2025 NFL preseason, Week 1: What We Learned from Sunday's doubleheader

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Michael Baca's takeaways:

1. All three Dolphins quarterbacks see action. Tua Tagovailoa completed all but one of his six pass attempts for a total of 27 yards and converted a fourth-and-3 with a throw on the outside to lead the Dolphins into the red zone on a 15-play drive. While Miami's rushing attack couldn't punch in the scoring opportunity, the Dolphins' offensive line left the quarterback virtually untouched in his lone series. Zach Wilson was sacked four times, however, making it a hectic Dolphins debut but the QB did lead consecutive touchdown drives. Rookie Quinn Ewers ended the preseason opener with a rough outing, completing just 5 of 18 passes for 92 yards and losing a fumble on a sack that positioned the Bears for an easy score in the third quarter and gave up another one late in the fourth. Running back Ollie Gordon II led the team in rushing (33 yards) and nearly did so receiving as well (39 yards).
2. Bears getting acclimated to new systems. The introduction of Ben Johnson's offense got off to a slow start with Tyson Bagent at the helm. But after back-to-back three-and-outs came a nice 16-play, 94-yard drive that ended with a Maurice Alexander touchdown reception. Rookies Colston Loveland (8-yard reception) and Luther Burden III (two catches, 29 yards) saw their first NFL touches along the way, but poor protection for Bagent (sacked twice; interception off tipped ball) left plenty to be desired from the new head coach's first impression. Defensively, however, Dennis Allen's unit enjoyed a sack party and second-year pass rusher Austin Booker led the charge with three sacks and a forced fumble. Collecting six total sacks, two fumbles and two turnovers on downs, the Bears defense also brought the most meaningful moment of the game, holding Miami's best-available offense out of the end zone on the first series. Third-year linebacker Noah Sewell forced the turnover on downs with a big tackle for a three-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. The younger brother of Penei Sewell, Noah finished with six tackles and forced a fumble in what was an impactful preseason debut.

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• READ: Saints HC Moore on Shough's debut: 'I thought he did a great job'

Christian Gonzales' takeaways:

1. Chargers’ defensive depth haunts Saints. The Chargers defense did everything it could to bother whoever was under center for New Orleans. The Saints offense with Spencer Rattler at quarterback got in Chargers territory early in the game. However, on a fourth-and-1 at the Chargers 1-yard line, it was linebacker Troy Dye who refused to let Kendre Miller in the end zone. Veteran safety Tony Jefferson continued his high-performance level in front of Charger fans. In 16 snaps, Jefferson recorded two tackles and a sack of Rattler in the team’s first two series. Caleb Murphy also joined the Chargers' defensive party, and the Saints' offensive line couldn’t contain him, as the third-year linebacker sacked Rattler twice and forced a fumble. In the second half, Saints rookie QB Tyler Shough threw a pass intended for Dante Pettis, but rookie Eric Rogers intercepted it and returned it for 43 yards for a pick-six. Rogers' day wasn't done. When Jake Haener went in for his first drive in the fourth quarter, Rogers got another interception. It was a dominant performance by Jim Harbaugh’s second-string defense against some of the Saints' starters.
2. Saints WR shows off speed. The Saints offense found some rhythm in the second half on Sunday. With the Saints trailing, 17-3, in the third quarter, rookie quarterback Tyler Shough was given the green light to take a deep shot. Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire gave Shough the protection he needed on a blitz to deliver the 54-yard touchdown pass to Mason Tipton. Tipton did a terrific job to fake the Bolts defender on the route. Tipton showed reached a max speed of 18.53 mph, according to Next Gen Stats.