CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 27: Odell Beckham #13 of the New York Giants avoids a tackle by Derrick Kindred #30 of the Cleveland Browns during the fourth quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 27, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The NFL preseason is finally here, and there are a dozen games scheduled just for Thursday night.
The preseason actually already started with the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 2: the Baltimore Ravens beat the Chicago Bears 17-16.
Here are the 12 games that will be held on Thursday for Week 1, and what players you should most closely watch on each team: (all games can be streamed on NFL Game Pass, NBCSports.com or fuboTV)
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Browns at Giants, 7 p.m. EST, NFL Network: Both of these teams finished with terrible records in 2017, with the Browns going winless (0-16), and the Giants having a historically bad season (3-13). Two rookie players to look out for are Cleveland’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Baker Mayfield and New York’s new running back Saquon Barkley, the first and second overall draft picks this year respectively.
Cowboys at 49ers: 10 p.m. EST, NFL Network: Dallas finished last season far better off than San Francisco. The Cowboys will be missing Dez Bryant, who was released earlier this summer, while the 49ers will hope hyped-up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo delivers for them.
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These will be the only two nationally televised games on Thursday night.
Here are Thursday’s other matchups:
Panthers at Bills, 7 p.m. EST: Josh Allen, Nathan Peterman and AJ McCarron are all competing for the starting Bills quarterback job. Who will it be?
Steelers at Eagles: 7 p.m. EST: Two young backup QBs, Pittsburgh’s Mason Rudolph and Philadelphia’s Nate Sudfeld, could face off in this game.
Bears at Bengals, 7 p.m. EST: Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky, the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2017, struggled last season as a rookie. However, he could get a chance to redeem himself this year. Meanwhile, Cincinnati will have to pray that runninb back Joe Mixon is healthy enough to play.
Saints at Jaguars, 7 p.m. EST: The Saints could use their preseason opener as an opportunity to test out new wide receivers Cameron Meredith and Michael Floyd.
Buccaneers at Dolphins, 7 p.m. EST: Miami QB Ryan Tannehill will likely be closely watched.
Redskins at Patriots, 7:30 p.m. EST: All eyes will likely be on QB Alex Smith, who joined Washington on a huge deal this offseason after spending five years with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rams at Ravens, 7:30 p.m. EST: Baltimore’s quarterbacks like Robert Griffin III, Lamar Jackson and Joe Flacco will be some of the players to look out for.
Titans at Packers, 8 p.m. EST: Tennessee defensive back Kenny Vaccaro will hope to make a strong first impression in his debut with the Titans, after playing five seasons with New Orleans.
Texans at Chiefs, 8:30 p.m. EST: Each team’s QB will probably be the most closely watched player: Houston’s Deshaun Watson and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes.
Colts at Seahawks, 10 pm. EST: All eyes will likely be on Indianapolis QB Andrew Luck, who recently underwent rehabilitation for injury.
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