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NFL Preseason Week 1 (Aug. 9) Thursday Night Preview: Games, Time Start, Channels

The NFL preseason is finally here, and there are a dozen games scheduled just for Thursday night.

NFL Preseason Week 1 Preview

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.

 

Pablo Mena

Writer and assistant editor for usports.org. NY Giants and Rangers fan. Film and TV enthusiast (especially Harry Potter and The Office) and lover of foreign languages and cultures.

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