NFL preseason 2018: What you missed from Week 2

Week 2 of the NFL preseason concluded with a Monday Night Football game between the Ravens and Colts. Here’s a quick look at everything that happened this week. And be sure to check out our list of winners and losers.

Baltimore Ravens 20, Indianapolis Colts 19

Lamar Jackson finally got going in the passing game: Lamar Jackson struggled throwing the ball up until the two minute drill to close the first half. On his first drive after the break, he threw a strike on the move for 6.

Jordan Wilkins and Chester Rogers had the most preseason touchdown of all time: Just watch, this is madness.

John Brown came back to life: John Brown has struggled with injuries over the past few years, but it looks like he’s making the most of his time with the Ravens. This was a great snag by Brown.

Adam Vinatieri hit a field goal almost as long as his age: Adam Vinatieri hit a 57 yard field goal, which is impressive considering he’ll turn 46 during the season.

Andrew, please: Andrew Luck had an interception in the redzone in his return to Lucas Oil Stadium. It was a reckless, poor decision for him. Hopefully these decisions clean themselves up as he ingratiates himself back into the NFL.

Recap for Ravens fans: Baltimore Beatdown

Recap for Colts fans: Stampede Blue

Los Angeles Chargers 24, Seattle Seahawks 14

Oh hi Mike Williams: The Chargers’ 2017 first-round pick had all of 11 receptions during his rookie season while he dealt with injuries for much of the year. If that meant you forgot about him, he’s making people take notice.

The San Diego ... I mean Los Angeles Chargers: It’s preseason for the officials too and Tony Corrente still hasn’t quite nailed the Chargers’ relocation.

Oops.

The Chargers bullied the Seahawks defense early: For much of 2017, Seattle was up and down against opposing running games. After plenty of changes to the defense during the 2018 offseason, there’s concern it could be worse this season and it certainly looked like a problem early against Los Angeles.

The Chargers opened the game with a nine-play, 70-yard drive with little resistance, capped by a rushing touchdown for Melvin Gordon:

Recap for Seahawks fans: Field Gulls

Recap for Chargers fans: Bolts From The Blue

Chicago Bears 24, Denver Broncos 23

Chad Kelly is dominating the backup QB competition: It’s becoming pretty clear that Kelly belongs a spot ahead of Paxton Lynch on the depth chart. Kelly finished the second preseason game of the year with seven completions on nine attempts for 90 yards and also threw this beautiful touchdown pass to rookie Courtland Sutton.

Lynch’s days in Denver appear numbered.

Recap for Bears fans: Windy City Gridiron

Recap for Broncos fans: Mile High Report

Houston Texans 16, San Francisco 49ers 13

Deshaun Watson byke: Just like last week, Watson didn’t play much. He again played just one series, but this time around he led the Texans down the field and gave every reason to fire up the hype train again.

Watson exited the game with five completions on eight attempts for 73 yards and a touchdown.

Jimmy Garoppolo still looks reeeeal good: The Garoppolo skeptics still don’t have much evidence at all that he’s going to be anything less than great. In his second preseason game he completed 10 of his 12 passes for 136 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

As for that interception, it was a pass that bounced off the hands of rookie Dante Pettis into the arms of a Texans defender. Garoppolo looks like the real deal, folks, even if this was kinda the first game he’s ever lost as an NFL starter.

Recap for 49ers fans: Niners Nation

Recap for Texans fans: Battle Red Blog

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30, Tennessee Titans 14

Jameis shined as QB No. 2: Ryan Fitzpatrick got the start for the Buccaneers, which makes sense because he’ll be the Week 1 starter while Jameis Winston serves a suspension. But Fitzpatrick went just five of 13 for 46 yards in his time in the game. When Winston took over, he shined.

He connected with DeSean Jackson on a 54-yard bomb downfield:

Then he hit Justin Watson with a perfect pass for a 21-yard touchdown:

By halftime, Winston had over 200 passing yards with two touchdowns.

Recap for Buccaneers fans: Bucs Nation

Recap for Titans fans: Music City Miracles

Cincinnati Bengals 21, Dallas Cowboys 13

A costly injury: We’ll see just how costly the knee injury for Zack Martin ends up being, but right now the Cowboys are holding their breath after the star offensive lineman went down.

Martin signed a six-year, $84 million extension a couple months ago that made him the highest-paid guard in the league. Any kind of significant injury would be devastating.

But before anyone panics, Martin was spotted in the second half standing and watching the game on the sideline and chatting with his teammates. He’ll undergo an MRI on Monday.

Settling a score: Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams didn’t score all of last season despite playing all 16 games, including 14 starts. But Williams was able to find the end zone on Saturday, catching a touchdown pass from Dak Prescott, who was 10-of-15 for 86 yards in the first half.

Recap for Bengals fans: Cincy Jungle

Recap for Cowboys fans: Blogging the Boys

Los Angeles Rams 19, Oakland Raiders 15

Jon Gruden knows preseason: Everyone knows the first goal of preseason is to not get injured. It’s more important than winning. Gruden may have been away from coaching for a decade, but he didn’t forget that and made sure that his team would get off the field as soon as possible.

Not too many starters at the skill positions on offense played, but one first-half standout was running back John Kelly, the Rams’ sixth-round pick out of Tennessee. The former Volunteer has a lot of the same qualities as fellow Vol Alvin Kamara, and he showed it in scoring the first touchdown of the game.

Sean Mannion was 10-of-16 for 84 yards for the Rams, but upon further review...

Recap for Raiders fans: Silver and Black Pride

Recap for Rams fans: Turf Show Times

Jacksonville Jaguars 14, Minnesota Vikings 10

Clearly three pumps: Yannick Ngakoue sacked Kirk Cousins, but it turned into a 15-yard gain for the Vikings because a third pump will draw a flag no matter what:

The flags were out in full force Saturday afternoon — sometimes, in appallingly bad ways:

Defense rules the day: It wasn’t a great day for quarterbacks, which shouldn’t be a surprise with these two secondaries. Cousins went 3 of 8 for just 12 yards. Blake Bortles threw for 159 yards, but he was also picked off. The Vikings’ pass rush sacked Bortles and backup Cody Kessler six times so far. On Minnesota’s final possession of the game, the Jags secured their victory by sacking Kyle Sloter on fourth down.

Recap for Jaguars fans: Big Cat Country

Recap for Vikings fans: Daily Norseman

Kansas City Chiefs 28, Atlanta Falcons 14

The Falcons starters played well, but their backups got throttled by the Chiefs backups. Patrick Mahomes had a mixed game.

Calvin Ridley scored his first touchdown: Ridley bounced back this week with a great game against the Chiefs, showing off his first-round skills.

The Falcons offense is picking up steam: Atlanta’s offense needed to show some life after being shut out in week one against the Jets and they showed up in a big way versus Kansas City. Austin Hooper made a great dive over Steven Nelson for a touchdown.

Patrick Mahomes struggled at times: Mahomes had a couple nice throws to Travis Kelce on out-breaking routes towards the sideline, but overall his day was up and down. He almost threw an interception in the end zone before the Chiefs settled for three points, and he threw a horrific interception right into the hands of Falcons safety Damontae Kazee.

Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill connect: Mahomes finally settled in and launched one to Tyreek Hill for a 69-yard touchdown. Mahomes got some serious hang time on this.

Recap for Chiefs fans: Arrowhead Pride

Recap for Falcons fans: The Falcoholic

New York Giants 30, Detroit Lions 17

Aerial assault: Giants quarterback Davis Webb threw for 140 yards and a touchdown in the first half, highlighted by this 40-yard bomb to Russell Shepard.

Kyle Lauletta made magic happen: No commentary, just watch this work of art.

Recap for Giants fans: Big Blue View

Recap for Lions fans: Pride of Detroit

Carolina Panthers 27, Miami Dolphins 20

Curtis Samuel had an acrobatic catch: The former second-round pick came down with a difficult, contested catch for a big gain.

Christian McCaffrey had a big run: Big plays were had to come by for McCaffrey last season, but he broke a run loose for a 71-yard run against the Dolphins.

Recap for Dolphins fans: The Phinsider

Recap for Panthers fans: Cat Scratch Reader

Buffalo Bills 19, Cleveland Browns 17

AJ McCaron had a chance at the starting quarterback role in Buffalo, but suffered a broken collarbone Friday night after a sack by Myles Garrett on the second drive of the game.

Baker Mayfield threw a perfect fade for a touchdown: This type of precision with the football is why he was the first pick in the draft.

Mayfield converted a third down with nifty pocket movement: Mayfield stayed calm as the pocket collapsed a bit, scanned the field, made room for himself, and fired a dart to Devon Cajuste for the first down.

Nick Chubb is holding strong: Chubb has been running effectively for the Browns, showing elusiveness and power throughout the night.

Carlos Hyde pulled his best Marshawn Lynch impression: Hyde stiff-armed a poor Bills defender to the ground. He had a short touchdown run later in the game.

Josh Allen had a nice throw for six: Good Josh Allen is a really, really fun player to watch. He evaded a rusher in the backfield before firing the ball in for six.

Recap for Bills fans: Buffalo Rumblings

Recap for Browns fans: Dawgs By Nature

Arizona Cardinals 20, New Orleans Saints 15

Comeback trail: David Johnson continues to work his way back, scoring here from 9 yards out early in the second quarter for the first score of the game.

Coming up Rosen: First-round pick Josh Rosen threw for 107 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinals, completing 10 passes. Here is visual proof:

Recap for Cardinals fans: Revenge of the Birds

Recap for Saints fans: Canal Street Chronicles

New England Patriots 37, Philadelphia Eagles 20

The Patriots might have had a little bit of revenge on their minds. They came out firing on all cylinders against the defending Super Bowl champs.

41-year-old Tom Brady is still Tom Brady: Brady, who was 5-for-5 on their first drive, capped it off with a 4-yard touchdown strike to Chris Hogan:

It wasn’t all good news for the Patriots, though. Rookie first-round tackle Isaiah Wynn left with an ankle injury.

Nick Foles had a forgettable night: Foles also visited the medical tent after he was hit by Adrian Clayborn and stripped of the ball. Ja’Whaun Bentley picked it up and took it 54 yards to put the Pats up 17-0:

After that, Foles’ night was done. The Eagles announced that he was dealing with a shoulder strain.

The Eagles got on the board soon after, with Nate Sudfeld at quarterback:

Sudfeld had a pretty good night overall, throwing for 312 yards and three touchdowns, while getting picked once.

The Patriots’ two-minute drill is alive and well: With two minutes left before the half, Brady did what he does: led the Patriots down the field for another score as if it required no effort whatsoever. Brady played the entire half and went 19 of 26 for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Unlike in the Super Bowl, he wasn’t sacked either.

RIP, ankles: With Brian Hoyer at QB, Cordarrelle Patterson got in the end zone for the first time with his new team — he also broke some ankles along the way:

Recap for Eagles fans: Bleeding Green Nation

Recap for Patriots fans: Pats Pulpit

Green Bay Packers 51, Pittsburgh Steelers 34

Not a great start for Steelers QB Mason Rudolph. His first throw of the game was a pick six. For Packers fans, it had to be refreshing to see Tramon Williams looking like the player he was when these two teams met in the Super Bowl after the 2010 season. Williams is 35.

Aaron Rodgers to Graham, easy peasy. Get used to hearing that. Rodgers found Green Bay’s big ticket tight end acquisition for an 8-yard red zone touchdown to cap off their first drive.

No Le’Veon Bell, no problem. Well, that’s getting a little far ahead of things, but the Steelers have to be pleased with running back James Conner’s work on a three-play touchdown drive in the first quarter. The Steelers fed it to Connor on all three plays, and he picked up 58 yards and the score.

Conner’s a second year player who beat cancer to get here, not to mention he’s pretty good at this whole football thing.

Preseason or not, a 60-yard field goal is impressive. Mason Crosby booted one in the second quarter to give the Packers a 27-14 lead.

Washington, TD: The Packers didn’t slow down offensively, but they also didn’t slow down James Washington:

The Steelers rookie scored two touchdowns and made a few nifty grabs for a team-high 114 yards receiving

Recap for Steelers fans: Behind the Steel Curtain

Recap for Packers fans: Acme Packing Company

Washington 15, New York Jets 13

Running back woes: Washington engineered a pair of field goals in their first two drives, the first of which led by Alex Smith behind center. The second scoring drive was highlighted by Samaje Perine ripping off a 30-yard run, but left with an injured ankle after the play. Byron Marshall also left with a lower leg injury, leaving Washington’s running back depth chart depleted. But Washington still had runs of 33, 30 and 17 yards on the night.

Dead red zone: These teams combined for five trips inside the 20-yard line in the first half, two trips each for Washington and the Jets. Those red zone sojourns produced a grand total of 12 points, nine by Washington. The one trip that failed to produce points was ended when Sam Darnold on 4th-and-1 saw his pass tipped for an interception.

Despite the pick, Darnold was relatively effective, completing 8-of-11 passes for 62 yards. But a pair of third-down sacks killed early drives, giving New York a total of three points in the first 30 minutes.

Colt McCoy was 9-of-12 for 113 yards on the opening half. He completed a pass into the end zone to Cam Sims, but the potential touchdown was called back due to illegal formation.

The comeback continues: Teddy Bridgewater looked very good for a second consecutive week, completing 10-of-15 passes for 127 yards in the second half. He led the Jets to the game’s first touchdown early in the fourth quarter, thanks in part to his wide receiver catching this 16-yard strike at its Peake:

Recap for Jets fans: Gang Green Nation

Recap for Washington fans: Hogs Haven

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Pregame

The second week of NFL preseason will kick off on Thursday evening with three games scheduled.

The Philadelphia Eagles will take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII. The Patriots won their first preseason game against Washington last week.

Washington will host rookie quarterback Sam Darnold and the New York Jets. Darnold threw for 96 yards and a touchdown on 18 pass attempts in the Jets’ victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

Baker Mayfield will be in action on Friday when the Cleveland Browns face the Buffalo Bills and their first round quarterback Josh Allen, who was recently criticized by Jacksonville Jaguars’ cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

The Baltimore Ravens will wrap up Week 2 action on Monday night against the Indianapolis Colts.

NFL Preseason Week 2 Schedule:

All times listed are Eastern.

Thursday

Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots, 7:30 p.m.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers, 8 p.m.

New York Jets vs. Washington, 8 p.m., ESPN

Friday

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Atlanta Falcons, 7 p.m.

New York Giants vs. Detroit Lions, 7 p.m.

Miami Dolphins vs. Carolina Panthers, 7:30 p.m.

Buffalo Bills vs. Cleveland Browns, 7:30 p.m., NFL Network

Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints, 8 p.m.

Saturday

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m., NFL Network

Oakland Raiders vs. Los Angeles Rams, 4 p.m., NFL Network

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Dallas Cowboys, 7 p.m., NFL Network

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Tennessee Titans, 8 p.m.

San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans, 8 p.m.

Chicago Bears vs. Denver Broncos, 9:05 p.m.

Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Chargers, 10 p.m., NFL Network

Monday

Baltimore Ravens vs. Indianapolis Colts, 8 p.m., ESPN