NFL PRESEASON ROUNDUP: GENO SMITH SHINES AS JETS DUMP STEELERS
Geno Smith made the most of his lone drive, completing all of his passes and throwing for a touchdown as the New York Jets earned a 17-0 preseason win over the host Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday.
Smith finished 7 of 7 for 65 yards while guiding a game-opening, 10-play, 69-yard drive. The march culminated with Smith hitting a wide-open Jelani Woods in the flat, and the tight end rumbled for a 13-yard TD.
Three other quarterbacks saw action for the Jets (1-1), with Cade Klubnik connecting on 10 of 14 passes for 75 yards. Quincy Skinner Jr., who finished with a game-high four receptions for 47 yards, capped the scoring with a 31-yard touchdown on a fourth-quarter pass from Brady Cook.
For the second game in a row, the Steelers (1-1) held out starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Will Howard drew the start and threw two interceptions while going 10-for-15 for 74 yards. Drew Allar finished 11 of 23 for 110 yards.
Pittsburgh’s Kaleb Johnson was the game’s leading rusher with 10 carries for 39 yards.
Panthers 34, Jaguars 17
Bryce Young enjoyed a successful two-series appearance, helping Carolina register a victory at Jacksonville.
The fourth-year quarterback completed 5 of 6 passes for 49 yards. His second drive resulted in the game’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run by Jonathon Brooks.
Kenny Pickett got the bulk of the action under center for the Panthers (2-1), and he went 15 of 25 for 137 yards and a touchdown. John Metchie III had six receptions for 77 yards.
Trevor Lawrence again sat out for the Jaguars (1-1), with Nick Mullens getting the start and producing 65 yards on 6-of-7 passing. Joey Aguilar added 130 yards and a touchdown on 9-of-10 passing. Trebor Pena made four catches for 72 yards and a score, and Ameer Abdullah added six carries for 45 yards.
Packers 33, Broncos 13
Jordan Love played just one series but he made it count, engineering a 12-play, 63-yard drive that culminated with an 11-yard touchdown pass to MarShawn Lloyd, as Green Bay defeated host Denver.
Love finished with 56 yards passing for the Packers (1-1) before giving way to Tyrod Taylor, who only hit on 4 of 8 passes for 17 yards but did throw a 2-yard score to Will Shepherd. Kyle McCord took most of the snaps under center, completing 12 of 19 passes for 118 yards. Shepherd was the game’s leading receiver with six catches for 47 yards. Trey Smack connected on four field goals, with a long of 59 yards.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix made a successful return from his broken ankle, connecting with R.J. Harvey on a 21-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. Nix played two series, with the second resulting in a Wil Lutz 53-yard field goal. Nix wound up hitting 6 of 9 passes for 76 yards before Jarrett Stidham took over.
COLTS FOOTBALL
Colts head coach Shane Steichen indicated he play his starters in the Colts’ Aug. 29 preseason finale against the Detroit Lions, but for this weekend, all or nearly all of those top-of-the-depth-chart players will stay on the sideline.
Still, there will be plenty of watch on Saturday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium:
QB Riley Leonard
The plan is for Leonard to start and play the entire first half, with Anthony Richardson Sr. tagging in for the second half in a reversal from last week’s preseason opener. Leonard, in the second half against the New England Patriots, completed 10 of 21 passes for 89 yards with an interception.
The second-year quarterback said he was “disappointed” with how he played last week.
“You got to live with the past, but look forward to getting the practice and learning from my mistakes, making up for it,” Leonard said. “A little sloppy, so I’m just excited to get back out there, redeem myself, and just kind of get back into a rhythm.”
There’s been no indication from Steichen as to if anyone is leading the Colts’ backup quarterback competition, as Leonard and Richardson have continued to evenly split second-team reps in practice. There’s still time for this competition to play out, and with the Colts continuing to send signals they want to keep all three quarterbacks – Daniel Jones, Leonard and Richardson – on their 53-man roster, the end point of this competition doesn’t necessarily need to come in the immediate future.
“I really don’t have a timetable on that,” Steichen said. “I’m going to let that thing play out. Like I said, we got two more weeks. We got this preseason game. We got practice, all that stuff, and then we’ll see where it goes.”
Wide receiver Coleman Owen
With Anthony Gould missing the last week-plus with a groin injury, Owen has taken the majority of the snaps that would’ve gone to the 2024 fifth-round pick. Owen, a 2025 undrafted free agent who appeared in two late-season games last season, has an opportunity to compete to earn a role on the 2026 Colts as a backup slot receiver and returner on both punts and kicks.
Against the Patriots, Owen caught two of four targets for 17 yards, with one of those incompletions on a high throw from Richardson that went through his hands for an interception as he leapt in the air. He also returned two kicks for 54 yards and four punts for 51 yards, highlighted by a 27-yard scamper.
Gould in 2025 averaged 25.9 yards per kickoff return (16th in the NFL) and 10.1 yards per punt return (18th). He’s listed on the Colts’ unofficial depth chart as the No. 1 returner for both punts and kicks, with Owen No. 2.
Tight end Will Mallory
Mallory stood out in a major way with six catches for 80 yards against the Patriots, and he’ll look to build on an encouraging preseason Saturday against the Falcons.
Notably, with Tyler Warren (groin) missing most of Wednesday’s practice and all of Thursday’s practice, Mallory took a good number of snaps with the Colts’ first-team offense. And as the Colts’ offense evolves in 2026, adding a speedy tight end like Mallory into the mix could be an option for Steichen – especially if he continues to flash in practices and preseason games.
Mallory, too, played three snaps on special teams against the Patriots (one in punt coverage, two on kickoff return). How he plays on those special teams units – he only played one snap on teams in 2025 – will be key in helping him carve out a role on gamedays.
Defensive end Caden Curry
Curry was another top performer in the Colts’ preseason opener, as the Center Grove alum stuffed the stat sheet with one sack, three QB hits, five tackles, two tackles for a loss and two pass break-ups. He’ll now get a chance to play for his hometown team at Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time, but this is more than a feel-good fluff story.
Curry, a 2026 sixth-round pick, has a real chance to make the Colts’ 53-man roster. He brings good energy and a relentless motor to both defense and special teams, which are important qualities to have when filling out a roster. The Colts’ defensive line room is deep and filled with veterans, but for both Curry and fifth-round rookie George Gumbs Jr. – who also had a strong preseason debut last week – the more those guys flash, the more the more responsibilities they’ll earn as rookies.
Linebacker CJ Allen
Allen missed a little over a week of training camp, and Thursday’s preseason game, due to a hamstring injury, but the 2026 second-round pick has been back participating in practice since last weekend. It’s unclear if he’ll play on Saturday, but given third-round rookie AJ Haulcy played 23 snaps against the Patriots, Allen could very well make his preseason debut against the Falcons.
To this point, Allen has been part of a rotation at linebacker that’s also primiarly included Austin Ajiake, Bryce Boettcher, Jaylon Carlies and Akeem Davis-Gaither. How defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo deploys those guys remains to be seen, but there’s a chance all five play once the regular season kicks off on Sept. 13. How much those guys play will be determined on how they’ve practiced and played to this point, and how they practice and play over the next three weeks.
So for Allen, any additional game reps – where he can showcase his tackling ability – will be key in earning more regular season snaps.
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