battle, as Kyle Trask got the start instead of Baker Mayfield, who started Tampa’s first game.
In this contest, Trask got even more extended playing time after backup quarterback John Wolford left the game with a neck injury. Trask went 20-for-28 for 218 passing yards and one touchdown, playing most of the game.
The Bucs offensive line struggled throughout the first half, but Trask was able to show some promising play. With pressure on more than one occasion, he made some plays outside of structure on the run, including a nice 6-yard run where he made two defenders miss.
Defensive spotlight: The Jets defensive line has been on a tear this preseason, and that continued against the Buccaneers. The highlight player was Bryce Huff, who recorded a sack on a devastating speed rush and recorded another pressure, as well.
Huff’s 26.0% pass rush win percentage was the highest in the NFL last season. Huff is showing that number was no fluke, even if he may not repeat such a high percentage in 2023.
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New England Patriots 21, Green Bay Packers 17
Offensive spotlight: Packers wideout Romeo Doubs continued his strong offseason, catching both of his targets for 52 yards and two first downs. He was targeted on 22.2% of his routes but was targeted 25.5 yards down the field on average.
Defensive spotlight: Sophomore edge defender Kingsley Enagbare rushed the passer just eight times, but he recorded two sacks and forced a fumble.
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Seattle Seahawks 22, Dallas Cowboys 14
Offensive spotlight: Cowboys rookie running back Deuce Vaughn started the game off hot. On his first carry of the contest, he scored on an impressive 14-yard run where he made multiple defenders miss with a beautiful jump cut into a spin move, putting his electric elusiveness on display from the get-go. Unfortunately for Vaughn, it was tough sledding after that, as Dallas' offensive line struggled to create opening running lanes for the rookie running back.
Defensive spotlight: Seahawks edge defender Boye Mafe may life extremely difficult on Dallas' “starters” Saturday night, as he was constantly generating pressures in addition to getting his hands in passing lanes. Mafe finished with three pressures and a batted pass across just 14 pass-rushing snaps. Additionally, Mafe also made his presence felt against the run, posting two run stops on the evening.
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New Orleans Saints 22, Los Angeles Chargers 17
Offensive spotlight: Second-year guard Zion Johnson played 16 snaps with the starters and looked comfortable from his spot at left guard. He didn't allow a single pressure across 11 pass-blocking snaps, and he also graded well as a run-blocker.
Defensive spotlight: Chargers second-round edge defender Tuli Tuipulotu recorded one pressure across his seven pass-rush snaps and came up with a big tackle for loss against the run late in the first quarter.
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Washington Commanders 29, Baltimore Ravens 28
Offensive spotlight: Commanders quarterback Sam Howell completed 19 of his 25 pass attempts for 188 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions in his two quarters of action. He was aggressive, throwing the ball 8.5 yards down the field on average and 52.0% of attempts past the first-down marker, but he still recorded an impressive 79.2% adjusted completion percentage on the night.
Defensive spotlight: Third-year cornerback Ar'Darius Washington did his job against Washington's slot receivers. He allowed three catches from three targets, but those catches went for just 20 yards. He allowed just one first down and produced two defensive stops.
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