EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Nobody knows their names. Their numbers don’t correspond with any relevant accomplishments. The handful of fans in the stands wouldn’t recognize most of them on the street. The men who play in the last NFL preseason game personify anonymity.
This is not as true of other sports. The last game of spring training and the last preseason games in the NBA and the can be the culmination of something.
Preseason finales in the NFL are something less; the ugliest ducklings of exhibitions in all of professional sports. No starters play. Often, no valuable backups play.