The Rich Top 5: NFL Preseason Week 2’s Biggest Burning Questions

Preseason week two is where the rubber meets the road, because nobody of consequence is playing in preseason week three. As Rich put it, this is the last chance for anyone who matters to break a sweat before the games count. With 16 games on the docket, he narrowed it down to five burning questions. Then he added one more.

**5. Who is playing, and who is not?**

It sounds like a generic question. It is not. If you do not play this week, the next time anyone sees you is week one, and if you did not play last week either, your first live action of the year comes with the standings on the line. The Houston Texans were going to play most of their starters until Jayden Higgins went down in practice, and DeMeco Ryans decided the joint scrimmage with the Raiders was enough. Justin Herbert is expected to get some time. Carson Beck is not expected to play, which means the Hall of Fame game may be his entire preseason. That stinks for him.

**4. Is J.J. McCarthy fighting for the backup job in Minnesota?**

The Vikings host the Baltimore Ravens at noon Saturday, and the noise around Carson Wentz has gotten loud enough to ask an uncomfortable question. Kyler Murray is the starter. McCarthy is the backup. If Wentz beats him out, is McCarthy suddenly competing to be the third quarterback, the emergency guy? "I hope not," Rich said. "I don't think he deserves that, but I'm not the guy evaluating." Kevin O'Connell is.

**3. Can Tua get more than one first down?**

The Atlanta Falcons are in Indianapolis, and Rich wants a modest improvement from Tua Tagovailoa after one first down across his first two drives as a Falcon. The desk found the question disrespectful. Rich did not. "Can we see more than one first down?" Two would do it. He also noted that a bad night means nothing in a vacuum, pointing to the year the Lions went 4-0 in the preseason and did not win a regular season game.

**2. It is go time for Shedeur.**

Bills and Browns on Saturday, and Shedeur Sanders is getting the start. Deshaun Watson did not light it up last week but played well enough, and Cleveland got two scoring drives out of it. If Sanders wants real snaps with the ones when it counts, this is the audition, because a third preseason game is unlikely to move whatever is happening between Todd Monken's temples. "I'm rooting for you, Shedeur," Rich said.

**1. Fernando Mania.**

Thursday night, and there was never anything else in the top spot. How much time does Fernando Mendoza get, what does he do with it, and what does he say afterward? Rich ran a full mock press conference bit to make the point. The real question underneath it is whether anything Mendoza does changes a week one decision, and only one man has that answer. That would be Klint Kubiak.

One more, because Rich could not help himself: the rest of the young quarterback class. Malik Willis gets the start against the Giants after a nice scoring drive last week. Ty Simpson is out there for the Rams. Drew Allar and Will Howard are expected to play the whole game against the Jets. Their snaps are running out through the hourglass, and the only way they get more is if something goes very wrong for the guys in front of them.