The third preseason game is the so-called dress rehearsal. Teams are more likely to play starters into the second half. That’s how it has always been.

In recent years teams seem more willing to sit their key players for most if not all of the preseason, and we all saw why when Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton left Thursday’s game with a foot injury.

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Newton was playing his first preseason game this season in a 10-3 loss to the New England Patriots, after offseason shoulder surgery. The Panthers might have felt he needed some preseason reps, to work out his repaired shoulder in a game and to feel ready for Week 1.

Instead, Newton came off with a limp after a play in which he was scrambling around and sacked. Newton headed to the locker room with a foot injury. He was ruled out almost immediately. He was seen wearing a walking boot after the game. Not good.

This is why teams sit starters in the preseason. Sean McVay of the Rams has taken it to an extreme, rarely playing anyone who we’ll see in a significant role to start the regular season. Last season the Rams had a sluggish first half in Week 1 of the regular season (which can happen regardless of preseason playing time) but they were healthy heading into September. It seems like a good tradeoff. It seems more teams are following that lead and scaling way back on the amount their starters play in the preseason.

We didn’t even see much of Newton before he got hurt. He didn’t push the ball downfield much. We have seen some nice deep passes from him in training camp, and his shoulder looks healthy based on those plays. Against the Patriots, Newton did have a nice, smooth out route to Curtis Samuel for a first down. But it’s very hard to imagine Newton’s six passing attempts were worth exposing him to injury.

There was no immediate word on the severity of the foot injury. There will be some panic in Carolina before we know if their franchise quarterback is OK. Either way, Newton goes into the season banged up at least a little bit. He takes enough punishment in the regular season. It didn’t seem wise to expose him to more hits in the preseason.

Cam Newton exits the field after suffering a foot injury against the Patriots. (Getty Images) More

Spotlight team

It’s not that Daniel Jones can pass Eli Manning before the season starts. Manning is starting Week 1 at quarterback for the New York Giants. We all know that.

But the better Jones plays, the more urgency there might be to play him if Manning struggles early on.

Jones, the much-maligned sixth pick of the draft, has looked very good this month. Jones followed up two strong performances to start the preseason with another good outing in a 25-23 win at Cincinnati. In the first half he completed 9-of-11 for 141 yards. He passed with ease downfield, completing a 35-yard pass to Brittan Golden and a 27-yard pass to Darius Slayton to set up a 1-yard touchdown pass. He even showed his toughness when he was blasted on a blind-side hit by Bengals defensive end Carl Lawson. The ball popped out, but Jones got right up after the play.

Manning has looked pretty good in preseason too. And if Jones had struggled, Manning would have had a much longer leash to start the season. He could have had a bad game or two and the calls for Jones wouldn’t have been too loud. After a strong preseason from Jones, the Giants will be tempted to make a switch if Manning struggles early, even though that will be a sensitive situation given Manning’s stature within the franchise.

A good preseason from Jones is a big positive for the Giants, though it might make things more complicated in the short term.

Standout player

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton keeps surviving. The Bengals had a chance to draft Dwayne Haskins from Ohio State in the first round and passed. Cincinnati did draft Ryan Finley, but he’s not an immediate threat to Dalton. Dalton returns for his ninth year as Cincinnati’s starter.

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