For most football fans, the pre-season is a time of praying for no injuries. For others, it's a first look at new acquisitions and rookies.
For all, it's a chance to analyze performances and see how teams are looking a month before the regular season kicks off.
But, above all else, football is back!
About 179 days have passed between the Super Bowl and the first bit of football back on our screens, and now everyone is back in the swing of things and ready for more.
But before we look ahead, let's look back at what we learned from Week 1 of the NFL pre-season:
Browns have a serious QB problem
The Cleveland Browns' quarterback battle is, well, interesting to say the least.
By simply watching Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, it's hard to envision any other team earning the top pick in the 2027 draft.
All three QBs failed to stand out in a positive way during Saturday's loss to the Bears, but Watson might have a slight edge over the other two.
Watson completed 11 of 15 passes for 126 yards — 43 of which came on a screen pass — and a 98.2 passer rating. He was also stripped on a fourth down.
"It was awesome," head coach Todd Monken said of Watson after the game. "... He was having fun today, and that is so cool. And I thought he really functioned at a high level."
Sanders, a Pro Bowler last year, went 6-of-11 for 79 yards and an interception, while Gabriel, a third-rounder last season, completed five passes for 23 yards and also tossed a pick.
Rookie QBs look the part
After Carson Beck impressed with a solid debut in the Hall of Fame game on Aug. 6, the rest of the top QBs selected in the 2026 draft came out flying.
First-rounders Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson, as well as third-rounder Drew Allar, all looked the part in their pro debuts.
Let's start with Mendoza. The first overall selection was under centre for the Raiders on four drives and completed 10 of 16 passes for 97 yards and one touchdown.
Those aren't eye-popping numbers, but he commanded the huddle well and made some difficult throws. Head coach Klint Kubiak liked what he saw, too.
"I saw the same guy we've seen at practice. I see an ascending player," Kubiak said after the game on Thursday. "We just got to keep getting better."
But despite the positive performance, Mendoza still has work to do before becoming the starter in Las Vegas as veteran Kirk Cousins remains the leader in the clubhouse.
Simpson and Allar, meanwhile, filled up the stat sheet in their debuts.
Simpson played a majority of snaps in the Rams' win over the Chiefs, completing 21 of 25 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns. Allar, meanwhile, diced up the Packers defence for 153 yards and two TD passes, and added another score on the ground.
Now, it's the pre-season so everything should be taken with a grain of salt, but it's promising nonetheless.
Josh Allen has a new favourite target
In just two drives, it's clear Josh Allen has his new Stefon Diggs in DJ Moore.
The off-season acquisition caught 3-of-4 targets for a team-best 61 yards and ran seven routes on Allen's 10 dropbacks.
Moore is a true threat at all levels of the field, and even took a shallow cross for a gain of 33 while welcoming the nearest defender to come and hit him.
Psychopath behaviour.
It's a small sample size, but still highly encouraging for Bills fans and Moore fantasy owners.
Allen and the Bills have been searching for a true No. 1 wideout since Diggs' departure a few seasons ago, and Moore will be that guy.
Khalil Shakir had his moments, as did Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid, but none possess the skill set and pedigree Moore brings.
A former first-rounder, the University of Maryland product burst onto the scene with Carolina by registering 788 yards in his rookie campaign. In seven seasons since then, he's eclipsed 1,000 yards four times and 90 catches on three occasions.
But most importantly, he's durable, too, playing in all 17 games in each of the last five seasons.
Camp hype translates for Ja'Kobi Lane, Caleb Douglas
If you followed training camp solely through social media, you'd think Ja'Kobi Lane and Caleb Douglas were headed to Canton before even playing a professional snap.
The two rookie wideouts have been camp darlings, constantly making mind-boggling plays and proving themselves as reliable targets.
And in Week 1 of the pre-season, Lane and Douglas didn't disappoint.
Lane, the six-foot-four third-rounder by the Ravens out of USC, models his game after former Saints WR Michael Thomas. In a win over the Eagles, he caught all three balls thrown his way for 38 yards, including a 16-yard score.
Lane has solidified himself as a favourite target of all the Ravens' QBs, and if he continues on this path, he will be seeing regular snaps come September.
Douglas, one of the Dolphins' three third-rounders, has made play after play in Miami and already earned himself reps with the top unit.
Simply looking at the boxscore of Miami's Week 1 loss to the Commanders shows little to be desired, as Douglas hauled in just one ball, but the Dolphins only completed eight passes as a team. But the catch Douglas did make has a chance to go down as one of the nicest made all year.
Jaxson Dart is a wild card
The New York Giants are attempting to rebuild their culture and get back to post-season football. John Harbaugh was brought in to help with that, but a coach can only do so much.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart, a 2025 first-rounder, showed tons of promise in Year 1, so naturally, there's an expectation that he can take a leap in his second season.
But Week 1 of the pre-season showed the true Dart experience — some real highs, but some real lows.
Let's start with the lows. Dart made a few questionable decisions, including a 360 spin-and-fire throw that was way off target. Now, the play call was a quick screen to the wideout on the right, and the snap went to Dart's left, making the spin seem like a logical reaction.
At the same time, that's just not a play that should be made against NFL defences, and he's lucky the pass was behind the receiver and out of bounds and not returned the other way for six.
Dart also found his way into the blue medical tent once again — something that plagued the talented signal-caller in his rookie season. And once again, the injury was not entirely his fault as the running back whiffed on his blitz pickup, leaving Dart as a standstill target in the backfield for a defender running full steam ahead.
But the reality is, Dart needs to be on the field for the Giants to succeed. And he proved that on the very first play after his injury, tossing an absolute dime on the run to his left, before jumping and finding Malachi Fields in the end zone for the TD.
The good with the bad. The Jaxson Dart experience.
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