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Pencils are down. The preseason is over. The 53-man rosters are set.
In nine days, the Seahawks will unfurl their second championship banner at Lumen Field in front of the 12s to a thunderous ovation, doing so in front of the AFC-champion Patriots. One day later, it’s the Rams and 49ers in the first-ever Australia game before a full Week 1 slate gets rolling.
But before the season gets into full swing, let’s look back at the good, bad and ugly portions of training camp and preseason football, ranging from the Raiders being smart with Fernando Mendoza and the Browns enraging their fans, to a potential steal at quarterback in the AFC North and the Lions having real issues before the ball even gets kicked off.
However, we start in Foxborough, where the Patriots are coming off a surprise trip to the Super Bowl and responding with a proactive approach to a roster that needed reinforcements and got them.
Good: How the Patriots responded to a surprise AFC title run
I did a training camp tour of the East Coast, seeing the Bills and Ravens, among others, the two teams with the consensus best odds to emerge from a wide-open AFC.
But the best team I saw this summer? The Patriots.
On Aug. 19, I caught the much-anticipated joint practice between New England and the Eagles. While Philadelphia was notably without receivers Makai Lemon and DeVonta Smith due to hamstring injuries, it was notable just how overmatched the Eagles looked that afternoon.
New England went 14–3 and reached the Super Bowl last year, and yet it’s primarily being dismissed as a second-rate contender after feasting on a cupcake schedule in 2025, including four games against playoff teams. Now facing a much tougher slate, including road games against the Bills, Seahawks, Chiefs, Jaguars, Bears and Chargers, the downfall has its preordained excuse.
Yet this offseason, the Patriots added receivers A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, replacing Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte, who was traded. Both are good players, but consider how the league valued them. Boutte fetched backup safety Jaylen Reed and a 2028 seventh-round pick, while Diggs was a free agent into August.
Finally, let’s not forget Drake Maye, who earned second-team All-Pro honors by throwing for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns, despite playing behind a line that allowed the ninth-most sacks (48) and the second-most of any playoff team. He was also first in EPA (151.3) and second in EPA on throws with 20-plus air yards (59.0), completing 50% of those attempts.
With a quality deep-ball threat in Brown and an offensive line that added veteran guard Alijah Vera-Tucker alongside an eventual starter in first-round tackle Caleb Lomu, the Patriots will be a tougher out than many anticipate.
Bad: Deshaun Watson being treated like a viable starting QB in 2026
Going into the summer, first-year coach Todd Monken had two options. He could go with a 24-year-old in Shedeur Sanders, a fifth-round pick from 2025 who struggled as a rookie with seven touchdowns against 10 interceptions, but now has much better weapons after Cleveland drafted receivers KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston. Or, Monken could choose Deshaun Watson, a 30-year-old who in four years has nine wins and 19 starts due to suspension and injuries, all while entering the last year of a fully guaranteed $230 million deal.
Perhaps because of the money, or perhaps because Monken truly believes Watson gives Cleveland a better shot at winning than Sanders, the 60-year-old coach went with the veteran despite one of the more tone deaf press conferences ever witnessed.
The reality? Watson isn’t good. He hasn’t been good since the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the start of the 2021 season, he’s never played more than eight games, thrown for 1,200 yards or tossed at least 10 touchdowns in any season. There’s literally no world where Watson is on the Browns in 2027. Maybe Sanders isn’t good. But at least there’s a maybe. There’s no maybe with Watson. He can’t play and has proven that at every turn since getting to Cleveland.
Lastly, think of Cleveland’s offensive core. Left tackle Spencer Fano is 21 years old. Tight end Harold Fannin Jr. and running back Quidshon Judkins are both 22. Concepcion and Boston are 21 and 22, respectively. Who fits the timeline better? And if Sanders proves a viable option moving forward, the Browns would now have the piece they’ve been searching for since Bernie Kosar was unceremoniously sent packing by Bill Belichick in 1993.
There’s no downside to playing Sanders. There’s literally no upside in playing Watson.
Ugly: Everything going on with Atlanta’s quarterback competition
Going into camp, Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. were in contention for the starting job in Atlanta. Somehow, Penix has a good chance to start Week 1 against the Steelers despite not practicing all summer while rehabbing from a torn ACL.
Kevin Stefanski must feel like he’s in a football version of Groundhog Day. After leaving the Browns for the Falcons, he once again finds himself with talent at certain spots but an underwhelming quarterback situation. In short, the Dolphins released Tagovailoa in March, taking on $99.2 million of dead money after watching him throw 15 interceptions in 14 games last year. Meanwhile, Penix is rebounding from his third torn ACL and has 12 touchdown passes with a 59.6% completion rate through two seasons.
If the Falcons had a competent quarterback, they’d be dangerous offensively. Running back Bijan Robinson is a first-team All-Pro. Drake London is a Pro Bowl-caliber receiver. Tight end Kyle Pitts made second-team All-Pro last season. The pieces are there. Unfortunately, the quarterback isn’t.
Compound that situation with the year-long absence of edge rusher Jalon Walker (ACL) and the eight-game suspension of fellow pass rusher James Pearce Jr., and Atlanta has endured one of the tougher offseasons of any team.
Good: The Raiders’ handling of Fernando Mendoza
Far too often, first-round rookie quarterbacks get thrust into a job they aren’t ready for. Kudos to the Raiders for not making Mendoza the latest victim in this trend.
With Kirk Cousins poised to be the starter until further notice, the No. 1 pick can get mental reps during games while learning in the classroom and second-team reps throughout practice. For Las Vegas, a team with a justifiable long-term view, starting Mendoza in Week 1 made little sense. Still, so many franchises in similar positions give in to public pressure and do it anyway with players in that coveted draft slot.
Last year, the Titans gave the job to Cam Ward and watched him post a league-worst -143.3 EPA. The year before, Caleb Williams was given the keys in Chicago and took a league-high 68 sacks before being saved by coach Ben Johnson in his second season. In 2023, Bryce Young started 16 games and threw 11 touchdowns against 10 interceptions while going 2–14 and also posted a league-worst EPA of -184.3.
At some point this year, it’s likely Mendoza starts. In fact, the last time a first-round quarterback didn’t play a meaningful game without being injured? Jordan Love in 2020, who sat behind Aaron Rodgers. Before him? Patrick Mahomes in 2017. It rarely happens. Mendoza is a great bet to start sometime this fall, and get plenty of snaps to help him prepare for 2027 and beyond.
But for now, first-year coach Klint Kubiak is doing right by his rookie, something that all too often doesn’t happen anymore.
Bad: Jeremiyah Love being needlessly subjected to injury
Speaking of rookies being put in bad positions, Love’s situation might be the worst.
Love was already thrust into a tough spot after the Cardinals selected him with the No. 3 pick in the draft. He’s on a team with a bad offensive line while also being saddled with a quarterback carousel that includes Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew II and Carson Beck. Translation? Rushing yards will be hard to come by with eight defenders in the box.
However, Love was then thrust into Arizona’s first preseason game and didn’t see a few carries, but 11 of them (along with three catches). The result was a high ankle sprain that could cost him regular-season time. Understandably, first-year coach Mike LaFleur is going to have growing pains, but trotting out a rookie back for so many touches in a meaningless game is indefensible.
For comparison’s sake, fellow first-round back Jadarian Price hasn’t totaled a single carry for the Seahawks in the preseason. Third-rounder Kaelon Black has 12 carries this entire summer for the 49ers.
Plenty of coaches and executives around the league will tell you the only way for a player to improve and be evaluated is to play. That’s true. But playing a top pick that much in a preseason game is malpractice, and a decision that could cost a Cardinals team without much margin for error.
Ugly: The Lions’ secondary could be a horror show
Last year, the Lions missed the playoffs. If they do so again, it’ll likely be because they can’t stop anybody from completing a pass.
This offseason, the secondary has gone from a massive question mark to downright abysmal. Star safety Kerby Joseph is starting the season on the PUP list due to a knee condition that limited him to six games in 2025. Fellow stud defensive back Brian Branch is also on the PUP list stemming from a torn Achilles sustained in Week 14 against the Cowboys last season.
Then there’s corner Terrion Arnold, a 2023 second-round pick who was released after being charged with eight felony counts in June,3 including kidnapping. Arnold has since signed with the defending-champion Seahawks and been placed on the commissioner’s exempt list.
Going into the season opener on Sept. 13 against the Saints, the secondary should shape up with D.J. Reed and Rock Ya-Sin on the perimeter while Roger McCreary and Keith Abney II will fight for slot snaps with Christian Izien (undisclosed) battling to get healthy. At safety, Avonte Maddox and Chuck Clark are on the back end, but neither is an ideal starter at this point in their respective careers.
For Dan Campbell’s crew, it might mean having to win a lot of games with a high-octane offense and an opportunistic defense.
Good: Drew Allar looking fantastic in Pittsburgh
Allar ended up being one of a whopping four quarterbacks kept by the Steelers, but he’s the one with the most upside after an eye-opening preseason.
While some panned the pick of Allar in the third round from nearby Penn State, Allar has proven worthy of the investment thus far. In his preseason debut against the Packers, Allar came off the bench to complete 10-of-13 passes for 153 yards and two passing touchdowns, including a rushing score. For the preseason, Allar completed 30-of-54 passes for 351 yards. However, in his final two preseason games, he was only 20-of-41 for 198 yards and zero touchdowns on 4.8 yards per attempt, but some of his throws were legitimately jaw-dropping.
With 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers proclaiming this is his final season, Allar could be the heir apparent. He’d certainly be a find for Pittsburgh in multiple ways, both securing a long-term answer at the sport’s paramount position while also giving general manager Omar Khan a bundle of cap flexibility throughout Allar’s rookie deal.
There’s a long way between the present and next season, but if Allar can continue growing both mentally and physically, his ceiling might prove lofty.
Bad: Philadelphia’s moves to immediately bolster the offense
Howie Roseman has a case as the best general manager in football. He has two Super Bowl rings and three NFC championships. Few can match that résumé.
However, Roseman might look back on this offseason and harp on a few moves.
For starters, the Eagles drafted Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers in the second round. Stowers has struggled mightily, both in practice and in games, going without a catch this preseason. It’s been so bad that beat writer Jimmy Kempski suggested Stowers could be inactive on gamedays. This doesn’t mean Stowers won’t eventually round into a plus player, but as a rookie, it could be an uphill climb.
Watching the Eagles during that aforementioned joint practice in Foxborough, the lack of receiver depth was apparent. Dontayvion Wicks is respectable after posting 30 catches for 332 yards in Green Bay last year, but Hollywood Brown appears to be on the downside. Despite being the Chiefs’ top receiver in 2025 with 587 yards, the speed and explosion are dwindling for the 29-year-old.
Then there’s first-round receiver Makai Lemon, who was a slot extraordinaire at USC but dealt with a hamstring issue for much of training camp. Already with the pressure of replacing some of A.J. Brown’s departed production, Lemon is in a more spotlighted position than most rookies. Missing so many reps could cause a delay in his contributions, putting an Eagles team that desperately needs him in a bind.
If Lemon and Stowers can’t be immediate difference-makers, Philadelphia will need back Saquon Barkley and Smith to do almost all of the lifting for an offense with its fifth coordinator in as many years.
Ugly: The number of teams that could soft-tank for QBs
Tanking is usually a problem for the NBA to tackle. Every once in a while, we see it in the NHL as well. The NFL? It’s rarely been a topic of discussion.
That might change come December and January. Texas’s Arch Manning could be a prize for the team with the worst record, and don’t be surprised if there are a host of teams vying for that mark, including the Cardinals, Browns, Jets and Dolphins, all of whom desperately need an answer under center.
Beyond the obvious, the potential tank jobs could also impact the playoff races. Just looking at those four teams, if they play young talent and sit some more experienced players, easy wins are there for the Bills and Patriots, who each play New York and Miami twice over the final four weeks.
The argument against full-on tanking is the rest of the class. While Manning is expected to be the No. 1 pick in many circles, there’s also Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, Oregon’s Dante Moore, Notre Dame’s CJ Carr and others. All told, there’s a reality where a half-dozen quarterbacks go in the first round.
Still, if there’s a name that tops the rest, especially if that name is Manning, don’t be surprised to see shenanigans late.
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MATT VERDERAME
Matt Verderame is a national NFL staff writer for Sports Illustrated, writing features, columns and more. Before joining Sports Illustrated in March 2023, Verderame wrote for FanSided and SB Nation. He’s a proud husband to Stephanie and father of two girls, Maisy and Genevieve. In his spare time, Verderame is an avid collector of vintage baseball cards.
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