NFL Preseason Week 1 Storylines

            Football fans rejoice! The NFL is back in our daily lives, and it will stay that way until February 2023. Preseason action is obviously much less entertaining than regular season games, but it’s a sign that bigger things are on the horizon for us as the regular season begins in 3 weeks. There were several interesting developments from this past week’s slate of live preseason games. Let’s take a closer look at all of the happenings from around the league in the middle of August.

Panthers QB battle decided?

            It sure seems that the Panthers have unofficially decided to hand the reigns over to Baker Mayfield as their new starting quarterback for 2022. After all, why else would Mayfield emerge as the team’s preseason game one starter after arriving to the team only three weeks ago? Head coach Matt Rhule has said all the right things to indicate that the competition is still open, but I find that hard to believe based on the team’s last-second trade for Mayfield & playing him in front of the incumbent Sam Darnold. Regardless, both Mayfield & Darnold should get to play this year as these guys are injury prone & playing behind a bad offensive line on an awful team.

Geno Smith time in Seattle

            Geno Smith has seemingly outdueled Drew Lock to become the Seahawks starting QB. He started the first preseason game & looked good in limited action, and head coach Pete Carroll said of Smith, “[he] should have been 10 for 10, you know with two drops and the ball on the sideline that should have been a completed pass too. So he did everything we asked him to…” Meanwhile, Drew Lock was slated to start the team’s second preseason game against the Bears; however, a positive COVID-19 test for the young quarterback will cause him to miss the start. Pete Carroll indicated that Geno Smith is their starter, and Lock has run out of time to catch up.

George Pickens is a baller

            The Steelers have a history of drafting stud receivers after the first round, with the likes of Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, & Diontae Johnson headlining such an impressive list. We’ll add George Pickens’ name to that list soon enough if he continues making plays like this. Georgia fans already knew that Pickens was going to be the next great NFL wide receiver, but Pickens officially put the league on notice after his impressive debut performance on Saturday.

New RB1 in Washington?

            Antonio Gibson was penciled in as the Commanders’ starting running back this year. After all, Gibson led his team with over 1,300 all-purpose yards & 10 total touchdowns last year. Sure, he missed a couple games & averaged just 4.0 yards per carry on the year, but who cares? The Commanders seem to care, as they drafted Alabama RB Brian Robinson in the third round. That’s not all, as Gibson seems to be in the coaching staff’s doghouse now after a preseason fumble, with offensive coordinator Scott Turner sharing the following message after reviewing the play, “you can’t waste a possession; if you fumble the ball that’s a waste of a possession.” This news indicates to me that we could see a changing of the guard amongst Commanders RBs.

Desmond Ridder shows moxie

            It wasn’t pretty, but Desmond Ridder got the job done in leading the Falcons to a week one preseason win over the Lions. His accuracy was a bit sporadic as he completed just 10 of 22 passes for 102 yards; however, he threw for 2 touchdowns & rushed 6 times for 59 yards as well. The play of the game occurred with Ridder facing a 4th & 9 situation with the game on the line from the Lions’ 21-yard line. He surveyed the pocket, found no one open, deftly avoided a defender while rolling to his right, & threw the game-winning touchdown while getting drilled! This was quite an impressive feat from the Falcons rookie quarterback drafted out of Cincinnati.