NFL preseason week two games

Thurs. Aug 19

Mac Jones vs Jalen Hurts: Though Philly hasn’t officially stated that Jalen Hurts will start at QB, the second-year pro is leading the team and will get more playing time in Thursday’s game to practice and show what he can do. Likewise, Mac Jones will start for the Patriots, though Cam Newton is their projected starter. Jones will use this game as a learning experience as well. Philadelphia’s WRs and New England’s CBs both need this game to fight for roster spots as well.

Fri. Aug 20

Linebacker and first round pick Jamin Davis should get a decent amount of playing time for Washington. He needs all the live practice he can get as he only started one year in college. D’ante Smith, Bengals’ fourth-round pick, dominated training camp for the Bengals. He’ll be battling for the starting spot at guard. Brandon Allen vs Taylor Heinecke: Brandon Allen will start at the QB position for the Bengals with Burrow out recovering from knee surgery. Allen had a rocky last season, so he’ll get another chance during the preseason. Meanwhile, Heinecke impressed for Washington in their preseason opener against the Patriots, throwing for 306 yards.

Kyler Murray vs Patrick Mahomes: It’s likely that Chiefs QB Mahomes will see a lot more playing time in game two against the Cardinals after only one possession against San Fransisco last week. Cardinals QB Kyler Murray was surprisingly benched last week, so it’s very likely he’ll see a lot of action this week against the Chiefs. Running Back Clyde Edwards-Helaire played well for the Chiefs last week with 21 yards on five touchdowns. The Cardinals’ top RBs are inactive, and last week saw Chris Streveler and Eno Benjamin combine for 105 yards on 15 rushes.

Sat. Aug 21

Bears QB Justin Fields will have another chance to prove he deserves the start over Andy Dalton this week, after an impressive start last week against the Dolphins. Gabriel Davis vs Jaylon Johnson: Bills’ starters won’t see much action, so this is a chance for Gabriel Davis to step up at the WR role. Jaylon Johnson, Bears defence e back, had an inconsistent rookie season, and will need to defend well against Fields to prove he can be more reliable.

Rookie QB Zach Wilson will play his second preseason game against a solid Packers defense. The QB made six of nine passes for 63 yards in his debut last week. It’s likely he’ll get even more playing time this week. Likewise, we’ll see how Packers QB Jordan Love fares against the Jets defense. He will remain the backup to Aaron Rodgers, but he will likely see more playing time this week after his impressive preseason debut.

Panthers QB Sam Darnold, who surprisingly did not start in last week’s preseason opener, will likely see more action this week against the Ravens. We will see how he does against the Ravens defense, which is likely to see a few more starters this week as well. Ravens’ RB Ty’son Williams led the preseason opener with five catches and the battle continues amongst him, Sammy Watkins, and Marquise Brown.

Rookie TE Kyle Pitts will likely start for the Falcons after sitting out the entirety of the week one preseason game. The Dolphins defense should be a challenge for the tight end. The Dolphins acquired linebacker Benardrick McKinney who is likely to play along with Jerome Baker to go up against Pitts. Tua Tagovailoa, second-year QB for the Dolphins impressed in last week’s preseason debut with calmness and accuracy. He’ll likely play even better this week with more WRs available to him.

Buccaneers players Kyle Trask (QB), Jaelon Darden (WR), and Ke’Shawn Vaughn (RB) will likely get lots of playing time on offense. It’s not likely we’ll see many of the Titans starters several players sustained injuries last week. Vrabel has said he plans to start rookie cornerbacks Caleb Farley and Elijah Molden after they sat on the sidelines last week.

Ben Roethlisberger has been confirmed to get some playing time this week, as the Steelers have already had two preseason games to practice rookies. We will also see newly-acquired linebacker Joe Schobert start for the Steelers as they try to improve on defense. Lions RB Craig Reynolds is likely to get more playing time this week with D’Andre Smith nursing a groin injury. Last week, Reynolds joined the Lions on gamely and ran for 49 yards and a touchdown against the Bills.

We could see actual starters for the Vikings this week while the Colts are still in the midst of a QB battle. This week, Sam Ehlinger will start for Indianapolis and Jacob Eason will take over in the second half. Carson Wentz is still recovering from foot surgery, so the Colts need to make a decision on who will be the backup if he isn’t well by week one.

Dallas WR Amari Cooper could suit up at least part of the game against Houston this week. He’s been out with an ankle injury, but is reportedly feeling healthy again. Coach McCarthy has made it clear he is in no rush to start Dak Prescott, which means we could see any of the backups play instead, but Prescott has made it clear he wants to play. As for the Texans, their QB Deshaun Watson will not play either, as he is facing multiple charges of sexual misconduct and is listed as fourth on the depth chart behind Tyrod Taylor, Jeff Driskel, and Davis Mills. We will likely see Davis Mills and Tyrod Taylor leading against the Cowboys this week.

The Rams won’t play any of their starters this week, so we will see the backups still in week two against the Raiders. Against Seattle, the Raiders running back Trey Ragas ran the football for 13 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown. He should get more playing time in this week to see if he can keep it up and make the 53-man roster.

Seattle RB Deejay Dallas impressed last week and will likely have a chance to keep proving himself this week. He ran for a 43-yard touchdown and looks better on pass protection as well as running between tackles than his competitors at the position. Jake Curham should start at right tackle for the Seahawks after an impressive opener. Broncos QB battle continues between Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater, but neither appears better than the other so far. It’s likely we’ll see them both again this week.

Sun. Aug 22

Browns rookie safety Richard LeCounte will probably have more opportunities to shine this week after making one sack, two tackles, and one interception. We could see newly signed free agent Brian Lewerke start at quarterback for the Giants now that Clayton Thorson is out with a concussion.

Chargers WR Josh Palmer dominated in the preseason opener with a reception, back-to-back catches, and four grabs just in the opening four minutes. We should get to see more of what Palmer can do this week against the Niners as he makes his case for the third WR option after Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Niners rookie QB Trey Lance should play again and give us the opportunity to see how he develops.

Mon. Aug 23

We should get to see more from the Jaguars rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence this week after last week’s 23-13 loss against the Cleveland Browns. We will see how Saints quarterbacks Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston will continue the back-and-forth battle at the position, as at the moment, there is no clear winner.