This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Don’t feel guilty if you refrained from watching the NFL preseason. We’re sure you had better things to do than watch Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback Trey Lance get picked off five times on a Saturday afternoon.
Lance had that dismal performance in Dallas’ preseason finale, a 26-19 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that dropped the Cowboys to 1-2.
Sure, the games didn’t matter, but Dallas’ performance during the preseason certainly didn’t inspire confidence for a team that now has a washed-up Ezekiel Elliott in its backfield and watched star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb miss all of camp due to a contract dispute.
But plenty of teams did make headway this preseason, and here are three that may have made the most:
Denver Broncos
Maybe Denver really does have something special in quarterback Bo Nix.
Time will tell, and strong performances in two preseason games don’t make Nix a Hall of Famer by any means.
However, the No. 12 overall pick in this year’s draft completed 23 of his 30 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns in those games. He was never intercepted, helping the Broncos put together a perfect 3-0 preseason.
At the very least, Nix gives Denver some hope, something that an aging Russell Wilson sucked right out of the franchise.
The Broncos aren’t going to go out and make the playoffs this season. If they do, we’d be stunned. But, as of right now, Denver does appear to be on the right track as it attempts to rebuild itself into the titan that it was in the mid-2010s, when it reached two Super Bowls in three years.
Nix isn’t Peyton Manning, and the Broncos’ defense is far from what it once was, so hopefully Denver fans appreciated the stellar preseason because things won’t be nearly as smooth this fall.
New York Jets
Apr 26, 2023; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) (center) is introduced during the introductory press conference alongside general manager Joe Douglas (left) and head coach Robert Saleh (right) at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. credits: Tom Horak-USA TODAY Sports No Aaron Rodgers, no problem.
Despite Rodgers not suiting up this preseason, New York didn’t lose a game. And even if Rodgers did play, he probably wouldn’t have been able to steal the spotlight from the Jets’ defense.
That unit held opponents to an average of 11.7 points across three games, and it smothered the rival New York Giants in a 10-6 victory to close the preseason. The Giants totaled just 199 yards of offense while going 3-for-14 on third down in the loss.
Hopefully Rodgers’ highlight tape this season is longer than a 25-second clip of him running out of the tunnel with an American flag, but with or without the veteran signal-caller, the Jets are going to go far thanks to their defense.
Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) throws a pass in the first quarter of the NFL Preseason Week 2 game between the Chicago Bears and the Cincinnati Bengals at Soldier Field in downtown Chicago on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024. The Bears led 10-3 at halftime. We saved the best for last here.
And you know what? We’re going to call our shot, too. Chicago is winning the NFC North this year.
The Bears played the Houston Texans on Aug. 1 in the Hall of Fame game, so they had four preseason games on their ledger, and they won all four. These weren’t just cheap victories, either. Chicago was rolling through teams, posting a plus-68 point differential.
Caleb Williams will be living a life of luxury in Year 1 with the weapons he has on this offense. All the defense needs to do is hold teams to 20-25 points per game, and Williams, DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze and D’Andre Swift should be able to take care of the rest.
Of course, a preseason like this means absolutely nothing if the success doesn’t translate over to the regular season, so let’s see just how much noise the Bears can make.
