NFL preseason schedule and live updates: Jets vs Commanders, Bills vs Bears (2024)

Check out scores and coverage from Thursday and Friday’s preseason games as well as what's on tap for Saturday.

Thursday's games

Patriots 17, Panthers 3 — FINAL

• With Panthers starters sitting, some players help themselves, others don’t
• Patriots stock report

Giants 14, Lions 3 — FINAL

• Takeaways from Brian Daboll’s 2024 debut as play caller
• Lions stock report

Friday's games

Dolphins 20, Falcons 13 — FINAL

Texans 20, Steelers 12 — FINAL

Eagles 16, Ravens 13 — FINAL

Saturday's games

Commanders at Jets, 12 p.m. ET

Bears at Bills, 1 p.m. ET (NFL Network)

Raiders at Vikings, 4 p.m. ET (NFL Network)

Packers at Browns, 4:25 p.m. ET

Chiefs at Jaguars, 7 p.m. ET (NFL Network)

49ers at Titans, 7 p.m. ET

Buccaneers at Bengals, 7 p.m. ET

Seahawks at Chargers, 7:05 p.m. ET

Saints at Cardinals, 8 p.m. ET

FULL PRESEASON WEEK 1 SCHEDULE

When Jarrett Stidham threw four touchdowns in as many attempts during a red zone period with the first-team offense Thursday, it served as an exclamation point on a strong opening three weeks of training camp. Stidham, entering his seventh NFL season, has been the Broncos’ most consistent quarterback. He has avoided mistakes. He’s run a clean operation at the line of scrimmage. He’s delivered the ball quickly and efficiently, mitigating pressure with quick decision-making.

“The second year in the system, things are coming more naturally to me,” Stidham said. “Last year I’d call a play and I’m thinking, ‘OK, so I called this. My read is here to here.’ Now, it’s more like second nature so I’m able to focus more on the defense and what they’re doing. ‘OK, is the play that we have called, is it good against this coverage, or do I need to change something in the run game?’ I’m able to focus more on what the defense is doing to us, versus on what we’re doing to them.”

Stidham needs to show that his efficiency and reliability in camp can translate into productive offense for the Broncos if he’s going to win the starting job. The comfort with the system has given him an edge in camp, but will it let him play loose enough in this critical audition to move the ball down the field, improvise on third downs and put the Broncos on the scoreboard? Even though Stidham has been the steadier quarterback in camp, Bo Nix hasn’t been far behind. The Broncos invested a first-round pick in the rookie quarterback, and in a tight competition, the desire to begin in-game development for Nix could prove to be a critical part of the Broncos’ quarterback decision.

Stidham must show his edge on the practice field can also translate into games if he wants to make his case for the job too strong to argue.

Read more here on things to watch for the Broncos' preseason opener.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Grinning last month, Louis Rees-Zammit shared just how much he wanted to experience his first full-contact hit as an NFL player. Rees-Zammit, the Welsh former rugby star who joined the Kansas City Chiefs in March, knew he was just a few days away from his first training camp practice in full pads.

“I can’t wait to see the difference,” Rees-Zammit said.

His true “welcome to the NFL” moment, when the intensity level surprised him, came the morning of July 28, which was the Chiefs’ third consecutive padded practice. Rees-Zammit’s one-on-one drill that day was one every running back in the NFL has had to endure: The blitzing linebacker or safety charging into the backfield, the lone assignment for the running back is to prevent the defender from reaching the quarterback.

Across from Rees-Zammit on the field was linebacker Cole Christiansen, who like Rees-Zammit is trying to earn one of the final spots on the Chiefs’ initial 53-man roster. With quarterback Patrick Mahomes holding the ball in the pocket, Christiansen attacked from the B gap. Upon impact, Rees-Zammit lost his leverage and found out just how badly he could lose a pass-blocking rep. Christiansen de-cleated Rees-Zammit.

“It’s very physical,” Rees-Zammit said after Wednesday’s practice. “I’ve had to learn to adapt and lower my body height. In rugby, that’s not too much of a big deal. The blows you take here are pretty big. To be honest with you, it’s a completely different sport.

“I’ve never had to pass protect before. It’s actually illegal in rugby. I have to try to pick it up as quickly as possible. I’m not going to be amazing to start with.”

Read more here.

From April 29

Caleb Williams was losing “board races” at Gonzaga College High School and he didn’t like it.

But Williams had to learn.

Those board races were run in spring meetings by Danny Schaechter, Gonzaga’s offensive coordinator at the time. Schaechter would signal in the call: personnel, formation and play.

Personnel Kings, Right Wide, Basketball, Boston, South

“It would be a race who could draw up all 11” on a dry-erase board, he said.

The quarterbacks had to know everyone’s assignments, the pass protection up front, the reads and more.

“The whole shebang,” Schaechter said.

The winning quarterback would then have to articulate it all — and do so against different coverages. Later on, other players were included in the meetings for the board races, adding more pressure.

“Caleb lost a lot,” Schaechter said.

Williams was an incoming freshman — a newcomer to Gonzaga, a Washington, D.C., football powerhouse. Two upperclassmen would be his competition. He had the arm talent and physical gifts to compete with them. But they knew the offense. He didn’t.

The same struggles happened during what Schaechter called “shadow walkthroughs” in which the quarterbacks would run plays by themselves against defensive calls and then explain their actions.

“The big differentiator is the mental side of the game,” Schaechter said. “He really took it to heart when he would lose four races and when he would get it wrong when it came to those shadow reps.”

Read more here.

From July 26

ASHBURN, Va. — Training camp takeaway: Jayden Daniels lives by the philosophy of never letting them see you sweat.

The Washington Commanders have yet to name a starting quarterback. Veteran Marcus Mariota worked as the first quarterback in position drills, 11-on-11 and seven-on-seven for the third consecutive day. Coach Dan Quinn sees no reason to rush the announcement or process.

“We have an effective plan for him, and Jayden’s the type of guy that wants to go nail it, in terms of each day, each marker to go,” Quinn said before Friday’s practice. “But we’re going to stay true to this.”

This approach is annoying fans and others who wanted the inevitable answer weeks ago to end the charade of who will be under center for the Week 1 matchup at Tampa Bay, and to genuinely begin the era with the rookie positioned as the franchise’s long-term solution. Mariota is the experienced half of the quarterback battle but not the chosen one.

Friday marked the first time reporters could check in with Daniels during camp. He wore a black tank top and sat in a burgundy folding chair in the open-air media tent. Combined with a chill yet quiet and confident demeanor, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner could be mistaken for a beach dweller taking a break from the sunshine. Nothing behind a steady, wry smile offered signs of stress despite wrapping up practices minutes before and the starter question lingering.

That’s not because he assumes Quinn will declare him Washington’s QB1. The challenge of rising above the fray is where the 23-year-old finds joy.

“I like competing. Regardless of whether I was announced as the starter or not, you still have to compete,” Daniels said earnestly. “You can’t be content with your job or comfortable and think this is your job. You have to go out there and compete. It’s not a problem at all.”

Read more here.

BALTIMORE — We’ve seen this movie before. The Baltimore Ravens begin the season feeling good about their cornerback depth, then the injuries start at the position. Rinse, wash, repeat.

There’s a good reason why the team’s decision-makers at draft time say, “You can never have enough cornerbacks” nearly as often as they use the phrase, “Best player available.”

The cornerback injuries have arrived early this year. The most encouraging performance from an otherwise nondescript 16-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the preseason opener Friday night at M&T Bank Stadium was the play of rookie first-round cornerback Nate Wiggins.

He had three pass breakups against quarterback Kenny Pickett on Philadelphia’s first offensive series, including one to secure a fourth-down stop. He nearly had a fourth one — and an interception — on the Eagles’ next drive.

He was displaying all the qualities the Ravens loved when they selected the Clemson cornerback at No. 30 in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He was anticipating throws, attaching himself to pass catchers, hunting interceptions and making plays on the ball.

Wiggins was still on the field early in the third quarter when he aggressively came forward to read an Eagles screen pass on third-and-6 and extended his right arm to upend running back Lew Nichols for a loss of 1 yard. Wiggins immediately hopped to his feet to celebrate the tackle, but it became clear as he headed to the sideline that he was in some pain from his right arm/shoulder area.

Wiggins ducked inside the blue medical tent, from which he emerged several minutes later clearly favoring his right shoulder. He went directly to the locker room with members of the team’s medical staff trailing him. The Ravens announced the rookie had a shoulder injury and he did not return.

“I don’t really have any updates on anybody’s status right now,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “We’ll find out more tomorrow when he gets tested.”

Read more here.

The second-year linebacker, who was a safety coming out of high school before he developed into an excellent blitzing ‘backer at TCU, has blossomed into a promising force against the run — especially on plays that stretch the perimeter — at the NFL level over the past several months.

In June, star linebacker Fred Warner said Winters might’ve delivered the best OTA period of any player on the 49ers roster.

“He came in great shape this OTA, so he set himself up to have a great training camp,” Warner said.

That has indeed come to fruition. Though he might’ve been a bit grabby on the rep, Winters beat Christian McCaffrey to knock the ball away in one-on-one coverage drills last week, which is no small feat. He’s developed a noticeable presence on the second level working primarily with the second team. A recent injury to Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles has opened the door for some first-team reps, and Winters hasn’t looked out of place there, either.

The 49ers don’t tackle to the ground during practice, though. Saturday’s game marks the first opportunity in months to do that, and it can give us a good gauge of where Winters is in his development.

Read about more 49ers to watch vs. the Titans.

The Commanders announce those not playing today. Includes top three OTs...

LB Dante Fowler Jr.

S Darrick Forrest

LB Bobby Wagner

T Andrew Wylie

T Brandon Coleman

T Cornelius Lucas

TE Zach Ertz

DT Jonathan Allen

DT Daron Payne

DT Jer'Zhan Newton

DE Efe ObadaI’m

This isn’t some grand statement. Sam Darnold’s play in an Aug. 10 preseason game is not likely to have any real bearing on his role or season as a whole. Struggle mightily, though, and the wheels will start spinning.

Neither Kevin O’Connell nor the Minnesota locker room is likely to overreact, but the fans assuredly will — even more so if J.J. McCarthy excels. For the record, Darnold has been everything the Vikings would have hoped since training camp began. His arm talent surfaces daily. His athleticism is surprisingly impressive up close. O’Connell wanted him to feel a real game week and the game day processes that come with his system. Darnold is playing for that reason, and it should be a nice litmus test.

Read more here on which Vikings have the most to gain or lose on Saturday vs. the Raiders.

This will be the most important thing to keep tabs on in each of the Raiders’ three preseason games. It’s common knowledge that Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell have struggled through training camp, but this gives them a big opportunity to turn things in their favor. Pierce said each quarterback will play one quarter against the Vikings, so they should get close to the same number of reps regardless of who takes the first snap.

The Vikings probably won’t utilize their full defensive scheme in the preseason, but coordinator Brian Flores’ blitz-happy, aggressive approach should still present a unique challenge for both quarterbacks, especially with receiver Davante Adams out (he is staying in Las Vegas in anticipation of his wife soon giving birth). While the quarterbacks can’t do it alone — this is a proving ground for offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and the rest of the offense, too — whichever quarterback navigates it better will earn a leg up in the race to become the starter.

“This preseason game will be very telling,” Pierce said. “I want to see these guys take care of the ball, manage the team and take care of situational football.”

Read more here.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — With 13 open practices completed, the Packers fly to Cleveland on Friday for their Saturday preseason opener against the Browns. Quarterback Jordan Love and healthy starters will play briefly — we think — before the roster battles deeper down the depth chart take center stage.

Love’s status might be in question, however, after he got knocked down on the final play of Thursday’s practice. Love was inadvertently knocked over during an 11-on-11 drill and appeared to sustain a minor left leg injury. He was grabbing at the back of his left leg, walking gingerly and head trainer Bryan Engel was playing with Love’s left knee, though Love walked without a hobble and jogged not long after. He was in good spirits in the locker room after practice, too.

Love didn’t speak with reporters Thursday and the Packers don’t have open practice Friday, so we’ll see Saturday whether they’ll take precautions with their $220 million quarterback.

Aside from Love’s status, here are five position battles to watch closest on Saturday and throughout the rest of the preseason.