The big winners and losers in Week 2 of the 2018 NFL preseason

The second week of the preseason is a little bit of a comedown from the euphoria of “welcome back, football!” the week before. That doesn’t mean there aren’t things get excited about, though.

This year, the matchups are pretty dang good for a random preseason week. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers made their 2018 debuts Thursday night and — shocker of all shockers — they looked like two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks.

Friday is Brownsbills Day — and this time, the game is worth watching, mostly because of the two rookie quarterbacks (Baker Mayfield vs. Josh Allen), but also because Tyrod Taylor has a chance to go all Kill Bill on the, uh, Bills.

We’re keeping track of the big winners and losers over the weekend, up through the Week 2 finale Monday night. Be sure to check back as we update our list.

OK, so the Patriots’ preseason win over the Eagles definitely doesn’t make up for their Super Bowl loss in February. But after six months of people basking in the glow of New England being a five-time Super Bowl loser, it had to feel good for the Patriots to get a small measure of revenge — especially since they looked so great doing it.

In a lot of ways, the Pats’ 37-20 blowout win was what many fans expected out of that winter night in Minnesota. Brady was efficient and hardly faced any pressure (perhaps more importantly, the Patriots didn’t try to turn him into a receiver on any plays). James White found every hole as a receiver and runner, gaining 91 yards on just 10 touches. The New England defense had some fight, allowing just seven points in the first half and harassing the Philly quarterbacks to the tune of eight sacks.

The Eagles were sloppy and sometimes undisciplined: they turned the ball over twice and totaled nine penalties. Nick Foles, who missed last week due to muscle spasms, was easily rattled and kept missing his receivers — and that was before he left the game with a shoulder strain.

But nothing changes the past. The Eagles are still the reigning champs and Foles is still a Super Bowl MVP (and Carson Wentz’s backup).

And right now, what matters is the future. For the Patriots, that looks like nothing but sunshine, as usual. They had some kinks to work out; earlier this week, Brady seemed frustrated with himself and with his receivers. But they were on the same page Thursday night and that bodes well for the regular season:

Tom Brady's targets in preseason debut -
James White: 6-of-6, 61 yards, TD
Chris Hogan: 5-of-7, 25 yards, TD
Julian Edelman: 4-of-5, 26 yards
Phillip Dorsett: 1-of-3, four yards
Will Tye: 1-of-2, 11 yards
Cord Patterson: 1-of-2, 23 yards
Jacob Hollister: 1-of-1, 22 yards
— Oliver Thomas (@OliverBThomas) August 17, 2018

Despite the forgettable night, the Eagles should be fine, too. If nothing else, no one can ever take that Super Bowl 52 win away. — Sarah Hardy

Loser: Mason Rudolph’s first start

After a solid outing last week in the second half of his first preseason game, the Steelers’ backup had a rougher go of it against the Packers defense. The first throw of the game was a pick-six by Rudolph. Packers corner Tramon Williams jumped the route and ran it back 25 yards for a score.

He redeemed himself two drives later, finding JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 4-yard touchdown, after the Steelers got the ball back because of a Packers fumble. Rudolph finished the night 5-for-12 with 47 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

It wasn’t an awful performance, but it wasn’t exactly the kind of outing that inspires much confidence in the rookie’s readiness to be the No. 2 QB in Pittsburgh. — Ryan Van Bibber

Winner: The Joshua Dobbs and James Washington duo

The Steelers’ other backup quarterback had a better game. His two touchdowns came against the bottom of the Packers roster, but a good effort is a good effort.

Dobbs’ first pass was a pick six too, but he had a nice evening after that. Regardless of the level of competition he was playing against, what stood out most was that he had the offense humming along. He and rookie receiver James Washington had a mind meld going:

Washington made tough catches and caught the deep throws, finishing with 114 yards on five catches. — Ryan Van Bibber

Get used to hearing that. The two scored an easy red zone touchdown from 8 yards out to cap off Green Bay’s first drive of the game.

That’s a big reason the Packers, normally tight-fisted in free agency, went out and signed Graham to a three-year, $30 million contract. Green Bay’s tight ends caught a grand total of two touchdowns last season. — Ryan Van Bibber

Conner’s touchdown in the first quarter wasn’t necessarily the kind of thing that really puts a preseason game on anyone’s radar. But he did manage to rush for 57 yards on just five carries, and when you put that next to his 4.5 yards per carry last season, his rookie year, it’s a good sign.

Bigger than that, Conner’s a great person to root for. He beat cancer during his college career at Pitt, and got picked with the 105th selection in the 2017 draft by the hometown team. — Ryan Van Bibber

Darnold’s stats against Washington didn’t really jump off the page, but he didn’t do anything to derail his chances of winning the starting job, either. An interception in the second quarter damaged his QB rating, but it wasn’t exactly the kind of pick that’s going to give Jets fans Mark Sanchez flashbacks. It was just a tipped pass on fourth-and-1 that he probably shouldn’t have thrown.

He finished the first half 8-for-11 with 62 yards, a pick and 5.6 yards per attempt. He was 6-for-6 in the shotgun, with 42 yards, but just 2-for-5 under center.

Darnold’s place on the roster is not in doubt, but he will need a good outing next week to get the hype train back on track and maybe have a chance to start in Week 1. — Ryan Van Bibber

The Darnold hype train took a sidetrack while the Teddy Train was full speed ahead.

He was 8-for-12 with a touchdown, but on his 13th pass, he forced a throw to the sideline that wasn’t well placed. Interception. Cold water.

For all the talk about trading him, maybe that’s not a wise move for the Jets. It’s not like this is a team known for its stellar quarterback play in recent decades. He’s clearly the best quarterback on the roster right now. — Ryan Van Bibber

Loser: The injury bug

Injuries never belong in the “winners” column, but they’re double losers in meaningless preseason games.

Here’s a quick rundown of which players were injured Thursday night:

Eagles: backup QB Nick Foles (shoulder)
Patriots: rookie OT Isaiah Wynn (ankle)
Washington: RBs Samaje Perine (ankle) and Byron Marshall (leg), for the same team that lost rookie Derrius Guice to an ACL tear last week
Packers: RB Jamaal Williams (ankle), guard Justin McCray (leg), and WR Jake Kumerow (shoulder)

It’s too soon to say which, if any, of the injuries are serious — the early word was positive for Perine, Marshall, Williams, McCray, and Kumerow, at least. But either way, every preseason injury deserves a big “booooooooo.” — Sarah Hardy

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