Do Starters Play In NFL Preseason Games? TV Schedule

By Sushan Shrestha / 25 July 2023 06:40 AM

Baltimore Ravens 2023 preseason opponents are the Eagles, Commanders, and Buccaneers( Source : twitter )

Starters usually do not play in the NFL preseason games. Coaches often put forward the rookies and journeymen to evaluate their potential.

It provides the coaching staff with an idea about the individual's talent. This information can be critical while deciding who stays in the 53-man roster for the season before making the final roster cut on the 30th of August.

Whether or not starters play in the preseason depends upon the team management on how they manage their team lineup for these fixtures.

It would be wrong to deny the inclusion of starters in the games before the start of the new campaign, as there have been instances when starters have featured in the last preseason game for a quarter or so.

If a team starts their star QB and he gets injured, then the team's chance to reach the playoffs get very slim. So, keeping them away is probably the best decision to have a healthy version of the best players for the 18-week season.

Are NFL Preseason Games Televised?

Yes, NFL preseason games are televised. NFL Network will telecast 23 preseason games, and they won't be available on local stations.

ESPN and other four national broadcast partners will showcase one game each( Source : facebook )

It would be best if you tuned in to the national broadcasting networks to watch the games unavailable on local channels. You can witness only five contests on national channels.

NFL Preseason Games Channel

Each team's local TV affiliate network will broadcast most of the NFL preseason fixtures.

Viewers can enjoy the nationally televised matches on NFL Network. You can visit the official website or download the application to watch the matches.

Also, you can get a subscription to Sling TV, YouTube TV, Hulu+ Live TV, FuboTV, or DirecTV Stream to witness the streaming of NFL Network live.

Additionally, the following channels are the national broadcaster for one of the fixtures:

NBC
ESPN
Amazon Prime Video
CBS
Fox

NFL Preseason Schedule 2023-24

NFL preseason TV schedule 2023 is listed below:

New York Jets vs. Cleveland Browns, 3rd August - NBC
Washington Commanders vs. Baltimore Ravens, 21st August - ESPN
Indianapolis Colts vs. Philadelphia Eagles, 24th August - Amazon Prime Video
Detroit Lions vs. Carolina Panthers, 25th August- CBS
New Orleans Saints vs. Houston Texans, 27th August - Fox

The conventional national broadcast partners have little participation in the preseason contests. Most of the air time will be handled by local broadcasting affiliate stations.

NFL Hall ofFame game will be aired on NBC( Source : twitter )

Meanwhile, the NFL Network and local affiliate stations take much of the load. Several franchises, like Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, have partnered with local stations.

You can get the Over-the-air (OTA) antenna to access in-market games for free.

You can expect these fixtures on the team's local affiliate stations:

Week 1

New York Giants vs. Detroit Lions - 11th August
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 11th August
Atlanta Falcons vs. Miami Dolphins - 11th August
Washington Commanders vs. Cleveland Browns - 11th August
Indianapolis Colts vs. Buffalo Bills - 12th August
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Dallas Cowboys - 12th August

Week 2

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Atlanta Falcons - 18th August
Buffalo Bills vs. Pittsburgh Steelers - 19th August
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New York Jets - 19th August
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Arizona Cardinals - 19th August
New England Patriots vs. Green Bay Packers - 19th August
Tennessee Titans vs. Minnesota Vikings - 19th August
Denver Broncos vs. San Francisco 49ers - 19th August
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Los Angeles Rams - 19th August

Week 3

Arizona Cardinals vs. Minnesota Vikings - 26th August
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Washington Commanders - 26th August
Seattle Seahawks vs. Green Bay Packers - 26th August
Buffalo Bills vs. Chicago Bears - 26th August
Miami Dolphins vs. Jacksonville Jaguars - 26th August
Baltimore Ravens vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 26th August
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Dallas Cowboys - 26th August

How To Watch Out Of Market Preseason NFL Games?

You can watch out-of-market preseason NFL games on NFL+. It won't air the in-market preseason fixtures, as local affiliate stations are assigned to air them.

The NFL+ also streams nationally aired fixtures on mobile devices.

NFL+ will stream out-of-market preseason fixtures( Source : facebook )

Viewers can get the standard package at a monthly charge of $4.99. If you get the full-season bundle, it will cost $39.99.

The premium package is available at $9.99 monthly and $79.99 annually.

Its subscription will give you access to a wide variety of content, including Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, nationally televised ties, coverage of the NFL Draft, and many more. The premium subscribers also get full and condensed game replays on all devices without ads.

All the offseason games available on NFL+ are as follows:

Week 1

Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots - 10th August
Minnesota Vikings vs. Seattle Seahawks - 10th August
Green Bay Packers vs. Cincinnati Bengals - 11th August
Denver Broncos vs. Arizona Cardinals - 11th August
Tennessee Titans vs. Chicago Bears - 12th August
New York Jets vs. Carolina Panthers - 12th August
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Baltimore Ravens - 12th August
Los Angeles Chargers vs. Los Angeles Rams - 12th August
Kansas City Chiefs vs. New Orleans Saints - 13th August
San Francisco 49ers vs. Las Vegas Raiders - 13th August

Week 2

Cleveland Browns vs. Philadelphia Eagles - 17th August
Carolina Panthers vs. New York Giants - 18th August
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Detroit Lions - 19th August
Miami Dolphins vs. Houston Texans - 19th August
Chicago Bears vs. Indianapolis Colts - 19th August
Dallas Cowboys vs. Seattle Seahawks - 19th August
New Orleans Saints vs. Los Angeles Chargers - 20th August

Week 3

New England Patriots vs. Tennessee Titans - 25th August
Los Angeles Chargers vs. San Francisco 49ers - 25th August
Cleveland Browns vs. Kansas City Chiefs - 26th August
New York Jets vs. New York Giants - 26th August
Los Angeles Rams vs. Denver Broncos - 26th August

Does NFL Ticket Include Preseason Games?

No, NFL Ticket does not include the preseason games. It only includes the Sunday afternoon off-the-market regular season fixtures.

Starting in 2023, the NFL Sunday Ticket residential packages will be distributed by YouTube on YouTube and YouTube TV. They agreed to pay the NFL $2 billion annually for distribution rights.

NFL Sunday Ticket is available for purchase on YouTube and YouTube TV( Source : facebook )

Previously, DirecTV used to pay a $1.5 billion annual fee. They will still handle the business packages to air off-the-market contests in hotels, restaurants, and bars.

YouTube has a dedicated primetime channel called NFL, where you can catch the games.

How Many Preseason Games Are There In 2023?

There are 49 preseason games in 2023. The preseason starts with the Hall of Fame game between the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets on 3rd August.

The 2023 Hall of Fame Weekend at Canton will feature many visual spectaculars, including, The Grand Parade, Enshrinees' Gold Jacket Dinner, and Canton Hot Air Balloon Festival.

The HOF game will be conducted at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. You can expect Sauce Gardner, Jerome Ford, Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, David Bell, Hassan Hall, and other young talents in the game.

There will be three weeks of preseason matches from August 3 to August 27 before the teams prepare themselves for the regular season action starting 7th September.

Detroit Lions will travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face Kansas City Chiefs. The game starts at 8.15 pm and will be aired on NBC.

Predictions

NFL preseason predictions 2023 see Kansas City Chiefs at the top with a win-loss record of 14-3. They have +600 odds of winning the Super Bowl LVIII.

Patrick Mahomes will again look to dominate the league and secure the top seed in AFC.

Kansas City Chiefs are predicted to finsih regular campaign with a 14-3 record( Source : twitter )

Likewise, a lot will be riding on the San Francisco 49ers as they are projected to finish the regular season with a 12-5 record.

Meanwhile, the last year's SB runner-ups, Philadelphia Eagles, are projected to get 10 wins and seven losses.

It might surprise many as they have one of the best squads, but they have the most brutal Strength of Schedule for 2023 (.566), which is predicted to hurt their regular season record.

Here are the rest of the teams in the league and their win-loss prediction:

Cincinnati Bengals: 13-4
Buffalo Bills: 12-5
Baltimore Ravens: 12-5
Jacksonville Jaguars: 11-6
Atlanta Falcons: 10-7
New York Jets: 10-7
Dallas Cowboys: 10-7
Detroit Lions: 10-7
Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-8
Denver Broncos: 9-8
New England Patriots: 9-8
Seattle Seahawks: 9-8
Los Angeles Rams: 9-8
New York Giants: 9-8
Miami Dolphins: 8-9
Los Angeles Chargers: 8-9
Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
Carolina Panthers: 8-9
Las Vegas Raiders: 7-10
New Orleans Saints: 7-10
Cleveland Browns: 7-10
Houston Texans: 7-10
Tennessee Titans: 6-11
Green Bay Packers: 6-11
Chicago Bears: 6-11
Washington Commanders: 6-11
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5-12
Indianapolis Colts: 4-13
Arizona Cardinals: 3-14

Tickets

NFL preseason tickets 2023 for the Hall of Fame contest at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton is available from $90 to $275.

Ticketmaster and Vivid Seats are some trusted sites selling tickets online.

The ticket price for every game varies depending on the venue and the contest's popularity. Another factor affecting the price is the seating arrangement.

If you want to purchase the best seats, usually near the field with an excellent view, they are comparatively costlier than the ones at the back.

The price for the Arizona Cardinals vs. Denver Broncos at Stae Farm Stadium costs as low as $8. Meanwhile, the best seats with a great view can go up from $211 to $262.