What stood out from the Bills/Giants/Jets preseason openers?
Football is finally in full swing… sort of.
All 32 teams hit the gridiron over the past few days for the first week of preseason action. While most of the action is dedicated to second-stringers and below who are jockeying for spots on the depth chart and roster, we do see a glimpse at the starters getting their bearings back and shaking off any rust.
For each of the New York/New Jersey teams, I’ve picked out my biggest takeaway from their opening preseason game.
Bills: Keon Coleman… exists?! While everyone on social was busy ripping apart New Highmark Stadium for its obstructed views and its newfound place as the most expensive team to watch live, there was an actual game that took place against the Panthers. Josh Allen and his fellow starters took the field for only the first quarter, where it much pretty much smooth sailing. Buffalo went up 10-0 and eventually won the game 29-14. So who had the honor of getting into the end zone for the first time on their new home turf? None other than the enigma that is Keon Coleman.
Coleman found some space in the middle of the end zone, and Josh Allen connected with the third-year wideout while evading pressure. Coleman finished the game with three receptions for 17 yards and was targeted a first-half-high four times, but perhaps that TD grab will act as a confidence booster heading into what I think is a “prove-it” year.
It’s not “prove-it” from a financial standpoint like it was for James Cook last year. He still has another year left on his rookie deal after this season. But he’s looking to pay back the trust that head coach Joe Brady has in him after saying that him being promoted to head coach was the “best thing” for Coleman. It’s been a tough first two years in the league for the Florida State product as he dealt with injuries, consequences from being late to practice, and even catching a stray from owner Terry Pegula. He hopes to turn a new leaf this year with a different coaching staff. While it’s only been one quarter of one preseason game, things are already off to a good start.
That doesn’t mean Coleman will immediately shoot up to being WR1. That place clearly belongs to DJ Moore, who led the Bills receiving-wise with 61 yards on three receptions. Both receivers did get a bit banged up, though luckily they seem to have avoided any significant injuries.
Giants: Welcome back to the blue tent, Jaxson Dart. I would have loved for the biggest takeaway to be about Odell Beckham Jr.’s grand return to MetLife Stadium donning the blue and white for the first time since 2018 and providing me a great sense of nostalgia. But alas, I must address the elephant in the room. Or should I say, the elephant in the medical tent.
In the first quarter of their 13-10 loss to the Vikings, quarterback Jaxson Dart got obliterated by Jay Ward after Tyrone Tracy Jr. completely missed his block. That meant another trip to the blue tent on the sidelines, which was practically his second home last season, and was evaluated for a concussion. Fortunately, he was cleared and was back out on the field after missing only two plays. He led the offense down the field and pulled off an escape act to throw a touchdown pass to rookie Malachi Fields for good measure.
The focus yet again from the media landscape was on Dart and his penchant for taking big hits. While there is valid criticism that he needs to make smarter decisions to avoid taking those sort of hits, the one he took on Saturday was not his fault at all. Tracy Jr. took the blame after the game for not properly protecting Dart, and head coach John Harbaugh agreed that he should not have been hit on that play.
Dart also voiced his frustration with the rules regarding when players have to be taken into the medical tent. I can understand where he’s coming from given his competitive nature. But when you’re supposed to be the franchise quarterback, you’d rather be safe when sorry when it comes to any sort of brutal hits. Get ready for this to persist as a talking point for the next five months, for better or for worse. Most likely for worse.
Jets: Who needs Arch Manning? Friday night’s matchup against the Buccaneers should have seen the return of Geno Smith under center for the first time in a decade. But a sore ankle kept him out of the contest. Getting the start instead was Cade Klubnik, and the fourth round rookie out of Clemson looked sharp and poised in his debut.
Klubnik led the first two offensive series and completed five of seven passes for 56 yards. While he didn’t throw or run for any touchdowns, both drives ended up with points on the board: a chip-shot field goal from Cade York and a 31-yard touchdown run from Braelon Allen to put Gang Green up 10-0 at the end of one quarter.
That would be all for Klubnik, but one thing’s for sure: He’s already won the backup quarterback battle. Bailey Zappe threw two interceptions in the second quarter, and the fact that Brady Cook played the entire second half is an indication that he might be the third-stringer heading into the season.
It might sound crazy to say for a preseason game, but I felt there was a bit of pressure on Klubnik given how brilliant the other rookie quarterbacks performed in their debuts. Carson Beck, Fernando Mendoza, Haynes King, Ty Simpson, and Drew Allar all shined from the start, and Klubnik was no exception.
It feels inevitable that Klubnik will see the field at some point this season when Smith either gets injured again or is benched for poor play. These preseason reps will go a long way in Klubnik’s development in the pros. If he does well enough, perhaps the Jets don’t need to tank for Arch Manning. Remember the last time they tried tanking for a QB? They fell short of getting Trevor Lawrence and ended up with Zack Wilson. I recommend that Gang Green sees what they have in Klubnik before they start making 2027 NFL mock drafts.
A roller coaster week for the Yankees
If you looked up the word “inconsistent” in the dictionary, there’s a strong chance you’ll find a team picture of the 2026 New York Yankees. This past week was a microcosm of what’s been another campaign of ups and downs.
On an even more microscopic level, the games themselves featured plenty of twists and turns. Just take Tuesday’s series opener against the Mariners as a prime example. After five straight scoreless innings, Seattle took the lead with a Randy Arozarena home run. As I was driving home and listening to the game, I thought to myself, “Oh boy, here we go again. Another game where the Yankees waste a strong outing from their starting pitching because of their inability to hit the ball.” But a pair of two-run singles in the following inning from Ryan McMahon and Trent Grisham flipped the game on its head. For once, New York did learn how to hit with runners on the basepaths.
That momentum certainly carried into Wednesday night’s matchup as the Yankees actually scored double-digit runs with a 10-5 victory. Over the past couple of months, it felt like a foreign concept that they could score that many runs in a game. In fact, it was the first time since July 9 that they crossed the plate 10 or more times in a single game. They should start doing that more often.
However, it was all too predictable that they used up all of their firepower for that one game, as the well dried up for the following three games: a 1-0 loss to Seattle on Thursday, a 3-1 defeat to the Blue Jays on Friday, and a 4-1 setback in Toronto on Saturday. On all three occasions, their starting pitching went at least five innings and allowed no more than one run. As for the offense, you could copy and paste what I’ve said about them for the past few editions of this column and it would have easily applied.
It seemed like they were heading for another depressing defeat on Sunday. A ninth-inning error from Ben Rice at first base proved to be costly, as that allowed the tying run to get aboard and would later score off a sacrifice fly to level the game at 2-2 and send things to extra innings. Not only did Toronto have momentum, but the Yankees have been woeful in extra-inning games with a 2-9 record. But leave it to Rice to atone for his sins and launch a two-run homer to give New York back the lead, one that they would hold onto for a crucial 4-3 win. If that doesn’t act as a spark for the entire lineup, then it hopefully at least sparks Rice back to life and back to his All-Star form after batting just .158 since the All-Star break.
So which version of the Yankees will we get this week in series at Baltimore and vs. Toronto? Will we get the version on Wednesday where their offense looked like what we were accustomed to seeing in April and May? Or will we see the same old story that has been told throughout July and August? Here’s hoping for a new script for the rest of the season.
A couple winter schedules released on East Hill
Believe it or not, the local college sports season begins later this week. Cornell women’s soccer has the honor of being the first team in the area to kick things off as it hosts St. Bonaventure on Thursday night. Over the next few weeks, the other fall sports will dive back into action. Well, except for football, who still has to wait over a month for their opener at Colgate. But with all of the anticipation building on East Hill for the fall sports, some winter sports are also building up the hype with schedule releases.
On Tuesday, Cornell men’s hockey unveiled their full 30-game slate. The biggest thing that jumps off the page is that there will be 16 games played at Lynah Rink, which ties the program record for the most home contests. You could argue their 17th “home game” is their Frozen Apple contest against Maine since they play at Madison Square Garden once a year. That’s undoubtedly their most notable non-conference matchup, especially since goalie Mathis Rousseau will likely get the start against his former team.
The Big Red will be in the comforting confines of Lynah Rink pretty often early on, with 9 of their first 12 games at home. After a season-opening doubleheader against Sacred Heart from October 30-31, Cornell jumps into ECAC play against Quinnipiac, who always provide a tough test, and Princeton, who knocked the Big Red out of the ECAC Tournament in Lake Placid last season in the semifinals. It’s safe to say the returning players will keep that in the back of their minds when they take on the Tigers on November 7.
The main date to circle on the calendar is of course the Harvard home game. That will be on January 22, the same weekend that students return for the spring semester. Talk about perfect timing. The road contest against the Crimson is on February 20 for their final road game of the regular season, and it’s sure to be an all-important battle for ECAC seeding purposes.
Then on Friday, Cornell women’s basketball released its schedule. You want to talk about being thrown directly into the fire, there’s no better way to do so than to take a trip over to Storrs to face UConn on November 2. My jaw dropped when I saw that was their first game of the season. To go up against the 12-time national champions is not for the feint of heart, and it’s clear that head coach Emily Garner wants her team to be battle-tested right from the get-go. After its home opener on November 5 vs. Fredonia, Big Red faces another tough opponent on November 8 at Syracuse, who made the NCAA Tournament last year.
Those two contests will be valuable experiences for a Big Red team that’s looking to be more competitive in Ivy League play this year. Cornell posted a 4-10 conference record last time out, and they showed they can hang with some of the top teams not just in the Ancient Eight, but some top-50 teams in the nation. The Big Red defeated Columbia, who went on to win the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament, and held eventual Ivy League champs Princeton to a tie at halftime before going on to lose by just nine points. By scheduling the Huskies and the Orange, it’s clear that the Big Red wants to make a big impression on the Ivy League this year.
Other things that caught my eye
- To say it’s been a pretty nice couple of years for CJ Kirst is quite the understatement. A short list of his accolades: National champion. All-time leading scorer in NCAA history. A National Lacrosse League champion with the Toronto Rock and the league’s rookie of the year. The latest accolade for the 2025 Cornell grad was earned on Saturday in the Premier Lacrosse League. He scored goals number 31, 32 and 33 on the season in the Philadelphia Waterdogs’ 18-10 win over the New York Atlas to break the record for the most goals in a season in PLL history. To add the cherry on top, the Waterdogs clinched the top spot in the PLL playoffs and will be well-rested for the semifinals on September 7. Again, if you haven’t been tuning into the PLL this year, now is the perfect time to be doing so. Fellow Cornell alums Gavin Adler ’23 and Brendan Staub ’26 are also on the Waterdogs, so I have an inkling for who the Big Red faithful will be rooting for in the playoffs.
- How about them Mets? They’re now 9-3 since the trade deadline after sweeping the Nationals. The highlight performance was on Saturday when they rallied back from a 4-3 deficit in the ninth inning to walk it off thanks to Francisco Lindor’s single. They still are a ways away from making the postseason 11 games out of a wild card spot, they’ve at the very least been pretty entertaining to watch powered by their prospects. Dare I say that they’re more fun to watch right now than the Yankees? OK, that’s a bit ridiculous of a statement to make given their discrepancy in their records. But the combination of the Mets playing with zero pressure while fielding new players with new stories does yield some entertainment value.
- As a new college sports season starts up around these parts, so does a new year of high school sports. Football practices begin today, while all other fall sports get things going next Monday. It will undoubtedly feel like Christmas morning for players and coaches to be back on the gridiron, and I can’t help but feel the same way to get our coverage of Section IV sports back underway.
