Welcome to the third and final week of the 2023 NFL preseason. For some teams, the final week is a dress rehearsal for the regular season. For others, the focus is more on position battles and getting more clarity regarding the 53-man roster. For NFL fans, the final preseason weekend is one last chance to watch football before the regular season begins on Sept. 7.
Saturday was chock full of action as there were 10 preseason games on the slate. In what was the day's marquee moment, Aaron Rodgers made his Jets debut and threw a touchdown pass against the Giants as the Jets won 32-24. In other action, the Washington Commanders finished the preseason unbeaten with a 21-19 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Will Grier finished his up his time with the Cowboys with four touchdowns in Dallas' 31-16 win over the Raiders.
The later portions of Saturday's slate of games included a scary moment when Dolphins rookie wideout Daewood Davis suffered an injury that led to him being hospitalized for further evaluation. Davis' injury led to the Dolphins and Jaguars agreeing to end the game with 8:32 left and Jacksonville ahead 31-19.
Saturday ended with the Broncos posting a dominant 41-0 performance against the visiting Rams. Denver received a big night from quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who threw for 200 yards in the first half as the Broncos built a 27-0 lead.
Earlier in the day, Deshaun Watson and a number of Browns starters saw action against the Kansas City Chiefs in a 33-32 loss. Watson finished 5 of 10 for 92 yards, including a touchdown pass. Also, Jordan Love and the Packers got a win over the the Seahawks. Love threw for 63 yards on 9-of-15 passing and also found Christian Watson for a 6-yard touchdown strike. The Bills played their starters for a short time as well in their 24-21 win over the Bears. Josh Allen went 5 of 7 for 49 yards. On the other side, Justin Fields completed just 2 of 6 passes for 51 yards, and also connected with new wideout D.J. Moore for 40 yards.
Be sure to check out our live blog below throughout the night for in game highlights and analysis.
Thursday
Steelers 24, Falcons 0 (Recap)
Colts 27, Eagles 13 (Takeaways)
Friday
Lions 26, Panthers 17 (Recap)
Titans 23, Patriots 7 (Takeaways)
Chargers 23, 49ers 12 (Recap)
Saturday
Packers 19, Seahawks 15 (Recap)
Chiefs 33, Browns 32 (Recap)
Cardinals 18, Vikings 17 (Recap)
Bills 24, Bears 21 (Recap)
Jets 32, Giants 24 (Takeaways)
Commanders 21, Bengals 19 (Recap)
Buccaneers 26, Ravens 20 (Recap)
Jaguars 31, Dolphins 18, game suspended (Recap)
Cowboys 31, Raiders 16 (Recap)
Broncos 41, Rams 0 (Recap)
Sunday
Texans at Saints, 8 p.m. ET (Preview)
One of the day's best plays was turned it at the 11th hour by Broncos tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, who secured this one-handed grab on a pass from Ben DiNucci. It was one of many completions in the second half for DiNucci, the former Seattle Sea Dragons quarterback.
Already ahead 24-0, the Broncos added a field goal to their lead following this nifty, 49-yard completion from Jarrett Stidham to Brandon Johnson. The Broncos made history on Saturday night by wearing their white jerseys at home for the first time in 20 years.
New Raiders wideout Cam Sims did his best Cliff Branch impression on this grab during the second half of Saturday night's game against the Cowboys. The 27-year-old Sims spent his first five NFL seasons in Washington, where he helped The Football Team win an NFC East crown in 2020.
Dallas informed Grier he was going to be released after tonight's game and would be playing the entire game and he's making the most of it as he has accounted for all four touchdowns.
The preseason game has been canceled after Miami rookie WR Daewood Davis was injured on the field and taken to Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville for further evaluation. He is conscious and has movement in all extremities. Both teams agreed to suspend the game with 8 minutes and 32 seconds remaining.
Davis was signed by the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent. He played collegiately at Oregon and Western Kentucky.
"We're just hoping for a full recovery. Have had some good news and hope to have even better news going forward." Mike McDaniel told reporters after the game about Davis.
"He's a great spirit, first and foremost. He's magnetic. He's got a full personablity to him. … His teammates really root for (him). That tells you everything you need to know about a human being."
Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson connected from 62 yards out against the Cowboys.
The Bengals took a risk going for it on fourth-and-15 with a long field and the Commanders' defense wasn't having it. Great coverage by Washington's defense leads to an incompletion and turnover on downs. The Commanders now have a 21-19 lead and great field position with under two minutes left in the game.
Wide receiver Tim Jones' reception from quarterback C.J. Beathard is good for 74 yards and a touchdown. The catch was his first of the day and gives him the most receiving yards by a player on either team tonight.
With Trey Lance coming to town, the Cowboys told Grier that his services won't be needed for the 2023 season. They did, however, give Grier the keys to the Cowboys' offense for the team's preseason finale against the Raiders. Grier got things off on a good note with his short touchdown run.
Brycen Tremayne signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Commanders this offseason and today he scored his first touchdown in the NFL. Jake Fromm found the wide receiver for a 1-yard score to give Washington the lead.
The Jaguars were on the brink of scoring, but the Dolphins forced a fumble in the end zone to end Jacksonville's chances of a touchdown on this drive. Dolphins' Jevon Holland forced and recovered the fumble. The Dolphins turned the turnover into a field goal, marking the first points on the board.
Baker Mayfield was officially named the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season. We got an early preview of what the Bucs' offense with Mayfield behind center will look like with this 11-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin. Mayfield will likely be relying on the star wide receiver a lot this year, so this is probably not the last time we will see a touchdown between the two.
Quarterback Josh Johnson capped off a perfect 4-for-4 drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Laquon Treadwell to put the Baltimore Ravens on the board.
Have a day, Jets. Giants' quarterback Tommy DeVito's pass intended for wide receiver David Sills is intercepted by cornerback Brandin Echols who took it to the house. The Jets defense is showing off today, with a sack and a pick-6 in the first quarter.
And there it is. The moment Jets fans have waited for since the news that Aaron Rodgers signed with the New York Jets finally happened. Rodgers found wide receiver Garrett Wilson for a 14-yard touchdown, his first touchdown with his new team. It may technically be a Giants home game, but you can hear the Jets fans in MetLife going crazy for what they hope is a sign of things to come from the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
The Jets defense line puts the pressure on the Giants offensive line and get to quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
Cincinnati's defense comes up with a big stop on the Washington's first offensive drive of the game. The Commanders goes for it on fourth-and-6 and the Bengals defensive end Raymond Johnson denies them a first down.
Jets fans seem VERY happy to see Rodgers play in a New York uniform for the first time. The first of many drives Rodgers will lead for the Jets.
The Jets don't exactly need a quarterback, but if they did, it looks like Sauce Gardner is ready.
Aaron Rodgers is set to make his preseason debut with the New York Jets today. This is his first preseason appearance since 2018.
Buffalo Bills running back Darrynton Evans found a gap in the Chicago Bears defense and took advantage, turning on the speed, dodging one tackle, dodging another and eventually falling forward into the end zone.
Justin Reid can do it all. The Kansas City Chiefs safety took some time off from playing defense to kick the extra point for the team. The kick sailed through the uprights and the Chiefs took a 30-29 lead over the Cleveland Browns.
In the third quarter of the final preseason game for the Chiefs, Kansas City quarterback Blaine Gabbert airs it out to a wide open Ihmir Smith-Marsette. The wide receiver easily takes it the rest of the way to the house to cap off the 43-yard play.
Chiefs QB Shane Buechele threw a pick six in the first half vs. Cleveland, and in the second half, Blaine Gabbert threw a pick six of his own!
Granted this one wasn't entirely on him. It bounced off the hands of Matt Bushman, and into the hands of Caleb Biggers -- a rookie from Boise State.
The 25-year-old Perine has bounced around the NFL a bit over his first three years in the league, but luckily found himself under Andy Reid's care in Kansas City. Saturday, he put an epic play on tape when he broke three tackles on the way to a 20-yard touchdown. Check this out:
Many Chiefs fans are excited about the young wideout Justyn Ross. He's a big weapon that has created waves throughout camp, and he scored his second TD in three games on a jump-ball vs. the Browns.
If he can stay healthy, he's an intriguing wide receiver for Patrick Mahomes.
Watson is expected to be Jordan Love's No. 1 wideout this season, and the two got some work together in the preseason finale vs. the Seahawks. Check out this back-shoulder throw in the red zone for the score. Packers fans hope to see more of this.
The Bears landed former Panthers wideout D.J. Moore in the trade for the No. 1 overall pick, and he's someone that can take this Chicago offense to another level.
Check out this catch and run, which was aided by terrible Bills tackling.
Thornhill spent his first four NFL seasons with the Chiefs after being selected by them in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. This offseason, he signed a multi-year deal with the Browns, giving him the opportunity to play in his old home in Week 3 of the preseason.
In the first quarter, he picked off former teammate Shane Buechele, and returned it all the way for a touchdown!
