In case you haven't noticed, England's Test batting line-up is in an absolute maelstrom. You used at least to be able to rely on it for perversity - for the top half to sink without trace (not much change there then, admittedly…) before that gloriously stacked lower-middle order would come rampaging into the breach, blades whirring like vengeful ninjas as they boshed and hacked their way out of a hole to achieve something north of 300 and place their side firmly in the contest.

But right now, the components of this England team don't seem to know where to bat, let alone how to bat in the Test format. An auto-completed innings on some late-1990s cricket captaincy simulator couldn't have generated a more random route to England's eventual 258 in 77.1 overs - a few fits here, a few starts there, a collapse, a recovery, a fade. It might prove competitive. It probably won't.

Either way, it left an awful lot of opportunity squandered, on a day when Nathan Lyon admitted that Australia had not been at their best. For, with the honourable exception of Rory Burns at the top of the order - whose latest display of Test-calibre yakka did owe a considerable amount to a terrible drop in the gully on 16 - there was arguably not a single other member of England's 11 who was batting in his optimal position, and it showed in the final analysis.

Jason Roy - too high! Joe Root - too high! Joe Denly - Too low! Jos Buttler - Too high! Ben Stokes - too low! Jonny Bairstow - too low! And so the spiel goes on, right down to the retention at No. 11 of a man who made 92 on his last visit to Lord's. If England's innings had been an episode of Play Your Cards Right, then Bruce Forsyth's catchphrase "didn't they do well?" would have been a bare-faced lie.

Take that period, in the early afternoon, when a typically even-paced (okay, flat…) Lord's pitch had lost any suspicion of venom under gently breezy blue skies, and Burns and Denly were chugging along with suspicious ease, at a perfectly acceptable rate of 2.9 an over, in a 66-run third-wicket stand.

It was the sort of passage of play that ought, by rights, to have caused Tim Paine's brow to furrow just a touch, as he considered the possibility that his decision to bowl first might have been a little bit impetuous. But, of course, by then Roy and Root - two of the men best equipped to take advantage of such conditions - had already been chopped down before they could get going.

Now, you shouldn't be surprised to suffer a few early casualties in a Test innings, especially when Josh Hazlewood is bearing down on you like a sweaty-toothed attack hound unleashed from a summer in purgatory. But seeing as the primary virtues displayed by both Denly and Burns were caution, judgement and a straight bat at the point of impact (irrespective of where Burns may have waved it before the ball was released), it seems strange not to have deployed both when survival against the new ball was the primary aim.

And moreover, if Denly really does have a future in this England Test team, then surely he needs to be that man to bite the bullet, and front up alongside Burns and revert to a role that he has played for Kent in the past (and on far more occasions that Roy has ever done). If he soaks up some new-ball overs, job done. If he gets out cheaply, then at least he's not a more prized scalp. Either that, or England need to start to accept that their quest for a reliable opening partnership is a simple case of damage limitation, and that Leach should be handed the nightwatchman role on a permanent basis. Harsh though it sounds, the same principles apply in both cases.

Instead, England have opted to expose a batsman of proven international pedigree in the one-day game, not least against Australia, against whom he averages 49.64 in 17 ODIs, including an England-record score of 180 at the MCG in 2018, but who is finding the transition to red-ball cricket as problematic as Hazlewood himself predicted on the eve of the series.

According to CricViz, Roy's false-shot percentage is 28.7 percent, the second-highest among all batsmen in the past 12 months - and though Burns is lurking fifth on that list, at 21.1 percent, his game is at least built to factor in the inevitability of new-ball hardship. Roy's hand hands and pro-active mindset, by contrast, appear to be inviting more trouble than his talents can currently compute.

As for Root, his reluctance to hunker down at No. 3 doesn't even qualify as an open secret - he now averages less than 40 there in 43 innings, compared to 48.00 at No. 4 in 60. But he took one for the team in this series because there were no better alternatives, and his scalping against the new ball, pinned lbw by one that Hazlewood jagged back up the slope, was a classic example of why he'd prefer not to be exposed so early in a Test innings.

ALSO READ: Lyon critical of Australia's standards at Lord's

And the upshot was, that even at 92 for 2 half an hour after lunch, Australia knew that England were just one wicket from sinking into genuine peril, given that what remained of their counterattacking middle order was now pre-programmed to be trapped in two minds. Enter Buttler, exit Buttler - a man looking more frazzled by his role in England's World Cup glory than perhaps any other player, and that's saying something. If there was a silver lining to England's four-wicket capitulation in the third hour of the day, it was that Bairstow at the very least was reacquainted with the middle of his bat, after one of the most extraordinary collapses in Test form imaginable.

Do you remember the days when Bairstow was without question England's most accomplished Test batsman behind Root? At times in the past 12 months, you wonder if he remembers it either, but there it is - plain as day in his career record: 1470 runs at 58.80 for the calendar year in 2016, with four centuries including a career-best 167 not out on this ground against Sri Lanka.

The discussion back then was whether Bairstow had it in him to become a genuine Test batsman, rather than a Gilchristian counterpunching No.7 … but as we all know, his preference has always been for the security that comes with his dual role of wicketkeeper, even it if means pinning him squarely to the lower-middle order, with all the jeopardy that that entails.

His hard-earned half-century was at least the beginnings of a typical Bairstow riposte to criticism, though seeing as it began at 136 for 5 (soon 138 for 6), it never had enough road to develop into a full-blown screw-you-all performance. But either way, his form in the intervening period had been nothing less than shocking - eight single-figure scores in his previous ten on home soil, with a best of 18 and five ducks to boot.

In such circumstances, allowing yourself to be typecast as a not-really batsman looks nothing like an insurance policy, more an invitation to be dropped. But that is rather the problem all the way up and down the order at present. Not really is as good as it is getting at present. And it's not looking like being good enough to withstand an Australia team with as singular a focus as they've displayed on these shores in a generation.

Rory Burns believes that Jofra Archer will be looking forward to dishing out some of the medicine that he and his fellow tailenders received on the first day of action at Lord's, after being welcomed to Test cricket by a fiery onslaught from Pat Cummins.

Archer, who cranked his pace up past 92mph in a promising but wicketless six-over burst before stumps, was on the receiving end from ball one of his Test career, as Cummins went short with ten of his eleven deliveries, before finally having him caught off a leading edge in the gully for 12.

And he was not alone in being peppered by a pumped-up Cummins, with Burns himself taking two blows in the space of three deliveries before fencing another lifter in his subsequent over to short leg, where Cameron Bancroft clung onto a brilliant one-handed take.

"It's always nice to get into a little bit of a scrap," said Burns. "Obviously he got two to hit the same spot, which was nice, but I was just trying to getting amongst it and tough it out."

Burns added that he had been warned from the very start of his innings what was in store for him, but put that down to the fact that, with 197 runs from 472 balls in the series to date, Australia are starting to think about ways to extract him from the crease.

"I've obviously batted a few balls so far in this Test series, so they're looking at different ways of getting me out," he said. "I think Nathan Lyon ran past me this morning and mentioned it within about three balls, so I was well versed in what I was looking at, and prepared for what I was getting. But it's just a good battle isn't it?"

Asked if Archer was looking forward to getting thrown the ball when Cummins comes into bat tomorrow, Burns replied: "Yeah, I'd have thought so. He copped a fair few as well so he's probably looking forward to getting his own back.

"It's quite an obvious tactic, what they're doing, so the boys are preparing for it. And luckily we can dish out some of our own in this game as well. We've got some boys in our armoury that do the same things, so it should be pretty interesting."

Lyon, who claimed not to remember his early warning to Burns, admitted that he too was bound to be in Archer's sights, and joked that it wasn't a prospect that he entirely relished.

"Mate, I can't bat, so what do you reckon?" he said. "I'm a No.10, No.11 batter, and I average 10.

"It's a world-class bowling attack. It's Jofra's first Test, but he's a world-class bowler. We all know that. You know that. the world knows that. [Stuart] Broad, the same thing. Yeah, of course, it's going to be challenging.

"But it's Test cricket. That's why we play it, and for me personally, I want to challenge myself against the best players in the world. And these guys are the best bowlers in the world. So even though I can't bat I'll go out and give it a go, unless you want to do it for me!"

On the match situation, Burns admitted that England would have fancied a higher score after getting first-use of a good Lord's pitch, but believes that their total of 258 puts them firmly in the contest.

"It's tight, isn't it?" he said. "I think it's a competitive total but there's probably a sense of disappointment there at the same time. But it's kept everyone interested all day, because it seamed and If they missed their length you've been able to punish it. And it's just started to offer a little bit to a spinner too, so I think it's game on, and we're right in amongst it."

Innings Sri Lanka 267 (Dickwella 61, Lakmal 40, Patel 5-89) lead New Zealand 249 by 18 runs

After being ignored for the 2019 World Cup and then missing the cut for the ODI series at home against Bangladesh, Niroshan Dickwella proved his worth to the Test side with a calculated 61, ushering Sri Lanka to an 18-run first-innings lead in Galle. Resuming on an overnight 227 for 7, Sri Lanka added 40 to their tally before Trent Boult and Will Somerville took the remaining three wickets about an hour before lunch on the third day.

New Zealand took the new ball immediately and Boult pushed the batsmen back with a barrage of short balls. While Suranga Lakmal was struck flush on his right elbow, Lasith Embuldeniya copped a glancing blow on the helmet. Two balls after being hit, Lakmal stood deep in the crease to a ball that wasn't short enough and wound up dragging it back onto the stumps for 40, snapping an 81-run eighth-wicket stand.

At the other end, Dickwella was more competent against the short stuff, often rolling his wrists to keep the ball down. He reached his half-century in the 88th over when he dinked Ajaz Patel to the leg side for a single. Four overs later, Somerville dangled one up outside off - wider than a set of stumps outside off - and had Dickwella slapping a catch to Kane Williamson at short cover for 61 off 109 balls. Somerville then pinned Embuldeniya in front to end the innings and leave the game fascinatingly poised with the Galle track yet to deteriorate.

The show Antonio Brown put on in running routes and catching passes from Derek Carr on the State Farm Stadium grass before the Oakland Raiders' 33-26 preseason defeat of the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night has coach Jon Gruden hopeful.

As in, Gruden hopes Brown practices with the Raiders before the team breaks camp in Napa, California, on Monday.

"I'm not going to say anything else, but I'm very optimistic after what I saw tonight," Gruden said after the game, in which Oakland built a 26-0 lead, with its defensive starters playing four series against No. 1 draft pick Kyler Murray.

"Hell yeah, it was encouraging. It was great to have him back," Gruden added of Brown. "You know, it's been a strange, strange couple weeks, with frostbite and the helmet grievance. Can't say that that's common, at least in my history in this league. But we've weathered the storm."

Brown had been away from the team for two weeks after starting camp on the non-football injury list before participating in one pre-practice walkthrough July 28, being limited July 30 and then leaving the field early.

Carr also said he was encouraged.

"It was kind of right where we left off," Carr said. "He's such a good player, and we've spent so much time together that I knew when he came back it'd be just like he never left. He came in. You see him chatting it up with everybody on the sideline. He's our teammate. We love him. That's our brother and we're just happy that he's here so we can put our arms around him and head forward."

Brown was away seeking treatment on the soles of his feet, which he injured in a cryotherapy mishap in France early last month. He told ESPN's Lisa Salters the injury occurred because he wore only socks. Therapy included laser treatments, said Brown's agent Drew Rosenhaus, who added that the injury was the main reason Brown was absent from camp and not so much his grievance against the NFL as Brown sought to be able wear his 10-year-old Schutt Air Advantage helmet, the only helmet he has worn in his professional career.

Brown lost the grievance Monday and returned to Napa on Tuesday.

Gruden would not say what helmet Brown was wearing during warm-ups.

"I'm not talking about it anymore," Gruden said. "It was a legal, certified helmet, you know? Somebody approved it, or he wouldn't have worn it.

"It's great to see him out there with his teammates. He appears to be in great spirits and he appears like he's ready to get going here, so that's Antonio Brown. We're excited about him. I'm excited about him. I could care less what anybody else says, I'm excited."

The Raiders are scheduled to hold practice in Napa on Saturday and Sunday before breaking camp Monday, then "host" the Green Bay Packers in their penultimate preseason game at Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Thursday.

Los Angeles Lakers center DeMarcus Cousins has suffered a torn ACL in his left knee, agent Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports told ESPN, putting his availability for next season in jeopardy.

There is no timeline for surgery.

Cousins' visit to team physicians in Los Angeles on Thursday confirmed the diagnosis, which constitutes a third serious leg injury in the past year and a half.

"It's no joke when you get injured," Lakers teammate Kyle Kuzma said after USA Basketball's practice at the Lakers' facility on Thursday. "This is our livelihood and it's something that we love to do. It's super-unfortunate for a guy like DeMarcus because you just tell how much he loves basketball through all of these injuries -- he's fought back and tried to get back as early as possible.

"That's kind of how the ball goes sometimes. You just never really know. ... He was going to be a big part of what we're going to do."

Cousins, a four-time All-Star, already had his mobility compromised with a left Achilles tear in January 2018 and a quadriceps tear in April.

Cousins, 29, was working out in Las Vegas on Monday when he had to leave the court.

The loss of Cousins could prompt All-Star forward Anthony Davis to play more center for the Lakers this season, with JaVale McGee playing more minutes at the backup spot.

Cousins signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Lakers in July. He was expected to be part of a team expected to be among the NBA's elite this season. In his nine NBA seasons, Cousins has averaged 21.2 points and 10.9 rebounds a game.

During his one-year deal with Golden State last season he spent most of his time rehabilitating the Achilles injury before playing 30 regular-season games. He suffered the quad injury in Game 2 of a first-round playoff series. He returned in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against Toronto.

PHILADELPHIA -- Bryce Harper knows everyone in the dugout and ballpark expects him to get clutch hits in moments just like this.

Boy, he crushed it.

Harper blasted a grand slam with one out in the ninth inning, capping a six-run rally that sent the Philadelphia Phillies over the Chicago Cubs 7-5 Thursday night for a three-game sweep.

Harper delivered his biggest hit yet in his first season after signing a $330 million, 13-year contract with the Phillies, celebrating while running around the bases and then getting mobbed by teammates at the plate.

"That was sick. Wow, I don't even know. I mean, that was awesome. Oh my gosh," he said.

Harper added of his walk-off shot: "Besides winning the division and getting to the playoffs, that was one of the coolest moments I've ever had in my life."

Cubs starter Yu Darvish struck out 10, silencing Philadelphia's bats for seven innings a night after the Phillies scored 11 runs in former manager Charlie Manuel's debut as hitting coach.

But the Phillies rallied against Chicago's bullpen and moved within one game of the Cubs for the second wild-card spot in the National League.

Pinch hitter Brad Miller chased Rowan Wick with an RBI single in the ninth that cut it to 5-2, and Roman Quinn greeted Pedro Strop with an RBI single to make it a two-run game. Strop (2-5) hit Rhys Hoskins to load the bases with one out.

Derek Holland entered to face Harper and got ahead 0-2 in the count. Harper fouled off a 2-2 pitch before launching his 25th homer way out to right.

"Before I went to the plate, I touched my heart and I was thinking to myself: 'Why am I not jittery? Why am I not excited?' But that's just how I am," Harper said. "I go up there and each at-bat is the same. I don't think about bases loaded. I try to get a pitch I can drive and hopefully good things happen. I love those moments. I love those opportunities. I think it helped me a lot from a young age going through those emotions and having those opportunities at 8, 9, 10 years old in big-time games going to different states and cities playing for a lot of teams."

"I just love it. It's a lot of fun. These fans do expect that and I expect to do that for them on a nightly basis -- and if I don't, they'll let me know and I like that, too," he said.

Harper now has six career walk-off home runs, the second-most since he made his major league debut in 2012, behind Josh Donaldson, who has seven, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

"I think everyone who watches baseball expects him to do that every time he's up," Phillies starter Drew Smyly said. "He's fun to watch."

Harper has seven homers and 15 RBIs in the past 12 games.

Ranger Suarez (4-1) tossed two scoreless innings to earn the win.

Anthony Rizzo, batting leadoff after the original lineup had him in his usual cleanup spot, gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the third when he hit his 22nd homer.

Ian Happ led off the fourth with a triple and scored on David Bote's double. Albert Almora Jr. hit an RBI single with two out, went to second on the throw home and advanced to third on shortstop Jean Segura's fielding error. Rizzo's single made it 4-0.

Kyle Schwarber slammed his 100th career homer and team-high 28th this season into the bushes in center field to put the Cubs ahead 5-0 in the fifth.

Corey Dickerson hit an RBI single with two out in the eighth off Wick, but right fielder Nicholas Castellanos threw out Hoskins trying to score from second on the play to end the inning.

"Darvish was outstanding but he was done," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of lifting his starter.

SMYLY'S STRUGGLES

Smyly gave up five runs in five innings. He has an 8.04 ERA in his past three starts after allowing one run in 13 innings in his first two starts for the team.

ROSTER MOVE

The Phillies claimed righty Jared Hughes off waivers from the Reds. Hughes will join the bullpen this weekend. He was 3-4 with one save and a 4.10 ERA for Cincinnati.

TRAINER'S ROOM

CUBS: SS Javier Baez was scratched from the lineup because of an illness. ... RHP Craig Kimbrel (right knee inflammation) felt fine after another bullpen session and is closer to returning. ... RHP Brandon Kintzler (right pectoral inflammation) is expected to return Friday. ... OF Jason Heyward (left knee inflammation) wasn't in the lineup for the second straight game but entered in Thursday's ninth inning as a defensive replacement.

PHILLIES: RHP Edubray Ramos (shoulder) was moved to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster for Hughes.

UP NEXT

Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks (8-9, 4.38 ERA) faces the Pirates in the start of a three-game series that will conclude a 10-game road trip.

Phillies: RHP Vince Velasquez (4-7, 4.30 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game series against the San Diego Padres.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. will take the weekend off from broadcasting to be with his wife and daughter after the three were in a plane crash-landing Thursday near Bristol Motor Speedway.

The 44-year-old television analyst and former NASCAR Cup Series driver was taken to a hospital for evaluation after the crash in East Tennessee. Earnhardt was with his wife, Amy; 15-month-old daughter, Isla; a dog; and two pilots.

There were no serious injuries beyond cuts and abrasions, Carter County Sheriff Dexter Lunceford said.

"We're incredibly grateful that Dale, his wife Amy, daughter Isla, and the two pilots are safe following today's accident," NBC Sports said in a statement. "After being discharged from the hospital, we communicated with Dale and his team, and we're all in agreement that he should take this weekend off to be with his family.

"We look forward to having him back in the booth next month at Darlington."

Mike Davis, Earnhardt's manager, told ESPN's Marty Smith that Earnhardt and his family were traveling to their North Carolina home by car Thursday night.

Federal Aviation Administration officials said a Cessna Citation rolled off the end of a runway and caught fire after landing at Elizabethton Municipal Airport at 3:40 p.m. CT on Thursday.

The National Transportation Safety Board tweeted that it was sending two representatives to Elizabethton to investigate the crash.

NEW: Video shows thick, black smoke rising from the site of a small plane crash that was carrying Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his family. Everyone on board, including Earnhardt, escaped the wreck, said the local sheriff. https://t.co/2nqljR6C5C pic.twitter.com/noizctpZVk

— ABC News (@ABC) August 15, 2019

This incident comes 26 years after former driver and 1992 Cup champion Alan Kulwicki died in a plane crash while on his way to the spring race at Bristol from a promotional appearance in Knoxville, Tennessee. That crash at Tri-City Regional Airport in Blountville, Tennessee, killed four people.

Earnhardt was part of Rick Hendrick's racing team in 2011 when Hendrick broke a rib and his collarbone while on a small jet that lost its brakes and crash-landed in an airport at Key West, Florida. Hendrick's son, brother and twin nieces were among 10 people killed in a 2004 crash of a plane traveling to a race in Virginia.

This isn't the first fiery crash for Earnhardt. He still has a burn scar on his neck from a crash at Sonoma in 2004 during warm-ups for an American Le Mans Series race, which left him with second-degree burns.

Earnhardt has a history of concussions that plagued him over his final years as a driver.

He won NASCAR's most popular driver award a record 15 times, with 26 career Cup victories.

Earnhardt retired from Cup Series competition in 2017 after dealing with a number of concussions. He ran one Xfinity Series race in 2018 and is scheduled to drive in the Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway on Aug. 31.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Welcome to the NFL, rookie.

Kyler Murray learned how the other half lives Thursday against the Raiders, who blitzed the No. 1 overall pick and made him look uncomfortable. But it wasn't all bad for the youngsters as Week 2 of the preseason started, with Dwayne Haskins showing off his arm with a big touchdown pass against the Bengals.

We have all that and more in the biggest takeaways and fantasy football nuggets of the preseason's second week from NFL Nation:

Jump to a matchup:
PHI-JAX | NYJ-ATL | CIN-WSH | GB-BAL | OAK-ARI

Philadelphia Eagles 24, Jacksonville Jaguars 10

Carson Wentz should not touch the field this preseason. The QB injuries are piling up for Philadelphia. Cody Kessler was knocked out of the game in the first quarter Thursday because of a concussion, one week after backup Nate Sudfeld went down because of a broken wrist. Coach Doug Pederson has been ratcheting up the intensity at practice to give the first team quality work in a controlled environment. He should continue on that path and keep Wentz out of harm's way until the regular-season opener against Washington. The Eagles will probably have to add another arm this week with Kessler in concussion protocol. -- Tim McManus

QB Gardner Minshew needed a bounce-back performance after really struggling in the preseason opener and he delivered: 19-for-29 for 202 yards in three quarters despite being under pressure from the edge pretty much the entire night. Minshew did lose a fumble after getting hit (RT Leonard Wester got beat badly) and also had a TD pass called back because of a block-in-the-back penalty by TE Ben Koyack. Minshew also put together a solid two-minute drive at the end of the first half that resulted in a field goal, giving the Jaguars their first points of the preseason. Minshew was clearly much more comfortable than he was last week. He was decisive and got the ball out quickly, which are encouraging signs for the Jaguars --- who again sat the majority of their starters -- because they're counting on him to be the backup to Nick Foles. His performance Thursday night pretty much cemented that. -- Mike DiRocco

New York Jets 22, Atlanta Falcons 10

Playing behind a makeshift offensive line, QB Sam Darnold opened with a TD drive for the second straight week. The tempo was fast, and Darnold was in command. It's early, but he seems to have a firm grasp of the new offense. Big concern: RT Brandon Shell injured his knee in warm-ups, becoming the third offensive lineman to go down because of an injury. Chemistry will be an issue in Week 1. -- Rich Cimini

There has to be concern about the offensive line during Matt Ryan's first appearance this preseason. Ryan was sacked three times and threw under duress too much while completing 10 of 14 passes for 118 yards. Ryan absorbed some good hits, something you never want to see in the preseason. Right tackle Ty Sambrailo didn't look like a starter, and backup center Wes Schweitzer, among others, had some issues. The Falcons are playing without two injured players who were thought to be on track to start: left guard James Carpenter (quad) and rookie right tackle Kaleb McGary (heart procedure). Jamon Brown could start at left guard, and McGary, if healthy, should surpass the struggling Sambrailo at some point. -- Vaughn McClure

Cincinnati Bengals 23, Washington Redskins 13

Rookie Ryan Finley made a strong case to be Cincinnati's No. 2 quarterback this season. The fourth-round pick out of NC State followed up his preseason debut with another strong performance. Excluding a spike at the end of the first half, Finley was 20-of-25 passing for 150 yards and two touchdowns. The rookie steadied the Bengals after a start riddled with miscues. He led Cincinnati's second unit on a 12-play, 93-yard drive that took 7 minutes, 36 seconds off the clock in the first half. From there, the entire team found its rhythm, as the visitors scored 23 of the final 30 points. Halfway through the preseason, the rookie has completed 75% of his passes for 259 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. -- Ben Baby

The Redskins hoped the preseason would identify their No. 1 quarterback, but after two preseason games, that hasn't happened. Colt McCoy can't yet play because of issues with his leg, and Case Keenum has been ordinary in two starts. He's still adapting to the offense and getting in sync with his receivers, but being in a competition makes it tougher to build that chemistry. And rookie Dwayne Haskins shows more big-play potential -- as evidenced by his 55-yard touchdown pass to Robert Davis. He's not afraid to challenge down the field, but he also hasn't shown enough to seriously challenge more experienced players. But with what those players have shown, it's hard to believe Haskins won't be used at some point this season. -- John Keim

Baltimore Ravens 26, Green Bay Packers 13

It might be too soon to say the Packers have a serious problem with their run game -- after all, neither Aaron Jones nor Jamaal Williams (both have hamstring issues) have played a snap in the preseason -- but the installation of new coach Matt LaFleur's outside-zone-oriented scheme has been a rough go. The Packers totaled just 7 yards rushing on seven attempts in the first half a week after they had only 38 yards in 13 carries in the first half against the Texans. That's 45 yards in 20 carries when the opponents were playing starters or key backups. Any hope that sixth-round rookie Dexter Williams could serve as a change-of-pace back looks bleak given his inability to hang on to the ball (he dropped a pass and couldn't secure a handoff in which a fumble was charged to the quarterback). Tra Carson has been the starter in the absence of Jones and Jamaal Williams, but he's averaging just 1.7 yards per carry. As much as LaFleur's offense centers on the run game and what it can do for play-action, he needs to know if the lack of production is because he doesn't have his top backs or because the scheme hasn't taken hold. -- Rob Demovsky

Lamar Jackson continues to improve as a passer, but -- as the Ravens' starting quarterback showed and said Thursday night -- he's still at his most dangerous when running with the ball. On third-and-10, Jackson saw his receivers covered and took off, faking out Tramon Williams in the open field before leaping over Jaire Alexander to reach the end zone. The spectacular 18-yard touchdown run was nullified by Willie Snead's illegal block, but that doesn't erase another highlight-reel moment that will keep defensive coordinators up at night. "The four-man rush gave me a lane," Jackson said, "and I just did what I do best." Jackson finished 6-of-10 passing for 58 yards, leading the Ravens to field goals on both of his drives. -- Jamison Hensley

Oakland Raiders 33, Arizona Cardinals 26

The Raiders' defense, with a cast of new characters headlined by middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict, looks much improved. At least it did in this second exhibition for both teams, with Oakland harassing No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray into a 3-for-8 passing night for 12 yards, and defensive back Lamarcus Joyner sacking the nimble Murray for a safety. In four series, the Raiders' starting defense let Murray run only once -- for 4 yards. In fact, Joyner's safety came on the third straight blitz dialed up by defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. At one point, the Raiders had outgained the Cardinals 231-12 in total yards. Also, rookie Josh Jacobs looks primed to be the Raiders' feature back, starting and carrying the ball four times for 21 yards on their opening touchdown drive with Derek Carr under center, as the Raiders' starting offense played only one series. -- Paul Gutierrez

Thursday night was one to forget for Kyler Murray. The rookie quarterback went 3-for-8 for 12 yards with a 4-yard run and looked out of sync in the four possessions he played, which went into the second quarter. He was flagged twice for false starts because of his clap snap and once for delay of game, and went down in the end zone to avoid a sack for a safety. While, yes, it's still the preseason and the Cardinals are running a vanilla offensive scheme, there were still some issues Murray and the Cardinals need to clean up. -- Josh Weinfuss

Free-agent forward Patrick Patterson has agreed to a one-year, $2.3 million deal with the LA Clippers, league sources told ESPN.

Patterson and the Oklahoma City Thunder recently agreed to a buyout on the final season of his contract, allowing him to become a free agent.

The Clippers, with one available roster spot left now, are constructing a frontcourt bench to support its two new starting forwards -- Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Patterson gives the Clippers, who are expected to contend for a championship, one more serious-minded and accomplished veteran for their frontcourt rotation.

Patterson, 30, was unable to gain consistent traction in a role with the Thunder in his two seasons there. He averaged less than 10 minutes a game -- far different from his impactful previous three seasons with the Toronto Raptors. In nine NBA seasons, Patterson has averaged nearly seven points and four rebounds. He's had stops with the Rockets, Kings, Raptors and Thunder.

Brett Yormark, who has served as CEO of the Brooklyn Nets for more than a decade, will step down from his post, league sources confirmed to ESPN.

Yormark has been in the role since 2005, when he came to the Nets from NASCAR, and helped usher the franchise to Brooklyn from its prior homes in East Rutherford and Newark, New Jersey. Having initially come aboard under Bruce Ratner, Yormark stayed in his post during the ownership of Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov over the past nine years.

But with Prokhorov set to sell the final 51% of the Nets -- and, eventually, Barclays Center -- to Joe Tsai, ending his tenure with the franchise, Yormark's time with the Nets is coming to a close as well.

Yormark -- like Prokhorov -- will be remembered for being part of getting the Nets across the Hudson River and into Brooklyn, a move that dramatically raised the profile of the franchise. He also was part of the team's brash, aggressive style early in its time in Brooklyn, an approach that led the Nets both to spend record amounts of luxury-tax money and to put the team in a massive hole in terms of draft capital lost thanks to the failed trade for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in 2013.

The sale to Tsai, and the departure of Yormark, will see Brooklyn head into one of the most anticipated seasons in franchise history with a fresh slate.

The Nets made arguably the biggest splash of any team in the NBA this summer, signing Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan as free agents after finishing a surprising sixth in the Eastern Conference last season and losing a spirited five-game series to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs.