NFL preseason Week 1 scores, highlights, updates, schedule: Steelers’ Kenny

The NFL preseason is officially underway, and Week 1 of the 2022 exhibition season has been quite eventful up to this point. Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder threw a game-winning touchdown against the Detroit Lions with under two minutes left, Jordan Love and Trey Lance traded long touchdowns in the Bay and Cincinnati Bengals star kicker Evan McPherson went 3 of 3 on his field goals, including two from at least 56 yards out.

There were also a couple of injuries, the most notable being New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson — who tore his meniscus. However, he’s expected to be OK, and may not miss any time in the regular season.

This Saturday, we have a total of eight games to watch, starting with the Carolina Panthers vs. Washington Commanders and Kansas City Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears at 1 p.m. ET, and ending with a battle for L.A. between the Super Bowl champion Rams and Chargers. 

Below, we will track all the must-see highlights from Saturday’s action. Get ready for a full day of football.

Schedule

Thursday

Giants 23, Patriots 21 (Takeaways)
Ravens 23, Titans 10 (Recap)

Friday

Falcons 27, Lions 23 (Recap)
Browns 24, Jaguars 13 (Recap)
Cardinals 36, Bengals 23 (Recap)
Jets 24, Eagles 21 (Takeaways)
49ers 28, Packers 21 (Recap)

Saturday

Bears 19, Chiefs 14 (Recap)
Panthers 23, Commanders 21 (Recap)
Bills 27, Colts 24 (Recap)
Steelers 32, Seahawks 25 (Takeaways)
Buccaneers 24, Dolphins 23 (4th quarter – Gametracker)
Texans 10, Saints 10 (3rd quarter – Gametracker)
Broncos 14, Cowboys 0 (2nd quarter – Gametracker)
Chargers 7, Rams 0 (1st quarter – Gametracker)

Sunday

Vikings at Raiders, 4:25 p.m. ET (Gametracker) 

Pickett walks it off! 

Two days, two rookie quarterbacks with game-winning touchdown passes. On Friday, it was Desmond Ridder getting it done against the Lions with fewer than two minutes to play. Pickett then one-upped Ridder on Saturday, connecting with Tyler Vaughns, who stepped out of a tackle and then dove for the front-left pylon with just three seconds to play. 

It was a memorable debut for the first-round pick, who went 13-for-15 passing for 95 yards and a pair of scores. Mitchell Trubisky still has the inside track to be the Steelers’ Week 1 starter, but Pittsburgh has to be happy with its top draft pick in his NFL debut.

Drew Lock impressing 

Geno Smith accounted for one touchdown in the first half, while Lock has thrown for two touchdowns in a little over a quarter. He’s completed eight of his first 11 throws for 102 yards and passing scores to Dareke Young and DeeJay Dallas.

Pittsburgh was eager to welcome its first-round quarterback Kenny Pickett on Saturday, meeting him with thunderous applause as he took the field to begin the second half on offense for the Steelers. Pickett rewarded those in attendance with an impressive 75-yard touchdown drive where he completed all five of his passes for 33 yards and a touchdown to Jaylen Warren. He also completed a pass to Connor Heyward for the two-point conversion.

While this may have been in the second half of a preseason game, you can’t ask for much more from Pickett, who looked pretty sharpe out of the gate. 

Leg interception!

Why use your hands to force a turnover when you can use your legs? That’s exactly what Elijah Campbell did in the second quarter against the Buccaneers. The Dolphins scored a touchdown on the next play.

Dolphins rookie slings TD

With Tua Tagovailoa among the starters sitting out, seventh-round rookie Skylar Thompson began the game under center and has taken full advantage of his opportunity. He started the game by completing 10 of his first 12 passes, with the highlight being a 22-yard strike to Lynn Bowden Jr. The Dolphins have reportedly had trade talks about Bowden and Preston Williams, but the former showed Miami what he could do on that play.

Geno Smith is currently ahead of Drew Lock in the battle for the Seahawks’ starting quarterback job, and the veteran has been solid through one half against the Steelers in the preseason opener. He finished the first two quarters 10-for-15 passing for 101 yards and added a two-yard touchdown run to pull Seattle within a score before the break.

George Pickens hauls in toe-tapping touchdown

The George Pickens hype train is about to go supersonic. After turning heads over the course of training camp, the Steelers’ second-round pick is now showing the entire NFL what he brings to the table. 

In Pittsburgh’s preseason opener against Seattle, the rookie wideout hauled in an eye-popping touchdown catch from Mason Rudolph. On a third-and-13 attempt from the Seattle 26-yard line, Rudolph uncorked a pass towards the back-right pylon in the end zone. Pickens was not only able to get a step on his defender, but was also able to keep both feet in bounds after making the catch. 

Ho-hum, just another budding star receiver coming out of…