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NFL preseason winners, losers: Stars still await deals, but Jaxson Dart waits for no one
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- NFL preseason winners, losers: Stars still await deals, but Jaxson Dart waits for no one
And that's a wrap.
The rehearsals are over, the exhibitions are done, and the figurative football bullets are set to fly after the NFL's 2025 preseason officially reached its conclusion Saturday night.
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There's only so much to glean from pro football in August. The game plans are typically diluted, the stars are typically in sweats, and even legions of fans are typically home and maybe not even paying attention. Still, some key positional battles and compelling performances have been on display over the past month. How much of it translates into regular-season relevance? Stay tuned.
But, for now, here are your winners and losers from the freshly completed preseason:
WINNERS
Jaxson Dart
Yep, the Force is strong in this one. Dart, the Giants ' Round 1 rookie quarterback and an avid "Star Wars" fan , would probably be the prohibitive preseason MVP if such an award existed. He passed for 372 yards, three TDs and crafted a 113.1 QB rating while rushing for another 52 yards and a score. He even fed teammate Jameis Winston a "W" during Thursday night's walkover of the New England Patriots . (Priceless content, Padawan.)
Perhaps most important, his swag has sent an infusion of optimism through the Giants ' fan base. Dart may not be a Jedi master just yet or even an NFL QB1. But don't be surprised if his powers prove too strong for incumbent starter Russell Wilson before long. "I feel like whenever my number is called that I'm going to go out there, and I'm going to play my game, and I'm going to ball," Dart said Thursday.
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Rookie quarterbacks
It wasn't just Dart, one of two QBs taken in the first round of this year's draft. No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward of the Tennessee Titans appeared comfortable and steady as he heads into his rookie season, even if his numbers don't necessarily bear that out. Tyler Shough , a second-round pick of the New Orleans Saints , also has a shot to be a Week 1 QB1 . The Seattle Seahawks' Jalen Milroe and Philadelphia Eagles ' Kyle McCord had their moments, too. And, of course, so did highly scrutinized Cleveland Browns rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel , who will both apparently make their team's 53-man roster (despite Sanders' rough showing Saturday afternoon).
New York Giants
The buzz Dart alone generated was a welcome spark for a franchise badly in need of one. But the G-Men looked resurgent in many other aspects while winning all three of their games in dominant fashion − by a collective score of 107-47. There's a nice collection of young talent on this team, Dart joined by the likes of fellow rookie LB Abdul Carter, second-year WR Malik Nabers and others. Given how difficult their schedule projects , the Giants may not improve much record-wise from last season's 3-14 finish, but they could also be positioned to take off in 2026. It's worth wondering if coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen have already sown enough hope to save their jobs beyond this year.
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Joe Flacco
Naturally, the 40-year-old is the only Browns quarterback who didn't get hurt this summer, allowing Flacco to fairly easily beat out Kenny Pickett , Gabriel and Sanders for Cleveland's starting gig to begin the season. The Super Bowl 47 MVP is also quite simply one of the game's good guys and an easy person to root for … if you don't actually have a rooting interest. Flacco sliced up the Los Angeles Rams while playing into the second quarter Saturday, his only preseason action of the month.
Emeka Egbuka
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ' first-round pick not only made a strong impression in camp, he showed his wares on the field – his first professional TD catch a spectacular one. With fellow WRs Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan expected to be weeks away from playing, Egbuka should be starting early … and could be a quasi-sneaky find for your fantasy roster.
Cam Little
The Jacksonville Jaguars ' second-year kicker drilled a 70-yard field goal − eclipsing the regular-season record by 4 yards − in his first game this month and hit a 59-yarder Saturday. Of Little's seven August field goals, four were from 50+ yards.
Tyler Loop
The Baltimore Ravens ' rookie kicker appears comfortably installed as the replacement for disgraced and departed Justin Tucker . Loop hit all eight of his extra-point tries in preseason and was 9-for-11 on field goals, including five from at least 50 yards. His misses were from 46 and 50. Don't be surprised if Loop winds up as the league's leading scorer given the numerous opportunities he's likely to get this season.
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Buffalo Bills
They added RB James Cook to a long list of players who landed extensions this year – preventing his negotiations from spilling over into the regular season. They haven't embarrassed themselves on " Hard Knocks " – yet – and seem generally ready to make another strong run at their first Lombardi Trophy.
NFL RECORD PROJECTIONS: How many games will Buffalo win in 2025?
Kansas City Chiefs
As head coach Andy Reid has been historically inclined to do, he played his starters extensively this month . And they generally looked pretty good, the first teamers shining Friday night against the Bears while scoring 17 points on their first three possessions. "This is a little step but it's a step in the right direction," said QB Parick Mahomes, who was not sacked in August behind his reconfigured offensive line.
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Cincinnati Bengals offense
In a bid to get off to a better start – coach Zac Taylor is 1-11 in his career during Weeks 1 and 2 – they played starters like QB Joe Burrow and WR Ja'Marr Chase this month, and their high-scoring chemistry seems to be carrying over from 2024. We'll see what that means in September.
Dak Prescott
He's healthy on the heels of a season cut in half by a serious hamstring injury and was encased in bubble wrap throughout the preseason ahead of the Dallas Cowboys ' opener Sept. 4 in Philadelphia, when they and the Eagles kick off the 2025 regular season. Not only that, with so much attention on teammate Micah Parsons ' contract impasse, there's been relatively little heat on Prescott and his high-profile team heading into what could be the 30th consecutive season in which "America's Team" fails to make the Super Bowl.
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Trey Lance
The No. 3 overall pick of the 2021 draft was the Los Angeles Chargers ' leading passer and second-leading rusher this preseason. After making a strong case to be Justin Herbert 's backup, Lance might finally be in the right situation with coach Jim Harbaugh to get his long-stagnant career finally on track.
Micah Parsons, Trey Hendrickson and Terry McLaurin
All All-Pro-caliber players. All hold-ins. All still, maybe not so patiently, awaiting much-deserved contract extensions. But, hey, at least all of them got to more or less coast through training camp and preseason while their mostly younger, mostly less accomplished teammates had to grind through the heat. The entire trio should be fresh for Week 1 … assuming they're actually in uniform by then.
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LOSERS
Micah Parsons, Trey Hendrickson and Terry McLaurin
Aug 16, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs (7) and defensive end Micah Parsons (11) during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
All All-Pro-caliber players. All hold-ins. All still, maybe not so patiently, awaiting much-deserved contract extensions. Assuming those deals eventually come, all three players must then try to vigilantly avoid the soft tissue injuries that so often plague players forced to deal with business instead of football at this time of year. Yet maybe it shouldn't be a foregone conclusion all will find a middle ground. Parsons and Hendrickson, in particular, have been at loggerheads for months and more – both have even expressed a desire to be traded – in their bids to extract raises and security from owners, Dallas' Jerry Jones and Cincinnati's Mike Brown, respectively, very much set in their ways ... for better or worse. Kinda hard to fathom why three teams with playoff aspirations have chosen to play with fire this long over stars who are arguably their most important players, quarterbacks notwithstanding.
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Anthony Richardson
Lance can relate to Richardson's seemingly premature demise. The No. 4 overall pick of the 2023 draft for the Indianapolis Colts , he now finds himself backing up Giants washout Daniel Jones going into Week 1. Maybe Richardson, a raw but sublimely talented dual threat passer who's 8-7 as an NFL starter, can work his way back into the lineup and flourish. But it currently feels like he might need a change of scenery in order to fulfill his estimable potential.
Joe Milton III
The second-year man with the howitzer attached to his right shoulder was acquired by the Cowboys via an offseason trade with the Patriots to be Prescott's backup. Milton played much better Friday, albeit mostly against Atlanta Falcons backups, but generally left much to be desired in his other appearances – and for a team that had to rely so heavily in recent years on QB2 Cooper Rush , now Baltimore's backup. And, at some point, Prescott has to shed that aforementioned bubble wrap ...
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Cincinnati Bengals offense
In a bid to get off to a better start – coach Zac Taylor is 1-11 in his career during Weeks 1 and 2 – they played starters this month … and they continued their 2024 pattern of getting scorched, whether by front-line opponents or backups. Might help having Hendrickson out there, fellas. We'll see what that means in September.
Chicago Bears
Caleb Williams and the offense looked fantastic in a Week 2 whitewash of the Bills , who, notably, didn't play their starters at Soldier Field. Yet the Bears ' first team looked just as bad in Friday's loss at Kansas City, Williams seemingly reverting to some of the indecision and bad habits that plagued him as a rookie. "It was not the start we wanted from our (starters), really on offense, defense or special teams" said Chicago rookie head coach Ben Johnson. "Offensively, the first two possessions were really sloppy football that has plagued us in and out of camp so far and unfortunately that is what we got here tonight."
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The Bears should be better in 2025, but it might take a minute for that improvement to show up in the win column.
Derrick Harmon
The Pittsburgh Steelers ' first-round defensive lineman could miss up to a month of his rookie season after suffering a sprained MCL on Thursday. Total bummer.
Matthew Stafford
He's finally back on the practice field after missing most of training camp with a disc issue in his back. Stafford seems on track to play in Week 1 … but is a 37-year-old with a bad back going to last until Week 18 and hopefully beyond for a team with serious Super Bowl aspirations ?
Brian Robinson
After getting traded from the Washington Commanders to the San Francisco 49ers , he's been relegated from starting in D.C. to backup running back duties behind Christian McCaffrey heading into his walk year.
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Kirk Cousins
After not getting traded by the Falcons – yet – he's still a backup quarterback in search of something more.
Christian Wilkins
After getting cut by the Las Vegas Raiders amid fairly bizarre circumstances in July, the talented defensive tackle remains without a job.
J.J. McCarthy
Heading into his second NFL season – after missing all of his rookie campaign with a knee injury – he's got all of two career preseason appearances (one of them this year) under his belt as he prepares to take over for Sam Darnold as the Minnesota Vikings ' starting quarterback. What could go wrong in September given McCarthy's scant professional experience?
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Aaron Rodgers
Pittsburgh opted not to play him at all in preseason even though he's new to the roster and OC Arthur Smith's playbook. Maybe it's no biggie given Rodgers got some live work against the Bucs in a joint practice and knows a thing or two about thriving in a league he's been MVP of four times … even if the Steelers open against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, where Rodgers infamously blew out his Achilles in Week 1 two years ago.
"I'm never a fan when guys don't play in the preseason, especially at the quarterback position," said NFL Network analyst and former two-time league MVP Kurt Warner. "Last year wasn't (Rodgers') best year … would've loved to see him get out there and just play a little bit – with a new system, with the new guys, get that feel back."
Deion Sanders' weekend
He watched one son, Shedeur, play like a rookie who deserved to be a fifth-rounder on Saturday afternoon. In the evening, he saw another son, Shilo, an undrafted free agent trying to stick with Tampa Bay , ejected for throwing a punch against Buffalo. Shilo Sanders was waived Sunday. As Coach Prime has been known to say, "Oh Lawd."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL preseason winners and losers: Jaxson Dart, Micah Parsons top list
