Week 2 of the NFL preseason is a wrap after the Browns took down the Giants, 10-6, on Monday night. The biggest storyline was Odell Beckham leaving the game after a scary hit on his leg. Here's everything you need to know:
Scores and schedule
Eagles 20, Bills 16 (box score)
Ravens 31, Dolphins 7 (box score)
Buccaneers 12, Jaguars 8 (box score)
Seahawks 20, Vikings 13 (box score)
Titans 34, Panthers 27 (box score)
Chiefs 30, Bengals 12 (Box score)
Cowboys 24, Colts 19 (Box score)
Lions 16, Jets 6 (box score)
Packers 21, Redskins 17 (Box score)
Texans 27, Patriots 23 (Box Score)
Broncos 33, 49ers 14 (Box score)
Rams 24, Raiders 21 (Box score)
Bears 24, Cardinals 23 (Box score)
Steelers 17, Falcons 13 (Box score)
Saints 13, Chargers 7 (Box score)
Browns 10, Giants 6 (Box score)
Beckham suffers ankle injury
The last thing any team wants to see during the preseason is one of their star players get hurt, but that's exactly what happened to the Giants on Monday when Odell Beckham went down with an injury during the second quarter.
Beckham took a low hit from Cleveland's Briean Boddy-Calhoun after hauling in an 18-yard catch.
Beckham was in pain after making the catch and was immediately taken to the locker room and checked for a concussion. Although OBJ was cleared of concussion symptoms, the team did announce that he would miss the rest of the game with a sprained ankle.
The good news for the Giants is that Beckham's X-rays came back negative. However, that doesn't mean he's completely out of the clear yet. The team announced that Beckham will be re-evaluated when the Giants get back to New York on Tuesday morning.
Osweiler throws early interception
Just minutes before the Browns and Giants kicked off on Monday, NFL.com reported that Brock Osweiler would be in a position to wrap up the Browns' starting quarterback job if he looked good against New York.
Well, if Cleveland's first offensive series was any indication, Osweiler definitely hasn't wrapped anything up yet. After starting the game 6 of 7, Osweiler turned into the Osweiler you remember last year and threw an interception on a tipped ball.
The interception ended a Browns' drive that had started at the Giants' 39-yard line after Cleveland got a huge punt return from rookie return man Jabrill Peppers. Osweiler might end up winning the starting job, but it's unlikely that he clinched it on Monday night.
The Browns quarterback played a total of two drives in the game and went 6 of 8 for 25 yards with an interception. Osweiler's actually completed his first two passes for a total of 17 yards, but he went just 4 of 6 for eight yards after that. Besides the interception, the only other incompletion in the stat book came when Osweiler missed a wide open receiver.
Kizer leads only TD drive of the game
DeShone Kizer didn't play against the Giants until the second quarter, but he might have done enough to keep the Browns' quarterback competition alive for at least another week. Before the game, NFL.com reported that Osweiler might be able to win the job with a strong showing against New York, but during the first half, Kizer arguably looked like the better quarterback.
Not only did the rookie complete 4 of 6 passes for 40 yards, but he also rushed for 21 yards and a touchdown on three carries.
The only touchdown of the first half came after Kizer was able to get into the end zone on a QB sneak from one yard out.
The Browns' touchdown drive was set up by corner Jason McCourty who stripped Giants running back Paul Perkins inside New York territory. The Browns recovered the ball on the Giants' 25-yard line and were able to punch the ball into the end zone three plays later. A 16-yard Kizer pass to fullback Danny Vitale helped set up the rookie quarterback's eventual touchdown.
After Kizer threw for 184 yards and a touchdown against the Saints last week, the Browns realized that they might have their quarterback of the future, after 20 years of looking for one. However, just because Kizer put up big numbers against the Saints in the second half of a preseason game doesn't mean he's ready to start. Browns Pro Bowl offensive lineman Joe Thomas said last week that Kizer definitely isn't ready to take the reins in Cleveland, and the rookie quarterback actually agrees with him.
"He's been in the NFL since I've been in seventh grade, so whatever he says is probably pretty accurate," Kizer said. "Obviously, it's still the same message that I continue to push. The more time you have, the more comfortable you become, the more confident you are throwing the ball, and he's just seconding that statement."
Playing against a Giants defense that still featured several first-string players, Kizer finished 8 of 13 for 74 yards, while also racking up 35 yards on the ground. If Kizer looks good against the Buccaneers on Saturday, and Osweiler struggles, Hue Jackson is going to have an interesting decision to make when it comes to picking a starter for the season opener.
Rookie Peppers shows off his speed
Jabrill Peppers got the Browns off to a fast start on Monday with an impressive 31-yard punt return following the Giants' first drive of the game.
After the Browns defense forced a rare three-and-out, Giants punter Brad Wing got off an impressive 52-yard punt that looked like it was going to pin the Browns deep in their own territory. Only that didn't happen, because after Peppers caught the punt, the Giants couldn't catch him.
The 31-yard return set the Browns up at the Giants 39-yard line. However, the Browns were unable to take advantage of the impressive field position. Cleveland ended up coming away with zero points after Brock Osweiler threw an interception.
Peppers also had another impressive punt return that went for 36-yards, but you won't find that in the box score because it was called back due to holding.
By the way, although Peppers seems to have the return thing down at the pro level, it looks like he still has some learning to do at his other position: Safety.
Myles Garrett picks up his first sack of the preseason
If the first two weeks of the preseason are any indication, opposing offensive linemen could be in trouble anytime they go up against Myles Garrett this season. After an impressive debut against the Saints last week, the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft picked up his first sack of the preseason on Monday when he took down Geno Smith.
Although Garrett only racked up one sack, Giants left tackle Ereck Flowers probably isn't going to be bragging to anyone after he watches film this week. On several plays, including the one below, Garrett absolutely manhandled Flowers.
The good news here is that the Browns have a first-round pick who looks like he's going to be a big time contributor during his rookie year.
Giants offense has zero touchdowns through two games
After watching his team rank 25th in total offensive yards last year, Giants coach Ben McAdoo can't be happy with how the first two weeks of the preseason have gone. Through eight quarters, the Giants offense has been a mess. In two preseason games, the Giants have scored zero touchdowns and turned the ball over five times. That's definitely not a ratio that's going to win you games in the NFL.
McAdoo couldn't have been happy with Monday's performance against the Browns as Eli Manning and the first team offense only put up 24 yards total on their first three offensive possessions. The only time Manning put together anything resembling a drive just happened to come on the same series where Beckham got hurt, so there wasn't much to celebrate on the Giants' sideline.
Nearly a dozen Browns players protest the national anthem
The Browns took Colin Kaepernick's protesting to the next level on Monday by getting nearly a dozen players to kneel for the national anthem prior to Cleveland's game against the Giants.
According to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson, Jabrill Peppers, Christian Kirksey, Seth DeValve, Jamie Collins, Kenny Britt, Ricardo Louis and Jamar Taylor were among the players who kneeled during the anthem.
By kneeling, DeValve became the first white player to take a knee since Colin Kaepernick started the anthem protests in August 2016. For more on the Browns' latest protest, you can just click here.
Previously in Week 2 of the preseason
The Chargers hosted the Saints on Sunday in a game that turned out to be a total dud thanks in large part to the fact that Philip Rivers and Drew Brees didn't play. For more on Sunday's games, including the Steelers' 17-13 win over the Falcons, you can click right here.
Over the weekend, we had our first full day of action in the preseason with a total of nine games being played on Saturday. For a complete roundup, click right here, but here's a quick summary: Rams quarterback Jared Goff, last year's top pick who struggled mightily in his rookie season, looked great in his half of action. He went 14 of 17 for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Once again, Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch remained seated during the national anthem. Meanwhile, the Christian Hackenberg experiment is going as expected. In the first half, the Jets' quarterback went 2 for 6 for 14 yards with a 42.6 passer rating. On the other end of the quarterback spectrum, Aaron Rodgers, Dak Prescott, and Marcus Mariota impressed. In non-quarterback news, Panthers rookie running back Christian McCaffrey looked downright dominant and Jaylon Smith got the start for the Cowboys.
The Seahawks won their game against the Vikings on Friday but suffered a pretty big loss too, as left tackle George Fant was lost for the season with a knee injury. You can read about that plus Michael Bennett continuing his protest, Russell Wilson and Sam Bradford looking sharp, Dalvin Cook excelling and Blair Walsh's revenge in Friday's roundup.
The big news Thursday was Jay Cutler making his Dolphins debut out of coming out of retirement, and while the stats don't reflect it, the former Bears quarterback looked sharp. Also on Thursday, Ryan Mallett was outplayed in what could be an important race to be Baltimore's backup QB, Tyrod Taylor endured a horrible first-half performance and Blake Bortles got booed after another terrible outing that could put him on the hot seat before the season even begins. You can read about those performances plus even more on the day's action in Thursday's roundup.
More news
- It looks like Roger Goodell is on his way to getting a five-year extension.
- The quarterback competition in Denver is finally over.
- It sounds like Le'Veon Bell will finally be reporting to Pittsburgh at some point next week.
- The Seahawks landed a much-needed offensive lineman after making a trade with the Eagles.
- Raiders quarterback Derek Carr says his hand on Khalil Mack's shoulder was a display of unity -- not a protest.
- The Jets reportedly told quarterback Josh McCown to not talk to the media about not playing.
- DeMaurice Smith ripped "greedy" owners and accused Roger Goodell of lying about conduct changes.
- Take a look at the play where Paxton Lynch lost the Broncos' starting job to Trevor Siemian.
Watch Cardinals rookie Budda Baker prove he is a special kind of athletic freak.