NFL Preseason Week 1: Takeaways from Friday's Action

It's that most wonderful time of the year.

Well, if you're a fourth-string wide receiver, anyway.

Week 1 of the 2015 NFL preseason is underway, played to the theme of "Send in the Scrubs."

Granted, most of the players in Friday's games are youngsters who will be lucky to make rosters, much less see regular-season playing time, but that doesn't mean we didn't learn anything from Friday's preseason slate.

So pull up a chair—class is in session. 

Atlanta Falcons 31, Tennessee Titans 24

David Goldman/Associated Press

The score was a lot closer than it would have been had Atlanta's reserves not entered early. The first quarter was all Falcons, with Atlanta racing to a 17-0 lead before the Titans made a game of it.

Atlanta Falcons

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was only on the field for one series, but man—what a series. Ryan went 6-of-6 for 86 yards on the game's opening drive, capping a 91-yard march with a 13-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Julio Jones. The Atlanta offense is going to score some points in 2015.

However, the most impressive takeaway for the Falcons on Friday was the takeaways. New head coach Dan Quinn has apparently already left his mark on an Atlanta defense that was awful a year ago. The first team generated steady pressure and forced a pair of turnovers, including a Marcus Mariota fumble that linebacker Paul Worrilow took to the house.

It's a small sample size against a bad team, but if the Atlanta defense can approach that level of play consistently in the regular season, then the Falcons may be the class of the NFC South.

Tennessee Titans

If you didn't watch the game, the stats for rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota (7-of-8, 94 yards) might appear impressive. And to Mariota's credit, the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner recovered well from a rocky start.

But it was a rocky start. Mariota failed to see Atlanta linebacker Justin Durant preparing to jump his screen attempt, which led to an interception, and on the next series Mariota put the ball on the ground. Those gaffes led to 10 Falcons points and simply can't happen in the NFL.

If Bishop Sankey wants to be the Titans' Week 1 starter at tailback, he didn't show it Friday. Sankey managed all of 15 yards on eight carries against an Atlanta defense that was porous on the ground in 2014, while rookie David Cobb (11 carries, 53 yards) fared much better against second-stringers.

Carolina Panthers 25, Buffalo Bills 24

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

It had very little to do with anything that will matter in the regular season, but there was a fantastic finish to Friday's game between the Panthers and Bills. Joe Webb connected with Brandon Wegher on a 42-yard catch and run with less than a minute left to cut Buffalo's lead to one, and Carolina converted the ensuing two-point attempt to claim the victory. 

Carolina Panthers

Cam Newton appears to be ready to start earning all that money the Panthers paid him in the offseason—sort of. Granted, Newton only completed 50 percent of his 10 passing attempts, but he did lead the Panthers on a scoring drive that culminated in a two-yard pass to top target Kelvin Benjamin.

Jonathan Stewart didn't play for the Panthers, but given the 28-year-old's injury history, Carolina should likely be prepared for the possibility of that situation in games that count. In that regard, the team didn't fare well Friday, managing only 73 rushing yards (albeit against a stout Bills defense).

The pass rush, which went from elite in 2013 to mediocre a year ago, also wasn't especially effective, netting only a pair of sacks. Yes, blitzing is relatively rare in the preseason, but the Panthers' front four struggled to get a push against Buffalo.

Buffalo Bills

All eyes for the Bills were on the three-headed quarterback battle between Matt Cassel (who started), Tyrod Taylor and EJ Manuel. None of the three played so well as to separate themselves from the others, but all three also managed to avoid falling flat.

The best performance of the trio? That would be Taylor, who went 5-of-8 for 49 yards through the air while adding another 47 yards on six carries on the ground.

That 47 rushing yards ranked second on the team. It was a much less auspicious Bills debut for running back LeSean McCoy, who gained 16 yards on six carries while adding an eight-yard reception.

Cincinnati Bengals 23, New York Giants 10

Gary Landers/Associated Press

There wasn't a whole lot to be gleaned from Friday's win by the Cincinnati Bengals over the New York Giants, at least where the Bengals offense is concerned. After all, the first team was on the field less than three minutes.

Cincinnati Bengals

Of course, it was a very effective three minutes. Andy Dalton had three completions in three attempts, including a touchdown pass to Mohamed Sanu. That was good for a 149.3 passer rating, while tailback Jeremy Hill added 15 yards on a pair of carries.

The Cincinnati defense was similarly impressive. Although the Giants left the first-team offense on the field into the second quarter, New York did very little offensively, leading Coley Harvey of ESPN.com to write the Bengals looked like a team ready for a fifth straight postseason appearance:

"

It's only one preseason game, but the Bengals have to be pleased with the offense's ability to generate a rhythm early. Defensively, the starters completely shut down Eli Manning's first-team Giants, forcing back-to-back three-and-outs before they started getting pulled on the third series. Against Cincinnati's starting and second-team defensive units combined, New York's first-team offense took 14:09 before recording a first down.

"

Now if they could only win a playoff game.

New York Giants

As we've already mentioned, it wasn't a pretty showing for the Giants' starters on either side of the ball. Eli Manning had 22 yards on 4-of-8 passing. Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams and Shane Vereen combined for 16 yards rushing. And the defense was shredded on the ground and in the air on the game's first drive.

Without end Jason Pierre-Paul, the Giants made a rather curious decision at the outset, sliding tackle Cullen Jenkins to end and fielding a "big" front four. Given the ease with which the Bengals drove the length of the field, we may not be seeing that much again.

The Giants were also bitten by the injury bug, as rookie second-round pick Landon Collins was forced from the game after hurting his knee. Per the team's Twitter feed, X-rays on the Alabama safety's knee were negative.

Jacksonville Jaguars 23, Pittsburgh Steelers 21

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

After sitting out the Hall of Fame Game, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made his 2015 debut Friday night in Jacksonville. Big Ben was sharp, but it was Blake Bortles and the Jaguars who came away with a two-point win.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Granted, it was in a game that doesn't count, but the Jaguars have to be pleased with the performance of second-year quarterback Blake Bortles, who looked solid in completing 11 of 15 passes for 118 yards.

However, the win came at a price. Tight end Julius Thomas, who the Jags signed in free agency, left after two plays with a broken hand. As Mike DiRocco of ESPN.com reported, Thomas will miss the rest of the preseason, but head coach Gus Bradley indicated he's hopeful Thomas will be ready for Week 1.

"The good news is it's quick healing," Bradley said. "The tough thing is he's going to be out probably the rest of the preseason. Hopefully, if everything works out right, he'll be back ready for the first game."

Even when the Jaguars catch a break, it's literally a break.

Pittsburgh Steelers

As I stated, Roethlisberger saw his first game action of 2015, and while the 33-year-old only attempted three passes, he made the most of them. All three were completed, including a 44-yard touchdown to speedster Martavis Bryant.

Tailback Le'Veon Bell also saw his first taste of live action this season, and both Bell and DeAngelo Williams (who will start the first two games of the season with Bell suspended) were effective running the ball. The pair combined for 46 yards on eight carries.

The Steelers offense is going to be really good in 2015.

Defensively, linebacker Ryan Shazier appears ready to put a disappointing rookie season behind him. For the second straight game the former Ohio State star was all over the field, leading the Steelers with eight total tackles.

Oakland Raiders 18, St. Louis Rams 3

Ben Margot/Associated Press

There are more than a few new faces in the Gateway City this year as the St. Louis Rams try to build an offense that looks a bit like their formidable defense. Against the Oakland Raiders on Friday night? No such luck.

Oakland Raiders

Many pundits have predicted big things for Oakland quarterback Derek Carr in 2015. That may prove to be the case given the new weapons the team placed around him, and Carr was a solid 6-of-9 passing. However, Carr was also picked off—and this Raiders team cannot afford to turn the ball over frequently. 

Things went a bit better for tailback Latavius Murray, who will assume the lead role in the Raiders backfield this season. Murray posted a very respectable 35 yards on six totes, while Trent Richardson (five carries, 18 yards) was his usual plodding self.

The biggest bright spot for the Raiders was no doubt the defense. New defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. has linebacker Khalil Mack, safety Charles Woodson and the Oakland defense looking like a unit that will keep the Raiders in a lot of games and improve on its 2014 rank of 21st in yards allowed per game.

St. Louis Rams

There isn't much to say about the Rams in this game—at least not much good. That's especially true on offense. All four Rams quarterbacks finished with fewer than 100 yards passing, and the running game also churned out under 100 yards. 

Of course, those offensive struggles could be largely blamed on an offensive front that was pushed around all night long. Whether it was running the ball or protecting the quarterback, a Rams front five that was considered possibly the team's biggest question mark entering 2015 answered exactly zero of those questions correctly.

In an NFC West filled with stout defenses, the Rams will need to get that fixed in a hurry. Otherwise, Nick Foles may soon discover just why Sam Bradford was always hurt.

Denver Broncos 22, Seattle Seahawks 20

John Froschauer/Associated Press

Friday's last game was a Super Bowl rematch—in name only. No Peyton Manning. No Marshawn Lynch. And a sloppy, mistake-filled mess of a football game.

Other than that, it was great.

Denver Broncos

Manning taking the night off because of a commercial shoot the next day (just a guess) meant plenty of action for understudy Brock Osweiler. The fourth-year pro made the most of the opportunity, completing 15 of 20 passes for 151 yards and a score.

Osweiler wasn't the only second-teamer to make the most of his playing time. Ronnie Hillman gained 66 yards on only eight carries for the Broncos, keying a Broncos ground game that rolled up 113 yards against a stingy Seattle defense.

Speaking of defense, it's only one preseason game, but the Broncos appear to be taking well to Wade Phillips' 3-4 scheme. The Broncos held the Seahawks to 89 rushing yards, piled up seven sacks and spent much of the night in the Seattle backfield.

Seattle Seahawks

Quarterback Russell Wilson played very sparingly, completing his only pass attempt of the night for 12 yards. However, the Seahawks' O-line struggled badly all night, leading Wilson to take more shots than Pete Carroll wants his franchise quarterback taking in a game that doesn't matter.

Fans of the Seahawks hoping Robert Turbin or Christine Michael would show glimpses of being the heir apparent to Lynch's lead back role were likely left disappointed. Neither back did much, although much of the blame there can (once again) be laid at the feet of the line.

The biggest bright spots for the defending NFC champs were a pair of rookies. Wide receiver Tyler Lockett brought a kickoff back 103 yards for a score, while defensive end Frank Clark was all over the place, logging a team-leading nine tackles, a sack that was nullified by a penalty and a forced fumble.