NFL Preseason Week 1: Takeaways from Thursday's Action

Are you ready for some football?

OK, maybe that's cliche. But it's a welcome one—because NFL action is back.

Yes, it was the first preseason game, so "choppy" is an accurate way to describe much of the action. In fact, most of that action featured players who will be lucky to stick on rosters.

But it's still football.

It was a sloppy night, but it was one that still brought with it storylines. The NFL debut of Carson Wentz with the Philadelphia Eagles. The beginning of the Mark Sanchez era with the Denver Broncos. Our first look at the Jacksonville Jaguars young defensive stars.

And Garoppolo. Gotta have some Garoppolo.

Now that first night of the 2016 preseason has come to a close, let's take a look back at the good, the bad and the ugly from the first night of game action since Super Bowl 50.

You Take the Good, You Take the Bad

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Last year, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston got off to a rocky start to his NFL career, tossing two interceptions in his NFL debut.

Winston calmed down as the season progressed, passing for over 4,000 yards and 22 scores. But turnovers remained a theme. By season's end Winston had tossed 15 picks and fumbled six times, losing two.

It was in the latter regard where Winston struggled Thursday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, turning the ball over deep in his own end after being stripped by Pro Bowl defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.

Sure, it's just the first preseason game, and Winston looked good throwing the ball for the Buccaneers. He completed seven of his nine passes for 97 yards, including a 26-yard score.

But that fumble and a similar gaffe on the opening kickoff put the Bucs in an early 14-0 hole. This isn't a Tampa team that's good enough to overcome those sorts of early mistakes.

However, the first-team Tampa defense looked good, especially up front. End Jacquies Smith and tackle Clinton McDonald both posted sacks against the Eagles' starters, and free-agent acquisition Robert Ayers was a regular visitor to the Philly backfield.

The Universe Will Punish Your Hubris

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers turned a lot of heads in the 2016 NFL draft when they traded up to select a kicker in Round 2.

The logic behind the pick seemed sound enough. After all, Roberto Aguayo of Florida State was the most accurate kicker in college football history. The next PAT or field goal of under 40 yards Aguayo missed would be the first one since he began his kicking career.

So what happened the first time Aguayo lined up for a 33-yard NFL extra point?

The very first time?

Why, he pushed it left, of course.

Piling on a young kicker for making a single mistake might seem harsh. But the reason the Buccaneers traded two picks to draft Aguayo is that he doesn't make mistakes.

Or I guess I should say didn't make mistakes.

Back from Wentz You Came

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Generally speaking, rookie quarterbacks struggle making the adjustment to the NFL game. Peyton Manning had more downs than ups during a 28-interception rookie season in which he won all of three games. Troy Aikman was 0-11 as a rookie.

The latter is in the Hall of Fame. The former will be in five years.

We still have a long way to go before anyone will start talking about Canton and Carson Wentz of the Eagles in the same breath. But he does have one thing in common with those greats.

As a rookie, he still has a long way to go.

In a development that should surprise no one, going from North Dakota State to the NFL ain't easy, even against backups. And it showed for Wentz in his NFL debut against the Buccaneers.

The No. 2 pick in this year's draft attempted 24 passes. He completed half of them for 89 yards, and slightly more than half if you count the third-quarter pass he threw to rookie Isaiah Johnson.

The problem being that Johnson is a defensive back for the Buccaneers.

There were also some nice throws, and Wentz showed off his ability to extend plays and pick up yardage with his legs.

He looked young, and he looked raw. Neither of those developments qualifies as news.

Every journey starts with a single step. Tonight Wentz took his, even if there was a stumble or two thrown in.

Tom Who?

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What makes the New England Patriots so nauseatingly successful is the way they handle adversity. When problems arise, someone is seemingly always there to pick up the slack.

With Tom Brady suspended the first four games of 2016 (he wasn't even at the stadium Thursday—excused for personal reasons) and injuries hampering offensive stars like tailback Dion Lewis and wideout Julian Edelman, there's going to be additional pressure on the Pats defense early in the season.

Pressure it appeared up for Thursday night.

The New Orleans Saints first drive was thwarted when defensive end Jabaal Sheard forced (and recovered) a Mark Ingram fumble. The second resulted in six points for the Patriots, when star linebacker Jamie Collins intercepted Garrett Grayson and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown.

With end Rob Ninkovich out indefinitely with a torn triceps, New England also showed off an interesting defensive look, lining up outside linebacker Dont'a Hightower on the edge in some passing situations.

It gets forgotten sometimes, but under his omnipresent smile and sunny personality Bill Belichick knows a thing or two about defense.

And that's a good thing, because a short-handed Patriots offense under Jimmy Garoppolo didn't do much besides check down to tight end Martellus Bennett (three catches, 33 yards).

Break Up the Jaguars!

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There's hype around the Jacksonville Jaguars this year.

No, really. There is. Seriously.

If the first quarter of Thursday's preseason opener against the New York Jets was any indication, that hype is at least somewhat justified.

The first-team offense for the Jaguars was on the field for a pair of series. On those series, quarterback Blake Bortles (6-for-7, 105 yards) and wide receiver Allen Robinson (three catches, 80 yards) appeared in mid-season form, guiding Jacksonville to a pair of scores and an early 10-0 lead.

As if that performance against a veteran Jets defense wasn't mortifying enough for Gang Green, the touchdown they surrendered came compliments of former Jets tailback Chris Ivory.

Young Jaguars defenders Myles Jack and Dante Fowler made their debuts for the team, but they didn't get a chance to make an early dent in the box score—mostly because rising young linebacker Telvin Smith made five of the team's seven first-quarter tackles.

It's the first stanza of the first preseason game of the season. Reading too much into it would be folly of the highest order.

But you can't blame long-suffering fans of the Jaguars if they were a little jacked by what they saw from the team against a Jets squad that won 10 games last year.

All Hail the Sanchize?

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OK, I'm about to say something that may sound kind of crazy.

Mark Sanchez looked good Thursday night. Really good, actually.

Except when he didn't.

In his first game action as quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Sanchez was fantastic in his first drive, leading the Broncos on a 10-play, 76-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 32-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas.

In Sanchez's second drive, he was, well, Mark Sanchez—rolling out and throwing an off-balance duck into coverage that Chicago Bears linebacker Jerrell Freeman picked off. 

Still, it was a solid night's work. The eighth-year veteran finished the night 10-of-13 for 99 yards, posting a passer rating north of 90.

From hyping the Jaguars to talking up Mark Sanchez...I'm one slide from being drug tested.

Lynch Mob

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Paxton Lynch is undoubtedly going to be the greatest quarterback in NFL history. After devastating a hapless Chicago Bears defense powerless to stop him, Lynch has all but cemented his place as the best quarterback the Broncos have ever had.

OK, now I'm definitely getting that drug test.

Just as it's ridiculous to read too much into Wentz's less than stellar game against the Buccaneers, heaping praise upon the Denver rookie after he went 6-of-7 for 74 yards is equally ill-advised.

Yes, Lynch made some quality throws. His arm has never been in question. And he showed nice poise and command in the pocket...

In the second half of a preseason game against a third-string defense.

But Twitter proclamations that Lynch will win a Super Bowl with the Broncos or that he should be starting by Week 4 say more about how long it's been since fans had a chance to overreact than they do about how ready Lynch is for a game that counts.

And they make about as much sense as my first paragraph.

Lynch looked good. But frankly, fans of the team should be rooting for him to hold a clipboard all season long. Because if he does, that probably means either Sanchez or Trevor Siemian (who also had a decent game) played well enough that the team didn't feel the need to rush the youngster.

And that the Broncos are headed back to the playoffs.

Shaking off the Hangover

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The Carolina Panthers game against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday is a perfect example of how little the things that usually matter in football do in the preseason.

The Panthers lost on the scoreboard, 22-19. Quarterback Cam Newton threw for all of 36 yards. Wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and tight end Greg Olsen combined for 18 receiving yards. Tailback Jonathan Stewart didn't even play.

And yet the night went about as well as head coach Ron Rivera could have possibly asked.

The first-team Panthers offense took the opening kickoff, methodically marched the field and kicked a field goal. Benjamin made a successful return to game action after missing all of 2015 with an ACL tear. Second-year pro Devin Funchess reeled in a touchdown catch from backup Derek Anderson.

The Panthers did exactly what they wanted to do as they try to become the first Super Bowl loser in over two decades to make it back to the game.

They got in, got their proverbial feet wet with a nice drive and got out without incident.

It ain't pretty, but in the preseason that's winning.

The Mom Would Be Proud Play of the Night

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J.D. McKissic (right) at Arkansas State

Not much of note happened in the Atlanta Falcons' 23-17 over the Washington Redskins on Thursday.

Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins hit on all five of his pass attempts, but for only 39 yards. Falcons signal-caller Matt Ryan missed on all four of his, not that it mattered on the scoreboard.

In other words, it was a preseason game. The teams got a chance to look at some young players, and no starters were seriously injured. It was a relatively good day.

For one youngster, it was a great day.

J.D. McKissic is a 5'11" rookie wide receiver from Arkansas State who the Falcons signed as an undrafted free agent. McKissic won't be challenging Julio Jones for snaps any time soon.

Still, the youngster didn't hurt his chances of making the team when he took the second-half kickoff, split the seam and raced 101 yards for a touchdown.

Take a bow, young man.

Or a flip. Whatever.