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Teams were generally able to avoid serious injuries during the six preseason games played on Thursday night.
Thursday marked the first night this preseason with multiple games, highlighted by a shootout in Kansas City. Here is a recap of the six-game schedule:
Injuries
The injury of the night that will likely have the most regular season impact if serious was undoubtedly a leg injury for Colts center Khaled Holmes. A still very unproven player, Holmes was expected to be the starter for the Colts at center and following his injury, he was replaced by Jonotthan Harrison. That didn't go so well.
Other players to get injured on Thursday night included a concussion for Broncos running back C.J. Anderson and an ankle injury for 49ers defensive tackle Lawrence Okoye.
Easily the most exciting game of the night, this duel featured 80 combined points and big plays for both teams. The MVP of the game has to be third-string Bengals quarterback Matt Scott who tallied 66 yards and two touchdowns through the air and 68 yards rushing.
But explosive plays from De'Anthony Thomas and Travis Kelce put the Chiefs ahead early and built a lead that Scott's efforts couldn't surmount.
Baltimore Ravens 23, San Francisco 49ers 3
While the score would indicate otherwise, it wasn't a particularly bad night for the 49ers. Players like Jimmie Ward, Tank Carradine, Carlos Hyde and Corey Lemonier all had solid outings, which is the important thing for the team. Had it not been for a 3-for-11 performance from Blaine Gabbert that included an interception, the score may have been even closer.
For the Ravens, it's tough to find very many qualms at all. They offense was efficient with Joe Flacco in the game and was able to run the ball effectively with several different backs, including Ray Rice who will begin the year with a suspension.
Broncos 21, Seahawks 16
Denver might not have evened the score after losing Super Bowl XLVIII, but the first-team offense for the Broncos did score a touchdown, with Ronnie Hillman punching it into the end zone from one yard out, punctuating a 69-yard drive. Peyton Manning completed 10-of-13 passes for 78 yards during his brief time in the game.
Russell Wilson was 4-of-6 passing for 37 yards for the Seahawks, who saw placekicker Steven Hauschka get his practice in with field goals in the second, third and fourth quarters.
Washington 23, New England Patriots 6
With Tom Brady on the sideline, Ryan Mallett struggled to lead the Patriots offense to much of anything. Instead it was Kirk Cousins winning the battle of possibly-tradable-quarterbacks-who-never-got-traded.
If there was good news for the Patriots on the quarterback front, rookie quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo looked very strong with 157 yards passing including the only touchdown of the game for the team. The rookie found Brian Tyms for a 26-yard score in the final minutes of the game.
New York Jets 13, Indianapolis Colts 10
While much of the attention for the Colts will go towards the aforementioned injury suffered by Holmes, it was a very solid showing for Andrew Luck and the starting Indianapolis offense even with a battered line. Things weren't as fluid for Michael Vick and Geno Smith, as a 1-yard touchdown for Chris Johnson was the only touchdown of the day for the home team.
In the end it was a 51-yard field goal that ended the game and got the Jets really, really excited:
J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS https://t.co/zQ96KQL5i7
— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) August 8, 2014San Diego saw starting quarterback complete 4-of-4 passes for 61 yards, and had backup quarterback Kellen Clemens complete 5-of-5 passes for 134 yards. Even third-stringer Brad Sorenson completed 5-of-7 passes for the Chargers. Come to think of it, the Cowboys didn't put up much of a pass defense.
Brandon Weeden completed 13-of-17 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown for Dallas.
Standout player
Matt Scott, QB, Cincinnati Bengals - While Washington RB Lache Seastrunk had a strong case for the honor, Scott snagged it away from him with a heroic attempt at a comeback in the fourth quarter of his team's 41-39 loss to the Chiefs. His night was aptly summarized by Josh Kirkendall of SB Nation's Bengals site, Cincy Jungle:
Matt Scott's stat line: 7/11 for 66 yards, 2 TDs. Scott added 68 yards rushing, and 3 gallons of puke. That's how you make an impression
— Josh Kirkendall (@Josh_Kirkendall) August 8, 2014