1. Derrick Henry can be the monster the Titans need in the backfield. If Demarco Murray does fall off a little bit it won’t matter. Derrick Henry Ran 16 times for 36 yards and two touchdowns. While his yards per carry may not look great on paper, Henry dominated in this game and looks like hell be a force to reckon with this season.
2. In other running back news, Christian Mccaffery looked like a total boss. McCaffery only got the ball three times, but for good reason. Everytime he touched the pigskin he grabbed an 11 yard gain. Through the air, he looked just as dominant earning 39 yards on two catches. Mccaffery also had a touchdown on the ground.
3. Depth for the Titans. Behind Henry and Murray sits David Fluellen who had a monster game for the Titans. Fluellen carried the rock nine times for 73 yards. In the receiving core, nonstarter Tre McBride had 4 receptions for 73 yards. McBride’s separation is something to be admired. He looks like he can be the slot guy in an already loaded receiving core.
4. Alex Smith looks very good. Smith went 8 of 9 for 83 yards. That’s 9.2 yards a pass for Smith which is very good for him. The connection between him and tight end Travis Kelce looked very good. Kelce is a great fantasy pickup and if he’s available after Gronk is taken you have to snatch him up right away.
5. Patrick Mahomes continues to impress. While Mahomes only threw for 8.8 yards a catch he still looked deadly in this game. Throwing for two touchdowns also helps Mahomes case there is no competition in KC right now but there will be soon. Mahomes shows great potential if the Chiefs are out of playoff contention in December it would not shock me at all if we saw some Mahomes then.
6. In just one series AJ Green looked like the best WR in football. People leave Green out of this discussion but he is just as good as Julio Jones, Odell Beckham Jr., and Antonio Brown. The difference is Andy Dalton is a mid-tier QB and Matt Ryan and Big Ben are. Eli is meh but much better than Dalton. Don’t underrate Green he is a great late first-round fantasy pick.
7. Dear Scott Tolzien, dear god please stop. This team cannot role out the abysmal Tolzien to start week one. It just can’t happen. A. it will ruin football for as long as Luck is out because let’s face it the Colts are nothing without him. B. Scott Tolzien might just die seriously I have never seen a flimsier QB. Every time he gets hit it looks like a car accident.
8. Dak Prescott still dominates the preseason. The guy got 8 passes and put up 108 yards through the air and a touchdown. Christian Chastain may hate Dak Prescott (See the Endzone podcast @endzonepod on twitter) but I love him. Cowboys fans should still stay excited about this season. Even without Zeke, this team is playoff material.
9. Darren Mcfadden is the god send the Cowboys needed. Forget Zeke, behind this offensive line any RB can tear it up. McFadden ran for 59 yards on just 9 carries. The O line, not the running back is, this teams weapon.
10. Don’t let the numbers skier your thoughts, Kirk Cousins was a question mark. Cousins had some head scratchers. Cousins got comfortable later in the game though and made Terrelle Pryor look good. This Washington offense is something to watch though.
11. Bryce Petty has a chance to be the Jets season starter. Going 11 for 17 and throwing for 110 yards will do that for you. The fact he only got Sacked once also made him a more compelling pick over Christian Hackenberg.
12. Christian Hackenberg may be just about the worst QB in the league. Throwing 2 of 6 for 14 yards is never a good thing being hit 17 times is a sure-fire way to play yourself out of the league. The Jets need to cut their losses and cut ties with Hackenberg. Or put him out for an entire year and guarantee they get the number one pick in the draft next year.
13. Desean Watson struggled in his second pre-season game. Watson was flustered by New England’s defense. That doesn’t mean you should discount him though. With only three completions Watson put up 103 yards. Tom Savage looked good as well though going 8 of 9 and throwing a touchdown. Week three is the game. I don’t think you can make a call on the starter before week three after the last two games from the Texans QB position have been so equal. Credit to Houston both of these guys looks like they won’t be liabilities to the team. That is all you really need with the best defense in the NFL behind you.
14. Paxton Lynch is a bust. Lynch looked sloppy at best vs the Niners. I would be shocked if he ended up winning the starting job. His delivery was late, he looked sluggish in the pocket, his footwork was a mess and he had no touch on the ball. Lynch is holding the team back at this point its time to give up on him maybe you can trade him away for a 4th to 7th round pick.
15. Trevor Simiean won this job. He tore apart a second string Niners defense as he was expected to. The highlight of the night was his touchdown pass to Jordan Taylor.
16. Jared Goff looks so good in Sean Mcvays offense. Throwing 14 of 17 for 145 yards and a touchdown. Goff looked like a number one overall pick. I was so happy to see Mcvay open up the offense after keeping Goff under wraps in week one. Todd Gurley, however, continues to struggle. Gurley ran for 38 yards on 8 carries but at times failed to find the holes.
17. Mike Glennon continues to look average. Trubisky out played him once again in my opinion.