What we learned from Week 2 of the NFL preseason

The NFL preseason has reached the halfway point, following another round of exhibition games over the weekend. Rookies took a step back, offenses took a step forward and one team watched its depth at quarterback dwindle further with yet another injury. Here's a recap of it all and five key takeaways from Week 2 of the preseason.

1. Kyler Murray came back down to rookie reality

Following a promising performance in Week 1 against the Chargers, Arizona Cardinals rookie quarterback Kyler Murray got his first dose of reality at the pro level. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft went just 3-of-8 for 12 yards and got sacked twice against the Raiders on Thursday night. The second of those two sacks resulted in a safety on Murray’s final series. In his debut Murray completed six of his seven passes for 44 yards and a 92.9 QB rating, but Thursday’s outing earned him a grade of 45.8.

2. The Eagles should feel concerned about QB health

The Eagles reunited with former backup quarterback Nick Foles on Thursday, as the Super Bowl MVP stood on the sideline for the Jaguars. Philadelphia shipped Foles away to make room for the future with Carson Wentz, who has had his fair share of major injuries in his young career.

Without Foles the Eagles are left with Cody Kessler and Nate Sudfeld to back up Wentz, but Sudfeld went down in Week 1 with a broken wrist and Kessler became the next in line to hit the sideline in Week 2. Kessler came out of Thursday's game with a concussion following the first drive against Jacksonville, when Datone Jones knocked Kessler to the ground.

The Eagles sent in rookie Clayton Thorson to head the offense for the majority of the game and now head into Week 3 with almost no depth at quarterback. If the trend continues into the regular season, especially if Wentz goes down, the Eagles can forget about any hopes of another Super Bowl run.

3. The Browns continue to excite in the preseason

Browns coach Freddie Kitchens sat a handful of stars, including Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry. Still, the Browns managed to pull out a 21-18 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium behind the play of backup quarterbacks Garrett Gilbert and David Blough, who combined for 207 yards and three touchdowns Saturday.

Kareem Hunt, who is suspended from regular-season play until Week 9, also made a brief appearance and carried the ball twice for six yards in two series. The Week 2 matchup came down to the wire Saturday, with Chad Kelly nearly leading a comeback strike in the final minute until Willie Harvey swatted away Kelly’s final pass on fourth and 1.

Week 3 should feature more star power, but watching the Browns take care of business with third- and fourth-string talent is another reason to buy into the buzz surrounding Cleveland.

4. Life without Elliott might not be so rough

As Dallas continues to navigate Ezekiel Elliott's holdout, the team is pressing forward in the preseason and doing just fine. In Week 2 Dallas topped the Los Angeles Rams, 14-10, on the road behind steady production from quarterback Dak Prescott and rookie running back Tony Pollard. Prescott went 5-of-5 for 64 yards and a 118.8 QB rating Saturday, while backup Cooper Rush did an excellent job stepping in to complete 10-of-16 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. Pollard led the team in rushing yards with 42 on five carries and ran the ball in for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Jason Witten saw limited action in his return to the Cowboys since coming out of retirement, but caught his only target for a 10-yard reception on third down. Even without Elliott the Cowboys have plenty to work with heading into Week 1 of the regular season.

5. The Vikings have the best (preseason) offense

Last season the Vikings ranked 13th in passing offense, but had one of the worst rushing attacks. If their last two exhibition games are any indication, the Vikings can expect a marked improvement heading into the 2019 season. It’s just preseason action, but the Vikings have averaged 434.5 yards per game and top the league in rushing yardage at 175 per contest.

It should change some once every team is back to playing the first string, but Minnesota has shown a ton of potential under its new system. In Week 1 the Vikings debuted the offensive scheme headed by first-year coordinator Kevin Stefanski and adviser Gary Kubiak. Minnesota accumulated 213 rushing yards and 247 passing while mixing up the lineup throughout the game.

On Sunday the Vikings racked up another 272 passing yards and 137 rushing. Quarterback Kirk Cousins turned in quality performances, going 4-of-4 for 65 yards and a touchdown against the Saints and 6-of-8 for 68 yards in Week 2 against the Seahawks. Considering Dalvin Cook hasn’t even taken the field, and Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph have seen limited action, it’ll be interesting to find out just how good Minnesota’s offense is come regular season.