SEATTLE, WA – AUGUST 25: Quarterback Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys passes against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field during a preseason game on August 25, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

No matter what you feel about the worthiness or worthlessness of the NFL preseason, or how you think it can and should be fixed, there are some things which happen in those four games that actually matter.

Outside the wins and losses that don’t count, here are five things that happened in August that will have a real impact for the 2016 NFL season.

1) ZOMG Dak Prescott

Prescott’s NFL.com draft profile sums up the conventional wisdom on him before this preseason: “Prescott has NFL size, mobility and enough arm, but the tape shows a player who must improve his mechanics, poise and quickness through his progressions if he is to become a full­-time starter in the NFL.”

But in three preseason games, Prescott’s poise and decision-making have popped off the screen. So far, he’s gone 39-of-50 for 454 yards, five touchdowns, no picks and a whopping 137.8 passer rating. He wasn’t flawless in his dress-rehearsal start against one of the best defenses in the league, but there wasn’t a lot to critique, either. His preseason performance is not only far ahead of where most experts expected, but far ahead of the rest of the rookie class.

Certainly, he won’t maintain this level of performance against the “rocky road”-flavored defenses he’ll be facing in the regular season. But Prescott has already earned the confidence of teammates, coaches and ownership, and he’ll have every opportunity to prove he’s the heir apparent to Tony Romo after all.

Speaking of which…

2) ONOZ, Injuries

Most teams go through every preseason game hoping for nothing more than everyone to come out healthy. After a relatively injury-free training camp in the NFL, though, a spate of injuries has the NFL world reeling.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh called for a serious reimagining of preseason—if not eliminating it altogether—after losing tight end Ben Watson to a season-ending Achilles rupture, and rookie tailback Kenneth Dixon to a sprained MCL. Bengals tailback Cedric Peerman broke his left arm, and teammates AJ Green and Adam Jones also picked up yet-to-be-determined knocks. Chargers tailback Branden Oliver’s Achilles also went this weekend, in a tough-to-watch moment actually captured on video:

Tony Romo’s back injury will have major repercussions for his career, the Cowboys’ championship chances and the NFC East as a whole. Sure, Prescott looks promising, but Romo led the NFL in nearly every passing stat that mattered in 2014. If Prescott just manages to manage and win winnable games, it’ll be an upset and a triumph and a story. It’s almost inconceivable that he’ll play the first half of 2016 (and maybe beyond) at a healthy-Romo level. This opens the door even wider for an already-wide-open division.

Meanwhile, Cardinals cornerback Mike Jenkins was carted off the field in what might be the 21st popped ACL of the preseason:

3) WR Terrelle Pryor

We knew the combination of Hue Jackson and RGIII would lead to a handful of big plays, if nothing else. We also knew a healthy Josh Gordon could beat a defense deep. But what we didn’t know was longtime quarterback Terrelle Pryor could straight-up roast quality corners:

TP is quietly becoming one of the best stories in the NFL: Once top quarterback prospect on Earth, he’s overcome both his own mistakes and questionable situations to emerge as a potential difference-maker on a team absolutely desperate for them. If he just catches one of these every game or two, he’ll be the toast of Cleveland (if not the league).

4) DOA Jaguars

An aggressive free-agency period and outstanding draft bolstered the Jaguars’ running attack and completely revamped the defense. The additions of defensive linemen Malik Jackson and Yannick Ngakoue, linebacker Myles Jack, defensive backs Jalen Ramsey, Tashaun Gipson and Prince Amukamara, combined with the return of injury “redshirt” Dante Fowler, were supposed to give Gus Bradley the talent he needed to finally make Jags defense one of the league’s best.

In their third preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals, though, the new-look Jags looked a heckuva lot like the old ones. The Bengals dominated on the ground and in the air; their offensive line only let the Jaguars get upfield when they were doing it on purpose to chip a screen pass over their heads (which worked incredibly well every time they tried it). The Bengals pulled their offensive starters before halftime, and Jaguars fans bailed out shortly after:

Jaguars general manager Dave Gettleman told me this spring on SiriusXM that there isn’t a set number of wins or playoffs-or-bust ultimatum in place—but even if he’s got the patience to let Bradley try and percolate all this talent into a difference-making defense, it’s clear the fans are not interested in watching another punchless losing squad.

5) SF on Square Zero

San Francisco 49ers v Arizona Cardinals

Colin Kaepernick’s protest against police brutality and racial injustice is generating plenty of headlines—headlines that might otherwise have focused on Kaepernick’s brutal preseason debut and Blaine Gabbert’s unimpressive run as starter.

Head coach Chip Kelly declined to name a starter after the dress rehearsal—but by now if it’s not going to be the former No. 1 whose trade request the 49ers didn’t honor, and it’s not going to be the No. 2 the team made noise about challenging for the starting gig, then the quarterback Kelly wants isn’t on the roster.

The 49ers have a few pieces in place, especially defensively. But they’re clearly about to be stuffed into a meat grinder of a division, and Chip Kelly doesn’t have anywhere near enough offensive talent to make NFL-caliber sausage.

A year-and-a-half after general manager Trent Baalke imploded a burgeoning dynasty, the 49ers appear on the verge of a three- or four-year rebuild effort in Kelly’s image—or, even worse, a quick hook for Kelly and another coaching search. It’s almost impossible to overstate how much talent has left this team since the end of 2014, and how few glimmers of hope to which 49ers fans can cling.

If Kelly can indeed make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear with his X-and-O wizardry, now would be a wonderful time to prove it.

About Ty Schalter

Ty Schalter is thrilled to be part of The Comeback. A member of the Pro Football Writers of America, Ty also works as an NFL columnist for Bleacher Report and VICE Sports, and regular host for Sirius XM’s Bleacher Report Radio. In another life, he was an IT cubicle drone with a pretentious Detroit Lions blog.