Borltes was efficient in the Jaguars' win over Tampa Bay while Bridegwater struggled with accuracy against the Raiders.
Teddy Bridgewater has been touted as the most NFL-ready of the rookie quarterbacks and is the best bet of the bunch to start Week 1, but he got off to a rough start in his preseason debut on Friday night. While Bridgewater -- the last pick of the first round by the Minnesota Vikings -- was struggling through efficiency issues, Blake Bortles was shining in Jacksonville. Though he still looks like a long shot to start in the regular season opener, Bortles made a strong case in the Jags' win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A total of six exhibition games were played on Friday night. Get caught up with the scores, notable injuries and standout performers.
Injuries
The Oakland Raiders lost fourth-round defensive tackle Justin Ellis after he took a shot to the head and did not return. There's been no word on the degree of the injury or if it will hamper him moving forward.
Versatile Chicago Bears offensive line backup Brian de la Puente was knocked out with a knee injury and did not re-enter against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bears line has already been thinned by injuries, so they'll be hoping de la Puente's issue isn't serious.
Eagles linebacker Casey Matthews, brother of Clay, left with a lower back injury and did not return. Matthews is listed as a second-string linebacker behind starter DeMeco Ryans.
Atlanta Falcons 16, Miami Dolphins 10
Both starting quarterbacks got off to hot starts, with Matt Ryan and Ryan Tannehill going a combined 13-of-13 and trading early touchdown drives before exiting. Roddy White was busy early, grabbing four of Ryan's passes for 27 yards.
Things weren't quite as rosy for Falcons first-rounder Jake Matthews, who was tagged for two penalties in his 19 snaps at offensive tackle. One of them was a holding call that wiped out a 76-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Oh, and remember all that talk about Dolphins second-round receiver Jarvis Landry and his slow 40 time? He had a 48-yard punt return.
Jacksonville Jaguars 16, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10
Jaguars fans have to be encouraged by what they saw from Blake Bortles. The rookie first-rounder entered after Chad Henne and proceeded to go 7-of-11 for 117 yards (Henne went 4-of-7 for 30 yards), with three of those incompletions being drops. Bortles only worked with the second team, so he has a long road towards beating out Henne as the starter.
The winning touchdown came on a 23-yard run from converted college quarterback Denard Robinson with under seven minutes to play.
Josh McCown's Tampa Bay debut was rocky. The veteran free agent signing fumbled (though the Bucs recovered it), tossed a 68-yard pick-six and picked up just one first down over four series of work. Backup Mike Glennon, meanwhile, went a respectable 11-of-19 for 140 yards and a touchdown (six-yarder to Tommy Streeter).
Bucs rookie receiver Mike Evans was targeted just twice and had no receptions.
Buffalo Bills 20, Carolina Panthers 18
It didn't take long for Panthers first-round wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin to find the end zone. He hauled in a 29-yard pass from Derek Anderson early in the second-quarter -- good news for a team trying to replace the majority of their receiving corps. We'll have to wait to see how Benjamin meshes with Cam Newton, who was held out on Friday as a precaution while he recovers from offseason ankle surgery.
The star rookie wideout on the other side of the field, Sammy Watkins, had three receptions for 21 yards. Bills second-year quarterback EJ Manuel was crisp and efficient, completing 9-of-13 passes for 96 yards. Manuel looked considerably more comfortable in the pocket than he did as a rookie.
This game showed us the first effects of the extended extra points on Friday night. Here's Jordan Gay shanking the 33-yard effort (though in fairness, he's a punter).
Everyone is shanking extra points! https://t.co/Tdp5pWr9Lq
— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) August 9, 2014The Panthers weren't alone. The Saints missed an extra point on Friday night as well.
Extra points are hard now. https://t.co/e5p18ZPiRv
— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) August 9, 2014Minnesota Vikings 10, Oakland Raiders 6
There wasn't much to the anticipated Teddy Bridgewater debut. After completing his first pass (amidst chants of "Teddy, Teddy" from the crowd), the rookie quarterback connected on just five of his next 12, finishing with 49 yards. Matt Cassel started and was efficient in limited playing time, going 5-of-6 for 62 yards in one drive of action.
The Raiders offense struggled all game. Rookie quarterback Derek Carr, who entered in the second quarter, had a pass tipped for an interception and went 10-of-16 for 74 yards. We got little insight into the running back competition between Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden, because they combined for just three carries. McFadden's lone tote, however, did go for 23 yards.
Oakland tallied its only points with just over a minute remaining when Matt McGloin scampered in for a 10-yard quarterback keeper. The two-point conversion was no good.
Chicago Bears 34, Philadelphia Eagles 28
If you had to guess which Eagles quarterback threw two picks on Friday night, you'd probably guess Mark Sanchez. And you would be wrong. Sanchez was solid, but it was Nick Foles -- the breakout hero of 2013 -- that gave out the two turnovers. We didn't get a great look at how Daren Sproles will work in this offense, as the former Saint tallied just three touches for 11 yards.
Philly does have an impressive 102-yard kickoff return from Josh Huff to be proud of, though.
The Bears passing attack was scorching, with Jay Cutler, Jordan Palmer and Jimmy Clausen combining for four touchdowns. Two of those scoring grabs came from tight end Zach Miller.
New Orleans Saints 26, St. Louis Rams 24
The Rams' late rally came up just short when Greg Zuerlein's 59-yard field goal went wide left as the clock ran out.
Saints second-year quarterback Ryan Griffin is out to win the backup quarterback role from Luke McCown, and he made a strong statement on Friday. With Drew Brees sitting the game out, Griffin got extensive snaps (McCown started) and made the most of them, throwing for 179 yards and a touchdown. That scoring connection was to wide receiver Brandin Cooks, New Orleans's first-round pick.
The big story for the Rams was the debut of Michael Sam, who officially became the first openly gay man to play in an NFL game when he entered with five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Sam was more than just a feel-good story, though -- he tallied a quarterback pressure, a quarterback hit and this tackle:
Michael Sam with the tackle! https://t.co/sy6jV4sLo8
— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) August 9, 2014Rams fans also got a long look at rookie running back Tre Mason, who carried the ball 15 times for 51 yards (3.4-yard average).
Standout player: Jimmy Clausen
You didn't expect to see that, did you? Clausen, who is competing with Palmer to be Cutler's backup in Chicago, was sharp on Friday, throwing for 150 yards and two touchdowns. In fairness, those numbers came in the third and fourth quarters after the Eagles were deep into their defensive bench, but it's still a promising performance form the former Carolina washout.