What to watch for in the final week of NFL preseason

The final week of preseason give us plenty of plot lines to keep an eye in the final tune ups for the Week 1 of the regular season. Stars will get snaps, and guys on the on the cusp of the 53 man rosters will have their make or break moment as they try to convince coaches one last time.

Lives on the line in the final week of preseason

There are plenty of quarterback competitions still to be decided, whether it be the starting job, or the back up spot there will be a lot on the line for a few gunslingers this weekend. There will be even more at stake for those that are teetering on the border of the 53 man roster. One play can determine the football future of a player and that sort of tension always makes for drama on the final day of preseason.

Green Bay Packers vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Thursday, August 25 at 8:00 ET

This would be one of the games of the regular season if in was played a few weeks down the road. Instead these two Super Bowl contenders kick off the final week of the preseason on Thursday night.

Packers coach Matt LaFluer confirmed that Aaron Rodgers and a handful of other starters won’t participate in the final game of the preseason. Instead it will be Jordan Love getting a healthy portion of snaps, as the coaches give guys looking to make the roster one last chance to impress.

Patrick Mahomes played in the Chiefs game against the Washington Commanders over the weekend. The KC gunslinger went 12/19 for 162 yards and two touchdowns in over a quarter of action. The one thing Kansas City will want to make sure of is keeping all their top players healthy. DE Carlos Dunlap, CB Rashad Fenton, Juju Smith-Schuster and Derrick Gore have all been injured in the first two preseason games.

San Francisco Niners vs. Houston Texans: Thursday, August 25 at 8:15 pm

The Packers and the Chiefs will share the spotlight with the San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans on Thursday night. Davis Mills has earned the right to be the Texans starter after surviving a brutal rookie season in which he held his head high despite the Texans getting battered week in and week out.

The showdown from NRG Stadium will be one last chance for Davis Mills to sharpen the first string unit before the season starts. So far, Mills has struggled moving the ball through the first two games. On the bright side, the Texans pass rush has looked strong to open up the preseason slate.

The Niners are in the midst of a changing of the guard as Trey Lance gets ready for his first year as the out-and-out starter in San Fran. Lance didn’t play in the game against Minnesota last week, but could get a final crash course before the start of the regular season. Kyle Shanahan has already said his starters will get playing time, but there is not much of a plan on how many snaps each player will play.

Minnesota Vikings vs. Denver Broncos: Saturday, August 29th at 9:00 p.m.

Will we finally get to see Russell Wilson under center for the Denver Broncos? The answer to that question is no after Denver confirmed their star offseason signing will sit for a third straight preseason game. The Broncos took a beating from the Buffalo Bills last week, and head coach Nathaniel Hackett will be hoping his team bounces back with a better performance before heading into the regular season. That means we will get a steady dose of Brett Rypien and Josh Johnson who are battling for the QB2 spot.

First year Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell will have his work cut out for him in the final preseason game. Kirk Cousins is the QB1. There is no competition for the starter role, but the second string position is up for grab. Kellen Mond looked better than Sean Mannion in the first game, where he had over 100, but neither shined last week when the Vikings put up just 7 points against the Niners defense. Mond threw two picks, while Mannion was 10/15 for 65 yards.

New York Giants vs. New York Jets: Sunday, August 28 at 1:00 p.m.

Uncertainty is the name of the game in the New York Rivalry coming up this weekend from the Meadowlands. Daniel Jones still hasn’t convinced the Giants that he is thier quarterback of the future, or even of the next month for that matter. Jones had a nice showing against the Bengals in the Giants last game, but he has been outperformed by either Davis Webb or Tyrod Taylor in each of the first two games. With options a plenty and time winding down, this could be one last test for the QB1 position in the eyes of head coach Brian Daboll.

The Jets are almost certain that they will be without with second year quarterback Zach Wilson for the start of the regular season, which puts the starting QB responsibilities on Joe Flacco’s shoulders. Flacco has yet to play this preseason, and will likely sit out the final game considering coach Robert Saleh has already seen one starting quarterback go down with a serious injury. That means the battle for he third string spot is up in the air as Mike White and Chris Streveler look to make the team on the last day of preseason.

Detroit Lions vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Sunday, August 28 at 4:30 p.m.

It’s pretty clear what the fans in Pittsburgh want. They have a young, rookie quarterback who is some what of a hometown hero after playing at the University of Pitt. He is seen as the face of the future, but throwing a rookie into the fire to fill Ben Roethlisberger’s place is a lot to ask. Mitch Trubisky would be the logical choice under center at least for the first few weeks of the regular season, but it’s been the rookie who has been more impressive over the last two games. Pickett has gone 19/22 and thrown three touchdowns in taste of NFL action.

The Steelers will wrap up their preseason against the Detroit Lions who have been scoring quite a lot of points, but weren’t able to stop the Colts or the Falcons. Lions coach Dan Campbell has basically handed over control of practice to his players. Lets keep an eye on Justin Jackson who had 54 yards on seven rushes last week, and will be looking to continue to pick up big chunks on the ground.