Russell Wilson Explodes Friday Night As NFL Preseason Rolls On

Field Gulls took a closer look at Wilson’s performance:

Separating the story from the performance makes it tough to decipher Wilson’s outstanding preseason. Arrogant draft analysts had their conclusions drawn in January. Wisconsin’s quarterback fit the college ranks perfectly, but he was far too short to make it in the NFL at 5’11. His critics keep losing bets against him, and Wilson’s indomitable spirit might be his greatest asset.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held on to defeat the New England Patriots, 30-28, in an exhibition on Friday night.

The Bucs held a fairly comfortable 20-7 halftime lead over the Pats. Tampa Bay also led 30-14 in the final quarter, but New England stormed back, scoring two late touchdowns with less than five minutes left behind backup quarterback Ryan Mallett. Mallett threw two short touchdown passes to Jeremy Ebert and Jesse Holley to start the comeback. The Patriots’ ensuing onside kick after the second score was unsuccessful, though, and the Buccaneers were able to run out the clock.

Tate’s touchdown means that the Seattle offense, defense and special teams have all scored touchdowns. Tate also caught a pass for 14 yards in the game, with almost every Seattle receiver getting the chance to to cash in on the Chiefs’ defensive ineptitude.

For more on the Seahawks, visit Field Gulls.

This about sums it up. Here’s Matt Cassel after getting drilled and throwing a pick-six to Earl Thomas.

Brandon Jackson had a strong rushing night for the Browns, carrying the ball seven times for 39 yards. Hardesty was less than stellar with eight carries for only 12 yards and a fumble lost.

For more on the Philadelphia Eagles, head to Bleeding Green Nation to join the discussion. If you are a Cleveland Browns fan, head to Dawgs By Nature.

Stick with this StoryStream for injury updates, scores and more from the Giants’ preseason game against Bears. For all things Giants, head over to Big Blue View. For Chicago’s perspective, check out Windy City Gridiron. And for complete coverage of all 32 teams across the National Football League, head to SB Nation’s NFL hub.

Kiwanuka did not return for the second half with what the Giants called a sprained groin. He had a very impressive first 30 minutes, wreaking havoc in the backfield and applying consistent pressure on Jay Cutler. He was credited with two tackles for loss in the first half.

Stick with this StoryStream for injury updates, scores and more from the Giants’ preseason game against Bears. For all things Giants, head over to Big Blue View. For Chicago’s perspective, check out Windy City Gridiron. And for complete coverage of all 32 teams across the National Football League, head to SB Nation’s NFL hub.

It’s because he’s being attacked by a moth.

But he did do something right. He threw a touchdown pass! And it was pretty great, capping an eight-minute drive.

And then he did this.

The Chiefs do not need this to be a major injury as they want to have depth at that nose tackle position, and while they drafted Poe in the first round, they do not want to rely on him as the starting nose tackle for an extended period of time.

Eric, meet Leon Washington. Leon, this is Eric.

This is like watching one of those stunt guys get launched during an explosion in an action movie. Berry got his world rocked by one heck of a cut block.

And then the Browns remembered something about Pat Shurmur’s offense in the red zone. Left guard Todd Pinkston drew two consecutive flags, putting the Browns at 1st-and-12. The Eagles sent their defensive linemen to pressure, and they slipped right through. Weeden never saw the guy coming.

The injury occurred on McCoy’s first touch in the game. After being helped off the field, McCoy was examined by trainers and was able to walk around on the sideline, indicating that the injury may not have been as severe as initially feared. It certainly seemed like it could have been nasty, take a look:

via assets.sbnation.com

Lots to talk about as we continue on with Week 3, slightly less meaningless than the rest of the preseason.

One of the least surprising parts of the preseason is Michael Vick getting injured -- twice -- in his first two games. Vick has demonstrated over his career that he’s prone to getting banged up now and again. The Eagles know this.

The move has nothing to do with current injuries, but instead is a way for head coach Norv Turner to prevent his best players from suffering setbacks that may prevent them from playing when the games actually count.

As for Gates, he is currently healthy and Turner would rather not risk any injury.

Whether Jackson’s lofty praise for his quarterback proves true by season’s end, the Bucs certainly went to great lengths to improve their offense after a frustrating 2011 campaign, and it shows. The 24-year-old Freeman’s renewed dedication to both his body and his team’s playbook looks be the start of something much, much bigger.

Game Date/Time: Friday, August 24; 7:30 p.m. ET

With teammates dropping like flies before the regular season can even get started, everything falls back onto the shoulders of Rivers, who will turn 31 years old before the 2012 year is out. Even though he’s easily one of the most consistent signal callers in the game today, the Chargers may be wise to lower Rivers’ workload to finish out the preseason in an effort to keep him away from the injury bug.

Game Date/Time: Friday, August 24; 8 p,m. ET

The designation doesn’t mean he’s a shoo-in to be the starter when the Seahawks kick off the season in week one, but if he plays like he has in the first two games on Friday night, he very well could be.

Game Date/Time: Friday, Aug. 24; 8 p.m. ET