Saturday’s slate included eight games, with three in the afternoon, four going at the same time on the clock and the Cowboys and Chargers squaring off in the late window. The Broncos didn’t play most of their starters in either of the first two games, but the Bills gave their guys — including Josh Allen — some effort. As expected, the Chiefs debuted a new look on Saturday, and the result was similar to what the Chiefs offense did during Patrick Mahomes’ first four years as Kansas City’s starting quarterback. Fans were also treated to rookie quarterbacks Kenny Pickett and Malik Willis, both of whom hope to put more pressure on the quarterbacks currently ahead of them on the depth chart. The day ended with a brilliant performance from a player who recently won the USFL MVP award. Below is a look at all the highlights from the first three days of preseason action.

Program

Thursday Bears 27, Seahawks 11 (Takeaways) Friday Patriots 20, Panthers 10 (Takeaways) Packers 20, Saints 10 (Recap) Texans 24, Rams 20 (Recap) Saturday Bills 42, Broncos 15 (Recap) Lions 27, Colts 26 (Recap) Chiefs 24, Commanders 14 (Recap) Steelers 16, Jaguars 15 (Takeaways) Raiders 15, Dolphins 13 (Recap) , Buccaneers 3 (Recap) Cowboys 32, Chargers 18 (Recap) Sunday Eagles at Browns, 1 p.m. ET (Gametracker) Bengals at Giants, 7 p.m. ET (Gametracker) Ravens at Cardinals, 8 p.m. ET (Gametracker) Monday Falcons at Jets, 8 p.m. ET (Gametracker)

Kenny Pickett continues the preseason strong

Kenny Pickett’s Hype Train keeps rolling. After throwing the game-winning touchdown in Pittsburgh’s preseason opener last week, the first-round draft pick is turning heads again. This time around, Pickett is seeing work with the first-team offense and looks like a guy who could be the starter in Week 1. In the second quarter, he drove in a touchdown with just 42 seconds left. In addition to the score toss to Benny Snell Jr., Pickett also showed nice touch on a 24-yard gain to Pat Freiermuth. In the first half, Pickett went 6-of-7 for 76 yards and that touchdown.

Malik Willis shows off breakaway ability

Malik Willis flashes his tops. The rookie out of Liberty started in Tennessee’s preseason game against Tampa Bay and his ability to weave around the pocket is on full display. While leading the Titans on a field goal drive in the second quarter, Willis threw a sidearm as he escaped a would-be sack to move the chains. He then broke off a 25-yard run to put Tennessee in the red zone, where they would eventually kick a field goal. Willis is still a raw prospect and needs to improve as a pass rusher, but the tools are there to be a legitimate candidate to be a long-term option for the Titans with some development.

KaVontae Turpin’s electrifying comebacks

Reigning USFL MVP KaVontae Turpin strengthened his case to make the Cowboys’ 53-man roster when he returned a fumble 98 yards for a score against the Chargers on Saturday night. He was back in the end zone moments later after running back a punt 86 yards for a touchdown. Turpin joined the Cowboys earlier this summer after helping the USFL’s New Jersey Generals post a 9-1 record during the league’s inaugural regular season. Titans rookie Kyle Phillips has made a name for himself this summer. He drew praise from coach Mike Vrabel, who also noted that quarterback Ryan Tannehill trusts him with the throw. While he’s opened eyes as a pass rusher, the fifth-round pick out of UCLA also plays in the return game. In Tennessee’s exhibition with the Bucs on Saturday, Phillips fielded a punt just outside the Tennessee 20-yard line and returned it 35 yards. He was able to make his starting tackler miss, found a hole and fought off some tackles to turn the field for the Titans.
While rookie George Pickens has garnered a lot of attention in Pittsburgh this summer, don’t sleep on Chase Claypool’s talent. On the Steelers’ opening drive in their exhibition matchup with the Jaguars, Mitchell Trubisky took a third-and-6 snap and connected with Claypool, who ran a fade out of the slot and rose to make a contested catch for 29 yards. Claypool is looking to build off a 2021 season where he posted a career-high 956 yards from scrimmage and 13.1 yards per touch.

Mahomes double dives with Fortune

In case you were wondering, Patrick Mahomes looks like Patrick Mahomes. In Kansas City’s second preseason game of the summer against Washington, the former league MVP started and looked like he was in midseason form. He opened the game with back-to-back touchdown passes, both capped by a pass to tight end Jody Fortson. The first catch capped an 87-yard drive for the Chiefs. Mahomes threw it to Fortune and he was able to show strong movement to stay in bounds for the score. That wasn’t even Mahomes’ best throw as he completed a 39-yard pass to Justin Watson. Later, Mahomes was washed out of the pocket and forced to take an off-balance throw to the front left corner of the end zone where he would find Fortune again. After two drives, Mahomes is 12 of 19 passing for 162 yards and those two scores.

Lions and touches and grabs, oh my

Not many rookies saw the field in the Lions vs. Colts game, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t anything worth keeping an eye on. Lions wideout Tom Kennedy found himself in the end zone on back-to-back Detroit possessions. The first touchdown grab came on the last play of the first half: To open the scoring after halftime, Kennedy again reached over a Colts defender to haul in a pass for six points.

Too easy

Josh Allen and the first-team Buffalo Bills offense marched right down the field against the Denver Broncos, covering 70 yards in six plays. The drive ended with Allen scrambling around the pocket, setting his feet and snapping the ball to Gabriel Davis in the front of the end zone. Allen went 3-for-3 for 49 yards and a score, completing passes to Davis, Stefon Diggs and Isaiah McKenzie. Devin Singletary was the first back for Buffalo, with Zack Moss slotting in at No. 2 ahead of rookie James Cook. Oh, and Buffalo followed Davis’ touchdown catch by reaching the end zone on each of its next five possessions. Moss ran in a pair of short scores, OJ Howard caught a touchdown from Case Keenum (who finished 16 of 18 for 192 yards) and Duke Johnson fumbled twice on the ground as well.

Catch of the (Friday) night!

The Houston Texans played in the first half of this preseason contest against the Los Angeles Rams and were able to take a 7-6 halftime lead thanks to this pinpoint catch by Nico Collins in the end zone. Collins just high-fived Derion Kendrick for the ball and walked away with the score. Collins is going to play a role in the Texans offense in 2022. Games like this will get him more targets. What makes this Etling touchdown special? The play happened during an interview with Aaron Rodgers on the Packers broadcast. Rodgers’ excitement about Etling’s scoring makes this game even more exciting. Love looked like the NFL player he was on Friday night, finishing with 113 yards and a touchdown pass. He also showed off his running ability with this 11-yard run for a first down.

Chris Olave scores his first touchdown

Olave is giving Saints fans a preview of what’s to come when he lines up alongside Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry this fall. The first-round pick connected with Ian Book on a 20-yard touchdown with 12 seconds left in the first half — his first in a Saints uniform. Olave had just one catch for four yards last week, but had two in the first half of this one. Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe made a dangerous throw to his left and Hayes read the pass to get the ball the other way and tie the game. Zappe wasn’t as sharp in his second outing this preseason, one in which Matt Patricia calls the shots.

Touchdown Romeo Doubs

There’s a spot for Doubs to earn snaps with the first team this year, and this touchdown catch by Jordan Love shows why. Doubs had that impressive four-yard reception over Brian Allen to put the Packers up 10-3 over the Saints in the second quarter. Love is starting to show confidence in the fourth-round rookie.

59-yard field goal by Will Lutz

Lutz missed all of 2021 with a hamstring injury as the Saints lost credibility in the kicking department. He certainly looked like his old self with that 59-yard field goal to close out the first quarter. Just 13 of 23 on 50-plus field goals in his career, Lutz hitting that kick is very encouraging.

Romeo Doubs is attempting to move up the depth chart

Doubs was one of the young Packers quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers criticized during the week, so he was in the spotlight with the secondary running backs for the majority of this week. A 17-yard catch on the opening drive by Jordan Love makes a strong impression, even if Daubs didn’t get a third down earlier. No longer the quarterback for the Saints, Hill has shifted his focus to tight end for the 2022 season. The No. 2 tight end in New Orleans, Hill made an early impact by catching a 10-yard pass from Ian Book. Hill adds an extra dimension to the Saints’ offense in his new role and can still play wide receiver and running back in short-yardage situations. The Patriots averaged just 1.9 yards per play…