It's annoying when football fans say that the results don't matter in the NFL preseason. The scores don't matter, no doubt — but the results on the field absolutely do. Whether we're talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers' post-Aaron Rodgers future, the Cleveland Browns' quarterback battle, or the outlook for teams for a number of reasons, there's a lot that we can glean from NFL preseason action, and that starts in Week 1.
The first full slate of preseason games are now in the book, so it's time to hone in on what we saw from these exhibition contests and determine some of the NFL's biggest winners and losers from Week 1 of the NFL preseason.
Winner: Drew Allar (and maybe the Steelers too)
Pittsburgh Steelers fans using offseason minicamps and training camp to convince themselves that Drew Allar was the future felt like a fool's errand to me. I'm humble enough to admit quickly that I might've been wrong about that, because Allar looked stellar in his NFL preseason debut.
Obviously, the fourth-stringer didn't see the field until the second half after Mason Rudolph and Will Howard got the first reps for the Steelers at quarterback, so level of competition has to be factored into the equation. But Allar looked the part. He was decisive, calm and looked to have a good grasp on the offense right away. That was reflected in his stat line, too, as he went 10-of-13 for 153 yards with two touchdowns while adding a rushing score as well. He also didn't take a sack or turn the ball over.
The Steelers have some decisions to make when it comes to the QB room, namely seeing if they could or should trade Rudolph or Howard. But they can feel far more confident in either of those directions now with Allar showing such positive signs moving forward, and certainly raising his stock as a general whole.
Loser: Tua Tagovailoa and the Falcons
Tua Tagovailoa had every opportunity at hand on Friday for the Falcons. With Michael Penix Jr. still recovering from injury and not yet cleared to take the field, a strong performance from the veteran Tagovailoa would've given him the easy inside track to the QB1 job. Instead, he may have raised further questions about what the heck Atlanta is going to do at the position, because he certainly look promising enough to be handed anything.
The two drives led by Tua resulted in just eight plays and 19 total yards as the veteran southpaw went only 3-of-5 for 22 yards on the day, while also botching a snap that he had to fall on during the first drive, a three-and-out. More importantly, though, he looked wholly uncomfortable and out of sorts in this new offense, which is a continuing trend from the end of his time in Miami. There's still time for him to claim the starting job over Penix, sure, but this wasn't exactly the optimism-inspiring effort that anyone around the Falcons was hoping for in the preseason.
Winner: Josh Allen
Few moves this offseason were quietly as polarizing as the Buffalo Bills trading for D.J. Moore. Some loved getting Josh Allen a true No. 1 receiver, some didn't think Moore was that type of player, and others couldn't get over how much the Bills paid. But wherever you landed, the early returns seem to indicate that it was well worth it for the perennial All-Pro quarterback as he looked phenomenal with his new weaponry around him in only two drives.
Despite only being on the field for two possessions, Allen still led the Bills in passing, going 6-of-8 for 111 yards and a touchdown while Buffalo scored on both of the drives to put 10 points on the board. More importantly, the rapport with Moore seemed instant, as the newcomer also led the team in receiving with 61 yards on three catches. Hell, even Keon Coleman looked better, coming down with the touchdown grab in the red zone.
It's just a couple of preseason drives, but it looks as if Allen and the Bills offense are now in an infinitely better position than they were last year.
Winner: Las Vegas Raiders
The headliner for the Raiders in the first week of preseason action was the first look at rookie No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza. And though it was Kirk Cousins who got the start, it's more than fair to say that Mendoza passed with flying colors. While it wasn't perfect, he seemed to be getting a baptism by fire in terms of the playbook and he handled it well, going 10-of-16 for 97 yards with a touchdown, as well as rushing for six yards.
That, in itself, is a win for the Raiders. But the fact that Cousins also looked quite comfortable, Mike Washington Jr. had some explosive runs as a rookie, Jack Bech had a nice game, and the offense just looked to be in a good spot when the first and second strings were on the field is all good. That doesn't speak to the defense, which certainly had some issues, but the Raiders were never going to be a contender this year. It's about building for the future, and they have to feel quite good about what the first preseason game showed in that capacity.
Loser: Joe Burrow
By no means did Joe Burrow play poorly as the Bengals hosted the Lions on Thursday night to get their preseason underway. He completed five of his six passes for 39 yards, while helping Cincinnati get three points on the board in his first drive. Instead, he's a loser because it seems like the age-old issue with this offense hasn't improved nearly to the level that anyone involved with the team wants it to be. That, of course, is in reference to the offensive line.
On Burrow's first drive of the game, he took a wicked sack as the line couldn't handle the pressure and the pocket collapsed pretty quickly. That's going to happen time to time in the NFL, sure. However, the Lions didn't have their starters on defense out there, and the Benglas offensive line still couldn't adequately hold up in protection. While the Cincy defense has improved, their path to success still hinges upon the offense. And if the line is going to keep being an issue as it has been in year's past, that casts some doubt on whether the Bengals are about to waste another year of Burrow's prime.
Loser: J.J. McCarthy
In all honesty, Carson Wentz was the most impressive Minnesota Vikings quarterback that saw the field in the preseason opener against the Giants. That's probably at least a cause for mild concern, though Kyler Murray wasn't on the field for all that long. However, what J.J. McCarthy put forth when he was given the opportunity isn't going to do much in the way of changing how his detractors (and perhaps the Vikings) feel about him.
McCarthy was given three drives of action at the helm of the offense. He produced two three-and-outs and an eight-play drive that amassed only 26 yards before Minnesota was forced to punt. And if that wasn't bad enough, the stat line backed it up as he went 4-of-7 for only 34 yards and while taking the only sack the Vikings gave up all game. He still looked completely overmatched by the NFL game, and his stock seems like its consistent downward trend isn't changing trajectory any time soon.
Winner: Ty Simpson and Les Snead
The Rams using a first-round pick on Ty Simpson was one of the biggest talking points of the 2026 NFL Draft, as most evaluators simply didn't have that kind of grade on the former Alabama signal-caller. However, as he made his preseason debut for Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, it was impossible to not be impressed by what he did while playing all but the first two drives of the game (helmed by Stetson Bennett).
Simpson not only led the Rams to 17 points and the preseason victory, for whatever that's worth, but he went 21-of-25 for 190 yards and two touchdowns on the day. He looked completely and entirely poised throughout the game, pushing the ball well to all levels of the field. Simpson is obviously not going to challenge Matthew Stafford for the starting job, but LA does have to feel more confident in their future at the position, and could also now have the flexibility to explore a Bennett trade.
Loser: Cam Ward, but really the Tennessee Titans
With a new coaching regime, Carnell Tate, better overall skill position players and a new lease on his NFL future, the Titans are coming into this season bolstered by the hope that Cam Ward, the first overall pick in the 2025 draft, is going to show more signs of being the franchise guy. Unfortunately, that's not what we got when he took the field for a good while with the Titans starters.
Ward showed some of the same issues with inaccuracy and decision-making that we saw last year as he put up a struggle-bus stat line with just 57 yards passing while going 5-of-12 on the day. Now, to be fair, no Titans quarterback looked the part in this game, so it doesn't seem like there's a real challenger to Ward's job. At the same time, there was palpable excitement for the second-year quarterback in this new-look offense, and it seemed like that quickly fell by the wayside. That's not what anyone wants to see in that spot.
Winner: 49ers WR De'Zhaun Stribling and Ravens WR Ja'Kobi Lane
The 49ers shocked people when they took De'Zhaun Stribling with the first pick of the second round, No. 33 overall. It was less shocking when the Ravens took Ja'Kobi Lane with the 80th overall pick, but nonetheless, both ended up as Day 2 selections who had seemingly a lot of upside in their respective offenses. That seemed to be an understatement based on the first preseason action.
Stribling, who now has a clear path to a sizable role with San Francisco after the litany of pass-catcher injuries behind Mike Evans and, to a lesser degree, Deebo Samuel, was unstoppable against the Titans. He caught seven of his eight targets for 63 yards and wholly looked the part of a possession receiver who can thrive under Kyle Shanahan already. I wouldn't even be surprised if we see him put on ice a bit more as we get deeper into the preseason, because he looks ready.
Lane, on the other hand, proved some things in live game action. While his highlight-reel catches and performance were the talk of camp, people needed to see it translate for Baltimore. He did exactly that, catching all three of his targets for 38 yards and a fantastic touchdown grab. Lane looks like he could very well be quickly climbing the depth chart in Baltimore and ultimately be someone to make this offense around Lamar Jackson even more multi-faceted and dangerous.
Loser: Cleveland Browns, but mostly Shedeur Sanders
Deshaun Watson put up the best numbers among Browns quarterbacks in the preseason loss to the Bears, but even that is just more speaking ill of Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel than it is in praise of Watson. None of the three signal-callers in Cleveland were able to create explosive plays, or even really try to push the ball down the field. Furthermore, none of the trio really seemed to be all that effective on a snap-to-snap basis.
But for as dismal as the Browns' quarterback room looks as a whole, it might be nearing the end of the line for Shedeur Sanders and this experiment. 6-of-11 for 79 yards with no scores and a pick is nothing to write home about, but it was a wildly erratic performance during which he seemed to be completely out of sorts. He still might be a better backup option than Gabriel, but he continues to look nothing like the future in Cleveland.
On the whole, though, all that this Browns quarterback room solidified for me is that they will be taking one of the top quarterbacks in the 2027 NFL Draft.
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