Last issue we told you an undrafted rookie won a game with the final play. This week: that dive cost him his hamstring.

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The weekend in one paragraph

Sixteen games in three nights, and none of them counted for anything — which is exactly the point of the pre-season. The headline was in Cleveland, where the quarterback battle we flagged last week got its first public hearing and produced no answer: Deshaun Watson was the tidier of the two, Shedeur Sanders threw an interception, and the Bears' second-string players beat them 34–10 anyway. Elsewhere, rookies did what rookies do in August — Pittsburgh's Drew Allar accounted for three touchdowns, and the Rams' Ty Simpson completed 21 of his 25 passes. And Haynes King, last week's Canton hero, spent the weekend in a tracksuit.

Every result, with the story

Thursday 13 August (all kicked off between midnight and 04:00 UK Friday)

Pittsburgh Steelers 28 – 9 Green Bay Packers — Aaron Rodgers, the 42-year-old quarterback we said might face his old club, watched in street clothes. Rookie Drew Allar took the night instead: 10 of 13 for 154 yards, two touchdown passes and a three-yard run for a third.

Cincinnati Bengals 16 – 14 Detroit Lions — Joe Burrow found Ja'Marr Chase with his first throw of the year and then went and sat down, which is a perfectly normal August evening's work for a star quarterback.

Arizona Cardinals 27 – 14 Las Vegas Raiders — the two most-scrutinised rookies in the league, on the same field: Arizona's Jeremiyah Love (third overall pick) ran for 58 yards, and Las Vegas's Fernando Mendoza — the number one pick in April's draft — went 10 of 16 for 97 yards and a touchdown.

Los Angeles Chargers 27 – 7 Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans 19 – 13 San Francisco 49ers, and Indianapolis Colts 13 – 13 New England Patriots — yes, a draw. Pre-season games have no overtime, so they simply stop.

Friday 14 August

Denver Broncos 27 – 7 Atlanta Falcons — a rough Atlanta debut for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who managed 22 yards across his two drives; ESPN's writers described him as looking "uncomfortable" behind poor protection.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24 – 16 New York Jets · Washington Commanders 20 – 7 Miami Dolphins.

Saturday 15 August (the European-friendly ones — teatime and early evening UK)

Chicago Bears 34 – 10 Cleveland Browns — see below.

Buffalo Bills 29 – 14 Carolina Panthers — the first touchdown at Buffalo's new Highmark Stadium went to receiver Keon Coleman.

Los Angeles Rams 20 – 12 Kansas City Chiefs — rookie quarterback Ty Simpson, taken 13th overall, was 21 of 25 for 190 yards and two touchdowns. That is an absurd completion rate, and it was against reserves, and it still counts as the performance of the weekend.

Baltimore Ravens 24 – 7 Philadelphia Eagles · Jacksonville Jaguars 24 – 20 New Orleans Saints · Minnesota Vikings 13 – 10 New York Giants · Dallas Cowboys 17 – 7 Seattle Seahawks, where an undrafted receiver named Camden Brown caught three passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns — one a 39-yard grab, the other a diving one-handed snag in the corner — and may have talked his way onto the roster.

Three things that mattered

1. Cleveland asked the question and got no answer
We flagged the Watson–Sanders quarterback battle last week as the league's most-watched. Round one: Deshaun Watson started, went 11 of 15 for 126 yards, lost a fumble, and led the only drive that produced points. Shedeur Sanders came on in the third quarter, went 6 of 11 for 79 yards, and threw an interception on his third drive. CBS Sports called it a battle that "leaves plenty to be desired" — meaning neither man seized it. Sanders starts next Saturday, so the audition runs at least another week.

2. The Canton fairy tale lasted 48 hours
Haynes King — the undrafted rookie whose dive on the final play won the Hall of Fame Game — pulled a hamstring on that very run. Panthers head coach Dave Canales ruled him out of Saturday's game and called him week-to-week; Carolina signed another quarterback to cover. It is the most August story imaginable: a man plays the best two minutes of his life and immediately cannot walk properly.

3. Backups beat starters, and that is the whole story of August
Chicago's reserve quarterbacks threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns between them and won by 24. Ignore the scoreline — the Bears did not play their first-choice team, and neither did anyone else. The reason to watch these games is not who wins; it is the fifty-third man on a fifty-three-man roster playing for his career in the fourth quarter, in front of scouts from every other club.

Injuries & fallout

• Haynes King, Carolina Panthers quarterback — hamstring, on his winning touchdown run. Week-to-week; missed Saturday.
• Jamal Adams, Minnesota Vikings defender — carted off with a right knee injury eleven snaps into his debut for his new club, and nobody touched him when it happened. Head coach Kevin O'Connell: "Initial exam does not look good." Scans were still pending on Sunday night.
• Chase Bisontis, Arizona Cardinals rookie guard — torn MCL (a knee ligament), carted off after an opponent landed on his leg. He needs surgery and his head coach has already said he is out for the season. Arizona used a second-round pick on him in April; he had been competing to start.

The table, minus the noise

Still nothing. Pre-season results go in the bin — the Colts and Patriots drew and it did not even bother anybody. The first real standings arrive after Thursday 10 September, 01:20 UK: New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks, a rematch of last season's Super Bowl at the champions' ground. Two more warm-up weekends between here and there.

Next weekend: stay up for

Pre-season week 2 runs Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 August — and again, every game is live and free on DAZN here in Europe, no subscription, just a free account. Saturday is the day worth clearing:

• Buffalo Bills @ Cleveland Browns — Sat 18:00 UK / 19:00 CET — DAZN (free). Shedeur Sanders starts. The one genuine appointment of the weekend, and it is on at teatime.
• Washington Commanders @ Detroit Lions — Sat 17:00 UK / 18:00 CET — DAZN (free). The earliest kick-off of the week; a full Saturday evening still ahead of you afterwards.
• New Orleans Saints @ Los Angeles Rams — Sat 21:00 UK / 22:00 CET — DAZN (free). Ty Simpson again, after the best passing display of week one.

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That's the late window, cleared — for another two weeks, at a civilised hour. Confused by anything this week? Hit reply — genuinely, we read every one.