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The Steelers’ preseason rout of the Packers raises depth questions, while the Chargers, Cardinals, Bengals and Titans notch wins around the league. Terrion Arnold’s expected Seahawks signing brings major risk, Darren Waller lands in Carolina, and the
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Welcome to The Sports Hangover Daily, I'm Michael Benatar. Today on the show: Steelers-Packers ugliness, Chargers-Texans domination, Terrion Arnold's Seattle risk. Plus, a preseason tie that should make the NFL smarter. Let's get into it.
The Steelers beat the Packers twenty-eight to nine last night, and yes, it’s preseason, so nobody needs to start ordering parade confetti in Pittsburgh.
But that score is ugly enough to matter.
Green Bay didn’t just lose. Green Bay looked like a team still looking for its second layer. And in August, that’s the point. You’re not trying to prove your starters are awesome. You’re trying to prove your roster doesn’t turn into wet cardboard the second the first group sits down.
Pittsburgh handled that test way better.
Twenty-eight to nine in a preseason game usually means one team was cleaner, made fewer dumb mistakes, and had more back-end roster guys who looked playable. That matters for the Steelers, because this team’s whole identity has to be annoying. Win the ugly possessions. Be deeper on defense. Have backup linemen and fourth receivers who don’t look terrified on a real Sunday.
Green Bay? Not great. Nine points in a preseason game isn’t a crisis, but it’s a reminder. The Packers have real expectations now. They’re not the cute young team anymore. Jordan Love is paid. The roster is supposed to be ready.
And if your second and third groups get pushed around by Pittsburgh in August, the coaching staff should be irritated on the flight home.
Around the league, the Chargers smoked the Texans twenty-seven to seven, and that’s the preseason score coaches pretend not to enjoy while secretly grinning into their headset.
For the Chargers, that’s exactly what you want from August football. Clean game. Comfortable margin. No drama. No weird sideline disaster. Win the reps and get out of town. For Houston, seven points is seven points. Nobody’s hanging a banner for preseason offense, but getting stuck in the mud is still annoying. Especially when you’re trying to build rhythm before the real games start.
The Cardinals beat the Raiders twenty-seven to fourteen, and Vegas fans already know the drill. Preseason optimism lasts until the first three-and-out makes everyone stare at the ceiling. Arizona winning by thirteen doesn’t mean the Cardinals are suddenly terrifying. It means the Raiders still have that “are we sure this is organized?” smell. And in August, that smell lingers.
Cincinnati beat Detroit sixteen to fourteen at Paycor Stadium. That’s the most preseason score of the night. Two-point game. Weird rhythm. A bunch of assistant coaches are probably pausing film today like, “See, this is why you can’t take the inside shoulder.” Still, Cincinnati getting a win at home is nice. Detroit losing by two doesn’t bother me much. The Lions are built on violence and belief. Dan Campbell probably watched three special teams clips and got emotional.
The Colts and Patriots tied thirteen to thirteen, because preseason football is a beautiful little swamp creature. Nobody won. Nobody lost. Everyone got reps. America moved on. Honestly, that’s kind of perfect. New England and Indy both leave with teaching tape, no fake overtime injuries, and no reason to pretend a preseason winner mattered.
The Titans beat the forty-niners nineteen to thirteen. Tennessee getting a road win is fine. San Francisco losing in August means basically nothing unless the offensive line looked bad or somebody important got hurt. That’s the preseason math. Scores are clues. Injuries are disasters. Everything else is film homework.
Off the field, Terrion Arnold is expected to sign with the Seahawks after being released by Detroit following felony charges. That is a huge risk by Seattle. Talent is one thing. A legal cloud is another. The Seahawks better know exactly what they’re walking into, because “we liked the tape” is not a full plan when the off-field stuff is that serious.
And Darren Waller is back, agreeing to a one-year deal with the Panthers. I love the swing. Carolina needs grown-up pass catchers. Waller isn’t the same guy who terrified defenses with the Raiders, but if he’s even eighty percent of that player, Bryce Young gets a target who can win without everything being perfect. For a young quarterback, that’s oxygen.
The Hangover Take: the NFL should never play preseason overtime again. Ever.
That Colts-Patriots thirteen to thirteen tie was not a problem. It was the solution staring everybody in the face.
Preseason overtime is one of the dumbest ideas in sports. You spend all summer telling us health is everything. Then a fake game ends tied, and somehow we’re supposed to risk more snaps for guys fighting for roster spots? No. Go home.
A tie in August is honest. It says, “We got the information we needed, nobody needs to cosplay as a hero, and the fourth-quarter long snapper battle can be decided in a meeting room.”
That’s not boring. That’s sane.
Regular season? Fine. Play overtime. The games count. Jobs swing on those results.
Preseason? End it after regulation. Every time. If a coach wants more evaluation, schedule another joint practice. Don’t make some backup nickel corner chase a tight end across the middle because the league got allergic to ties.
The Colts and Patriots accidentally showed the correct model. Thirteen to thirteen, shake hands, get on the bus.
That's your hangover. Go hydrate. I'll see you tomorrow.