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Watch the highlights from the Detroit Lions and the Cincinnati Bengals matchup during Preseason Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season
Bengals
1-0
202616-14
Lions
0-1
2026
- First look at Bengals under center. The under-center play-action game the Bengals offense wanted to employ more in 2026 struggled early in training camp. The first-team crew smoothed out that operation in the first preseason game. Joe Burrow’s first pass was a play-action strike from under center to Ja’Marr Chase for 16 yards. Over two drives, Burrow was under center on seven of 13 snaps, including going 2-of-2 passing for 25 yards. Cincy is hoping to employ more under-center usage, particularly in the play-action game, to make the offense more diverse this season. Given how the adjustment was going early in camp, it’s good to see positive results in the preseason. The negative: Burrow was smoked twice, taking a sack on the opening drive and being hit hard after left tackle Orlando Brown allowed a quick pressure.
- TeSlaa still driving struggle bus. Isaac TeSlaa’s sluggish training camp continued into the first preseason game. The second-year wideout entered 2026 expecting a burgeoning role in the Lions’ offense. Thus far, things have not gone as planned. Not only was TeSlaa playing with the backups, but Thursday night went about as poorly as it could have. His first target sailed through the wideout’s hands and caromed off his helmet for an interception that killed a promising first drive. Two possessions later, TeSlaa had another perfect ball from Luke Altmyer go right through his mitts on a fourth down. For the night, TeSlaa caught zero passes on three targets while running 11 routes. The second-year WR has significant strides to make to be a notable part of this offense in 2026.
— Kevin Patra
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Watch the highlights from the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers matchup during Preseason Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season
Steelers
1-0
202628-9
Packers
0-1
2026
FULL BOX SCORE
- Bernard aces first test. Pittsburgh will rely most this season on wide receivers DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman, who both sat Thursday, but Germie Bernard certainly looked capable of contributing. While the second-round rookie took the field for the entire first half, he truly shined over the first two possessions catching passes from backup Mason Rudolph. Bernard dominated the targets, getting looks on five of Rudolph’s 11 attempts, and turned those opportunities into four catches for 51 yards. He also showed some tremendous run-after-the-catch ability, at one point spinning through defenders Keisean Nixon and Kitan Oladapo before rumbling along the sideline for more on a 25-yard snag. Bernard also found space to nearly haul in a touchdown after Rudolph danced around for a lifetime on a third-and-goal, but he was pushed out of bounds right at the last second. A bit of time after Bernard’s night was done, his fellow rookies, quarterback Drew Allar and WR Kaden Wetjen, made their mark in the late third quarter and onward. Allar tore up the bottom of Green Bay’s depth chart, going 10 of 13 for 153 yards and two touchdowns, plus another score on the ground. Wetjen contributed 74 of those yards on a single breakaway play and later caught one of the QB’s TD tosses. The preseason might be considered more of a quiz than a test, but a handful of Steelers rookies certainly passed whatever fans would like to call it.
- Smack smacked a couple big kicks through. Packers fans are acutely aware of the churn at kicker since Mason Crosby’s final 2022 season with the team. Green Bay selected Anders Carlson in the 2023 draft, but he lasted only one season, his final kick for the club a missed field-goal attempt that helped doom the Packers in the postseason. There was also the wayward six-game Brayden Narveson experiment, remedied midway through the 2024 campaign by Brandon McManus until last season, when McManus similarly melted down in the playoffs as his last act in green and gold. Now, enter sixth-round rookie Trey Smack. The Florida product has had an inconsistent training camp, causing Matt LaFleur to acknowledge Smack remains a work in progress. Thursday will ease concerns for the time being, though. He nailed a no-doubt 58-yarder on his very first NFL attempt. After a Pittsburgh penalty wiped it off the board, he stepped back up and converted a 37-yard boot four plays later. The rookie then boomed another 58-yard buzzer beater through the uprights before half. Smack finished the night 3 for 3 on field goals, providing a much-needed sigh of relief.
— Bobby Kownack
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Watch the highlights from the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots matchup during Preseason Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season
Colts
0-0-1
202613-13
Patriots
0-0-1
2026
FULL BOX SCORE
- Not much doing for AR. If Anthony Richardson — or the Colts — was aiming to stoke some trade interest, nothing was doing on Thursday night as he quarterbacked Indianapolis to seven points on six first-half drives. The 2023 NFL Draft’s No. 4 overall pick and one-time hopeful franchise QB finished Thursday completing 11 of 14 for 145 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. His stats, which included a 1-yard touchdown on a sneak and 53 yards on the ground, looked far rosier in the box score than to the eye. The interception wasn’t his fault, but a lost fumble was, and much of his passing production came on screens. Overall, it wasn’t really too terrible, but it was nothing to bolster enthusiasm that he could win the QB2 battle against Riley Leonard or garner trade suitors, which he’s sought since Daniel Jones has taken over as the team’s bona fide plan under center.
— Grant Gordon
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Highlights from the preseason Week 1 matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Houston Texans during the 2026 NFL season
Chargers
1-0
202627-7
Texans
0-1
2026
FULL BOX SCORE
- Texans have another promising young DB. He didn’t stuff the stat sheet, but safety Kamari Ramsey made a solid preseason debut. The fifth-round rookie played 23 defensive snaps and seemed to be hunting for an interception off Trey Lance for the entirety of the first half. He should’ve had one with a clear 20-yard path the other way for six in the second quarter but couldn’t corral it. He made up for it the following drive, jumping a head-scratching throw by Lance with Los Angeles right at the edge of the red zone and returning it 40 yards to midfield. He finished the contest with a game-high two passes defensed and added an assisted tackle on special teams. The Texans already boast one of the best secondaries in the league, featuring a starting group of Derek Stingley Jr., Kamari Lassiter, Jalen Pitre, Calen Bullock and Reed Blankenship. If Thursday night is any indication, the rich might have gotten richer.
— Bobby Kownack
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Watch the Arizona Cardinals vs. Las Vegas Raiders highlights during Preseason Week 1 of the 2026 season
Cardinals
1-1
202627-14
Raiders
0-1
2026
FULL BOX SCORE
- Love flashes potential in first outing.Jeremiyah Love took a series-and-a-half to find his pro gear. Then he mashed the pedal. The Arizona Cardinals running back’s first four carries went for 3 yards, 2, 1 and 2 yards, with a 2-yard catch mixed in. The slow start was wiped away with runs of 8, 9, and two 15-yarders before the end of the half. Love carried 11 times for 58 yards (5.3 YPC) and added three catches for 15 yards in the first half against Las Vegas. He showed solid vision and an ability to hit the hole later in the half. The 14 touches seemed like a conscious effort from coach Mike LaFleur to get his rookie back into the flow after the slow start. Particularly after Tyler Allgeier provided more pop on the first drive, letting Love show his upside felt like a priority. Despite six of his 11 carries going for 2 yards or fewer, Love’s ability to rip off chunk games will keep LaFleur calling his number.
- Mendoza shows promise in first Raiders action.Fernando Mendoza might not push Kirk Cousins off the Week 1 starting shelf, but the rookie quarterback flashed franchise-saving upside on Thursday night. After Cousins masterfully led an easy 10-play TD drive to open the game, Mendoza took over and let it rip. The No. 1 overall pick misfired on his first pass and nearly got Mike Washington Jr. knocked out with a ball that didn’t take the flat corner into consideration to end his first drive. From there, Mendoza zipped darts over the middle and showed excellent touch and ball placement. The moment didn’t look too big for the rookie, who calmly went through his progression and found the open target. In short, he looked like the player who led Indiana to the national championship. There were no noticeable issues with his footwork in his few reps from under center — something new to him — as he completed 3 of 4 for 39 yards lined up there, per Next Gen Stats. On the night, Mendoza finished 10-of-16 passing for 97 yards with a TD. As with all rookies, there are things to clean up, but it was a promising effort in Mendoza’s preseason debut.
— Kevin Patra
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Titans
1-0
202619-13
49ers
0-1
2026
FULL BOX SCORE
- 2025 No. 1 pick still has improvement ahead.Cam Ward’s Year 2 development remains a work in progress. Facing 49ers backups, Ward was scattershot, repeatedly missing what should be layups. The signal-caller missed some gimmes on the outside and misfired balls over the middle. At times, he looked off rhythm. After a solid first drive, in which the Titans leaned on the ground game and Ward hit Calvin Ridley in stride for a nice gain, things went sideways for the Titans offense. Ward was off target from the pocket, and when he attempted to make a play out of structure, disaster nearly struck. The QB was lucky he didn’t lose a fumble near his own goal line and was later nearly picked off. Ward went 5 of 12 for 57 yards on three drives. The QB never stretched the field, attempting just two passes of more than 7 air yards, with his longest completion going for 5.8 air yards, per Next Gen Stats. We don’t need to freak out over one poor preseason performance. There is still time for Ward to calm down in Brian Daboll’s scheme. Clearly, the QB was working on some things on Thursday night. We don’t need to mash the panic button just yet, but it wasn’t pretty.
- Rookie WR is sigh of early relief.De’Zhaun Stribling hushed some of the injury concerns in the 49ers receiver room with a dazzling first preseason performance. The second-round receiver flashed in every aspect, showing strong hands over the middle, great ball-tracking on a sideline bomb, and yards after the catch. Stribling generated seven catches on eight targets for 62 yards, with a long of 32 yards over 15 routes run. The 6-foot-2 receiver displayed the ability to use physicality to win, outmuscling Titans corners repeatedly. Stribling went against Tennessee’s starting unit and showed out. The rookie is ready for whatever role Kyle Shanahan has for him in 2026.
— Kevin Patra
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