Live Updates and Highlights from Thursday's Week 1 NFL Preseason Games

Player of the Game: QB Kurtis Rourke, San Francisco 49ers

Both starter Brock Purdy and backup Mac Jones sat out Thursday's loss to Tennessee, so the San Francisco 49ers were forced to go to the well with a young quarterback who missed his entire rookie season with an ACL injury.

Kurtis Rourke didn't play like a "rookie" against the Titans though. His night ended badly—Rourke was forced from the game after the first quarter with a rib injury.

But prior to that Rourke acquitted himself well—the former Indiana standout was 12-of-14 for 101 yards (seemingly all to De'Zhaun Stribling) against the Titans' first-team defense.

Last year, the Las Vegas Raiders allowed 25.4 points per game—eighth-most in the NFL. The team spent big on improving that defense in the offseason and wound up keeping edge-rusher Maxx Crosby, so there were hopes that defense would be vastly improved in 2026.

Against Arizona, they didn't look it.

Yes, it's backups and vanilla schemes. But so were Arizona's defenders that Fernando Mendoza had a solid debut against.

Optimism is great. But the Raiders had the worst record in football last year.

The turnaround isn't going to be instant.

This shouldn't need to be said, but it needs to be said.

Yes, Tennessee Titans wide receiver Carnell Tate had as many catches Thursday as you did. No, that isn't idea—especially given how long the Titans' starters were on the field.

But one half of one preseason game doesn't change his fantasy valuation that much.

If you want to bump Wan'Dale Robinson a bit after a team-high four targets? I'll buy that for a dollar—Cam Ward seemed to have a comfort level with the veteran.

But despite the pathological need of fantasy mangers to overreact to anything and everything, Tate will be fine.

I think.

Maybe.

Eek!

Player of the Game: RB Amar Johnson, Los Angeles Chargers

Amar Johnson is not exactly a household name—an undrafted free agent out of South Dakota State, Johnson flashed a bit in the preseason a year ago with the Packers before getting cut and spending his first season on the Bolts' practice squad.

Johnson continued his preseason rampage in Thursday's win over Houston—Johnson tallied 85 total yards (including a team-high 68 receiving yards) on just eight touches and found the end zone twice.

Player of the Game: RB Jeremiyah Love, Arizona Cardinals

Both highly-drafted rookies in this game played well—Fernando Mendoza went 10-of-16 for 97 yards and a touchdown in the most anticipated Raiders debut in a while.

But Love gets the nod here after turning 14 total touches into 71 yards and a couple of impressive plays. You can question the wisdom of giving Love 14 touches in a meaningless contest, but based on what we saw Thursday when games do start to count?

Feed that young man. Early and often.

Player of the Game: QB Anthony Richardson Sr., Indianapolis Colts

Being the MVP of a preseason tie admittedly isn't what the Colts had in mind when they drafted Richardson fourth overall in 2023.

But that doesn't change the fact that Richardson played relatively well against the Patriots.

Richardson was accurate, hitting on 11 of 14 attempts and averaging over 10 yards per attempt. He was as dangerous as always with his legs, rushing six times for 53 yards and a score. And while Richardson threw a pick, it wouldn't have happened if his receiver wasn't wearing oven mitts.

The lost fumble, on the other hand, was not great.

Baby steps.

Player of the Game: QB Drew Allar, Pittsburgh Steelers

Drew Allar is a golden god. There's no question who the Steelers' third-string quarterback should be. In fact, Allar should be ahead of Mason Rudolph on the depth chart. In fact again, what has Aaron Rodgers really done recently?

What? Too far?

Joking aside, it was about as good a professional debut as a young quarterback could hope for—10 completions in 13 attempts for 153 yards and two touchdowns—with another score on the ground.

Take a bow, rook.

Player of the Game: EDGE Ahmed Hassanein, Detroit Lions

The preseason is made for players like Hassanein—a sixth-round pick of the Lions a year ago who spent his first season on Detroit's practice squad. With the Lions starters sitting Thursday night, Hassanein got to play most of the game—and he made the most of the reps.

Had Hassanein just had his first-quarter sack of Joe Burrow it would have been a win for the youngster. But Hassanein picked up a second sack in the third quarter, finishing with 4 total tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.

OK, to be fair this isn't exactly a "sleeper" alert. From the moment that Ricky Pearsall was ruled out from the season, the rumblings from Niners camp about rookie receiver De'Zhaun Stribling grew to a roar.

Now? Katey bar the door—because the hype train is about to hit fifth gear.

Stribling essentially was the San Francisco offense in the first half against Tennessee—by the time the game was 1.5 quarters old, Stribling had eight targets, seven catches and 62 yards.

Puka who?

Really don't have anything to add here.

Velocity. Distance. Maximum effort.

That's how it's done.

Yes, it came against players who won't be in the NFL in a month. But for a quarterback who had to be rebuilt "from the ground up" per Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy, Drew Allar had himself a day Thursday night against the Packers.

Eight completions in 10 attempts (at the time he found Kaden Wetgen in the end zone) for 143 yards. A passer rating of 152.1. And a rushing score.

The rebuild appears to be proceeding well.

Tony Pollard has about as much appeal to most fantasy managers as a root canal minus the Novocain. He's barely being drafted inside the top-30 running backs on average.

Pollard is also the unquestioned lead back for the Titans and one of two players in the NFL who has topped 1,000 rushing yards each of the last two seasons.

The other is Derrick Henry.

With the starters mostly sitting Thursday night, the battle for the No. 3 job at quarterback in Pittsburgh was actually one of the more interesting storylines.

Second-year pro Will Howard was efficient throwing the ball, completing seven of nine passes and posting a passer rating of 106.5. But it was rookie Drew Allar who found the end zone on a three-yard scramble late in the third quarter.

After a somewhat slow first quarter, Jeremiyah Love turned it on in the second stanza of Thursday's matchup with the Raiders—this run gave the rookie first-rounder 58 yards on 11 carries.

5.3 yards a pop isn't the worst debut ever—even if it came against reserve defenders.

It sounds odd to say, but the Arizona offense might actually be, um, good in 2026.

There is no question that Ashton Jeanty is the lead back for the Raiders. Mike Washington Jr. was taken in the fourth round in Aril to give Jeanty a breather and serve as injury insurance. No more.

It's significantly easier to feel good about that kind of insurance policy when they peel off a 53-yard run that played a big part in a game-tying touchdown drive.

Nine plays. 79 yards. Six yards to Jack Bech.

And (hopefully), the beginning of an era.

Anything and everything that Fernando Mendoza does in the preseason will be analyzed, dissected and ruminated upon at great length. But the Raiders are doing the right thing by slow-playing Mendoza—there's no need to rush him with Kirk Cousins in Sin City.

But if Mendoza keeps making throws like this, folks are going to wonder why he isn't starting.

At this point in Thursday's Cardinals-Raiders game, Jeremiyah Love had seven carries for 26 yards.

While those totals were modest, his second-quarter run showed the speed and elusiveness that made him the No. 3 overall pick in April—quickly getting to the edge and making a couple defenders miss.

The Arizona offense has rolled so far in the preseason.

Tommy DeVito and Kyle Williams connected for a touchdown, though both face uphill paths to consistent regular-season roles.

DeVito is competing for a backup quarterback job, while Williams will need to earn opportunities in a crowded Patriots receiving corps.

But a nice pitch-and-catch is a nice pitch-and-catch.

With C.J. Stroud sidelined by injury last year, Davis Mills made three starts for the Houston Texans in 2025—and won them all.

Mills showed his value once again Thursday against the Los Angeles Chargers.

With Stroud taking the night off, Mills drew the start and promptly led the Texans on an 11-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a five-yard touchdown toss to Jared Wayne.

Having a backup of Mills' caliber is an insurance policy many teams would envy. But it could also set the stage for a QB controversy if Stroud starts this season like he ended the last one.

After one so-so season and one miserable one, there's more than a little pressure on Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. to start playing like the fourth overall pick in the 2024 draft.

Harrison made the most of his first target of the preseason against the Raiders, getting nice separation before hauling in a seven-yard score from Jacoby Brissett.

That Michael Wilson has two targets, two catches and 23 yards on the same drive is worth filing away if your fantasy draft is coming up.

Raiders fans have had limited reason for optimism in recent years, and one preseason touchdown should not be overinterpreted. Still, the opening drive offered some encouraging signs.

Watching Kirk Cousins calmly go 5-for-6 for 50 yards in his first drive as a Raider before finding tight end Michael Mayer from 13 yards out wasn't terrible.

Neither was watching running back Ashton Jeanty average over five yards a carry on the 10-play, 68-yard drive.

The New England Patriots didn't play their starters Thursday night, but one man's rest is another's opportunity.

Journeyman cornerback Kindle Vildor made good use of an opportunity to impress the fifth team of his career Thursday, picking off Anthony Richardson in the first quarter of the matchup between the Colts and Patriots.

For Richardson, it's just one more interception, although in fairness this one was less his fault than his receiver's.

After being drafted by the Steelers in the second round of this year's draft, Germie Bernard has been making some waves in training camp. While speaking to reporters, Bernard said that he's making every effort to be ready when opportunity knocks.

"I'm making sure I'm doing my best to just study the plays, knowing my assignments and asking as many questions as I can," Bernard said. "I'm a very open book. Whenever I can take advice from anybody, I'm willing to do that so I can get better."

Bernard availed himself of those opportunities Thursday night—for the most part. Bernard reeled in four of five targets from Mason Rudolph in the first quarter, and narrowly missed hauling in a touchdown.

That sound you just heard was everyone in Raider Nation "oohing" at the same time.

One of the points of the preseason is to help teams eliminate silly mistakes. Cut out costly errors. Get the dumb penalties and poor execution out of their systems.

If the first quarter of Thursday's tilt with the Packers is any indication, Pittsburgh needs all the preseason it can get—the Steelers were penalized five times for 55 yards, including a holding call that wiped out a touchdown.

With Micah Parsons likely to start the season on the PUP list, the pressure is higher than ever on edge-rusher Lukas Van Ness to become the kind of impact player that the Green Bay Packers thought they were getting when they drafted Van Ness 13th overall in 2023.

One preseason sack won't make that pressure go away, but watching the former Iowa standout get home in the first quarter of Thursday's tilt with the Steelers had to put a smile on Matt LaFleur's face.

Get the bubble wrap!

With Cincinnati's defense drawing most of the attention in 2025, the Bengals' offensive line issues were somewhat overlooked. The unit struggled last season and has been a concern for several years.

Watching Burrow get dropped on his second drop-back of the first drive against defensive reserves isn't going to alleviate those concerns.

The Cincinnati Bengals had one of the NFL's worst defenses in 2025. They attacked that defense in every way they could in the offseason, adding multiple veterans highlighted by the trade for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.

That new-look defense's first drive of 2026 was a mixed bag.

The good news was how the drive ended: a tip-drill interception by safety Jordan Battle; the bad news is that the Lions' second-string offense was moving the ball before that turnover.

Still, a stop's a stop.

There was speculation leading up to Thursday's preseason opener against his old team that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers could play a series or two.

That will not be the case. Mason Rudolph will open the game, with youngsters Will Howard and Drew Allar both likely to see significant playing time.

A retooled defense in the Queen City will play a big part in the team's success (or lack thereof) in 2026. But at the end of the day, the Cincinnati Bengals will go as far as Joe Burrow takes them—and he's taken them pretty far in the past.

Given that, fans are no doubt glad to see the quarterback out there for the preseason opener against the Detroit Lions—and apprehensive at the idea of him even being looked at funny.

Given Burrow's importance, Cincinnati will likely limit his preseason workload.

Will Campbell struggled against Seattle in Super Bowl LX, and a rep from Thursday's joint practice with Indianapolis will do little to ease concerns about his development.

One practice does not define his second season, but the footage underscores that his pass protection remains a point to monitor.

Campbell and the rest of New England's starters aren't expected to play in Thursday's exhibition opener.

Entering his second season, New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart may be happy where the team is at entering the preseason—but his offensive coordinator doesn't appear to share that sentiment.

Per Pat Leonard of The New York Daily News, Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy acknowledged that Dart is struggling with a new offensive scheme in The Big Apple, although he made a point of saying that some preseason reps should help smooth the rough edges.

"It'll be really good to get out there as we get going here, with getting closer to these preseason games and just the prep side of it, making sure that he can take some of these things that we're finding in the process that maybe we want to get his eyes to a certain spot in the progression, and he's struggling to get to that point, finding those plays," Nagy said. "Like if there's one or two plays where he might not be seeing it well, let's figure out why you're not."

Head coach John Harbaugh declined to say definitively that Dart will play in Saturday's preseason opener.

But the winds appear to be blowing that direction.