PFF broke down the numbers immediately after every NFL preseason Week 1 game, including scores, players of the game and more.
Jump to a game:
DET@NYG | CAR@NE | ATL@MIA | HOU@PIT
PHI@BAL | WAS@NYJ | CHI@BUF | LVR@MIN
GB@CLE | KC@JAX | TB@CIN | SF@TEN
SEA@LAC | NO@ARZ | DEN@IND | DAL@LAR
New England Patriots 17, Carolina Panthers 3
Patriots rookie guard Layden Robinson would have been hard to notice in this contest just from watching on TV, as he was rarely at fault for negative plays. The fourth-rounder allowed two quarterback hurries on a strong workload of 30 pass-blocking snaps and was the team's best run-blocker after the first review of the game.
The Texas A&M product didn't particularly excel in college, especially during his final two seasons, but his first taste of NFL action — 21 snaps at left guard and 27 at right guard — proved to be a glimpse of what could be an excellent future.
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New York Giants 14, Detroit Lions 3
Eric Gray put together an electric performance during his time on the field, finishing with four carries for 52 yards and two touchdowns — most of which came on an impressive 48-yard touchdown run in the second quarter — in addition to four receptions for 46 yards and a forced missed tackle.
The touchdown run may get the most attention, but Gray's receiving ability could be the key to him earning a real role in New York's offense. Given how New York deployed its running backs Thursday night, the 2023 fifth-rounder appears to be behind Singletary and Tracy on New York's depth chart, but he remains in the running for the primary backup running back gig.
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Miami Dolphins 20, Atlanta Falcons 13
Over his 21 snaps in coverage, Falcons cornerback Kevin King was able to haul in a Skylar Thompson pass for an interception near midfield, which he returned all the way to the 16-yard line, in addition to forcing a fumble that unfortunately went out of bounds before a Falcon could recover it. He also accrued a forced incompletion to round out his evening.
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Houston Texans 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 12
Out are Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky, and in is Kyle Allen. The new Steelers backup quarterback showed he belongs in the QB2 conversation, making two big-time throws and finishing a cool 17-of-23 for 193 yards against the Eagles. His late interception will drop his overall grade, but it was a strong effort nonetheless.
Allen is with his fifth team in seven seasons but could stick around in Pittsburgh as a reliable backup if he continues to excel this preseason.
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Philadelphia Eagles 16, Baltimore Ravens 13
What a showing it was for Ravens first-round pick Nate Wiggins, who played an impressive 43 snaps before departing with a shoulder injury. He faced six targets on the night and forced an astonishing four incompletions — more than the entire Eagles defense.
The injury will be the primary concern for the team as it looks to solidify the secondary depth chart heading into the regular season.
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New York Jets 20, Washington Commanders 17
Several players stood out on smaller snap counts in this game, but Jets safety Jarrick Bernard-Converse did so on a large workload.
The 2023 sixth-round pick faced six targets in coverage and let up only one catch — albeit the deep bomb from Jayden Daniels to Dyami Brown. However, he was in tight coverage and forced Brown to make a contested catch. Bernard-Converse also made a tackle for loss or no gain in the run game. While he played only four regular-season snaps in 2023, he could be in line for more work if he keeps this up.
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Chicago Bears 33, Buffalo Bills 6
Bears linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga signed with the team this offseason and wasted no time in showing he deserves a roster spot. The 2021 undrafted free agent made one tackle for loss or no gain, forced an incompletion in coverage and racked up three stops (tackles that led to an offensive failure).
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Minnesota Vikings 24, Las Vegas Raiders 23
The preseason is home to second-, third- and even fourth-string units. It's often not a true test for rookies, but Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy impressively rebounded from an early pick against the Raiders to carve up the defense later on.
The expected successor to Sam Darnold at some point this season or next, McCarthy made one big-time throw and two touchdown passes on 17 attempts. He earned 90.5% of his passing yards through the air (as opposed to after the catch) and got the ball out faster on average than Darnold or Raiders veteran Gardner Minshew.
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Green Bay Packers 23, Cleveland Browns 10
Packers edge defender Lukas Van Ness showcased the talent that made Green Bay draft him with the 13th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on Saturday. The second-year defender recorded four pressures and two more pass-rush wins for an impressive 28.4% pass-rush win rate across 14 pass-rush snaps. He also notched a stop against the run to round out his notable performance.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17, Cincinnati Bengals 14
Rookie center Graham Barton threw an intimidating block on fellow first-year man Bucky Irving‘s touchdown run. It was the highlight of an elite run-game performance from Barton across seven such snaps, as well as a clean day in pass protection on 11 snaps.
Barton played most of the first half and earned a stellar 85.2 PFF overall game grade.
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Jacksonville Jaguars 26, Kansas City Chiefs 13
The Jaguars' safety rotation is relatively wide open, and veteran safety Terrell Edmunds clearly wants to be part of it. He made a few big hits in this game, forced two fumbles and allowed just six yards in coverage to go along with two stops (tackles that led to a failure for the offense).
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Tennessee Titans 17, San Francisco 49ers 13
49ers quarterback Brandon Allen‘s box score doesn't look impressive, as he finished 7-of-13 for 98 passing yards and no touchdowns, but he actually made some impressive plays. Notably, he accumulated three big-time throws and finished with a 12.4-yard average depth of target.
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Seattle Seahawks 16, Los Angeles Chargers 3
Seahawks defensive end Derick Hall put together an impressive performance across 26 total snaps Saturday night. Hall displayed promising pass-rush talent en route to a 20% pass-rush win rate on the back of two pressures and another pass-rush win. He was also excellent against the run, notching four stops from 11 snaps against the run.
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New Orleans Saints 16, Arizona Cardinals 14
New Saints linebacker Willie Gay Jr. was about as efficient as one could be on 19 snaps. He allowed no catches across eight coverage snaps and thumped the Cardinals in run defense for two tackles for loss or no gain across 11 such snaps.
The 26-year-old couldn't have asked for a better preseason showing in new colors after moving on from the Chiefs this offseason.
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Denver Broncos 34, Indianapolis Colts 30
While the offenses took center stage in this game, Broncos third-round pick Jonah Elliss played 22 snaps — 10 in run defense, nine as a pass-rusher and three in coverage — and made a significant impact.
The Utah product picked up a game-high four quarterback pressures, including his first sack and a hit that resulted in an interception.
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Los Angeles Rams 13, Dallas Cowboys 12
While it is too early to compare him to Puka Nacua, the Rams appear to have unearthed another late-round gem at wide receiver with Jordan Whittington. The Texas product was fantastic in the first half, recording six receptions from nine targets for 74 yards, picking up four first downs for the Rams offense in the process. Whittington's ability to make contested catches (two-for-two on contested catches) and create positive gains after the catch (36 yards after the catch and one forced missed tackle) had to impress Sean McVay and the Rams coaching staff.
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