NFL Preseason Week 2: Rookie Quarterbacks Shine as Roster Battles Heat Up

Rookie quarterbacks change the tempo

Week 2 was supposed to be routine. It wasn’t. Rookie quarterbacks pushed the pace, a first-year safety took one to the house, and a handful of depth battles swung on a couple of drives. Coaches got the tape they wanted. Players on the bubble got the stage they needed. And fans got a clearer read on where this NFL preseason is heading.

The headline came out of MetLife, where the Giants beat the Jets 31-12 and a first-round pick looked like he has no interest in holding a clipboard. Jaxson Dart stacked a second straight clean outing: 14-of-16 for 137 yards, a touchdown through the air, and a short plunge on the ground. The series that will live on in the meeting room came right after halftime—two straight touchdown drives where he hit six different targets, capped by a 20-yard strike to tight end Greg Dulcich before muscling in a goal-line keeper on the next possession. The ball came out on time, the eyes stayed downfield, and the decisions matched the coverage.

New York didn’t come in looking for a quarterback controversy. The Giants opened with a veteran, and Russell Wilson led a scoring drive to set the tone. But Dart’s pace and poise have changed the conversation inside that building. Expect the staff to keep the public line steady—keep working, earn it, one day at a time—while privately weighing a faster ramp to starter reps if this level holds for another week.

Across the field, the Jets had a different night. Justin Fields’ first throw went to tight end Mason Taylor for four yards. After that, five straight incompletions, stalled possessions, and no rhythm with Garrett Wilson. Three targets to his former Ohio State teammate, no catches. The run game showed life, but the passing plan is still searching for a second wideout to punish single coverage. When a defense knows where the ball wants to go, it squeezes the windows. That’s exactly what happened.

Sunday offered a shock and a stalemate. At Soldier Field, the Bears pasted the Bills 38-0, the kind of August score that says more about depth and execution than star power. Elsewhere, the Jaguars and Saints played to a 17-17 draw in New Orleans, a game dotted with red-zone chess and second-unit blitzes that forced quick answers out of young quarterbacks.

Monday wrapped the slate with the Bengals handling Washington 31-17. Cincinnati looked organized and efficient in situational football—end-of-half management, backed-up snaps, and third-and-medium calls—areas that usually look messy in August. Washington mixed personnel and tempo to stress-test newcomers, but turnovers and penalties undercut long stretches of solid play.

Other results told their own stories. Denver rolled the 49ers 30-9 with Jarrett Stidham throwing two touchdowns after a rocky open from Bo Nix. The Dolphins and Bears ended level at 24-24 in another tie on the week. The Chargers’ defense carried a 27-13 win over the Saints thanks to a 43-yard pick-six by rookie Eric Rogers. Baltimore looked sharp in a 31-13 win over Dallas, the Rams edged the Chargers 23-22 in a crosstown slog, and the 49ers slipped past the Raiders 22-19 in a tight finish.

One rookie on defense may have changed a depth chart in a day. Eagles safety Andrew Mukuba, who missed chunks of camp, came back with burst: a fumble recovery and an interception he returned for a touchdown. That’s production that shows up in any scheme, and it injects real competition next to Sydney Brown. Coaches love reliability at safety in August—fit the run, cap the deep ball, communicate cleanly—but takeaways get you on the field fast.

Dillon Gabriel’s line was the full rookie starter kit. He opened with a 13-play, 63-yard march, went four-for-four, moved the sticks three times on third down, and looked in command. The next possession he pressed a throw, and it went the other way for six. He finished 13-of-18 for 143 yards. The lesson is simple: stack the routine plays and live to fight the next down. The patience usually comes after you pay a small price like that pick-six.

If there was a theme this week, it was control. The rookies who thrived got in and out of the huddle, used motion without confusion, and didn’t hold the ball. The ones who struggled late often lost their feet when the pocket got muddy. August isn’t about tricking anyone. It’s about proving you can do the basics at game speed when the defense knows what’s coming.

What Week 2 means for jobs, depth charts, and the final cut

You’ll hear coaches say it over and over this time of year: the tape is the resume. That’s truer than ever with cut-down day coming fast. Teams will go from a crowded camp to 53 active spots, then build out a practice squad of 16. If you cover kicks and punts, your stock rises. If you force a takeaway, your odds jump again.

Here’s what evaluators pulled from Week 2, beyond the box scores:

• Timing over highlights: The quarterbacks who stayed ahead of the sticks won the night. Dart’s best trait wasn’t arm talent. It was hitting his back foot and cutting it loose.
• Defined roles: The Bears’ shutout wasn’t about trickery. It was clean alignments and quick fits. That travels.
• Turnovers translate: Mukuba’s two takeaways and Rogers’ pick-six will play in any venue. Decision-makers trust ball production.
• Second receiver urgency: The Jets need someone behind Garrett Wilson to punish single-high looks. Without it, defenses press and squat routes they’ve seen on tape.
• Backup QB clarity: Denver’s rotation put real film out there. Stidham steady after Nix’s early struggle gives the Broncos a workable roadmap without guessing.

For the Giants, the quarterback plan will be the headline all week. The safe route is to keep Russell Wilson as the Week 1 starter and give Dart a package of plays—boots, quick game, red-zone calls that shrink the read. The bolder path is to lean into the rookie now and build the offense around timing and space. The third option sits in the middle: an early-season handoff with a clear checkpoint after a pair of regular-season games. How the staff handles joint practices and the final preseason reps will tip their hand.

With the Jets, the problem set is more basic. The run game is functional. The pass game is not. That means more quick answers, more defined throws, and a second wideout who wins his one-on-one. It also means protection has to hold long enough for a double move or a shot from a heavy formation. You can’t live on slants and swings. Defenses take those away once they’ve felt your timing.

Philadelphia’s secondary shuffle is suddenly interesting. If Mukuba keeps stacking clean days—right angle here, timely punch-out there—the coaches will be tempted to play him in three-safety looks while keeping the veteran guardrails in place. It lowers risk and keeps the turnover juice on the field.

Chargers fans have seen fast August defenses before. What was different this week was how the rookies fed the identity. Rogers’ pick-six wasn’t a coverage bust gift. It was anticipation plus burst. If that holds on third down, Los Angeles has a real rotation in sub packages to hide inexperience and dial pressure.

What did Monday tell us about Cincinnati and Washington? The Bengals played cleaner football in the moments that decide games: two-minute, red-zone, and third-and-medium. Those are the snaps coordinators circle on the call sheet. Washington mixed and matched personnel groups to test versatility. That helps the staff, but it can muddy a young offense’s rhythm. Expect a more streamlined script in the third preseason game to chase cleaner timing.

The awkward truth with August scorelines is that they’re not built equal. The Bears’ 38-0 reads loud, but it also reflects a deep bench handling a rotation. A 23-22 edge like the Rams grabbed over the Chargers leans on special teams and fourth-quarter execution. Coaches know what they’re looking for. It’s not the number on the scoreboard. It’s whether the plan looked like the plan with different people running it.

For quarterbacks, the checklists don’t change much week to week:

• Pre-snap: Identify the shell, track the nickel, set the protection cleanly.
• Post-snap: Keep your feet tied to the read. If your feet panic, the ball floats or dies.
• Answer pressure: Hot throws beat perfect calls. The tape shows who knows their outlet.
• Know the moment: Third-and-2 is not third-and-8. Call it like you know the difference.

That’s why Dart’s night matters even with vanilla coverage. On time, in rhythm, and accurate is a universal language. That’s also why Gabriel’s pick matters. He’ll see that exact look again in September. It’s better to pay the tax now and bank the lesson.

Special teams will swing real jobs this week. Gunners who stack two clean releases. Returners who get north-south and finish on their feet. Kickers who don’t blink on 45-yarders from the right hash. These aren’t footnotes. They’re how you make a roster when you’re the fourth safety or the sixth receiver.

Health shaped the rotations too. Teams held starters or put them on snap counts to avoid another August injury headline. That created long stretches for rookies and second-year players who need live reps. It also made communication a premium. On defense, you could spot units that have been in the same room all spring—clean substitutions, no free yards from misalignments, and safeties who capped the deep ball.

If you’re sorting the biggest position battles the tape moved this week, start here:

• Giants QB: Veteran steadiness vs. rookie spark. The film favors “spark” right now.
• Jets WR2: An open chair until someone wins outside and punishes man coverage.
• Eagles safety: Mukuba nudged the door open. How wide it swings next week is on him.
• Broncos QB rotation: Stidham’s command gives Denver options while Nix settles in.
• Chargers nickel/sub packages: Rookie speed plus disguise gives the DC more toys.

On the coaching side, Week 2 is the pivot. You start trimming the playbook to core calls your roster actually runs well. You move from “try it and see” to “call it and own it.” And you start thinking about how your Week 1 opponent will try to pick at the soft spots the preseason tape just exposed. If your issues are about identity—like the Jets at WR2—you fix them by personnel. If they’re about timing—like a QB holding the ball—you fix them with reps and rules.

There’s also the business layer. Waiver priority matters on cut-down week, and scouts have been building shortlists at positions where the camp room looks thin. Offensive line depth is always the first shopping trip. Fourth corners and back-end safeties come next. Any player with special teams value and a clean medical has a market. That’s why a night like Mukuba’s is big beyond Philly. He put himself on 31 other boards.

So what sticks from the second week? A rookie quarterback may have moved the Giants’ timeline. The Jets have a passing-game puzzle to solve. The Bears’ depth popped. The Bengals looked organized. The Broncos stabilized their QB plan. The Chargers found a rookie playmaker on defense, and the Eagles might have a new piece in the back end. Meanwhile, Gabriel got the crash course every rookie needs, and coaches around the league got the teach tape they’ll use all week.

Now comes the hard part. One more preseason game, then hard choices. The next five days will be walk-throughs, install tweaks, and a lot of meetings where film wins arguments. If Week 3 settles a few positions, Week 2 told us who’s ready to claim them.