NFL Preseason Week 2: Takeaways from Friday's Action

There were only three preseason games on the second Friday of the 2016 exhibition season, but they contained a triple-header of juicy subplots as the night got underway.

There was the battle of surprisingly effective quarterbacks last year in Ryan Fitzpatrick of the New York Jets and Kirk Cousins of the Washington Redskins.

In Dallas, quarterback Dak Prescott stole the show in Week 1, but Friday all eyes were on veterans Tony Romo and Dez Bryant of the Cowboys and Arian Foster of the Dolphins as they returned to the field after injury-marred 2015 campaigns.

And in San Diego, the Arizona Cardinals continued to tune up against the Chargers for what they hope will be a long playoff run.

Did those storylines dominate once the action started, or did something (or someone) flip the script?

There's only one way to find out.

Make with the clicking.

Darron Lee Flying Around

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

So much for that battle of quarterbacks in the nation's capital. Kirk Cousins didn't play, and Ryan Fitzpatrick went just 4-of-9 for 35 yards.

In fact, the starters on both teams looked like groups who could use more practices and an exhibition or two before the season starts. The game was about as crisp as a wet box of cereal.

However, that doesn't mean there was nothing of note for Gang Green.

In the 2016 NFL draft, the Jets spent their first-round pick on Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee after losing Demario Davis in free agency. Neither was a bad thing.

In his preseason debut, Lee had four stops and a sack, and after he was spotted working with the first team in practice, some speculated Lee had already passed journeyman Erin Henderson on the depth chart.

As Connor Hughes of NJ.com reported, head coach Todd Bowles tried to downplay the move.

"A ton of guys are getting reps," Bowles said. "We like to mix and match people and see how they look in pads. Guys have been put first, second, third team. We're just trying different combinations."

It was Henderson who started against Washington next to the venerable David Harris, but on the second series of the game Lee entered. It didn't take long for him to look the part of the rangy, athletic linebacker the Jets hoped they were getting.

"Darron Lee is flying around," Jets beat writer Brian Costello of the New York Post tweeted. "Guy can go sideline to sideline."

In today's pass-wacky NFL, that's a skill that comes in handy. 

Matt Jones Injured

Nick Wass/Associated Press

If there's one thing NFL teams dread above all else about the preseason, it's an injury befalling a player who is being counted on to make a big contribution.

And if there's one position the Washington Redskins could not afford such an injury on offense, it was at running back.

Get where I'm going with this?

After picking up 31 yards on seven carries against the Jets, starting tailback Matt Jones was forced from the game with a shoulder injury.

Per Tyler Dragon of NFL.com, Jones returned to the sideline wearing a shoulder sling with a newly sprained AC joint in his shoulder.

The Washington Post's Dan Steinberg offered this take on the injury: "The Redskins are perfectly demonstrating today why preseason football is toxic garbage. No one is playing, and a key piece still gets hurt."

Sure enough, on a night when Cousins and DeSean Jackson sat, Washington rolled Jones out after his struggles running the ball last week.

Head coach Jay Gruden told the Post's Master Tesfatsion before the game the Redskins wanted to establish the run.

“If I recall last year, we couldn’t run the length of my arm against them," he said. "They’re very physical. They play some fronts that are very difficult to run against. So it will be a great test for us — our physicality — and see if we can get anything going.”

In their efforts to get Jones on track, the Redskins almost derailed their defense of their NFC East title.

Arian Foster's Return

Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press

Arian Foster hasn't played in a game since October. But in the lead-up to Friday's game in Dallas, Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill told Alex Butler of UPI he was eager to see what the veteran runner can do between the lines.

"He's got a lot of experience in the zone running game," Tannehill said. "Great patience. You see he's had great patience, he sees a crease and hits it. He's definitely going to help us out a lot in the zone game as well as out of the backfield. He has great hands and a good feel for the pass game."

Head coach Adam Gase, on the other hand, talked up Foster's mental approach to the game.

"He's done a great job of...he's great when we meet as an offense, as far as the skill guys...going through routes and talking about things that happen in practice," Gase said. "You can tell, when you tell him something. It's like locked in there and you don't get that same mistake again."

Now if only he could get some blocking. In Foster's first two carries for the Dolphins, he lost five yards.

Still, it was good to see him back in action, and most importantly Foster made it through the game unscathed.

Tannehill Gets It Going

Michael Ainsworth/Associated Press

In Miami's first preseason game against the New York Giants, the Dolphins' first-team offense did little.

Tannehill allowed to Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald that there was no time to waste when it came to ironing out the kinks in the Miami offense.

“It’s now or never,” Tannehill said. “It’s time to go. I think we feel that urgency. This week has been a good week for us. I think we got a lot better.”

It took some time to get going, and it came against a Dallas defense that's short-handed even when its starters are on the field, but Tannehill and the Miami offense were improved against the Cowboys.

For the evening, Tannehill was 12-of-20 for 162 yards and two touchdowns to wideout Kenny Stills in just under a half. Frankly, the numbers should have been better than that, but both Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker dropped easily catchable passes.

Now if the Dolphins could just do something about that run game.

Butch and Sundance Back in the Saddle

Ron Jenkins/Associated Press

Just like Arian Foster, Tony Romo and Dez Bryant of the Cowboys both saw their 2015 campaign cut short in a season that was an absolute nightmare for the team.

Romo told Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram he was eager to get back out there Friday after the long layoff.

“Every year you have off, the first preseason game that you play in you feel the excitement,” Romo said. “You have to get out there and play against a good pass rush like we’re going to see. I think it’ll be a great test for us.”

Romo made the most of his two series on the field, going 4-of-5 for 49 yards and leading the Cowboys to a touchdown.

For his part, Bryant did even better, making two catches for 46 yards—including a long touchdown from backup Dak Prescott.

Oh yes, we'll get to young Dak in a bit.

Patience, grasshopper.

San Diego Plays Defense! Who Knew?

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Chargers don't have No. 3 pick Joey Bosa in camp yet, but a Chargers defense that ranked 20th in the NFL a year ago shut down the Arizona Cardinals offense in Friday's nightcap.

Not only did the Chargers hold Arizona running backs Chris and David Johnson (no relation) under 10 yards apiece, but the San Diego secondary limited Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer to a 50 percent completion percentage and only 37 yards.

Well, his completion percentage was slightly higher if you count the pass Palmer completed to Chargers cornerback Brandon Flowers. That one even went for a touchdown...for San Diego.

Earlier this week, defensive coordinator John Pagano told Ricky Henne of the team's website this week's joint practices with the Redbirds were important for his squad.

“This is good for our matchups to see different guys and line up against different formations,” Pagano said. “I want to see how our guys react. I think that’s most important.”

And after getting gashed for 288 yards and three scores on the ground alone in their first preseason game, it was a performance the Bolts sorely needed.

The Mom Would Be Proud Play of the Night

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott lost his mother to cancer in 2013.

Were Peggy Prescott still with us, she would have been more than proud of her boy after his performance against the Dolphins.

She would have been absolutely beaming.

One week after becoming the talk of the NFL with a scintillating preseason debut against the Los Angeles Rams, Prescott picked up right where he left off.

That is, when I wrote "picked up where he left off," I meant "did even better."

On a night when just about everything went right for the Cowboys, including 85 yards and a score on 13 totes for running back Alfred Morris, Prescott was once again the star.

Frankly, it's getting kind of ridiculous. Preseason or no. Second team (or worse) or no. Rookies are not supposed to be able to make it look as easy as Prescott has in two games.

Friday, Prescott completed 12 of his 15 passes for 199 yards and two scores, including a 60-yard third-quarter rope that showed off his supposedly average ability to throw a football.

But it's his legs that get our play of the day, in the form of a nifty 20-yard scramble for a touchdown in the second quarter.

All hail King Dak, lord of the preseason.