NFL Preseason Week 4: Takeaways from Thursday's Action

This is it, kids.

On Thursday night, the final 15 games of the NFL preseason took place. For the most part, the stories that will impact opening night had already been written—much to the chagrin of fans in Dallas and Minneapolis.

However, that doesn't mean there was nothing to see Thursday night. It provided a last chance for players thrust into the spotlight to tune up in game action ahead of Week 1. A final opportunity for players who have been dinged up to knock the rust off.

And one final game for players fighting for roster spots to impress coaching staffs and secure an NFL roster spot.

With that in mind, here's a look at the takeaways from the final night of the last week of the 2016 NFL preseason.

Because next week, it's finally time for the games to count.

Bill Belichick and the Art of Living Dangerously

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Bill Belichick has seen it all. He's been on both the losing and winning ends of two of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history.

No head coach in the league's history has appeared in the Super Bowl more times.

Apparently, at this point, Belichick also wants to add "bending reality to his will" to his resume.

Because on Thursday night, Belichick decided to tempt fate.

With Jimmy Garoppolo, who will start the season's first four games for the New England Patriots, sitting out the finale against the New York Giants, Belichick decided it would be a spiffy idea to trot out his 39-year-old, four-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback to take some shots.

Because why not? It isn't like starting quarterbacks for NFL teams ever get injured in these things.

Cue fans of the Dallas Cowboys sobbing uncontrollably while rubbing their Dak Prescott bobbleheads and muttering, "It will be OK. It will be OK" over and over again.

Luckily for the Patriots, it was. Tom Brady, who played the entire first half, led the Pats to a touchdown while completing 16 of 26 passes for 166 yards.

Brady also took several hits. This was a move that could have been the biggest tactical error since Pepsi decided clear cola was a good idea.

Hammering Henry

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Most players who played significant snaps in Thursday's games won't be on NFL rosters a week from now. Even fewer are being counted on for a significant contribution in 2016.

Not so for rookie Derrick Henry, who will serve as DeMarco Murray's primary backup at running back for the Tennessee Titans in 2016.

On Aug. 22, Henry told Jim Wyatt of the team's website he was looking to get as many reps as possible before the season starts, with working on his agility a primary focus.

"I feel like I have to go back to practice and work on my quickness," Henry said. "It’s going to happen because I am a tall running back, so guys tend to target my lower body. I just have to make them miss, or run them over. I have to do anything to make sure I fall forward."

The Titans obliged Henry on Thursday against the Miami Dolphins. The youngster responded, piling up 62 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

It caps an impressive preseason for the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner. Henry carried the ball 34 times for 216 yards, an average of 6.4 yards a pop.

Now all he has to do is carry that over to games that matter.

Jack Attack

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

As ESPN.com's Mike DiRocco reported, the Jacksonville Jaguars decided to change things up on defense this week.

Rather than manning his usual spot in the middle (as the backup to Paul Posluszny), rookie second-round pick Myles Jack drew the start on the weak side at linebacker against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday. Jack welcomed the chance to expand his knowledge of the defense.

"I'd say the toughest part is to transition my mind because I've been playing Mike this entire time," Jack said. "It's all I've been honed in on, so now I've got to adapt and figure out the Will spot. It's not much of a difference. I've just got to open up my mind and see the bigger picture."

The former UCLA star didn't appear to have much trouble seeing that bigger picture, piling up four solo tackles and an assist in the first half.

Three of those tackles came on the game's first series, where for all intents and purposes Jack was the defense.

Posluszny may be the present at middle linebacker for the Jags, but Jack is the future.

And it may be the near future.

Browns Gotta Brown

David Richard/Associated Press

Given how the first-team offense has performed in the exhibition season, it wasn't a shock when Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson announced the starters would play in the preseason finale against the Chicago Bears.

Quarterback Robert Griffin III told Matthew Florjancic of WKYC-TV he was eager to get some more work in.

"

Every time you get an opportunity to go out there and play the game, it is an opportunity to improve. Coach decided he wants to play the starters. We are ready to go.

We have been really focused and making sure that we are attention-to-detail on everything that it is going to take to win. We have guys on this team that have won Super Bowls, and it is about using their leadership and what it takes to win the big games and apply that to our team. We have taken that to heart.

"

Um...yeah.

Yes, Griffin led the Browns on a touchdown drive. But once again, the offensive line was porous, and Griffin was hit-or-miss, completing only half his passes for all of 31 yards.

Wide receiver Josh Gordon, playing in his last game before serving a four-game suspension to open the season, hauled in three passes for 29 yards.

The Browns may be improved in 2016, in that 4-12 would be an improvement.

But they are not a good football team in any way, shape or form.

So glad to be a fan.

Hackenberg Struggles Mightily

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Rookie quarterback Christian Hackenberg of the New York Jets hadn't gotten much game action in the preseason before Thursday. What little action he did get (6-of-16 in Week 3) didn't look good.

Hackenberg told NFL Media's Kimberly Jones he isn't letting his spot at the end of the bench get him down.

"Ultimately, I have to control what I can control, and that's coming in every day and being the best pro I can be and preparing as if I am the starter, as if I am playing Week 1 against Cincinnati," he said. "[I want to] get in the habit of that, because when that opportunity is presented to me, I don't want to have to make changes. I want to already be there [in terms of routine]."

Thursday against the Philadelphia Eagles, Hackenberg got his best chance yet to show the Jets' coaching staff what he can do.

Let's just say the young man should get comfortable....on the end of that bench.

Granted, it came with scrub receivers and linemen against a scrub defense, but to say Hackenberg was horrible doesn't do his performance justice. Of his 31 pass attempts, only 11 were completed for a measly 54 yards. He was also intercepted.

If Prescott of the Cowboys (who was drafted two rounds after Hackenberg, for those keeping track) hit the ground running as a rookie quarterback in the NFL, then the ground hit Hackenberg.

And knocked his butt out cold.

We Demand a Recount!

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Speaking of rookie quarterbacks...

Heading into the Rams' preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings, No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff told Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times he looked forward to the possibility of starting, even in a game that doesn't count.

"It would be great," Goff said. "It’s something I’m more used to, kind of getting out there and going in right away instead of trying to warm up again on the sidelines. Whatever it is, I’ll be ready."

Apparently, both the words "great" and "ready" mean something different to him than the rest of us.

As he has most of the preseason, Goff struggled against the Vikes, going 6-of-16 for 67 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Yes, it's just one preseason. The argument can be made that it's much too early to make any snap judgments about Goff's future.

But this is the young quarterback the Rams sold their collective souls to trade up and draft first overall—partly because he was considered the most pro-ready signal-caller in his class.

He hasn't looked even close to ready yet.

Kap's Last Hurrah?

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It's been a rough week for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

And frankly, where the off-field controversy surrounding the starting quarterback in Super Bowl XLVII is concerned, that's about all I have to say on the subject. Do I have an opinion on the matter? Yes. As has been demonstrated clearly (and in many cases on social media, explicitly), everyone has an opinion on the matter.

But for the sake of this article, we'll stick to Kaepernick's play against the San Diego Chargers—important action for an exhibition game given that many expect the Niners to release him.

If Kaepernick's intent was to play so well that people forgot about the controversy, he failed. It's not that he played badly—as he usually does, the sixth-year veteran made some plays with his legs (four rushes, 38 yards), and his 103 yards on 11-of-18 passing wasn't a terrible stat line given the "targets" at his disposal through the air.

I'm pretty sure I saw the guy who delivered my pizza last week playing tight end in the second quarter.

But even in an NFL where any quarterback with a pulse can hang around the league for years, it wasn't a performance that's going to make conservative NFL front offices eager to enter the maelstrom circling the 28-year-old.

Paxton Passing Muster

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With the Denver Broncos quarterback battle settled, Trevor Siemian inserted as the starter and Mark Sanchez on the island of misfit toys, Thursday's preseason finale against the Arizona Cardinals was the Paxton Lynch show.

Lynch has already played well this preseason. That play comes with the usual caveats (he wasn't exactly facing the 1985 Bears defense), but Lynch earned the second-highest grade among rookie passers from Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com, trailing only King Dak the Magnificent of Texasia.

I think I've been binge-watching too much Game of Thrones.

"Lynch was much further ahead than I anticipated during the preseason," Jeremiah wrote. "His footwork was very crisp, considering the adjustment he's making from the offense he was in at Memphis. He displayed a huge arm and showed the ability to create with his legs."

There have been bumps, of course (his ball placement and decision-making have lapsed in spots), but against the Redbirds, Lynch gave head coach Gary Kubiak and the Broncos reason to believe that entering the season with him backing up Siemian wouldn't be a disaster.

For the night, Lynch completed 13 of 22 passes for 214 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception in a 38-17 loss. It wasn't a game about which songs will be written...

But it wasn't Christian Hackenberg, either.

The 'Mom Would Be Proud' Play of the Night

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Given the depth the Houston Texans added at wide receiver in the 2016 NFL draft, it's a safe bet that second-year wide receiver Keith Mumphery isn't matching his 14 catches for 129 yards from a year ago.

Or his three starts.

Or maybe his spot on the 53-man roster.

Such is life on the NFL fringes.

However, Mumphery did all he could Thursday against the Cowboys' JV squad to stave off a meeting with "The Turk."

Mumphery reeled in three passes for 83 yards, including this 64-yard score off the cannon arm of Brandon "He's Still in the NFL?" Weeden.

Yep. It was definitely Week 4 of the preseason.