The 7 worst plays from Saturday’s NFL preseason games

Week 3 of the NFL preseason is typically the most competitive week. The starters see more playing time than they do in other games, which elevates the level of play. Usually.

And we did see some spectacular plays. From Bilal Powell’s 85-yard touchdown in the Giants’ win over the Jets, to Amari Cooper’s 48-yard touchdown from Derek Carr, to Von Miller harassing Aaron Rodgers, we saw plenty of players doing what they do best.

But there were a lot of embarrassingly bad plays, too. In the immortal words of Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, let’s embrace the suck of the preseason and celebrate the horrible plays from Saturday’s games.

Speaking of Dan Quinn, his quarterback seemed to be embracing the suck on Saturday night against the Cardinals — just not in the way that Quinn meant. Ryan completed four of 11 passes for 36 yards and one interception against the Cardinals. The interception was off of a tipped pass, and it was a doozy.

Don’t worry, Falcons fans. It’s still a meaningless game, and Ryan looked bad for stretches last season, too. That all worked out just fine.

The Ravens’ kicker is arguably the best in the league. He should also never, under any circumstances, lead with his head on a tackle in the preseason. That’s what he did on Sunday in the Ravens’ 13-9 win over the Bills.

Tucker landed in the concussion protocol, but thankfully for him, the team announced that he was cleared. And Tucker apparently just takes games — even preseason ones -- really seriously.

”What I was thinking was that I needed to put my head across, go low and get him down on the ground,” Tucker said after the game via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “I think he just came across with a knee pad or a thigh pad right in the neck. It was about trying to make a play.”

The issue didn’t keep Tucker from being invested in the game.

No, we’re seriously asking.

Bless their hearts.

Poor Jared Goff. The second-year Rams quarterback got off to a rough start in Saturday’s epic battle against their fellow Los Angeles team, the Chargers.

Not to be outdone, Jared Goff out-Goffed himself on this play. Whether this is a miscommunication or just a flat-out mistake is hard to know. What we do know is that it was Goff’s second turnover in the first quarter, which wasn’t ideal.

Goff finished the day five-of-eight for 56 yards, plus the interception and fumble we’ve included here. The Rams lost, but did make it a close game late, losing 21-19.

They made it a game toward the end, but early on, the Jets’ first-team offense looked terrible. The Giants first got on the board when the Jets allowed Matt Forte to be tackled three yards deep in the end zone, resulting in a safety on the second series.

And it was all downhill from there for the Jets.

Christian Hackenberg got the start for the Jets, and Giants safety Landon Collins took advantage. Collins picked off a Hackenberg pass in the first quarter and took it 23 yards for a touchdowns.

Hackenberg had a pretty long day for the Jets, going 12 of 21 for 126 yards, one touchdown and two picks, both of which were returned for touchdowns.

Bryce Petty played well in relief, completing 83 percent of his passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns. But Petty suffered a knee injury and had to leave the game. Hackenberg came back in against the Giants backups, and did put the Jets in position to tie it up with an extra point or win it with a two-point conversion.

The Jets went for two, the attempt failed, and the Jets lost to the Giants 32-31. That meant we were mercifully spared from having to sit through an extra quarter of preseason play. But we almost certainly missed out on some more hilariously bad plays because of it.