What We Actually Learned from NFL Preseason Week 2

What We Actually Learned from NFL Preseason Week 2

The NFL’s second week of preseason football has concluded, and the regular season is rapidly approaching. Position battles are wrapping up, final roster moves are being made, and players are preparing for the 18 weeks they are about to embark on. 

Browns Finally Answer QB Questions

The Cleveland Browns have announced their Week 1 starting quarterback. Deshaun Watson will be the man to lead Cleveland when they travel to Jacksonville. It seemed as though second year man Shedeur Sanders was going to get the nod after Watson called out Browns fans for booing him this past Saturday, but Todd Monken and company decided that wouldn’t play into the decision. 

The organization faces backlash from the choice. Fans don’t seem to want anything to do with Watson, and are being told they should boycott the home opener. ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky expressed his disgust with the decision on First Take, “I’m being dead serious when I say this, Browns fans should not go to games. At some point there has to be a tipping point.”

Time will tell if Deshaun Watson is the right choice for the 2026 season, but up to this point, he hasn’t done anything to show that would be the case.

J.J. McCarthy Continues To Struggle

Before the Vikings signed Kyler Murray during the offseason, it seemed like J.J. McCarthy was in the driver’s seat to be the starter. Even after Murray arrived in Minnesota, McCarthy was battling to be the Vikings QB1. However, after struggling throughout training camp, it was clear that McCarthy wasn’t going to be the starter. The Vikings went on to name Murray the starter, and McCarthy has continued to struggle during preseason.

Against Baltimore this past Saturday, McCarthy completed 5 of 10 passes for only 81 yards. He also air mailed two consecutive passes over his receivers heads in the red zone on 3rd and 4th and 1. McCarthy ended up exiting the game early after taking a hard hit, leaving his QB2 status up in the air with veteran Carson Wentz close behind. 

Steelers Offensive Line Struggles

The Steelers may have had the worst performance of any team this week. They were shutout at home 17-0 by the Jets. Now obviously the result of a preseason game doesn’t matter, but it was the way in which they lost. The offensive line looked nonexistent, largely because of 2023 first round pick Broderick Jones. He gave up five pressures and two sacks. Jones suffered a season ending neck injury during the 2025 season, and has struggled mightily since returning. 

It’s unclear whether Jones will get back to full form, but at this point he has plenty of work to do.

Seattle’s Backup QB Stability

With Sam Darnold resting up for the regular season, Drew Lock has shown he can be the guy if Darnold is ever to go down. Facing the Tennessee Titans, Lock started the game a perfect 11 for 11 and led the team on a touchdown drive to open the game. He would finish the game 12 of 14 for 103 yards and a touchdown. This was definitely a small sample size, but Lock made it known that when provided an opportunity, he can keep the offense afloat. 

Preseason Isn’t The End All Be All

While these results all mean something to each individual team, the preseason won’t determine who hoists the Lombardi Trophy in February. At the very least, it provides some intrigue to certain storylines. At the end of the day, what really matters is what teams do during the 18 weeks of an NFL regular season.