How To Watch The NFL Preseason

By Henry Palattella , Brian Pempus
Editor , Editor
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How To Watch The NFL Preseason

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The NFL season officially gets underway each year with the start of the preseason, which serves as a month-long warm-up before the regular season kicks off in September.

This year’s preseason starts on Aug. 1 with the annual Hall of Fame Game and lasts three weeks before ending on Aug. 25.

It’ll be the fourth preseason consisting of three games after the NFL Competition Committee extended the regular season to 17 games in 2021, which removed one preseason game.

While the games don’t count in the same way that the regular season does, you can still bet on them at our favorite sports betting sites.

That said, most NFL preseason games are determined by players who will be lucky to start the season on the practice squad, so there’s a lot of volatility baked into every game.

If you do bet on the preseason, be prepared to ride the wave.

When Does NFL Preseason Start?

The preseason starts on Thursday, Aug. 1, when the Houston Texans take on the Chicago Bears in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

The Hall of Fame Game, which has been played at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton since 1962, will be broadcast on ESPN this year for the first time ever because of the Olympics.

Hall of Fame Game Details

  • Teams: Houston Texans vs. Chicago Bears
  • Date: Thursday, Aug. 1
  • Time: 8 p.m. ET
  • Location: Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium (Canton, OH)
  • TV: ESPN/ABC

How Can I Watch NFL Preseason?

While preseason games are only available in a team’s local market, every out-of-market preseason game will be available on NFL+ (subscription required).

NFL Network will have 21 preseason games, and there will also be five games available on national television:

  • Thursday, Aug. 8: Houston Texans vs. Chicago Bears, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)
  • Sunday, Aug. 18: New Orleans Saints vs. San Francisco 49ers, 8 p.m. ET (FOX)
  • Thursday, Aug. 22: Indianapolis Colts vs. Cincinnati Bengals, 8 p.m. ET (Prime Video)
  • Sunday, Aug. 25: Arizona Cardinals vs. Denver Broncos, 4:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
  • Sunday, Aug. 25: New England Patriots vs. Washington Commanders, 8 p.m. ET (NBC)

NFL Preseason Schedule

All games available in local markets or on NFL+ unless otherwise mentioned.

Hall of Fame Game

Thursday, Aug. 1

  • Houston Texans vs. Chicago Bears, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Week 1

Thursday, Aug. 8

  • Carolina Panthers vs. New England Patriots, 7 p.m. ET
  • Detroit Lions vs. New York Giants, 7 p.m. ET

Friday, Aug. 9

  • Atlanta Falcons vs. Miami Dolphins, 7 p.m. ET
  • Houston Texans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 7 p.m. ET
  • Philadelphia Eagles vs. Baltimore Ravens, 7:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, Aug. 10

  • Washington Commanders vs. New York Jets, 12 p.m. ET
  • Chicago Bears vs. Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET
  • Las Vegas Raiders vs. Minnesota Vikings, 4 p.m. ET.
  • Green Bay Packers vs. Cleveland Browns, 4:25 p.m. ET
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Cincinnati Bengals, 7 p.m. ET
  • San Francisco 49ers vs. Tennessee Titans, 7 p.m. ET
  • Kansas City Chiefs vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, 7 p.m. ET
  • Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Chargers, 7:05 p.m. ET
  • New Orlean Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals, 8 p.m. ET

Sunday, Aug. 11

  • Denver Broncos vs. Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. ET
  • Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Rams, 4:30 p.m. ET

Week 2

Thursday, Aug. 15

  • Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots, 7 p.m. ET

Saturday, Aug. 17

  • Atlanta Falcons vs. Baltimore Ravens, 12 p.m. ET
  • Cincinnati Bengals vs. Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. ET
  • New York Giants vs. Houston Texans, 1 p.m. ET
  • Detroit Lions vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 4 p.m. ET
  • Minnesota Vikings vs. Cleveland Browns, 4:25 p.m. ET
  • Seattle Seahawks vs. Tennessee Titans, 7 p.m. ET
  • Washington Commanders vs. Miami Dolphins, 7 p.m. ET
  • Buffalo Bills vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 7 p.m. ET
  • New York Jets vs. Carolina Panthers, 7 p.m. ET
  • Los Angeles Chargers vs. Los Angeles Rams, 7:05 p.m. ET
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Dallas Cowboys vs. Las Vegas Raiders, 10 p.m. ET

Sunday, Aug. 18

  • Green Bay Packers vs. Denver Broncos, 8 p.m. ET
  • New Orleans Saints vs. San Francisco 49ers, 8 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 3

Thursday, Aug. 22

  • Indianapolis Colts vs. Cincinnati Bengals, 8 p.m. ET (Prime Video)
  • Chicago Bears vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 8:20 p.m. ET

Friday, Aug. 23

  • Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Atlanta Falcons, 7 p.m. ET
  • Miami Dolphins vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7:30 p.m. ET
  • San Francisco 49ers vs. Las Vegas Raiders, 10 p.m. ET

Saturday, Aug. 24

  • Carolina Panthers vs. Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET
  • Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. ET
  • Baltimore Ravens vs. Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m. ET
  • Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m. ET
  • Los Angeles Rams vs. Houston Texans, 1 p.m. ET
  • Los Angeles Chargers vs. Dallas Cowboys, 4 p.m. ET
  • New York Giants vs. New York Jets, 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Cleveland Browns vs. Seattle Seahawks, 10 p.m. ET

Sunday, Aug. 25

  • Tennessee Titans vs. New Orleans Saints, 2 p.m. ET
  • Arizona Cardinals vs. Denver Broncos, 4:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
  • New England Patriots vs. Washington Commanders, 8 p.m. ET (NBC)

Photo by Jane Gershovich/Getty Images

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Henry Palattella
Henry Palattella Editor

Henry Palattella is a writer and editor based in Cleveland, Ohio, where he can usually be found ranting to his cat about how injuries robbed Grady Sizemore of a Hall of Fame career. He also works as a writer for MLB.com along with freelancing for numerous publications in Northeast Ohio. A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, he is a graduate of Kent State University, where he graduated the same year that Julian Edelman completed his degree.

Brian Pempus
Brian Pempus Editor

Brian Pempus is the managing editor of Forbes Betting. A Penn State journalism graduate, Brian has covered the U.S. gambling industry since 2009, starting as a staff writer and later online content manager with Card Player Magazine in Las Vegas. In 2018, he became deputy editor of sports betting at Better Collective and later managing editor at The Game Day. He joined Forbes in 2022. His work has been cited by Fortune Magazine, Wisconsin Law Review, The Tennessean, ESPN, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Journal of Corporation Law, University of Cincinnati Law Review, UC Law San Francisco, The Congressional Research Service, The Tennessee Bar Association, The University of Nevada Las Vegas and The Ohio State Law Journal.