The last time we saw Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes on the same field, they left us with arguably the greatest playoff game ever played.
On Saturday, they both gave us a tease of what’s to come in 2022. While it’s ill-advised to make too much of what happens on an NFL preseason field, it’s hard not to get excited about Saturday’s show from the rival MVP candidates.
Allen dazzles in preseason debut
After sitting out Buffalo’s preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts, Allen got the start for the Bills on Saturday against the Denver Broncos. He made the most of it.
After the Broncos scored a field goal on their opening drive, Allen took over the Bills offense at Buffalo’s 30-yard line. Six plays and 70 yards later, the Bills scored the first of their six touchdowns in a 42-15 win. Allen was perfect along the way.
He looked to receiver Isaiah McKenzie for a 10-yard gain on the first play of the drive. Three plays later, he made a short connection with fellow Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs for a seven-yard gain. Then, he did what he does best — make a play.
On second-and-8 from the Denver 28-yard line, Allen faced a collapsing pocket under pressure from the Broncos’ four-man pass rush. He stepped up, then circled back and launched a missile to the left side of the end zone toward receiver Gabriel Davis, who was standing between a pair of Broncos defenders. They didn’t stand a chance.
Davis leapt in the air to snag the strike and held on to the ball for a touchdown as cornerback Damarri Mathis tried to jar it loose.
The play was signature Allen, who displayed his trademark athleticism, improv ability and cannon of an arm all in one sequence. It marked an appropriate end to his day as he finished 3-of-3 for 45 yards and the score.
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Case Keenum and Matt Barkley kept the party going in relief as Buffalo scored touchdowns on its first six possessions against various iterations of Denver’s preseason defense. Denver fans, meanwhile, will continue to have to wait out Russell Wilson’s Broncos debut as the first-year quarterback sat out his second preseason game. He’s not expected to play until Denver opens its regular season on the road against his former Seattle Seahawks in a highly anticipated Monday night matchup.
Mahomes shines with Justin Watson, has work to do with MVS
While Allen played a single possession in his preseason debut, Mahomes continues to see a surprising amount of preseason run for Kansas City.
After leading a touchdown drive in a single possession against the Chicago Bears last week, Mahomes played two possessions with Chiefs starters against the Washington Commanders on Saturday. Both ended with touchdowns in Kansas City’s 24-14 win.
Mahomes spread the ball around while connecting with Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Justin Watson, Travis Kelce, Jerrick McKinnon, Noah Gray, Isiah Pacheco and Jody Fortson.
Watson joined the Chiefs as a free agent this offseason after spending his first four NFL seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was on the same page with Mahomes on Saturday on a pair of big connections. His first catch of the day set up Kansas City’s first touchdown.
On the Chiefs’ first possession, Mahomes looked to Watson deep downfield while facing a third-and-10 blitz from Washington’s 47-yard line. Watson beat Commanders safety Kamren Curl and corralled the deep ball for a 39-yard gain to the Washington 8-yard line.
Two plays later, Mahomes found Fortson in the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
The pair then connected to keep the next drive alive on another third-down near midfield. Mahomes escaped pressure on a third-and-6 and scrambled to his left to keep the play alive. What happened next was signature Mahomes with an assist from his first-year receiver, who’s clearly vibing with his new quarterback.
Mahomes slung the ball sidearmed back across his body toward midfield, where Watson was ready for the improvised pass that he caught for a first down.
Here’s another angle if you weren’t sufficiently impressed:
That drive ended with another touchdown pass to Fortson as Mahomes finished his day completing 12 of 19 passes for 162 yards with two touchdowns in two possessions. And he left some room for improvement.
The Chiefs came oh-so-close to starting the game with a home-run play, but Mahomes and Valdez-Scantling weren’t quite on the same page. On Kansas City’s third play from scrimmage, Mahomes looked deep down the right sideline for Valdez-Scantling, who’d broken free over the top of the Washington secondary. The throw just missed as Mahomes’ ball sailed to the sideline while Valdez-Scantling appeared to expect it to arrive further infield.
Valdez-Scantling joined the Chiefs after four seasons with the Green Bay Packers and is expected to see plenty of opportunity to help fill the void left by now-Miami Dolphin Tyreek Hill. The missed connection is the the type of play Kansas City hopes to have dialed in for Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals.
USFL MVP with troubled past scores 2 return TDs for Cowboys
A player fighting for a second chance made a big impression on the field on Saturday.
USFL MVP KaVontae Turpin has a shot to earn a roster spot with the Dallas Cowboys. The 26-year-old former TCU wide receiver made a strong case on Saturday posting not one, but two return touchdowns against the Los Angeles Chargers.
His first was a 98-yard kickoff return to get the Cowboys on the board with a 7-3 lead.
His second was an 86-yard punt return to extend the Cowboys lead to 22-10.
With starters sidelined for both teams, Turpin’s touchdowns turned out to be the difference in the Cowboys’ 32-18 win. A burner with elite speed, Turpin told USA Today that he’s clocked a 4.29 40-yard dash.
He’s seeking his first NFL shot after pleading guilty to assaulting his girlfriend in 2019. He served two years probation, and Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy believes he deserves a second chance.
“In life, if you get a second chance, you do the work,” McCarthy said when the Cowboys signed Turpin. “My understanding is he was responsible and accountable and did the things he needed to do.”
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Malik Willis steals show; Bucs suffer another blow to offensive line
He wasn’t efficient. But after dazzling in his NFL debut last week, Tennessee rookie quarterback Malik Willis made more highlights on Saturday as he got the start for the Titans in their 13-3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He did it with his arm, escaping pressure near the goal line with a sidearmed sling to Dez Fitzpatrick.
He did it with his legs on a 24-yard scramble to set up a Titans field goal for the first score of the game.
He finished completing 7 of 17 passes for 80 yards with a touchdown. He led the Titans with 42 rushing yards on five carries. It wasn’t an effort that will challenge incumbent Ryan Tannehill for the starting job. But that’s not his job. The Titans drafted Willis in the third round with an eye on the future, not 2022. But could his athleticism and playmaking ability make him a situational option this season?
Meanwhile, the Bucs got more bad news on the offensive line as guard Aaron Stinnie was carted off the field with a knee injury. He was competing for a starting job on a line already missing center Ryan Jensen with a knee injury. An oblique injury could also sideline left tackle Tristan Wirfs to start the season.
Tua makes preseason debut without Tyreek Hill as Dolphins fall to Raiders
We did not get our first look at Tua-to-Tyreek on Saturday. Tua Tagovailoa got his first start of the preseason on Saturday against the Las Vegas Raiders. But after warming up, Tyreek Hill was a late scratch as a preseason precaution, meaning we’ll have to wait to see how the newly minted quarterback-receiver tandem looks on an actual football field.
Tagovailoa completed 6 of 8 passes for 58 yards while playing with most of his fellow Dolphins offensive starters in the 15-13 Raiders win. The Dolphins scored a field goal over the course of Tagovailoa’s two drives. It was a familiar site for Dolphins fans used to seeing him complete most of his passes for not much yardage.
Kenny Pickett looks good once again playing with Steelers starters
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars both played starters on Saturday and have reason to feel good about their quarterbacks after the 16-15 Pittsburgh win. Mitchell Trubisky started, but first-round rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett got some run with the Steelers starters and finished 6-of-7 with 76 yards and a touchdown while playing against Jacksonville’s defensive starters. His 11-yard touchdown pass to Benny Snell capped a 42-second, 63-yard drive in a two-minute drill to close out the first half. This comes after he threw for two touchdowns in his preseason debut against the Seattle Seahawks playing with and against backups.
Second-year Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was likewise solid against Steelers starters, completing 14 of 21 passes for 133 yards while playing the entire first half. Jacksonville managed just six first-half points with Lawrence on the field.
Lions eke out win over Colts as starters rest
In a battle of backups, Lions reserves put on a performance to make head coach Dan Campbell proud. Detroit’s defenders stopped a go-ahead 2-point conversion with 38 seconds left as the Lions held on for a 27-26 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Meanwhile, the Lions tallied 174 yards on the ground while limiting a Colts ground attack resting Jonathan Taylor to 30 yards. This all adds up to a win in the grit column.
49ers top Vikings as Lance, Garoppolo sit
There’s not much of interest to glean from San Francisco’s 17-7 win over Minnesota. After testing each others’ starters in joint practices during the week, backups took center stage during Saturday’s preseason matchup. That means no Trey Lance. No Justin Jefferson. No Kirk Cousins. It also means no Jimmy Garoppolo, whose status remains one of the intriguing questions of the preseason. It wasn’t answered Saturday.
Nate Sudfeld found JaMycal Hasty for the only San Francisco touchdown while Ty Chandler ran in Minnesota’s only score.
