NFL preseason Week 2 updates and schedule: 49ers rookie Trey Lance proves resilient with 2 TDs after slow start
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NFL NationESPN
We’re in the midst of the second full week of preseason football. With three weeks remaining before the regular-season opener, expect more starters and names you know to be playing this week.
Things started off Thursday with the New England Patriots rolling past the host Philadelphia Eagles, a game in which Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was scratched late because of illness.
On Friday, the meeting between the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals was a college reunion, with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes taking on his college coach at Texas Tech, Kliff Kingsbury. But neither Mahomes nor Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray showed much in a quarter of work, and Mahomes was intercepted on his final pass.
Saturday will see the bulk of the action with 10 games scheduled. The day started with an afternoon showdown between the Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears, followed by the New York Jets facing the Green Bay Packers. We might get to see Jets rookie QB Zach Wilson fanboying Packers legend Aaron Rodgers in real time. The night slate features a Texas-sized battle between the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys in “Jerry World” and the Las Vegas Raiders (arguably the most popular team in Los Angeles) taking on the Los Angeles Rams (who want that title).
The Odell Beckham Jr. bowl between the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns is one of two contests on Sunday, while Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars visit the New Orleans Saints on Monday.
Quick links:
Full schedule | Depth charts | PickCenter
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NFL preseason Week 2 schedule
Saturday’s games
Standout performers: Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky, 220 yards, TD
Going into Saturday’s game, one could have argued the Bills’ defensive line was their most improved group this offseason. After their blowout win over the Bears, however, that honor might go to the quarterback room. Mitchell Trubisky torched his former team, leading four straight touchdown drives to start the game while completing 20 of 28 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown in the first half. If Josh Allen should ever miss time this season, the Bills’ offense appears to be in good hands. — Marcel Louis-Jacques
Next game: vs. Packers (1 p.m. ET, Aug. 28)
There is no reason to overreact in the preseason, but veteran Andy Dalton failed to silence fans screaming for Chicago to start rookie quarterback Justin Fields when the regular season opens. After the offense went three-and-out in both of Dalton’s series last week, the offense looked even worse on Saturday against Buffalo until Dalton connected with Rodney Adams for a 73-yard touchdown late in the second quarter. Dalton’s numbers were OK (11-of-17 for 146 yards, one touchdown, one interception), but outside of that one exciting TD pass, the Bears’ offense was unproductive and out of sorts virtually the entire first half. Dalton’s interception at the end of the second quarter — when the intended target clearly slipped on his route — further infuriated a fan base already calling for Fields to take over. With starters unlikely to play in the preseason finale, the Bears’ offense will open the regular season without having accomplished much of anything during preseason games. — Jeff Dickerson
Next game: at Titans (7 p.m. ET, Aug. 28)
New York Jets at Green Bay, 4:25 p.m. ET, NFL Network
Atlanta at Miami, 7 p.m. ET
Baltimore at Carolina, 7 p.m. ET
Detroit at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m. ET, NFL Network
Tennessee at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m. ET
Houston at Dallas, 8 p.m. ET
Indianapolis at Minnesota, 8 p.m. ET
Las Vegas at Los Angeles Rams, 10 p.m. ET, NFL Network
Denver at Seattle, 10 p.m. ET
Sunday’s games
New York Giants at Cleveland, 1 p.m. ET, NFL Network
San Francisco at Los Angeles Chargers, 7:30 p.m. ET, NFL Network
Monday’s game
Jacksonville at New Orleans, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
Standout performer: Chiefs receiver Bryon Pringle: 4 receptions, 63 yards
Chris Jones continues to look like he’s primed for a big season. Jones had a sack against the Cardinals, giving him two in roughly three quarters of preseason play, and also deflected a pass and forced a fumble. The Chiefs need not worry about his position change to defensive end, particularly because his replacement at defensive tackle, Jarran Reed, also had a sack. — Adam Teicher
Next game: vs. Vikings (8 p.m. ET, Aug. 27)
It’s easy to say “it’s the preseason, it doesn’t count,” but there were a couple of specific plays Friday night that could be of some concern for the Cardinals. In the first half, there was some sort of miscommunication between quarterback Kyler Murray and wide receiver Rondale Moore on one play and A.J. Green on another. Maybe it was just a kink that needs to be ironed out, but to be experiencing those types of mistakes this close to the regular season isn’t something to dismiss. The Cardinals’ first-team offense struggled. Murray completed just 1 of 4 passes for 2 yards and had one run for 8 yards. It might not matter, but it wasn’t pretty. — Josh Weinfuss
Next game: at Saints (8 p.m. ET, Aug. 28)
Standout performer: Washington RB Jaret Patterson: 16 carries, 71 yards, TD
Bengals rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase will chalk the past 72 hours up as a learning experience. Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie got the better of the 2021 fifth overall pick during Wednesday’s practice. On Friday night against Washington, Chase dropped three targets — with all of them coming on third downs. Chase has struggled with drops throughout training camp. However, in his breakout 2019 season at LSU, he had a mere six drops on just 124 targets, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Chase’s struggles could be attributed to getting back into football rhythm after opting out of 2020 or just a rough couple of days. Either way, it’ll be something Chase will be looking to correct before the start of the regular season. — Ben Baby
Next game: vs. Dolphins (4 p.m. ET, Aug. 29)
Washington’s offense should be better this season, but it did not have a consistent showing against the Bengals. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 96 yards but completed only 7 of 13 passes. The passing game lacked rhythm, though he did make a nice throw to Dyami Brown for 29 yards. The run game was inconsistent with Antonio Gibson; He’s a big back but is still learning to run using all of his power to be more effective in short-yardage situations. The back who stood out: undrafted rookie Jaret Patterson. He got some work with starters and also returned one kickoff for 37 yards. If Washington keeps four running backs, he’ll have to show he can help on special teams. But he continues to show he can run with patience and also some power, and he catches the ball well out of the backfield. They might have found a gem. — John Keim
Next game: at Ravens (6 p.m. ET, Aug. 28)
Thursday’s game
Standout performer: Patriots QB Cam Newton: 8-of-9 passing for 103 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Cam Newton made his most decisive statement yet that he isn’t giving up the starting quarterback job, finishing 8-of-9 for 103 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions over three drives. Newton looked as comfortable as he’s been as a Patriot, albeit against the Eagles’ second-string defense, with his 28-yard TD to receiver Jakobi Meyers coming after Meyers gave him a hand signal before the snap to declare his intentions. That reflects a QB and WR operating at peak efficiency from a pre-snap communication standpoint. Meanwhile, Mac Jones had some notable highlights in relief, with his first drive covering 91 yards in 17 plays and chewing up 9:04 of the clock. Jones finished 13-of-19 for 146 yards over four drives. — Mike Reiss
Next game: at Giants (6 p.m. ET, Aug. 29)
Rookie receiver DeVonta Smith made his preseason debut and finished with two catches for 19 yards on four targets in one half of work. Much more important than the stat line was the fact that Smith moved well and didn’t appear to be held back by the left MCL sprain that kept him out of practice for two weeks. On his second catch of the night, he started inside, hit the brakes, and cut back out to beat cornerback Michael Jackson for a 10-yard reception, showing shades of his Heisman Trophy-winning form. It took some time to knock the rust off, as Smith’s night started with a couple drops on a pair of imperfect passes from Joe Flacco (who started for an ill Jalen Hurts) but Smith smoothed out as the game progressed and sprang open pretty consistently. All in all, it was a successful warm-up for the regular-season opener against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 12. — Tim McManus
Next game: at Jets (7:30 p.m. ET, Aug. 27)
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Adam Rittenberg
Texas is targeting former West Virginia and Troy coach Neal Brown for a role on its 2025 coaching staff, a source confirmed to ESPN.
The role is still to be determined, and a deal is not finalized but could be soon, the source said. Brown spent the past six seasons coaching West Virginia and went 37-35 before being fired in December. He went 35-16 at Troy with a Sun Belt championship in 2017.
247 Sports first reported Texas targeting Brown.
The 44-year-old Brown spent time in the state as offensive coordinator at Texas Tech from 2010 to 2012. He also held coordinator roles at Troy and Kentucky.
After back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances, Texas is set to open spring practice March 17.
Florida State and Clemson will vote Tuesday on an agreement that would ultimately result in the settlement of four ongoing lawsuits between the schools and the ACC and a new revenue-distribution strategy that would solidify the conference’s membership for the near future, sources told ESPN on Monday.
The ACC board of directors is scheduled to hold a call Tuesday to go over the settlement terms. In addition, Florida State and Clemson have both called board meetings to present the terms at noon ET Tuesday. All three boards must agree to the settlement for it to move forward, but sources throughout the league expect a deal to be reached.
According to sources, the settlement includes two key objectives: establishing a new revenue-distribution model based on viewership and a change in the financial penalties for exiting the league’s grant of rights before its conclusion in June 2036.
This new revenue-distribution model — or “brand initiative” — is based on a five-year rolling average of TV ratings, though some logistics of this formula remain tricky, including how to properly average games on the unrated ACC Network or other subscription channels. The brand initiative will be funded through a split in the league’s TV revenue, with 40% distributed evenly among the 14 longstanding members and 60% going toward the brand initiative and distributed based on TV ratings.
Top earners are expected to net an additional $15 million or more, according to sources, while some schools will see a net reduction in annual payout of up to about $7 million annually, an acceptable loss, according to several administrators at schools likely to be impacted, in exchange for some near-term stability.
The brand initiative is expected to begin for the coming fiscal year.
The brand fund, combined with the separate “success initiatives” fund approved in 2023 and enacted last year that rewards schools for postseason appearances, would allow teams that hit necessary benchmarks in each to close the revenue gap with the SEC and Big Ten, possibly adding in the neighborhood of $30 million or more annually should a school make a deep run in the College Football Playoff or NCAA basketball tournament and lead the way in TV ratings.
The success initiatives are funded largely through money generated by the new expanded College Football Playoff and additional revenue generated by the additions of Stanford, Cal and SMU, each of which is taking a reduced portion of TV money over the next six to eight years, while the new brand initiative will involve some schools in the conference receiving less TV revenue than before.
As a result of their inclusion in the College Football Playoff this past season, SMU athletic director Rick Hart said, the Mustangs and Tigers each earned $4 million through the success initiatives.
Sources have suggested Clemson and Florida State would be among the biggest winners of this brand-based distribution, though North Carolina and Miami are others expected to come out with a higher payout. Georgia Tech was actually the ACC’s highest-rated program in 2024, based in part on a Week 0 game against Florida State and a seven-overtime thriller against Georgia on the final Friday of the regular season.
Basketball ratings will be included in the brand initiative, too, but at a smaller rate than football, which is responsible for about 75% of the league’s TV revenue.
If ACC commissioner Jim Phillips is able to get this to the finish line Tuesday, it would be a big win for him and for the conference during a time of unprecedented change in collegiate athletics — particularly for a league that many speculated would break apart when litigation between the ACC and Florida State and Clemson began in 2023.
Both schools would consider it a win as well after they decided to file lawsuits in their home states in hopes of extricating themselves from a grant of rights agreement that, according to Florida State’s attorneys, could have meant paying as much as $700 million to leave the conference. The ACC countersued both schools to preserve the grant of rights agreement through 2036.
Although the settlement will not make substantive changes to the grant of rights, it is expected that there will be declining financial penalties for schools that exit before 2036, with the steepest decreases coming after 2030 — something that would apply to any ACC school, not just Clemson and Florida State.
The specific financial figures for schools to get released from the grant of rights were not readily available. But the total cost to exit the league after the 2029-30 season is expected to drop below $100 million, sources said.
The current language would require any school exiting before June 2036 to pay three times the operating budget — a figure that would be about $120 million — plus control of that team’s media rights through the conclusion of the grant of rights.
This was seen as a critical piece to the settlement, allowing flexibility for ACC schools amid a shifting college football landscape, particularly beyond the 2030 season, when TV deals for the Big Ten (2029-30), Big 12 (2030) and the next iteration of the College Football Playoff (2031) come up for renewal — a figure Florida State’s attorneys valued at more than $500 million over 10 years.
Sources told ESPN that there’d just be one number to exit the league, not the combination estimated by FSU of a traditional exit fee and the loss of media from the grant of rights.
In addition to securing the success and brand initiatives, viewed within the league as progressive ideas to help incentivize winning, Phillips also guided the recently announced ESPN option pickup to continue broadcasting the ACC through 2036.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea has promoted Steve Gregory to defensive coordinator and Nick Lezynski to co-defensive coordinator, the school announced Monday.
Lea served as his own defensive coordinator last season after he demoted the previous coordinator, Nick Howell, following the 2023 season.
Gregory was associate defensive coordinator and secondary coach. He joined Vanderbilt following five seasons as an NFL assistant.
Lezynski is entering his fourth season at Vanderbilt. He was hired as linebackers coach and was promoted to defensive run game coordinator in 2023.
Under Lea’s direction, Gregory and Lezynski helped the Vanderbilt defense show marked improvement. The scoring defense rose from 126th in 2023 to 50th in 2024 and rushing defense from 104th to 52nd. Vanderbilt held consecutive opponents under 100 rushing yards (Virginia Tech and Alcorn State) for the first time since 2017, and a 17-7 win over Auburn marked the lowest point total by an SEC opponent since 2015.
The Commodores were 7-6, their first winning record since 2013.
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