After a glorious return to the gridiron on Thursday, the NFL preseason schedule rolls on with games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
While many teams will keep their top starters out or will play them sparingly, Thursday night’s action proved there is still plenty of excitement to be experienced in these exhibition games.
Here’s a look at the NFL preseason schedule for Friday night.
We look forward to seeing how the new-look Miami Dolphins fare against the revamped defense of the New York Giants. While it won’t be a huge sample size to glean from, it will be interesting to see how Ryan Tannehill fares against the improved defense for Big Blue.
The other big one on Friday is obviously the return of Robert Griffin III to the spotlight. He was recently named the starter for the Cleveland Browns, and it’s been reported he will not have a short leash this season.
Saturday’s slate of games also features some hot matchups.
Andrew Luck and the high-powered Colts offense going up against Rex Ryan’s Buffalo Bills should be highly entertaining. Luck has reportedly been “uneven” during training camp, throwing a lot of interceptions to go along with his usual display of oh-my-God brilliance.
But the obvious game to target for most of us will be Jared Goff’s debut with the Los Angeles Rams, who host the Dallas Cowboys on ESPN Saturday night.
Sunday features but one game.
This one is full of intrigue. For the San Francisco 49ers, it’s going to be fascinating to see if Blaine Gabbert or Colin Kaepernick can do anything to separate themselves from one another. One of them will be starting for the 49ers this year, and at this point, while Gabbert is seen by many as the guy, it’s still anybody’s job.
For the Houston Texans, this will be Brock Osweiler’s first chance to show off his game for the team that lured him away from the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. A strong showing will do wonders for the confidence of Houston’s fan base, but if he struggles they won’t be resting easy Sunday night.