Preseason 2023 NFL Week 1: Biggest Takeaways from Friday's Games
Preseason is a chance to get confirmation of what's been seen throughout training camp. It doesn't always work that way, though.
With six games during Friday's slate and multiple organizations sitting the bulk of their starters, answers didn't become immediately evident in certain cases. However, a couple squads, specifically the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns, should be quite happy with what they saw from specific position groups.
Certain names, such as Packers quarterback Jordan Love, met expectations. Others are still finding their way [hint, hint: Tampa Bay Buccaneers].
Week 1 of the preseason is merely the first step to stack performances that lead to final decisions. The following takeaways either helped or hurt their respective franchises based on Friday's action.
Jordan Love Era Begins with a Bang for Green Bay Packers
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The Green Bay Packers once saw a seamless transition from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers. Early signs are promising when it comes to the change from Rodgers to current starter Jordan Love.
"I always felt like it was a part of the job to help those young guys out, and get them ready to play," Rodgers said in an interview with NBC's Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth during the Hall of Fame (h/t CBS Sports' Garrett Podell). "There was a great one behind me in Green Bay."
The Packers organization have long prepared for the moment when Love officially took the offensive reins. However, training camp and the preseason can be difficult with a new quarterback behind center. If Friday's performance is any indication, the Packers will be just fine with Love leading the way.
In an preseason contest, execution is key. When a squad's starters are on the field, they're asked to play efficient football for a series or two then enjoy the rest of the game from the sideline. That's exactly what Love and Co. did.
Love completed seven-of-10 passes Friday against the Cincinnati Bengals, with a beautifully thrown touchdown to Romeo Doubs. The quarterback was perfect in the red zone by connecting on all three of his passes.
Obviously, no one should go overboard after one preseason performance. Love's play wasn't perfect. He missed on a throw to tight end Luke Musgrave and wasn't able to successfully push the ball down the field.
Still, the Packers bet a lot on Love being able to eventually replace Rodgers. The time is now for the 24 year old to take onus of the team and show he can lead it every chance he gets.
So far, so good in Packer-land.
Buccaneers' QB Competition Not Any Clearer with Initial Preseason Performance
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't enter Friday's preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a serious plan to differentiate between their quarterback options.
Baker Mayfield is the presumptive favorite to claim the starting gig. However, his standing is not a given.
Prior to the contest, the Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud reported that "no decision has been reached by the higher ups. Talked personally to one Thursday and Kyle Trask has really impressed and made it a competition."
The real issue with Friday's approach is that neither quarterback was truly given an opportunity to shine. A conservative and vanilla preseason approach relied far too heavily on the run game and didn't showcase the actual quarterback competition.
Sure, Mayfield completed all but one pass, but most of his throws turned out to be check-downs, with a couple solid rollouts and one excellent touchdown toss to wide receiver Trey Palmer.
Kyle Trask was placed in a poor positions from the start. The third-year signal-caller did begin quickly with a 23-yard completion to David Moore. But a negative run followed by a failed quick pass placed Trask in a poor position and he forced a ball into coverage on 3rd-and-19 that resulted in an interception.
Protection also reached critical failure with the second unit. Even with rookie Cody Mauch still at right guard and Luke Goedeke at right tackle, Steelers rookie Nick Herbig had his way with the group and registered 1.5 sacks.
As of now, Trask is still expected to start the Buccaneers' second preseason contest.
Hopefully, Tampa Bay's new coordinator, Dave Canales, opens up the offense a little more to see which of their quarterback options is truly worthy of being the starter.
Is It Time to Be Concerned About Detroit Lions WR Jameson Williams?
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The preseason is not the time to overreact about about a blown play, especially regarding a player guaranteed to make a roster. At the same time, a franchise wants to see their early-round investment make plays and not too many mistakes.
For the Detroit Lions, the coaching staff and front office can't be overly thrilled with Jameson Williams' performance Friday against the New York Giants.
Despite suffering a torn ACL in the College Football National Championship Game, the Lions still made Williams last year's 12th overall draft pick. In fact, the organization traded up to acquire the wide receiver. He appeared in six games with one reception as a rookie.
Now 18 months removed from the knee injury, Williams should be rounding into form. A big drop certainly didn't help his cause, since they've been an issue during training camp. The Lions coaching staff wants the 22-year-old to work through the adversity by giving him as many reps as possible.
"He needs that. As he does practice. But man, and I'm telling you, as with anybody, the more reps he gets, the more time on tests, the more consecutive practices and reps he can put together, he'll just grow," Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters. "I really believe that. And I do believe he wants it. I do believe he wants to get better. ... So, he'll grind through this and let's see where we can go with it."
True to the coach's word, Williams played well into Friday's third quarter and even snagged an impressive one-handed two-point conversion.
But consistency will be important as the preseason and regular season progresses. Williams must show he's a dependable downfield threat to truly open up the Lions offense. In time, he should become that player. Right now, he needs more refinement.
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De'Von Achane Presents Potential as Big Contributor in Dolphins Offense
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The Miami Dolphins have long been attached to free agent running back Dalvin Cook, though actual interest in the four-time Pro Bowl ball-carrier hasn't reached the levels of speculation.
Instead, the Dolphins may be well-served moving ahead with what the team already has in its backfield. De'Von Achane should play a significant role in the team's offensive plans, even if he's not the featured back.
With the Dolphins' decision not to play most of their starters Friday against the Atlanta Falcons, Achane became the featured attraction.
This year's 84th overall pick touched the ball 13 times for 104 total yards, including an impressive 38-yard kickoff return.
Overall, the numbers look solid. In the run game, Achane is a work-in-progress. He's adjusting to the outside zone scheme and playing behind an inferior group of blockers. As such, he averaged only 2.5 yards per carry. However, the rookie back was more effective in the passing game with four receptions for 43 yards.
When factoring what the speedster can do in all phases, he's a potential dynamic threat as a runner, receiver or returner.
With Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson and Myles Gaskin already on the roster, Achane doesn't need to be a workhorse. The 188-pound back isn't built for that approach anyhow. He's a change-of-pace option with 4.32-second 40-yard-dash speed. The rookie can be featured in multiple different manners, and Friday's performance became the first glimpse of how the Dolphins should deploy him.
Cleveland Browns Defense Looks Ferocious After New Additions
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The Cleveland Browns once took an improper approach to building their defense under general manager Andrew Berry. The organization course-corrected this offseason, with multiple additions to make Cleveland's defensive front one of the league's scarier groups. It showed Friday against the Washington Commanders.
Myles Garrett had already been a perennial candidate for the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year. Yet the front office never placed an emphasis on the defensive interior and spent minimal on the group. As a result, the Browns were regularly soft at defensive tackle, which affected Garrett's and the unit's overall effectiveness.
Furthermore, the previous investment in Jadeveon Clowney never provided the fearsome duo the team expected from their bookend edge-defenders.
This offseason, the Browns signed defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson to a four-year, $57 million free-agent contract. His presence immediately upgrades Cleveland at the point of attack. Berry also inked Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and traded for Za'Darius Smith to bolster the pass-rush. A nice rotation should from alongside Garrett.
The Commanders immediately felt the upgrade. During Washington's first drive, it got called for holding then surrendered a sack to find itself in a 3rd-and-30 situation. The following drive ended in a safety when Smith forced a holding call in the end zone.
Shelby Harris hasn't even entered the lineup after signing with the team two days earlier. With yet another quality veteran addition, the Browns' defensive front should be one of the very best at attacking opposing quarterbacks, especially in Jim Schwartz's scheme.
Uninspired Start to Sean Payton's Tenure as Denver Broncos Head Coach
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The Denver Broncos offense ended on a good note Fright night with a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Russell Wilson to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. The play was desperately needed for Sean Payton's debut as the franchise's head coach not to be completely ruined.
How the starting units perform is what matters most during preseason contests. The Broncos looked lethargic, mistake-prone and not much of an upgrade over last year's group through the initial 19 offensive snaps.
Up until that point, head coach Sean Payton had to be significantly disappointed. Tipped passes, consistent pressure applied by the Arizona Cardinals, a massive drop by Jeudy on the preceding third-down play and a couple missed field goals made the Broncos' performance feel like more of the same.
Clearly, Payton wanted to send a message having his starters play well into the second quarter, with four drives under their collective belt.
"Everything I heard about last season, we're doing the opposite," Payton told USA Today's Jarrett Bell.
The coach implied and outright stated in certain instances that the Broncos organization and previous staff were incompetent. Things would be different under his watch. So, Payton and Co. will be under a microscope all year since the coach himself stated he expects his Broncos to be a playoff team.
Instead, issues presented themselves again. Maybe a smooth transition shouldn't have been expected. At the same time, Payton's previous comments and attitude bring extra scrutiny regarding his team, how it's run and the overall performance, even in the preseason.
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