2024 Preseason Week 3 Takeaways

Just like that, the preseason is over. It goes by quickly with only 3 games! Starters have had their chance to get in sync, camp battles have been won and lost, and roster spots have been secured. Players now await the decisions of their front offices. Each team must go from 90 players to just 53 by 4 PM ET Tuesday. Some will be re-signed to the practice squad or even poached by other teams, but it’s generally a rough day for all involved. Fortunately, we’re focusing on happier things in this article: the games! Read on for my 2024 preseason week 3 takeaways.

Should the Colts be Concerned About Their Offense?

I know it’s the preseason, but I can’t help but worry about Indianapolis’ offense. Playing their starters against Cincinnati’s 2nd- and 3rd-stringers, we got the full Anthony Richardson experience. The second-year QB led a fantastic opening drive, rifling passes with his signature arm strength. He would hit rookie WR Adonai Mitchell for a 9-yard TD to punctuate the march. On his next drive, Richardson threw another TD pass…to the Bengals. That was part of a string of 5 straight incompletions, and each of the team’s subsequent two drives ended in punts. Richardson finished 8/14 for 86 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT.

Much of the Colts’ success or lack thereof this season is tied to Richardson. He has immense talent, but the accuracy issues we have seen in the past continue to appear. If we were just talking about a young passer with 4 career starts needing to develop, I wouldn’t be as concerned. My fear is that the running game won’t be able to support Richardson to the degree that we expect. RB Jonathan Taylor, also in a starters-vs.-backups matchup, ran for just 15 yards on 4 carries. That’s a small sample size, but it reinforces an issue from last year: Taylor can only do so much behind a line that can’t open holes.

The group up front has plenty of big names, but their production has been suspect. G Quenton Nelson is always exceptional, but the other players are inconsistent. With a rollercoaster QB and a shaky line in front of him, this offense could be a wild ride in 2024. I have no doubt that Richardson will wow us with some seemingly impossible throws and runs. Taylor will also earn his share of yards and scores because he’s too good to do otherwise. I just can’t shake the thought that this unit will underwhelm at times. You might call this a preseason overreaction, but starters should excel against backups. Indy’s didn’t.

It’s Preseason for the Referees Too!

Lest we forget, the preseason is not just a fine-tuning period for players and coaches. The officials need to hone their craft as well. Nowhere was that more apparent than during the Browns-Seahawks game on Saturday night. Partway through the second quarter, the zebras completely bogged down the game. Seahawks CB Lance Boykin broke up a Browns pass attempt to Michael Woods II. Boykin got in Woods’ face and started taunting him, but DE Mike Morris pulled him away immediately. The refs threw a flag, and 4th and 7 became 1st and 10. Cleveland scored a TD on the very next play.

On the ensuing drive, QB Sam Howell responded with a brilliant 73-yard TD to WR Cody White. Unfortunately, the officials got involved again, calling holding on rookie G Christian Haynes. That wiped out the TD even though Haynes was just blocking a spinning defensive lineman, so the play looked worse than it was. Howell ran for 3 yards on the next play and slid to avoid contact, but CB Justin Hardee whacked him anyway. No flag was thrown. It felt like Clay Martin’s crew had it out for Seattle at that point, and the home crowd was justifiably furious.

Unfortunately for quality officiating but I suppose fortunately for fairness, the refs came with a bad call against the Browns on the next possession. LB Winston Reid hit WR Easop Winston Jr high after a catch, and a flag came out. Not only did he receive a 15-yard penalty; he was ejected! The hit was not vicious, and Winston was adjusting to the ball during Reid’s launch and changed his position. Hopefully all of this gets ironed out before the regular season begins. You want the games to be all about the players on the field. When we talk this much about the officials, something must be going terribly wrong.

Former Bison QBs Lance and Stick Struggle Mightily

I didn’t want to focus so much on QBs given all the players at other positions trying to make their mark. However, the signal callers gave us the biggest talking points, and I can’t ignore them. One pair of QBs under a microscope happened to compete against each other this week, and they’re both NDSU Bison: the Chargers’ Easton Stick and the Cowboys’ Trey Lance. Since Carson Wentz was picked 2nd overall by the Eagles and had his MVP-caliber 2017 season, much has been expected from QBs linked with this overachieving FCS school. The follow-ups to Wentz (and Wentz himself to a large degree) have underwhelmed.

Wentz’s direct successor, Stick was known to be a backup prospect for the NFL. Even with those expectations, he has fallen woefully short. When he started last year while Justin Herbert was injured, he didn’t do very much. His preseason appearances have also been unimpressive. Playing the entire game this week, Stick had the chance to change people’s minds. Going 12/29 for 187 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT won’t help his case. That poor completion percentage is a direct reaction to his scattershot accuracy. Stick is simply not a pro signal caller, and the Bolts have to upgrade their QB2 position.

However, Stick managed to earn a win because his NDSU successor was even worse. Lance, the former 3rd overall pick that San Francisco traded a fortune to obtain, never received proper grooming. Dallas traded for him last season, and that was intended to give him a fresh start. I’ve gone to pains to preach patience for Lance, noting how raw he was when he entered the league and touting his physical gifts. I also noted his struggles this time last year, but the book hadn’t yet been written on Lance’s career. Frankly, I have no choice but to declare him a bust as the 2024 preseason concludes.

We can’t keep waiting for the growth to finally come. He received the most reps of his career this preseason, and it didn’t help. Now in his 4th season, Lance looks almost exactly the same as he did during his rookie year. You can still see evidence of his talent, especially as a runner (11/90/1). His passing is just a mess. Lance played the whole game and fired 49 passes. While he completed 33 for 323 yards and a TD, he tossed FIVE interceptions, missing wildly on numerous throws. The fact that he couldn’t even threaten Cooper Rush for the QB2 job speaks volumes; Lance might not be on the team by Tuesday.

Preseason Won’t Last if Teams Treat It Like the Bengals and Falcons Do

I hate that all of these sections are about negative topics. I promise that the Rookie Watch will be much more joyous! However, we need to address the elephant in the room: poor preseason efforts. I don’t mean teams that simply played poorly. I’m talking about the ones who didn’t try. The NFL wants to cut another preseason game and expand the regular season to 18 games. One argument posed by the league is that regular season games are far more interesting than their preseason counterparts. A pair of teams, the Bengals and Falcons, epitomize that issue.

To be clear, I am not saying that these are the only two teams behaving this way. They’re merely egregious examples that caught my attention. At the end of their week-1 game against Tampa, Cincinnati trailed 17-14. With 28 seconds left, the Bengals faced 4th and 10 at the Buccaneer 24, conceding defeat. Instead of taking the 42-yard FG to tie the game, they had QB Logan Woodside scramble for 7 yards. This week against the Colts, they had a tougher hole to climb out of, down 27-14 with 1:41 to go. Still, some 2-minute drill work would’ve been nice. Cincy quit again, taking 3 knees and going home.

Atlanta simply showed an aversion to player development. They stupidly drafted a QB at #8 overall, but if you do that, let him learn during the preseason! Michael Penix Jr didn’t suit up for the final two games, as I guess the team somehow saw enough in one half? No starters played a single minute, and the Falcons just ran the ball over and over in week 3 to get their 31-0 loss to Jacksonville with. At least Rams HC Sean McVay uses preseason game time to give rookies experience and evaluate younger players; he doesn’t treat the games as worthless for those playing. Others should give the contests at least that much respect.

Rookie Watch

Among the first-round QBs, only New England’s Drake Maye played this week. He was better than before, looking more confident in the pocket. Maye had his misses, and I’d still start Jacoby Brissett, but he’s improving. New Orleans’ Spencer Rattler had decent stats (7/13, 105 yards, TD), but they become more impressive when you account for 4 drops. Overall, he showed good decision-making and a live arm. I prefer him to Jake Haener as QB2. Meanwhile, after drops and poor blocking sabotaged him last week, Carolina’s Jack Plummer rebounded well. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 278 yards, 2 TDs, and no turnovers. I doubt he makes the team, but that was good tape to put in his portfolio.

Running backs gave us plenty to talk about. Buffalo’s Frank Gore Jr was a workhorse, taking 18 carries for 101 yards and a TD. He’s undersized, but he fights and has good vision. The Chiefs’ Carson Steele had 3 carries for 50 yards and a TD…on one drive. I loved this kid during MACtion, and he looks good in KC too! SF’s Isaac Guerrendo was mediocre on the ground (11/32), but his 92-yard KR is the longest thus far, demonstrating his explosiveness. In New Orleans, keep an eye on Jacob Kibodi. He totaled 59 yards and 2 TDs on 11 carries, never going down on first contact. Kibodi starred and probably earned a roster spot with his effort.

A few receivers made big plays this week. Las Vegas’ Ramel Keyton caught 4 passes for 76 yards. Three of those came on crazy catches during the team’s final drive. He even caught a one-handed pass and helped lead LV to a tie! Malik Washington is buried on Miami’s depth chart, but he’s doing everything he can to earn snaps. He ran once for 40 yards, returned a kick for 52 yards, and took a punt 28 yards. The man has talent with the ball in his hands. Cincinnati’s Jermaine Burton has been a steady contributor this offseason. With a solid 4/56/1 line, he’s proving that he can be trusted on a contending team.

Defenses across the league were extremely active. Chargers LB Tre’Mon Morris-Brash stuffed the stat sheet, earning 3 tackles, a sack, and a 25-yard pick six. Bills CB Te’Cory Couch racked up 10 tackles, which is rare for a corner, and he earned a sack on a CB blitz. Pittsburgh LB Julius Welschof excelled as a rusher, racking up 2 sacks. Speaking of sacks, Colts’ 1st-round pick Laiatu Latu earned the first of (likely) many more to come in limited action. The Jets gave us two sack artists, Leonard Taylor III (1.5) and Braiden McGregor (2). I singled out Taylor in my UDFA analysis, which you can check out here.

KC safety Jaden Hicks was everywhere, with 4 tackles, a PBU, and a fumble recovery. In the same game, Chicago’s Reddy Steward played the ball-hawking CB role. He picked off two passes and took one to the house. Raiders LB Amari Gainer led all rookies in tackles with 13, including 2 for losses. Finally, Broncos LB Levelle Bailey provided the play of the week. With the Cardinals in the red zone, he cut in front of a pass and rumbled 94 yards for a score. That sort of hustle should really help his quest to make a roster, particularly Arizona’s. It wasn’t a big weekend for special teamers, but I have no alarm bells to ring, so that’s a positive!