Which teams have the most to prove in preseason Week 2? Preseason will never provide all the answers, of course, but certain teams still have pressing issues to address and confounding problems to solve.
Which teams still have quarterback controversies to settle, and which teams have late-offseason injuries to adjust off of in the twilight of the preseason stretch? That’s what we discuss below.
5) Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons have an unenviable quarterback situation, and unfortunately for Atlanta, that’s the tide that raises or sinks all boats in 2026.
The Falcons have a decent roster outside of the QB position. Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts present as a dynamic offensive core; the team’s offensive line ranked 8th in PFN Team OL Impact last season, and the defense is flush with youth and dynamic ability.
The offseason, however, hasn’t been entirely kind to the Falcons. Jalon Walker, the team’s leader in the pass-rush rotation, suffered a torn ACL and will likely miss the 2026 season, and James Pearce Jr. was suspended eight games for an off-field incident earlier this year.
On paper, Atlanta has the look and feel of a team that’s not in rebuild mode, but also isn’t on the doorstep of competing. A good QB can accelerate this kind of team’s timeline, and head coach Kevin Stefanski has a history of elevating said QBs. The early returns, however, have not been inspiring.
In his first preseason action with the Falcons after being released by the Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa threw just five passes for three completions and 22 yards, and fumbled a snap. He was somehow outshined in a theoretical tanking competition by Cooper Rush, but nonetheless provided a realist’s clarity for the Falcons’ QB situation.
Until Tagovailoa recaptures even a fragment of the former efficiency that once made him a legitimate starting QB in Miami, which seems unlikely, Michael Penix Jr. is the one option Atlanta has for 2026.
But until Penix is healthy, as he’s still recovering from a partially torn ACL and hasn’t been cleared for 11-on-11 work yet, Atlanta won’t be able to see him on the field.
That’s a trepidatious feeling with the season growing closer, and it makes every week a must-watch for the Falcons at QB.
4) Miami Dolphins
Who are the Miami Dolphins? We still don’t quite know. There’s been an inclination for a while that 2026 will be a rebuilding year for Miami, but hope still remains among Dolphins’ faithful that the team will exceed expectations in the first year of Jeff Hafley’s tenure.
The team’s first preseason outing was more notable than most others, as the Dolphins will have an outsized amount of their snaps held by rookies and journeyman players this coming campaign. At the most important position — QB — a poignant revelation was uncovered: If Malik Willis doesn’t deliver, the Dolphins are in a rough spot.
Willis himself was decent in his first on-field action for the Dolphins, with a well-placed seam ball to rookie sensation Caleb Douglas serving as the highlight. But the team’s other two QBs, Quinn Ewers and Cam Miller, combined to go 4 of 19 for 66 yards and 3 interceptions.
PREDICT THE NFL SEASON: PFN’s Free NFL Playoff Predictor
The Dolphins have no recourse other than to give unproven starters an opportunity on both sides of the ball, for better or worse.
On offense more than defense, the potential, at the very least, has been clear. Douglas has stolen the show at WR, with the size, speed, and route-running ability of a potential WR1, and fellow high-upside rookie Chris Bell has officially been activated off the NFI (Non-Football Injury) list.
Who exactly are these Dolphins under Hafley? With a new QB and a rookie class of 13 players, a new foundation has truly been set, and each passing challenge will give us new information as to what they’re truly made of, and whether they can bring Miami back to prominence.
3) Los Angeles Chargers
Jim Harbaugh has brought needed consistency back to the Los Angeles Chargers; the team finished 11-6 in both 2024 and 2025, and boasted a Top 10 defense in PFN Impact scoring last season. But one major issue derailed everything in 2025: The offensive line.
Injuries to both Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater stripped the tackle positions down to the stopgap level, while an interior offensive line anchored by Bradley Bozeman and Mekhi Becton greatly underwhelmed.
Justin Herbert and the passing game directly suffered the consequences. Only once in his career has Herbert faced a pressure rate below the league average. In 2025, Herbert faced the highest pressure rate in the league at 29.8%.
The Chargers attacked the offensive line aggressively in the offseason, signing veteran center Tyler Biadasz and guards Cole Strange and Kayode Awosika, while also drafting Jake Slaughter, Logan Taylor, and Alex Harkey.
It looked as though the Chargers, at the very least, would have an improved bottom line and improved depth on the offensive front. But recently, Biadasz suffered an ACL injury during practices, and is out indefinitely.
Now the Chargers will be forced to pivot, to safeguard an interior offensive line that was the singular most consequential liability on the team in 2025.
BE THE GM OF YOUR FAVORITE TEAM: PFN’s Free NFL Mock Draft Simulator
Slaughter will presumably man the center slot, the position he played the entirety of his Florida Gators career at, but who breaks through at guard remains unclear. Awosika has earned the most confidence in camp, but his career playing record isn’t as inspiring, and the same goes for Strange.
At the very least, Strange has schematic familiarity with Mike McDaniel, but the Chargers have pressing questions to answer on the interior offensive line. If that answer isn’t satisfactory, the offense may be similarly hamstrung in 2026, and could be a barrier to true playoff contention.
2) Tennessee Titans
So much of the Tennessee Titans’ new offensive experiment revolves around Cam Ward and Carnell Tate, the team’s two most recent first-round selections.
While there’s been no shortage of excitement in camp, the first preseason outing for the two together was a dud. Tate was targeted by Ward three times, with no catches fielded.
Where Tate had been dynamic and confident in camp, he appeared tepid in his first live NFL action, and was tied up easily by opposing physicality at stems. At the catch point, he wasn’t the same assassin he’d been in college, where he achieved a CFB-leading 28.2% catch rate over expectation.
It’s important not to overreact to a preseason debut, and for Tate, getting the lumps out of his game and establishing live chemistry with Ward is one of the main purposes of preseason. But it’s clear from the most recent evidence that there’s still more work to do.
The Titans do still have an overpriced Calvin Ridley, and they signed Wan’Dale Robinson in free agency as a dynamic slot WR and target funnel, but Tate’s importance as a true WR1 for Ward can’t be overstated. On paper, he’s the piece this offense needs to spread defenses thin and put less pressure on Ward’s shoulders.
To Ward’s credit, he himself has been everything the Titans have asked for from a leadership perspective, even if the production hasn’t quite caught up yet. Consistently, he emphasizes the need for accountability and a high standard of execution, and that command will pay dividends.
Ultimately, however, it takes two to tango in the passing game, and that chemistry between Ward and Tate is a vital part of whether the offense will succeed or fail in 2026.
Tate came back with another eye-catching big play in practice on Monday this week, but suffered a minor injury on the same play and did not practice Wednesday. If he does play on Sunday, we’ll get to see how he can bounce back. If he doesn’t, burning questions will only continue to fester below the surface.
1) Cleveland Browns
Who the (expletive) will the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback be?
The names in the cast remain the same as they were last year: It’s Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders dueling for the top spot, with Dillon Gabriel behind them. But as more time has passed, these options have only become less compelling.
That seems hyperbolic when you see just how poorly Watson and Sanders played in their most recent extended starting trials. In 2024, Watson logged a PFN QB Impact of 59.9 that ranks as the 11th-lowest mark all-time dating back to 2000.
Sanders’ QB Impact of 63.0 in 2025 was marginally better, but still ranked 37th out of 38 qualifying passers, and is the 37th-lowest mark all-time since 2000.
If onlookers came into the Browns’ first preseason game hoping to see someone create separation, they assuredly came out disappointed. Watson’s stats were the prettiest — he completed 11 of 15 attempts for 126 yards — but most of that production was game manager distribution of the most rudimentary level.
Sanders was more volatile, completing six of 11 attempts for 79 yards and an interception. His best throw was a deep laser to Luke Floriea, standing tall against the blitz but ultimately making a simple read against man Cover 1.
Sanders’ worst throw — the interception — was unfortunately a byproduct of the issues that have nagged him most since he began his career: Lackadaisical dropback footwork, a slow trigger, and a penchant for magnifying pressure risks with that slow trigger.
In this QB competition, the Browns seem stuck between a rock and a hard place. Watson is extremely limited, even before taking into account the off-field baggage and PR nightmare that his extended tenure brings, but Sanders hasn’t been able to take advantage of opportunities to seize the job.
REDRAFT THE ENTIRE NFL: PFN’s Free NFL Ultimate Redraft Simulator
All this is made more frustrating when another truth comes into focus: The Browns aren’t as bad as they’ve been in the past. Rookie KC Concepcion is providing a needed boost at WR. The reworked offensive line looks better. And the talent on defense is strong at all three levels.
The Browns don’t have a bad roster, but it feels as though it may once again be wasted on a QB position that continues to be stuck in limbo. Todd Monken must make a decision soon on his starter, but that’s barely the start of the questions still to come.
Honorable Mention: Houston Texans
The Houston Texans didn’t quite make the Top 5 of this list, but they deserve an honorable mention in light of the news that Jayden Higgins will likely be lost for the season with a torn ACL.
Higgins, more than anyone else, separated himself as the team’s clear WR2 alongside Nico Collins. He was set to be relied upon even more as a notable target for C.J. Stroud, but his injury mires the Texans’ offense back into the uncertainty it has long been trying to kick.
The Texans invested a titanic amount of resources into their offensive line this past offseason, but they were clearly banking on letting the same personnel grouping develop at WR.
Now, Higgins is potentially out for the year. Tank Dell hasn’t played since his catastrophic knee injury in 2024. Jaylin Noel has been unavailable for much of camp due to injury. Xavier Hutchinson is a journeyman at best. Sixth-round rookie Lewis Bond is unproven. Even Collins, the team’s WR1, has never played a full season.
The Texans have a truly legendary defense, with Will Anderson Jr., Derek Stingley Jr., and Danielle Hunter at its core. Their 93.5 PFN Team Defense Impact score from 2025 ranks 10th all-time dating back to 2000, and the unit only got better this offseason with the additions of Kayden McDonald and Reed Blankenship.
But if the Texans lose viable options at WR, a middling offense could continue to squander what would otherwise be a championship-caliber defensive unit. Someone needs to step up. Who it will be remains a question.
