Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins barely played during Thursday's preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons. Redskins coach Jay Gruden kept him in for just the opening drive, eight snaps, and saw enough.

As Washington wraps up training camp in Richmond, Va., today, Cousins will have a larger workload Friday against the New York Jets. How much larger is unknown at this point, but the mentality doesn't change as Cousins gears up for the regular season.

“Anytime I have a chance to go out there to play in a game, I'm going to prepare and I'm going to focus, and be disciplined, and detailed in my preparation, and play inspired and do my job as long,” Cousins said. “That will never change.”

What will change is the way Cousins communicates with offensive coordinator Sean McVay, who was calling plays from the coaches' booth in Atlanta. Last year, McVay was on the sidelines reading plays over Cousins's radio system. This season, the NFL will give the play caller wearing the headset the choice of sitting in the booth.

“For the small number of plays that I was in, I think it felt pretty good,” Cousins said. “Because I wasn't going back in for another series, I didn't notice the off-the-field sideline interaction being as important so it wasn't a true test, which is why I think it might be helpful to try it again.”

The Redskins will continue to experiment with McVay in the booth. It will give McVay a better vantage point in a controlled environment, but he wouldn't be able to communicate with Gruden and the offensive players on the sidelines. Although Washington still has three more preseason games, Gruden made it clear that McVay will go back to the sidelines during the regular season.

“The cons are he doesn't get to talk to Kirk in person in between series, settle the offense down if they need it, talk to me without headsets if there's some things we need to talk about,” Gruden said.

Panthers' DeHaven steps down to battle cancer: Carolina Panthers special teams coordinator Bruce DeHaven has decided to step down from his position and move into an advisory role with the team while continuing his battle with prostate cancer.

The team announced Sunday that Thomas McGaughey has been promoted to special teams coordinator and Chase Blackburn to special teams assistant.

Texans rally past 49ers:Blaine Gabbert threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Vance McDonald before the Houston Texans rallied in the second half against San Francisco's reserves to beat the 49ers, 24-13, on Sunday in the preseason opener for both teams. 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat out with tightness in his throwing shoulder.

Saturday's games:Sean Mannion threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Green with 1:54 remaining to give the Los Angeles Rams a 28-24 comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys at the Coliseum.

DeMarco Murray ran for a 71-yard touchdown and rookie Derrick Henry also scored as the host Tennessee Titans' new-look rushing attack delivered an impressive debut in a 27-10 preseason victory over the San Diego Chargers.

With Andrew Luck getting a break, backup quarterbacks Scott Tolzien and Stephen Morris teamed up in leading the visiting Indianapolis Colts to a 19-18 preseason-opening win over the Buffalo Bills.

Trevone Boykin engineered a last-minute, 88-yard touchdown drive in four plays, hitting Tanner McEvoy with a 37-yard scoring pass, and Tyvis Pope scored the 2-point conversion, lifting the visiting Seattle Seahawks to a 17-16 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.