NFL preseason schedule and live updates: Jets vs Commanders, Bills vs Bears (2024)

Check out scores and coverage from Thursday and Friday’s preseason games as well as what's on tap for Saturday.

Thursday's games

Patriots 17, Panthers 3 — FINAL

• With Panthers starters sitting, some players help themselves, others don’t
• Patriots stock report

Giants 14, Lions 3 — FINAL

• Takeaways from Brian Daboll’s 2024 debut as play caller
• Lions stock report

Friday's games

Dolphins 20, Falcons 13 — FINAL

Texans 20, Steelers 12 — FINAL

Eagles 16, Ravens 13 — FINAL

Saturday's games

Jets 20, Commanders 17 — FINAL

Bears 33, Bills 6 — FINAL

Vikings 24, Raiders 23 — FINAL

Packers 23, Browns 10 — FINAL

Chiefs at Jaguars, 7 p.m. ET (NFL Network)

49ers at Titans, 7 p.m. ET

Buccaneers at Bengals, 7 p.m. ET

Seahawks at Chargers, 7:05 p.m. ET

Saints at Cardinals, 8 p.m. ET

FULL PRESEASON WEEK 1 SCHEDULE

*Jamin Davis’s transition from linebacker to playing with his hand in the dirt continued. On the second defensive series, he fought off the Jets’ left offensive tackle to help stop the running back on consecutive plays. Davis was then stoned on the third-down outside pass rush. The 2021 first-round pick later allowed himself to get moved inside as New York’s running back broke containment outside for a solid gain.

*Davis and 2022 second-round defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis played deep into the fourth quarter, a sign of their potential roster peril. It's actually possible they are playing for one spot should Washington covet an outside rusher or a run-stopper as the ninth or 10th defensive linemen.

*Second-round tight end Ben Sinnott, relatively quiet in the passing game during camp, made his biggest play of the summer. His catch-and-run catch off a Driskel pass totaled 44 yards, Washington’s longest offensive play of the day. The 247-pounder went the final 10 or so yards after contact. Sinnott is the third TE behind Zach Ertz and John Bates. It's likely offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury hasn’t shown all the ways he'll use the versatile rookie.

*Another recent first-round pick, Emmanuel Forbes, surrendered New York’s first touchdown, a vertical end zone pass from Andrew Peasley to receiver Jason Brownlee. Forbes struggled to keep up with the Tyrod Taylor-Garrett Wilson combo in the joint practice. Peasley and Brownlee are much further down the depth chart.

*Undrafted free agent QB Sam Hartman followed Daniels, Marcus Mariota and Jeff Driskel, finishing 8 of 13 for 83 yards. However, the former Notre Dame and Wake Forest standout left the game in the second half with an apparent shoulder injury.

*The lone sack allowed by the makeshift offensive line combinations occurred in Mariota’s solo drive.

*Jeremy McNichols, the most experienced of the running back reserves, entered first after Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler to the bench. Chris Rodriguez's quiet summer continued (six carries, zero yards) while UDFA Michael Wiley led Washington with 34 yards on eight carries and scored from one yard out for the Commanders’ second touchdown

* Kickers Riley Patterson and Ramiz Ahmed each attempted one field goal. Patterson’s 39-yard try hit the right post. Ahmed made hit from 40. The competition continues with the unknown front-runner on another team's roster. Washington will monitor the waiver wire.

*Olamide Zaccheaus handled punt returner duties on the first two kicks, returning the second for 19 yards. If the staff is fine with the wide receiver in that role, Washington won't need to hold a separate roster spot for a returner.

Carson Steele, the undrafted rookie fullback, has been the biggest winner among the group of players who are trying to earn one of the final spots on the Chiefs’ initial 53-man roster. Steele’s first NFL touch was a memorable one, too.

In the second quarter, Steel gained 20 rushing yards while breaking three tackles, a highlight reminiscent of former six-time Pro Bowler Mike Alstott. Each time Steele touched the ball, he gained positive yards, including a five-yard gain that featured him breaking a tackle near the line of scrimmage.

The Chiefs’ 16-play drive ended with a perfect scenario for coach Andy Reid to evaluate Steele in an ideal short-yardage situation: a fourth-and-goal snap from the Jaguars 1-yard line. Steele reached the end zone for the rushing touchdown and was congratulated by several teammates, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, when he reached the sideline.

Browns backup center Luke Wypler suffered a broken ankle in Saturday's preseason opener vs. the Packers.

Wypler will need surgery, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. The Browns already were thin on available players on the offensive line, and now they might need to move rookie guard Zak Zinter to center. Zinter has only played right guard to this point.

With Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio resting and veteran backup Michael Dunn injured, undrafted rookie Javion Cohen started in Bitonio's place at left guard Saturday. Dunn can also play center, and Wypler played some guard as a rookie but has mostly been at center this summer.

Wypler was a sixth-round pick in 2023 and was slated to take over the backup center job this season after Nick Harris went to Seattle via free agency.

MINNEAPOLIS — J.J. McCarthy's first NFL showing was as good if not better than what the Vikings would have hoped. He entered the game at the end of the first quarter and played until the third. All in all, he completed 11-of-17 passes for 188 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

More than anything, head coach Kevin O'Connell was happy with McCarthy's response after his interception. It was a 3rd-and-9 situation in the second quarter, and McCarthy bailed from the pocket, hurling a pass late in the direction of receiver Trishton Jackson. Raiders starting cornerback Jack Jones undercut the pass and snagged it. O'Connell said that McCarthy immediately knew what had happened.

McCarthy's two touchdown passes were deep shots. The first was a 45-yard strike to the left in the direction of Jackson. The second was a 33-yard toss to the right to receiver Trent Sherfield Sr. Both required quick recognition; McCarthy had no trouble. O'Connell downplayed the chance that this performance would escalate the Vikings' overall development plan, it was evident that O'Connell was impressed.

The most noteworthy part of the Chiefs’ opening drive is that coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator wanted to get receiver Marquise Brown involved as soon as possible. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed an 11-yard pass to Brown that showed the strong connection they’ve established throughout the offseason and training camp.

The lone issue was that Brown was driven to the turf awkwardly on his left shoulder while being tackled. Before the Chiefs’ drive ended with a field goal from kicker Harrison Butker, Brown left the field and entered the locker room to be further evaluated.

J.J. McCarthy's day is done for the Vikings against the Raiders. The rookie QB's line: 11/17, 188 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT.

He looked very good. People will make a big deal out of the two long touchdowns, but the two most notable plays, to me, were the plays before the TDs. A third- and fourth-down conversion. Poised in both spots.

Bears rookie defensive end Austin Booker finished with five tackles, 2.5 sacks and three QB hits in the win over the Bills, a great sign for the fifth-round pick on a team lacking in depth on the edge.

Said head coach Matt Eberflus, "He’s got a really good slip, and an ability to rush the passer with speed and not predetermine what he’s gonna do ahead of time. I think that stresses the offensive tackles out when a guy doesn’t predetermine or shuffle his feet.

He shows that speed to power and speed and spin inside, those out and out moves he likes to do."

Jordan Love's afternoon against the Browns in the preseason opener lasted three plays. The Packers' $220 million quarterback hit second-year wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks for a 65-yard touchdown on the third play of the opening drive after Wicks got a one-on-one matchup with safety Ronnie Hickman down the right side and took advantage. So much for Love's deep ball being rusty (it still may need some work based on what we've seen in practice).

Head coach Matt LaFleur said this week that he wanted the starting offense to score in one play and they almost did. Backup quarterback Sean Clifford and the backup offense played the second drive, so fans can breath a sigh of relief that Love and the ones emerged unscathed.

Rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. got the start for Atlanta as Kirk Cousins sat out. Penix played the first 20 minutes of the game, finishing 9-of-16 for 104 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions (76 passer rating). Penix’s accuracy has been up and down throughout training camp, and that trend continued Friday night against the Dolphins.

On the Falcons’ third drive, he threw a 15-yard bullet to Casey Washington that was incomplete only because Washington’s foot was out of bounds. Penix followed that up with a 41-yard completion down the right sideline to Chris Blair but then threw a short pass well over Washington’s head. Cousins isn’t scheduled to play in any of Atlanta’s preseason games so Penix likely will get two more preseason starts — Aug. 17 at Baltimore and Aug. 23 against Jacksonville.

Read more takeaways from the Falcons' preseason opener here.

The Raiders are play all of their healthy starters in their preseason opener against the Vikings today. Naturally, the biggest storyline to follow is the quarterback battle between Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell. Barring injury, each player will play one quarter. Neither player has been able to separate themselves so far — they've both struggled throughout training camp — but this provides a big opportunity to change that.

Receiver Davante Adams won't play today. His wife is expected to give birth to their son soon and he's been away from the team since Aug. 1 to be with her. That'll mean more repetitions for other receivers jockeying for positioning on the depth chart such as Jalen Guyton, Kristian Wilkerson and DJ Turner.

Saturday’s preseason action gave NFL fans their first glimpse of quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels, the Nos. 1 and 2 picks of this year’s draft, and the rookies delivered.

Read about their days here.

When Jarrett Stidham threw four touchdowns in as many attempts during a red zone period with the first-team offense Thursday, it served as an exclamation point on a strong opening three weeks of training camp. Stidham, entering his seventh NFL season, has been the Broncos’ most consistent quarterback. He has avoided mistakes. He’s run a clean operation at the line of scrimmage. He’s delivered the ball quickly and efficiently, mitigating pressure with quick decision-making.

“The second year in the system, things are coming more naturally to me,” Stidham said. “Last year I’d call a play and I’m thinking, ‘OK, so I called this. My read is here to here.’ Now, it’s more like second nature so I’m able to focus more on the defense and what they’re doing. ‘OK, is the play that we have called, is it good against this coverage, or do I need to change something in the run game?’ I’m able to focus more on what the defense is doing to us, versus on what we’re doing to them.”

Stidham needs to show that his efficiency and reliability in camp can translate into productive offense for the Broncos if he’s going to win the starting job. The comfort with the system has given him an edge in camp, but will it let him play loose enough in this critical audition to move the ball down the field, improvise on third downs and put the Broncos on the scoreboard? Even though Stidham has been the steadier quarterback in camp, Bo Nix hasn’t been far behind. The Broncos invested a first-round pick in the rookie quarterback, and in a tight competition, the desire to begin in-game development for Nix could prove to be a critical part of the Broncos’ quarterback decision.

Stidham must show his edge on the practice field can also translate into games if he wants to make his case for the job too strong to argue.

Read more here on things to watch for the Broncos' preseason opener.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Grinning last month, Louis Rees-Zammit shared just how much he wanted to experience his first full-contact hit as an NFL player. Rees-Zammit, the Welsh former rugby star who joined the Kansas City Chiefs in March, knew he was just a few days away from his first training camp practice in full pads.

“I can’t wait to see the difference,” Rees-Zammit said.

His true “welcome to the NFL” moment, when the intensity level surprised him, came the morning of July 28, which was the Chiefs’ third consecutive padded practice. Rees-Zammit’s one-on-one drill that day was one every running back in the NFL has had to endure: The blitzing linebacker or safety charging into the backfield, the lone assignment for the running back is to prevent the defender from reaching the quarterback.

Across from Rees-Zammit on the field was linebacker Cole Christiansen, who like Rees-Zammit is trying to earn one of the final spots on the Chiefs’ initial 53-man roster. With quarterback Patrick Mahomes holding the ball in the pocket, Christiansen attacked from the B gap. Upon impact, Rees-Zammit lost his leverage and found out just how badly he could lose a pass-blocking rep. Christiansen de-cleated Rees-Zammit.

“It’s very physical,” Rees-Zammit said after Wednesday’s practice. “I’ve had to learn to adapt and lower my body height. In rugby, that’s not too much of a big deal. The blows you take here are pretty big. To be honest with you, it’s a completely different sport.

“I’ve never had to pass protect before. It’s actually illegal in rugby. I have to try to pick it up as quickly as possible. I’m not going to be amazing to start with.”

Read more here.