- READ: NFL's new kickoff debuts in Hall of Fame Game
- READ: Akers finds end zone in first game back from Achilles tear
- READ: HOF Game ends in third due to inclement weather
- Preseason: A place for second chances. Brett Rypien took over for Tyson Bagent remarkably early in Thursday night's game and seemed to have his first big completion in the bag when he ripped a dart to Collin Johnson down the left seam ... and watched Johnson drop it. That might have sunk a weaker receiver, but not Johnson, who picked himself up off the turf at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium and made a statement with his play, snagging a highlight-worthy grab over Texans cornerback Mike Ford along the sideline and catching a touchdown pass from Rypien in the second quarter. Johnson added to his tally in the third with another touchdown grab and owned a team-leading receiving line of three catches for 56 yards and two scores when the game was suspended due to weather. In a game that often doesn't produce notable standouts, Johnson certainly left Canton as one. We'll see if that helps his case to make the final 53.
- Bobby Slowik's offense continues to hum. C.J. Stroud predictably did not play in Thursday night's game, leaving the job to Davis Mills to start. Mills handled it like a seasoned backup would in a preseason game, executing Slowik's plays with relative ease, moving around with designed boots and navigating the pocket comfortably. Houston's offense breezed down the field when Mills was in the game, and even when the third-stringers ran into some expected difficulties, they still found their way into the end zone. Typically there isn't much to glean from a preseason game in which almost every notable player doesn't participate, but after watching Stroud light up the league under Slowik's direction last season, it's nice to know the offensive coordinator hasn't lost his touch.
- Brett Rypien: Not bad! Rypien has seen some things in his NFL career (10 games, four starts), and wasn't afraid to let it fly in a preseason setting Thursday night, completing 11 of 15 passes for 166 yards and a whopping three touchdowns. He took risks and largely put his passes on target, playing like a quarterback worthy of a backup job somewhere in the NFL. For fringe guys like Rypien, these are often the moments in which they can carve out another year or two in the NFL as a backup, thanks to just enough quality tape to tempt a QB-needy team. If he can reproduce such a showing in the next three weeks, he should secure the third-string job in Chicago -- or an even better one elsewhere.
- New kickoff format debuts. After months of theorizing, the NFL's ambitious new kickoff format hit the field in Canton. The results weren't exactly thrilling. The first two returns ended at the 26-yard-line, two penalties were committed for either the kicking or receiving team moving before a returner fielded the ball, blocks were missed and blockers were pancaked by defenders. But from the madness emerged a few clues of what might lie ahead. On one return, a blocker pulled out of position in an attempt to create a lane (spoiler: the returner ran in the opposite direction). In another instance, the Texans chose to block it straight up. None of the results were especially stirring, but it sure was nice to get a look at the new format and start imagining the possibilities that lie ahead. It will be clunky for a little while, but eventually, a team will break through and rip off a big return. Regardless, it's still better than the old format.
