—The Baltimore Ravens reached a milestone when they won their 24th consecutive preseason game with a 20-19 win over the Eagles. The old record was 23 in a row by the Vince Lombardi Packers although they did lose a game to the College All-Stars during the streak. It is not surprising the Packers had a streak like that since they were the team of the 1960, but the Ravens haven’t been a dominant team and there seems to be no logical explanation for their preseason dominance. Does coach John Harbaugh put a special emphasis on them? Who knows?
–The feel good story of the weekend was the fact that Damar Hamlin played 24 snaps and had three tackles in the Bills 23-19 win over the Colts in his first game since he suffered cardiac arrest on the field last year. Coach Sean McDermott called his comeback remarkable.
–New owner Josh Harris didn’t watch his first game as Washington owner from an owner’s box. He was in the first row behind the bench in the rain at Cleveland as Washington beat the Browns 17-15 and he got the game ball. But this past week, Harris learned the team still faces a lot of problems. Some players complained about new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy being too tough on them. Then coach Ron Rivera admitted he put his foot in his mouth when he suggested he and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio had more experience in dealing with issues because they were both two-time head coaches. Harris has to decide if Rivera is the long-term answer.
–It is not unusual for the quarterback selected with the first pick to struggle in his debut. So it is not surprising that Carolina’s Bryce Young completed only 4 of 6 passes in 11 snaps in a 27-0 loss to the Jets. But the more alarming thing is that he was sacked once and took some other hard hits. It raises questions whether the Carolina offensive line is good enough to protect him. Young said he felt fine after the game but he needs better protection.
–With Jonathan Taylor on the PUP list and demanding to be traded, the Colts running game could be a problem. In the opener against the Bills, five running backs rushed for 79 yards on 27 carries, an average of 2.9 a carry. With a likely rookie quarterback in Anthony Richardson and an uncertain running game, Colts may get off to a slow start. That could be good news for the defending AFC South division champion Jaguars, who play them twice in the first six games.