Winners and losers from Week 1 of NFL preseason

The NFL is back, and we're here to examine the good and the bad from the first week of preseason action.

WinnersDaniel Jones

The rookie quarterback turned draft night jeers into preseason cheers with a spotless debut in the New York Giants' victory over the Jets. Jones completed all five of his passes for 67 yards, including a beautiful touchdown toss to Bennie Fowler threaded through tight coverage. The Giants drew widespread criticism when they reached in the draft to take Jones sixth overall, but now a chunk of the Big Blue faithful is clamoring for him to start Week 1 of the regular season over Eli Manning.

Patriots rookies

The early returns on the Patriots' highly regarded rookie class were overwhelmingly positive in their 31-3 rout of Detroit. First-round receiver N'Keal Harry made a couple of sweet grabs, third-round edge rusher Chase Winovich had 1.5 sacks, and fourth-round quarterback Jarrett Stidham looked comfortable and tossed a touchdown on his birthday. But the night belonged to Jakobi Meyers, an undrafted receiver from NC State who was the talk of training camp. He reeled in six catches for 69 yards and two touchdowns - all game-highs.

NFL Officials

The league's new pass interference challenges garnered plenty of offseason attention, but only one call was overturned in the first 17 exhibition games. Granted, some coaches may have thrown their red beanbags just to test the system - Vic Fangio of the Denver Broncos challenged a call in the Hall of Fame Game because he wanted to be the first coach to force such a review - but it's still a good sign for officials that replay confirmed all but one of their judgments. Adam Gase of the New York Jets is the only coach to successfully challenge pass interference so far.

Paxton Lynch

Unless you're a Broncos fan, you have to feel good for Lynch, who aided his comeback attempt with the Seattle Seahawks by burning his old team. Lynch went 11-of-15 for 109 yards and a touchdown against Denver, adding another score on the ground. The former first-round pick is battling Geno Smith for the backup job behind Russell Wilson, so his strong performance could have real implications. He should get another extended look in Week 2 of the preseason with Smith recovering from a procedure to remove a cyst from his knee.

LosersJaguars QBs

One of Gardner Minshew, Alex McGough, or Tanner Lee is going to be backing up Nick Foles in Jacksonville. Here's how they performed against the Baltimore Ravens while Foles sat out:

QB	CMP-ATT	YDS	TD/INT
Minshew	7-14	46	0/0
McGough	3-8	19	0/1
Lee	0-3	0	0/1

The Ravens did not play Earl Thomas, Tony Jefferson, Marlon Humphrey, Jimmy Smith, Brandon Carr, Tavon Young, or Anthony Levine Sr. - in other words, their entire secondary. Minshew is probably the favorite in the backup race given that the Jaguars spent a 2019 draft choice on him.

Dwayne Haskins

Two interceptions put a damper on the 15th overall pick's night versus the Cleveland Browns. Haskins checked out of the contest after going 8-of-14 for 117 yards, but the turnovers overshadowed those numbers. Haskins is competing with Case Keenum for the Washington Redskins' starting job, and his veteran counterpart threw a touchdown without committing any giveaways. Right now, it looks like Keenum has the upper hand.

Detroit Lions

Detroit looked lifeless in its 31-3 loss to the Patriots, even by preseason standards. The Lions surrendered nine sacks, including six in the first half. Their running and passing games both accomplished virtually nothing offensively, and they scored their only three points in the fourth quarter. To make matters worse, Jermaine Kearse reportedly broke his leg, weakening a receiving core that already lacked depth, and backup quarterback Tom Savage left after hitting his head against the turf.

Eddy Pineiro

The Chicago Bears' kicking competition is pretty straightforward: Make your field goals and you'll make the team; miss and you'll be cut. In the preseason opener, Pineiro missed one. He finished 1-for-2, making a 23-yarder and hooking a 48-yarder. Elliott Fry converted his lone try, a 43-yard attempt on the heels of an unexpected timeout from the Carolina Panthers, who intentionally iced him to help the Bears.

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