The NFL preseason has officially started and Week 1 of the 2022 exhibition season has been quite eventful thus far. Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder threw a game-winning touchdown against the Detroit Lions with less than two minutes left, Jordan Love and Trey Lance traded long touchdowns in the Bay, and Cincinnati Bengals star kicker Evan McPherson scored 3 of 3 on his field goals , including two from at least 56 yards out.
There were also a few injuries, the most notable of which was New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson tore his meniscus. However, he is expected to be fine and not miss any time in the regular season.
This Saturday we have a total of eight games to watch, starting with the Carolina Panthers vs. Washington Commanders and Kansas City Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears at 1 p.m. ET, ending with a battle for LA between the Super Bowl champions Rams and Chargers.
Following are all the must-see highlights from Saturday’s action. Get ready for a full day of football.
Scheme
Thursday
Giants 23, Patriots 21 (Takeaway)
Ravens 23, Titans 10 (summary)
Friday
Falcons 27, Lions 23 (summary)
Browns 24, Jaguars 13 (summary)
Cardinals 36, Bengal 23 (summary)
Jets 24, Eagles 21 (takeaway)
49ers 28, Packers 21 (summary)
Saturday
Chiefs at Bears, 1:00 PM ET (Gametracker)
Panthers at Commanders, 1 p.m. ET (Gametracker)
Colts at Bills, 4 p.m. ET (Gametracker)
Seahawks at Steelers, 7 p.m. ET (Gametracker)
Dolphins at Buccaneers, 7:30 PM ET (Gametracker)
Saints at Texans, 8 p.m. ET (Gametracker)
Cowboys at Broncos, 9 p.m. ET (Gametracker)
Rams at Chargers, 10pm ET (Gametracker)
Sunday
Vikings at Raiders, 4:25 PM ET (Gametracker)
siemian splash plays
Justin Fields’ new mentor leads a comeback in Chicago. Once down 14-0, the Bears have scored 16 unanswered thanks to backup quarterback Trevor Siemian. Chicago doesn’t act like this is a preseason game, as the attack went on 4 and 2 and Siemian found a streaking Dante Pettis in the field.
Three plays later, Siemian Dazz hit Newsome on a nice throw into the end zone corner to get within one run of the Chiefs.
Safety Justin Reid kicks XP for Chiefs
Harrison Butker isn’t the only good kicker on the Chiefs’ roster, as one of their safeties also has a talented leg. Reid kicked a 65-yard field goal in training camp last week, and got a chance to kick an extra point in week 1 of the preseason. It was perfect.
Rookie RB Brian Robinson shines for Commanders
It looks like the Alabama rookie is ready to give Antonio Gibson a little something extra in 2022. Robinson rushed for 26 yards on his first six carries and also caught two passes for 15 yards early. Robinson also wrote down some commander history, as he scored the first touchdown of the new era in Washington.
Tajae Sharpe a ‘catch of the preseason’ candidate
Sharpe is battling for game time with the Bears’ wide receivers, and this catch is sure to help his cause. He used athleticism, concentration and sideline awareness to bring it in. Sharpe, a new member of the Bears, spent last year with the Falcons. He caught 25 passes for 230 yards in 15 games played.
Sam Darnold with impressive TD toss
The Panthers are early on the Commanders and Antonio Gibson helped his opponent’s cause by fumbling at his own 28-yard line. Darnold replaced Baker Mayfield as quarterback for Carolina’s second series, and after three plays in the drive, tied with Rashard Higgins for an eight-yard touchdown.
This is quite an impressive throw, as Darnold had Montez Sweat in the face, but still led his wideout perfectly while throwing his back foot away.
The NFL world is a little nervous for sophomore Fields as he is tasked with finding success behind a questionable offensive line and with a wide receiving corps that there aren’t many of. Fields still has Mooney, though, coming out of a career campaign where he caught 81 passes for 1,055 yards and four touchdowns.
Watch this throw and catch that went 26 yards:
Chiefs waste no time scoring first Saturday TD
All right, that’s enough. We can take Patrick Mahomes out of the game. He is still good at football. The former NFL MVP led an 11-play, 72-yard drive with a pair of highlight reel plays, finishing with a five-yard touchdown pass to Blake Bell.
Watson is waiting for a potential penalty increase from the NFL — which is expected to increase his six-game suspension to something more significant — but he took the field for the Browns’ first game of the new year against the Jaguars. Watson for sure looked like someone playing his first game in 568 daysas he finished with only seven passing yards on 1 of 5 passes.
Good news for the Browns: Backup QB Joshua Dobbs looked good, completing 10 of 13 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown.
From Friday: Ridder’s clutch game-winning pass
The Lions-Falcons preseason game wasn’t that entertaining. The new QB in the ATL, Marcus Mariota, looked great, as did rookie Desmond Ridder. At four and nine three points behind with less than two minutes to go, Ridder found Jared Bernhardt for the winning score.
Not only was this game good to watch from a rookie quarterback, but the player on the receiving end of the touchdown also deserves some credit. Bernhardt is a former Maryland lacrosse star and the winner of the 2021 Tewaaraton Award – presented to the best player in college lacrosse. Not only was Bernhardt a lax legend in an elite school, but he then moved on to Ferris State to play football, leading the program to an undefeated record and their first Division II national championship as a quarterback. Now he has caught a game-winning touchdown in the NFL. What a story.
