Every NFL team has played at least one preseason game now, so it’s time to take stock and spotlight the biggest emerging storylines across the league. Here’s the latest on every AFC East team.
Starting with the Hall of Fame Game and continuing with a full slate of preseason games last Thursday through Saturday, NFL fans got their first taste of live action since the Super Bowl.
And if third-string quarterbacks balling out is what gets one revved up for the season, then the start of preseason play delivered in a big way.
While most of the league’s stars are mere spectators this time of year, there is still plenty to evaluate and learn from these games — and also the continuing developments from training camps.
As we go division by division, let’s dive into the top performances and most compelling storylines from every AFC East team.
Buffalo Bills
Preseason Week 1 Result: 29-14 W over Carolina Panthers on Saturday
Top Performers: Quarterback Josh Allen and wide receiver D.J. Moore
With most teams sitting their starters, especially their stars, in the first preseason game, the Bills chose to play everyone who was healthy for at least a little of the game as the team made its debut in new Highmark Stadium.
That included star QB Josh Allen playing the first two offensive series, leading a field goal drive and then an 8-play, 80-yard touchdown drive capped by a 9-yard pass to Keon Coleman in the end zone.
Allen finished 6-of-8 passing for 111 yards and that touchdown while not attempting any rushes. D.J. Moore, his new WR1 after being acquired via trade from the Bears, had a team-high 61 receiving yards on 3 catches.
Emerging Training Camp Storyline: That Allen-Moore connection
Even coming off a down season in Chicago, Moore is clearly the best receiver Allen has had at his disposal since perhaps the first years (2020-22) of Stefon Diggs in Buffalo.
“I’m going to go out and make an assumption that it’s going to be awesome to do that every single game, to get him the ball early and often,” Allen said of Moore. “Teams are going to obviously know that, but we feel like we have other guys that we feel comfortable with. You see Khalil have the first catch today (for 21 yards), handing it off to Jimbo, with Dalton and Dawson, Keon making plays. When everything is firing, we can be two-dimensional, that’s when we feel like we’re in a good spot.”
It’s incredible what Allen has been able to do with the Bills offense in recent years, winning an MVP in 2024 and finishing third last season, despite slot receiver Khalil Shakir being his de facto WR1 with no true difference-makers on the outside.
Now he has Moore, Shakir, Coleman (33rd overall pick in 2024 in a pivotal prove-it season for his career after a disappointing first two years in Buffalo), along with the excellent tight end tandem of Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox and, of course, reigning NFL rushing leader James Cook.
Add in the new dynamic of Joe Brady going from offensive coordinator to head coach, and there’s a lot of reason to believe Allen could be heading toward a career year.
If so, that will likely mean a significant bounce-back season for Moore, who had between 1,157 and 1,364 receiving yards in four out of five seasons between the Panthers and Bears before finishing with career-lows of 50 catches for 682 yards last year as Chicago’s new coaching staff prioritized the team’s young core of playmakers.
Miami Dolphins
Preseason Week 1 Result: 20-7 L to Washington Commanders on Friday
Top Performer: Quarterback Malik Willis
One of the few starting quarterbacks around the league to play in the first preseason game, Willis got just one series but looked the part while completing 4 of 5 passes for 43 yards and rushing twice for 9 yards in leading an 14-play, 93-yard opening touchdown drive.
The highlight was a 28-yard connection with rookie Caleb Douglas, one of the standouts of training camp for Miami, on third-and-5.
Emerging Training Camp Storyline: Caleb Douglas pushing for top role
Douglas, the third-round rookie out of Texas Tech, has been building momentum and buzz since the start of training camp and could be pushing for a starting role immediately.
Granted, there’s no better situation for a rookie wide receiver to walk into than Miami right now, as the top of the depth chart is a collection of WR3s in Malik Washington, Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell.
Douglas opened the preseason game as one of the two starters with the first-team offense, along with Washington, and the team’s initial depth chart released before the game listed those two and Tolbert as the first-team WRs.
“It’s been consistency over time. He’s been really consistent,” coach Jeff Hafley said, as reported by the Sun Sentinel. “He’s made some flash plays and then he’s made some plays where he needs to catch the ball, but he’s probably been one of our most consistent guys. He showed up every day. So that’s where he deserves to be at this point.”
Douglas’ lone catch in the preseason game was an incredible one-handed catch for 28 yards.
Miami’s WR corps got more good news this week too, as fellow third-round pick Chris Bell was activated from the injury list Monday. He took part in some 11-on-11 drills Tuesday while wearing a red non-contact jersey.
The Dolphins are intent on being patient with Bell, a first-round talent who fell in the draft to pick No. 94 after tearing his ACL late in December late in Louisville’s season. He had 72 catches for 917 yards and 6 TDs in 11 games for the Cardinals.
At one point it seemed unlikely Bell would be any factor in 2026 for Miami, but if it’s looking exceedingly likely that he indeed makes it back to the field at some point this season, giving the Dolphins a potentially dynamic rookie WR tandem.
A position group that looked to be the worst in the league entering training camp is suddenly showing some shine.
New England Patriots
Preseason Week 1 Result: 13-13 T vs. Indianapolis Colts on Thursday
Top Performer: Running back Jam Miller
With the top running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson not playing, Miller, the seventh-round pick out of Alabama, had an important opportunity in his bid to win the RB3 job.
He led the Patriots with 55 yards on 14 carries (3.9 YPC).
“I felt like he ran with his pads down and had a couple physical runs, and was happy for him,” coach Mike Vrabel said, per ESPN. “This is a great evaluation. We can start to figure out guys that can and start to figure out guys that can’t, too.”
Even with fellow RB3 candidate Terrell Jennings getting waived by the team with an injury settlement, Miller’s path to a roster spot still has obstacles as the team responded to Jennings’ injury by signing former Titans/Chargers reserve running back Hassan Haskins (who was drafted by Tennessee when Vrabel was there) and JaMycal Hasty (who spent times with the Patriots in 2023-24). Both Haskins and Hasty got 5 carries in the game while rushing for 15 and 11 yards, respectively.
Emerging Training Camp Storyline: WR A.J. Brown to face former team in joint practices
New No. 1 wide receiver A.J. Brown has been one of the storylines all camp, as he builds a connection with quarterback Drake Maye.
Brown will be even more in the spotlight Wednesday-Thursday when the Patriots hold joint practices with Brown’s former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, who traded him to New England on June 1 for a 2028 first-round pick and 2027 fifth-round selection.
New York Jets
Preseason Week 1 Result: 24-16 L to Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday
Top Performer: Running back Braelon Allen
Starting running back Breece Hall did suit up for the preseason opener, rushing 4 times for 16 yards, it was the backup Allen who stood out with 4 carries for 44 yards, including a 31-yard TD on the Jets’ second possession.
Allen, a fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin in 2024, rushed for 334 yards and 2 TDs as a rookie before being limited to four games last season by an MCL injury.
The more the Jets can get out of the run game and take pressure off QB Geno Smith, the better, so even with Hall locked into a heavy workload there should be opportunity for Allen to make his mark this fall.
Emerging Training Camp Storyline: Hall injures groin
Allen could be an even more important player for the Jets than expected if Hall’s fresh groin injury lingers into the season.
For now, coach Aaron Glenn said Hall will miss two to three weeks and be ready for the regular season, but such injuries can be hard to assign firm timelines for recovery. Though, Glenn did indicate it looked to be a minor injury.
Hall rushed for 1,065 yards and 4 TDs on 4.4 yards per carry last season, becoming the Jets’ first 1,000-yard rusher since 2015. He also had 36 catches for 350 yards and a TD.
The fifth-year RB then signed a three-year, $43.5-million contract this offseason to remain a key part of the team’s future through this rebuild.