After an exciting week of preseason action in the AFC North, several storylines started to unfold. Fans saw what the new Baltimore Ravens offense looks like, Johnny Manziel got his first real game action and the Steelers continue to groom the young talent on their roster.
In Week 2, these storylines will continue to play themselves out, and some new ones will come up as we inch closer to the start of some regular-season action.
New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals, Saturday at 7 p.m.
After I focused on Cincinnati’s running back situation last week, Week 2 of the preseason should be all about the receivers. Besides A.J. Green the pass-catching options for Andy Dalton are completely up in the air. In Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs, 17 different Bengals were targeted in the passing game.
Dane Sanzenbacher scored a touchdown, and James Wright had two catches, one of them going for a touchdown. Dalton only attempted five passes, but seeing who gets targets off the bench against the Jets could have effects for the regular season. Mohamed Sanu seems to have dropped out of the game plan after failing to catch a single pass last weekend and failing to break any more than 68 yards in a single game last season, but someone will have to get looks besides Green.
Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys, Saturday at 7 p.m.
In the Ravens’ first preseason game, they basically looked like Gary Kubiak’s Houston Texans, but with worse players (Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce instead of Arian Foster, the rotting husk of Steve Smith rather than Andre Johnson and an older version of Owen Daniels instead of Owen Daniels). The running game certainly looked improved from last season, but the long-term viability of Baltimore’s offense concerns me.
The Cowboys are a terrible defense, and gave up 27 points to the San Diego Chargers last week, so this will be a perfect opportunity for the Ravens to make sure their offense can dominate against teams that they’re supposed to play well against. Pierce averaged 3.7 yards per carry on 10 touches, while Rice went for 17 yards on three carries. The most interesting player to watch in the second half is Lorenzo Taliaferro, who had 13 carries for 71 yards in Week 1. Taliaferro is a bruising back who, if he continues to play well, could work himself in to some regular-season carries.
Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers, Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Steelers are all about the young guns in their offense. Pittsburgh’s known as being a team that is aging, especially on defense, but there’s a few rookies who are worth keeping an eye out for in Week 2. Dri Archer is a dark horse candidate at running back for the Steelers who could steal touches from LeGarrette Blount. Blount has a similar body type and running style to Le’Veon Bell, but Archer is much better at catching out of the backfield, even breaking out with a 46-yard reception in Week 1, but carrying the ball just twice.
Another rookie in the receiver game to watch is Martavis Bryant, who is a very raw talent but is a speedy receiver who could be a Mike Wallace-type for the Steelers. This is also basically a redshirt rookie season for Markus Wheaton, who only had six receptions last season but was selected in the third round of the 2013 draft. Darrius Heyward-Bey is also in the mix, making for a crowded but exciting group of receivers.
Cleveland Browns at Washington Redskins, Monday at 8 p.m.
Who would have guessed? This matchup is all about Johnny Manziel. It’s still up in the air as to who will actually be starting this game, but Johnny Football seems to be the leader in the clubhouse. During Week 1, Brian Hoyer both over-threw and under-threw receivers when he started, and Manziel managed to make some solid plays even with the second unit on the offensive line.
If Manziel starts, it will definitely be something to see when he has the starting linemen and Ben Tate to work with. This quarterback battle is going to carry on for the entire season, but after Hoyer looked flat against the Detroit Lions, Manziel could grab ahold of the battle by playing well against Washington.