NFL Preseason: 5 Players Who Blew Us Away in Thursday Night's Games

Don McPeak-US PRESSWIRE

Thursday night's preseason schedule gave us three games and six teams—Green Bay Packers vs. Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals vs. Tennessee Titans. 

The Packers beat the Bengals, 27-13, the Ravens beat down the Jaguars, 48-17 and the Titans slipped by the Cardinals, 32-27. 

In the following slides, we run down five guys who jumped off the screen from Thursday's games.

Cedric Benson, Packers

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Not a whole lot was expected out of Benson, who signed a contract with the Packers less than two weeks prior to Thursday night's game in Cincinnati. 

Benson didn't start, but he made the most of his time on the field against his former team. 

Benson carried six times for 38 yards and caught one pass for 10, showcasing the kind of running skills that made him a three-time 1,000-yard rusher with the Bengals. For the Packers, Benson's natural talent with the football was a breathe of fresh air for a backfield that has severely lacked the last two seasons. 

Barring an injury, Benson should be the Packers starting running back when they open the regular season Sept. 9. 

For an in-depth break down of Benson's debut, click here. 

Jake Locker, Titans

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Locker wasn't perfect Thursday night against the Cardinals, but he looked like the next coming of Joe Montana compared to what Arizona's quarterbacks showed on the other side of the ball. 

While John Skelton and Kevin Kolb were turning the ball over and getting battered behind a terrible offensive line, Locker tossed two touchdown passes in his most impressive showing of the 2012 preseason. 

The first came early in the first quarter, when Locker found 2012 first-round pick Kendall Wright for a 10-yard score. Early in the second, Locker found 2011 leading receiver Nate Washington for a 28-yard touchdown. 

He had a few overthrows in-between, but Locker appears to be making the necessary strides in his second season. The Titans have a player at the quarterback position. 

Justin Blackmon, Jaguars

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The sample size is small—just two games—but the Jaguars may have found themselves a real player in receiver Justin Blackmon. 

That's to be expected of a top-10 pick, but Blackmon is showing early on that he's going to be a tough matchup in his rookie season. 

Blackmon caught four passes for 72 yards Thursday, including a 27-yarder from Blaine Gabbert. A week before, Blackmon caught his first NFL touchdown pass against the New Orleans Saints. 

There have been a fair share of early-round receiver busts recently, but Blackmon doesn't appear to be a candidate to join that list through two preseason games.  

Joe Flacco, Ravens

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It's not often that you see any quarterback attempt 36 passes in a preseason game, but that's exactly what Joe Flacco did Thursday night against the Jaguars. 

Flacco hit nine different receivers, including Torrey Smith eight times for 103 yards, on his way to a 266-yard performance. By the time Flacco came out of the game early in the third quarter, the Ravens had built a 20-3 lead. 

Flacco completed touchdown drives by delivering strikes to Anquan Boldin in the first quarter and Vonta Leach in the third.

Could Thursday be a sign that Flacco will be expected to throw the football more in 2012?

Stayed tuned. 

Tramon Williams, Packers

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A season ago, Packers cornerback Tramon Williams dealt with a lingering shoulder injury that contributed to his defense giving up more passing yards than any team in NFL history.

Williams simply wasn't the same player. 

Fast forward to Thursday night, and Williams is finally starting to look like the shutdown corner he was in 2010. 

Williams blanketed Bengals receiver A.J. Green for two quarters, allowing just one catch for three yards on six targets. On two different occasions, Williams knocked away potential touchdown connections between Andy Dalton and Green. 

If Williams can get back to being the player he was in 2010, this Packers defense has a chance to improve greatly on the disaster that was last season.