2026 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 (the few who played at least), 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 6 PM ET today. 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 2026 preseason week 3 takeaways.
Ravens’ Preseason Pride Remains Under New HC Jesse Minter
No, I’m not copying and pasting this section from last year’s article. We had an eerily similar script though. It never matters whether Baltimore is playing any of their starters (they played none on offense or defense this preseason). A change in coach from John Harbaugh to Jesse Minter (admittedly a Harbaugh protégé) makes no difference either. The Ravens play to win their preseason contests with whoever is on the field. In 2026, they once again reached 3-0, and they finished their slate with a drubbing of Washington, as they did in 2025. This year’s edition was even more of a beatdown though.
Baltimore barely even played their second stringers. Backup QB Tyler Huntley (4/4, 61 yards, TD; 2/14 rushing) led one flawless drive before taking a seat. Undrafted rookie QB Joe Fagnano (19/27, 162 yards, TD, rush TD) got the rest of the first half plus a bit of the third quarter, and he capped off a very impressive preseason. Everything Baltimore did looked good actually. They averaged 6.5 YPC on the ground, while the defense allowed nothing but a pointless 3rd-quarter FG all day. WR Chris Moore (3/54/1), a 2025 Commander who the team cast off, even enjoyed some sweet revenge with a tough TD catch against his old team.
None of the Ravens defenders who played are household names. Yet they completely snuffed out the Commanders, sacking their QBs 3 times while allowing just 177 yards of total offense. Perhaps that says more about Washington’s lack of depth, but I’m choosing to focus on the positives here. Baltimore is such a consistent playoff contender because they aren’t as susceptible to injuries as other teams are. Their backups are always well-prepared, and it all stems back to how hard they work during the preseason. Minter’s arrival hasn’t changed that one bit. If anything, the Ravens are as motivated as ever for their exhibitions.
Battle of the LaFleur Brothers Leads to Best Game of the Week
With all due respect to the Saints-Cowboys and Steelers-Bills matchups, I found the game between Arizona and Green Bay to be the most entertaining offering this week. A point of intrigue was the battle between Matt LaFleur, the established coach of the Packers, and his younger brother Mike LaFleur, the new HC in Arizona. Both men got their current jobs due to their offensive minds, and that was on full display in a highly enjoyable shootout. After a pair of traded FGs, we went into full TD mode for the entirety of the second quarter. Each team answered the other, taking their best punches and hitting right back.
Cardinals backup QB Gardner Minshew (7/9, 126 yards, TD) was completely on point and staked Arizona to a 10-3 lead. WR Simi Fehoko (5/94/2) and TE Rivaldo Fairweather (8/89) each came close to 100 yards, while RB Evan Hull (16/107/2) gashed the Packers for 2 scores of his own. Green Bay answered Fehoko’s TD bomb with a TD by undrafted rookie WR J Michael Sturdivant (6/112/1), who had the finest day of his young career. Kedon Slovis (21/35, 223 yards, TD, 2 INTs) relieved Minshew and did some good things. However, he made to critical mistakes with his turnovers, and that allowed the Packers to storm back.
Following his first pick, we got the Will Sheppard (3/26/1) show. On back-to-back touches, the Packers WR caught a TD and took a punt 81 yards for another score. Arizona went on a 21-3 run from there to take an 11-point lead in the 4th. That’s when Packers QB Kyle McCord (22/35, 226 yards, 4 TDs), who played the entire game, took over. Sandwiched by Slovis’ second INT, McCord fired a pair of TDs to rookie WR Kisean Johnson (4/52/2) to take a 42-38 lead with 20 seconds left. That score held, and the Packers earned the W in a hard-fought battle. I really wish more games (even in the regular season!) were like this one.
One interesting wrinkle that I must mention: Packers starting QB Jordan Love sat out, but he participated. During the second half, he took over play calling duties, and I was really impressed! Apparently he did not prepare for this ahead of time. Regardless, Love calmly called a masterful 4th quarter after finding his footing early in his tenure. He won’t be doing that again this season; Matt LaFleur is simply too good in that role. Still, it was a cool thing to see in what could’ve otherwise been a boring end of the preseason. Other coaches might want to try this approach; letting their QBs see the game from a different angle can’t hurt.
Is the Browns’ Best Quarterback Actually…Dillon Gabriel?
Cleveland made it abundantly clear this offseason that their QB competition would be between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders. Logically speaking, that meant last year’s 3rd-round pick, Dillon Gabriel, had no opportunity despite being drafted two rounds before Sanders. In that regard, maybe the Browns just learned what the rest of us already knew: Gabriel’s skill set makes him a high-end backup prospect, not a starting-caliber player. He got his chance to prove people wrong this week though, and regardless of going against Patriots’ backups that HC Mike Vrabel shaded several days ago, Gabriel showed out.
Gabriel sailed a couple of passes but didn’t put them in harm’s way. The rest of his throws were on point, and he completed 12 of 15 attempts for 186 yards and 3 TDs, posting a 157.9 passer rating. What struck me is how comfortable and confident he looked in the offense. Gabriel read things properly and consistently made the right decisions with the football. It wasn’t lost on me that Watson and Sanders failed to do the same this preseason. Gabriel managed this production in one half of play, after which he ceded the role to rookie Taylen Green (5/7, 27 yards; 8/66 rushing) for the 6th-rounder’s first action (he’s still a future WR to me).
The question becomes: what did Gabriel’s performance do for him? Cleveland isn’t likely to keep 4 QBs on their 53-man roster. Last year in this exact situation, the Browns traded Kenny Pickett away. Teams are already inquiring about Gabriel’s availability for their own backup jobs, and he’d be an upgrade for plenty of them. I don’t see a real path for Gabriel to parlay his finest outing into a starting role, but he can definitely end up somewhere that actually wants him. That place isn’t Cleveland, so even if they keep Gabriel on their initial roster following cuts, a trade could be in their relatively near future.
NFL and NFLPA Agree to New Disciplinary Rules for On-Field Hits
Arguably the most impactful occurrence came off the field this week. In a joint announcement, the league and players association released the new way in which they’d police dangerous on-field plays. The targeted offenses include hip drop tackles, horse collar tackles, launching, hits on defenseless players, and blindside blocks. To both the NFL and the NFLPA, those plays represent reckless actions that are likelier than other hits to cause injuries. Importantly, those injury risks are borne by both the player being hit and the one doing the hitting. In the interest of safety, the league has come down hard on those plays.
While safety is the #1 priority in the opinions of most people, I thought the league was being unreasonable before. Beyond flagging the players committing violations, they’d also issue fines. I understand that for acts of headhunting or a clear disregard for safety. However, I didn’t back financial punishments for players who made unfortunate plays by mistake. Often, a defender will simply miss his target and end up hitting a protected area such as the head. In the new rules, 3 offenses in a season will incur a 1-game suspension, players who only have one infraction in a year will receive a portion of their fine money back.
I’m a bit torn on this. I love the idea of a mulligan for guys who make one mistake. Still, there’s not enough discretion as far as differentiating between dirty hits and unhappy accidents. The released statement says that “This approach distinguishes between isolated mistakes and repeated conduct that jeopardizes the health and safety of players.” It does to some extent, but it’s certainly possible to have more than one unintended error in a season. Regardless, I can’t argue with the pursuit of safety, and the NFLPA agreed to these rules, so the players must be at least somewhat okay with them. We’ll see if anything changes!
Rookie Watch
Lots to get to here so let’s jump right in! Number 1 pick Fernando Mendoza (7/14, 57 yards, INT, 2 sacks taken; 2/9 rushing) continued to struggle for the Raiders. Facing the 49ers’ backups, he fired an INT on an overthrow on his first drive and did little else from there. Coach Klint Kubiak STILL won’t name Kirk Cousins the starter, which is asinine. The Rams Ty Simpson (18/23, 119 yards, TD) played solid football and led 3 scoring drives.. His best moment came when he threw a TD while extending the play, moving to his left, and firing a bullet to the end zone. He showed plenty of poise and athletic ability on that play.
At RB, two Bengals, Kentrel Bullock (14/85/1) and Jamal Haynes (7/79/1), showed out against the Eagles’ backups. However, that may not be enough to make the team. The biggest eye-opener was the Chargers’ Greg Desrosiers Jr (9/118/1). He was almost fully responsible for his team’s spirited comeback attempt against the Rams. The guy refused to go down on first contact and ran like a man on a mission. We’ll see if he succeeded in that mission: earning a roster spot. Our top rookie TE this week was the Broncos’ Justin Joly (2/95/1), who had an 88-yard TD. It hasn’t been a great camp for him thus far, so this was great for his confidence.
Once again, rookie WR successes were everywhere. To start, we have two Bells both making their debuts. Buffalo’s Skyler Bell (7/49; 1/28/1 rushing), who missed time with a groin injury, led his team in both rushing and receiving. He may be carving out a nice role. Miami’s Chris Bell (2/22), a 3rd-rounder who had first-round consideration before tearing his ACL at Louisville, saw plenty of attention. The Dolphins made a concerted effort to involve him, and based on their depth chart, they may be expecting him to be their WR1 in short order. He has the requisite size and ability; learning the pro game is his next task.
Dallas’ Jordan Hudson (4/97/1) made a statement with his 52-yard catch. It’s probably too late for him to make the 53, but he put out great tape for the other 31 teams. Two WRs on my draft returners list made me really proud. Jags UDFA Michael Wortham (3/47) led his team in receiving yards and had a 63-yard PR TD where he blew by all pursuing Bucs. Steelers WR Kaden Wetjen had his first PR TD (45 yards), and it’s good to see him finding his footing as he adjusts to speed of NFL players. Finally, Bears WR Zavion Thomas (5/140/1; 39-yard PR) showed up in both phases, with a 97-yard deep TD that came off a ridiculous double move.
I hate to end the WR portion of this roundup like this, but two first-round receivers did not have good days. For #4 pick Carnell Tate, it has actually been a poor preseason as a whole. The Titans are expecting much from Tate, but he caught 0 passes in 3 games. His chemistry with QB Cam Ward is not yet good. I still believe in Tate’s talent though. Philly’s Makai Lemon (3/3), who missed time with an injury, had a rough debut. He averaged 1 yard per reception and tipped a pass that led to an INT. It’s still early for him, but that wasn’t a great look for an impatient fanbase that’s (unfairly) expecting him to replace AJ Brown.
Over at defensive end, Jaguars edge rushers Bryan Thomas Jr (not that one) and TJ Bollers had 2.5 and 1.5 sacks, respectively. Both Jags feasted on Tampa’s linemen, but Thomas especially had serious juice. Chiefs DE R Mason Thomas finally converted all of his disruption and pressure into his first sack (a strip sack!). KC loves this rookie’s pop in the passing game, and he validated that against Seattle. Rams DE Darryl Peterson III had 2 sacks, but his second one was a strip sack that won his team the game. He would’ve had another sack on that final drive, but it didn’t count due to his teammate being offside on the play.
Elsewhere on defense, Raiders DT Brandon Cleveland (5 tackles, 2 TFLs, QB hit) did everything you want from a 315-lb nose tackle. The 7th-rounder made a great case for a roster spot with LV searching for young building blocks. Browns LB Justin Jefferson (once again, not that one) did some of everything, earning 9 tackles, a sack, and an INT. These Alabama LBs are certainly good! Finally, Bengals CB Tacario Davis, who had an INT as one of 2 PUBs on the night, is an intriguing prospect. The 6’4″ corner brings unquestioned size to a secondary that desperately needs talent to emerge and support Cincy’s offense.